The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

 This cozy mystery follows a group of friends in a retirement community who meet every Thursday to discuss cold cases. However, when a local real estate developer with ties to the retirement home is found dead, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves investigating the murder in real time.  

TW/CW: suicide

I believe this is the first book I've read that can be considered a 'cozy' mystery.  I tend to veer more into the darker, more broody/hardboiled detective mysteries so this did take some getting used to.  As such, I'm not sure I can say if this book is representative of a 'good' cozy mystery but I overall enjoyed it (and the book has a 3.99 average with over 93k ratings on Goodreads so I'd say other people liked it as well).  As an American, I know Richard Osman from the many different British comedy panel TV shows he's been on so I was expecting this book to have a certain dry comedy style which it really delivered on.  I know that style of dry humor isn't for everyone but I really enjoy it and found it translates well from verbal comedy to the page. I read a lot of British mystery/thrillers but I'd say this one felt the most 'British' of all of them - there were a lot of references to certain stores and people that I think add a real layer of depth to the story.  

I found the narrative style to be the most unique aspect of the book.  It is told from third-person close POV but we hop around to follow pretty much all of the different characters.  I love multi-POV mysteries but usually we only follow two or maybe three different characters.  In this case, we hop between all 4 of the main Murder Club members, plus the two police officers, plus a few other side characters.  Not only do we hop around all these different characters, but the chapters are incredibly short so the reader is constantly moving around.  My hardcover copy is 351 pages and the book has 115 chapters which works out to about 3 pages per chapter and we hop characters almost every chapter change. Also, I've found most multi-POV books will give the characters name at the beginning of the chapter but that isn't the case here.  We just pop over to a new character at the beginning of the chapter and Osman just immerses the reader into whatever that character is doing.  Thankfully, since the book is in third person, we get the character's name in the first line or two of the chapter but there are times when we get a few lines of description before a name. All that said, we do spend most of the time in Joyce's POV and in her diary entries.  The diary entries were another interesting narrative choice that I think did a great job at condensing information to the reader in a very clear way.  As I was reading, I felt like these entries were almost like checkpoints in the story to regroup and then we could move forward with the investigation. 

As a character-driven reader, I wasn't entirely sure at the beginning how I felt about us hopping around so many different characters.  However, once I got settled into the narrative style and all the different characters, I ended up really enjoying the quiet character work that Osman was able to layer into the story.  The main group of friends are all in their 70s and they've all led very different lives.  When we first meet them, they seem like a pretty unassuming group of people who have their weekly meetings more for socialization than anything else.  As the story progresses, we learn more about not only their lives at the retirement community, but also how their earlier life experiences can help them solve the case.  It is a pretty straightforward commentary on how society often views the elderly as helpless and, at times, almost infantile.  However, they are still people with decades of experiences that shouldn't be discounted just because they're older.  As the story goes on, we learn more and more about the Murder Club members which helps deepen their characterization.  If this story would have only been following one or two of the characters we could have gotten to know them better but I think the POV hopping we get with this story lets us get to know a lot of different characters and their relationships to each other really well.  Also, there's a second book coming out so I'm sure we'll get to know more about them in that book. As as slight downside, it did take a few chapters from each character for me to start to get a good handle on their characterization and I had a bit of a hard time at the beginning keeping everyone straight in my mind.  However, I got over this after about the first 25% and it was smooth sailing from that point.

My least favorite part of the story was how all the answers to the different mystery threads were mostly grouped together at the end.  I enjoyed the actual solutions, but it really got a little overwhelming and tedious to read "ah ha!  here's what happened" over and over and over for the last 15% of the book. I think there were a few of the smaller mysteries that could have worked well as red herrings earlier in the story and then get resolved earlier. I thought the actual solutions to the mysteries were well done and weren't what I was expecting so my issue was more with the pacing than actual substance.  Without going into spoilers, I do want to mention that I didn't love the aftermath caused by some of the answers to the mysteries.  Most of the book was an overall lighthearted cozy mystery with some spots that got a bit more emotional or sentimental.  However, the ending could be considered by some (myself included) to be pretty sad.  I can see the logical steps that get us to those sadder details to the ending, but I just didn't love the more than melancholy turn that the end took.  I was really expecting there to be more celebration at the solving of the mysteries than there ended up being.  I can step back and see the structural elements to the story and I understand why X lead to Y lead to Z but as a reading experience, I just didn't like the tone the book took at the end.  The very last chapter does give a slightly uplifting feeling of life continuing on which was nice. 

Of course, the key to any good mystery book is the mystery itself.  In this story, I thought the mystery elements and subsequent investigations were really well plotted and executed.  I liked how the main murder mystery branched off into a few different avenues that we weren't sure until the end if they were or were not related to the main murder.  As this is a cozy mystery and not a detective mystery, we are mostly following the Murder Club members as they execute their own investigation.  I did like how Osman was able to get around some of the more technical aspects of the investigation with the past life experiences of the Club members and their social connections.  It seemed like every time they needed someone to help with X or Y, someone in the Murder Club would have a connection they could get help from. I really enjoyed how we would keep getting new information related to a previous line of inquiry so we kept going back to old leads that had previously been exhausted.  It was also interesting how the way the police treated the Murder Club changed as the story progressed.  In the beginning, they seemed to view them as a quirky bunch of retirees who basically just had some gossip about the events surrounding the murder.  However, as the story progressed and the Murder Club proved to be more capable than originally thought, the police detectives we follow did seem to view them with more respect and were impressed with how they were able to find certain information out.  I'm interested to see how the relationship continues to develop in the next book.

Overall, I found this to be a really fun mystery read.  I really liked the characters and the unique narrative style.  The mystery elements were well plotted however I did find the ending to be a bit jam-packed with all the different resolutions and a bit of a downer.

