mrsalwaysreading's Reviews (624)

The Risk

By St. Abby

The Mindf*ck Series # 1

⭐️⭐️

This was so highly recommended. 

And for me it was just boring while also unbelievable. 

It felt like the Perfect series by Blake Pierce. 

Short books that all end on cliffhangers, so you have to buy the next one. 

I’m not invested enough to keep going. 

There was some spice but it wasn’t even spicy. 

Missing In Flight

By Audrey J. Cole

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

What a wild ride! 

This one started off fast and had me in a chokehold until I finished it. 

I NEEDED to know what happened. 

There were enough povs and parallel plot lines that it never got boring. It also didn’t get muddled. 

A couple things felt a little sensationalized or far-fetched but overall this was a great thriller. 

10/10 this was a fear of mine when my kids were babies. 

10/10 this was not the book to read on a plane. 

Enigma

By RuNyx

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I’m not sure how I felt about this one. 

I really enjoyed Gothikana and I had high hopes for Enigma. Sadly, it fell a little short for me. 

The character development just wasn’t there and the plot was very transparent. 

I feel like it could have been developed so much more. 

This one had a lot of trigger warnings, mostly centered around suicide. As a survivor, I appreciated the heads up. 

Who Do I Think I Am?

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes

Read by the author.

You know her as Nail Lady. Or Bon Qui Qui. But there are many layers and versions to Anjelah and her memoir explores them all. 

Well, almost all of them. 

The book was published in early 2022, in which Anjelah explains that her and her husband Manwell didn’t want to have kids… in June 2023 the Reyes’ had a baby girl. So this book is minus the whole motherhood chapter. 

While I try not to ‘rate’ memoirs because it’s someone’s life story, not a work of fiction for entertainment, I will say that the second half of this book was not what I thought it was going to be. 

The Third Gilmore Girl

By Kelly Bishop

Read by the author. 

This was a glimpse into the life of Kelly Bishop, aka Marjorie Houseman, aka Emily Gilmore. 

I really enjoyed a peek behind the curtain into her life. 

Hearing about her adventures was interesting… Sometimes we associate the actors with their characters and this is true for me of Ms. Bishop. I couldn’t imagine her being anyone other than the staunch matriarch from that beloved show. 

She is so so much more. She is witty and dedicated, and has an amazing work ethic. 

Would recommend - just don’t expect more than a chapter about her life on the set of Gilmore Girls. 

The True Love Experiment

By Christina Lauren

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this story telling, the premise, the characters… 

The plot held my attention and the spice was just enough.

I really liked Fizzy and appreciate the way she felt authentic. 

I usually don’t like single-parent tropes but this one was done well. No awkwardness and no weird morning-after scenes. 

It was predictable, but that’s what made it cute. Kinda wish the ending was a little less transparent. Maybe a little more dramatic. But it was good. 

This was my first Christina Lauren book. Won’t be my last. 

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It

By Katy Brent

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don’t really know how to classify this book. 

Part domestic thriller, part comedy, some spice, some gore and some … almost romance? 

It would kinda fit in with the Ruinous Love trilogy but less steamy relationship stuff. 

Female vigilante version of Dexter, maybe? 

I would say this book was ‘alright’. A step above ‘meh’ and not quite ‘GOOD’. 

Read if: you like the show Dexter, or if you like the gory female vigilante trope. 

How To End A Love Story

By Yulin Kuang

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance. 

Fairly straight forward. 

Except not, entirely. 

Unless you suffer from the affliction of experience, it’s fairly easy to read past the character development of Helen, the female lead. 

She’s a sister, whose life was forever altered by the tragic suicide of her younger sister. 

She’s a daughter, struggling with perfectionism and the constant feeling of disappointing her parents. 

She’s an adult woman, fighting feelings for the boy (now man) who was the driver of the car her sister jumped in front of, all those years ago. 

Their forced proximity on a work collaboration brings out the feelings, the healing and the (mild) spice. 

Wrapped up with a very saw-it-coming Happily Ever After. 

You Killed Me First

By John Marrs

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

WHAT DID I JUST READ? 

This book takes psychological thriller to a whole new level! 

I expected there to be a twist… but there were So. Many. Shocking. Twists. 

At first, the multi POVs were confusing but by the halfway mark I knew I was going to binge the book until I was done. 

The ending was great. I didn’t see it coming!

My Murder

By Katie Williams 

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is not a thriller. 

This book was a BOTM pick from July 2023 and was sitting on my shelf. I’m trying to read more from my physical TBR this year, so… 

WHY can’t I seem to look up a book before I dive in? 

This book wasn’t bad, but I was not expecting a book titled “My Murder” to be a literary fiction novel, making me question my own views on the ethics of cloning. 

And entice strong opinions on postpartum care. 

It was a trip I didn’t really want to go on. 

Read if: you enjoy literary fiction and books that make you think deeply.