Romance Wrap-up March 2024

 Sharing Shane - Hannah Murray

This polyamorous romance follows Veronica after she finds her boyfriend cheating on her with her neighbor.  Instead of moping, she decides to take the couples vacation to Bermuda by herself.  The only catch - she needs a second person to go with her or else her reservation is cancelled.  Shane is a friend of a friend and needs some nice rest and relaxation time.  Plus, it doesn't hurt that his boyfriend is going to be at a retreat at the same time.  Things quickly heat up with Shane and Veronica but transitioning this vacation fling to something more concrete once they are all back to real life will take more than a little work.  I really enjoyed this read.  It was my first poly romance that didn't end in throuple territory and I loved seeing different representation of what a poly romance could look like.  While I'm not poly personally, I do think this book does a good job of explaining the dynamics and challenges that come with this relationship structure so I think even folks who aren't well versed in poly-culture could follow along just fine.  I absolutely loved Veronica and her kick-ass attitude when it comes to her ex.  Shane is certainly a bit more buttoned up about his feelings (with the past relationship trauma to back that up) and I loved how they came together.  I did want more of them just dating when back in the real world because the transition from vacation fling to relationship was a little fast and loose for my liking.  I loved how much heart this read had and the emotional depth we get from these characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.  Publication date was March 19, 2024.

Gouda Friends - Cathy Yardley

This is the second book in the Ponto Beach Reunion series and follows high school best friends Tam and Josh.  After a disastrous break up with her boyfriend, Tam reaches out to the one person who was always there for her - Josh - using their special code word goldfish.  Next thing she knows, she's flying across the country and reuniting with her high school friend group that she had been distanced from for a while.  Now, Josh is determined to help Tam find her next step in her life plan, just like she did for him a few years prior.  Only as the two friends work closely together, they start to realize there might be something more between them, maybe something that had been there the whole time.  This was a fun read, but I think it might have been a bit over-hyped for me.  Personally, I found Tam and Josh to be such good friends that I wasn't entirely sold on their relationship.  This was one of those reads where, at the end, I was left feeling like they were maybe better off as friends.  I think my main issue was that we don't get to see a whole lot of time when they are actually in the relationship phase.  We see friends, budding feelings, friends with benefits, and then we skip to the third act breakup pretty quickly.  I wanted more time to settle into their relationship and see how them being together is even better than them being friends.  All that being said, this had some really heartfelt moments and I loved the found family aspect of the friend group.  I also loved all the cheese related humor and plot points. 

Ben - Cora Rose

This MMM, age gap romance is the 8th book in the Unexpected series and follows Ben, Cash, and Ford.  Cash and Ford are Ben's father's best friends and until a few weeks ago, the three men didn't have any interest in each other beyond friendship.  But now that they've breached that relationship barrier, they must contend with their new feelings as well as what their relationship dynamic might mean for the people around them.  This read was 80% smut, 20% plot, and I wasn't mad about it.  But by the end, I was a bit tired of the smut and I'll fully admit to skimming those scenes to get to the plot points.  I didn't read any of the previous books in the series, so I'm not sure if I missed some character development there, but in this read we are just dropped into this world and relationship dynamic a few weeks into it.  We don't get to see, in this book, the moments that these men crept from friendly to something more - we just hear about it as off-hand comments.  I'm not sure if those scenes were present in book 7 or not.  In any case, since we skipped seeing those points on page, I didn't get a great sense for any of these characters until I was well into the book and for me, that meant the smutty scenes lost their intrigue pretty quickly because I didn't have the emotional build up or connection with these characters.  I didn't see enough of their character that I fully believed any of them had feelings deeper than horny lust.  I did like that since this was mostly smut, it was also low angst and the conflicts get resolved very quickly with basically just a conversation. This felt like it should have been a novella but then to add pages to make it novel length, Rose just added more sex scenes. 

Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings

This FF romance follows Opal and Pepper.  Opal is ready for a fresh start and winning the lottery is just her ticket.  Her impulsivity pays off when she buys a flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina. But when she goes to move there, she finds Pepper.  The flower farm was her late grandmother's and Pepper believes she's the rightful owner - if only she could find the will that proves it.  The two strike up a deal that they will both live on the farm until Pepper can start buying Opal out.  As the flowers bloom, so does the relationship between the two women and soon enough they are thinking more about staying than leaving.  I loved this read - it had everything I was hoping for from the premise.  Opal and Pepper are such great opposites attract and were such fun characters to follow falling in love.  Pepper is autistic and Opal is neurodivergent and these are characteristics that they celebrate in each other right from the beginning.  I also loved Opal's sisters and Pepper's friends who all come together in such a loving and fun group.  The background of a flower farm is maybe my new favorite romantic backdrop to a story and I think Eddings does a fantastic job balancing the reality of farming with the romanticized elements.  The plot with Pepper's con-woman mother was really interesting and I think Eddings handled the topic with care.  This was another win from Eddings with a great mix of heart and heat and I can't wait to get more (hopefully following Opal's sisters).

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is April 16, 2024.

The General - Jessica Gadziala

This is the fourth book in the Professionals series and follows Smith and Jenny.  Jenny is married to Senator Ericsson's son - and her abuse is an open secret in Navesink Bank. She was coerced to lie on the stand when her husband got caught one night but then she faded into the background. Until one night she had enough, took matters into her own hand, and then called the office of Quinton Baird & Associates.  Another great entry in this series after book 3 (which I wasn't a fan of).  Smith is Quinn's #2 in command and is running the office while Quinn is on vacation so when the call from Jenny comes in - Smith is on the case.  While Smith may be the titular General, this story feels 100% like Jenny's journey.  She has spent years being abused by her husband and is now not only having to navigate her way out of being caught for murder (which of course Smith is helping her with), but also navigate finding her way back to herself.  Big content warning that we do see the abuse on-page in the form of flashbacks as well as her probable PTSD manifesting even after her husband is gone.  We don't get a whole lot of information or character development from Smith.  Instead, he is the solid person there to help Jenny find herself and safety after her ordeal.  I loved how these two characters come together and support each other.  This is less of the typical romantic suspense that the previous books in the series have leaned toward and more of a caretaking book with a political edge. I liked getting to see the other members of the Professionals a bit and I think this book helps set up the next half of the series nicely.

