I'd Like to Play Alone, Please - Tom Segura

 

This collection of stories highlight some of the more ridiculous situations stand-up comedian Tom Segura has found himself in over the years.  The stories span decades and touch on all different levels of his career.  There's a mix of celebrity encounters, days of youth, his life on the road, and a lot of points in between - all told in Segura's signature grumpy delivery. 

I overall really enjoyed my time reading this and I was glad that it was written so clearly in Segura's voice.  I've been a fan of his for a few years and regularly watch his content.  I'm familiar enough with his speaking pattern that I could really hear his voice in my head while i was reading.  I've seen that he is reading the audiobook and while I haven't heard that, I would expect him reading these stories would be the best way to consume this content.  There were a few stories that I've heard him tell before on various podcast episodes, but the majority of the content was new to me. Segura is an excellent storyteller and I think his timing of where and when to add in the little details vs a punchline are spot on.  He's one of those comedians where I like re-watching his specials/podcast episodes because going back and seeing the set up is almost better the second time around. Humor is so subjective but I find his style of stand-up and writing to be pretty widely liked as he doesn't have a very outlandish style or gimmick (in my opinion, at least).

I think the description of this being a "collection of stories" rather than essays or an  autobiography was really spot on.  There are some stories that have a bit of a lesson in them or are particularly poignant but there are just as many that seem to be added in just for the laughs - which is what I was expecting from a comedian.  I enjoyed how the stories spanned Segura's life and his career path instead of just focusing on when he became successful.  While we do get some chapters with Segura and his parents or his children, most of the stories are not family-specific.  Which, again, makes sense considering he tours often for his career and is thus away from home for a good portion of time. Despite there not really being any hard though-line or message in this collection, I think Segura does succeed at humanizing his on-stage persona.  Even with the stories I've heard before, he adds in a little extra insight which helps elevate those stories to the next level.

As a note, Segura is not a 'clean' comic and so he does use strong language at times.  He's had his share of controversies in the past in regards to the language he uses - specifically his use of 'retarded' in one of his stand-up specials.  There is a whole chapter in this dedicated to this word (he calls it his favorite word) so I wanted to point it out in case any readers would want to steer clear of that chapter.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and it was exactly what I was hoping it would be - a bunch of stories from a guy who is really good at telling stories.  I think this would be even better listening to the audiobook to hear Segura tell them himself.

Thanks NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC

Expected publication date is June 14, 2022

Deep Water - Emma Bamford

 This suspense opens with Virginie and her husband Jake as their distress signal is picked up by a Navy patrol vessel in the Indian Ocean.  Once aboard, Virginie recounts the dream life of living aboard a yacht and exploring the seas and how it turned into a nightmare. They began in a small harbor in Malaysia when they heard about a small, isolated, island renowned for its beauty.  When they arrive weeks later, they find they are not the only ones there.  A small group of visitors have set up a community - complete with guidelines to keep everyone content and safe.  However, tensions begin to rise between group members and when a few disasters strike one after the other, they push the group past the tipping point. 

TW/CW: death of a spouse, death of a child, miscarriage, sickness of a pet (no death), medical trauma

I know it takes 3 to make a pattern, but between this and Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, I'm finding isolated tropical island suspense/thrillers really satisfying.  Isolation books are almost always trope candy for me and this was no exception.  I love the juxtaposition of having these tensions arise in a beautiful setting as well as the beauty itself be potentially deadly.  

I absolutely loved the setting and the almost horror-movie trope way that our main characters get there.  In their initial harbor where they're getting their boat ready to sail, there's one guy that tells them about this island.  He's a little annoying and a little creepy, but seemingly harmless.  However, the way the scene was written, it really felt like if this was a movie it would have had some eerie music playing under his dialogue while he goes on and on about the beauty of this island - almost trying too hard to convince Virginie and Jake to go there. This is then taken to the next level when they go to get their travel plans approved to visit this island and the official lets them know in no uncertain terms that if they get in trouble there, they are on their own.  The island is so far away that they can not radio or call for help and it isn't often that other ships pass by as it isn't on any trade or travel routes. Again, if this was a horror movie, this is the point where the viewer would think the characters are silly for not turning around and visiting some other tropical locale.

