I am obsessed with this series. It is probably my favourite crime thriller series. Hunter and Garcia are such lovable characters and their banter adds some lightness and fun to the dark murders. I loved getting to see more of Dr Hove as well. The postmortem chapters were so interesting. 

This can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading them all. The books in this series are normally next level gruesome but whilst the murders were gory I would say they weren't as graphic as they normally are. They were, however, disturbing on an emotional level. The dark reveal at the end showing exactly what had happened was grim. 

It is a bit of a slower burn compared to his other books but it works so well. Working out if it is actually a case for the ultra violent crimes unit and trying to solve a crime with no leads that just adds more questions. Then another suspicious death that adds even more confusion ramps up the suspense. I honestly had no idea who the killer was. I really enjoy trying to work out what genius link Hunter will find but they're always tough to spot. The ending is super tense and I couldn't work out how or even if they were going to solve the problem. 

Carter really knows how to write a thriller that keeps you hooked until the very end. I actually read this in a day because I could not put it down. Highly recommend if you love a dark and gritty thriller with lovable detectives. 

I received an ARC

Karin Slaughter has always been one of my favourite authors and I have devoured both the Grant County and Will Trent series. That being said this one wasn't my favourite. It might have something to do with it being a locked room mystery which isn't my cup of tea. As with all Slaughter's books, it's long which I normally love but this one dragged a bit. It's definitely a slow burn. I think the constant mentions and descriptions of the Lodge and the various trails took me out of the story. Will & Sara's honeymoon level relationship felt a bit awkward as well but I am so happy they are getting their happily ever after. Well at least for now because you can never trust Slaughter

There are a lot of characters to keep track of which also gives us a lot of suspects. Pretty much every character is hiding something. As the book goes on more and more secrets are uncovered which adds so much drama. The McAlpine family is seriously messed up. I did have my suspicions about the killer but I couldn't work out a motive and damn was that reveal dark. We all know Karin Slaughter loves a dark topic so just be aware of the trigger warnings before delving in because there are a lot of traumatic events involved. I loved getting to know Mercy more through her letters to her son but it made her murder even more devastating. 

I would say this is probably one of the few books in the Will Trent series that can be read as a standalone but obviously, you would miss out on some of Will & Sara's growth. As always Faith was my favourite character and I would love to see more of her. The same for Amanda. They both add so much to the series and always make me laugh. While this book wasn't my favourite from the series, it's still a fantastic read and I will always read her books. I think Slaughter has set the bar too high for her books and the slower pace threw me off.  

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley

I'm fully in my cowboy romance era but this one was a bit of a flop. The chemistry was nonexistent. I love an enemies to lovers but we go from them hating each other to a random kiss with no build up. Then the smut was cringey, not helped by the repeated usage of the words moist folds, I actually checked whether the book had been written by a man. The only character I actually liked was Tanners Dad Jeremiah.Yes, he was grumpy but he had a fun personality. Amanda's character didn't seem to have a direction although she did grow on me by the end when she stood up to everyone. It is slow going though and nothing much happens. When we get to the conflicts they are solved in a chapter each. There wasn't nearly enough groveling for how badly they treated her. Then to tie it up with that ending was too much. I actually laughed out loud at how ridiculous it was. Although I think my biggest pet peeve was that they repeatedly used the phrase could care less instead of couldn't. 

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley 

This book has some gorgeous pictures and so much knowledge on the different groups of horses and their backgrounds. It was interesting to see the evolution of these incredible animals. I never realised quite how many different breeds of wild horses there are. It would make a stunning coffee table book. 

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley

I’m not sure I would call this a hockey romance. There’s more about interior design than hockey which didn’t bother me but is something to bear in mind. However, this book wasn’t really for me. There wasn’t much chemistry between Nick and Alyssa and the miscommunication was beyond frustrating. Just one conversation would have solved everything. The fight they had using art instead of actual words was so stupid. I thought their pasts would add some depth to the characters but theres a lot of telling and not showing. We get told that they’re healing from their trauma but I wanted to see the actual character growth. The second plane issue was written so weirdly that I thought it was a dream at first. The sex scenes were so cringey, it felt like they were written by a teenager. The whole pirate and jolly roger thing nearly made me dnf and I kinda wish I had. It just needed some more fleshing out.  

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley and this is my honest review

This is the 20th book in the Kim Stone series and I swear they just keep getting better. I do recommend reading them all in order because there are a lot of characters to keep track of. Seeing the team grow and adapt to everything they've been through is beautiful but you may be confused if you haven't read the previous installments. It's not a hardship though because there isn't a single bad book. I really enjoyed getting to see more of Tink in this book. I hope we get more of her. She's so lovable. The team is my favourite thing about this series. 

I love that we always get a controversial topic woven into the crimes and this time it was beauty pageants. It was such an interesting element to the murders. We also get to see more of Kim's vulnerable side when she faces her feelings towards her own mother. As for the investigation, there are plenty of twists and turns to suck you in. I had no idea who the killer was and the reveal was both shocking and a little heartbreaking. As always I look forward to more Kim Stone adventures

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley

 This ended up being a DNF for me. There was too much about the reality dating show and the many side characters and I just wasn't feeling any chemistry between the love interests. If you want a book about a bachelor tv show then this is a great choice but there just wasn't enough focus on the romance for me.