Eyes on Me - Sara Cate

This step-sibling romance is the second in the Salacious Players Club series and follows Garrett and Mia.  Garrett is co-owner of the Salacious Players Club and he's a voyeur.  He had all but given up on relationships until he's browsing cam girl sites one night and comes across someone he recognizes.  Not just anyone - his younger stepsister, Mia.  I'll fully admit I was a bit hesitant going into this one and almost skipped it.  The only reason I picked it up was that there is a significant age gap (13 years) between our two characters which meant that while they did know each other when they were younger, they didn't really grow up together in the same house.  When it comes to age gap and/or step sibling romances, I really prefer there to be a pretty significant separation.  In this one, we get other characters even confirming that it wasn't like they were actually siblings since Garrett was grown and out of the house pretty much when their parents were married.  That being said, there was still a good amount of tension between the characters and the taboo aspect of their relationship was really well developed.  This was lower angst than I was expecting, which is a plus in my book.  This had a great core romance lesson of "you can't help who you fall in love with" which I think is the best core to build a taboo romance around.  I do wish we had gotten a little more playing of Garrett's voyeurism and Mia's exhibitionism at play when they are together.  I loved the amount of character depth and development we get with both characters - more than I found in the first book.  I loved being back in the SPC and can't wait to continue on in the series.

A Soul To Keep - Opal Reyne

This is the first book in the Duskwalker Brides series and follows Reia and Orpheus.  Every 10 years, a Duskwalker demands a human offering in exchange for giving the village protection from demons. Reia, village outcast, is the offering for this round.  Orpheus is immediately intrigued by Reia and her almost lack of fear of him.  He agrees to take her as the offering and the two set out for his home in the Veil.  There, he sets out a number of rules in place to keep her safe from not only the demons outside, but also from Orpheus himself.  The more they spend time together, the closer they become, but Reia is torn between escaping back to the human world and admitting her feelings for Orpheus.  This was such a great monster romance and I was immediately drawn into this world.  This had big Beauty and the Beast vibes (which I loved) but wasn't a straight up rewrite of that story.  Reia and Orpheus are such interesting characters and I loved how Reyne is able to give us such clear characterization of two very different entities.  The world building was superb and I'm 100% continuing on in the series to see more of these Duskwalkers and this world.  While this is a captor/captive romance, we get enough scenes outside of Orpheus's home that it never felt like the plot was stagnating. I adored the gradual feelings blossoming between the two and Orpheus was about as cinnamon roll a character as I've ever seen in a monster romance. I can't wait to continue on in this series.

Lips Like Sugar - Jess K Hardy

This is the second book in the Bluebird Basin series and follows Mira and Cole.  When Mira's ex boyfriend shows up unexpectedly at her bakery and asks if she is going to attend the wedding of Ashley and Madigan (the couple from book 1) - she of course says yes and that she's actually going to be bringing her boyfriend.  What boyfriend?  Well the handsome stranger that just so happened to walk into the bakery at just the right time - Cole, Madigan's best friend.  The two agree to fake date for the wedding but when fake dating leads to real feelings, the 50+ year olds must figure out if they have something worth disrupting their carefully crafted lives for. This was a great next installment in the series and really felt like a continuation of the first book.  Because of that, I did feel a little lost at times before my memory would get triggered and I'd remember who some of these side characters were.  I'd recommend reading book 1 for sure before starting this one and I'd say the shorter the time between the two, the better.  I've only read a handful of older MC romances and I'm really enjoying them and the slightly different dynamic of either being a second chance at love or, as is the case here, a chance to go all-in.  Mira and Cole have a great depth of character and I love how much we get to see of them outside the main relationship dynamic.  We get to see family and friends as well as their own thoughts and worries.  I do wish we got to see a little more of Cole's internal thoughts on paper because there were a few places where it felt like the book was missing that extra layer of character development.  

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.  Publication date was March 28, 2024

The Last Guest House - Caroline Mitchell

 

This mystery follows DI Alex McKenna as she, her son, and boyfriend, all take off for a weekend away. But there's a problem with the reservation and the only other place in the area with a vacancy is The Loch House.  When they arrive just ahead of a snowstorm, The Loch House owners greet them with the rules: no smoking, no loud music, no phones, and no leaving their rooms after 9pm. Over dinner with the other guests, Alex learns about the grisly history of The Loch House and starts to wonder if they'll be able to leave or if they will become the next mark on its bloody history. 

This read had a lot of interesting elements, but they didn't quite come together for me as well as I would hope.  We have a great cast of weird characters, a detective MC, and an isolated setting.  This should have been a slam dunk.  Unfortunately, I didn't love some of the narrative structure choices which really knocked the whole reading experience down a bit for me.  Obviously mileage may vary with my complaints, but the parts that did work for me were great so it all evened out to just an okay read at the end.

I did not enjoy the true crime podcast element at all.  I'm not a big true crime enthusiast on a normal day, but I have enjoyed books in the past that use these podcasts as framing devices for the plot.  In this case, it felt very removed from the main plot.  The podcast hosts were not characters at The Loch House nor was anyone listening to the podcast.  Instead, it felt like an easy way for the reader to be told background information or to flesh out information in a way that wasn't just having the characters give pages of exposition. Since it was so removed from the main plot, every time we switched to a podcast transcript, it took me out of the story.  I do think we needed the information in the podcast for the ending reveals to really come out, but I wanted it to be integrated into the story in a more natural fashion.  

The setting was by far and away my favorite part of this read. Mitchell wastes no time getting us to The Loch House but still manages to give us so much atmosphere to really set the scene.  The descriptions were absolutely wonderful and I loved how they really toed the line of being quirky but also sinister.  As the narrative goes on, we get to revisit similar areas or pieces of the setting but they come across as completely different because of the plot reveals.  Mitchell really uses the isolated setting to her advantage and it often feels like a separate entity that our characters are battling against.  

The cast of characters - especially the strange owners of The Loch House, were such a fun group to follow for this read. We do get both Alex and her boyfriend's POVs, but I wish this was more of a full-cast of POVs type of book.  These characters were so interesting and the right amount of over the top that I wanted to spend more time with each of them.  I didn't love our MC Alex as much as I was expecting too.  I found her characterization was a bit off for me and she seemed to oscillate between two main personalities, neither of which I felt particularly interested in.  There is a bit of domestic suspense with her relationship, but even that felt like it wasn't used to bring as much tension to this read as I was expecting.  There was significant domestic violence in her past that is brought up but it didn't really add anything to the character for me as is.

The ending reveal was interesting, but the way it played out on page felt like it really deflated the moment.  We do find out what is going on with The Loch House and why everyone there is so strange and I did like the reveal from a plot perspective.  However, when it comes to the big finale scene, we skip over seeing the action on page and instead have like a 30 min fast forward moment only for our characters to then flash backwards and recount the events that happened.  It felt really strange to read, especially for the moment where all this building tension was boiling over. 

