en-US Thu, 03 Jul 2025 14:34:17 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 221115923 A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends. 

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…]]> 400 Samantha Downing 0593101030 Dennis 0 currently-reading 4.40 2025
author: Samantha Downing
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 220160134 In this heartrending spin on the zombie mythos, a brilliant scientist desperately searches for a cure after a devastating epidemic while also hiding a monumental secret—her undead husband.

Having always preferred the company of microbes, British scientist Kesta Shelley has spent her life peering through a microscope rather than cultivating personal relationships. That changed when Kesta met Tim—her cheerleader, her best friend, her absolute everything. So when he was one of the last people in London to be infected with a perplexing virus that left the city ravaged, Kesta went into triage mode.

Although the government rounded up and disposed of all the infected, Kesta is able to keep her husband (un)alive—and hidden—with resources from the hospital where she works. She spends her days reviewing biopsy slides and her evenings caring for him, but he’s clearly declining. The sedatives aren’t working like they used to, and his violent outbursts are becoming more frequent. As Kesta races against the clock, her colleagues start noticing changes in her behavior and appearance. Her care for Tim has spiraled into absolute obsession. Whispers circulate that a top-secret lab is working on a cure, and Kesta clings to the possibility of being recruited, but can she save her husband before he is discovered?]]> 352 Leigh Radford 1668081210 Dennis 0 currently-reading 3.98 2025
author: Leigh Radford
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 219848350 The #tradwife murder mystery we’ve all been waiting for. From the bestselling author of The Sicilian Inheritance and the creator of the Under the Influence podcast comes an explosive thriller about two estranged friends, a grisly murder, a sudden disappearance, and the truly shocking revelation that everyone is lying to you about something . . .

Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college. After graduation, Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated.

Fifteen years later, Bex is now Rebecca Sommers, a “traditional” Instagram influencer with millions of followers who salivate over her perfect life on her ranch with her five children and handsome husband, Gray. Lizzie is a struggling magazine writer, watching reels while her young children demand her attention.

One night out of the blue, Bex calls Lizzie with a career-making proposition—an exclusive interview with her about her multimillion-dollar business venture and an invitation to MomBomb, the high-profile influencing conference.

At the conference, Bex goes missing and Gray is found brutally murdered on their ranch. Lizzie finds herself plunged into the dark side of the cutthroat world of social media that includes jealousy, sordid affairs, swingers, and backstabbing. She must learn who her old friend has become and who she has double-crossed to try to find her, clear her name, and maybe even save her life.
 
Piazza’s master storytelling and razor-sharp insight into the world of social media brings us a pulpy, juicy, and cleverly plotted read that will have you guessing all the way through and leave you gasping for more.]]> 336 Jo Piazza Dennis 0 currently-reading 4.12 2025
author: Jo Piazza
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 230014568 A shocking murder in the New Zealand bush—and the witness who looks all too familiar—draws a woman back to the very place she swore she’d never return to in this breakneck debut thriller.

A child who ran from the forest.
A woman who must return to it

Growing up with her younger siblings in the unforgiving New Zealand bush, Effie believed their parents had cut them off from civilization because they loved Nature. She never suspected that their reasons might be more menacing. After witnessing a terrifying episode of violence, she escaped the wilderness to forge a life for herself halfway across the globe.

Now, when she learns the only witness to a murder is a little girl who looks just like her, Effie is compelled to return to the scene of her troubled childhood, where the secrets of her upbringing and the terrors of her past come rushing back to the surface. In order to find out once and for all what became of her family—and possibly help this mysterious girl who could be her younger self—Effie must face her greatest fears once more.]]> 384 Zoe Rankin Dennis 0 to-read 4.32
author: Zoe Rankin
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222420066 The Notebook meets The Haunting of Hill House in this split timeline queer twisted love story, set against the backdrop of a haunted English manor.

William Thorn had his life all planned out… until he discovered his long-term boyfriend Archie in bed with another man. Distraught, William kicks him out of their home, where tragedy strikes when Archie is killed instantly in a car accident.

Riddled with guilt, William is shocked to learn that he’s inherited a manor in the quaint village of Stonewall, left to him in Archie’s will. He leaves the city with plans to make a new start for himself, but is surprised by the rundown state of the manor, and the unwelcoming villagers who want him gone. His only ally is Edward, a seemingly friendly local with secrets of his own.

However, it’s not only the villagers who are adverse to his presence. A malevolent spirit roams the manor, one that seeks to drive William out for good. But when he uncovers the heartbreaking tale of two men in love in the 1920’s, William strives to find peace for the spirit, ending the haunting once and for all.

But what dark secrets lie hidden in the manor walls? And will William be able to put aside his own grief to save his new home...and his life?

An evocative tale from #1 bestselling author Ben Alderson, exploring grief, trauma and the bones of the past, The Haunting of William Thorn is the perfect read for fans of the gothic.]]> 400 Ben Alderson 1915998832 Dennis 0 to-read 4.41
author: Ben Alderson
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220687907 When two best friends' hobby of crashing weddings takes a deadly turn, they’re forced to embark on a road trip of survival in this addictive thriller.

How well do we really know our friends?

As the only Black women at an antebellum-themed wedding, Kayla and Zorie should’ve known this heist was doomed from the start. They should never have come, but when their financial situation became dire, they agreed to hit one last wedding.

Jaded and cynical Kayla has spent the last decade trying to fix her life since an angsty teen prank led to her arrest. Now, with her housekeeping job at a subpar hotel and her disappointing, Cinderella-esque relationship with her dad and obnoxious stepsister, she hates the life she’s built. Her only bright spots are her best friend, Zorie, and their favorite weekend pastime of crashing weddings to steal the money and pawn the gifts. But what started as a lark has evolved into a greedy obsession, making each wedding haul riskier than the last.

While trying to avoid the angry bride and groom, Kayla and Zorie's getaway takes a gruesome turn and suddenly the “Wedding Crash Killers” are national news. The best friends are forced to hit the road to dodge the authorities, but their escape plan leaves behind a bloody trail of destruction from Georgia all the way to the bayou. As past grudges resurface, Kayla realizes that the best friend she thought she knew is more dangerous than she could ever have realized.

Sharp, unpredictable, and madcap from start to finish, Love You to Death is the most fun—and deadly—road trip you’ll ever take.]]> 320 Christina Dotson 0593874978 Dennis 3 3.69 2025
author: Christina Dotson
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/07/02
date added: 2025/07/02
shelves: 2025, contemporary, light-thriller
review:

]]> 220999092 “No one does suburban paranoia like Shari Lapena.”—Ruth Ware

The new gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden–working from home that day–has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.]]> 352 Shari Lapena 0593832442 Dennis 4
When a wife and mother vanish without a trace, a sleek luxury condo becomes the setting for a chilling mystery. Sam comes home to find Bryden’s car in the garage, her laptop open, phone on the table, and keys in their usual spot—yet she’s nowhere to be found. As the investigation unfolds, secrets bubble to the surface, and the perfect life Sam thought they begins to crumble.

Shari Lapena delivers another addictive domestic thriller, packed with red herrings, hidden agendas, and characters you’ll suspect at every turn. With her signature fast-paced style and cliffhanger chapters, this is a book you’ll want to devour in one sitting. Even with the red herrings, I did see parts of the ending coming, but the tension and twists make the journey irresistible. Lapena is always a 3 or 4 star read for me since I do believe that her books follow a similar formula, but why change something that works?!

RANKING:
1. Everyone Here Is Lying
2. An Unwanted Guest
3. Someone We Know
4. Not a Happy Family
5. What Have You Done?
6. The End of Her (DNF)]]> 4.02 2025
author: Shari Lapena
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/07/02
date added: 2025/07/02
shelves: 2025, contemporary, light-mystery, light-thriller
review:
Shari Lapena is the suburban thriller Queen. Her books are always very similar in set up, but what sets her apart is the way they always play out uniquely in their own rite.

When a wife and mother vanish without a trace, a sleek luxury condo becomes the setting for a chilling mystery. Sam comes home to find Bryden’s car in the garage, her laptop open, phone on the table, and keys in their usual spot—yet she’s nowhere to be found. As the investigation unfolds, secrets bubble to the surface, and the perfect life Sam thought they begins to crumble.

Shari Lapena delivers another addictive domestic thriller, packed with red herrings, hidden agendas, and characters you’ll suspect at every turn. With her signature fast-paced style and cliffhanger chapters, this is a book you’ll want to devour in one sitting. Even with the red herrings, I did see parts of the ending coming, but the tension and twists make the journey irresistible. Lapena is always a 3 or 4 star read for me since I do believe that her books follow a similar formula, but why change something that works?!

RANKING:
1. Everyone Here Is Lying
2. An Unwanted Guest
3. Someone We Know
4. Not a Happy Family
5. What Have You Done?
6. The End of Her (DNF)
]]> 236809177 Gowns. Champagne. Murder.

Hollywood, but make it French, for twelve days straight, as the red carpet rolls out to the riviera for the Cannes Film Festival. The most famous people are all here to celebrate themselves, while the rest of the world watches in awe. And with a heavy dose of envy, at least for three young, ambitious, talented women who can't seem to climb up from the bottom rung of the Hollywood ladder. As they swirl in the glitz of Cannes, the VIP invitations seem so hard to come by, and the A-list so far away. It's enough to drive them a little crazy. Enough to make them snap and do things they might—or definitely will—regret.

It's a good thing they're invisible . . . until a multi-million-dollar necklace vanishes and a dead body is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea. Then, the heat of the spotlight turns up so hot that they have nowhere to hide. Now their biggest dreams are even further out of reach. Or can you get away with theft and murder if you want it badly enough?]]> 320 Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau 1464229430 Dennis 0 to-read 0.0
author: Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
name: Dennis
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217387798 A deliciously satisfying and suspenseful story about what happens when a clique of wealthy Manhattan private school moms start getting a taste of exactly what they deserve, instead of just what they can pay for.

Meet Frost, Morgan, and Nell—a wealthy, gorgeous group of New York City moms, the queen bees of downtown Manhattan. Their children attend Atherton Seminary, the top private school in the city, and their social lives revolve around elaborate themed parties.

On the first day of school, the arrival of a new mom and mysterious beauty from Miami named Sofia shakes up their world. When Sofia quickly integrates herself into their clique, inexplicably bad things start to happen to the women. Frost is the victim of a hit-and-run electric scooter incident. Nell's dream of launching a fashion line is thwarted when the clothing samples cause people to break out in a rash. Morgan's new sound bath spa is robbed at gunpoint by a moped-driving thief. Morgan declares it all a "negative event cluster," but the other women aren't so sure.

Is someone at school out to get them? Another mom with a vendetta? Let’s not forget to mention the handsome headmaster, Dr. Broker, who every mom has a crush on (and one of them might be sleeping with).

Spanning the course of one eventful Fall in New York, ending with a Surrealist New Year's Eve Ball—and a possible death, Mean Moms is part satire of upper crust mom-ing and part mystery, interrogating the line between friendship and jealousy, and getting at the question What would happen if the woman standing next to you at school pick up was actually a sociopath?]]> 304 Emma Rosenblum 1250364205 Dennis 2 2025 Pineapple Street 2.0 IYKYK 3.87 2025
author: Emma Rosenblum
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/06/30
date added: 2025/06/30
shelves: 2025
review:
Pineapple Street 2.0 IYKYK
]]> 220223963 The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder—now a hit Netflix series—returns with her first novel for adults: a twisty thriller about a young woman trying to solve her own murder.

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.

Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.

Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder.

She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.

Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.

She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:

Jet is going to solve her own murder.]]> 400 Holly Jackson 059397705X Dennis 2 ⁣
NOT QUITE DEAD YET is broken into “days” and had too much filler for me. I feel like the storytelling is broken into “days” to perfectly align with a limited series (each day = each episode), but by doing that, we are given an extreme slow burn with almost no action as the story develops.
⁣
The book starts off strong by giving us a protagonist with nothing left to lose, but given how long it is, I expected more once I got so far into the story. The protagonist, Jet, is awesome, but the slow burn development just doesn’t pay off for me. The ending is extremely anticlimactic and I felt like I wasted my time. ]]> 4.27 2025
author: Holly Jackson
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/06/28
date added: 2025/06/30
shelves: 2025, light-mystery, light-thriller, slow-burn
review:
I was really excited about Holly Jackson’s adult thriller, NOT QUITE DEAD YET, because everyone raved about her YA thriller, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, but after I picked it up I realized I had a theory for why I didn’t enjoy this book.
⁣
NOT QUITE DEAD YET is broken into “days” and had too much filler for me. I feel like the storytelling is broken into “days” to perfectly align with a limited series (each day = each episode), but by doing that, we are given an extreme slow burn with almost no action as the story develops.
⁣
The book starts off strong by giving us a protagonist with nothing left to lose, but given how long it is, I expected more once I got so far into the story. The protagonist, Jet, is awesome, but the slow burn development just doesn’t pay off for me. The ending is extremely anticlimactic and I felt like I wasted my time.
]]> 235992687 The author of the “master class in suspense” (Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author) The Chamber returns with a high-tension thriller about a family’s descent into darkness that is perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Lisa Jewell.

Peggy and Drew, both aspiring writers, move to an isolated canal boat with their fourteen-year-old son. Peggy is the glue that holds their family together, even as their son is bullied relentlessly for his physique and his family’s lack of money. But when Drew becomes frustrated by his wife’s sudden writing success, he moves their boat further and further from civilization.

With their increasing isolation, personal challenges become harder to ignore, even as they desperately try to break toxic generational patterns. But when Drew’s gaslighting becomes too much for Peggy to take, it sets off a catastrophic series of events.

With Will Dean’s signature “well-drawn characters and excellent prose” (Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author), Adrift is gripping exploration of the ties that bind when everything spirals out of control.]]> 352 Will Dean 1668080052 Dennis 0 to-read 4.67
author: Will Dean
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.67
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220239038 From the bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant comes a propulsive new thriller: Fifteen years ago, Frida and her brother escaped a cult. Now her brother is the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and it isn’t the first time.

