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stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)
I was hooked on this book right from the start! I thought the pacing was really good and there were different twists and turns along the way. I will say I did get a little lost with some of the computer jargon but it wasn't enough to deter me from the story. The book is over 400 pages so perhaps reading it there may be lulls in the middle but listening to it I was consumed in the story.
The three main relationships in the book: Ariel with her son Buzz, Ariel with her son's father Drew and Ariel with her coworker Zain - all 3 of these were just so wonderful!! I loved seeing Ariel and her son's interaction and just how being a mom is so important to her. We get the backstory of how she meets Drew and their relationship up until his death. And then we have quiet & reserved Zain who Ariel worked with on helping with the mystery of the text that appeared. They just trusted each other so much and had such a respect for one another.
From what I have heard Sarina is a queen at writing romance so it felt natural that she included a little bit of her craft into this. And it definitely made me swoony and also made me want to go and read her hockey romances (I may or may not have some on my shelf).
There were three narrators in this: Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann, Jason Clarke. I thought all three of them did a fantastic job with their respective point of views especially Kathleen who did a bulk of the narration as Ariel.
I am excited to see more of Sarina in this space. I thought this was such a strong debut in her doing a genre outside her norm.
If you are fan of thrillers with a little romance and a messy family - consider checking this one out!
The three main relationships in the book: Ariel with her son Buzz, Ariel with her son's father Drew and Ariel with her coworker Zain - all 3 of these were just so wonderful!! I loved seeing Ariel and her son's interaction and just how being a mom is so important to her. We get the backstory of how she meets Drew and their relationship up until his death. And then we have quiet & reserved Zain who Ariel worked with on helping with the mystery of the text that appeared. They just trusted each other so much and had such a respect for one another.
From what I have heard Sarina is a queen at writing romance so it felt natural that she included a little bit of her craft into this. And it definitely made me swoony and also made me want to go and read her hockey romances (I may or may not have some on my shelf).
There were three narrators in this: Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann, Jason Clarke. I thought all three of them did a fantastic job with their respective point of views especially Kathleen who did a bulk of the narration as Ariel.
I am excited to see more of Sarina in this space. I thought this was such a strong debut in her doing a genre outside her norm.
If you are fan of thrillers with a little romance and a messy family - consider checking this one out!
Thank you so much to Minotaur Books & St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copy!
This book will be published on May 28th, 2024.
This is my third Alex book (still need to read his debut) and as much as I loved this last book, this one may have dethrone the prior. I was hooked from the start and with the fast paced short chapters, it really helped move the story along.
"Whoever said if you're seeking revenge dig two graves - one for your enemy and one for yourself.- had it almost right."
Similar to his last book, Finlay broke the book down into 3 point of views (Poppy, Ryan and Shane) which all eventually converge. As I was reading, I was trying to figure out how all were connected (of course I was wrong). I am not sure which storyline I enjoyed following the most as at different points I was tapping on my screen to hurry to get to the next chapter as often times they were left. There were a lot of side characters that were thrown at you and that sometimes made it hard to remember who was who and what role they played.
I paired my reading with the audiobook. I was very happy that they had 3 different narrators for each of the point of views. Helen Laser, John Pirhalla and Paul Dateh all did an excellent job with their character. What doesn't always happen with narrators is that they sounded like their age. There was a character that was clearly older than the other two and they had a older sounded voice which made it feel believable. Their voices mixed with Finlay's writing made the listening experience enjoyable!
This book is such a suspenseful ride from start to the end. I think this book will be great for summer & readers will eat it up!
PS - I am always happy when Philadelphia is a setting in a book!
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copy!
This book will be published on May 28th, 2024.
This is my third Alex book (still need to read his debut) and as much as I loved this last book, this one may have dethrone the prior. I was hooked from the start and with the fast paced short chapters, it really helped move the story along.
