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1.28k reviews by:
noladawnreads
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Margot Thornsen is raised in a life of privilege in post-WWII NYC. Her overpowering mother has expectations of Margot to marry well as the heir to her grandfather's steel fortune. However, Margot only wants to go on to pursue an education in microbiology... uncommon in the 50s. A fire changes everything and the world is open to her as she heads to Radcliffe; right as the dawn of a new age is opening up in 1960s, one of cultural and sexual freedom.
Margot is funny at times, but mostly poignant and a touchstone of the epic times in the 60s. The journey of a introverted young girl to a woman becoming aware of her sexuality at a time when women didn't have a voice~ rings especially true in the current politcal climate.
The narration by Karissa Vacker is on point, as always. From achingly tender and innocent to demonstrating self discovery and pain, she once again proves she's a master with her voice.
Thank you Tantor Audio for the gifted audio! Available NOW!
Margot is funny at times, but mostly poignant and a touchstone of the epic times in the 60s. The journey of a introverted young girl to a woman becoming aware of her sexuality at a time when women didn't have a voice~ rings especially true in the current politcal climate.
The narration by Karissa Vacker is on point, as always. From achingly tender and innocent to demonstrating self discovery and pain, she once again proves she's a master with her voice.
Thank you Tantor Audio for the gifted audio! Available NOW!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion, War
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is amazing, the kinds of tricks that the mind can play on you after two, three, four nights without sleep. The kind of things that it can make you believe.
One year ago Isabelle Drake’s life was changed drastically. Her toddler Mason was taken in the middle of the night while she and her husband, Ben, were asleep in the next room. Since then Isabelle hasn’t slept… at all. She’s had cat naps and micro sleeps where she loses track of time, but not a solid chunk of sleep since that night. Ben left her in that year as well.
This is not Isabelle’s first time having a sleep difficulty however. As a child she was a sleepwalker and worried her parents and sister with this problem. Are these issues connected?
Now, she’s out on the true crime circuit telling Mason’s story, hoping to get a lead since it’s pretty much a cold case at this point. At the latest true crime convention she’s approached by a podcaster who would like to tell her story. Waylon Spencer says he can possibly help to solve Mason’s case. Will it work?
🫠Told in first person with a MAJORLY unreliable narrator
⏰Dual timelines- now and then (my fave trope!)
🔥slowwwww burn thriller
👨👩👧👧Family drama/🤰motherhood
🔍Fans of True Crime will be hooked!
🐊 Southern setting- reminiscent of Southern gothic
Stacy Willingham has gained an instant auto-buy fan here! I somehow missed FLICKER IN THE DARK but that will be remedied quickly (and it’s been picked up by HBO for a series!)
This was a twisty thrill ride. Isabelle was fleshed out beautifully. I felt her pain and emotion throughout. Isabelle was so unreliable it was hard to know who to trust, even whether to trust what she was saying. But that was what was so good. Every time you think you have it figured out, it twists again. As a southerner, I was also really into the whole marsh, southern, creepy vibes. Upped the ante so much. This was my last and MOST FAVORITE thriller of the year.
I also listened to the ALC and really enjoyed the narration by Karissa Vacker. She had amazing depth and emotion. Her voice was perfect for Isabelle.
The author’s note was exceptional as well. Must read!
Release date: January 10, 2023
🚨Warnings below may contain spoilers.
🚨TW: Suicide, Drugs, Child Abduction, Postpartum Psychosis
Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur, and Macmillan Audio for the early release copies!! (less)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What an absolute treat! Very Agatha Christie. Loved the setting. Loved the characters. Loved the telling from multiple perspectives. Didn’t want to put it down.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beautiful father-daughter love story told through time travel. Alice wakes up in the early morning after her 40th birthday to find she’s back in her 16 year old body, in her childhood bedroom with her still healthy and vivacious dad in the next room.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Is it ok to say to love a group of assassins…. because I totally fell in love with this group of sixty year old female killers! They’re spunky and slick and dripping with sarcasm. The four ladies have been assassins for forty years and they’re finally retiring, or so they think. Now, it seems, they’re the ones being hunted.
Bonus: I always love when a story pays homage to my hometown and Deanna Raybourn really got into the grit of New Orleans. The time the crew spent there and as she describes the walking of the streets and alleys you could feel what I love so much about home.
Bonus: I always love when a story pays homage to my hometown and Deanna Raybourn really got into the grit of New Orleans. The time the crew spent there and as she describes the walking of the streets and alleys you could feel what I love so much about home.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am one of those rare people who actually liked The Scarlet Letter when we “had” to read it in American Lit in high school. I can’t say the same about Moby Dick, but luckily that’s not the retelling we’re talking about here. Laurie Lico Albanese has created this beautiful piece of art in Hester, an imagined prequel, if you will, to Hester Prynne and her world in The Scarlet Letter.
It’s the early 1800s and Isobel Gamble, a twenty-year-old seamstress from Scotland, has emigrated to Salem, MA with her much older husband Edward. They both hold secrets. She has synesthesia, whereby she can see colors for words, and he is addicted to poppy. Isobel is the descendant of an accused witch in Scotland and she’s headed right into Salem, home of the notorious Witch Trials. All the more reason to keep her secret hidden lest she be thought to be a witch. Upon arrival she catches the eye of Nathaniel Hathorne, grandson of one of the judges of the trials; he later added the W to distinguish himself from his ancestors.
When Edward goes back to sea in search of riches Isobel must rely on her needlework to keep her alive. She is reminded to “trust the needle.”
The story alternates between Salem and Scotland, roughly 150 years apart. Nathaniel (Nat) and Isobel’s story is interwoven with Isobel’s struggles to fit into Salem society as well as the depiction of the beginnings of the Underground Railroad.
This was truly a remarkable read. It had depth and richness and strong character development. It’s one I won’t soon forget.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the early review copy!
It’s the early 1800s and Isobel Gamble, a twenty-year-old seamstress from Scotland, has emigrated to Salem, MA with her much older husband Edward. They both hold secrets. She has synesthesia, whereby she can see colors for words, and he is addicted to poppy. Isobel is the descendant of an accused witch in Scotland and she’s headed right into Salem, home of the notorious Witch Trials. All the more reason to keep her secret hidden lest she be thought to be a witch. Upon arrival she catches the eye of Nathaniel Hathorne, grandson of one of the judges of the trials; he later added the W to distinguish himself from his ancestors.
When Edward goes back to sea in search of riches Isobel must rely on her needlework to keep her alive. She is reminded to “trust the needle.”
The story alternates between Salem and Scotland, roughly 150 years apart. Nathaniel (Nat) and Isobel’s story is interwoven with Isobel’s struggles to fit into Salem society as well as the depiction of the beginnings of the Underground Railroad.
This was truly a remarkable read. It had depth and richness and strong character development. It’s one I won’t soon forget.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the early review copy!