reading_under_covers's Reviews (1.61k)

I’ll start by saying that I loved how meta Christie got with this one! Calling Poirot old and having Mrs. Oliver (a mystery writer) go on about hating the detective in her books and not being able to do anything about it was truly a delight. 

This one was exceptionally weird because it was written in the 60s and had a lot of older generation characters hating on the “hippie youth” including plenty of drugs, velvet coats, and long hair (could unfortunately picture some of the older people in society today having the same rants in a more problematic way)

The big reveal at the end was also very *head scratch* huh???? Haha idk, maybe Christie was also on a cocktail of all of the hallucinogenics at the time of writing this one 

A quick read like all of her other books, but a bit less put together. 

When Nicole and Tom win the lottery their lives change. They build a custom state-of-the-art home dubbed the Glass Barn and begin their new lives on their shared property with the luxurious Manor House. However, when Nicole comes home one day to find her husband dead in the pool, she begins to question if her neighbors can be trusted.

THE MANOR HOUSE is the latest fast-paced thriller from Gilly Macmillan.

This one was quick with its multiple POVs (including our deceased, Tom’s) and had that juicy need to flip through pages that Gilly tends to elicit in her books!

However, I had a hard time liking any of the characters - they felt two-dimensional and naive despite the fact that they should have been quite complex. I also felt myself harboring some questions at the end that were never fully answered.

I’m definitely in the minority with my meh-ness (and my obvious love for her last book THE LONG WEEKEND), so definitely give this one a shot if you love a quick-paced thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: Nov 7

This one was rough for me… maybe it was the length of the story, my lack of care for all of the side characters, or that last sentence!!!! Like wtf?!

I’ll read more in this series, but this one was a drag.

This was, in fact, a warm and witchy hug of a book.

I found myself smiling while reading and loved getting to know all of the people at Nowhere House!

It’s The House in the Cerulean Sea but with witches and I loved loved loved it.

Loved loved loved getting to travel back to Hill House!

I enjoyed the uniqueness of this story and the nods back to the original crafted by Shirley Jackson, and watching the characters slowly lose their minds was a real treat 😉

Hand did a great job when it came to keeping the spirit of Hill House alive!

It's always tricky to rate short story collections as some stories stand out a lot more than others, but this book had, overall, a good selection of enjoyable reads!

My absolute faves were:
• Eye & Tooth
• The Rider
• Dark Home
• Flicker
• A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree
• Your Happy Place
• Hide and Seek

The first line of this book had me so pumped and then it quickly went downhill from there.

This is the second Natasha Preston book I’ve read and probably my last. Her YA writing style is maybe too YA for my taste and the main character did soooo many stupid things, making the story feel even more unbelievable.

Honestly, not worth all of those pages read 😩

Ashley Winstead is so good at changing it up with each book she writes!

This one was eerie with a million nods to Twilight and I absolutely devoured it!

Already can’t wait for what she comes up with next.

When ten teen influencers are invited to a private island to star in the reality tv show IRL, they’re looking forward to the digital detox that comes along with it. However, when one of them gets ‘canceled’ and their lies start being revealed, they begin to question if one of them has an ulterior motive.

PEOPLE TO FOLLOW by Olivia Worley is one of many recent “influencer thrillers” that I have picked up and devoured over the last couple of years.

The cast of characters was both fun and awful to get to know, and the intrigue of who can be trusted kept this story fast-paced for me.

This book didn’t do anything groundbreaking from what I’ve already seen in this sub-genre, but it was pretty freakin fun regardless.

Come for the drama and angst of influencers and stay for the mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: October 31

Overall, a lot going on for the first book in a series and if I hadn't already seen the movie based on this one, I may have been a bit lost considering the reader is immediately thrown into the story and we don't get any real background on Enola.