The island itself was also a fantastic mix of beautiful and creepy.  Of course, an island like this had visitors before and while staying there, Virginie learns about the specifics of this island's past.  We get a few old sailor superstitions about the island that also increase the creep factor.  I think Bamford does a good job of keeping this creepy undertone throughout the narrative, reminding the reader at just the right intervals that our characters are taking a risk by being here. We also get a few scenes where we see characters come close to experiencing the danger of the island so the reader knows these dangers are real.  Of course, these moments are balanced by a lot of rest and relaxation in the sun, surf, and sand.  There's beachy bonfires and eating the freshly caught fish each day.  The story excellently captures that feeling of time not mattering because you're on vacation and there really isn't a schedule for anything. 

I think where the book fell short, for me, was the narrative structure and tension.  We know from the description that the book opens with Virginie and Jake being rescued by a Navy ship.  We spend a few chapters with that plot line before flashing back and following the events leading up to and on the island for the majority of the book.  Then, when the island plot line catches up to the opening of the book, we have about 20% of the book left to go.  Because of this structure, we lost some potential tension immediately because we know who gets pick up off the island.  So when these characters find themselves in dangerous situations, we know for sure they'll be fine.  Also, once they get back to the mainland, there isn't much time left in the story for more things to happen.  In fact, it really felt like we were in the downswing of the story, with plot lines and character arcs wrapping up in this final 20%.  Then, there was a pretty quick introduction and resolution of a new threat that I didn't really take seriously because it was introduced so late.  Looking back, I think Bamford tried to leave breadcrumbs of this threat earlier in the story, but they were so light or so quickly brushed aside by other characters that I didn't give those points much weight.  I think the tension inside the island portion was done really well but it was the bookends of the narrative that didn't work well for me. 

I really enjoyed the characters and thought the interpersonal conflicts and tension was really well developed.  All of the characters had their own distinct personalities so they were easy enough to keep separate in my mind while reading.  We do get the typical character archetypes that we see a lot in these isolation thrillers - the grumpy loner, the smooth talker, the aloof one, the nice one, etc - but Bamford does a good job deepening their characters past these initial types.  I liked that we got to see a lot of different interactions between all the characters so we could really see the different sides to their personalities.  I think one of my favorite parts of an isolation story is that it acts as a sort of pressure cooker for human interactions.  

 Overall, this was a good read and I enjoyed the trip to the tropical island.  I do think the narrative structure choices dampened some of the suspense and tension, but the majority of the book follows the events on the island and that was where the story really shined. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC

Expected publication date is May 31, 2022

And There He Kept Her - Joshua Moehling

This mystery/thriller kicks off when two teenagers break into an old man's house in search of prescription drugs.  They expect him to be asleep, an easy target, but Emmett has secrets he wants to keep hidden using any means necessary. The next day, when the teens don't show up for school, the local deputy, Ben Packard, begins his investigation. However, when most of the clues start coming up dry, Packard will have to delve into the deeper secrets of the small town in order to find them in time.

TW/CW: death of a loved one, death of a pet, drug use, kidnapping, homophobia

Based on the description and cover, I was expecting this to be similar to the movie Don't Breathe where it was primarily focused on the old man vs the teens in the house.  However, this read much more like a typical police procedural with occasional chapters that followed the events in the house.  I was really expecting the subject matter to be much more dark on page as well.  We get characters talking about past events or threatening to take certain actions, but I never really got that really gritty, dark subject matter that I was expecting (based on the cover/title).  That being said, this was still a really great read and a well-paced mystery.  However, if someone was going into this expecting more of a thriller/horror vibe then they may be disappointed. 

I really loved the characters, especially Packard. The reader is sort of just dropped into this town as the teens are breaking in and we don't get a whole lot of character info-dump on them or anyone else.  Instead, Moehling does a great job of sprinkling in character details throughout the story and investigation.  What could have been some pretty cliche characters - teens acting out, depressed deputy, weirdo who tortures girls in his basement - turned into a really great mix of personality details and backstory.  I found Packard to be the most fleshed out of all the characters, which makes sense considering we are mostly following his investigation plot line in this story.  I really enjoyed that Packard, while he does have some trauma from his past that he's trying to ignore/work through, he doesn't fall into the depressed deputy trope.  He also doesn't go rogue and ignore procedure.  He's good at his job and the people in this small town respect him pretty well.  I'm not sure if this is only going to be a standalone novel, but I would love if this turned into a police procedural series following Packard. 

