In book 5, when Finlay's elderly neighbor discovers a body buried in her backyard, she moves into Finlay's house while the police investigate her homeIn book 5, when Finlay's elderly neighbor discovers a body buried in her backyard, she moves into Finlay's house while the police investigate her home. At first Finlay and Vero are dismayed Mrs. Haggerty has moved it (as she is the neighborhood busybody). They also have no interest in being tied to a murder investigation. But as time goes by, Mrs. Haggerty turns out to be a great childcare provider and not as bad as they thought...
The Finlay Donovan series was one I fell in love with quickly, books 1 and 2 being among some of my favorite cozy mysteries. I didn't love book 3, and 4 was a big letdown. So when I saw a review of this book saying it was a return the beginning books, I had to see for myself. I am so glad I read that review because I had pretty much given up on this series. The plot where it was grand and convoluted in book 4, has returned to a simpler, more believable structure and we are back to spending more time with the main characters. Mrs. Haggerty and all her shenanigans were a lot of fun and I'm grateful the author went back to the basics of the series. Makes for much more enjoyable reading.
An ALC was provided via the librarian ALC program on Libro.fm ...more
An interesting and new take on the teen vampire genre, this follows Kidan as she searches for her missing twin sister. To find her, she must enroll atAn interesting and new take on the teen vampire genre, this follows Kidan as she searches for her missing twin sister. To find her, she must enroll at Uxley University where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. But she has to share her house with Susenyos, an evil vampire she wants to kill.
I liked this book, but I think it had some bad pacing issues. Unlike most readers (from their reviews here) I liked the first 40% and the last 20% with the percentage in the middle falling flat for me. I listed to the audiobook which was well done but sometimes I felt like I missed some things. It took me a while to figure out the romance part of the book was between Kidan and Susenyos because this is a true enemies to lovers, but they stay enemies! Some great tension in their relationship. I wish the worldbuilding had been a bit more in depth, but for a book this long I can see why more was not added. Overall, liked it but not my favorite book ever. ...more
This read like a really awful CW teen tv show (except this is an insult to the CW) with a lackluster plot and sloppy worldbuilding. I went in mostly bThis read like a really awful CW teen tv show (except this is an insult to the CW) with a lackluster plot and sloppy worldbuilding. I went in mostly blind and was genuinely shocked when listening that one of the characters was 27 and that they weren't all teenagers because they all spoke and behaved like teens. And most of the characters were unlikable. If this author works on writing her characters their ages and fine tunes her worldbuilding I think she could be really great....more
So, I feel like this was more an idea of a book than an actual book. I hope that makes sense. The Ministry of Time is about a young woman who works onSo, I feel like this was more an idea of a book than an actual book. I hope that makes sense. The Ministry of Time is about a young woman who works on a top secret project where people from points in history are selected and then brought into our current time. Tasked with caring for a man from the mid 1800's, the two fall in love.
This was a book I was looking forward to, and then really nothing happened. Instead of time travel we got sitting around with a time travelled man but then they really don't go anywhere because they aren't allowed to. The characters were very strong, I really liked them all. But beyond character development, I really do need a bit more of a plot than whatever this was. I think this book was a really great idea, I just don't think the concept was executed as well as it could have been. Overall enjoyed it, but I will be forgetting a lot about it very soon.......more
I'm gonna say something controversial.... I think the LOTR movies are better than the books. Normally when you watch a movi[image]
3.5 stars rounded up
I'm gonna say something controversial.... I think the LOTR movies are better than the books. Normally when you watch a movie and then read a book, the book expands on the world. That's the opposite here where I feel the movies really expand on the story and the setting and make it better.
For this book I decided to listen to the audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis and he really did a fantastic job of bringing Middle Earth to life. I was a bit thrown off by the pacing of this book, the battle for Helm's Deep happens within the first 40% and the last 40% is just Frodo, Sam and Gollum. But it was still a fun fantasy epic to listen along to and I think Tolkien created a really cool fantasy world for readers to escape into. I almost wish 12 year old me read these books before she saw the movies (too late now).
