reading_under_covers's Reviews (1.61k)

This one is labeled as horror, but I think it falls more into literary suspense as this book is sooo much about language and had a strong literary feel that fed into the uneasiness.

This one was a hard one to read since it dealt with some heavy topics (tw rape, sexual abuse, alcoholism), but the whole concept of being a model for a funeral home…wow. Honestly, really weird and fucked up, but also so hard to put down. 

While at the historic Levy Castle for a school dance, one of Alice and Iris’ classmates gets badly injured, and Alice and Iris are seen once again playing detective as they seek to find out who caused their classmate harm and why. Secrets from the castle’s past weave themselves into the mystery of the present as the two girls try to get answers.

THE NIGHT IN QUESTION is the second book in THE AGATHAS series by Kathleen Glasglow and Liz Lawson and is once again riddled with nods to Agatha Christie and the detectives she conjured up!

While I still really enjoyed the nods to Christie in this one, I found this book to be less enjoyable than the first in this series (with that being said, I do think it’s important to pick up THE AGATHAS before diving into this one).

Alice’s character came off as immature, rude, and downright unlikeable at times, and it had me itching to get back into Iris’ head with her POV chapters. I did like seeing their relationship with each other and their friends grow, but I found the overall mystery in this one a bit muddled and reaching at times.

I think I’ll still continue my journey with this series if the authors come out with another one after THE NIGHT IN QUESTION, but this one left me a bit underwhelmed.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Delacorte Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: May 30, 2023 

Fast pace, a creepy kid, and a young woman’s search for her mother!!! 😭🤯 I flew threw this one, and while I didn’t loooove how everything wrapped up at the end, this one has a ton going for it!

Out of the blue, Darcy and three of her friends receive an invite from her grandmother Seraphine to join her at her lavish chateau in Provence, France. When the women arrive, Seraphine informs them that she has brought them all there to tell them something very important. However, overnight Seraphine is brutally murdered, and the women must figure out whose secrets are the reason she’s dead.

THE CHATEAU by Jaclyn Goldis is a lavish drama full of secrets, survivors, and picturesque views.

This one alternates among 5+ POVs, each of which felt unique from one another, and was an immediate love for me! However, I feel like we could have learned more about each of the characters and their stories if there wasn’t such a large cast front and center.

My favorite part of this book was the Jewish representation (and the author’s tie-in at the end in her acknowledgments) and the whole storyline and secrets surrounding that, and the mentions of Van Gogh - I could have read an entire book focused on this aspect alone.

Aside from my loves in this one, I found the mystery to be occasionally muddled and the moving parts, while clever, to be confusing at times.

I’d be intrigued to see Jaclyn dive into this genre again!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: May 23, 2023

I loved this book! It handled so many hard topics with grace and Sal and Noor were so incredibly easy to root for!

Poppy, Norah, and Heather are all wealthy moms on the Upper East Side. They’ll do anything to get their eighth graders accepted into elite schools, however, when the anonymous confession site UrbanMyth gets hacked, all of the secrets of the UES elite are exposed, and everyone’s a suspect when one of their own winds up dead.

NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW by Lindsay Cameron was such a fun read! I love reading about messy rich moms and this book delivered that and more.

We alternate among the perspectives of three moms, Poppy, Norah,and Heather, with each of their POVs hinting at secrets that they’re hiding. These points of view are intercut with posts from the anonymous site UrbanMyth (LOVED THE TEA HERE!), and emails with a detective from the local precinct, which made it so easy for this book to be binged!

There was just the right amount of tension, and this one has me excited to finally pick up Cameron’s previous book JUST ONE LOOK!

Big Little Lies and Gossip Girl fans rejoice! This one is for you!

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine, and Bantam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: May 9, 2023

10 years ago, Fern Brookbanks spent a magical day with Will Baxter, and hasn’t heard from him or stopped thinking about him since. Now, she finds herself back at her family-owned resort after her mother suddenly passed away, and she discovers the resort is struggling to stay afloat. Before her mother passed, she hired a consultant to help out…and that consultant is none other than Will Baxter.

MEET ME AT THE LAKE by Carley Fortune was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year after loving EVERY SUMMER AFTER, and I loved loved loved what Fortune delivered!

The characters were raw and flawed, the setting made for the absolute perfect beach read, and the side characters rounded out the cast beautifully.

I loved seeing Fern and Will’s story unfold over the two timelines, and I AM BEGGING CARLEY FORTUNE to consider a Maggie and Peter book because I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT exist without it!

I think readers will eat this one up this summer!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

Reminded me of when I saw this film in theaters with the high school crew 🥲