Overall, this was an okay read that I enjoyed some parts of but not all parts.  I felt like this just fell into the "not for me" category and I didn't have any significant plot holes or other complaints. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC.  Expected publication date is April 9, 2024

The Gathering - CJ Tudor

 

This mystery follows Barbara Atkins, detective with the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department, as she arrives in Deadhart, Alaska.  There, a teen boy was found with his throat ripped out and the town is calling for Barbara to authorize a cull of the local vampyr colony.  However, Barbara isn't so sure this case is as open and shut as the town believes it to be.  With an impending snow storm and tensions in the town growing, Barbara is on limited time to find the truth behind the killings. Enlisting the help of a former sheriff who almost lost his life the last time the vampyrs were accused of killing, the two dig into the town's history and reveal more than they could have ever expected.

This was such a fun read and it wasn't what I was really expecting.  I thought this would lean much more on the sort of vampyr hunter trope but I loved how it was pretty much a regular police procedural.  We have a full investigation, suspects (both human and vampyr) and a town full of red herrings.  We get right into the action and the investigation hooked me from beginning to end.  We also get a set up at the end for a potential series which I would love if we got.

I know police procedurals aren't everyone's preferred mystery sub-genre (I really enjoy them).  However, I think this has a good mix of the horror and supernatural elements layered in.  This had everything I want from my police procedurals - protagonist with a bit of baggage, a seemingly straightforward case that ends up being more than expected, a solid investigation thread, and a satisfying and surprising whodunnit ending reveal. The layers of vampyr lore and the every day horror of living in a remote area really intensified the main mystery elements.  I also loved the choice to have Barbara be in her 50s and overweight as opposed to maybe the more typical hot shot newbie female detective. 

I was thrilled with how Tudor introduced us to the vampyrs of this world by giving us a few quotes from various publications and legal documents in the opening of this read.  While these quotes are obviously fake, they did a great job of setting up the history of the vampyrs in this world in a way that was extremely easy to digest. This meant that the reader goes into page 1 with a basic understanding of what a vampyr is in this setting which was extremely helpful given the vastly different types of fictional vampire types to choose from.  This also helps avoid any heavy handed or odd exposition dump by a character or plot device like listening to a radio.  As the story progresses, we learn more about vampyr history as well as the vampyrs themselves.  If we do get a series, I would love to see the vampyr side of things explored more.

I absolutely loved the theme of outsiders and 'us vs them' which play out beautifully in this remote and isolated setting. I know those are themes for a lot of 'monster' books because it is such an easy line in the sand to draw, but Tudor also gives us some examples of how those lines get blurred, especially over time.  I didn't feel like any character were caricatures, but we certainly saw the whole range of responses to the alleged vampyr killing.  I also loved the world building around anti-vampyr sentiments.  I don't want to go into details because of spoilers but I found these touches of the lore to really help make it feel like the vampyrs were living beside humans for ages, they weren't some creature that came out of the darkness recently.  We have that generational trauma and prejudice that comes out in many different ways - some more obvious than others. 

Overall, this was a great procedural read with a good sprinkle of fun vampyr on top.  I absolutely loved the investigation as well as lore and world building.  I hope we do get a series (or at least a sequel) out of this world because there is a lot more I want to see.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.  Expected publication date is April 9, 2024.

The Angel of Indian Lake - Stephen Graham Jones

 

This is the third book of the Indian Lake Trilogy and we're back with Jade Daniels in Proofrock 4 years after the end of book 2.  Jade and Proofrock both look very different than when we last saw them and both are trying to move on from the past tragedies as best as they can.  However, in Proofrock, it seems, there's always another shoe to drop.  Now, on Halloween, the curse of the Lake Witch is coming to life and Jade has one last stand to make. 

This is the final installment in the trilogy and Jones wraps it up expertly - and I was expecting nothing less.  I absolutely loved this new Jade, now back in Proofrock after 4 years in prison.  She's older, wiser, and trying to keep to herself.  There were so many full circle moments in this read which felt like Jones wrapping up loose ends that I didn't even know I wanted tied up.  The town also was trying to go through its own healing journey as well since the first two books did not leave the town unscathed.  Now, just like the first two books in the series, we do get some good slasher action so it isn't all soft and squishy feelings.  I feel like Jade earned her ending to her story and it was such a great last ride to witness.

I've read each book in this series as an ARC so my reading was spaced out about 1 year apart.  I didn't have that hard of a time between books 1 and 2 but it seemed like there were so many character name drops that were ringing faint bells but I couldn't completely place.  I think for maximum impact and name recognition, I would recommend re-reading at least the first book if not both previous books before picking this one up.  I could still follow the plot just fine, but there were times were it felt like knowing this character's name should automatically fill in some gaps.  

The first two books in the series have very distinctive and different styles and I thought this third entry combined the best of both worlds. The first book, to me, read very much as literary horror.  We were in Jade's head a lot and weren't sure if we were going to see any horror action on page.  The second book was much more of a straight forward slasher read with Jade being our reluctant hero.  This third book has more action than the first one did but I found it to have more of Jade's introspection than we got with the second book.  This melding of styles helps the trilogy feel cohesive and whole instead of like three very different books with the same main character in common. 

Plotwise, this was a little off the rails from pretty much the very beginning and only picked up steam from there.  We waste no time getting into the newest threat to Proofrock and as much as Jade really wants to stay out of it this time, she just can't help being pulled in.  There are a lot of moving pieces and a lot of characters so it feels a bit hectic at times and I could see some readers really getting lost in the weeds.  This is where I think having better name recognition than I did may come in handy.  However, Jones excels at making this tangled web of plot points and characters into something incredibly compelling and readable.  There were so many great moments of tension where I was reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next.  And whenever a horror book can make me cry, I know it is a winner.

Just as in the first two books - Jade is on point with her slasher lore and rules.  We even get some newer references which were fun. I didn't feel like they were used as much as they were in the previous books which I think works to reflect Jade's personal development in the past few years.  That being said, Jade does still lean on them in times of stress or confusion to make sense of the absolute bonkers things going on around her.  I think there are so many layers that Jones works into Jade's character that re-reading this series down the line would be a very interesting undertaking.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and a great way of finishing up the trilogy.  I got more of everything I like from this series - great characters, interesting twists, and some fantastic slasher moments.  

Thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is March 26, 2024

The September House - Carissa Orlando

 

This horror follows Margaret after her husband walks out of their Victorian home after deciding he couldn't take another September in the house.  September is when the walls of the house start dripping blood and when the ghosts of previous residents come out even more than usual.  Margaret has learned to live with and even enjoy the company of the ghosts in the house so she's not leaving.  Eventually, their daughter Katherine decides that a month of not hearing from her father is long enough and she comes to town to look for him.  Margaret is worried more about keeping Katherine safe during her September stay but as the investigation into Hal's disappearance escalates, so do the hauntings and the house might have a secret of its own.