"Whoever said if you're seeking revenge dig two graves - one for your enemy and one for yourself.- had it almost right."
Similar to his last book, Finlay broke the book down into 3 point of views (Poppy, Ryan and Shane) which all eventually converge. As I was reading, I was trying to figure out how all were connected (of course I was wrong). I am not sure which storyline I enjoyed following the most as at different points I was tapping on my screen to hurry to get to the next chapter as often times they were left. There were a lot of side characters that were thrown at you and that sometimes made it hard to remember who was who and what role they played.
I paired my reading with the audiobook. I was very happy that they had 3 different narrators for each of the point of views. Helen Laser, John Pirhalla and Paul Dateh all did an excellent job with their character. What doesn't always happen with narrators is that they sounded like their age. There was a character that was clearly older than the other two and they had a older sounded voice which made it feel believable. Their voices mixed with Finlay's writing made the listening experience enjoyable!
This book is such a suspenseful ride from start to the end. I think this book will be great for summer & readers will eat it up!
PS - I am always happy when Philadelphia is a setting in a book!
Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Red Tower for sending me a wonderful PR box including a copy of the book!
"Love is a balm...as well as a blade on your neck."
I am very vocal about how I do not read fantasy but I dabble here and there. I had been told prior to reading that this was fantasy lite and I have to agree. I was so happy that I was able to follow the stories of the characters and then was waiting for them all to somehow collide.
I love all the characters and with having so many POVs you really got to be inside their head and with them on this journey. I like how the author paired them up to work together and you didn't know until the last bit who was real and who was the traitor.
I have to say this author TEASED THE ROMANCE SO MUCH! I was happy that there was some intimate times that did make me swoon but it was very vanilla. I mean look at this quote below and tell me how does a romance reader not lose their mind over it: "I'll refrain from licking it." "Don't ever let me stop you from using your tongue." COME ON!
I primarily listened to the book via audio (which had a full cast of narrators) but I did have the book next to me for reference as I was listening. All the narrators were absolutely fabulous! I was happy that they had 6 different narrators for each of the POVs. All their voices were so good and really made their characters. The audiobook is around 15 hours long but I felt like it moved rather quickly.
The last 10-15% really sets you up for the next book.
Bring it on!
"Love is a balm...as well as a blade on your neck."
I am very vocal about how I do not read fantasy but I dabble here and there. I had been told prior to reading that this was fantasy lite and I have to agree. I was so happy that I was able to follow the stories of the characters and then was waiting for them all to somehow collide.
I love all the characters and with having so many POVs you really got to be inside their head and with them on this journey. I like how the author paired them up to work together and you didn't know until the last bit who was real and who was the traitor.
I have to say this author TEASED THE ROMANCE SO MUCH! I was happy that there was some intimate times that did make me swoon but it was very vanilla. I mean look at this quote below and tell me how does a romance reader not lose their mind over it: "I'll refrain from licking it." "Don't ever let me stop you from using your tongue." COME ON!
I primarily listened to the book via audio (which had a full cast of narrators) but I did have the book next to me for reference as I was listening. All the narrators were absolutely fabulous! I was happy that they had 6 different narrators for each of the POVs. All their voices were so good and really made their characters. The audiobook is around 15 hours long but I felt like it moved rather quickly.
The last 10-15% really sets you up for the next book.
Bring it on!
I will not make this a very long review because there are so many reviews out there.
But this is my favorite book I read in May. I absolutely LOVED this one so much!!!
This is classified as a dark romance and I have not read any dark romances previously. And I don't try to read about books that I want to read for the element of surprise so all I knew about this book is that it was about two serial killers who fall in love. I watched all the seasons of Dexter so I felt like that prepared me for this book.
What I wasn't prepared for was HOW SWOONY THIS BOOK WOULD BE. Rowan *my heart* I would take a bullet for this man. The banter between him and Sloane was perfection. And Sloane is such a badass! I would love to be her bff (though Lark is pretty awesome herself).
