The Guest List – Lucy Foley

The Guest List is a who done it murder mystery. It is set on a mysterious island with a sinister back story. The characters are elite and cunning. I felt like I was sipping champagne right along with them through this one (okay…maybe I was-shhhhh).

Jules and Wills high profile wedding is an event to remember. The Guest List is am intriguing mix of new and old friends who gather together for the event. All along the way weird things keep occurring. In the end someone is murdered during the reception-but WHO DID IT???

Overall I really enjoyed this one. I had favorite characters, ones I hated, ones I wanted to know more about. There was a whole mix in there. I wasn’t able to figure out the mystery until the end (which is a good thing). Things kept changing and I kept thinking I was linking certain things together for it only to fall apart later. I was truly surprised by the turn of events!

If you like easy to read, engross you in the setting, a bit creepy, a bit lavish mysteries…This ones for you!

The Ghosts of Harvard

The Ghosts of Harvard is a compelling novel from Francesca Serritella. With an interesting glimpse into the secretive world of Harvard, Cadence the main character brings to life some of the mysteries of the iconic campus, and sheds light on mental illness. The book follows Cadence as she enters the college in her late brothers shadow. After he battled schizophrenia that led to his suicide, Cadence wants to unravel the last moments of his life.

Serritellas writing will have you walking the ghostly halls of an iconic Ivy league, and wondering if you yourself are hearing the voices of the past.

Wild At Heart

If you loved The Simple Wild (the prequel to this one), you will enjoy this extension of Calla and Jonah’s story. I love the characters and the setting. K. A. Tucker is a master setting weaver. She makes you feel like you are wrapped up in the Alaskan culture and life. The whole time I was reading I wanted to be curled up by a roaring, crackling fire with a cozy blanket and hot chocolate (or coffee if that’s more your thing ;)! This book picks up right where The Simple Wild left off, which I appreciated because I was left wanting more after that one! But-because I read that one a while ago I did have to go back and refresh my memory some on it before continuing on with Wild at Heart.
I love that their are challenges in the main characters love story and its not always perfect. It makes it way more relatable for me which is good for romance genres. Its a lovely book!

Thank you K.A. Tucker, NetGalley, and Social Butterfly PR, LLC for the e-ARC copy!

The Simple Wild By: K.A. Tucker

I am adoring K.A. Tucker! Her writing is so heartfelt and genuine. This one made me want to pack my bags and move to somewhere remote and wild (LOL). Truly, her writing makes me want to live in this moment. I read this over the summer and sitting outside it was the perfect setting. I recommend this for anyone who is a little confused as to where they are going in life…It might motivate you to take a big leap of faith!

The Turn of The Key By: Ruth Ware

I am a big Ruth Ware fan! I think In a Dark, Dark Wood is my personal favorite, and I know everyone raves about Woman In Cabin Ten (which I also enjoyed). So, when I found out she had a new book coming out…I had to have it! I won this on Instagram (so excited) and it will be released August 6, 2019.

I read it in a matter of two days. It was a fast read with plenty of twists, turns, and action. The premise is that Rowan Caine comes across an ad in the paper for a “to good to be true” live in nanny job. She decides to go for it and gets the job. The twist, its in a smart house with a less than normal family, who has gone through four nannies in the past year. Seems odd, right?

The house itself is creepy, then the stories behind it start to surface and stuff gets real strange y ‘all. It was a bit of a slow build, and a less than climatic ending. But overall, it creeped me out and had me checking all the locks on my doors at night! I’d say it was sufficient in the chiller sense for sure! I still love Ruth Wares descriptive and enthralling writing!

 

The Two Lila Bennetts BY: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Its publication day for this Title! Yay!! Congrats Lisa and Liz on the release of this time sucking (in a good way, like I sat around reading it when I had so many other things to do lol)!!!

Lila is a high profile criminal defense lawyer, who helps the “bad guys” go free (I guess we really don’t know if they are actually bad or not?). She’s had her fair share of life tribulations and has done some not so worthy things herself. After winning a big case, she suddenly finds herself in trouble. The story splits here into alternating time frames. In one she’s being held captive and fighting for her life. In another, she is free but being chased. She has to face her demons and come to terms with some pretty shitty stuff. Will this break her? Will she come out alive?

I rated this 4.5 Stars!

I loved the alternating time switching between the chapters. I found this kept me wanting to read as much as I could at once to figure out what was going to happen. I came up with all these different scenarios for who was doing this to Lila and why, but then something would happen that would me change my though process. It was well written and exciting. At times I felt bad for Lila, and other times I thought she was a crappy person and maybe deserved to be punished for her wrong doings (some of them were really bad y’all)! But in the end, everyone makes mistakes…

A special thank you to @netgalley @lakeunionauthors and @lisaandliz for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Mini Review

I have never read any Christina Lauren (did you know that this is actually two different people?!), and I’m truly wondering why the hell not?!