The Stalker - Sarah Alderson

 This thriller follows newlyweds Laura and Liam as they spend a week on an isolated island in Scotland for their honeymoon. They're supposed to be the only people there, but soon find evidence that there is someone else on the island. The situation soon escalates, leaving Laura and Liam struggling to make it off the island alive.   TW/CW: domestic violence

 I loved this book.  I haven't read any of Sarah Alderson's other books but I now have plans to rectify that.  I'll be honest and admit that the title and cover of this book didn't exactly jump out at me, but the summary of this being an isolated home invasion type thriller was intriguing.  I was expecting this to be more of a creepy sort of mystery/thriller where strange things are happening but we don't know until close to the end that there's an actual person involved.  I was mistaken.  We know pretty quickly that there's another person on the island and are thrust into a survival situation of trying to outwit the killer and escape.  This read to me like a really solid home invasion horror/thriller movie and I absolutely loved it. I would consider this a pure thriller and while most books I read are more mystery/thriller, this one was really all about the thrills and the characters surviving.  There wasn't really much of a mystery presented beyond the characters wondering who is stalking them.  But even that question is quickly brushed aside with the answer of "it doesn't matter, we just need to get off the island" so even that mystery is pretty much abandoned. 

The pacing was incredible.  If this was a movie, I'd say it would be a really tight 90 minute thriller.  Right from the beginning, we get thrust into the story as Laura and Liam arrive on the island and we get very little downtime until the end.  I found that for me to have a break and calm down, I'd need to put the book down and walk away.  There weren't really any quiet chapters where the reader could relax and process the information.  I know other readers may have different opinions, but this is how I like my pure thrillers to be paced.  I want to start at the top of a roller-coaster and not slow down until I'm done.  I think the pacing was really balanced by the overall simplicity of the plot.  While the pacing was very fast, there weren't a ton of actual plot points and twists so it didn't feel like I was missing anything by the story moving too quickly.  The story takes place over the course of a week so there is only so much plot to squeeze in.   I think the narrative structure of this book also helped with the breakneck speed that we were on.  Almost all of the plot surrounding Laura and Liam on the island was wrapped up by the 70% mark and the last 30% of the book is a Part 2 which is a series of flashbacks and changing POV chapters that give explanation and context to what is happening on the island.  These chapters are thrilling for their own reasons but are more slowly paced than what we'd been reading up to that point.  This last 30% is really the last few puzzle pieces falling together so we can see the big picture.  I think this break happened at just the right time and acted as a very long resolution to the climax of the story to really bring the tension and pace down slowly for the reader.  

This story is told in first person, present tense from Laura's point of view.  Personally, those aren't my preferred options when it comes to thrillers but usually won't stop me from enjoying a book once I get used to it.  My one complaint for the book was that Laura was a pretty passive protagonist.  Liam was the one to always prompt them to go out and looks for ways off the island or to try and find information about who the stalker is but Laura would always want to stay in.  Most of her reaction was worrying and hand-wringing.  Which, to be fair, would also be my reaction to the situation but it isn't a very interesting perspective to be reading from.  This does improve as the book goes on, but I did spend a good chuck in the beginning wondering why we were following Laura at all when it seemed like Liam would be a more active and interesting protagonist. To her credit, once Liam is set on doing something, Laura pretty much always came along with him and didn't just stay at the cabin the whole time.

Despite Laura being not the most active protagonist, I do think the character work in the book was great.  We jump right into Laura and Liam arriving at the island and through them starting to celebrate on their honeymoon together we get glimpses and details about their relationship.  I think most of the characterization came through these small details and I personally find that a really effective method to convey information.  It also naturally helps the reader make assumptions about the characters and where the story might be going.  Sort of like, if character A acts like B in X situation then when the stakes are higher, I bet they'll act like C. The main story takes place over the course of a week, but we do get a good amount of character growth and change during that time mostly due to the high tension of the situation bringing out different sides of Laura and Liam. I also liked the colorful locals they met before taking a boat over to the island.  Very horror movie trope type where they warned the island is haunted and Laura tries to brush it off like they're joking but there's a sinister undertone to their warnings.  

Finally, the twists and the ending I think could really make or break the book. I've read through some other reviews and the main twist/reveal seems to be the point of most contention.  I know a lot of readers like to be able to guess the twists in thrillers and I don't think the main twist falls under that category. Maybe some very very detailed reader could catch on but I sure couldn't.  However, once we know the twist, we can see some little breadcrumbs that support the reveal so it isn't like it came completely out of nowhere and I think re-reading the book would be fun to see exactly how many little breadcrumbs there were.  I do think it is a little over the top and some readers may not be able to suspend their disbelief enough to fully accept it, but I absolutely loved it.  There were some really obvious suspects that fell into the category of "it couldn't be X because we're only at the 20% point in the book" but then I was second guessing because maybe it really is X but just not in the way I initially thought it was.  The end reveal does tie everything together in a pretty nice way and overall I found it really fun and satisfying. 

Overall, this was a really fun and thrilling read.  Basically a summer blockbuster thriller movie in book form. Highly recommend!

 

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for review

Expected publication date is July 8, 2021.

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

 

This story follows four Blackfeet men as they are tracked down by an entity 10 years after a hunting expedition that went awry.  TW/CW: animal death, gore, suicide  (this story touches on a lot of potentially triggering topics but the animal death, gore, and suicide were the ones that I felt were most explicit on the page).

This was an amazingly layered story and the simple one line synopsis doesn't do it justice.  I think that is true for a lot of horror books where the plot can be given in just a line or two but the actual book has so much more complexity and depth.  This was one of those books that I heard a ton of hype about when it came out so I chose to give it a bit of a rest before I read it to calm down any over-hyped expectations.  While I did really enjoy the story, it wasn't quite what I was expecting given what I'd heard from other reviews.  Looking back, I think this is just a difference in reading tastes where I think a lot of people who might not usually read horror were really affected by the story and thus talked a lot about it.  Because of this, I was expecting the book to be a little more shocking and horrifying than what I experienced while reading. However, this book is pretty much my preferred brand of horror (supernatural/gore) so I just think I wasn't as shocked as other readers because I've read books with similar levels/types of horror elements.