I've been reading this for almost 2 weeks and really not feeling it. Nothing particularly wrong with it, the author just failed to invest meDNF at 53%
I've been reading this for almost 2 weeks and really not feeling it. Nothing particularly wrong with it, the author just failed to invest me in these characters (which is insane because the premise of this book is amazing). Plus, this sent me into a full on book slump. ...more
I really don't have very strong feelings about this book, it was solidly "okay". It calls itself a cozy tea time romance, but then we really do2 stars
I really don't have very strong feelings about this book, it was solidly "okay". It calls itself a cozy tea time romance, but then we really don't get much about running a tea/bookshop and not very much romance. It was more about royal politics and bandits and such. I read this at the beginning of 2025 (about 2 weeks ago) and have already forgotten most of it. ...more
I was a big fan of Liz Moore's Long Bright River when it came out and when I saw this won the Goodreads Award for Mystery, I bumped it up my TBR lisI was a big fan of Liz Moore's Long Bright River when it came out and when I saw this won the Goodreads Award for Mystery, I bumped it up my TBR list. Maybe I expected too much or didn't get what I expected, but instead of a mystery novel we got more of a literary historical fiction character study. Which is great! But I wanted more mystery from this instead of what felt like 20+ character POVs that I had to remember (while listening) and was expected to care about each and every one of them. I, in fact, did not care and want to know what happened to the missing kids and the clues along the way.
I will say Moore is a great writer and I am excited to read whatever she has coming next. I just may need to read a few reviews first before jumping in and not getting what the publishers advertised....more
About 14 years ago while studying abroad, I read this first book of the series and loved it, First read in March 2010, reread in December 2024
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About 14 years ago while studying abroad, I read this first book of the series and loved it, except I didn't bring any of the other books with me so I never finished the series. A reading goal for 2024 was to read the LOTR series, and I started with The Hobbit and read Fellowship by the end of the year. So 2025 is for the last two in the series.
I didn't remember much from the first book except I loved it. The Fellowship of the Ring the film, to me is a perfect movie. So it was nice to read along with the book, but I do feel the book lacks some of the heart that the movies added in. It was great to get extra detail and see how much longer everything took for the characters in the book. And while I really liked this book, I think I love the movie more (please do not come after me for saying this).
Wanted to give a shoutout to Tom Bombadil who doesn't appear in the movies (which I am totally okay with) but he was just a happy guy that sang songs, saved hobbits and had a hot wife. If only all characters can be that cool.
So Two Towers and Return of the King... I am coming for you in 2025! (in audiobook version because even reading this ebook, nearly ended me and my aging eyes).
I read this for a book discussion and the more we discussed this book, the lower my rating became. I'll Have What He's Having is perfectly 2.75 stars
I read this for a book discussion and the more we discussed this book, the lower my rating became. I'll Have What He's Having is perfectly mid. There's really nothing awful about it, and also nothing special. This is the romance between Farzan and David who at first have a no strings attached connection that turns into something more.
I do think this author having gone from YA writing to adult didn't handle his characters well in that they seemed like people in their early to mid 20s and not their mid to late 30s. I also felt there were so many sex scenes that did nothing to enhance the story or their relationship and so much could have been cut out. There's no reason this book had to be as long as it was. I really liked Farzan's relationship with his family, I wish we had more of that. And I would have enjoyed seeing David and Farzan work together, I thought they were a really great team.
Also, I am just so over people taking digs at Los Angeles in their books. It's lazy and overdone, let's please leave that behind in 2025. ...more
The Turn of the Key is about live in nanny Rowan who is left alone with 3-4 children to care for, ranging from toddler to teen. But as she watches theThe Turn of the Key is about live in nanny Rowan who is left alone with 3-4 children to care for, ranging from toddler to teen. But as she watches the children (who don't always behave very well) strange things begin to happen. Strange noises, lights going out, speakers turning on. But all of this is leading to a malicious ending.
Ruth Ware is master of tone and suspense... she just can't write a book ending well to save her life. I love the journey of Ware's mystery stories but almost never the endings. You as the reader get sucked into the atmosphere and setting of her books and it's so fun to follow along. I liked Rowan as a narrator, not sure if she is reliable or even the best person. The kids were also done very well. I do think all the suspense led to a very lackluster ending that was rushed. Maybe one day I will love more than one Ware book! (And I'll just keep being toxic and continuing to read her books anyways!)...more
Just on a sentence structure level, one of the worst written books I've read in my entire life. The idea for the plot and setting were great, but thisJust on a sentence structure level, one of the worst written books I've read in my entire life. The idea for the plot and setting were great, but this was executed abysmally....more
While I am very glad this book and these characters exist, I find myself not loving this book as much as everyone else. It's very longwinded, to the pWhile I am very glad this book and these characters exist, I find myself not loving this book as much as everyone else. It's very longwinded, to the point where I wondered why several scenes were included. And as much as I agree with Klune's intentions and agree with his points, the messaging of this book was heavy handed to the point I felt I was being punched in the face repeatedly. That combined with most of the children speaking and behaving as if they were full grown adults didn't work well for me.
