I was really looking forward to reading this book. I absolutely loved Big Little Lies and have tried really hard to love Liane Moriarty’s other books as much as that one. I thought this would be her redemption after Nine Perfect Strangers. Sadly, not so much.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t hate this book, but I also didn’t love it. I was expecting more of a mystery and less of a tennis lesson. When Joy Delaney goes missing, I thought the story would be more about which siblings blamed their father and which supported him and all of them trying to figure out what happened to her. Sadly it was more about their tennis backgrounds and less about what happened to their mother.

I really couldn’t understand why Joy & Stan let Savannah stay with them. Why not just call the cops to get her help? The ending was disappointing to me. Like I just read this longish book and that’s how the mystery is solved? I was just hoping for more since I invested so much time.

There are parts of this book I liked as well. Moriarty’s writing of the family dynamics was done very well. However, I personally thought we needed more mystery and less tennis. I would classify this more as family drama then a mystery, but that’s just my opinion.

I listened to the audiobook, and felt that the narrator, Caroline Lee did a nice job. She is able to make the listener understand the characters emotions with her tone and inflection.

Thank you Libro.fm for an advanced listeners copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lux and Nico live in Hawaii working to save enough money to fix his boat so they can sale off on an adventure! When Brittany and Amma offer to hire Nico to take them to a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific, they pay to fix his boat and allow him to bring Lux with them. When they get to the island it’s not deserted, but a couple, Eliza and Jake, are also there. The six of them decide to make the best of it and enjoy their time together however, the island may have different plans for them.

I couldn’t put this book down while I was reading it. I finished it in a day which is rare for me. The book is suspenseful, and I just needed to know what was going to happen next. The book is atmospheric and the author transports her readers to the island. I had a sense of foreboding while reading it.

I was invested in the characters and felt the dual timeline was a good way to see what brought them to where the were in the present. However, I didn’t necessarily like the characters. They were all flawed in some way.

The problem for me was that it took a long time for anything to happen and when it did, I didn’t necessarily find it believable. I was able to figure out one of the twists which didn’t ruin the story, but I just didn’t see the characters making some of the decisions they did.

Overall, I found this story enjoyable and look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up

When I was asked to review this book by TLC Book Tours I was so excited. I have been wanting to read this since it originally released in May so to be included in the paperback release was amazing!

This book was everything I hoped it would be. From the prologue to set the tone, to Part 1 rooting for Delilah to escape, to the dual timelines with Leo, Meredith, and Lisa’s perspectives of Part 2, I was completely hooked. I didn’t want to put this book down.

There were a few twists which I didn’t see coming which makes a great thriller in my mind. However, there was one twist that brought the story together, but it wasn’t believable in my opinion. It wasn’t that the twist itself wasn’t realistic, but what happened after didn’t seem like how a certain character would have acted from learning about them throughout the story. This is why I’m giving this book 4.5 instead of 5 stars.

Obviously it’s hard to write a review for a thriller without giving spoilers which is why I’m being vague. I will say that overall I really loved this story. It kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Thank you TLC Book Tours and HTP Books for a paperback copy in exchange for my honest review.

After getting divorced, Ivy Perkins decides to buy an old farmhouse in a small town where she doesn’t know anyone. With her dog Punkin by her side, she arrives at the house to see it needs more work than she imagined. None of the furniture has been removed, and there’s still clothes in the closet, but what Ivy didn’t expect to find was a gorgeous old Santa Suit with a history and a mystery attached.

I absolutely loved this novella! I read it in a day because I didn’t want to put it down. I was so invested in Ivy’s life and all the friendships she makes along the way.

One of my favorite parts of the story was the town itself. It was so quaint and cozy and honestly, I want to move their right now!

All of the townspeople we meet along the way were great characters. I really enjoyed Ivy’s friendship with Lawrence. It was so sweet. The way that Phoebe and Ezra were so willing to help Ivy get her house set up was so neighborly. It just warmed my heart.

This story is perfect to get you into the Christmas spirit, but it’s about so much more than the holiday. It’s about kindness and giving and helping others without expecting anything in return. I really hope Mary Kay Andrews writes more books with these characters because I already miss them! 5 big stars from me!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What if you didn’t know the person you married at all?

Hannah and Owen seem to have the perfect marriage living with his 16-year old daughter Bailey. Bailey and Hannah don’t always see eye to eye, but Hannah wants to have a relationship with her stepdaughter. One day, the doorbell rings and a twelve-year old girl is standing there with a note for Hannah from her husband. All it says is

Protect her.

Hannah knows it’s about Bailey, but doesn’t understand what it means. All she knows is that they’ll need to work together to find out why Owen disappeared even if that means bringing up a past they never knew existed.

I got this book in my Book of the Month box last month. It’s categorized as a thriller, but it is not a thriller. I would classify it as a mystery. It helps going into it knowing it’s not a thriller so you aren’t expecting too much.

I really enjoyed this story and the characters. The book goes back and forth from the present to the past. I liked how the author did this to give us some clues into Owen’s past, but also to see how real his relationship with Hannah seemed. I thought the author did a great job showing teenage angst with Bailey’s character, and I found her feelings towards Hannah to be very realistic. Hannah wanting to do anything to gain Bailey’s love, trust, and respect was also written in a way that is relatable to any stepparent.

The one gripe I had was all the risks that Hannah took when she was meant to be protecting Bailey. She definitely put them in some situations that just weren’t safe. Other than that I really enjoyed this story and Laura Dave’s writing. I look forward to reading more books by her.

I loved The Boyfriend Project by @farrahrochon so was so excited to read The Dating Playbook, book 2 in the series. Although this is a series, these books can be read as standalones. They do have overlapping characters though so I do recommend reading them in order to understand the friendship between the three main female characters.

I loved Taylor and Jamar’s story. I don’t always like fake dating books, but thought this one worked really well. They had a lot of chemistry, and there are some steamy parts in this book. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this being sports related, but I ended up enjoying Jamar’s football storyline and Taylor working with him as a personal trainer.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator, Rebecca Lee, did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.

I’m looking forward to reading London’s story next. Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up

I'm a huge fan of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell so when I heard that there was a short story about Reagan, I knew I needed to read it.

This was a cute story set on Christmas in 2020 during the pandemic. It's the first book I've read that focused on the pandemic and wearing masks, social distancing, etc. Reagan takes these precautions seriously so quarantines for 2 weeks so she can spend time with her grandfather on Christmas. There, she meets his neighbor Mason who is also big on social distancing and mask wearing.

I enjoyed reading more about Reagan and where her life took her after college. She was the same sarcastic character from Fangirl, but there definitely was some growth. If you know me, you know I loved Levi from Fangirl, and although he isn't in this story, I'm glad he was at least mentioned a couple of times.

For a short story, Rowell did a great job of showing a connection between Reagan and Mason. I would be willing to read a full book with these characters and Grandpa of course!

I received a free copy of this on Audible. Rebecca Lowman is one of my favorite narrators, and once again she did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.