My book had a bonus chapter which if you had done the audiobook I do not believe you get access to this and oh my goodness it was just such a great way to wrap up Rowan and Sloane's story.
I am so glad I don't have to wait long for Lark & Lochlan's story! And I just hope we do get glimpses of Rowan and Sloane (which I imagine we would).
This book will not be for everyone. But I really enjoyed it! Will I be going to find more books like this? Likely not but I will continue with this series and maybe will seek out other books by the author as I like her style (if it's similar to this book).
Sampling of some quotes I enjoyed:
"You're all the best things to me, Sloane. No matter how many bruises are in your heart or on your skin."
"Are you afraid of losing again, pretty boy?"
"I'm afraid of losing you."
"You might be psycho, but you're my psycho, and I'm yours. Got it?"
But this is my favorite book I read in May. I absolutely LOVED this one so much!!!
This is classified as a dark romance and I have not read any dark romances previously. And I don't try to read about books that I want to read for the element of surprise so all I knew about this book is that it was about two serial killers who fall in love. I watched all the seasons of Dexter so I felt like that prepared me for this book.
What I wasn't prepared for was HOW SWOONY THIS BOOK WOULD BE. Rowan *my heart* I would take a bullet for this man. The banter between him and Sloane was perfection. And Sloane is such a badass! I would love to be her bff (though Lark is pretty awesome herself).
My book had a bonus chapter which if you had done the audiobook I do not believe you get access to this and oh my goodness it was just such a great way to wrap up Rowan and Sloane's story.
I am so glad I don't have to wait long for Lark & Lochlan's story! And I just hope we do get glimpses of Rowan and Sloane (which I imagine we would).
This book will not be for everyone. But I really enjoyed it! Will I be going to find more books like this? Likely not but I will continue with this series and maybe will seek out other books by the author as I like her style (if it's similar to this book).
Sampling of some quotes I enjoyed:
"You're all the best things to me, Sloane. No matter how many bruises are in your heart or on your skin."
"Are you afraid of losing again, pretty boy?"
"I'm afraid of losing you."
"You might be psycho, but you're my psycho, and I'm yours. Got it?"
Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the complimentary book!
If you are a fan of libraries, are a librarian, want to be a librarian or going to school to be a librarian you should read this book.
The main storyline throughout the book is about a fire that burned over 7 hours in April of 1986 destroying 400,000 books and damaging 700,000 books. But it was so much more. It talked about the history of libraries, the value of libraries and notable figures throughout the history of libraries.
This book was very fact heavy and I was reading it in small chunks as it was a lot to take in. So be prepared for that if you do decide to read. But I suppose that comes with the territory of a non fiction book.
I recently started working part time at a library and this game me such appreciation for the history of libraries. And I get so happy to see people come in and out on the days I work. I am also still amazed at how people are still getting new library cards and then there are those who do not use any of the services the libraries offer. The book does talk about at the end how much the library does for their communities and I know I see it at the one I work with and those I follow.
I paired my reading with the audio and the author was the narrator. I thought her narration was really well done. You could tell how much research and work Orlean put into crafting this book.
A quote that I found memorable:
"The idea of being forgotten is terrifying. I fear not just that I, personally will be forgotten, but that we are all doomed to being, forgotten - that the sum of life is ultimately nothing; that we experience joy and disappointment and aches and delights and loss, make our little mark on the world, and then we vanish, and the mark is erased, and it is as if never existed."
Note: I do not rate non fiction books.
If you are a fan of libraries, are a librarian, want to be a librarian or going to school to be a librarian you should read this book.
The main storyline throughout the book is about a fire that burned over 7 hours in April of 1986 destroying 400,000 books and damaging 700,000 books. But it was so much more. It talked about the history of libraries, the value of libraries and notable figures throughout the history of libraries.
