lilibetbombshell's Reviews (2.79k)

Kids. They only come home when they need money or to do laundry. That’s what my mom has always said. Olivia Dumont shows up at her estranged father’s house nominally for the money, but she ends up staying for answers about the family that was gone before she was even born and whose tragedy overshadowed her entire life. 

I’m a huge fan of books about writers or other books, and The Ghostwriter is no exception. Ghostwriting is a fascinating profession, one that takes a certain type of writing talent that can often be maligned. When this book begins we meet Olivia in the aftermath of the most dreaded thing a woman can do when in the company of a huge panel of other authors: tell off a white male writer. Cue lack of work. Cue basically being blackballed. It’s this financial despondency that leads her to accept a job ghostwriting what will likely be her dad’s last novel, no matter how much she doesn’t want to lower herself to work with him. 

Clark makes no pretense of comparing Olivia to her deceased aunt, Poppy, and even though it’s a rather trite thing I also loved the parallel because of how it showed how little women’s rights have progressed since 1975 (when about half of the book takes place). The Equal Rights Amendment had been proposed in 1972 and by 1975 had several states signed onto it, but momentum was beginning to slow. Maybe it’s just me, but I see a certain corresponding sadness that connects Poppy’s tragic death with the coming downfall of the ERA and it makes later revelations in the novel even more poignant. 

There’s also a sad connection between Olivia’s dad in the present and his older brother, Danny, who was the other murder victim in the past. Painful memories and things that have happened to them that were out of their control result in explosive tempers and unreliable behavior. 

It was a great thriller all around and a terrific summer read. 4⭐️

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. 

File Under: Disability Rep/Murder Thriller/Suspense Thriller/Thriller

Coming of age grows into coming of rage as an exiled and imprisoned princess is let out of her tower after nearly a decade only to exchange the prison she knew for the unknown and unwanted prison that is a forced engagement to a warlord. 

If you took the song “Look What You Made Me Do” and gave it a tavern song arrangement, then I think that would be the end credits song on a movie made from this book. Part of what makes this book a great read is how Vita’s (our protagonist) personality grows and character develops throughout the book, from the truly naive and sheltered girl who’d been isolated and hated for so long to a cunning and considerate woman who knows when to stand tall and when to bend in order to turn tides and get what she needs. By the time the climatic scenes toward the end of the book hit, she’s a glorious creature of rage and power. 

Likewise, this book has a fantastic supporting cast that really keeps this book character-focused, which I enjoyed. This book isn’t heavy on world building and while the plot does involve alchemy it doesn’t go too heavily into it, either. The emphasis is truly on the characters and it’s nice to get that in a fantasy novel and have the characters be so nuanced. There’s a lot of gray morality in the supporting characters and that helps take the shine off of Vita so we don’t always see her as some sort of savior in an ivory tower. 

This was an engaging read with a lot of great action scenes and I really enjoyed it. 4⭐️

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Adult Fantasy/Coming of Age/Fantasy/Forbidden Romance/LGBTQ Fantasy/Political Fantasy/Sapphic Romance/Standalone

Couldn’t connect to the characters or story. 

Lyndall Clipstone’s rate of writing books with worlds you just want to fall into and live in now scores a four out of four, because I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to live in the land of Verse and the small, seaside village the Arriscanes and the Felimaths call home. If you’re in love with the idea of a book set in a place where it’s simultaneously The Hamptons both in High Season and off, then this is it: parties full of rich people wearing fancy clothing and jewelry while eating expensive food at Saltswan (the Felimath’s manor house); and then the more relaxed, intimate, low-key atmosphere of the cottage where the Arriscane’s live that might as well be the definition of cottagecore in the best way. 

Lacrimosa Arriscane, Alistair Felimath, and Camille Felimath went to the same school as small children, thrown together by geographical circumstance before class and familial duty put walls between them. Self-identity is one of the largest themes in TIAD, and the lifelong bonds the core three characters of this book share are essential to the plot and to their character development. Small towns can breed small minds and often it's only the people who have known you best and for the longest that can rescue you when you feel like you’re drowning and home starts to feel like a foreign word. 

This book is soft, hazy, whimsical, dark, lush, romantic, and saturated with Clipstone’s stunning prose. It’s overflowing with atmosphere and vibes and is a feast for those who love a read full of aesthetics. Light some candles, sit beside an open window, read on a beach, pack a picnic. Let the light in. 4⭐️

I was provided a digital copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. I was also provided a gifted copy of the physical ARC by the author and the folks at Books Forward PR. Thanks very much. All of my thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. 

File Under: Coming of Age/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Folk Fantasy/Forbidden Romance/LGBTQ Fantasy/Polyamorous Romance/Sapphic Romance/Standalone/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy/YA Fiction