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE SUMMER: The New York Times, USA Today, Oprah Daily, Boston Globe, Marie Claire, Crimereads, Apple Books, 카지노싸이트, Brit + Co, She Reads

“Clémence Michallon is one of the most daring, exciting new voices in psychological suspense; she writes page turners with stunning and surprising depths.” – #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell

"Thought-provoking and shocking. A perfect summer read.”—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of She's Not Sorry

Innocence doesn't bail you out; it just makes you easier to trap.

Frida and Gabriel arrive seeking a fresh start at the stunning Ara Hotel in the secluded desert of Escalante, Utah. Once so close they were able to finish each other’s sentences, they’ve grown apart in recent years after a sudden, unspeakable tragedy. Now, at the luxe resort, they are ready to reconnect between dips in the pool and hikes on spectacular desert trails. It all feels like paradise—until the dead body of a beautiful young woman who was vacationing at the Ara with her powerful, much older husband is discovered.

When the local police arrive and suspicion quickly falls on Gabriel, Frida is forced to revisit memories from their upbringing in a cloistered cult in upstate New York, their dramatic escape, and the scandal that followed. Frida’s belief in Gabriel’s innocence never wavered at the time, but now even she can’t ignore the evidence mounting against him.

Alternating between past and present timelines, Our Last Resort builds toward a shattering climax that uncovers the fate of the murdered Ara guest and poses the question: how well do we ever really know those we love? Multi-layered, gripping, and intense, Clémence Michallon’s latest suspense novel is a nail-biter until the last page, cementing her status as a major new talent in the genre.]]> 320 Clémence Michallon 0593802764 Dennis 4
Frida and Gabriel arrive at the remote, luxurious Ara Hotel in Escalante, Utah, hoping to heal their fractured bond after a devastating tragedy, but their plans for renewal are shattered when a young woman is found dead at the resort. As suspicion falls on Gabriel, Frida is forced to confront haunting memories of their childhood in a cult, their desperate escape, and the scandal that changed everything—while grappling with the possibility that Gabriel may not be the man she thought he was.

This book hooked me right from the beginning. I loved the dynamics between siblings, the mystery behind whether Gabriel is innocent or not, and the cult backstory that has affected the twosome. I read this book via audio (thank you @prhaudio) and it was an incredible way to immerse myself in Michallon's world in OUR LAST RESORT. I really enjoyed the pivot Michallon took with this from her debut, The Quiet Tenant, as this one is less gritty and more in-your-face tense. The mystery had me dabbling on who I should root for at times and I loved being able to question my own thoughts on how to proceed, which is a testament to the suspenseful storytelling Michallon provides here. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and if you are a fan of cults, psychological thrillers, family sagas, and The Quiet Tenant, then OUR LAST RESORT is a must read!]]> 3.62 2025
author: Clémence Michallon
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/27
date added: 2025/06/27
shelves: 2025, thriller, psychological-thriller, popcorn-thriller
review:
Clémence Michallon is an incredible storyteller and writer, and OUR LAST RESORT has cemented her in the thriller realm. The cover immediately hooked me in, but then when I read the synopsis, I knew that this would be a perfect summer read for me!

Frida and Gabriel arrive at the remote, luxurious Ara Hotel in Escalante, Utah, hoping to heal their fractured bond after a devastating tragedy, but their plans for renewal are shattered when a young woman is found dead at the resort. As suspicion falls on Gabriel, Frida is forced to confront haunting memories of their childhood in a cult, their desperate escape, and the scandal that changed everything—while grappling with the possibility that Gabriel may not be the man she thought he was.

This book hooked me right from the beginning. I loved the dynamics between siblings, the mystery behind whether Gabriel is innocent or not, and the cult backstory that has affected the twosome. I read this book via audio (thank you @prhaudio) and it was an incredible way to immerse myself in Michallon's world in OUR LAST RESORT. I really enjoyed the pivot Michallon took with this from her debut, The Quiet Tenant, as this one is less gritty and more in-your-face tense. The mystery had me dabbling on who I should root for at times and I loved being able to question my own thoughts on how to proceed, which is a testament to the suspenseful storytelling Michallon provides here. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and if you are a fan of cults, psychological thrillers, family sagas, and The Quiet Tenant, then OUR LAST RESORT is a must read!
]]> 219542950 Julie Tudor is Not a Psychopath.

Julie Tudor is 49 and has it a fantastic job (well-maintained spreadsheets are the lynchpin of an efficient office), a beautiful house (some may wonder how she got the money for it, but nothing has been proved) and the man of her dreams.

Julie Tudor is Not a Stalker.

Sean is 25 and the love of Julie's life. The only problem is, he thinks he's in love with someone else.

And Julie Tudor is definitely, definitely not a serial killer.

But Julie has found herself in a similar situation before. And if there's one thing Julie knows, it's how to get rid of the competition...

After all, what's a little murder in the name of true love?]]> 320 Jennifer Holdich 1464229767 Dennis 3
Jennifer Holdich's debut novel, JULIE TUDOR IS NOT A PSYCHOPATH immediately drew me in because of its fun cover and deliciously juicy synopsis. This book is a total beach read through and through and I think readers of Frieda McFadden and Carolien Kepnes (wow what an interesting comparison) will enjoy this book!

Julie Tudor has it all: a great job that she loves, a gorgeous home (don’t ask too many questions), and the perfect man—25-year-old Sean. He just doesn’t know it yet. Sure, he thinks he’s in love with someone else, but Julie’s handled that kind of problem before. She’s not a stalker, not a psychopath, and definitely not a serial killer. She’s just in love—and willing to do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

This book is exactly what you think it is—a feminist take on the Joe Goldberg YOU. I loved that Julie was in her late 40s and that the book navigates from early adulthood until the main conflict as Julie's behavior continued to cause havoc around those in her life. I felt that the story is a fun, easy, and silly read that you can quickly binge or read at the beach or poolside. It's definitely a book where you don't have to think too much with—just go in and enjoy the ride!]]> 3.64 2025
author: Jennifer Holdich
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/24
date added: 2025/06/24
shelves: 2025, light-thriller, beach-read
review:
3.5 stars

Jennifer Holdich's debut novel, JULIE TUDOR IS NOT A PSYCHOPATH immediately drew me in because of its fun cover and deliciously juicy synopsis. This book is a total beach read through and through and I think readers of Frieda McFadden and Carolien Kepnes (wow what an interesting comparison) will enjoy this book!

Julie Tudor has it all: a great job that she loves, a gorgeous home (don’t ask too many questions), and the perfect man—25-year-old Sean. He just doesn’t know it yet. Sure, he thinks he’s in love with someone else, but Julie’s handled that kind of problem before. She’s not a stalker, not a psychopath, and definitely not a serial killer. She’s just in love—and willing to do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

This book is exactly what you think it is—a feminist take on the Joe Goldberg YOU. I loved that Julie was in her late 40s and that the book navigates from early adulthood until the main conflict as Julie's behavior continued to cause havoc around those in her life. I felt that the story is a fun, easy, and silly read that you can quickly binge or read at the beach or poolside. It's definitely a book where you don't have to think too much with—just go in and enjoy the ride!
]]> 222376682 A life-affirming novel of family, mending, and how we learn to love, from the award-winning Bryan Washington.

In Tokyo, the son works as an English tutor, drinking his nights away with friends at a gay bar. He’s entangled in a sexual relationship with a married man, and while he has built a chosen family in Japan, he is estranged from his family in Houston, particularly his mother, whose preference for the son’s oft-troubled homophobic brother, Chris, pushed him to leave home. Then, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, ten years since they’ve last seen each other, the mother arrives uninvited on his doorstep.

Separated only by the son’s cat, Taro, the two of them bristle against each other immediately. The mother, wrestling with memories of her youth in Jamaica and her own complicated brother, works to reconcile her good intentions with her missteps. The son struggles to forgive. But as life begins to steer them in unexpected directions— the mother to a tentative friendship with a local bistro owner, and the son to cautiously getting to know a new patron of the bar—the two of them begin to see each other more clearly. Sharing meals and conversations and an eventful trip to Nara, both mother and son try the best they can to define where “home” really is—and whether they can find it even in each other.

Written with understated humor and an open heart, moving through past and present and across Houston, Jamaica, and Japan, Bryan Washington’s Palaver is an intricate story of family, love, and the beauty of a life among others.]]> 336 Bryan Washington 0374609071 Dennis 0 to-read 3.71
author: Bryan Washington
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217388298 Brooklyn 99 meets The Charm Offensive in this sparkling romantic murder it's murder cute in the first degree when a detective finds himself falling for the lead suspect in a career-making case.

At 29, Detective Rav Trivedi is the youngest member of the NYPD’s homicide squad, and his future looks bright. He may be a bit of an outsider in the department – an ivy-league educated gay Brit with a weakness for designer suits – but his meteoric rise and solve rate prove he belongs.

So when his CO assigns him lead on the high-profile murder of a record executive, Rav is ready for action. He won’t be distracted by TV crews, tabloids, or what’s trending on social media, nor by the ridiculously hot rock star with a clear motive and no alibi.

This is it, his shot, and he is not going to screw it up—certainly not by falling in love with his number one suspect…]]> 320 Erin Dunn 1250360625 Dennis 0 dnf 4.00 2025
author: Erin Dunn
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> 219520689 An actress desperate to reclaim her fame must survive the real-life plot of the horror movie that made her famous in this psychologically twisted locked-room thriller influenced by '90s slasher films.

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the final survivor in the cult-classic slasher Grad Night. But the real horror is what happened when the cameras weren’t rolling—something terrible that Ella and her co-stars agreed never to speak of again. Shortly after the movie's premiere, Ella disappeared from the acting scene under the pretense of caring for her ailing mother, hoping for a quiet life out of the spotlight to ease her guilty mind.

Now, after her mother’s passing, Ella has decided to return to the silver screen. And with the cast and crew of Grad Night in the process of filming a reunion documentary, Ella has the perfect ticket back into Hollywood's good graces. Weighed down by the secret she’s been keeping all these years, Ella apprehensively makes the trip to the original set—a cabin in rural Tennessee—to reunite with her castmates for the first time in over a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the exact gruesome fates of the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it's clear their secret is out.

Now, the question Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?]]> 320 Miranda Smith 0593983165 Dennis 4
Ella Winters is a former scream queen desperate for a comeback and she returns to the set of the ‘90s slasher film that made her famous, now the location of a reunion documentary. This premise sounds so real as a lot of 90s and early 00s shows and films are having a resurgence with new installments, years later (Final Destination, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer). But as her old castmates start dying one by one—mirroring the movie’s plot—Ella realizes someone knows the dark secret they swore never to reveal. Trapped in a remote cabin and haunted by guilt, she must survive the real-life horror playing out around her.

If you like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and you will have a blast with SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS. The book felt like a coming-of-age story at its core, but it's a full fledged whodunnit for those who like camp, light mystery, and suspense. I am excited to see what Miranda Smith has in store for readers next.]]> 3.64 2025
author: Miranda Smith
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/16
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: 2025, whodunnit, light-mystery, light-thriller
review:
Miranda Smith's upcoming novel, SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS, captivated me immediately with its 90s slasher vibes cover art, but once I read the synopsis, I knew that the inner Scream fan would be rejoicing!

Ella Winters is a former scream queen desperate for a comeback and she returns to the set of the ‘90s slasher film that made her famous, now the location of a reunion documentary. This premise sounds so real as a lot of 90s and early 00s shows and films are having a resurgence with new installments, years later (Final Destination, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer). But as her old castmates start dying one by one—mirroring the movie’s plot—Ella realizes someone knows the dark secret they swore never to reveal. Trapped in a remote cabin and haunted by guilt, she must survive the real-life horror playing out around her.

If you like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and you will have a blast with SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS. The book felt like a coming-of-age story at its core, but it's a full fledged whodunnit for those who like camp, light mystery, and suspense. I am excited to see what Miranda Smith has in store for readers next.
]]> 218460337
All of you are young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world.

You realise that cameras are tracking your every move, broadcasting to millions of reality TV fans.

Soon, ten men will arrive on foot – if they all survive the journey.

What will you have to do to win?

And what happens to the losers?

LORD OF THE FLIES meets LOVE ISLAND in this explosive, addictive debut novel, as bingeable as the best reality TV, with dark undercurrents of literary dystopia and consumerist satire. ]]> 304 Aisling Rawle 0593977270 Dennis 3 2025, light-thriller 3.85 2025
author: Aisling Rawle
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/22
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: 2025, light-thriller
review:

]]> 233717429 448 Michelle Maryk 136811475X Dennis 0 to-read 0.0
author: Michelle Maryk
name: Dennis
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 232277833 From USA Today bestselling author—and former competitive skater—Wendy Walker comes a chilling psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of elite figure skating.

Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making—until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado.

Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime—Grace Montgomery. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace’s guilt, and she’s days away from facing charges of first-degree murder.

But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “orphan.” With a blizzard raging outside, and time running out for Grace, Ana is determined to uncover the truth—even if it means exposing her own secrets that she buried here long ago.]]> 301 Wendy Walker 1662531915 Dennis 0 to-read 5.00
author: Wendy Walker
name: Dennis
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 235992491 From Danielle Girard, the USA TODAY bestselling author who “effortlessly ratchets up the tension” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), comes a pulse-pounding thriller about a young woman whose surrogate disappears just days before the baby’s due date, leading to a frantic search that uncovers dark truths and the power of a mother’s love.

Lexi thought she knew everything about Mara Vannatta. Best friends since middle school, they drifted apart after a tragedy derailed their senior year. But when Mara shows up on Lexi’s doorstep sixteen years later fleeing an abusive husband, Lexi takes her in without question. Lexi’s own marriage has been strained by her desire to have a baby, and when Mara offers to become her surrogate, their friendship feels stronger than ever.

