reading_under_covers's Reviews (1.61k)

Another fantastic debut!

This one is rooted in trauma and racism, and very much written towards a YA audience.

While I loved some of the characters (DUCHESS!!), I wasn’t the biggest fan of the tragedy in this book being used as a way for the white main character to have a redemption arc - felt a bit weird in the overall context of the novel. 

I’m looking forward to seeing what else this author cooks up!

Hmm, this is a tricky review to write simply because this book is “loosely” based on the Gypsy Rose case, which I’m very familiar with and, at times, had a hard time separating the fact from the fiction in terms of how much the author pulled from that story. 

I will say that the routes the author took in this book were intriguing, but also left a bit to be desired in terms of both believability and predictability.

I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I wasn’t already so familiar with the infamous Gypsy Rose case and the morbidity that came with it 😶

Big thank you to the author for giving me the chance to read this one early!

This thriller may be short, but it really packs a punch! It's got a mysterious serial killer, multiple timelines (LOVE), and several twists. 

I felt like I didn't get a really good feel for the main character (some things seemed to come out of left field based on what we do find out about her), and I think a lot of that comes down to the length of the book. 

Overall, a nice popcorn thriller with some really nice moments of suspense!

Publishes February 24.

I wanted so badly to love this because that cover!! 😍

But the story felt flat, the main character’s personality seemed all over the place, and the love interest…was not that interesting?

This book was a bit too short and surface-level for someone who had such a profound life.

KILL JOY by Holly Jackson is a prequel novella to the A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER series, and follows Pip and her friends as they dive head first into a murder mystery party where someone is the killer…

I definitely recommend reading the series before picking this one up since it will give you a better insight into the characters and their relationships with one another, but WOW, I loved being back in this world!

This is a novella, so it wasn’t as long as I would have liked (literally cannot fault the book for that lol), but the story was still so intricately woven and had some fun elements included throughout the story.

The ending was the perfect lead-in to the series and it makes me want to dive into AGGGTM again!

Pick this one up if you need some more Pip in your life!

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

Publication Date: February 28, 2023

I am broken 🥲

This one took a bit to get into just based on the writing style alone - told through journal entries, texts, emails, shotlists of footage cut together - but once I got into the groove of it, I could not put this one down!

The ending did upset me to no end (still not sure if I’m very angry or very intrigued by the whole thing), but it’s got me itching to find out what happens after… 👀 

After being raised by a mother who had no limits when it came to swindling men, Bea is now in it for the long haul. She’ll do anything it takes to leave thoughts of her mother behind, while securing a filthy rich husband for life.

STONE COLD FOX by Rachel Koller Croft is a long con suspense novel that will have you rooting for the swindler!

Bea is self-centered and loves having all eyes on her, and I somehow absolutely loved her for it! Her character should be unlikable in every single way, but her determination to feel taken care of for life somehow had me cheering for her to take everyone around her down a notch.

This one is a slow burn, so you’ve really got to settle in for the long haul, but the chaos of the ending makes it all the more worth it!

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

Publication Date: February 14, 2023