emilyisoverbooked's Reviews (1.38k)

“There are always options. Particularly when you let go of the version of yourself that got here in the first place. You can cling to the before, or you can try to live in the after, you know?”

What did I just read?! This was a fast-paced, crazy “boat murder” book as Rachel Hawkins dubbed it. The deserted island setting was fantastic, especially with its morbid history and the fascination of all the characters with this spooky but “hopefully perfect” tropical destination. Although it was fast-paced, I felt like nothing much really happened in the first half of the book, and then more thrilling events took place in the second half. None of the characters were very likable… they’re sleazy, entitled, and disloyal, leaving me wondering who I was really cheering for or what I wanted the outcome of the book to be. My head is reeling a little bit from finishing this… whew, what a whirlwind!

I recommend not reading the synopsis and going into this one blind!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this ARC!

“As in the Mama Bear tagline, we love people but demolish their ideas.”

“…in that moment, the moment of the crash, it made me realize that monsters didn’t hide in the woods; they weren’t shadows in the trees or invisible things lurking in darkened corners. No, the real monsters moved in plain sight.”

Woooowww this was such an amazing, haunting, suspenseful read! The storyline was morbid and fast paced, and the twists were perfectly revealed. I didn’t want to put it down! I was reminded of all the Criminal Minds episodes I watched in college, and of all those movies where I found myself going “No!!! Don’t do it!!!” and then of course the main character goes and does it anyway. This is a great read for someone who is good at predicting who the bad person is - because even if you guess that here, I guarantee you won’t guess all the twists! I can’t believe this is a debut from Stacy Willingham - I will definitely be reading her future books!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

“I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that my skin’s humming and my cheeks are warm, and the sound of my name on his lips echoes in the snowy silence.”

The Mistletoe Motive is an enemy coworkers-to-lovers Christmas novella from one of the finest - Chloe Liese. We get her perfected slow burn style with a nice hat tip to It’s A Wonderful Life, as Bailey’s Bookshop is threatened by the bigger, more powerful chain, Potter’s. Gabriella and Jonathan have fun, quirky chemistry and you can’t beat the indie bookstore setting for a fun holiday romance! I devoured this in one perfect evening.

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