But four days before the due date, Mara disappears.

Lexi is shocked but certain there must be something wrong—Mara would never willingly leave with her unborn child. Or would she? As she embarks on a perilous cross-country hunt for the truth, Lexi is forced to reconsider a friendship she thought she knew—and what really happened that terrible night their senior year. How many secrets lie in their shared past, waiting to be uncovered? And just how far will Lexi go to bring her child safely home?]]> 288 Danielle Girard 1668096528 Dennis 0 to-read 5.00
author: Danielle Girard
name: Dennis
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220458657 Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.

In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.

Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.]]> 368 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 0593874323 Dennis 3
While researching her thesis, Minerva uncovers a chilling and ironic connection with the famed author Beatrice Tremblay and a decades-old disappearance. Tremblay’s novel The Vanishing appears to be based on a true event: during the Great Depression, she became obsessed with her ethereal college roommate, who vanished without a trace. As Minerva digs deeper, she begins to suspect the same dark force that haunted Tremblay may still be lurking on her campus.

The story spans three timelines, weaving in Minerva’s great-grandmother Alba’s youth in 1900s Mexico, where she encountered a witch and fell under a terrifying curse. Of the three perspectives, Alba’s was the most compelling and unsettling. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a gift for writing women who evolve from seemingly fragile figures into ones of great strength. No matter what Moreno-Garcia writes, she will continue to have me turn the pages.

Despite the witches premise (which I love as a storyline BTW), the pacing was way too slow, especially in the 1990s chapters. The repetitive scenes and Minerva’s storyline didn’t grip me as much as the other two timelines. Still, I appreciated the atmospheric storytelling and setting that Moreno-Garcia always provides. While THE BEWITCHING didn’t reach the heights of Mexican Gothic or The Daughter of Doctor Moreau for me, Garcia’s talent remains undeniable, and I’ll always pick up whatever she writes.

RANKINGS:
1. Mexican Gothic
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
3. Silver Nitrate
4. Certain Dark Things
5. Gods of Jade and Shadow
6. The Bewitching
7. Velvet Was the Night
8. The Seventh Veil of Salome
]]> 4.32 2025
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/17
date added: 2025/06/17
shelves: 2025, fantasy, historical-fiction, gothic, slow-burn
review:
I fell in love with Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing after Mexican Gothic and since then will always pick up a new book she releases, however some are grand slams and some strikeout with me. THE BEWITCHING is more critical for me than Moreno-Garcia's other works.

While researching her thesis, Minerva uncovers a chilling and ironic connection with the famed author Beatrice Tremblay and a decades-old disappearance. Tremblay’s novel The Vanishing appears to be based on a true event: during the Great Depression, she became obsessed with her ethereal college roommate, who vanished without a trace. As Minerva digs deeper, she begins to suspect the same dark force that haunted Tremblay may still be lurking on her campus.

The story spans three timelines, weaving in Minerva’s great-grandmother Alba’s youth in 1900s Mexico, where she encountered a witch and fell under a terrifying curse. Of the three perspectives, Alba’s was the most compelling and unsettling. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a gift for writing women who evolve from seemingly fragile figures into ones of great strength. No matter what Moreno-Garcia writes, she will continue to have me turn the pages.

Despite the witches premise (which I love as a storyline BTW), the pacing was way too slow, especially in the 1990s chapters. The repetitive scenes and Minerva’s storyline didn’t grip me as much as the other two timelines. Still, I appreciated the atmospheric storytelling and setting that Moreno-Garcia always provides. While THE BEWITCHING didn’t reach the heights of Mexican Gothic or The Daughter of Doctor Moreau for me, Garcia’s talent remains undeniable, and I’ll always pick up whatever she writes.

RANKINGS:
1. Mexican Gothic
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
3. Silver Nitrate
4. Certain Dark Things
5. Gods of Jade and Shadow
6. The Bewitching
7. Velvet Was the Night
8. The Seventh Veil of Salome

]]> 220817728 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.]]> 352 Taylor Jenkins Reid Dennis 4 2025, lgbt, romance
Joan Goodwin, professor of physics and astronomy, joins NASA’s astronaut program in 1980. She has been obsessed with space and this is the chance of a lifetime. Joan is excited to become one of the first women scientists to join the program. Her time with NASA becomes more than she bargained for when she secretly falls in love with fellow candidate Vanessa Ford. When a space shuttle mission in 1984 goes catastrophically wrong, Joan and her crewmates' lives will forever be changed.

This book is a bit slower paced and very 'space' oriented. Reid definitely did her research on this topic because I did feel like I was immersed into this world. I will say that at times I felt like it was holding me back from fully investing time into the book, so alternating between audio via @prhaudio and the physical helped break it up for me. This book is definitely in the top rankings for me with this author, only behind Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I would be surprised to find someone who doesn't enjoy this book.]]> 4.45 2025
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/17
date added: 2025/06/17
shelves: 2025, lgbt, romance
review:
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a bookstagram auto-read author and I totally understand why. She is either hit or meh for me (never a miss though!), and her newest romance novel, ATMOSPHERE was definitely a hit for me. This book is a fully fledged romance, taking place in 1980s NASA's Space Shuttle program. What an originally unique idea for a story, right?

Joan Goodwin, professor of physics and astronomy, joins NASA’s astronaut program in 1980. She has been obsessed with space and this is the chance of a lifetime. Joan is excited to become one of the first women scientists to join the program. Her time with NASA becomes more than she bargained for when she secretly falls in love with fellow candidate Vanessa Ford. When a space shuttle mission in 1984 goes catastrophically wrong, Joan and her crewmates' lives will forever be changed.

This book is a bit slower paced and very 'space' oriented. Reid definitely did her research on this topic because I did feel like I was immersed into this world. I will say that at times I felt like it was holding me back from fully investing time into the book, so alternating between audio via @prhaudio and the physical helped break it up for me. This book is definitely in the top rankings for me with this author, only behind Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I would be surprised to find someone who doesn't enjoy this book.
]]> 222904828 On the Fourth of July, a teenager dies at an exclusive country club. Twenty years later, her cousin returns to her hometown, seeking answers behind closed gates in this rich, atmospheric thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Liz Moore and Ruth Ware.

Twenty years ago, sixteen-year-old Caitlin Dale died unexpectedly on the Fourth of July. Like other affluent families of Briar’s Green, Caitlin joined hers at the country’s club’s annual party. They say she slipped by the pool. A tragic accident.

But her cousin Alice knows the truth.

Caitlin was murdered. And Alice saw who did it.

Twenty years later, Alice returns to her childhood hometown of Briar’s Green, seeking answers. The club where Caitlin died has barely changed. But its secrets, Alice soon discovers, are carefully hidden—and there are powerful people in Briar’s Green who would like them to stay that way.

In her deliciously dark debut novel, Kelsey Miller transports readers to a brooding enclave reminiscent of Sleepy Hollow, one with a long history, a short fuse and narrator determined to seek justice, at all costs.]]> 368 Kelsey Miller 1335000372 Dennis 0 to-read 4.11
author: Kelsey Miller
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221179063 Nola Strate, a late night call-in radio host in Portland, Oregon, listens to stories of hauntings and cryptic sightings for a living. But one foggy, wet evening, when a caller describes an eerie scene that triggers memories of Nola’s escape from a serial killer years before, she becomes fearfully aware that he’s back to finish what he started.

Nola Strate is being watched, again.

After an encounter with a notorious serial killer in the Pacific Northwest as a child, Nola has grown up and tried her best to forget her traumatizing night with The Hiding Man. She installed security cameras outside her Oregon home, never spoke of her experience, and now hosts Night Watch, a popular radio call-in show her semi‑famous father used to run. When coincidences lead Nola to believe that she is being stalked, and a caller on Night Watch has a live incident with an intruder in the caller’s home—the description of whom is chillingly familiar—Nola is convinced that The Hiding Man has resurfaced and is coming for her.

With a mysterious next‑door neighbor lurking in the shadows, more people getting hurt, the police not taking her concerns seriously, and evidence pointing towards her own father, Nola decides to become, like her listeners, a Night Watcher herself, and uncover the monster behind The Hiding Man’s mask.]]> 336 Daphne Woolsoncroft 1538770903 Dennis 5
Nola Strate hosts Night Watch, a late-night call-in show where listeners share eerie tales of hauntings and cryptic sightings. But when one caller describes something disturbingly familiar, Nola realizes her past is catching up with her. In a dual timeline, we have Nola's experience 20 years ago when she survived a close encounter with a serial killer known as The Hiding Man. She’s stayed quiet ever since—until now. The man who once hunted her may be back, and this time, he’s not alone. With the police dismissing her fears, neighbors acting strange, and her own father under suspicion, Nola must step out from behind the mic and into the dark. If she wants to survive, she’ll have to become the hunter.

This book was a perfect score when it comes to thrillers and mysteries. I would have never suspected that this was a debut novel, as I was hooked line and sinker from the very beginning. This book is S-C-A-R-Y with a capital S! I kind of suspected how this book would end, but there were plenty of turns throughout the book to keep me guessing from time-to-time. This book holds nothing back and will even give us seasoned thriller aficionados a run for their money. Nola is a great protagonist and NIGHT WATCHER is fully compelling from start-to-finish. If you take one book review from me seriously this year so far, it should be to read NIGHT WATCHER!]]> 4.13 2025
author: Daphne Woolsoncroft
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/13
date added: 2025/06/13
shelves: 2025, thriller, psychological-thriller, horror, dark
review:
Daphne Woolsoncroft's NIGHT WATCHER is in the running for my favorite book of 2025. I SAID WHAT I SAID! Woolsoncroft is the host of hit true crime podcast, Going West, and you can totally see that her career with Going West inspired her to write this incredibly dark and twisted story!

Nola Strate hosts Night Watch, a late-night call-in show where listeners share eerie tales of hauntings and cryptic sightings. But when one caller describes something disturbingly familiar, Nola realizes her past is catching up with her. In a dual timeline, we have Nola's experience 20 years ago when she survived a close encounter with a serial killer known as The Hiding Man. She’s stayed quiet ever since—until now. The man who once hunted her may be back, and this time, he’s not alone. With the police dismissing her fears, neighbors acting strange, and her own father under suspicion, Nola must step out from behind the mic and into the dark. If she wants to survive, she’ll have to become the hunter.

This book was a perfect score when it comes to thrillers and mysteries. I would have never suspected that this was a debut novel, as I was hooked line and sinker from the very beginning. This book is S-C-A-R-Y with a capital S! I kind of suspected how this book would end, but there were plenty of turns throughout the book to keep me guessing from time-to-time. This book holds nothing back and will even give us seasoned thriller aficionados a run for their money. Nola is a great protagonist and NIGHT WATCHER is fully compelling from start-to-finish. If you take one book review from me seriously this year so far, it should be to read NIGHT WATCHER!
]]> 222683893 Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.]]> 256 Alma Katsu 0593714342 Dennis 4
The Berisha family is an Albanian family that makes the Sacklers look like angels. The family runs an extremely lucrative import-export business and has evaded the law for as long as anyone can remember. The family just seems to have the most luck in the world and somehow their foes end up being…handled. The family includes three siblings—Darden, the oldest son and heir to the family business; Maris, the second born daughter who lives up to the family’s potential, but doesn’t have the “look” to run the family enterprise; and Nora, the youngest daughter who wishes the family business did more for a sustainable and equitable future. The three siblings’s parents are trophy wife Olga and Berisha family CEO Zef. Without going into detail, FIEND dives into what happens when the world’s luckiest family all of a sudden has to deal when their luck suddenly dries up.

I really enjoyed this book and it’s being called a combination of Succession meets The Fall of the House of Usher, and I truly agree with that sentiment! It takes a bit longer than you’d expect to get to the action, but I enjoyed the backstory and build-up. At first you may not think this story is horror related, but by the final act you’ll definitely see this book’s sinister side. A little on the short side, I only wish we had more! STARS: 4, PUB: 9/16]]> 4.03 2025
author: Alma Katsu
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/10
date added: 2025/06/10
shelves: 2025, contemporary, family-drama, horror
review:
Alma Katsu’s upcoming horror novel, FIEND, was my most anticipated book of the year. Thank you @mbc_books for this gifted copy! Katsu is delivering a modern-day story for the first time, with the Berisha family taking center stage.

The Berisha family is an Albanian family that makes the Sacklers look like angels. The family runs an extremely lucrative import-export business and has evaded the law for as long as anyone can remember. The family just seems to have the most luck in the world and somehow their foes end up being…handled. The family includes three siblings—Darden, the oldest son and heir to the family business; Maris, the second born daughter who lives up to the family’s potential, but doesn’t have the “look” to run the family enterprise; and Nora, the youngest daughter who wishes the family business did more for a sustainable and equitable future. The three siblings’s parents are trophy wife Olga and Berisha family CEO Zef. Without going into detail, FIEND dives into what happens when the world’s luckiest family all of a sudden has to deal when their luck suddenly dries up.

I really enjoyed this book and it’s being called a combination of Succession meets The Fall of the House of Usher, and I truly agree with that sentiment! It takes a bit longer than you’d expect to get to the action, but I enjoyed the backstory and build-up. At first you may not think this story is horror related, but by the final act you’ll definitely see this book’s sinister side. A little on the short side, I only wish we had more! STARS: 4, PUB: 9/16
]]> 215020997
This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts. ]]> 535 V.E. Schwab 1035064642 Dennis 4
BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL is many things, but one major way to describe it is epic. María, Alice, Charlotte. Three women, three centuries, three burning desires—hunger, love, and rage. In 1532 Spain, María dreams of escape from a life where she’s treated as a prize, and when a stranger offers freedom, she takes it, consequences be damned. In 1827 London, Charlotte is cast out after a forbidden moment and finds herself drawn to a mysterious widow, only to learn that freedom has its price. And in 2019 Boston, Alice crosses the world to reinvent herself, but a reckless night unearths old wounds and ignites a relentless quest for truth—and revenge.