I really liked the way the horror elements were revealed throughout the story - unflinching would be putting it lightly. We the reader are not shielded or protected from the horror elements in any way.  The descriptions are clear and almost clinical with how graphic they are.  This allowed the reader a little bit of emotional distance from the events, but not so much distance that we could sort of glaze over what happened. There is a really good mix of supernatural horror and gore elements to the story where the underlying plot is really elevated by these spiritual/supernatural elements. The gore is horrific enough, but the stakes are raised because we know that it was this spiritual entity that put the wheels in motion to cause that gore.  I also appreciated how early on we get the full details of what happened during the hunting trip ten years prior.  We aren't left guessing until the climax at 80%, we find out around the 25% point.  This, again, adds another element to the horror where the reader knows what is going on but we have to watch the characters on page knowing they don't know the whole truth behind what is happening.  In contrast to the clinical descriptions that allow the reader some distance, we get sections that are written in second person which draw the reader into the story.  The constant sort of push-pull tension this creates is really great and I think listening to this as an audiobook would be really interesting to see how that comes across.

The one element of the book that I didn't really like was the overall structure.  Since we are following all four men in this story, I was expecting their stories or chapters to be intermingled.  Like we get a chapter about person A and then a chapter about person B etc.  However, we get the story of one of the men in the prologue, then the next 45% or so is another man, then the last two men are more intertwined because they are spending time together.  I understand plot wise that since the entity is only following one of the men at a time why the reader is only with one man at a time.  However, I found it a jarring when the story would just flip to a new character after we spent so long with another one.  It felt to me like the book was almost more of a short story collection where the story of each man was connected but overall separate. I did like the second half where we did get alternating chapters of the two men and that's the sort of structure I was expecting the rest of the story to be.  I do think the sense of dread we got each time we switched characters was well done because we just saw what happened with the previous character so we have an idea of what's coming next.  But I felt some of that tension was lost because then we have to spend time getting to know this new character and what his life is like before we get back into the horror.  I can see the pros and cons of this narrative structure choice and I think it just comes down to a matter of opinion on if this was the most effective way for the story to be told. 

The atmosphere throughout this book was amazing.  Obviously, this is a horror book so it isn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows but the book does not pull any punches. There is this creeping, sinking dread that grows through the first half of the book as we find out what happened 10 years ago and we start to suspect what is happening now.  There are a lot of moving parts and questionable narrators happening in the first half so as the reader, we can't quite get a handle on what is going on.  Then, once the truth is shown to the reader, the tension changes from the question of 'what is happening' to the reader hoping that the next character is able to survive.  With this change in the plot, the atmosphere also changes from a sort of creepy, unsettling atmosphere to one of inescapable despair because as much as we'd like the characters to make it out we know that isn't very likely. I loved in the second half that the reader knows more about what is going on than the characters and that internal tension in the reader really heightens the tension on the page.  One example of this is the entity explaining in a few scenes that if the man looked a little to the left or if he walked just a little farther that they'd see the entity but they don't and it is that feeling of almost that gets really played up during the later parts of the story. 

I thought the choices around the characters in this story were really interesting. They weren't really the typical horror protagonist archetypes.  In fact, on paper, they were wholly unremarkable. I think a lot of the time for these sort of revenge stories we see the characters do a bad thing, then they go on to be somewhat successful and then part of the revenge is their fall from that success.  Or, alternately, the characters end up worse off after doing the bad thing and then they might get a redemption arc of sorts.  However, in this case, all of the men seem to be leading pretty mediocre lives - they aren't doing horribly, but they also aren't thriving.  This sort of middle of the road type of character also leaves the readers in a bit of a middle position where we don't (or at least I didn't) feel super strongly about the characters one way or the other.  We aren't rooting for the evil protagonist to get his fall from grace or for the down on his luck character to be forgiven.  Without super strong feelings on either side, I was left just watching the events unfold.  The only time I got super emotionally invested is when side characters who weren't involved in the initial hunting party were pulled into the revenge.  I think this characterization choice was interesting because most people in real life end up more in the middle.  It really made these characters seem more realistic because they're just normal people.  They made a bad choice back in the day, faced consequences back then for that choice, and moved on with their lives the best that they could - the exact progression I think a lot of people can relate to. We also got enough backstory on the characters to see their potential going forward which made it all the more heartbreaking to see those characters lose.

Overall, this was a really great slow burn type of horror book - great atmosphere, characters, and horror elements all wrapped up together.

Romance Wrap-up 6/1/21 to 6/15/21

 Vicious - Vi Carter

This is the first book in the Wild Irish series and follows 2 brothers in the O'Reagan crime family.  The first 25% of the story follows Finn as he quickly meets and falls for Siobhan.  The rest of the story follows Shane and Una.  I'll admit, this structure was not my favorite and it really felt like there were 2 romances shoved into one book but since Finn's story was only 25%, it really didn't feel like it belonged.  I initially thought the book would maybe hop between the two brothers more, but in Shane's 75%, Finn almost doesn't show up at all.  Finn's story was extremely underdeveloped for my liking (it was only 100 pages at most) and I really think it would have been better off being a separate book in the series. I thought Shane and Una's story was much more developed and better explored.  They are step siblings but their parents have been divorced for years. Una comes back to the O'Reagan's house to escape her life and figure out what she actually wants to do and not just what her mom is telling her.  We know from both their POVs that they've been crushing on each other for years but Shane had always kept Una an arms length away. The two eventually grow closer after Shane rescues Una numerous times and they admit their feelings for each other.  There was pretty good chemistry between the two of them, but I think the book was overall light on characterization and the relationship development. I think this book does introduce the reader well to all the members of the family but there are a good number of characters so they are all sort of developed to the same level.  