This was an absolutely fantastic read where the premise paid off 100%.  I was hooked from the first sentence and read this straight through.  Initially, I thought maybe this was a little bit too quirky of a set-up and it would get old quickly.  However, I loved how Orlando worked in some more heart and serious topics into the story and used those as a way to sort of ground the plot in reality.  There are also complicated family dynamics at play and those also add depth and complexity to the story and characters. 

TW/CW: alcoholism, domestic violence, child death, suicide

I absolutely loved Margaret's voice and character.  She was such a compelling character to follow and her more no-nonsense personality helped temper the over-the-top ghost shenanigans.  We get to see her face a number of different situations and I found her an incredibly interesting and complex character.  She seems like a normal housewife on the outside, but there's a lot of layers to her psychology that Orlando expertly explores.  Given how close we follow Margaret, I was incredibly excited when we got to the potentially unreliable narrator (no spoilers if Margaret is unreliable or not) because I hadn't even considered that she might be unreliable until then. I was 100% on board with her and her story.  Usually with thriller/mystery/horror reads, I'm on the lookout for unreliable narrators since that is one of my favorite tropes so when one can catch me off guard like this, I'm thrilled.

The horror aspects were fantastic and really straddled the line between a little silly and absolutely horrifying.  It was giving me Ghostbusters mixed with Poltergeist and a touch of The Exorcist.  The ghosts that haunt the house all died horrific deaths and there is a good bit of gore in this read.  But a lot of the antics they get up to come off pretty funny, especially with Margaret's dry sense of humor about the situation.  The more details we get about the lore of the house and the reasons behind the haunting, the darker the story gets.  The supernatural events also get more severe as the month progresses which helps propel the plot forward.  

Overall, this was a very entertaining read with fantastic characters and lore building.  I was hooked from the very beginning and was pleasantly surprised at the emotional depth we got with the family history. 

February 2024 Romance Wrap-up

 Hideaway Heart - Melanie Harlow

This is the second book in the Cherry Tree Harbor series and follows Kelly and Xander. Kelly is also known as country music star Pixie Hart, but she's ready to have a break from the spotlight and spend some time alone in a cabin.  But her older brother doesn't want her to be alone, so he enlists the help of former Navy SEAL Xander to be her bodyguard.  Only problem is the cabin Kelly rented is tiny, there's only one bed, and the two can't stand each other ... at first. This was such a fun bodyguard romance and I loved seeing Kelly and Xander get together.  They seemed to immediately know how to poke one another's buttons but I really liked how both of them dropped their prickly exteriors.  I'm not the biggest fan of celebrity romances, but having Kelly be on a break from her regular life helped temper the celebrity part a bit.  I loved seeing the small town stuff through her eyes and how she valued the things that people living in Cherry Tree Harbor may take for granted. When they do finally get together, the pages were sizzling but there was also a lot of emotion from both of them.  There was a bit of a romantic suspense sub-plot but I would not call this a romantic suspense book.  It is always great being back with Harlow's small town characters and this was no exception.

Not Your Crush's Cauldron - April Asher

This paranormal romance is the third in the Supernatural Singles series and follows Olive and Bax.  Olive is perfectly content to live with her very set routines until one of her students challenge her to do her own assignment and step outside of her comfort zone.  Bax is a guardian angel and when his next assignment is Olive - his new roommate and long time crush - he knows this is going to get complicated.  But spending more time with Olive is not something he's going to pass up.  This was so fun and it was great to see the two characters who we haven't seen a ton of in the previous books.  I love a good "oops, my crush is now my roommate" moment but when Bax is assigned to Olive as her guardian angel, it brought that to a whole new level.  Asher got their whole opposites attract dynamic down perfectly where the seem so different on paper, but their personalities just mesh so well that is is obvious they belong together.  I loved how Olive was really the catalyst for a lot of the romantic growth between them and it really showed her coming out of her shell in many ways.  I loved learning more about this world and the guardian angel system was so interesting to me.  We get to see a good amount of the other characters as well, which is always fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was February 13. 2024

Do Your Worst - Rosie Danan

This supernatural romance follows Riley and Clark.  Riley is working on expanding her family's gift as curse breakers by offering her services for hire.  Being hired for a cursed castle in Scotland seems like a great way to get her name out there but the only problem is the grumpy and skeptical Clark was also hired to work at the castle.  The two vow to be enemies, but somehow keep ending up in situations together and they get the sense that maybe there's another force bringing them together.  I loved the premise and supernatural elements of this, but I had a bit of a hard time with the characters.  I didn't quite buy that these two actually liked each other and found their weird bickering/hot-cold dynamic a little annoying to read.  I can see Danan going for an enemies to lovers/opposites attract dynamic but for me the constant back and forth felt like we were never making any headway.  They would be sworn enemies, then one would do something nice for the other so then they'd agree to a truce.  Until someone did something the next day that would make them sworn enemies again.  I thought Riley and Clark were both very interesting and well developed and I loved how they each had their own personal growth throughout this story.  However, they just didn't click for me as a couple by the end.

Headcase - Onley James

This is the fourth book in the Necessary Evils series and follows Asa and Zane. Zane is an aspiring crime reporter and he has a theory that Thomas Mulvaney and probably the entire Mulvaney clan are murderers. In the hopes of getting more evidence, Zane hopes to run into Thomas during a gala dinner.  Instead, he runs into Asa who immediately starts pressing Zane's buttons as entertainment.  But neither expect the evening to truly end where Asa offered - with him chasing Zane down through his mansion with the fun beginning when Zane is caught. When Zane gets too close to the family secret, Asa chooses to bring him into the fold.  This was yet another fun entry in the series and Zane's path into the family had a lot of similarities to Noah from book 1.  In the previous books, Asa and his twin Ari were never really seen separately but it was great to have the plot separate them so that we can get a really good sense of Asa's character.   Asa really came off to me as the most sadistic of the brothers we've met so far (and not just in regards to his bedroom proclivities).  Asa and Zane certainly have chemistry for days and I loved the way their insta-lust for each other momentarily made them forget their own goals for the night they met. While I don't doubt that  Asa and Zane are a good pairing, the ending to this felt more like a Happy for Now rather than a Happily Ever After (I think mostly due to the fact that Asa would bring up his twin Ari so that plot line felt a bit unresolved).  At this point in the series, over half of the brothers have found their person to be with so the inner circle 

TW/CW: The investigation in this book is based on a real internet game where the players usually eventually commit suicide. Zane is very close to this topic so the discussion of suicide is frequent in the book. 