This book is a bit on the long side with a bit more fluff in it than I would want in a story, but I definitely wouldn't call it a slow-burn. Out of the three POVs, I really enjoy one more than the other two, but I would like to let you try and figure out which one is that when you're done. This story encompasses centuries of lust, murder, and freedom. Obviously, this book dives into a world that includes vampirism, but the main theme of freedom is the most centric to this story. I think if you like sapphic romance, romantasy, fantasy, or gothic novels, then BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL will be a perfect read for you! This book should be a staple in your 2025 June Pride Month reads!]]> 4.19 2025
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/03
date added: 2025/06/09
shelves: 2025, supernatural, lgbt, romance
review:
VE Schwab is an amazing storyteller. Fans love her Shades of Magic series, her Villains series, and her 2020 releases, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, was a knock-out instant smash hit. I am so thankful that @leoprny for my gifted advanced copy, I had an absolute blast jumping into Schwab's newest adventure!

BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL is many things, but one major way to describe it is epic. María, Alice, Charlotte. Three women, three centuries, three burning desires—hunger, love, and rage. In 1532 Spain, María dreams of escape from a life where she’s treated as a prize, and when a stranger offers freedom, she takes it, consequences be damned. In 1827 London, Charlotte is cast out after a forbidden moment and finds herself drawn to a mysterious widow, only to learn that freedom has its price. And in 2019 Boston, Alice crosses the world to reinvent herself, but a reckless night unearths old wounds and ignites a relentless quest for truth—and revenge.

This book is a bit on the long side with a bit more fluff in it than I would want in a story, but I definitely wouldn't call it a slow-burn. Out of the three POVs, I really enjoy one more than the other two, but I would like to let you try and figure out which one is that when you're done. This story encompasses centuries of lust, murder, and freedom. Obviously, this book dives into a world that includes vampirism, but the main theme of freedom is the most centric to this story. I think if you like sapphic romance, romantasy, fantasy, or gothic novels, then BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL will be a perfect read for you! This book should be a staple in your 2025 June Pride Month reads!
]]> 56988057 #1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hotel—and a world—in peril.

January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles.

Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.

Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel’s walls, listening for the diplomats’ secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June’s balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.

June has never met a guest she couldn’t delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon’s polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.]]> 400 Maggie Stiefvater 0593655508 Dennis 3
While THE LISTENERS is unique and at times thought provoking, I felt that it often lingered too long on the details at the expense of the story. I almost dnfed multiple times, but it definitely picks up after the halfway mark. Despite its slow-burn delivery, THE LISTENERS was definitely an interesting listen via audio. I think that if you are interested in reading this book, I would probably give the physical book a try since it is slow and you could zone out.]]> 3.86 2025
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/05
date added: 2025/06/05
shelves: 2025, magical-realism, historical-fiction
review:
THE LISTENERS takes place in a West Virginian hotel during the early months of 1942. Maggie Stiefvater’s adult debut is atmospheric and mystical, though it struggles with pacing. The story follows June Hudson, a woman in her 30s managing the Avalon Hotel as it’s repurposed into a holding site for allies of the Axis Powers during WWII, with FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, State Department official Agent Pennybacker, and a silent German girl named Hannelores.

While THE LISTENERS is unique and at times thought provoking, I felt that it often lingered too long on the details at the expense of the story. I almost dnfed multiple times, but it definitely picks up after the halfway mark. Despite its slow-burn delivery, THE LISTENERS was definitely an interesting listen via audio. I think that if you are interested in reading this book, I would probably give the physical book a try since it is slow and you could zone out.
]]> 231127462 The Sunday Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ugly is back with a psychological masterpiece that will leave you questioning everything you know about love, identity, and revenge.

Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.

One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.

Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person's date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.

My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.]]> 320 Alice Feeney 125033781X Dennis 0 to-read 4.38 2026
author: Alice Feeney
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 231681636 Siblings return to the house they fled eighteen years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request to come home.

Strange things happen in Fell, New York: A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For Violet, Vail, and Dodie Esmie the final straw was their little brother's shocking disappearance, which started as a normal game of hide-and-seek.

As their parents grew increasingly distant, the sisters were each haunted by visions and frightening events, leading them to leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years. Now after nearly two decades it’s time for a homecoming—because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared.]]> 352 Simone St. James 0593200411 Dennis 0 to-read 3.94 2026
author: Simone St. James
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 223469504 The lush Gothic drama of Crimson Peak meets the murderous intrigue of Knives Out with an LGBTQIA+ love story to die for from award-winning author KJ Charles.

WHO WILL SURVIVE LACKADAY HOUSE?

When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic manor, he is horrified to find all the people he least wants to see in the world: his estranged brother, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon Grey. Things couldn't possibly get worse.

Then the master of the house announces the true purpose of the gathering: he intends to leave the vast family fortune to whoever marries his young ward, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. Zeb wants no part of his greedy family—but when he tries to leave, the way is barred. The walls of Lackaday House are high, and the gates firmly locked. As the Dartmoor mists roll in, there's no way out. And something unnatural may be watching them from the house's shadowy depths…

Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his heart. As the gaslight flickers and terror takes hold, can two warring lovers reunite, uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House—and live to tell the tale?]]> K.J. Charles 1464227535 Dennis 0 to-read 4.22 2025
author: K.J. Charles
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220239062
Twice a month the women of the Wheel meet. New members bring cash to add to a pool and then gift to one lucky member. It’s all about giving back. Lifting each other up—as women should, as they must.

When Harper is invited, with the promise of an end to her financial burdens, the sisters inadvertently unleash a darkness lurking within the group. If they’re not careful it might just get them killed.]]> 368 Megan Abbott 0593084969 Dennis 3 3.56 2025
author: Megan Abbott
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/29
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: 2025, contemporary, domestic-thriller, literary-fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, women-s-fiction
review:

]]> 220458596 An eerie, hypnotic literary debut about friendship, desire, and memory set against the sultry backdrop of Florida’s swamplands

It's been years since Ingrid has heard from her childhood best friend, Mayra, a fearless rebel who fled their hometown of Hialeah, a Cuban neighborhood just west of Miami, for college in the Northeast. But when Mayra calls out of the blue to invite Ingrid to a weekend getaway at a house in the Everglades, she impulsively accepts.

From the moment Ingrid sets out for the house, danger looms: The directions are difficult, she’s out of reach of cell service, and as she drives deeper into the Everglades, the wet maw of the swamp threatens to swallow her whole. But once Ingrid arrives, Mayra is, in many ways, just as she remembers—with her sharp tongue and effortless, seductive beauty, still thumbing her nose at the world.

Before they can fully settle into the familiar intimacy of each other's company, their reunion is spoiled by the reemergence of past disagreements and the unexpected presence of Mayra's new boyfriend, Benji. The trio spend their hours eating lavish meals and exploring the labyrinthine house, which holds as much mystery and danger as the swamp itself. Indoors and on the grounds, time itself seems to expand, and Ingrid begins to lose a sense of the outside world, and herself.

Against this disquieting setting, where lizards dart in and out of porches and alligators peek up from dark waters, Gonzalez weaves a surreal, unforgettable story about the dizzying power of early friendship and the lengths we'll go to earn love and acceptance—even at the risk of losing ourselves entirely.]]> 240 Nicky Gonzalez 0593731557 Dennis 3
Years after losing touch, Ingrid gets a surprise call from her childhood best friend, Mayra, inviting her to a mysterious weekend in the Everglades. Intrigued and a little nostalgic, Ingrid agrees, even though she’s not sure that so much has changed between them that there may be some uncomfortability or awkwardness. When she arrives, Mayra is still the friend Ingrid knew her to be, but things are a bit off. Mayra’s boyfriend, Benji is already there and the house turns out to be his strange, inherited estate. As the trio eats, drinks, and drifts through the sprawling, estate, Ingrid begins to feel uncomfortable. The book dives mainly into flashbacks between Mayra and Ingrid's friendship and I do believe this book to be more about their friendship than anything that would be deemed a horror novel. Flashbacks blur with the present, but I felt the payoff to be underwhelming. I am objectively giving this book 3 stars because I do believe that there's a reader market for this book, but maybe along the lines of suspense rather than horror/mystery/thriller. ]]> 3.54 2025
author: Nicky Gonzalez
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/28
date added: 2025/05/28
shelves: 2025, light-mystery, light-thriller, novella
review:
The premise of this book hooked me right in, but I think that there's a bit of mismarketing going on with Nicky Gonzalez's debut novel, MAYRA.

Years after losing touch, Ingrid gets a surprise call from her childhood best friend, Mayra, inviting her to a mysterious weekend in the Everglades. Intrigued and a little nostalgic, Ingrid agrees, even though she’s not sure that so much has changed between them that there may be some uncomfortability or awkwardness. When she arrives, Mayra is still the friend Ingrid knew her to be, but things are a bit off. Mayra’s boyfriend, Benji is already there and the house turns out to be his strange, inherited estate. As the trio eats, drinks, and drifts through the sprawling, estate, Ingrid begins to feel uncomfortable. The book dives mainly into flashbacks between Mayra and Ingrid's friendship and I do believe this book to be more about their friendship than anything that would be deemed a horror novel. Flashbacks blur with the present, but I felt the payoff to be underwhelming. I am objectively giving this book 3 stars because I do believe that there's a reader market for this book, but maybe along the lines of suspense rather than horror/mystery/thriller.
]]> 219603177 One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.

Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.

But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge—and that they won’t stop until everyone else is dead.

With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them—even though it means putting her own life at risk.]]> 383 Riley Sager 0593472403 Dennis 3
WITH A VENGEANCE is a revenge-fueled locked-room mystery set on a luxury train with only six passengers—and one deadly plan. Anna lures the people who ruined her life onto a 14-hour ride to deliver them to the FBI, but when one of them is murdered, her plan spirals out of control. I loved the intense, claustrophobic atmosphere and the race against time, even if the twists didn’t fully surprise me. This book is a bit repetitive and takes a while to get into, but overall its a solid locked-room mystery that readers will enjoy. Old school Sager is not back, but he's still a good time.

RANKINGS:
1. Lock Every Door
2. Final Girls
3. Survive the Night
4. Home Before Dark
5. The Last Time I Lied
6. The House Across the Lake
7. The Only One Left
8. Middle of the Night]]> 3.45 2025
author: Riley Sager
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/28
date added: 2025/05/28
shelves: 2025, whodunnit, historical-fiction, mystery, slow-burn
review:
Riley Sager's newest release, WITH A VENGEANCE, pays homage to the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie! Taking place in the 1942, Anna Matheson boards a luxury travel train with a plan for revenge—but when a passenger is murdered, the hunter becomes the hunted. Now, to get justice, she must protect the very people she came to destroy.

WITH A VENGEANCE is a revenge-fueled locked-room mystery set on a luxury train with only six passengers—and one deadly plan. Anna lures the people who ruined her life onto a 14-hour ride to deliver them to the FBI, but when one of them is murdered, her plan spirals out of control. I loved the intense, claustrophobic atmosphere and the race against time, even if the twists didn’t fully surprise me. This book is a bit repetitive and takes a while to get into, but overall its a solid locked-room mystery that readers will enjoy. Old school Sager is not back, but he's still a good time.

RANKINGS:
1. Lock Every Door
2. Final Girls
3. Survive the Night
4. Home Before Dark
5. The Last Time I Lied
6. The House Across the Lake
7. The Only One Left
8. Middle of the Night
]]> 222476094 352 K.J. Charles 1464227527 Dennis 0 to-read 4.58 2025
author: K.J. Charles
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221115921 240 Jo Firestone Dennis 0 to-read 3.47
author: Jo Firestone
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 228691222
When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?]]> 352 Nicholas Sparks Dennis 0 to-read 3.93 2025
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218431658 From the New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit The MeasureRead with Jenna TODAY Show pick—comes a stunning speculative story of healing, self-discovery, forgiveness, and found friendship.

Welcome to the Poppy Fields, where there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal.

Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain...and keep on sleeping. After patients awaken from this prolonged state of slumber, they will finally be healed. But only if they’re willing to accept the potential shadowy side effects.

On a journey to this mystical destination are four very different strangers and one little dog: Ava, a book illustrator; Ray, a fireman; Sasha, an occupational therapist; Sky, a free spirit; and a friendly pup named PJ. As they attempt to make their way from the Midwest all the way west to the Poppy Fields—where they hope to find Ellis, its brilliant, enigmatic founder—each of their past secrets and mysterious motivations threaten to derail their voyage.

A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?]]> 324 Nikki Erlick 0063349337 Dennis 3
THE POPPY FIELDS is so not my usual genre, but the synopsis really intrigued me and I'm glad I gave it a try! Grief is personal, painful, and often misunderstood. Some people never move past it, stuck in a cycle of sorrow. The journey through loss is never the same for any two people. As someone who's gone through a lot of grief over the last year and a half, I knew this book would be a bit more personal for me.

At its core, this book is a magical realism literary fiction novel, with the plot involving a a new treatment that promises relief from grief. But the cost may be losing the emotional core of who they were. I know we want to move forward or passed our grief, but I do believe that it helps mold you. Four strangers and a small dog travel across the country seeking answers. Each carries hidden pain and hopes for healing. What they find at the center may change them—or erase the parts they hold dear.

Overall, THE POPPY FIELDS made me THINK. It was very moving and really compelling when it comes to dealing with the depth of personal grief. I did feel that the pacing was a bit off at times and I saw myself not fully immersed at times, but I do believe this book will get people talking. I believe that this book will be a great social commentary for those struggling with overcoming grief and allowing people see a different side of how to cope. I feel like I've learned something after reading this book. I alternated between the physical and audio and I believe that the audio was a stronger listen for me. I am unsure if I'd dive back into this author's works, but I am glad I took a chance with this one!]]> 3.85 2025
author: Nikki Erlick
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/23
date added: 2025/05/23
shelves: 2025, literary-fiction, magical-realism
review:
3.5 stars

THE POPPY FIELDS is so not my usual genre, but the synopsis really intrigued me and I'm glad I gave it a try! Grief is personal, painful, and often misunderstood. Some people never move past it, stuck in a cycle of sorrow. The journey through loss is never the same for any two people. As someone who's gone through a lot of grief over the last year and a half, I knew this book would be a bit more personal for me.