As I mentioned previously, this read more like a standard police procedural with occasional chapters flashing to the events with the teens and Emmett.  I think the dual storyline elements worked well, but I did find the chapters with Emmett to be lower tension than I was expecting.  They eventually increased in tension toward the end and, looking back, I can see how Moehling was laying the breadcrumbs to build up to Emmett's climactic moment, but in the moment it really felt like the lowest stakes version of this type of story. For the majority of Emmett's plot line, it really felt like they were just sitting around waiting for Packard to find them.  Thankfully, I was more interested in Packard's sections so I used these Emmett chapters as more of a little break.  There were a few times where the two story lines crossed but in a way that only the reader knows about (the characters involved did not know about the other story line going on) which did increase the tension.  I really enjoyed the way the two storylines came together in a really logical way.  I was afraid maybe they would connect due to being lucky or some sort of coincidence but instead a lot of the little pieces we've been following come together in the end. 

The investigation elements were really well done and I enjoyed how much the town is included in the investigation.  We really get a good sense of this small town through the investigation path and there was such a good mix of local details as well as investigation threads for Packard to follow.  Again, I think this would be really great groundwork for the first book in a series based in this small town.  I think a lot of small town mysteries fall into a cutesy almost cozy-mystery vibes which isn't always what I'm looking for.  In this case, Moehling was able to capture the feeling of a small town without veering into that overly cutesy territory. We have a really interesting cast of characters that felt like genuinely real people and not caricatures. The investigation has Packard visiting a number of different locations in town such as the local high school, the diner, and a few different homes at different areas of town.  Since the investigation is more of a missing persons case, we don't really get a whole lot of technical forensic stuff to wade through in the narrative.  Instead, the investigation mostly focuses on trying to find people who knew what the teens were up to the night they disappeared.  We do get a little bit of technical investigation when it comes to tracking cell phones and such but not as much as a typical murder-investigation police procedural. 

Overall, this wasn't nearly as dark of a story as I was expecting based on the title, cover, and description but I still ended up enjoying this. Great characters and setting as well as an intriguing investigation. I hope this becomes a series and I'd be interested in reading more from Moehling in the future.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC

Expected publication date is June 14, 2022

Mafia Romance Readaton Wrap-up

The below books were all ones I read for the Mafia Romance Readathon this year and, thus, they are all mafia romances which often have some cross-over with dark romance themes.  I've tried my best to pick out TW/CWs for them, but since I read them pretty much back to back over 4 days, I know I didn't hit every single one in the below reviews.  A number of these books contained CWs in the beginning of the book (which I always appreciate), but I wanted to give a general disclaimer that these romances often do have dark themes/settings/situations that may not be a comfy read for all readers. 

 

The Bastard's Betrayal - Katee Robert

This is the first book in the Scandalous Scions series which is the second generation of the O’Malley’s series. We're following mafia princess Rose Romanov and we see her relationship to an outsider who doesn't know anything of her mafia family. Or so she thought.  Turns out, her boyfriend is actually Dante Verducci who was sent to evaluate the Romanov family for weaknesses.  When Rose finds out the truth, she shoots Dante - twice.  She doesn't expect to see him again, especially since she's now arranged to marry another man, but Dante shows up on her wedding day and kidnaps her. I enjoyed this read but I think Robert's mafia series just might not be for me.  I read the first book in the O'Malley's series (The Marriage Contract) and I was similarly pretty middle of the road on it. I prefer my mafia romances to lean toward the dark side and venture into romantic suspense territory.  I did really enjoy the dynamic between Rose and Dante and their bickering was *chef's kiss* perfection.  I really enjoyed Rose's character development as she finally admitted to herself that she loved Dante and then had to figure out what that meant for the life she had pictured for herself going forward. This was a shorter read (230ish pages) and I think it would have been really great if we saw more of Rose and Dante's initial relationship on page.  There's a ton of both characters thinking back to their time together and wondering what parts were real and which parts were fake and I think those emotional beats would have hit a lot harder if we were actually there with them for some of it.  I do think this book does a good job of setting up the world and the web of these various mafia families. 