This book was very fact heavy and I was reading it in small chunks as it was a lot to take in. So be prepared for that if you do decide to read. But I suppose that comes with the territory of a non fiction book.
I recently started working part time at a library and this game me such appreciation for the history of libraries. And I get so happy to see people come in and out on the days I work. I am also still amazed at how people are still getting new library cards and then there are those who do not use any of the services the libraries offer. The book does talk about at the end how much the library does for their communities and I know I see it at the one I work with and those I follow.
I paired my reading with the audio and the author was the narrator. I thought her narration was really well done. You could tell how much research and work Orlean put into crafting this book.
A quote that I found memorable:
"The idea of being forgotten is terrifying. I fear not just that I, personally will be forgotten, but that we are all doomed to being, forgotten - that the sum of life is ultimately nothing; that we experience joy and disappointment and aches and delights and loss, make our little mark on the world, and then we vanish, and the mark is erased, and it is as if never existed."
Note: I do not rate non fiction books.
Thank you so much to the author Sophie Andrews for an advance copy of the book & the complimentary audio.
This book will be published on May 31st, 2024.
I was warned by Sophie that this was quite sad and she herself calls this her sad girl romance. And whewww she was not wrong. This was way different compared to the other books I have by her.
“The past couple of days, I’ve learned a lot about the heart. I’ve learned it’s the strongest muscle in the body. And that it can break into a million pieces, yet the body will still go on. I’ve learned one second, the heart can work perfectly normally, and the next, it stops.”
Andrews has been sharing her experience with her grief leading up to the book release (I recommend go to her IG page to watch). And you could feel every ounce of pain, release and the path of healing throughout the pages of the book. Grief is not linear no matter who in your life you have loss.
My heart broke for Cassandra. There was just so many changes happening at once and it is only natural for her mind to spiral. I just could not imagine being in her shoes and getting hit on all sides. Some could argue this is fiction and things like that wouldn't really happen. I beg to differ. I feel like in real life when one domino falls other follow right behind.
As I mentioned above that the author called this her sad girl romance, but I would say romance takes a backseat to grief and finding herself once again. The romance between Vince and Cassie was very sweet and felt organic. Vince was so empathic to Cassie's situation. He had done everything he possible could to make Cassie know that what she was feeling was normal. I know she felt that like she was no good and that he didn't deserve her but I was glad she had walked away at that point. She needed to seek help and get her brain settled before she could be in a relationship. Granted how she got to that point was extreme but sometimes that is what needs to happen to truly have your wake up moment.
I paired my reading with the audio that was provided by the author. I thought the narrator Rachanee Lumayno did a great job with all the characters especially Cassie. She brought her vulnerability and even the angst when Cassie was being not herself.
I am a forever fan of Sophie's work and I am glad she was able to get this story out. I know a lot of people will be able to find comfort in this story. Words are a powerful tool and has a way to heal.
PS - Her parents especially the dad was the worst.
This book will be published on May 31st, 2024.
I was warned by Sophie that this was quite sad and she herself calls this her sad girl romance. And whewww she was not wrong. This was way different compared to the other books I have by her.
“The past couple of days, I’ve learned a lot about the heart. I’ve learned it’s the strongest muscle in the body. And that it can break into a million pieces, yet the body will still go on. I’ve learned one second, the heart can work perfectly normally, and the next, it stops.”
Andrews has been sharing her experience with her grief leading up to the book release (I recommend go to her IG page to watch). And you could feel every ounce of pain, release and the path of healing throughout the pages of the book. Grief is not linear no matter who in your life you have loss.
My heart broke for Cassandra. There was just so many changes happening at once and it is only natural for her mind to spiral. I just could not imagine being in her shoes and getting hit on all sides. Some could argue this is fiction and things like that wouldn't really happen. I beg to differ. I feel like in real life when one domino falls other follow right behind.