At its core, this book is a magical realism literary fiction novel, with the plot involving a a new treatment that promises relief from grief. But the cost may be losing the emotional core of who they were. I know we want to move forward or passed our grief, but I do believe that it helps mold you. Four strangers and a small dog travel across the country seeking answers. Each carries hidden pain and hopes for healing. What they find at the center may change them—or erase the parts they hold dear.

Overall, THE POPPY FIELDS made me THINK. It was very moving and really compelling when it comes to dealing with the depth of personal grief. I did feel that the pacing was a bit off at times and I saw myself not fully immersed at times, but I do believe this book will get people talking. I believe that this book will be a great social commentary for those struggling with overcoming grief and allowing people see a different side of how to cope. I feel like I've learned something after reading this book. I alternated between the physical and audio and I believe that the audio was a stronger listen for me. I am unsure if I'd dive back into this author's works, but I am glad I took a chance with this one!
]]> 215362176 Two women meet on a train. Each is running from a deadly secret. When one disappears, the other decides to take her place—for better, or for worse.

Jae-young has just left everything she’s ever known, not that it was much. Her thankless job, her infested apartment, her abusive boyfriend—who happens to be dead on the kitchen floor. Murder was never the way she envisioned leaving, but it was desperate times. Now, escaping her transgressions on a train to the bustling city of Seoul, Jae-young is just hoping to become invisible—safe.

On the train she meets a chatty mother with her infant son who seem to be running from a similarly harsh life with her unfaithful husband, hoping to find refuge with the in-laws she’s never met. To avoid further conversation, Jae-young excuses herself for a moment. When she returns, the woman is nowhere to be found, but her crying child remains with a note, pleading with Jae-young to take him to his grandparents in a remote province far from Seoul.

It’s not an ideal pitstop, but for the sake of the child she can’t ignore the request. When Jae-young arrives, the house takes her by surprise. It's a gated manor oozing with opulence and the finest luxuries. Having never met their grandchild or daughter-in-law before, the family assumes Jae-young is the boy’s mother and ushers her in. Then Jae-young There’s nothing more invisible than becoming someone else.

But both women have ghosts in their pasts. Jae-young may have no idea what lies rotten under the shiny veneer of her new life, but there's nothing she won't do to make sure she never goes back.]]> 352 Se-ah Jang 0593875141 Dennis 0 to-read 4.03 2023
author: Se-ah Jang
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217593457 From the acclaimed author of Yes, Daddy; It's Not the End of the World is a terrifying climate thriller, a vicious takedown of the uber-wealthy, and a queer family saga that isn't afraid to punch back.

It's 2044 and life is bleak for many Americans, but not for Mason Daunt. Safe in his Los Angeles mansion, Mason can remain blissfully unaware of the relentless wildfires engulfing California, the proliferation of violent right-wing militias, and the rampant authoritarianism destroying American society. He's so rich, in fact, that he and his partner Yunho Kim are throwing a 100-person, $100,000 baby shower to celebrate their newborn-on-the-way. When a potentially apocalyptic event hits Los Angeles on the day of their celebration, though, the wealthy gay couple refuses to cancel their party. Surely it's not the end of the world? But as Mason runs a few last-minute errands, a staggering twist thrusts him into the mounting chaos, and threatens the lives of everyone he holds dear.

Shot through with biting wit, brutal gore, primal sex, and unexpected catharsis, It's Not the End of the World is a nerve-shredding roller coaster of a novel that will leave readers shocked, heartbroken, and inspired to question their most firmly held convictions. What happens when our current battles with climate change, capitalism, and white supremacy are pushed to their breaking points? And how can we find hope?]]> 384 Jonathan Parks-Ramage 163973614X Dennis 4
In 2044, Mason Daunt is throwing an extravagant baby shower while the world (particularly Los Angeles) outside burns—literally. When disaster strikes LA on the day of the party, he refuses to cancel, convinced it’s just another crisis money can ignore. But a shocking twist shatters his illusion of safety and sends him hurtling into the chaos he thought he’d bought his way out of.

This wildly entertaining, deeply unsettling novel skewers the ultra-wealthy as they party through the apocalypse, clinging to privilege while the world collapses around them. With sharp dialogue, time-jumping chaos, and fabulous queer main characters, IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD starts out from satire to disaster epic to bizarre utopia—and somehow makes it all work. Equal parts hilarious and horrifying, it’s a disorienting but thrilling ride through a future that feels terrifyingly close.

These types of stories are not usually my go-to reading as they can be political (even though this plot SHOULDN'T BE) and it like to escape with my reading. That being said, the messaging is powerful, poignant, and a must-read. In a story of bleak consequences, it ends on a rather hopeful note that I would highly recommend for readers of Margaret Atwood. ]]> 3.48 2025
author: Jonathan Parks-Ramage
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/23
date added: 2025/05/23
shelves: dystopian, lgbt, literary-fiction, 2025, apocalyptic
review:
I devoured Jonathan Parks-Ramage's debut novel, YES, DADDY, so I knew that whatever he writes next would immediately go on my TBR. This author's newest book, IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD is a complete deviation from what you may expect, showcasing the author's depth in storytelling.

In 2044, Mason Daunt is throwing an extravagant baby shower while the world (particularly Los Angeles) outside burns—literally. When disaster strikes LA on the day of the party, he refuses to cancel, convinced it’s just another crisis money can ignore. But a shocking twist shatters his illusion of safety and sends him hurtling into the chaos he thought he’d bought his way out of.

This wildly entertaining, deeply unsettling novel skewers the ultra-wealthy as they party through the apocalypse, clinging to privilege while the world collapses around them. With sharp dialogue, time-jumping chaos, and fabulous queer main characters, IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD starts out from satire to disaster epic to bizarre utopia—and somehow makes it all work. Equal parts hilarious and horrifying, it’s a disorienting but thrilling ride through a future that feels terrifyingly close.

These types of stories are not usually my go-to reading as they can be political (even though this plot SHOULDN'T BE) and it like to escape with my reading. That being said, the messaging is powerful, poignant, and a must-read. In a story of bleak consequences, it ends on a rather hopeful note that I would highly recommend for readers of Margaret Atwood.
]]> 219278654 "I DID WARN HER is Below Deck with a body count, and I loved every minute of it. Intricately plotted and devilishly dramatic, with a claustrophobic setting and a final twist to kill for, I DID WARN HER is everything I want in a thriller. I can't wait to see what Sian Gilbert does next!"—Sara Ochs, author of The Resort

A luxurious yacht, a gorgeous crew with secrets and rivalries...and murder! I Did Warn Her is a cunning locked room mystery set on a billionaire’s yacht, by the author of last year’s sensation She Started It.

The Ophelia is your typical billionaire yacht: ridiculously luxurious, owned by a ruthless money man, and staffed by a crew whose only job is to indulge the guests’ every wish.

Model-gorgeous Sasha is a last-minute hire for a weeklong Atlantic crossing. She joins fellow stewardesses Jade, Imogen, Euphemia, and Lola. The Ophelia’s stewardesses are almost identical—blonde and model-gorgeous—and all were lured to the Ophelia by high wages and a chance to leave their problems behind when they set sail. But despite its sleek opulence, the Ophelia isn’t as heavenly as it seems. A stewardess on the previous charter died under mysterious circumstances, the guests’ expensive jewelry keeps disappearing, and the crew grows steadily more and more suspicious of one another.

Then the yacht’s owner brings aboard his best friend and two more women, also beautiful. Also hiding something.

When a crew member turns up dead after a night of partying, everyone on the yacht is a suspect. Who is the jewel thief? Who is the murderer? What will happen when the lights go out, and the crew and the guests are finally on equal footing?

Endlessly twisty and delightfully voyeuristic, I Did Warn Her is a whodunnit on the high seas, where the dark secrets of the ultra-wealthy have nowhere to hide.]]> 384 Sian Gilbert 0063388502 Dennis 0 dnf 3.45 2025
author: Sian Gilbert
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/21
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> 217896248 From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing fever dream of medieval horror following three women in a besieged castle that descends ravenously into madness under the spell of mysterious, godlike visitors.

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls.

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.]]> 352 Caitlin Starling 0063418819 Dennis 0 dnf 3.76 2025
author: Caitlin Starling
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/05/21
date added: 2025/05/21
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> 219520742
And that's exactly what Alex thinks she's found. Love. So she's floored when she arrives to her dinner with her boyfriend, expecting a ring in a little box, and instead finding her best friend sat at the table with him. They have news. They're together now. And apparently her birthday dinner is the best time to share the news.

Suddenly, Alex's world implodes. She has lost the two people in the world closest to her, her only support. She's utterly alone, her future in pieces. So when she unexpectedly bumps into a client, Rebecca, and Rebecca seems to want to be friends, it feels like a lifeline.

But then Alex's now ex turns up dead, then more people around her seem to be dropping like flies. And she can't help but wonder if this new friendship is a match made in hell.]]> 336 Tasha Coryell 0593640306 Dennis 5
Alexandra grew up craving food, safety, and love—needs she’s spent her life trying to fill with a beautiful home, a doctor boyfriend, and a job helping classified psychopaths find love. Alexandra spends her days dreaming of being married to Noah, watching trashy reality tv and envisioning her life play out as a reality show, and loving working at her job in hopes of eventually leading her own division. But when her boyfriend and best friend reveal they’re now a couple (I would have LOST it!)—on her birthday, no less—Alex’s carefully built world shatters. Then her ex turns up dead, and as bodies start piling up, she begins to suspect her new friend might be more dangerous than she seems.

This book is a one sitting read! ALERT, anti-slow burn alert! I know Coryell's debut novel, Love Letters to a Serial Killer had very mixed reviews, but if you don't find MATCHMAKING FOR PSYCHOPATHS entertaining, I don't know what to tell you. This book is perfect for fans of the Real Housewives, spoofs on romance movies or horror movies, and wants to read something unique. This book is a great for readers of Mona Awad or Eliza Jane Brazier as this deviates from the typical thriller genre you've probably read in recent years. As mentioned, I read this in one sitting because it's just so easy to follow along. I knew what was going to play out, but what sets this book apart from others is how fun and immersive you will feel with Alexandra's journey. Have fun with this book and don't take it too seriously. This book will be in my top 10 reads for 2025. Bravo, Tasha Coryell!]]> 4.11
author: Tasha Coryell
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/18
date added: 2025/05/18
shelves: 2025, satire, horror, comedy, romance, psychological-thriller
review:
Tasha Coryell's 2025 novel, MATCHMAKING FOR PSYCHOPATHS, is a genre-bending mix of comedy, romance, horror, and psychological thriller—and I absolutely loved it!

Alexandra grew up craving food, safety, and love—needs she’s spent her life trying to fill with a beautiful home, a doctor boyfriend, and a job helping classified psychopaths find love. Alexandra spends her days dreaming of being married to Noah, watching trashy reality tv and envisioning her life play out as a reality show, and loving working at her job in hopes of eventually leading her own division. But when her boyfriend and best friend reveal they’re now a couple (I would have LOST it!)—on her birthday, no less—Alex’s carefully built world shatters. Then her ex turns up dead, and as bodies start piling up, she begins to suspect her new friend might be more dangerous than she seems.

This book is a one sitting read! ALERT, anti-slow burn alert! I know Coryell's debut novel, Love Letters to a Serial Killer had very mixed reviews, but if you don't find MATCHMAKING FOR PSYCHOPATHS entertaining, I don't know what to tell you. This book is perfect for fans of the Real Housewives, spoofs on romance movies or horror movies, and wants to read something unique. This book is a great for readers of Mona Awad or Eliza Jane Brazier as this deviates from the typical thriller genre you've probably read in recent years. As mentioned, I read this in one sitting because it's just so easy to follow along. I knew what was going to play out, but what sets this book apart from others is how fun and immersive you will feel with Alexandra's journey. Have fun with this book and don't take it too seriously. This book will be in my top 10 reads for 2025. Bravo, Tasha Coryell!
]]> 218460356 A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret—and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home—in this gripping debut novel.

In the wake of her grandmother's passing, Sydney Singleton finds a hidden photograph of a little girl who looks more like Sydney than her own sister, or mother. She soon discovers the mystery girl in the photograph is her aunt, Carol, who was one of six local North Carolina Black girls to go missing in the 1960s. For the last several decades, not a soul has talked about Carol or what really happened to her. With her grandmother gone and Sydney looking to start a family of her own, she is determined to unravel the truth behind her long-lost aunt and the sinister silence surrounding her.

Unfortunately, this is familiar territory for Sydney. Several years prior, working the crime beat as a journalist on the case of another missing girl, her obsession eventually led to a psychotic break. And now, in the suffocating grip of fertility treatments and a marriage that's beginning to crumble, Sydney’s relentless pursuit might just lead her down the same path of destruction. As she delves deeper into Carol's fate, her own troubled past resurfaces, clawing its way to the surface with a vengeance. The web of secrets and lies entangling her family leaves Sydney questioning everything—her fixation on the missing girls, her future as a mom, and everyone she’s come to trust.

Delving into family, community, secrets, and motherhood, We Don’t Talk About Carol is a gripping and deeply emotional story about overcoming the rotten roots of your family tree—and what we’ll do for those we love.]]> 336 Kristen L. Berry 0593974433 Dennis 4 2025, family-drama, mystery
After her grandmother’s death, Sydney Singleton finds a photo of a girl who turns out to be her long-lost aunt Carol—one of six Black girls who vanished in 1960s North Carolina. As Sydney digs into the decades-old mystery, her own dark past resurfaces, threatening her fragile mental health, strained marriage, and hopes of starting a family. With long-buried secrets emerging, she must decide how far she’ll go to uncover the truth.

