whatskatiereading's Reviews (521)

If you’re looking for a bingeable thriller to knock out during social distancing, look no further. This book had me creeped out in a way that I haven’t felt since reading Verity last summer. I know this book has been receiving a lot of hype and let me tell you it is well-deserved.

I enjoyed the writing style, how it jumped back and forth between Alicia and Theo, between the present and the past. The parts that explored Theo's personal life were interesting to read. I had moments of liking him, moments of hating him, and overall I just wasn't sure if I could trust him or not. The same goes for Alicia--part of me was on her side, but her motives throughout the book remained unclear. That type of second guessing is something I love to experience when reading a book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, twisty thriller.

The three Sweeney Sisters have drifted apart, but are brought together following the death of their father, famous author Bill Sweeney. In the midst of sorting out their father’s estate in Connecticut, a reporter from DC shows up claiming to be a fourth Sweeney sister. Through the results of a DNA test she won at an office holiday party, Serena Tucker finds out that her father is literary genius Bill Sweeney. I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s some serious family drama going on following this shocking revelation. I blew through this book over the course of a couple of days, wanting to know what lies and secrets would be uncovered next. The character development was great. At first I found myself thinking “I’m not going to have sympathy for these rich brats”, but as I read more I found the characters to be complex and relatable. Thank you Goodreads and William Morrow for my copy of The Sweeney Sisters!

A lot of people have said this was a slow read for them, but I personally flew through this book. The story takes place in Odessa, TX in the 1970s amidst the oil boom. The chapters are told from different points of view, introducing the reader to different women living in the town who each have their own struggles and unique situations. The one thing that threw me off at first was the lack of quotation marks. I eventually got used to it, but I found myself having to reread a sentence every once in a while. I would have liked to have had more chapters from Glory’s point of view, but I did love the other characters in the book too. Especially DA. Fans of Where the Crawdads Sing night find this one right up their alley! Thank you Harper and Goodreads for my copy of Valentine, as well as the awesome postcards that came with it!

The story starts out with three siblings walking home from school. They stumble across a boy in a field who has been severely beaten up. By stopping and calling for help, the siblings have saved the boy’s life. What follows is sort of a coming-of-age story that alternates between the three siblings’ points of view. Duncan’s story was by far my favorite, and his bond with the new family dog, Lily, is adorable. The writing throughout the book is phenomenal and it was such a joy to read. It was also on the shorter side, which I have personally been enjoying lately. Thank you Harper and Goodreads for my advance copy of The Boy in the Field! Be sure to look out for this book in August.