a_stylish_bookworm's Reviews (1.53k)

This book started out so strong with Thea, a therapist, that recognizes one of the new patient as a former actress to one of her favorite movie. They look alike and have an instant connection. When she is discharged mysteriously, Thea is determined to figure if she okay. 

She follows a trail and ends up in Nee Mexico at an alternative retreat. The story is atmospheric and I was intrigued. The host of the retreat, Sol and Moon, are charismatic and it also feels eerily there and very cult like. 

Thea ends up exploring her traumas of the past and it is woven into what is happening at the retreat. The second half of the book truly lost me with dreams, Egyptian references and going into different portals. It just got too wacky for me. 

Thank you @atriabooks for a copy of this.

I read these books out of order and it was nice to see how the series started. I really liked the BTS look at what a transcriber does for a police department. 

Hazel was an interesting character in an unhappy marriage and not happy with the small town. Once she starts her job as the transcriber she gets to see the crimes as she transcribes. It was interesting how she get involved with a crime and how messy it got. 

The story kept me interested and I was curious to see who the killer was.

I am so happy to get Jackson's story. With his heartbroken with Alina falling for his best friend, he moves to Hollywood when an opportunity of a lifetime comes to him. 

He is working his dream job and meets his boss's daughter and they have an instant attraction. The forbidden trope is my favorite so I was so ready for their love story. Not only is Blake, forbidden being the boss' daughter but she is also 10 years younger than her. 

I felt the story truly showed how naive Blake was and I was frustrated with her at times with her not standing up for herself and her obsessiveness with food. There was a lot of internal dialogue that I did not enjoy. I did enjoy seeing her growth journey. 

Their love story was great and though the story doesn't end in a cliff hanger; it does set perfectly to Chase's sisters' story. 

Brooke Bloomingdale & Liam DiCosimo did such a great job with the narration and bringing all the characters to life. 

Thank you @blackstonepublishing for a copy of this audiobook.

This is only my 2nd book from Marrs and I am convinced to read all his books. This was just so dark and twisty. There was not one likeable character in the story, everyone had there own agenda. We have Laura who works at call center that helps people contemplating life and she manipulates the callers. 
Without giving the story away, let's just say one of the caller's family member decides to avenge and find Laura. There were parts of the story I didn't like from a plot perspective but it didn't deter me from enjoying this. 

I enjoyed the multiple POV and narrations by Elizabeth Knowelden, Charlotte Cole, Matthew Lloyd Davies and Tim Campbell which added so much to the story.

A college sports romance where the FMC is the grump and there's fake dating, I am in. We have Briar who is a bit prickly and she meets Thorne and is immune to his charm and quarter back status. They agree to help each other out and sparks fly. I loved the banter between them and seeing both of their growth journey. 
I enjoyed the added element of mystery to the story and how that played out as well. The duet narration by Savannah Peachwood and JF Harding made this story truly come to life.

Thank you @valentine_pr for a copy of the audiobook.

DNF at 45%. This was just not for me. I wasn't really following the story line. Are they just manifesting their fears? I had no idea what was going on and the pacing was slow. I expected more creepy vibes but didn't get it. 

Thank you @macmillan.audio for a copy of this.

If you are looking for a small town with quirky characters and a grumpy/sunshine trope, start book 1 of Story Lake. This is a fun story about Hazel, a writer, that ones to a small town to help inspire her to write. The property she is staying at needs a town of TLC and she meets Cam. They are opposites attract and end up working together. 

I enjoyed Hazel and Cam together and it was the supporting characters that really drew me in. The towns people are a little out there and there's also a problem with the town which they all rally together. 

Lila Winters and Sebastian York did a great job with bringing all the characters to life and making me laugh. I look forward to the next book.

Thank you @hambright_pr @read_bloom for a copy of the book.

Thank you @thedialpress @prhaudio for a copy of this book. 

Bastone knows how to write an emotional read and she got me going through all the emotions with Promise Me Sunshine. This book is about Lenny who ends up nannying a sweet girl and her uncle, Miles, lives upstairs. They form an unlikely friendship and Miles helps Lenny navigate through her grief. 

Their friendship is a lot of fun and I loved the slow burn with their turn to lovers. Despite the story's focus on grief, there's so much hope and joy in the story. All of the supporting characters added so much depth. 

Alex Fink knows how to turn up the emotions and I got teary a couple of times. I highly recommend this on audio.

This book had so much potential. Unfortunately, the author made some racists remarks in the story that was out of left field from the character and didn't add any thing to the story. 

The apology did not feel sincere and felt like the publisher made sure they did not take the blame for it. It just didn't feel right to me.

Thank you @prhaudio @ballantinebooks for a copy of this book. 

This book was 2 mystery for the price of 1. We have Helen who goes to Capri with her family and her friend, Lorna, ends up missing, all the past of Sarah's death resurfaces. The story is very slow paced and atmospheric. There are so many layers to the story and the story is told in multiple POV to give the story depth. 

I curious to what happened to both Sarah and Lorna and all the secrets kept by the Lingate family. Allyson Ryan, Cassandra Campbell and Carlotta Brentan did a good job on narration.