 TW/CW: drug abuse (not MC), kidnapping, 

Reaper - A Zavarelli

This is the second book in the Boston Underworld series and follows Sasha and Ronan.  They met three years prior, when Sasha had captured the eye of another mafia man.  Unfortunately, that other man was an abusive prick ... until he disappeared. The two share a secret, one that if ever revealed would destroy them both. Ronan doesn't speak to Sasha, but the attraction the two have is palpable.  This was a case where I really enjoyed different aspects of the story but they didn't come together well for me.  I really liked the world building and how straightforward the mafia side of the plot was.  This is the second book in the series and I hadn't read the first, but I wasn't ever lost on that side of things.  My main issue was that it felt like so much of the relationship development between Sasha and Ronan was done off page.  We get flashbacks to some of these pivotal moments between the two of them, but those moments were so important that having all of them off page felt like it undercut the emotional importance of them. Once they actually started acting on their feelings and not just brooding about them (pretty sure the first 50% of this book was brooding), I really enjoyed Sasha and Ronan together.  Ronan's backstory is intense and he's definitely working through a lot of that baggage but he's got a good friend by his side and Sasha is patient with him while he works through his feelings.  I think they worked together well and had a lot of chemistry.  There were a few plot points that I think were dropped too quickly but I wouldn't exactly call it a plot hole so I'm fine with it overall.  This is a very loved and highly rated series, so I'd be open to trying another book from it, but I'm thinking the writing style just might not be entirely for me.

TW/CW: domestic violence, child abuse, pregnancy, CSA by priest, death of a parent, cancer

The Woman in the Trunk - Jessica Gadziala

This is the first book in the Costa Family series and follows Lorenzo and Giana.  Giana's father is behind on his payments to the Costa family so Lorenzo is tasked with kidnapping Giana and holding her hostage until her father pays up.  Lorenzo is expecting a typical kidnapping victim, but instead he gets a snappy, firecracker of a woman who isn't impressed or intimidated by Lorenzo.  With them both staying in Lorenzo's apartment, there's a lot of time and attractions start to grow.  But they both know that if Giana's father doesn't pay, it could be her that pays the price.  This was pretty much the perfect mafia romance for me.  Kick ass FMC, just the right amount of alpha-hole MMC, great mafia business plot, and a fantastic cast of characters.  Lorenzo and Giana had some fantastic banter and chemistry right from the start and I loved how much she stands up to him from the get-go. I liked that we see a good amount of Lorenzo going about his daily business although I would have liked a little more of the sort of behind the scenes scheming on page.  Their relationship starts off a little odd with Lorenzo thinking Giana is 17 because she has a young face.  He is nothing but a gentleman but as soon as he finds out the truth (she's 22), he is suddenly all over her.  I got a little squicked out by this sudden flip but it happens early enough in the book that we have a ton of continuing character development to get past that one point. They have chemistry in spades and while Lorenzo may be the next in line to be Capo, he doesn't overly dominate Giana. Giana is smart, capable, and resourceful and I loved how she really kept herself together in order to save herself.  I loved the side characters and there were a good number of darkly humorous moments with them.

TW/CW: kidnapping, rape of a minor, suicide, death of a parent, torture

Dark Queen - Ker Dukey

 This standalone romance follows Luca and Alyssa.  They meet by chance when Alyssa is in NYC to audition for a ballet school scholarship.  Luca is impressed with her attitude as well as her body and unbeknownst to her, he makes arrangements to pay the tuition for her.  Alyssa ends up working at a wine bar that Luca owns and the two have explosive chemistry.  However, Luca has a suspicion that someone is killing the people closest to him so he wants to keep Alyssa away.  But when Luca's father wants to see him married before he dies, Luca and Alyssa make a deal - marriage for her schooling.  This was just middle of the road for me.  I liked the push/pull of Luca and Alyssa but I think it went on for a bit too long.  We didn't see them get together until pretty late in the book and then it wraps up pretty quickly from there.  I liked the side characters and thought the suspense plotline was pretty well plotted out.  I loved how similar Luca and Alyssa's personalities were and how well they came together - they both have a mean streak that really makes it feel like they're meant to be together.

TW/CW: sexual coercion, pregnancy, miscarriage, disordered eating

Sold to the Cartel - Simone Scarlet

This is the second book in the Knuckleheads MC series and follows Valerie and Mendoza.  Valerie is swept away to a Mexico resort by her boyfriend for a spontaneous vacation.  Only, this isn't the romantic getaway Valerie expects and soon, there's a group of men at their room picking her up and handing her boyfriend cash.  He sold her off after she saw some of his work spreadsheets - money laundering details for Mendoza.  Her photographic memory makes her a risk and her boyfriend thinks this is the best way out of a bad situation.  Only, Mendoza knows he and Valerie are in his territory and he has questions.  I want to say right away that if sexual assault is at all a sensitive topic for you - I would not recommend this book.  We have numerous sexual assaults on page including Valerie and Mendoza sexually assaulting someone else together. Them assaulting the other character is played off as getting revenge and they don't see anything wrong with their actions.  This would have been a DNF for me except that the writing and descriptions were so off the wall that it ended up being hilarious (in general, not the assault parts).  For example, Mendoza's member was described as being as long as three soda cans stacked on top of each other and just as wide.  The sexy scenes are long and detailed and I actually liked the plotline with Valerie's photographic memory. However, I think the writing was just too bonkers for me and this ended up being the kind of book where I was laughing while reading certain lines aloud to my partner.