As I mentioned above that the author called this her sad girl romance, but I would say romance takes a backseat to grief and finding herself once again. The romance between Vince and Cassie was very sweet and felt organic. Vince was so empathic to Cassie's situation. He had done everything he possible could to make Cassie know that what she was feeling was normal. I know she felt that like she was no good and that he didn't deserve her but I was glad she had walked away at that point. She needed to seek help and get her brain settled before she could be in a relationship. Granted how she got to that point was extreme but sometimes that is what needs to happen to truly have your wake up moment.
I paired my reading with the audio that was provided by the author. I thought the narrator Rachanee Lumayno did a great job with all the characters especially Cassie. She brought her vulnerability and even the angst when Cassie was being not herself.
I am a forever fan of Sophie's work and I am glad she was able to get this story out. I know a lot of people will be able to find comfort in this story. Words are a powerful tool and has a way to heal.
PS - Her parents especially the dad was the worst.
Mini Audiobook Review: I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book! I thought the connection between Truly and Collin felt natural and their banter was top notch. I was just enrapture by the story from start to finish. Love that both of the characters were bisexuals. It just was an enjoyable listen!
The narrator was Lauren Sweet which I have listened to other books with her narration and I thought she knocked it out of the park!
PS - Who wouldn't grab this book solely for the MMC who looks like Joe Keery!
The narrator was Lauren Sweet which I have listened to other books with her narration and I thought she knocked it out of the park!
PS - Who wouldn't grab this book solely for the MMC who looks like Joe Keery!
Mini Audiobook Review - Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for sending me a copy of this book!
This book is out NOW.
I really enjoyed this one!!!! This was the exact quick, easy breezy romance I needed after finishing up another book. I am a sucker for fake dating and even though this was a slow burn I was okay letting it simmer. I thought the couple's chemistry felt natural and it progressed in a timely fashion. I also loved their meet cute in the beginning. I love the interaction with his family and how his mother just knew that she was the one for him.
Even with all the cute romance and relationship stuff, each family was dealing with their own thing - Amerie's mother has a chronic illness and Vincent's family still grieving the loss of his brother.
I thought this was a great debut and I am looking forward to more from the author in the future!
Angel Pean did the narration and I thought she did a beautiful job! She brought such life to Amerie and did an excellent job with all the other characters as well. It was a very easy listen.
This book is out NOW.
I really enjoyed this one!!!! This was the exact quick, easy breezy romance I needed after finishing up another book. I am a sucker for fake dating and even though this was a slow burn I was okay letting it simmer. I thought the couple's chemistry felt natural and it progressed in a timely fashion. I also loved their meet cute in the beginning. I love the interaction with his family and how his mother just knew that she was the one for him.
Even with all the cute romance and relationship stuff, each family was dealing with their own thing - Amerie's mother has a chronic illness and Vincent's family still grieving the loss of his brother.
I thought this was a great debut and I am looking forward to more from the author in the future!
Angel Pean did the narration and I thought she did a beautiful job! She brought such life to Amerie and did an excellent job with all the other characters as well. It was a very easy listen.
Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for the complimentary copy of the book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio of the book!
This book is out NOW.
"Do you think life is pain broken up by moments of happiness, or happiness interspersed with moments of pain?"
Sigh. This was such an anticipated read for me but I just felt like it just was a book not for me at this time.
This book takes place in two timelines except you don't really know its the past until you start to listen to Louie's point of view. I do wish that the book and the audiobook indicated it was in the past and the timeline (the year maybe). And the other timeline is in present day through Noemi's voice. Her timeline was much more interesting to me and it could very well be because of my struggle with the audio.
I did find the context of the text to be very interesting and I was into it but it was just so hard to stay focus with the audio to really enjoy. Yes I know I could have turned off the audio and read with solely my eyes but I didn't.
I think part of my struggle with this book was the male narrator for Louie. I just could not get into the cadence of his voice and it made me not want to keep. And then in the contrast the female narrator was excellent. I love her tone & thought it was an easy listen when she would speak.