Mercenary - Bella Di Corte

This is the third and final book in the Gangsters of New York series and follows Corrado and Alcina.  Corrado is determined to find and kill the last remaining member of the family that killed his biological father and to do that, he first needs to find a woman in hiding and trade her for information. Alcina is in hiding after defending herself from her abusive husband and his family wants revenge.  Corrado and Alcina have a lot in common and a lot of chemistry.  The two fall in love quickly and get married.  As they return to New York so Corrado can take over the family business, his determination to find this mysterious man is driving a wedge in his marriage and if he isn't careful, he'll lose Alcina forever.  I thought this was a really nice wrap up to the trilogy and we get some interaction with all 3 couples.  The mob side of the book wraps up some loose ends and ties everything together nicely.  There is a crash course family tree type thing at the beginning of the book with all the different connections, but I really would recommend reading the books in order and in fairly quick succession unless you have a really great memory.  I really liked the different stages Corrado and Alcina's relationship went through during their romance.  This book takes place over a few years so we really see them go from that honeymoon phase to a more realistic relationship that has struggles and complications. I think a lot of romance books end while still in the honeymoon phase and it was nice to see a really solid depiction of how relationships can be hard work after all the newness has worn off.

Dark Russian Angel - Odette Stone

This story follows Andrusha and Olivia.  He's a Russian crime boss, she's a down on her luck dancer who happened to witness a murder by the biggest baddest crime boss in the area.  After the police fail to keep her safe, Olivia ends up under Andrusha's protection until she can testify.  Of course, the two end up falling in love and when the time comes to fight against the baddest crime boss in the Vancouver area, they hope their love can weather the storm.  This book was pretty much my perfect mafia romance.  It felt like a pretty even split between the romance and the crime elements.  I do wish we got a little more information on exactly what sort of crime boss Andrusha is and how he runs his operation, but we do see him interacting with a number of his own men as well as meeting with the local friendly crime bosses to figure out how to handle threats.  He's the definition of reluctant hero, but once he decides to listen to his gut and protect Olivia, he's all in. I found their chemistry really well built and the two seemed almost like equals despite the fact that he's technically keeping her captive until the trial. I thought the cast of side characters were also well developed and helped show more of the Andrusha or Olivia's character through these side characters.

Close Quarters - Kandi Steiner

This story follows amateur photographer Aspen and her boyfriend's billionaire boss, Theo.  Aspen's boyfriend got a job as a member of the crew on Theo's yacht for the summer sailing around the Mediterranean Sea.   Aspen was going to be touring around Europe on her own this summer when Theo invites her to stay onboard as his personal photographer.  It is an offer too good to refuse.  Theo and Aspen grow closer and her and her boyfriend grow apart.  She's an introvert, he's out all night partying with the crew.  But when Aspen and Theo finally get together, there's a chance it could all go down in flames.  Kandi Steiner really manages to pack so much emotion into her books - it is really incredible.  I'm not usually someone who likes much angst at all in my romance books and Kandi is the queen of angst so I pick my books from her carefully.  This had lots of mutual pining, but I wouldn't call it a heavy angst book.  The backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea was incredibly romantic and who wouldn't love a summer-long vacation on a luxury yacht?  My favorite part, hands down, is Aspen.  She's a true, textbook level, introvert who tries her best to blend into the background.  Theo is the first person to see her - really see her, and it is obvious how much that means to her.  The same can be said for how Aspen treats Theo - like he's an actual person and not just a bank account.  The two come together in the most perfect puzzle piece sort of way that they just work together so well they can't imagine coming apart.  

Mr. Nice Guy - Belinda Williams

This is the first book in the Pierce Brothers series and follows youngest Tom and his friend's little sister, Chelsea. Chelsea moved in with Tom after moving away from home 3 years ago.  After Chelsea's latest boyfriend turns out to be yet another jerk, her friend says Chelsea needs to find a nice guy to date.  Tom agrees to be her 'trial nice guy' for a week. For seven days, he'll show her how dating an actually nice guy can be in hopes that she'll give nice guys a chance. As the week progresses and both start to see the other in a new light, this nice guy might be naughtier than expected. This story was basically just one big checklist of tropes I love - brother's best friend, friends to lovers, only one bed, fake dating! I really liked Tom's character and how he proved the nice guys aren't boring doormats, but rather considerate partners.  He and Chelsea had great chemistry, even when they were talking more so as friends in the beginning of the book. I really loved Chelsea and her character growth throughout the book and that, while Tom encouraged some of that growth like going back to school, she pursued it all on her own.  I thought Tom's main conflict was interesting, especially because that's a flaw I've seen before in heroines in romance books, not so much the heroes. Both Tom and Chelsea have some bad relationship habits to break in this story, luckily they are perfect for each other.  I do wish we would have seen a bit more of their dynamic before the fake dating arrangement (which gets set up in the first few pages).  I was a bit confused at times at just how close they were before because they grew up together and have been living together for 3 years, but there were some lines that indicated they didn't interact much and both kept to themselves. 

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.  Expected publication date is June 28, 2021.

Heart of the Steal - Avon Gale and Roan Parrish

 

This story follows FBI Art Crimes agent Will and billionaire art thief Vaughn.  The two meet at a party and the attraction is instant.  Vaughn steals a painting from the party and leaves it at Will's door with an invitation to meet again.  Will plays life by the books, most things to him are either black or white, good or bad.  Vaughn lives his life in the grey area of bending rules and using his money and influence for good.  The two have an undeniable connection, but with conflicting jobs and life outlooks, can they find a way to be together?  I was expecting this to be more along the lines of Catch Me If You Can but as a M/M romance.  It was that for about the first 30% and then it was a pretty standard billionaire romance after that.  I still enjoyed the story, but I was hoping for a bit more of the sexy cops and robbers element. This was pretty much the definition of opposites attract which I really liked, especially how the characters just worked together so well despite their differences.  I think the authors did a great job of showing Will and Vaughn both compromising on some things and understanding the other person's view point.  The chemistry was burning hot but there were still a ton of sweet moments of them just being together.  