TW/CW: sexual assault (by MCs as well as other characters), human trafficking, torture
 

Judge - Jessica Gadziala

 This is the first book in the Shady Valley Henchmen series and follows Judge - recently released from prison - and Delaney - sheltered sister of the local Irish mafia. Delaney had a crush on Judge since she first saw him but between him going to prison for 4 years and her overprotected brothers, she wasn't expecting to see him again.  So she was surprised to see him walk into the bar she worked at and even more surprised when he wanted to take her somewhere else.  She agrees and ends up losing her virginity to him.  It isn't until her brothers find him to deliver a message to stay away that Judge realizes who she is.  The two know they should stay away from each other, but they're drawn together.  I really liked this read, but I wish we got some more of the suspense plot thrown in.  We don't really have any idea something is wrong until Delaney gets attacked and afterward, the focus is on her healing.  I wish maybe Judge was investigating on his own or something to keep that plot line focused before the big climax.  I thought Judge and Delaney were actually really great together and I loved how caring he was toward her.  The side characters were well developed (which is great since this is the start of a series) and this band of bikers seemed to be pretty soft when it comes to women. 

TW/CW: stalking, assault, alcohol use, kidnapping

 

Carnal Urges - J.T. Geissinger

This is the second book in the Queens and Monsters series and follows Declan and Sloane.  Declan kidnaps Sloane at the end of the first book in the series and we pick up pretty much right from that point.  Declan blames Sloane for starting a war between the Irish and the Russians but she disagrees.  Sloane is his captive until he can figure out what, exactly, to do with her.  Sloane isn't a typical captive, she's smart, witty, and charming.  She quickly endears herself to multiple of Declan's men, much to Declan's annoyance. When her and Declan's verbal sparring turns to physical passion, both of them fear losing the other and what that means for them.  I absolutely loved this book - an instant all time favorite.  Sloane and Declan's verbal sparring was absolute perfection and I've never had so much fun reading a mafia romance.  There were some genuinely funny lines that made me laugh but the mafia plot was also really well developed. When they finally give into their attraction, it is explosive and I really enjoyed how the powerplay worked in the bedroom.  I really enjoyed the communication between Declan and Sloane and how honest they were together.  Highly recommend!

TW/CW: kidnapping, drugging, torture, sexual assault leading to pregnancy, miscarriage

Hidden Pictures - Jason Rekulak

 This mystery/horror follows recovering addict Mallory as she takes a new job babysitting a 6 year old boy, Teddy. Mallory has been sober for 18 months and her sponsor knows a family out in the suburbs who just moved back from overseas and is in need of a babysitter for the summer.  Mallory and Teddy hit it off immediately and strike up an adventurous summer filled with swimming, walking the trails in the woods behind the house, and playing out imaginary games.  During 'quiet time' Teddy likes to draw and his drawings are nothing out of the ordinary for a six year old, at first.  But as time goes on, Teddy's artwork becomes increasingly sinister including a drawing of a man dragging a woman into the woods.  With these more sinister drawings, the details are too fine for even the most gifted of six year olds and Mallory starts to think there might be some supernatural force behind everything.  But Teddy's parents are very much non-believers of anything that can't be directly explained by science so it is up to Mallory to find out the truth behind these drawings that seem to be depicting an unsolved murder from years ago.