This book is part family saga and part mystery. It is not a thriller, so do not go into this book thinking it’s a thriller. However, this book is a mirror to American society on the fact that there’s a massive discrepancy on investigations when Black people go missing versus White people, and you’ll see that play out through its entirety. This book is a powerful representation of that through this fictional story. The book also dives into mental health and infertility—two additional possible trigger warnings, but Berry weaved these secondary plot themes expertly. I am excited to see what this author has in store next for readers!]]> 4.14 2025
author: Kristen L. Berry
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/17
date added: 2025/05/17
shelves: 2025, family-drama, mystery
review:
I’ve been wanting to read Kristen L. Berry’s debut mystery novel, WE DON’T TALK ABOUT CAROL, as soon as I saw that gorgeous cover! Thank you @randomhouse for my gifted copy!

After her grandmother’s death, Sydney Singleton finds a photo of a girl who turns out to be her long-lost aunt Carol—one of six Black girls who vanished in 1960s North Carolina. As Sydney digs into the decades-old mystery, her own dark past resurfaces, threatening her fragile mental health, strained marriage, and hopes of starting a family. With long-buried secrets emerging, she must decide how far she’ll go to uncover the truth.

This book is part family saga and part mystery. It is not a thriller, so do not go into this book thinking it’s a thriller. However, this book is a mirror to American society on the fact that there’s a massive discrepancy on investigations when Black people go missing versus White people, and you’ll see that play out through its entirety. This book is a powerful representation of that through this fictional story. The book also dives into mental health and infertility—two additional possible trigger warnings, but Berry weaved these secondary plot themes expertly. I am excited to see what this author has in store next for readers!
]]> 229279734 From the author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Hex comes a modern horror story with echoes of Paul Tremblay, Joe Hill, and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” about a gilded street in a small Pacific Northwest town where the charmed residents have made a frightening bargain . . . with devastating consequences.

Sometimes you think you can see things behind the fence. Bad things. So it’s better not to look . . .

In Lock Haven, a quiet little town in Washington State, Bird Street is a very special place. The residents of this pretty cul-de-sac are all successful, wealthy, healthy, and happy. Their children are high achievers, well-mannered and smart.

But when November arrives the “Darker Days” descend, bringing accidents, bad luck, familial conflict, and illness. It is in November when a stranger appears to collect on a longstanding debt. A price must be paid for the good fortune the residents of Bird Street enjoy the other eleven months of the year. The devil is due. A sacrifice must be made.

So it has been for over a hundred years. To assuage their guilt, the denizens of Bird Street choose carefully who will be sent into the woods. Usually, it is an elderly or terminally ill individual who wishes to die with dignity and is content to be helped on their way.

Until one year, things don’t go to plan and events take a terrifying turn . . .

Darker Days is a propulsive, haunting novel that begs the question. "how far will we go for our own happiness and what sacrifices we are willing to make?"]]> 416 Thomas Olde Heuvelt 0063472511 Dennis 0 to-read 0.0 2022
author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
name: Dennis
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218695891 Popular bookstagrammer Chip Pons's gay rom-com about two men who impulsively pose as a couple to compete in a reality show contest just minutes after meeting at an airport, and their run-in with the very real feelings that start to simmer between them.

Catching flights...& feelings...has never been more complicated.

Asher Bennet thought his relationship was just fine. Until he’s unceremoniously dumped at the Boston airport ahead of the world-wide travel competition reality show, The Epic Trek. Armed with only a ticket and righteous indignation, Asher finds the closest solace he can: a mimosa and mozzarella sticks combo at an airport TGI Fridays. Still, Asher is determined to find a new partner and luckily, right in front of him is a smooth-talking airline pilot ready for takeoff. 

Theo Fernandez has been grounded. He’s the only pilot that has never taken a vacation and the edict has been passed prove you're prioritizing a work-life balance or say goodbye to your wings. As he struggles to bask in his new downtime, without reconnecting with his family, he stumbles upon the perfect opportunity. The handsome guy who "stole" his mozzarella sticks at his favorite terminal eatery has a sudden opening for a partner . . . on a nationally televised reality show.

Theo and Asher buckle up to fake date for the cameras, but as they do the undercurrents of attraction make them wonder if their on-screen chemistry hints at something bigger. Do they have the courage to leave behind their baggage, and wing it together for another chance at love?]]> 384 Chip Pons 0593853504 Dennis 5 2025, mm-romance, romance
The story is centered around Asher Bennet's journey on the reality show, The Epic Trek (think Amazing Race). Asher thinks his relationship is solid—until he’s dumped at the Boston airport just before filming The Epic Trek. Down a teammate and stuck with nothing but a ticket and a bruised ego, he drowns his sorrows in mozzarella sticks at an airport TGI Fridays, where he meets Theo Fernandez—a pilot forced into taking his first vacation. When Asher needs a last-minute teammate, Theo steps in, and the two agree to fake date for the cameras. But as sparks start to fly mid-flight, they’re forced to ask: could this unexpected layover lead to something real?

This book is funny and oh so steamy. There's two chapters that literally had me ]]> 4.12 2025
author: Chip Pons
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/13
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: 2025, mm-romance, romance
review:
Chip Pons' mainstream MM romance debut, WINGING IT WITH YOU, is a total blast from beginning to end. I didn't read the author's debut, but if this book is any indication of his talent as a romance author, reading anything he has for readers is a must.

The story is centered around Asher Bennet's journey on the reality show, The Epic Trek (think Amazing Race). Asher thinks his relationship is solid—until he’s dumped at the Boston airport just before filming The Epic Trek. Down a teammate and stuck with nothing but a ticket and a bruised ego, he drowns his sorrows in mozzarella sticks at an airport TGI Fridays, where he meets Theo Fernandez—a pilot forced into taking his first vacation. When Asher needs a last-minute teammate, Theo steps in, and the two agree to fake date for the cameras. But as sparks start to fly mid-flight, they’re forced to ask: could this unexpected layover lead to something real?

This book is funny and oh so steamy. There's two chapters that literally had me
]]> 217245572
TRUST NO ONE.

Wren Darlington has spent her whole life in hiding, honing her psychic abilities and aiding the rebel Uprising in small ways. On the Continent, being Modified means certain death—and Wren is one of the most powerful Mods in existence. When one careless mistake places her in the hands of the enemy and she’s forced to join their most elite training program, she’s finally handed the perfect opportunity to strike a devastating blow from inside their ranks.

LIE TO EVERYONE.

But training for Silver Block can be deadly, especially when you’re harboring dangerous secrets and living in close quarters with everyone who wants you dead.

AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T FALL FOR YOUR GREATEST ENEMY.

As the stakes grow ever higher, Wren must prove herself to Silver Block. But that’s easier said than done when your commanding officer is the ruthless and infuriatingly irresistible Cross Redden, who doesn’t miss anything when it comes to her. And as war rages between Mods like her and those who aim to destroy them, Wren must decide just how far she’s willing to go to protect herself . . . and how much of the Continent is worth saving.]]> 528 Dani Francis 059387546X Dennis 0 dnf 4.03 2025
author: Dani Francis
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: dnf
review:
It’s not bad, I just don’t like romantasy! If I ever feel the urge to read romantasy again, tell me no.
]]> 222925674 A gothic feminist body horror in two timelines revolving around three Anatomical Venuses—ultrarealistic wax figures of women—that come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them

Seoul, present day. Antiques dealer Alys’s task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, the third and final Anatomical Venus. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life sex workers to entice male medical students, these eerie wax figures, known as slashed beauties, carry unsavory lore. Legend has it that the figures are bewitched, and come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them. Now Alys embarks for England, where she knows what she must sever her cursed connection to the Venuses once and for all.

London, 1763. Abandoned and penniless in Covent Garden, wide-eyed Eleanor and another young woman, Emily, are taken under the wing of beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth, one of the city’s most highly desired courtesans among the rich and powerful. But as Eleanor is seduced deeper into a web of money, materialism, and men, it seems that Elizabeth may not be the savior she appears to be.

As the timelines begin to intersect, it becomes clear that the women’s stories are linked in deeper, darker ways than it initially seems. And that the only method for Alys to end the witchcraft that binds her legacy is to gather all three models in one place and destroy them.

However, these haunted, murderous dolls might not be ready to burn.]]> 384 A. Rushby 0593954645 Dennis 0 to-read 4.13
author: A. Rushby
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222419303 A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house novel from the USA Today bestselling author.

Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parent’s messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.

After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.]]> 336 Rachel Harrison 0593642570 Dennis 0 to-read 4.36 2025
author: Rachel Harrison
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217388155 Jane and Colin are soulmates. He just doesn’t know it yet.

For twenty-four-year-old Jane, finding love in New York City is even harder than making it as a playwright—especially when all her swiping through the apps leads to one meaningless connection after another.

So when Jane meets Colin, a sweet software engineer, she can’t believe her luck: they’re perfect for each other. Even when Colin breaks off their blooming relationship after six dates, Jane is certain this is just a stumbling block. She’ll get him back. She knows she will.

That is, until Colin starts dating Zoe—perfect, luminous, up-and-coming Brooklyn artist Zoe. Even worse, she’s actually kind of nice. But Zoe doesn’t have what it takes to love Colin. She’d never stay with him through thick and thin. All Jane has to do is prove it, and they’ll be so happy together.

But when Jane sneaks into Colin’s apartment, she makes a shocking discovery—one that will ensnare them all in a dark and complicated web of lies, secrets, and murder.

Unrelentingly twisty and utterly compelling, So Happy Together is an unputdownable, shattering read for fans of You, Riley Sager, and Promising Young Woman.]]> 304 Olivia Worley 1250372305 Dennis 4
Jane is sure Colin is her soulmate—even if he doesn’t know it yet. When he dumps her and starts dating the seemingly perfect Zoe, Jane is convinced she just has to win him back. But everything changes when she sneaks into his apartment and uncovers a shocking secret that leads to obsession, betrayal, and murder. I'm not going to dive in further, because the best part of this story is how it unfolds.

This book has all the fun, anti-slow burn vibes that I expected it to be. It's pretty predictable, but there was a twist that did catch me off-guard! I read this book in one sitting, so it's definitely safe to say that this is a bingeworthy story! Don't take this book too seriously and you'll have a blast. I know I did!]]> 3.58 2025
author: Olivia Worley
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/12
date added: 2025/05/12
shelves: 2025, camp, thriller, romantic-suspense
review:
Olivia Worley's upcoming novel, SO HAPPY TOGETHER, is camp, it's messy, it's chaotic, and it's so much fun! This book is my first venture into Worley's writing, but it will not be my last. If you love the show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the movie Promising Young Woman, or the books Love Letters to a Serial Killer or YOU, this book will definitely be your jam!

Jane is sure Colin is her soulmate—even if he doesn’t know it yet. When he dumps her and starts dating the seemingly perfect Zoe, Jane is convinced she just has to win him back. But everything changes when she sneaks into his apartment and uncovers a shocking secret that leads to obsession, betrayal, and murder. I'm not going to dive in further, because the best part of this story is how it unfolds.

This book has all the fun, anti-slow burn vibes that I expected it to be. It's pretty predictable, but there was a twist that did catch me off-guard! I read this book in one sitting, so it's definitely safe to say that this is a bingeworthy story! Don't take this book too seriously and you'll have a blast. I know I did!
]]> 218460312 A multiverse novel about two women who fall in love despite living in worlds that are five months apart, as they try to find a timeline that doesn’t end in disaster, in this debut novel by Annie Mare.

Tressa Fay Robeson has never been shy, which is how she’s made a name for herself as an in-demand hairstylist and social media star. So she can admit that spending her days at her hair salon and her nights with her tight-knit group of friends (and one grumpy cat) is not the kind of exciting life she’d hoped for.

When a misdirected text from a stranger leads to a flirty exchange, she surprises herself by suggesting an impulsive meetup. But the woman, Meryl, never shows. Tressa Fay brushes it off—until Meryl’s sister and friend show up at the salon demanding to know what’s going on. Because, you see, there’s no way Meryl could have texted her. Meryl has been missing for a month.

Tressa Fay and her tight-knit group of friends soon discover they aren’t dealing with a catfish, but a temporal paradox. As they come to terms with the idea of parallel universes, they realize how many times their paths have crossed like this before. But even as they understand the multiverse more and more, nothing keeps Meryl from vanishing.

As it draws closer to the moment of Meryl’s disappearance, there’s only one question Have they done enough to change the outcome, or have they done so much that none of them will make it past that fateful day in September?]]> 384 Annie Mare 0593817486 Dennis 0 to-read 3.69 2025
author: Annie Mare
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222376953 A Christmas romance for Barbie fans who wished Ken and Allan got their own love story.

Henry Aster swears he is unlucky when it comes to love. He thought he’d finally found The One, but a sudden break-up has left him hopeless right before the holiday season.

Facing another family Christmas alone, Henry makes a wish for “The Perfect Man.” The next morning, when he arrives at the Jersey Shore vintage shop he manages, he finds one of the male display mannequins has sprung to life and entirely wrecked the place.

The magicked man is gorgeous, of course, but he comes with a Cinderella-style If he doesn’t experience true, human love before the midnight chime on New Year’s Eve, he will turn back into a mannequin for good.

Now Henry doesn’t have to show up to family Christmas alone. The catch? This new man—self-named Aidan Smith—knows nothing about being a human. Henry has one month to teach Aidan how to be a functioning person in the modern world and the swoony boyfriend that will win over his family. It’s an arduous task that draws them close together... but can human love ever really be true?]]> 352 Timothy Janovsky 1250338956 Dennis 0 to-read 4.12
author: Timothy Janovsky
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220161593 In this follow-up to #1 New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s multi-million copy mega-hit The Women in Cabin 10, Lo Blacklock returns to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, only to find herself in a white-knuckled race across Europe.