It Happened One Summer - Tessa Bailey

 This story follows Piper - a Los Angeles socialite who got into trouble one too many times so her step father sent her away to a small coastal town in Washington state where her father left her a bar after his death. There, she meets local fisherman captain Brendan who seems to think she won't last a single night in town.  But the two keep running into each other, Brendan unable to keep from helping her out of any sort of trouble and able to see through her defenses.  The longer she stays in town and the more time she spends with Brendan, the more Piper starts to wonder if going back to LA is really what she wants and if maybe she's found her true self in Washington instead.  This book was perfection.  This is my first Tessa Bailey read and I'll be picking up more for sure.  My absolute favorite trope is grumpy vs sunshine and it is *chefs kiss* done so well in this book.  Piper does come across in the very beginning as a little shallow and spoiled but we are quickly shown she is more than that though her interactions with her more down-to-earth sister and her determination to prove everyone wrong. Along the same lines, Brendan is very rude during his initial interaction with Piper, but we see from his POV chapters that he was instantly attracted to her and doesn't know how to handle his feelings.  He has routines for his routines but she doesn't fit neatly into any of the boxes he's built himself a life on. Their chemistry is electrifying and while Brendan leans into being a possessive alpha hero (which I love!), he is also very upfront and clear about his feelings and intentions and the two talk through their concerns. That talking also extends into the bedroom with some of the best written dirty talk I've ever read. 

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.  Expected publication date is July 13. 2021.

The Sweetest Oblivion - Danielle Lori

This story follows Elena, first daughter to a mafia boss, and Nico, boss of another group.  Due to some transgressions on her part, eldest daughter Elena was deemed by her father to be not marriage material so her younger sister is chosen to marry Nico.  They'd both heard rumors of the other, but once they meet in person, Elena and Nico butt heads as their hearts pound.  Nico is suddenly around all the time and, despite knowing better, Elena can't help but push his buttons.  The attraction and flirting is fun, but both know he's marrying the other sister.  This was a fantastic mafia romance and I can't wait to continue in the series. I've found with most of the mafia romances I read that the couple usually gets together pretty quickly (arranged marriage, captor/captive situation, etc).  But since Nico was arranged to marry Elena's sister, it gave them time to sort of get to know each other like a couple in a contemporary romance.  The sexual tension because of the premise and the marriage situation was fantastic.  It also allowed them to get to know each other in a more informal way where Elena wasn't too concerned with keeping up appearances with Nico since he was sort of off limits. Of course, this meant that when they actually got together, that they went from 0 to 60 in no time. Usually the relationship in these mafia romances is the type where the couple gets married for business but falls in love after the fact.  In this case, Elena and Nico start falling when they couldn't have each other which just makes the payoff when they get together so much better.

I Bite She Sucks - Penelope Bloom

This story follows Riggs and Sylvie.  Sylvie is immunocompromised and pretty much stays in her bubble of her apartment she shares with her older sister. Riggs is an ex-werewolf alpha that just wants to be left alone and out of the conflict brewing between vampires and werewolves.  However, when Sylvie's sister is turned by a rogue vampire in the hopes of later turning Sylvie to cure her, the vampires want the sisters dead and Riggs volunteers himself as their protector.  Learning about these secret supernatural societies as well as being exposed to all the germs of the world suddenly leave Sylvie pretty sick and Riggs steps up to nurse her back to health.  As the two grow closer, they have to plan not only how to handle the vamps that want Sylvie dead, but also how to handle their relationship - especially if Sylvie turns vampire and Riggs as a werewolf.  While this isn't a direct sequel to Bloom's first paranormal romance (Kiss Kiss Fang Fang), it does take place in the same world a little while after the first book. I do think this book does a good job with the world building and working in the backstory to the overall conflict so reading the first book isn't strictly necessary (although, I do recommend because it is just really cute and fun).  This is grumpy vs sunshine the paranormal version and I really enjoyed it.  I loved how optimistic and sharp Sylvie is and how grumpy and protective Riggs is and their dynamic together is just perfect.  There are a lot of characters in this book and I did have a hard time keeping everyone straight in my mind at times. They get introduced pretty quickly and the names are a bit too similar for my brain to separate.  I also thought Sylvie's sister was more underdeveloped than I would have liked considering the sisters are supposed to be pretty much inseparable. I also want to point out that our main character has some sort of un-named genetic condition that weakens her immune system.  Her sister gets turned into a vamp specifically with the goal of then being able to turn Sylvie so she is cured of her condition.  While this isn't the exact route the plot takes, Sylvie does end up being turned and thus cured of her genetic condition.  At the end of the day, it is her choice and she readily accepts the change but it did feel like it was edging a little into the 'magical cure' area that might bother some readers so I wanted to point it out.

 

Dream Girl - Laura Lippman

 

This story follows novelist Gerry Andersen after an accident leaves him bedridden for a few months.  He's completely dependent on his assistant, his night nurse, and the medications he takes.  His mother died recently and he moved from NYC back to his hometown of Baltimore. He has all the time in the world to think and reflect on his 70+ years of life.  However, being at home isn't as peaceful as it seems.  His ex-girlfriend persistently shows up to try and get money or a place to stay out of Gerry and he starts receiving troubling phone calls claiming to be the main character from his popular novel - Dream Girl. Between flashbacks to his past, these confusing phone calls, and learning more about his assistant and nurse, we get a good picture of who Gerry is but the truth isn't always so clear.  TW/CW: sexual assault

This was a big miss for me - there are tons of 5-star reviews on Goodreads where people found Gerry and his story compelling and thrilling and they were unable to put this book down.  I found it to be completely the opposite.  This read to me like a literary fiction book that decided at the end to go back through and put in some thriller elements.  Lit Fic is not my genre and while I have found some thriller/mysteries that have a lit-fic writing style that I really enjoyed, this is not one of them.  I was hoping this would be Misery mixed with Rear Window but that isn't what I got.  I think the book was fine, but it mostly just wasn't for me.  If mostly lit-fic with a side of thriller is your jam, then I think this is a good book to try out.