I do think books like this are important and as I said, I love the characters in this book. But if you're going to write second book in a series, find a way to expand your story instead of just reiterating everything in the first book over and over again....more
Forever the Highlands is the final book in The Highlands series, a spinoff of The Adairs series. This book is the romance between 3.5 stars rounded up
Forever the Highlands is the final book in The Highlands series, a spinoff of The Adairs series. This book is the romance between Fyfe and his best friends sister Eilidh. For years he thought she just had a schoolgirl crush on him, until life circumstances have brought them together.
I really did enjoy this book, this whole series is a great escape from reality. I love the characters she writes and I find her writing so comforting to fall into (mentally). I greatly appreciated the character name pronunciation at the beginning of the book. And I appreciated while this book was slightly angsty that lots of dramas didn't get dragged out longer than necessary.
But I have a major gripe. I have a challenge for Samantha Young in 2025: try to write a book without having a shitty mother. Every book in this series it seems like there's some terrible mother written in and while I am sure there are many bad moms in real life, I'm getting sick of reading about them in these books. That and some editing errors took away from my overall enjoyment.
That being said, I will still read everything and anything Young writes....more
This somehow wasn't as bad as I thought, but also not great at the same time.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas follows the romance between Coal, the PrinceThis somehow wasn't as bad as I thought, but also not great at the same time.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas follows the romance between Coal, the Prince of Christmas and Hex, the Prince of Halloween. Coal is set to marry Iris, the Princess of Easter in an arranged marriage, but after a surprise hookup with Hex, Coal finds himself re-evaluating things.
This book had a few quirky and fun moments which is why I didn't give up on it early on. While this book is technically a romance for adults, they are in their early twenties and very much read like young adult characters. There was also a lot of world-building, but somehow not enough? And I felt the plot actually took away from the romance to the point that when we got to spicy parts I was like, oh yeah this is a romance!
I think this is a fun book if you don't take it seriously and just read along for the ride. For me, it was solidly okay and just not something I can even say I liked but I can see why it would appeal to other readers....more
A cute little holiday mystery following Molly the maid as her boyfriend Juan Manual begins to act strangely around Christmastime. 3.5 stars rounded up
A cute little holiday mystery following Molly the maid as her boyfriend Juan Manual begins to act strangely around Christmastime. A nice little extension of the series, this was a lot of fun to listen to....more
The Omegaverse romance between two shifters who work in a hospital that decide to fake date to solve their problems. Noah needs to hide he' 2.5 stars
The Omegaverse romance between two shifters who work in a hospital that decide to fake date to solve their problems. Noah needs to hide he's an alpha and Mackenzie wants to avoid dates her grandmother set up and the two decide to be fake mates to make all of their problems go away.
When you take away all of the spicy parts of this book, what are you left with? A tissue paper thin plot and not much else. I don't read any Omegaverse so there were things I was confused on; friends who do read that genre told me there was a lot in this book that didn't match the genre at all. I didn't understand why the characters needed to be doctors as their issues could have been transplanted into any workplace (we never saw them doctoring like ever). And there was a lot of repetitive language used throughout the book....more
This is one of those absurd books where you just close your mind to all logic and enjoy the ride. The romance between a man who lived alone in the wilThis is one of those absurd books where you just close your mind to all logic and enjoy the ride. The romance between a man who lived alone in the wilderness with wolves for 10 years, and the young woman posing as a man helping him as psychologist. It's exactly as bonkers as it sounds. And yet I really liked Stacy Reid's writing style and was happy to read along. For one thing, it's a historical romance with a not typical premise.
This is the one time where I wish a book was longer, because a lot of issues were glossed over or unresolved by the ending. Plus, if you are going to make a book with high stakes, maybe you should use them!...more