When the invitation to attend the press opening of a luxury Swiss hotel—owned by reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann—arrives, it’s like the answer to a prayer. Three years after the birth of her youngest child, Lo Blacklock is ready to reestablish her journalism career, but post-pandemic travel journalism is a very different landscape from the one she left ten years ago.

The chateau on the shores of Lake Geneva is everything Lo’s ever dreamed of, and she hopes she can snag an interview with Marcus. Unfortunately, he proves to be even more difficult to pin down than his reputation suggests. When Lo gets a late-night call asking her to come to Marcus’s hotel room, she agrees despite her own misgivings. She’s greeted, however, by a woman claiming to be Marcus’s mistress, and in life-or-death jeopardy.

What follows is a thrilling cat-and-mouse pursuit across Europe, forcing Lo to ask herself just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save this woman…and if she can even trust her?]]> 400 Ruth Ware 1668025620 Dennis 3
Ruth Ware is an auto-read author for me, but her last few books have been more misses than hits for me, so I have ventured into Ware’s books a bit more skeptical nowadays. That being said, The Woman in Cabin 10 is my favorite novel of hers and it got me into wanting to start a bookstagram, so when I saw that she was writing a sequel, I knew that I needed to read it!

THE WOMAN IN SUITE 11 reintroduces Lo Blacklock, now a married mother of two, who has transitioned from her magazine job to freelance journalism. Despite her contented family life, Lo misses the thrill of her past adventures. When presented with an opportunity to attend the grand opening of an exclusive Swiss hotel owned by the elusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann, she seizes it, especially since her former magazine requests an interview with the reclusive owner. From the onset of her journey, mysterious events begin to unfold, setting the stage for another suspenseful narrative.

I enjoyed revisiting Lo Blacklock and despite not rereading The Woman in Cabin 10, I was able to quickly get back into the swing of things. I really enjoyed some of the returning characters (one specifically was the winner for me, but I’m not giving out spoilers). However, the story was very slow moving and took about 100 pages to really get into the action. I miss the fast-paced suspense from Ruth Ware’s older novels, but I did enjoy the return into Lo’s world and the luxury hotel vibes. I don’t expect another installment in this world, but no matter what Ruth Ware writes next, I will read it! STARS: 3.5, PUB: 7/8

AUTHOR RANKINGS:
1. The Woman in Cabin 10
2. The Death of Mrs. Westaway
3. The Turn of the Key
4. One Perfect Couple
5. In a Dark, Dark Wood
6. The IT Girl
7. The Woman in Suite 11
8. Zero Days
9. One by One
10. The Lying Game]]> 3.68 2025
author: Ruth Ware
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/11
date added: 2025/05/11
shelves: 2025, contemporary, light-mystery, light-thriller, slow-burn
review:
3.5 stars

Ruth Ware is an auto-read author for me, but her last few books have been more misses than hits for me, so I have ventured into Ware’s books a bit more skeptical nowadays. That being said, The Woman in Cabin 10 is my favorite novel of hers and it got me into wanting to start a bookstagram, so when I saw that she was writing a sequel, I knew that I needed to read it!

THE WOMAN IN SUITE 11 reintroduces Lo Blacklock, now a married mother of two, who has transitioned from her magazine job to freelance journalism. Despite her contented family life, Lo misses the thrill of her past adventures. When presented with an opportunity to attend the grand opening of an exclusive Swiss hotel owned by the elusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann, she seizes it, especially since her former magazine requests an interview with the reclusive owner. From the onset of her journey, mysterious events begin to unfold, setting the stage for another suspenseful narrative.

I enjoyed revisiting Lo Blacklock and despite not rereading The Woman in Cabin 10, I was able to quickly get back into the swing of things. I really enjoyed some of the returning characters (one specifically was the winner for me, but I’m not giving out spoilers). However, the story was very slow moving and took about 100 pages to really get into the action. I miss the fast-paced suspense from Ruth Ware’s older novels, but I did enjoy the return into Lo’s world and the luxury hotel vibes. I don’t expect another installment in this world, but no matter what Ruth Ware writes next, I will read it! STARS: 3.5, PUB: 7/8

AUTHOR RANKINGS:
1. The Woman in Cabin 10
2. The Death of Mrs. Westaway
3. The Turn of the Key
4. One Perfect Couple
5. In a Dark, Dark Wood
6. The IT Girl
7. The Woman in Suite 11
8. Zero Days
9. One by One
10. The Lying Game
]]> 224003166 From award-winning South African author Nadia Davids comes a gothic psychological thriller set in the 1920s, where a young maid finds herself entangled with the spirits of a decaying manor and the secrets of its enigmatic owner.

I come highly recommended to Mrs. Hattingh through sentences I tell her I cannot read.

The year is 1920, in a small, unnamed city in a colonial empire. Soraya Matas believes she has found the ideal job as a personal maid to the eccentric Mrs. Hattingh, whose beautiful, decaying home is not far from The Muslim Quarter where Soraya lives with her parents. As Soraya settles into her new role, she discovers that the house is alive with spirits.

While Mrs. Hattingh eagerly awaits her son’s visit from London, she offers to help Soraya stay in touch with her fiancé Nour by writing him letters on her behalf. So begins a strange weekly meeting where Soraya dictates and Mrs. Hattingh writes—a ritual that binds the two women to one another and eventually threatens the sanity of both.

Cape Fever is a masterful blend of gothic themes, folk-tales, and psychological suspense, reminiscent of works by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Daphne du Maurier, and Soraya Matas is an unforgettable narrator, whose story of love and grief, is also a chilling exploration of class and the long reach of history.]]> 240 Nadia Davids 1668090732 Dennis 0 to-read 4.29
author: Nadia Davids
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 225819195 In this page-turning, provocative horror novel, two desperate souls attempt to turn their lives around, with nightmarish consequences if they fail.

Madison has seen better days. Reeling from a bad breakup, self-soothing with junk food, and totally consumed by her lack of direction, she’s in need of a big reset. When she runs into an old acquaintance at the gym, Madison is shocked by how fit they’ve suddenly become. The cause? An all-female fitness boot camp led by ex-military guru Ellie Fellowes. The course is characterized by grueling reps and minimal contact with the outside world, and when Madison signs up to experience it herself, something doesn’t feel right. The other students keep acting strangely; Ellie seems almost superhuman, and her intense motivational methods are becoming bizarre, even dangerous. But Madison is getting results. How can she stop now?

Musician Johnny Blake has been struggling with a pain pill addiction after a very public, very bad fall. At the encouragement of loved ones, he retreats to a secluded cottage to detox. But Johnny isn’t alone. Something is lurking in the shadows of his new home—a creature unnatural and hungry, one that traps Johnny in a frightening bargain. If Johnny doesn’t stay off his pills and keep his end of the deal, he will be eaten alive.

As Madison and Johnny’s predicaments spiral into the unthinkable, they will have to look within to find the true and terrifying answer to the age-old  How badly do you want it?

Nerve-shredding and compulsively readable, I’ll Quit When I’m Dead marks Luke Smitherd as a major voice in horror to watch.]]> 384 Luke Smitherd 0316579564 Dennis 0 to-read 3.79 2025
author: Luke Smitherd
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 228847873 A one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection—an unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned writer and director of blockbuster thrillers like The Sixth Sense

When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?]]> 352 Nicholas Sparks Dennis 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220160814 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell, three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.]]> 368 Lisa Jewell 1668033879 Dennis 4
The story is rich with deceit, secrets, and a particularly manipulative male lead whose shocking behavior keeps readers on edge. While it takes a little bit of time to fully grasp the various characters and intertwining plots, the payoff is a gripping narrative that showcases Jewell’s talent for weaving complex storylines. Once I got into the action, I had a feeling that I knew where it was going. I read this book in two sittings, so although a bit slower to pick up, DON’T LET HIM IN is still following Jewell’s bingeable reputation.

The ending wraps up in a non-Lisa Jewell fashion, which I won’t divulge more about, but IYKYK. I kinda wanted the story to be a bit more thriller-y—DON’T LET HIM IN is more of a drama with suspense. Nevertheless, the book is a compelling read and will be a summer hit for readers. Kudos to Lisa Jewell for her uncanny ability to weave many characters into one central storyline yet again. The master of suspense is back again! STARS: 4, PUB: 6/24]]> 3.79 2025
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/08
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves: 2025, contemporary, drama, light-thriller, suspense
review:
No matter what Lisa Jewell writes, I will read it! Lisa Jewell’s upcoming novel, DON’T LET HIM IN, offers a refreshing twist on her signature domestic thrillers by delving into the world of con artists. This book is like Dirty John on steroids!

The story is rich with deceit, secrets, and a particularly manipulative male lead whose shocking behavior keeps readers on edge. While it takes a little bit of time to fully grasp the various characters and intertwining plots, the payoff is a gripping narrative that showcases Jewell’s talent for weaving complex storylines. Once I got into the action, I had a feeling that I knew where it was going. I read this book in two sittings, so although a bit slower to pick up, DON’T LET HIM IN is still following Jewell’s bingeable reputation.

The ending wraps up in a non-Lisa Jewell fashion, which I won’t divulge more about, but IYKYK. I kinda wanted the story to be a bit more thriller-y—DON’T LET HIM IN is more of a drama with suspense. Nevertheless, the book is a compelling read and will be a summer hit for readers. Kudos to Lisa Jewell for her uncanny ability to weave many characters into one central storyline yet again. The master of suspense is back again! STARS: 4, PUB: 6/24
]]> 222668031 Ten children, abducted in broad daylight—and buried alive.

Sage and her sister won’t make it home from school today. Neither will the other children on Bus 315. But that’s only the beginning of the nightmare.

New bus driver Jessa blames herself for what happened. She couldn’t protect the kids she was supposed to deliver to daycare, just like she couldn’t protect her own daughter three years ago. But this time, everything will be different. It has to be.

Trapped in a shipping container buried twenty feet underground, Jessa and the children do their best to stay calm. The kidnappers insist that if everyone behaves, they’ll be freed when the ransom is paid. But Sage isn’t sure they’ll last that long. Neither is Jessa. It’s dark and cramped, and with every passing minute it’s getting harder to breathe.

With time—and air—running thin, Jessa and the children must find a way to outsmart their captors, or face an unthinkable fate.

Such Quiet Girls was inspired by actual events.


]]> 354 Noelle W. Ihli Dennis 4 4.03 2025
author: Noelle W. Ihli
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/08
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves: dark, drama, 2020-pub, thriller
review:
Based on a horrifying true story (Google the real-life 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping if you want to know more), SUCH QUIET GIRLS follows a bus driver and ten children who are kidnapped and buried alive in an underground shipping container. Told from multiple perspectives—this book is DARK, tense, emotional, and gut-wrenching. This book is all about a race to the clock, panic at all costs, and trigger warning central, but it’s a powerful story of courage, resilience, and survival. I listened to this book via @librofm and I had a blast. My first venture into Noelle W. Ihli's novels, but it won't be my last! If you like Freida McFadden fast-paced novels, you'll enjoy this one!
]]> 216775113 When a reality show about former child stars overcoming addiction culminates in murder, their therapist must take a closer look into their lives—and her own, from USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry.

Dr. Laurel Harlow can’t believe she’s agreed to do a reality TV show. But her years as a chemical dependency counselor and personal history with the show’s director make her the obvious choice. Treating a mansion full of former child stars on the road to recovery is the tallest order of her career—especially when one of them turns up dead while the cameras are still rolling.

In a house full of narcissists vying for the spotlight, everyone’s hiding something…including Laurel. An investigation could expose a past she’d rather keep buried. But among the attention-starved patients, only one of them is a predator. And Laurel is skilled at spotting a predator when she sees one.

As she hunts a killer in her present, the unsettling truths of Laurel’s past are forced into the light. But this time, she’ll face her demons head on. She’ll stop at nothing to expose a murderer, even if it means risking everything she holds dear.]]> 247 Lucinda Berry 1662526032 Dennis 3
ONE IN FOUR begins with a premise that hooked me in from the beginning: a reality TV show featuring former child stars battling addiction in a controlled environment, but all recorded live for audience viewing. Dr. Laurel Harlow, the show's therapist, is tasked with keeping these troubled celebrities on the path to recovery. However, when one of the participants dies in a suspicious incident, the show takes a sharp turn. The novel captivates as Laurel navigates the ethically murky waters of exploiting vulnerable individuals for entertainment, while still genuinely caring for her patients.

The motives behind the "whodunnit" felt a bit over-the-top, but the twist in the second half was very unexpected. I also felt that this book was very personal and more of a drama than a typical thriller I would read. You can tell that the author wrote this book close to her heart. The dark and twisted ending certainly packs a punch, and I see a lot of mixed opinions on it, but I loved that it steered away from the typical story wrap-up. If you're a fan of fast-paced thrillers with plenty of drama and shocking twists, ONE IN FOUR is worth a read, but I want to read more Lucinda Berry novels before venturing into auto-read territory.]]> 3.36 2025
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/06
date added: 2025/05/06
shelves: 2025, dark, thriller, whodunnit
review:
I have been wanting to read Lucinda Berry forever! I know that some of my bookstagram faves like @crimebythebook @gareindeedreads and @drink.read.repeat have been raving about her forever, so I am extra thankful that @booksparks sent a copy for me to check out for myself! #SRC2025

ONE IN FOUR begins with a premise that hooked me in from the beginning: a reality TV show featuring former child stars battling addiction in a controlled environment, but all recorded live for audience viewing. Dr. Laurel Harlow, the show's therapist, is tasked with keeping these troubled celebrities on the path to recovery. However, when one of the participants dies in a suspicious incident, the show takes a sharp turn. The novel captivates as Laurel navigates the ethically murky waters of exploiting vulnerable individuals for entertainment, while still genuinely caring for her patients.