I finished Love and Other Words recently and I absolutely adored it! In the past, I haven’t been much for romance. I often find them (for lack of better word) cheesy. 🙄 I seem to never be able to get through them because I’m always thinking about how in real life-romances like these are so much different, or they are just so unrealistic I can’t stand it. Not this one. It was a believable, relatable, adorable romance that kept me interested to see how it turned out. There’s even a little twist thrown in that I never saw coming!!

This is a perfect summer beach or lake read (it takes place at a lake house)! Add it to your list y’all! ❤️📚

The Silent Patient By: Alex Michaelides *Review

Overall, if you are looking for an easy thriller read, this one might be for you!

Pros:

As for most thrillers, there has to be mystery to it to keep my attention. From the beginning of this book you are prompted with a question of; why did the main character kill her husband? The very first chapter sets the tone for this mystery and prevails throughout the book until the very end. I was hooked on knowing WHY?!

There are several little twists and turns through out the story that make you want to keep reading, this is always a plus!

Cons:

The character development…I felt a lack of connection with the characters. I feel that the author throws in some unnecessary background and filler info. in here and there. In the place of that, I would have much rather gotten to know the main characters better. This is solely my opinion, and I am a “character driven” reader, I just have to connect.

Descriptive scenes, again, likely a personal preference, but I love some good description on the settings and such! I would have loved for the author to go into more descriptive writing regarding Alicia and the actual murder scene.

Overall 4 out of 5 stars for me! It was an easy thriller read that has you wondering until the end. It was a great plot twist and the overall story line was well thought out.

All opinions are my own.

Summer Reading Lists! @booksparks #booksharks #src2019

Let me tell y’all…It’s gettin’ HOT in here (okay, sorry for the Nelly reference but I had to!) * LOL

But for real, it is already hitting the 100’s here in good ol’ North Carolina. Therefore, we find water whenever we can! The lake, the beach, the pool, the backyard with hose and sprinkler…literally, anywhere!!! When my kids are entertained with the water, I get to read more. YAY! I love swimming with the little guys, but sometimes Mama needs a break. They would live in the water, so during the times that I’m breakin’, I’m squeezing in a few pages of my favorite books. So here’s the start of my summer reading list:

You Me & The Sea By: Meg Donohue

The Southern Side of Paradise By: Kristy Woodson Harvey

The Last Resort By: Marissa Stapley

Whisper Network By: Chandler Baker

A Stranger On The Beach By: Michelle Campbell

Lime-light By: Amy Poeppel

The Last Book Party By: Karen Dukess

The Enlightenment of Bees By: Rachel Linden

Red, White & Royal Blue By: Casey McQuiston

Providence By: Caroline Kepnes

Screen Queens By: Lori Goldstein

Sky Queen By: Judy Kundert

The Escape Room By: Megan Goldin

I Know Everything By: Matthew Farrell

I am participating in @booksparks summer reading challenge #SRC2019. The above list is part if that lineup, I will definitely attempt to read as many of those as possible! I also have my own little beach bag stack going on.

The Simple Wild By: K.A. Tucker

Stillhouse Lake By: Rachel Caine

Love and Other Words By: Christina Lauren

Maybe In Another Life By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Verity By: Colleen Hoover

The Turn Of The Key By: Ruth Ware

The First Mistake By: Sandie Jones

21 ! WHEW…That was a lot…lets see how many of these I can get through!! Join me on this reading adventure y’all!

 

Readers Rut

Have you ever found yourself in a “readers rut?” You just can’t seem to get into any book you start, each one kind of seems like one you have already read, nothing “feels right?”

That’s exactly where I am right now!!!

The past few months I have been reading…a lot. And now I’m suddenly in this rut where every book I start I just want to stick it back on the shelf for later. This is discouraging me. Any tips and tricks for this “reader rut” is greatly appreciated. Here’s what I have in mind to get out of this rut:

1. Take a break. A small break from reading, to clear my head.
2. Start a new book in a genre that’s completely out of the box for me.
3. Write! Sometimes writing more makes me want to read more…no explanation for this y’all.
4. Get outside! Spending time outside is so refreshing, and I am hoping that it can breath some life into my mind and lead me into some good reads.

That’s all for now, again, any comments on how you’ve gotten out of this rut (should you have ever found yourself here), is greatly welcomed!