Praise - Sara Cate

This age gap, kinky read is the first book in the Salacious Player's Club series and follows Charlie and Emerson.  Emerson is the owner of the Salacious Player's Club - a kink club he co-owns and runs with his friends. He is also Charlie's ex boyfriend's father.  When Charlie shows up at his office to collect the security deposit of the apartment she shared with her ex, Emerson mistakes her for a new sub.  Once he realizes his mistake, Emerson is very apologetic and ends up offering Charlie a very vanilla job as his secretary.  But as the two work closer together and Charlie learns more about the kink world, the two end up forming a connection that can't be undone even if they wanted to.  This was such a fun, kinky read and a great first entry in a new series that I was immediately obsessed with. Cate does a fantastic job with the world building of the club as well as all the other side characters who will each have their own book in the series.  Emerson and Charlie are both very unique characters and I really loved the way they ended up together despite everything they had going against them.  I found this read to be lower angst than I was expecting given the tropes of age gap and ex boyfriend's dad. I loved the way kink was portrayed and how Emerson explained the more emotional elements to Charlie.  I didn't quite love Charlie as much as Emerson and it mostly came down to her relationship with kink.  In the kinky romances I've read where one MC is vanilla, they usually still have an inkling that they are kinky themselves or even have a list of kinky interests but have never acted on them.  Charlie came across very vanilla where she didn't even know some of the terms or acts and then she would jump in with both feet.  I would have expected her to be a little more hesitant or for there to be more of a ramp up in the kinky aspects as she expanded her experiences.  However, a lot of this exploration I was expecting was explained away by an evening of Charlie Googling.  All that being said, Cate does a great job of really selling the connection between Charlie and Emerson both in and out of their kink scenes and I'm so excited to have found a new romance series where I want to immediately read all of the books.  

Small Town Swoon - Melanie Harlow

This is the fourth book in the Cherry Tree Harbor series and follows Dash and Ari.  Dash comes back home to Cherry Tree Harbor in the hopes of finding himself for the next phase of his acting career.  Ari has been helping her parents run the family diner and the last person she wants to see is Dash.  The two have history going back to childhood, but Dash's rebuff of her feelings when she was a teen still hurts.  But they aren't teens any more, and when adult Ari and Dash get together, the chemistry is off the charts.  This was fantastic and I absolutely loved Dash and Ari.  As I said above, I don't love celebrity romances, but since Dash was on vacation from acting it didn't really feel like a celebrity book.  However, I did love the practical conversations about Dash and his career plans that I think are often overlooked with celebrities.  I was glad that we got past the incident from years ago pretty quickly which meant this was more of a friends to lovers than I was initially expecting.  Harlow does a great job (as usual) with balancing her character's career aspirations and love of their small town/families.  Dax and Ari are so compatible on just about every level and I really enjoyed how deep their conversations went into their career and life aspirations.  It really felt like their relationship is built on a super solid foundation and I fully believe these two will have a HEA.  We also see a lot of the Buckley family in this one which I absolutely loved.

Thanks to the author for the ARC.  Publication date is March 4, 2024

What Grows in the Dark - Jaq Evans

 This mystery/horror follows Brigit and Ian - friends and fake paranormal investigators.  After Brigit receives a call from her hometown about a potential job, her and Ian head to Ellis Creek.  When they arrive, they learn about the recent missing persons search for two teens.  At first, it isn't clear why Brigit, specifically, was asked to come help.  But with a connection between the current missing people and her sister's suicide 16 years prior, Brigit finds herself confronting a long kept secret that may be the secret to finding and ending the string of missing children from Ellis Creek for good.

TW/CW: suicide on page

For the first half of the read, this felt like a pretty straightforward mystery.  Brigit and Ian were investigating by non-paranormal means such as interviewing locals and doing some research at the local library.  As the plot progressed, the horror elements came in and slowly escalated until by the last 75%, we were in a straight up horror movie and it was fantastic.  Evans does a great job of using the horror elements to heighten the emotional points of the plot.  This makes the stakes feel so much greater and I found myself holding my breath while reading because I was so stressed about these characters. The mystery investigation was well done and I really enjoyed that it was equally rooted in the regular investigation as well as the paranormal investigation.

The actual horror elements were pretty solid in the folk horror category - complete with creepy forests and unnamed entities within.  As mentioned above, the horror creeps into this read in bits and pieces.  The first few times, it is easy to chalk it up to Brigit maybe being mentally impacted by being back in her hometown after so long or the trauma of losing her sister resurfacing.  For a while, I was wondering if this would turn into an unreliable narrator read where we aren't sure if the horrors are real or imagined.  The scene where the horror elements were solidified as being real is a scene I'm not going to forget soon.  I'm not sure if the folk horror entity in this read is based on any real local legends, but it was very unique and Evans fleshed out the lore and rules surrounding it very well.

 Brigit and Ian were wonderfully complex characters and I loved getting both of their POVs.  For me, most reads are pretty easy to label as either character-driven or plot-driven.  In this case, I think Evans does a great job of balancing both of these aspects.  We certainly get a lot of character work but the mystery investigation plot is also very well developed.  We are dropped into this read in the middle of Brigit and Ian working a job and the plot takes off from there.  We don't get much of any sort of summary of their relationship or history - rather, Evans sprinkles in details throughout the story and by the end we have such a great understanding of them as individual characters as well as their relationship.  All of the side characters we see, as well, are incredibly detailed and complex.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and one I don't think I'll forget about easily.  Complex characters, good mystery plot, and great horror elements.  I'd love to read more from Evans in the future. 

Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for the ARC.  Expected publication date is March 5, 2024

The House of Last Resort - Christopher Golden

 

This haunted house horror follows Tommy and Kate as they move into their new home in Becchina, Italy.  Becchina, like many towns, is experiencing a decline in population so they started a program where you can purchase a home there for a single Euro as long as they promise to live there for 5 years.  It is an easy decision as both Tommy and Kate work remotely and Becchina is the hometown of Tommy's grandparents.  However, as they move in and begin to renovate the home, they start to feel an odd presence in the home.  And once they find out the true history of the house they bought, Tommy and Kate must delve deeper into the darkness than they ever expected.

This was the slowest of slow burns for me and I almost put it down when I got to the middle and there still wasn't a whole lot of spooky stuff going on.  However, I'm so glad I continued reading because the last 30% of the book was absolutely fantastic and the slow burn paid off.  There are so many seemingly mundane details we get in the first half of the read that I was frustrated with because it just felt like a general fiction read about these people and their house.  But when those details came into play in the finale, I completely understood why Golden included them early on. 

I was so excited when I saw the premise for this read because I've looked into similar programs in different countries where they are selling abandoned homes for very little.  What a great jumping off point for a horror read because, with abandoned homes, you really don't know what happened there before.  I also loved how we get to see other couples who took advantage of the program as well and see how their lives and homes differ from Tommy and Kate's. Also, the abandoned home program details come into play throughout the read, not just as a premise to get Tommy and Kate into this house. 