TW/CW: drug use/abuse, opioid addiction (character in recovery), death of a child, death of a sibling, child abduction

I absolutely loved the characters in this story.  This is a very closed-circle story.  Mallory spends her days with Teddy and then lives in the guest house.  She is in a new area so doesn't have an established friend group and most of the time, if she isn't with Teddy she's alone.  Since we don't have a whole lot of side characters or side plot going on, the core characters are really key for this story to work.  Rekulak does a great job of establishing some pretty key character details right at the beginning and in such a way that I never questioned them.  For example, Teddy's parents are very science-focused so when Mallory starts suspecting something supernatural might be going on, she (and the reader) already know the parents would not be on board with that theory.  I can't personally speak to how accurately Mallory's recovery and addiction is shown but I found it was brought up realistically in a number of situations. I find that with a lot of addiction/recovery main characters, the stories are taking place either when they're still using or just after they've gotten sober.  In this case, since Mallory is 18 months sober, we see a different aspect of recovery that I find isn't often shown.  She's pretty solid in her sobriety but also knows what she needs to do in order to keep her life moving in the direction she wants.  I've mentioned in past reviews that kids are a hard sell for me in books - they're either too perfectly cute or weirdly underdeveloped.  I think Rekulak knocked it out of the park with Teddy.  He read very realistic to me and had a nice balance of being cute and also annoying that I find six year olds have.  I do think Teddy might be a bit more sophisticated than most six year olds, but I didn't mind it since I felt that it really aligned with the parenting rules we saw early on.

The pacing was great.  I was a little worried at first that the story would drag with most of the days being Mallory and Teddy playing together but most of the days are pretty well skimmed over.  We get one chapter where we get their general routine and then after that the story skips around to the important moments.  This was a great choice, especially since the story takes place over the course of 2-ish months.  Once the mystery investigation was in full swing, the pacing really picked up and it felt like Rekulak was in my head because he knew exactly when I was getting bored with the mundane babysitting activities and there were times where we didn't see much of Teddy on page at all, instead skipping right ahead to either the evenings or weekends where Mallory could investigate.  I found the actual mystery to be really well plotted as well which helped propel the story forward.  I do wish we had gotten some more small town rumor type hints just because I love that trope. 

The horror elements were fantastic and I think they would adapt really well to a movie/limited series.  Creepy kids and their creepy drawings are a well-used horror trope but I think Rekulak put just enough of a twist on that trope to make this feel a little fresh.  Teddy never really felt 'creepy' while reading and instead would drop these info-bombs that he saw as 100% factual while the adults around him were the ones a little weirded out.  For example, when Teddy explains to Mallory where these drawings are coming from he just answers so matter-of-factually because he doesn't see it as anything out of the ordinary.  Then, Teddy would go back playing like normal and Mallory would just be in shock for a minute trying to make sense of what Teddy just told her.  As the plot progresses, the horror elements increase in severity and they really added to the sense of urgency for Mallory to solve the mystery.  With the supernatural horror elements, I loved how there were some rules implied earlier in the book and those rules held throughout the story.

The ending reveals were bonkers and are 100% the make or break part of the book.  After finishing, I was skimming through reviews and all of the lower-rated reviews specify that the 80% mark is where the story went off the rails for them and they didn't like where the reveals went.  The reveals really worked for me but I can understand why these other readers weren't on board.  I thought I could guess where things were going, but I was completely off base - which I loved!  After finishing, I tried to think back and see if the ending was something that could be guessed and I think maybe certain really detailed-orientated readers might be able to see where this was going but I think the majority of readers will be surprised.  There was one particular aspect that, once it was revealed, made me nervous to see how the book was going to handle that detail going further.  While I can't definitively say it was handled well (as I'm not a part of the particular group), I can say that it felt to me handled in a very realistic and respectful manner.  I also enjoyed the amount of wrap-up we get at the end that directly addresses this one particular reveal and the fallout from it. We do get a pretty long and specific villain monologue at the end which was probably my least favorite part of the ending but the actual details given were entertaining and twisty enough that I still overall enjoyed it.

Overall, this was a very entertaining mystery/horror.  I loved the supernatural/creepy kid horror elements.  The mystery was engaging and the pacing was on point.  The ending reveals were a bit off the rails but it really worked for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC

Expected publication date is May 10, 2022

Romance Wrap-up 4/16/22 to 4/30/22

 Starry-Eyed Love - Helena Hunting

This is the second book in the Spark House series and follows middle sister London and Jackson.  After breaking up with her latest boyfriend, a tall, dark, and handsome stranger pays for her drinks at a bar and asks her out.  She declines, and he decides to leave it up to fate if they'll meet again.  London never expected to see him again, much less as the CEO of the media company looking to partner with Spark House - the B&B she runs with her two sisters.  Now the two are working together and managing, barely, to keep things professional.  But with a love like theirs, it won't be long before they're giving into their hearts and trying to find a way to make it all work. I really enjoyed this office romance and found London and Jackson to be just about perfect for each other.  Jackson is my favorite type of billionaire MMC where he certainly spoils the FMC, but not to impress her, just because what else is he going to do with all that money and spoiling her makes him happy.  The two connected on such a deep emotional level with the common losses as well as outlook on business/romance/life that they really do feel like they're meant to be together. We get a ton of the Spark sisters together - way more than the first book - so I enjoyed seeing that dynamic grow on page as well.  This was a bit of a slow burn since they don't cross the line until after their professional relationship is over but the tension build up was fantastic.  I also found the conflict to be very believable and I loved the conversation London and Jackson had afterward to really explain how they felt, what they recognized they could do better with, and what steps they're going to take in the future to avoid similar situations.  A+ communication!

TW/CW: death of a parent

Thanks NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC

Expected publication date is May 10, 2022

What We May Be - Layla Reyne

This MMF, second chance, romantic mystery follows Sean, Trevor, and Charlotte (Charlie).  The three were inseparable ten years prior until Sean walked out on their life together.  Now, he's back in town as an FBI agent, Charlie is the local police deputy, and Trevor is an English literature professor at the local college.  The strange murder case that brings them all back together in the same town may just be the time they need to work through their old grudges and move forward - hopefully together.  I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical at how good of a mystery this could be at only 290 pages.  I love a good romantic suspense, but I like a pretty well developed suspense plot.  This ended up being just about perfect!  It is a police procedural thriller mixed with a second chance romance and Reyne balances the two perfectly.  I loved the dynamic between our three leads and how each of the pairings had a different relationship.  The side characters were also fantastic and I'd love to see more of this little town.  The poly dynamic was not the main source of conflict - the opposite almost with everyone (eventually) glad to see the trio back together.  I think Reyne was also able to fit in some great examples of healthy communication in a poly-relationship. There was also some great casual other LGBTQ+ rep in the side characters that I loved. I can't wait to pick up more of Reyne's romantic suspense books in the future.  

 TW/CW: death of a parent, death of a sibling, 

Beard Science - Penny Reid

This is the third book in the Winston Brothers series and follows Green Valley's own scheming mastermind - Cletus Winston as he finds himself on the other side of a blackmail for once.  Jennifer Sylvester, the reigning Banana Cake Queen has lived for 22 years under the thumb of her parents.  They control everything about her life - from her clothing, her hair color, who she can talk to, and her career path.  But when Jennifer catches Cletus in a compromising situation, she convinces him to teach her how to get a husband.  The one thing they both didn't count on? Cletus would step up to the plate.  Much like the previous books in the series, I absolutely adored this.  The Winston clan are the perfect mix of sweet, loving family and small town shenanigans. I found Jennifer's journey to finally being her own person was handled really well.  At 424 pages, this is a chunky read, but the pay off is so worth it.  The romance is slow burn since neither have feelings for the other at first.  Then, once they get together, they need to navigate this new relationship and the stresses that Jennifer still has in her life.  I loved the communication between Jennifer and Cletus and how straightforward they both are.  There's no third act breakup in this, just a fight, a cooling off period of a day-ish, and then a level conversation. I'm so glad Reid decided to start a spin-off series following them and I can't wait to get started!  

Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake

This is the first book in the Bright Falls series and follows Delilah and Claire. Delilah returns to the small down of Bright Falls to be the photographer for her sister's upcoming wedding.  Claire is one Delilah's sister's best friends and single mom struggling to adjust to having her ex back in town.  The two meet in a bar and Claire doesn't recognize Delilah at first.  The attraction is clear from both of them, and they eventually give in.  They agree to keep things casual as Delilah will be going back to her life in NYC after the wedding.  However, as they spend more time together, both of them begin to feel like this relationship would be worth fighting for.  This was only published a few months ago and I've been hearing so much about it that I just had to pick it up.  I'm so glad I did as I absolutely loved it!  Delilah and Claire were spectacular together and I loved their dynamic.  I think their backstory as kids was worked in wonderfully and it really affected their adult relationship in believable ways.  There's a great balance of friendship and relationship building throughout the story so even when they start sleeping together, they're still learning more about each other.  I thought Delilah is a wonderfully complex and flawed FMC who read very much like a hedgehog where she's all spiky on the outside to keep people away but she has a super soft middle.  The relationship between Delilah and her sister was also super engaging and really helped flesh out all the characters.  

 

TW/CW: death of a parent