I think the part of the story this book did the best with is Gerry's characterization.  Which, when the whole story is one guy stuck in a bed, characterization is pretty key.  We get a lot of his life through flashbacks that jump through time.  We get him as a boy, in college, through his 3 marriages, and when he's a professor. This is a very well developed and deep look at Gerry and from that perspective, it was incredibly well done.  At time, especially in the first half, this felt more like a character study than anything else.  I was trying to pay attention because I was hoping these random stories about these various things that happened through his life would come back and be important to the mystery aspect (and they were).  Gerry is also a somewhat unlikable character which I actually really appreciated.  I personally like when protagonists are unlikable because I find them more compelling and realistic.  In this case, Gerry was unlikable in the exact way as to grate on my nerves so much when I was reading.  He came off as arrogant, entitled, dismissive, and just generally sort of a jerk.  Readers who want the main characters to be likeable need not read this book.  The other side characters felt really underdeveloped and almost caricatures at times which fits with how I think Gerry would view them. I would get so incredibly frustrated with Gerry that I had to remind myself he was just a fictional character - which is probably the highest praise I could give to this type of book.

I think if this was marketed as a sort of lit-fic story about a man looking back over his life and maybe having to rectify a few situations, then I would say this was a success.  However, this was partly marketed as a mystery/thriller and on that side, I'd say the book was a pretty big miss for me.  The thriller elements, in theory, would be really interesting and engaging.  A bed-bound man getting mysterious and somewhat threatening phone calls from a mystery woman.  What will happen when she arrives?  Is Gerry in danger?  What does this woman want from him?  The tension is practically built into the very concept of getting mysterious phone calls.  But for me, the pacing and choices made with the thriller beats made it pretty dead in the water.  It felt like the first half of the story was just the flashbacks to Gerry's life and then the thriller/mystery of these phone calls really came in way too late in the story for me and then was resolved really quickly.  I wanted the thrills to escalate, the danger to grow, maybe some mysterious physical threats as well.  It felt like we got like 3 phone calls that were all really similar, something big happened, and then we found out the truth all in a pretty small section of the book. I'll be honest, I almost put the book down at 80% when we found out the truth of what is going on because it had absolutely no pay off for me.  Like, a character just explains what has been happening.  In my mystery/thrillers, I want the protagonist to figure stuff out, to put the pieces together, to 'win' at least at some points.  I didn't get any of those points from the thriller/mystery elements of this story and it really just took the wind out of my sails entirely.

I thought the flashbacks were interesting and did a good job building momentum as the book progressed.  I acknowledge the difficulty building pacing, momentum, and tension when the protagonist is just laying in a bed recuperating.  I liked that we were hopping around and following multiple points in Gerry's life which helped me feel more engaged in the story.  If this was just a linear history of Gerry's life, I probably would  have put the book down.  I did find myself more interested in certain other plot lines more so the main timeline of Gerry and the phone calls so that was interesting.  I also liked that a good amount (but not all) of these past plot lines intersect with the current plot line/mystery line so there was some payoff there.  That being said, I feel like if the pacing was a little tighter and if some of the less important past timeline scenes got cut, the payoff of how these lines came together in the end would have been much greater.

Overall, my thoughts on this book fell into the category of 'not for me'.  I can see how some other readers could find this story super compelling and interesting but it just wasn't clicking for me.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review

Expected publication is July 1, 2021. 

These Violent Delights - Micah Nemerever

 

This story follows two college students - Paul and Julian - in 1970s Pittsburgh as they meet, fall into a relationship, and spiral downward together until there is no turning back. Paul is the quiet student, insecure and sensitive, from a single parent household.  Julian is the opposite - effortlessly charming and wealthy.  The two strike up an unlikely friendship that quickly turns to more.  Their relationship burns hot and quick and, in an effort to keep them together, they commit an act of violence together so they would always have something to bind them.  However, that single act ends up driving a wedge between them and the two may never recover. CW/TW: suicide, toxic relationship, animal death

From the description, I was thinking this book would sort of be along the same lines as a Bonnie and Clyde type dynamic but it was so much more than that.  We spend a lot of time getting to know Paul both before and during his relationship with Julian. There is so much emotion built into the story but done in such a way as to also build up the tension.  The character work in this regard is fantastic - there is so much history that we don't get to see before the story starts but we can see the ripples changing the current story.  Paul and Julian's relationship in the 1970s is frowned upon at best.  Paul's father committed suicide and his mother is trying to do her best raising Paul and his sister while also balancing her own grief and societal expectations.  In the end, she just wants her son to be happy and safe and she's just trying her best.  I also liked how integral Paul's family was to the plot.  I think in a lot of stories with younger protagonists, the families are often very distant (I know this is a running joke with many YA books, for example). In this case, I really liked how the family element was, at different times, working with and against Paul and Julian's relationship.  It adds an extra layer of characterization and, later, tension in the story that is so naturally integrated because of the parent/child relationship.  