The horror elements were fantastic, although I do wish there was more of a consistent and gradual pressure of them throughout the first 50%.  We get a few creepy moments, but then we would go for stretches with no real horror scenes.  It went on long enough that I was starting to think that maybe this would be more of a general fiction with a slight horror elements.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that we really go from 0 to 100 quickly at about the 70% mark.  I also loved that we do get a specific sub-genre of horror (that I can't specify because I think it would be a spoiler) that I always forget I love as much as I do until I stumble across it and now I want to just read this sub-genre for the next month or so.

The ending was absolutely 12/10 chef's kiss fantastic.  It was one of those endings where I went to turn the page on my eReader, expecting there to be a new chapter, but it was just the end of the book.  And normally, I don't prefer those sorts of hard stop endings.  I do like my reads to have a bit of a calm down after the climax of the read.  However, in this case, I think the ending perfectly matches the plot and overall vibe of the read.  I loved that Golden leaves it a little open ended so the reader can imagine the long-term implications of what we're left with at the end. 

Overall, this was a solid read.  I would have liked the horror elements to be more consistently built throughout the read but the last 30% was absolutely a 5-star read and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was January 30, 2024.

Original Sins - Erin Young

 

This mystery is the second book in the Riley Fisher series follows Riley as she starts her new position as an FBI agent in Des Moines, Iowa.  In Des Moines, a serial attacker known as the Sin Eater has struck again - putting more pressure on the investigators to catch the perpetrator.  Riley hits the ground in her new position running after being tasked with investigating threats against the city's newly elected female governor. But when the Sin Eater investigation, the governor threats, and Riley's own partner all converge, there might be more to this new position than Riley expected.

As usual with police procedural series, it isn't strictly necessary to read the books in order as the main investigation plots are self-contained.  I did read the first book in the series - The Fields - and really enjoyed it (review linked here) - however, I think this would work very well as a stand alone.  There is a pretty large gap of time between books 1 and 2, so even the personal life details we get in book 1 have changed significantly by book 2.  

Young writes in the acknowledgements section at the end that this was her quarantine book and the inspiration certainly comes through.  We get a good amount of the political climate of the time coming into play and I liked the political suspense/thriller aspect which was also an aspect I enjoyed in the first book in the series.  I think Young does a good job of balancing the political threads in with the more standard police procedural plot lines.  I would not be one to pick up a straight up political thriller, but I enjoy the parts we get in this read. 

Along with the political aspect, we also societal tensions around women and their 'place' in society.  There is a lot of language around women knowing their place, and being punished if they step out of that very restrictive role that some men think they should be in.  Also, we do see a number of Sin Eater attacks on page, and the viciousness of these attacks is not held back.  For me, these parts were a pretty visceral reading experience, but I could see someone with personal experience in these types of situations having a hard time reading them.  

I loved the Sin Eater investigation and was very invested in that plot line.  I found it the perfect amount of twisty and it had a lot of areas for Riley and the team to look into.  Riley - and thus the narrative - bounces between the Sin Eater investigation and the governor protection plot but I found myself much more invested in the Sin Eater side of things.  I found the narrative style to feel a little disjointed at times when switching between the two plots.  I think this was probably done on purpose as Riley finds herself equally torn between these areas of her job, but it did take me out of the reading experience just a bit. 

We get multiple POVs and I think Young does a fantastic job at using the different POVs to deepen the story.  We get Riley, the governor, and a character close to the Sin Eater plot.  At first, I wasn't sure if the multiple POVs were necessary since Riley was investigating both other plots, but by the end I think each POV helped bring all the moving pieces together.  The ending resolution is a little complex, but I think it would feel very messy and out of left field if we were only following Riley.  Having the other POVs help give the reader some background information to give context to some of Riley's investigation threads which helped me feel like the ending reveal was more grounded than it might have otherwise felt. 

Overall, this was another good procedural/mystery/political thriller read from Young and I look forward to reading on in the Riley Fisher series. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC.  Expected publication date is February 13, 2024.

The Handyman Method - Nick Cutter and Andrew F Sullivan

This domestic horror follows a young family moving into their newly constructed home - Trent, Rita, and their son Milo.  Initially, everything seems great on the surface, but soon Trent starts to find issues with the construction.  He turns to YouTube DIY channel Handyman Hank who just so happens to have the exact video topics Trent needs.  No matter how many different issues Trent discovers with the home, Handyman Hank has a video.  But soon the videos start mentioning other things outside of DIY tips and tricks - more sinister topics.  

I read most of this book while waiting for my car to be inspected at the dealership and it was a hell of a ride to be reading in public.  The horror aspects were varied and well executed.  From the description, I was expecting more of a slow burn build-up to the horror but it started off much more quickly than I anticipated.  I've seen a lot of reviews comping this to The Shining by Stephen King and I do think that comparison is apt.  

The majority of this read is following Trent's POV, but we do get some chapters from Rita and Milo's POVs which was interesting.  I did find the balance between the POV choices to be a little uneven and I would have liked a few more chapters from Rita or Milo.  Trent is the main focus of the read until the last 25% so having some of those other POVs used more frequently earlier on in the story would have helped the transition be not so jarring.  We don't know a ton of information about our characters and it does feel like we get little bits of their backstory only when it is directly integral to a current plot point.  I actually really liked that choice as it helped the isolation feeling of this family being mostly stuck in this new house - like they had nothing else going on except the house. 

When it comes to the different horror elements, I enjoyed how well they connected and played off each other.  We get a good variety of horror types and each escalate throughout the story.  There were some gory moments that were borderline too much for me and I had to skim those sections a bit (I also skimmed over the parts having to do with the family pet).  The actual mechanics of what was happening weren't over the top or extreme, but the descriptions were so visceral that it made my skin crawl.  I think the paranormal/haunted house aspect was maybe the weakest of the horror elements because it didn't feel as grounded as the other parts.  I wanted some more details or rules about what was happening, especially since none of the characters seemed particularly worried about the strange things going on.  

By far and away my favorite horror element was the psychological horror of the Handyman Hank videos and Trent's breakdown.  From reading other reviews, some readers thought this part was way over the top and into almost caricature territory but I absolutely loved it.  I think we do get a good gradual ramp up of more sinister parts of the videos and we see how Hank gets into Trent's thoughts even when he isn't watching a video.  Some of my favorite moments in the book revolve around Trent's DIY projects and how gradually more and more unhinged they become.  

