booklistqueen's Reviews (634)

 A year ago, Isabelle Drake's life was dramatically changed when her toddler was taken while she and her husband slept in the next room. Once a sleepwalker but now suffering from crippling insomnia, Isabelle is obsessed with finding Mason. When she turns to a true crime podcaster for help, Isabelle begins to doubt her memories and worries that she might have been responsible.

Stacy Willingham's sophomore novel is an excellent domestic thriller, even better than her debut. With plenty of red herrings and great twists, All the Dangerous Things will keep you gripped to the page, never knowing which character you can trust. Even better, the character development is top-notch. Full of nuanced women, the story shows so many facets of motherhood, both good and bad. 

In a Middle Eastern country on the brink of civil war, fierce Nadia and gentle Saeed begin a romance, nestled securely in love as the city erupts around them. As violence escalates, they begin to hear rumors of doors with the ability to whisk you away to another part of the world. Yet as the world changes, so do Nadia and Saeed. With just a hint of magical realism, Exit West is a unique work of literary fiction that provokes more thoughts than emotions. Hamid dispassionately tells a tale of desperately clinging to the past while trying to forge a new future. 

 Forget hustle harder and work smarter. What women really want are lives of fulfillment. Jenna Kutcher, the host of the popular Goal Digger podcast, teaches that instead of trying to have it all, you should be striving for a work/life balance that lets you actually enjoy your life. Kutcher wants you to understand who you are, help you build a support system that will enable you to build a life full of success, joy, and time to enjoy it.

I've listed to the Goal Digger podcast on and off for years, so I was curious to see what Jenna Kutcher had to say in her new book. Instead of getting into online marketing, helps you remember that success is more than just a number on a spreadsheet. Advocating for constant check-ins, Kutcher knows that what you think you want isn't always what we really want. Although I appreciated the mindset approach, I was hoping for more expert level marketing expertise similar to her podcast. 

 With their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, the Rangers have always terrified Will. Some say they practice magic that makes them invisible. When Will is chosen as a Ranger's apprentice, he finds they are the protectors of the kingdom, and the kingdom desperately needs protecting. For the exiled Morgorath is amassing forces to retake the kingdom in this fun series of fantasy novels for younger young adults.

My 11-year-old son is obsessed with the Ranger Apprentice series, so he was ecstatic when I asked to borrow the first book from him. The series kicks off with The Ruins of Gorlan, a very short read that was really fun despite being full of predictably common tropes. Aimed at a younger audience, The Ruins of Gorlan makes for an excellent entry into the series. Because it's very short, you can test and see if your kid will like it. And if they end up loving it, there are about 30 more books they can read and enjoy. 

 Ana Montes was one of the US government's top experts on Cuba, working her way up the ranks to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The daughter of an Army Colonel, Ana's family was full of patriots; her siblings were FBI agents, and her sister Lucy was responsible for hunting out Cuban spies. Yet, even Lucy was shocked when, in the days after 9/11, Ana was arrested as a secret agent for Cuba. With Ana Montes's release from prison scheduled in January 2023, Jim Popkin details the opposite routes two sisters took and how one turned into the most-damaging spy against America.

Who knew the story of the most deadly spy in US History could be so completely and utterly boring. With stilted writing full of cliches, Code Name Blue Wren was more informative than interesting. Popkin failed to add any force behind his writing, and I finally gave up at the 25% mark, realizing that the writing was never going to improve enough for me to care about this book.

 When Ann Stillwell gets a job working for The Cloisters, a gothic museum studying divination, she finds she enjoys discussing the researchers' outlandish theories on the history of fortune-telling. Until Ann finds a 15th-century deck of tarot cards that may actually tell the future. As the past and future seem to blur, things quickly turn deadly and Ann is in a race to find answers.

I've been seeing Read with Jenna's book club praise this book up and down social media, and I just don't get the hype. Admittedly, Hays does a great job painting the perfect dark academia setting. However, the story itself was glacially slow, full of unlikeable characters whose motives didn't really make sense. Unless you are obsessed with academia, I'd skip this overrated bestseller. 

 Brand marketing expert Kubi Springer teaches you what it takes to build your own unforgettable personal brand. Covering everything branding from colors and logo, your purpose and target audiences, and marketing campaigns and budgets, Springer's advice is for those who want to make big impacts, whether individuals in a corporation, small business owners, or even large business marketers. With solid advice, Springer conveys her expertise in concise and understandable language free of cliche business jargon.

I randomly picked up I Am My Brand at Barnes & Noble, thinking it would help me become a better Instagram influencer. Springer's book is not about being an influencer, it's a legit brand marketing that was more in-depth than I was expecting. Although I don't think I'm quite at a high enough level to really benefit from her advice, I did find the mindset and purpose chapters insightful and will be referring back to her book as my business grows. 

 In a wealthy New England neighborhood, the death of Eden Perry puts the residents under the spotlight. Quickly, suspicions fall upon the three teenagers Eden was partying with - sweet but unstable Hannah, popular bully Jack, and outsider Christopher. When Christoper is arrested, the parents turn on each other, willing to risk anything for their kids.

Amidon's domestic thriller is more of a family drama than thriller, feeling like a less-satisfying version of Liane Moriarty's popular books. Locust Lane focuses solely on the parents, each desperately trying to protect their own, causing the truth to get tangled up and lost. However, the fractured storytelling with so many point-of-views resulted in a lot of backtracking, slowing the pace too much.

In the late 19th century, Anna lives on a farm telling her brother Caleb tales of their mother, who died in childbirth when he was born. When their father sents out an advertisement for a bride, he is answered by Sarah Elizabeth Wheaton of Maine. When Sarah comes to visit, Anna and Caleb immediately fall in love, and are desperate for her to stay. A sweet little tale, Sarah, Plain and Tall made the perfect audiobook for a road trip, coming in at only an hour long. 

 Although they were inseparable growing up, Emily and Chess have begun to grow apart in their 30s.  Now Chess is a bestselling self-help author and influencer while Emily is going through a nasty divorce. They hope to reconnect on a girls' trip to a gorgeous Italian villa that was the setting of a celebrity murder and the inspiration for a bestselling horror novel and a platinum album. The further Emily tries to solve the long-ago murder, the more Chess becomes uncomfortable and their hidden secrets come spilling out.

Though the luxurious Italian setting was utterly perfect, The Villa didn't have the same unputdownable factor that made Reckless Girls a bestseller last year. The beginning is slow, going light on suspense and heavy on drama. Although I enjoyed the past timeline, the unlikeable characters made this an easy to read, yet forgettable mystery.