Medina highlighted the experiences that a lot of Native Americans face with alcoholism, drug abuse and high suicide rates which I felt is important to include.
Please look at other reviews to judge if you should read this or not as I know I am not providing the best review. But I will say if you decide to read this, I recommend just reading with your eyes.
I want to go back and read Sister of the Lost Nation and will likely read his work again in the future.
I am not deterred from reading his work.
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio of the book!
This book is out NOW.
"Do you think life is pain broken up by moments of happiness, or happiness interspersed with moments of pain?"
Sigh. This was such an anticipated read for me but I just felt like it just was a book not for me at this time.
This book takes place in two timelines except you don't really know its the past until you start to listen to Louie's point of view. I do wish that the book and the audiobook indicated it was in the past and the timeline (the year maybe). And the other timeline is in present day through Noemi's voice. Her timeline was much more interesting to me and it could very well be because of my struggle with the audio.
I did find the context of the text to be very interesting and I was into it but it was just so hard to stay focus with the audio to really enjoy. Yes I know I could have turned off the audio and read with solely my eyes but I didn't.
I think part of my struggle with this book was the male narrator for Louie. I just could not get into the cadence of his voice and it made me not want to keep. And then in the contrast the female narrator was excellent. I love her tone & thought it was an easy listen when she would speak.
Medina highlighted the experiences that a lot of Native Americans face with alcoholism, drug abuse and high suicide rates which I felt is important to include.
Please look at other reviews to judge if you should read this or not as I know I am not providing the best review. But I will say if you decide to read this, I recommend just reading with your eyes.
I want to go back and read Sister of the Lost Nation and will likely read his work again in the future.
I am not deterred from reading his work.
Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for the advance copy!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary audio!
This book is out now.
This is my very first Mary Kay Andrews so I had no idea what to expect from her writing. All I knew in my head is that she is one of the queens of summer books and I thought it was women's fiction. Perhaps her other books gear towards women's fiction but I would say that this book is not that. It definitely would be a great summer read as this book as a little of everything - smidge of romance, a murder without being scary and friendships.
There was a lot happening with this book. At one point I wrote down at least 8 point of views/characters that we had heard from (unclear of what the exact number is). Usually when there are that many point of views I tend to get confused but somehow it worked. Each character had their own distinguished voice and we didn't linger too long on each which helped keep the story moving.
I had done the audio of this and Kathleen McInerney did an excellent job handling all the different characters. It is easy to get storylines confused when there is only one narrator taking on multiple POVs but because of how Andrews wrote it worked really well. Even though this clocked in at almost 15 hours, I felt like it went by rather quick. When I still had 2 hours left, I thought what more could happen at this poor hotel and then more does!
This would be a great pool side or beach reach for the summer if you are looking for something that has a little bit of everything!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary audio!
This book is out now.
This is my very first Mary Kay Andrews so I had no idea what to expect from her writing. All I knew in my head is that she is one of the queens of summer books and I thought it was women's fiction. Perhaps her other books gear towards women's fiction but I would say that this book is not that. It definitely would be a great summer read as this book as a little of everything - smidge of romance, a murder without being scary and friendships.
There was a lot happening with this book. At one point I wrote down at least 8 point of views/characters that we had heard from (unclear of what the exact number is). Usually when there are that many point of views I tend to get confused but somehow it worked. Each character had their own distinguished voice and we didn't linger too long on each which helped keep the story moving.
I had done the audio of this and Kathleen McInerney did an excellent job handling all the different characters. It is easy to get storylines confused when there is only one narrator taking on multiple POVs but because of how Andrews wrote it worked really well. Even though this clocked in at almost 15 hours, I felt like it went by rather quick. When I still had 2 hours left, I thought what more could happen at this poor hotel and then more does!
This would be a great pool side or beach reach for the summer if you are looking for something that has a little bit of everything!