I wasn't so sure about the ending reveal/conclusion but the final scene really helped concrete the ending as a good choice for this read.  I would have preferred some more emotional build up throughout the rest of the book which I think would have helped the emotional weight of the ending hit more solidly. The ending is a little open ended, which I think is a great way to end the story and works well with the information we learn during the events of the book.  I would have loved a flash forward epilogue where we could see the longer term ramifications of the ending decisions, but since we didn't get that I have my own theories on what happens down the line. 

Overall, this was a great horror read with some fantastic elements.  From what I've seen of reviews, this is a 'love it or hate it' sort of read and I'm so glad I loved it.  

January 2024 Romance Wrap-up

Legally Binding - Sophie Snow

This age-gap office romance is the first in the Spicy in Seattle series and follows Maggie and Cal.  Maggie has been Cal's assistant for years and the two have worked very well together.  Maggie keeps Cal - and the rest of the office - running smoothly and Cal is a kind and caring boss.  But when the two run into each other at a sex club one night, the tension is palpable and neither can go back to seeing the other as just a coworker. They start spending more and more time together until one night stuck at the office together has them crossing a line neither of them thought they'd ever cross.  But one night isn't enough and the two need to figure out if this new relationship is worth them both turning their ideas for their lives upside down.  This was such a fun read and the characters were really the shining point of the story.  I loved Maggie, Cal, and the whole cast of characters we get to meet.  We got some absolutely fantastic character development with Maggie standing up to her neglectful family as well as figuring out what she wants out of her life for herself.  For an age gap, office romance, there was way less angst or drama than I was expecting.  I was really waiting for the other shoe to drop for the last 25% of the read where normally we'd see the relationship being outed and the fall out from that.  I did find the middle of the read to be a bit repetitive and I wanted to see Maggie and Cal be put in different situations to see how they'd react.  Overall, I had a good time and I'm looking forward to continuing on in the series.

 Thanks to the author for the ARC.  Expected publication date is February 13, 2024

 

When Grumpy Met Sunshine - Charlotte Stein

 This grumpy/sunshine romance follows retired footballer (soccer player) Alfie and ghostwriter Mabel.  The two seem too different, initially, and even Mabel starts to question her normal ability to pull stories and details out of her ghostwriting clients.  However, once the two start working together, they realize they have much more in common than they thought.  And when Mabel is assumed by the tabloids to be Alfie's newest romantic conquest, they agree to keep up the ruse so no one is the wiser to the ghostwriting arrangement.  That works well, until the fake kisses for the paparazzi start to feel too real. This read was not what I was expecting, but I think that made me love it even more.  This was much more of an emotional read than the adorable cover and synopsis lead me to believe. I never expected a book that looked like this would make me sob by the end.  It was only Mabel's POV which I disliked while reading because I thought Alfie was so obviously falling hard and fast for her and I wanted his POV so badly.  Stein seemed to be reading my mind because she used that to pull on my heartstrings when we get to the ending.  I loved Alfie and Mabel and their dynamic was a picture perfect grumpy/sunshine pairing.  The banter was fantastic and just weird enough that it really worked well as a window into these characters.  Overall, this was a great read that managed to worm its way into my heart much deeper than I was expecting and I imagine I'll be thinking about Alfie and Mabel for quite some time.

 Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Expected publication date is February 6, 2024.

  

 One Billion Reasons  - Sophia Travers

This enemies to lovers romance follows Miles and Lane.  The two were friends until a fight 2 years ago that left them not speaking.  But after a chance encounter brings them together, Miles has a proposition for Lane.  One week, as his fake girlfriend, for $50k.  It is a deal too good for Lane to pass up, even though the two can barely stand to be in the same room without throwing verbal knives at each other.  But when some buried truths and complicated feeling start coming out during their week together, the two not only rekindle their friendship, but something deeper.  This was also a much more emotional read than I was expecting, but it was more on the angst-y side of things and didn't quite work for me as well (I'm not a huge fan of angst in my romances, in general). I also found the conflicts between Miles and Lane to be very repetitive and I just wanted them to fight about something different for a change.  I could really feel the contempt Lane had for Miles early on in the story and I remember thinking "this author has a lot of work to make me believe these two are going to fall in love".  I did think Travers did a great job of sprinkling in details of Miles and Lane's backstory throughout the read which helped.  These details really helped strengthen their current relationship arc, especially considering the short timeframe.  We did get both character POVs, which was great considering how hot/cold they both were to the other.  I also liked the amount of side characters we get to see and how Miles and Lane both talk to their friends about their budding feelings.  While I do think the emotional turmoil generally paid off in the end, I was expecting something different from the big love declaration moment.  This read did have some moments that worked really well for me, but overall it was a bit too angsty for me to really love it.  However, if you are a fan of this sort of angsty, friends to enemies to lovers, second chance type of romances I think this is a really good example of one. 

Thanks to the author for the ARC. Publication date was December 4, 2023. 

The Clinic - Cate Quinn

 

This mystery follows Meg as she enters a remote rehab clinic to find the truth behind her sister's death.  Meg's sister, Haley, was a famous actress and her death was labeled a suicide.  However, Meg doesn't believe that and is certain that Haley was murdered.  Once she begins her investigation on the inside, trying to hide her relationship to Haley, Meg has to battle her own addictions as well as her repressed memories.  The truth may be more complicated than even Meg can anticipate and in a place as remote as the Clinic, Meg may be completely on her own.

This was such a fun read and I was sucked in from the very first chapter.  I was a little hesitant at first, since this was almost 450 pages long and I wasn't sure how a seemingly straightforward mystery would handle being stretched out for that long.  However, I think Quinn did a great job of layering a few different plot threads as well as weaving these plots together at different points in the book. 

I loved all the characters in this read - especially Meg.  She is such an interesting and complex character.  I loved how the mystery thread is intertwined with Meg's character development and how, eventually, Meg comes around to the idea that in order to find out what happened to her sister, she'll have to work on herself first.  Meg can certainly fall into the 'unlikable female' main character but I found her to be incredibly realistic.  While we do get multiple POVs in this book, I found Meg to be the most well rounded character and I loved getting her inner monologue.  I do wish we had more time to see her life before rehab because her connection/relationships outside of the Clinic do play a role in the overall story.  The cast of characters at the Clinic were fantastic and we really get a whole range of emotions and reactions to the events happening throughout the book.

Obviously, since this was set in a rehab clinic, there is a lot of discussion about addiction of various types.  I don't personally have any experience in this area so I can't speak personally to the representation.  However, there is a note in the book that says Quinn was inspired to write this book after her own experience in rehab.  I did enjoy the different types of addiction we see represented across the different characters and the different areas of recovery each of the characters are in.  We also get some POVs from the professionals working at the Clinic and it was interesting to get their views on addiction, recovery, and the patients there. 