The pacing was phenomenal.  The book opens with them getting into a car with another person and there's a vaguely threatening atmosphere so we know where the story is headed.  We don't see the outcome of the situation with the other man but we get the feeling it isn't good. Then, we flash back to Paul and Julian meeting in ethics class for the first time and the story progresses linearly from there.  I think the choice of having the opening scene be so explicitly dangerous was a great choice because as we see the little cracks form in Paul and their relationship as the story ramps up, the reader has that scene in mind.  Smaller events that may ordinarily be brushed off or not really thought a lot about suddenly become more important because the reader is thinking "is this how it starts?" We get this small glimpses and escalating actions that ramp up to the central climax of the story and then we have to deal with the fall out which is somehow even more tense than the build up.  In the last third of the story, I was really getting the same feeling like when you see Romeo and Juliet for the first time - you know exactly how this is going to end (badly) but you can't help hoping that this time, just this one time, the characters will end up fine and that hope really keeps you turning the pages.  We don't know how Paul and Julian's story will end, but from the tone and the events so far, it doesn't feel like it will be a good one but both the reader and the characters are holding on to the hope that things will work out.

The prose leaned way more into the literary fiction sphere than I was expecting.  I was expecting this to be more along the lines of a thriller centered around a toxic relationship.  I think the more lit-fic elements were worked in really well with the atmosphere of dread I got while reading.  The prose was beautiful and, at times, veered into 'flowery' but a lot of times these beautiful prose moments were discussing some of the darkest points of the story.  The balance was fantastic and as someone who doesn't really love stereotypical lit-fic prose or style, this hit the perfect mix for me. It reminded me a lot of The Taxidermist's Lover by Polly Hall, which was my favorite book I read last year.  It also had a very similar hauntingly beautiful writing style and very macabre subject matter.

This story is told from Paul's POV and it was interesting to see one side of a toxic and obsessive relationship.  They never really use the label of 'boyfriends' but they spend all their time together, are intimate together, and love each other.  Both have and are struggling to deal with their own baggage and how they can grow into their own selves. At first, we see Paul as this quiet, reserved guy and it almost seems like Julian brings Paul out of his shell.  But as we see more of their relationship dynamic, it isn't clear exactly if they are changing each other or if they just finally have someone they can be their true selves around.  It is an interesting sort of slippery slope they find themselves in where once they start going down the wrong path together, they can't stop and turn back.  By the climax of the story, it really feels that Paul is mostly driving the actions they take and we get his reasoning why since we are in his POV.  I think getting Julian's POV on these events would have been really interesting because it sure seemed that he was the less-invested of the two at least in regards to their plans together.  Julian has a lot of his own family problems that we don't get to see first hand because we're always filtered through Paul's view of Julian.  I think a lot of times with these types of stories we would get both POVs to see how each side feels about the events or how things are working out but in this case we only get Julian filtered through Paul's view which I really enjoyed.  This way, when Paul was questioning Julian's feelings or actions, we the reader were questioning right along side because we had no more information than Paul did - more layers of tension.

Overall, this was a fantastic read - a haunting, beautiful, macabre, heartbreaking, emotional journey of a first relationship that crosses a line and tries so hard to go back to how things were before.

Romance Wrap-up 5/16/21 - 5/31/21

 Extra Whip - L.A. Witt

 This is the 8th book in the Bold Brew series and follows married couple Will and Aaron.  They've been together for 20 years and are in a monogamous D/s relationship.  However, after finding out that Aaron is interested in more pain than Will is able to give, they start looking for an additional play partner.  Kelly is the unicorn Will and Aaron are looking for and after meeting up, the three find their desires line up pretty perfectly.  Despite the ground rules the three agreed upon, emotions start getting involved and feelings develop.  Will and Aaron had always said they weren't into poly, but maybe they could be flexible if it keeps Kelly around.  I really enjoyed this book.  It was my first married couple romance and I'd like to read more of that trope.  I really liked how solid of a couple Will and Aaron are and how it was very obvious that Kelly isn't coming in as a band-aid solution for a bigger problem.  I also really enjoyed how Kelly's relationship developed with both Will and Aaron separately as he spent more time with each of them alone.  This is a long book - almost 500 pages - and a good amount of it is spent outside the bedroom.  We get chapters from the POV of all 3 characters and each of them have their own struggles outside the relationship.  There's a good amount of focus on building the emotional connection between all the characters while their clothes are on which I really liked.  The kink scenes were great and I really liked the amount of emotional care that all the characters took after the scene was finished.  I really believed in them as a romantic unit which is really all you can ask for from a romance.

Mad About Ewe - Susannah Nix

This story follows Dawn and Mike, both fairly recently divorced, as they reconnect before their 30 year high school reunion.  Both have a bit of baggage left over from their past relationships and at 48 years old, habits are hard to break. But reconnecting now brings back the feelings from high school and maybe it is finally time for these two to have their happy ending.  Overall, I thought the premise was really cute but this ended up being pretty lacking in what I was expecting from the execution.  For example, this book is marketed as a 'second chance romance' but when the 'first chance' was Dawn asking Mike out to a movie 30 years ago and him saying no and then they both move on with their lives, it didn't really feel like there was enough history for a 'second chance'.  Also, these characters didn't read like 48 year olds who had been married already.  They really read more like 23 year olds coming back from college.  I think Dawn and Mike worked really well together and I thought they had some good character growth outside the relationship.  However, the story just didn't really hit where I think it was aiming.  I think if there were some more flashbacks to high school days where we could see teenage Dawn and Mike interacting, that would have helped show the history and tension more so than just Dawn remembering being embarrassed when he rejected her back in the day.  

Bossy - N.R. Walker

This story follows Michael and Bryson - both very successful business men - as they meet at a bar and hook up one night.   They both agree to see each other again the next weekend with no strings (or names) attached.  However, uncomplicated no strings attached sex only lasts so long when they start to spend more time together and slowly reveal parts of their lives to the other.  Their professional lives soon intersect unexpectedly and they need to decide how to move forward.  I really liked this book and Michael and Bryson as a couple.  It has basically no angst which I wasn't expecting given the summary but I don't normally like super angsty books so I was very pleased with that development.  I also liked the amount of side character interaction we got - especially Bryson's friends and father.  This was on the shorter side of romance books for me (277 pages) but I thought the pacing worked out really well.  I thought the relationship grew realistically and loved how Michael and Bryson really seemed to click from the get-go and just really worked together.  The epilogue was super cute and I just really loved everything about this book.  

Fall into Temptation - Lucy Score

This is the second book in the Blue Moon series and follows mayor Beckett Pierce and yoga instructor Gianna. Gianna recently moved to Blue Moon with her two kids after a divorce and is renting out Beckett's guest house.  Her and Beckett have an instant connection but they both agree it would be too much of a complication.  However, the connection is too strong to fight and the two eventually fall hard and fast for each other.  But when Gianna's ex husband comes to town, it will take the residents of Blue Moon banding together to get Beckett and Gianna to realize they are meant to be.  I really loved this book and Becket and Gianna's relationship.  The chemistry between these two coming off the pages was super hot and they are one of those book couples that just obviously belong together.  I really liked how we also got a good amount of follow up with the couple from the first book (that hero is Beckett's brother).  The town of Blue Moon is great and all the colorful characters that live there really help build out this series.  I'm not a super fan of kids in books, but I thought Gianna's two kids were written really well although her oldest read more like 15-16 years old at times when he was only 12.  I also liked how there was a good amount of character development outside of the relationship with Beckett finally coming to terms with his mom dating again after his dad died years ago. Overall, this was just a great read and I can't wait to continue in the series.

Only Him - Melanie Harlow

This is the second book in the One and Only series and follows Maren and Dallas.  The two dated in high school until one day senior year Dallas left without saying a word.  Twelve years later, he shows up on Maren's doorstep to apologize and the two fall back together like no time has passed at all.  Only problem is Dallas is keeping a secret - one big enough that he feels like is big enough to threaten their happiness again and maybe he should leave and let her fall in love with someone else. This is a second chance romance which aren't usually my cup of tea.  However, Melanie Harlow is an insta-buy author so I figured if anyone can do it, she can.  And while I think this book was fine, I just really think this trope isn't for me.  I did like how we got bits of information about Maren and Dallas's relationship in high school without having actual flashback chapters and I understand that 12 years have passed so both of them have done a lot of growing up.  However, the characterization was a miss for me at the beginning and I didn't understand what these two characters saw in each other now.  Like they have both gone through so much in the past 12 years so I wanted them to take some time to get to know the new Maren and new Dallas but it seems like they just came back together so easily because they hadn't changed at all since they were 17 and I just didn't really like that.  I did like the conflict in the story and how integral both Maren and Dallas's families were with them finally getting their happy ending.  The chemistry was off the charts and it was obvious that both characters were head over heals in love.  I just wanted a bit more character development.  Maybe just little things changing where Maren thought Dallas liked/didn't like X but he's changed his mind now or something like that.

Drop Dead Gorgeous - Lauren Landish

This romance/mystery follows county coroner Zoey and life insurance salesman Blake as they find themselves investigating a death under questionable circumstances.  Zoey, known to most residents in the town as Drop Dead Gorgeous, has a reputation for being unlucky and anyone who gets close to her ends up injured or dead.  Because of this, she's pretty much an outcast and spends most of her time either at work, at home with her brother, or with her best friend.  Blake is a charismatic and nerdy insurance salesman who knows a ton of random facts and statistics and he falls head over heels for Zoey.  The two meet after a traffic accident and realize they are both working on the same recently deceased person.  Questionable lab results and a pushy widow trying to force an early life insurance payout get Zoey and Blake thinking there might be more to this death than meets the eye.  I really liked the balance this book had between the mystery investigation and the romance.  Blake pretty much falls in love with Zoey instantly and sees her for the funny, quirky, kind person she is.  He's furious that pretty much everyone else in town treats her like some sort of supernatural creature who can kill you with just a look.  Zoey, unfortunately, has internalized a lot of these reactions and Blake makes it his mission to show her that she's worth more than what these townspeople give her.  I really enjoyed their banter and random trivia facts - they are both a little nerdy and odd but work together so effortlessly.  I thought the mystery element was well plotted and while not as twisty as a straight mystery/thriller would be, I really enjoyed it.  Overall, this was a really fun and cute mystery romance that, while it is a little over the top at times, has a lot of heart.  (Also, I have a real soft spot for romance heroes/heroines with non-traditional jobs)

 

Happy Trail - Daisy Prescott

This is the first book in the Park Ranger series and follows Ranger Jay Daniels and hiker Olive Perry.  The two meet when an early snow storm forces them off the Appalachian Trail and into an old cabin for a few days.  Jay is a loner who is happy with his life as a ranger and getting to spend lots of time out in the woods.  Olive is from a prestigious family and grew up in the lime light.  She's broken off numerous engagements and ended up hiking the Appalachian Trail alone after her most recent boyfriend proposed and then left when she rejected him.  But in a small cabin in the Tennessee wilderness, both Jay and Olive can just be themselves and end up falling for each other pretty quickly.  I really liked Jay and Olive's interactions and growth together as they both opened up to each other over time.  Stuck in the cabin with a stranger is one of my favorite set ups so I was a little disappointed that we only got that setting for 2 days.  We follow Olive's months of hiking before she even meets Jay and while I liked that we see her character development over those months, I do wish we had gotten more of her interactions with her family and friends to see how hiking the trail for months changed her.  I was expecting a lot more conflict with her 'old life' back in NYC and her 'new life' in rural Tennessee but we don't really get any of that.  I did appreciate that this story had very low angst and how happy Jay and Olive were once they finally got together.  I liked that most of the relationship building was done through actually just getting to know each other and not just pure physical attraction considering how little time they actually spent together (there wasn't more than a kiss until like the 85% mark).