I was expecting this to read more like a typical mystery where Meg is investigating and checking people off her suspects list.  However, the investigation was used to sort of highlight Meg's own struggles with her relationships and her addictions.  There are a number of times where she sort of recaps her investigation up to this point and realizes she hasn't really gotten anywhere substantial but that doesn't stop her from making accusations.  While I was initially a little annoyed (I love a straight up isolated murder mystery) I do think overall this was the right choice as it fleshed out Meg's character even more. She does solve the mystery at the end, but only after a good chunk of personal growth and character development. 

On paper, this ending feels like it should be one of those off the rails endings that I absolutely love.  However, it didn't quite land right for me.  After giving it some thought, I came to the conclusion that while I very much enjoyed the twist aspect (I certainly didn't see it coming), I think it deflated some of the character development we get throughout the previous 400 pages.  But as with any twisty endings, results will vary reader to reader.

Overall, this was a good mystery with a great cast of characters.  The topic of rehab/addiction is core to the story but felt like it was handled well.  I loved Meg and her journey throughout the book.  The ending didn't work for me as well as I would have liked, but I can see other readers liking it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.  Expected publication date is January 23, 2024.

Lone Women - Victor Lavalle

 

This historical fiction/horror follows Adelaide as she leaves her home in California after covering up the deaths of her parents.  She decides to start a new life in Montana as a homesteader with the secret that has ruled her life locked in the steamer trunk along with her.  Once she arrives, she begins to put down roots and join the community - finding other women homesteading without husbands.  But when her secret gets out, it may be the end of Adelaide and her new life. 

I'm not a real big historical fiction reader but I do think I found my niche in these historical fiction horror subgenre. I absolutely love the mix of genres and find the historical fiction portion to feel more like the setting/background to the horror so it doesn't feel as dry as I find regular historical fiction.  Obviously, there is a sliding scale and I find ones like Alma Katsu's The Hunger (which I also loved) to be more of a slow burn compared to Lone Women which really hit the ground running. 

The characters in this are absolutely remarkable.  Before picking this up, I heard from some Booktubers I watch that they DNF'd this in the middle because it slowed down and lost their interest.  I was a bit concerned, especially given my 'meh' feelings toward historical fiction.  However, I loved these characters so much that I loved reading about their more mundane daily struggle of living life out in such a remote area.  I did find the horror subplot to be a consistent thread and threat throughout the read but the middle did feel more character-focused rather than plot-focused. The characters are complex and each has their own reason for wanting a life out here.  While this read does have an added supernatural/creature horror element added, the characters we encounter show the more realistic horrors of this life.

The supernatural/horror element was fantastic and I loved how we were shown right at the beginning of the book that something was off.  We get the horror reveal pretty early on in the read which leaves a lot of time for us to see the impact/effects of that horror played out in this new setting.  We do get some gore, but much less overall than I was expecting given how the book opened.  I loved the amount of backstory we get as the plot progresses and how much depth and character development is wrapped up in the horror.  This was a case where the horror elements deepened the story instead of being just thrown on top as a gimmick. We also get an added horror element of what desperate people will do to others which I think was a realistic addition to the plot. 

I would imagine trying to find a satisfying ending to a book like this must be difficult but I loved where we ended up.  In the author's note at the end, LaValle credits his wife for the ending so big kudos to her!  I do think the ending might be a bit divisive because the story goes off the rails a little bit, but overall I do feel like it fit the plot and characters we'd been following through the book.  I also enjoyed the little epilogue we got so we were able to see the aftermath of the big ending scene and where some of these characters ended up 

Overall, this was a fantastic read and I'm so glad I picked this up from the library.  We get a great cast of characters, wonderful horror elements, and an interesting plot to follow between horror scenes.  

The Heiress - Rachel Hawkins

 

This domestic drama follows Camden McTavish and his wife, Jules, ten years after Camden's mother died.  Camden is the adopted son of Ruby McTavish - North Carolina's richest woman - and when she died, she left her entire estate to him. He originally didn't want anything to do with the money, estranged family, or Ashby House. But now, after his uncle's death, Camden returns to Ashby house with the goal of getting out and back to his normal life as quickly as possible.  But Jules feels differently and the more time she spends at Ashby house, the more she wants Cam to embrace his roots and take everything Ruby gave him.  

This was such a fun first read for the year and was everything I now look forward to in a Rachel Hawkins read.  We get into the meat of the story right away, the characters are a little over the top but fun to read their POVs, and the pacing was fast enough that this was such a popcorn read.  This read to me like a solid domestic drama where I was primarily interested in getting the truth along with the gossip.  I'm not a reality TV watcher, but it felt like this would scratch that same itch.  t didn't feel like there were enough stakes for it to qualify as a thriller or suspense and there wasn't really a core mystery that the characters were trying to solve so domestic drama just felt right. 

The family dynamics in this reminded me a lot of the movie Knives Out where all the family members don't really like each other but they all play nice enough so they can keep the cash flowing around when needed. I also loved how we got details of Ruby's relationship with her family in the past in addition to Cam and the current day family members. This really hit the spot for a book of 'rich people problems' and I know that isn't going to be for every reader, but I really enjoyed it.  I liked how many different interactions we were able to get between all the characters and how we get Cam's and Jules's reactions and feelings of these different interactions.  

If you love the Secrets of the Past trope - then this book is for you. We get secrets on top of secrets and as a result, we get a few unreliable narrators.  Either unreliable to the reader or unreliable between the characters which was a really interesting way of reading that trope.  One of the POVs is letters from Ruby detailing her chilhood/life before adopting Cam and those letters give the reader a lot of insider knowledge that the characters don't have.  So we can see the characters going about their lives with one belief but the reader knows the truth from these letters (and eventually the truth comes out). Jules and Cam each have their own POV chapters and they have their own secrets from each other, the rest of the characters, and the reader as well.  I do think a lot of the reveals of the secrets were pretty easy to see coming and I was really only surprised by one at the very end but I really enjoyed guessing and then reading along to see if I was correct.

The characters were borderline a bit underdeveloped for my taste as a character-driven reader but the act 3 reveals really added a bunch of layers to these characters that I was searching for.  The current day timeline takes place over only a couple of days or maybe a week so there isn't a ton of time for any real character arc there.  However, the amount of flashbacks and family history we get really come in clutch to show us just how far these characters have come.  I do think that if we had a bit more flashbacks of Cam's childhood or his adolescence then that would have helped even more.  We are told a lot about how he didn't like the family and the mental games they played but I wanted to see more of that on page and see the impact it had on Cam.

Overall, this was a really fun, popcorn type of read.  If you love rich people problems, secrets from the past, and messy family stories then this might be right up your alley. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is January 9, 2024