The motives behind the "whodunnit" felt a bit over-the-top, but the twist in the second half was very unexpected. I also felt that this book was very personal and more of a drama than a typical thriller I would read. You can tell that the author wrote this book close to her heart. The dark and twisted ending certainly packs a punch, and I see a lot of mixed opinions on it, but I loved that it steered away from the typical story wrap-up. If you're a fan of fast-paced thrillers with plenty of drama and shocking twists, ONE IN FOUR is worth a read, but I want to read more Lucinda Berry novels before venturing into auto-read territory.
]]> 222925690 A young man is haunted by a mythological specter bent on stealing everything he loves in this unsettling horror from the author of Indian Burial Ground and Sisters of the Lost Nation.

For fear of summoning evil spirits, Native superstition says you should never, ever whistle at night.

Henry Hotard was on the verge of fame, gaining a following and traction with his eerie ghost-hunting videos. Then his dreams came to a screeching halt. Now, he's learning to navigate a new life in a wheelchair, back on the reservation where he grew up, relying on his grandparents’ care while he recovers.

And he’s being haunted.

His girlfriend, Jade, insists he just needs time to adjust to his new reality as a quadriplegic, that it’s his traumatized mind playing tricks on him, but Henry knows better. As the specter haunting him creeps closer each night, Henry battles to find a way to endure, to rid himself of the horror stalking him. Worried that this dread might plague him forever, he realizes the only way to exile his phantom is by confronting his troubled past and going back to the events that led to his injury.

It all started when he whistled at night....]]> 368 Nick Medina 0593820401 Dennis 0 to-read 4.10 2025
author: Nick Medina
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219521987 A marriage on the rocks, a missing friend, an investigative journalist, a tangle of shocking lies, and a peaceful North Carolina lakefront cottage converge in this irresistibly twisty new psychological thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author—perfect for readers of Liv Constantine, Tarryn Fisher, Kellye Garrett, and Caroline Kepnes.

At the peak of her career, investigative reporter Rose Howard is exhausted from trying to manage her seemingly perfect life. With her marriage to her one true love collapsing, she desperately needs to rest, regroup, and decide which way to go next. The direction becomes clear when she discovers that her former best friend, Eve Castillo, isn't responding to attempts to contact her at the North Carolina cottage where she's vacationing. Rose knows Eve can be flaky and irresponsible—that’s why they fell out. Still, Rose heads to the tranquil small town of Sage Hill . . .

Rose soon discovers that Eve has vanished without her purse and passport—even after booking a trip abroad. The personable cabin owners’ accounts of Eve's stay just don’t to add up . . . and most of the town's initially hospitable inhabitants becoming increasingly less helpful . . .

Rose's instincts tell her the solution lies somewhere in Eve's—and Sage Hill's—past. To get answers, she’ll have to ask inconvenient questions, rattle long-buried skeletons . . . and face vicious attempts on her life. But some truths are best left alone. And secrets Rose never saw coming could easily sink her and her future without a trace . . .]]> 272 Shanora Williams 1496745841 Dennis 0 to-read 3.81
author: Shanora Williams
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216594910 For fans of Stephen King's The Mist and the HBO hit show The Last of Us comes a wildly inventive, sinister thriller following an estranged father and daughter who find themselves trapped in a diner by a living body of water.

 Don't let the water drag you down…

 It's been six years since Glen Masters lost his wife in a tragic accident. In hopes of reconnecting with his grieving teenage daughter, Lauren, he decides to take her on a road trip through the Appalachian mountains, where he has fond memories of their past as a family. But what was supposed to be a quick diner pit stop suddenly transforms into a nightmare when armed men stumble in, ranting about a mysterious and deadly "living water" that attacked several people up the road. The story the men spin seems to be the rantings of drunken lunatics, but soon Glen, his daughter, and the other diners find themselves hostages to both the gunmen and the inexplicably terrifying entity. 

 Because there's truly something wrong with the water, and it has no mercy.

 Panic grows as the diners play witness to a nature-defying being that seeks only to swallow everything in its path. With help nowhere in sight, the group of strangers must work together to devise an escape, and ultimately, Glen will have to face his worst fears to reconcile with the past or risk losing everything.

 A chilling story from a brand-new voice in fiction, Body of Water explores the complicated nature of grief, terror, and the ghosts we must confront to survive.

 


]]> 400 Adam Godfrey 1464229473 Dennis 0 to-read 3.95
author: Adam Godfrey
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217388119 A lavish, Texas-sized Sweet Sixteen turns deadly in this twisty, pulse-pounding new novel — serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit. Let the festivities begin…

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

It’s a killer guest list . . .

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive. ]]> 336 Kelsey Cox 1250378818 Dennis 3
PARTY OF LIARS sets the stage for a glamorous Sweet 16 in the Texas Hill Country—but the night spirals into chaos when a body crashes onto the dance floor before the birthday candles are even blown out. The story unfolds through multiple POVs and a dual timeline that slowly reveals which guest won’t survive the night—and who might be responsible.

I ventured into this book via audiobook and while the setup promises a juicy locked-room mystery, the pacing was too slow for me. That being said, the full-cast audiobook brings energy to an otherwise drawn-out night, making it a better fit for newer thriller fans or readers who enjoy a slow-burn suspense. I did have to alternate listening speeds based on who was speaking, but overall I would give this author a try again. This book is perfect for new thriller readers trying to break into the genre.]]> 4.03 2025
author: Kelsey Cox
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/01
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves:
review:
I was so excited to pick up Kelsey Cox's PARTY OF LIARS once I saw that cover. I had a feeling this would be in the same vein of Lucy Foley meets Shari Lapena, and I definitely got similar vibes.

PARTY OF LIARS sets the stage for a glamorous Sweet 16 in the Texas Hill Country—but the night spirals into chaos when a body crashes onto the dance floor before the birthday candles are even blown out. The story unfolds through multiple POVs and a dual timeline that slowly reveals which guest won’t survive the night—and who might be responsible.

I ventured into this book via audiobook and while the setup promises a juicy locked-room mystery, the pacing was too slow for me. That being said, the full-cast audiobook brings energy to an otherwise drawn-out night, making it a better fit for newer thriller fans or readers who enjoy a slow-burn suspense. I did have to alternate listening speeds based on who was speaking, but overall I would give this author a try again. This book is perfect for new thriller readers trying to break into the genre.
]]> 219300835 Joni Ackerman was tired of being invisible.

It’s been one year since Joni Ackerman tipped the antifreeze into her husband’s cocktail. One year since he was found dead on the stairs. One year since she got away with murder. At first Joni feared the consequences of her transgression, but she’s learned to embrace the power of recklessness in a way she would have hated to see in anyone else. It was that recklessness, after all, that took her to this rewarding new life.

Joni now runs Sunny Day Productions alongside her daughter, Chris, and her best friend, Val. All is well in life and work until one day the balance is rocked when an unexpected, and unwelcome, visitor appears.]]> 272 Katia Lief 0802164927 Dennis 0 to-read 3.41
author: Katia Lief
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220195725 In this razor-sharp, diabolical debut thriller, a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied.

Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but.

Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.]]> 320 Liann Zhang 1668067919 Dennis 5 2025, psychological-thriller
Do not even tell me that Liann Zhang's JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is a debut, because I still cannot believe it. What a juicccyyyyyy freaking ride! Ms. Zhang gets all the applause today! This book sinks its teeth into influencer culture, race, and identity. When supermarket cashier Julie discovers her estranged, identical twin Chloe—now a mega-popular influencer—dead under mysterious circumstances, she slips into her sister’s curated life of glam and likes. But what begins as a seductive escape quickly spirals into a sinister mystery, especially during a high-stakes island retreat with Chloe’s influencer clique.

This book was wildly fun and totally unputdownable—even if you have to suspend disbelief at times. Zhang immerses you deep into Julie’s psyche as she navigates privilege, performative authenticity, and the dark underbelly of social media fame. If you loved the surreal satire of Mona Awad's Bunny, this is right up your alley. JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is easily one of my top reads of the year—I’m now officially a Liann Zhang fan!]]> 3.47 2025
author: Liann Zhang
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/30
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: 2025, psychological-thriller
review:
ANTI-SLOW BURN ALERT!!!

Do not even tell me that Liann Zhang's JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is a debut, because I still cannot believe it. What a juicccyyyyyy freaking ride! Ms. Zhang gets all the applause today! This book sinks its teeth into influencer culture, race, and identity. When supermarket cashier Julie discovers her estranged, identical twin Chloe—now a mega-popular influencer—dead under mysterious circumstances, she slips into her sister’s curated life of glam and likes. But what begins as a seductive escape quickly spirals into a sinister mystery, especially during a high-stakes island retreat with Chloe’s influencer clique.

This book was wildly fun and totally unputdownable—even if you have to suspend disbelief at times. Zhang immerses you deep into Julie’s psyche as she navigates privilege, performative authenticity, and the dark underbelly of social media fame. If you loved the surreal satire of Mona Awad's Bunny, this is right up your alley. JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is easily one of my top reads of the year—I’m now officially a Liann Zhang fan!
]]> 69705106 What would you do if the past showed up on your doorstep? A woman who grew up in a cult must decide if she can trust the stranger claiming to have answers to the dark mysteries of her childhood in this "irresistible"* thriller.

Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved. No sightings of the members were ever verified, and no bodies ever found. But the group did leave one thing behind: a twelve-year-old girl wandering alone on the side of the road in search of her lost family.

In the years since that morning, Lee Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her. She has built a new identity for herself, with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter, Lucy. No one in her life now knows about her connection to “the cult that went missing,” not even her husband. But new motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn't want to let Lucy out of her sight even for a moment. She can't return to work. She's not sleeping, and she's starting to have paranoid thoughts of Lucy being harmed.

Then a stranger shows up on her doorstep, offering to finally answer all of Lee’s questions about her past—if she could only trust that the woman is who she says she is. As she digs deeper into the woman's history, the safe, stable life that Lee has constructed for herself threatens to shatter. In The Ascent, Allison Buccola has crafted a nerve-rattling thriller about motherhood, identity, and the truths we think we know about our families.]]> 352 Allison Buccola 0593730003 Dennis 4
This book is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller centered on Lee Burton, a woman whose past is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her childhood commune. 20 years ago, all the members of Jacob Hill (a famous doomsday cult) vanished without a trace, leaving behind only 12-year-old Lee (then called Ophelia), found wandering alone. Now married with a baby daughter, Lee has tried to bury her past—until a stranger appears, claiming to have answers about the day her life changed forever. Told in dual timelines (past and present), the story deftly weaves Lee’s present struggles with new motherhood and paranoia with chilling glimpses into the commune’s past.

Buccola expertly layers tension by blending cult intrigue, maternal anxiety, and buried secrets. Lee is a sympathetic character, though at times her gullibility stretched belief. Sometimes I wanted to shake Lee and tell her to WAKE UP! Still, the pacing is fantastic and gives anti-slow burn vibes, and the mystery around Jacob Hill kept me fully invested, even if the journey and twists felt a bit predictable for me (I think the above average thriller binge reader would agree). Despite an ending that felt a little over the top and rushed, the novel’s gripping momentum and well-drawn relationships made for an addictive read. Fans of psychological thrillers, especially those fascinated by cults and hidden pasts, will find this book well worth their time.]]> 3.99 2025
author: Allison Buccola
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/29
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: 2025, thriller, psychological-thriller
review:
I've been wanting to read Allison Buccola's upcoming novel, THE ASCENT, since I read its premise. Sorry, but I'm still on the cult-train and after reading this book, I don't think I'm getting off of it anytime soon!

This book is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller centered on Lee Burton, a woman whose past is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her childhood commune. 20 years ago, all the members of Jacob Hill (a famous doomsday cult) vanished without a trace, leaving behind only 12-year-old Lee (then called Ophelia), found wandering alone. Now married with a baby daughter, Lee has tried to bury her past—until a stranger appears, claiming to have answers about the day her life changed forever. Told in dual timelines (past and present), the story deftly weaves Lee’s present struggles with new motherhood and paranoia with chilling glimpses into the commune’s past.

Buccola expertly layers tension by blending cult intrigue, maternal anxiety, and buried secrets. Lee is a sympathetic character, though at times her gullibility stretched belief. Sometimes I wanted to shake Lee and tell her to WAKE UP! Still, the pacing is fantastic and gives anti-slow burn vibes, and the mystery around Jacob Hill kept me fully invested, even if the journey and twists felt a bit predictable for me (I think the above average thriller binge reader would agree). Despite an ending that felt a little over the top and rushed, the novel’s gripping momentum and well-drawn relationships made for an addictive read. Fans of psychological thrillers, especially those fascinated by cults and hidden pasts, will find this book well worth their time.
]]> 219833252 A son returning home.
A dangerous debt.
Secrets about to ignite . . . and a family consumed by flames.

Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family's crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident. When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals.

And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything.

A financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, Roman must use all his skills to try to save his family while dealing with a shadow that has haunted them all for twenty years: the disappearance of their mother when Roman and his siblings were teenagers. It's a mystery that Neveah, who has sacrificed so much of her life to hold her family together, is determined to solve once and for all.

As fate and chance and heartache ignite their lives, the Carruthers family must pull together to survive or see their lives turn to ash. Because, as their father counseled them from birth, nothing lasts forever.

Everything burns.]]> 333 S.A. Cosby 1250832063 Dennis 5 4.23 2025
author: S.A. Cosby
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: contemporary, crime-fiction, dark, family-drama, thriller
review:

]]> 220196267 From the author of the “irresistible” (Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Where the Truth Lies, an atmospheric novel about a young woman who searches for answers after her estranged friend is found dead in the bayou of their rural Louisiana hometown.

The Labasques aren’t like other families.

Living in a shack out in the swamps, they made do by hunting down alligators and other animals. To the good people of Jacknife, Louisiana, they are troublemakers and outcasts, the kind of people you wouldn’t want in your community.

So, when Cutter Labasque is found face down in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care, not even her two brothers. The only person who questions the official verdict of suicide is Cutter’s childhood friend, Loyal May, who has just returned home to care for her mother. When she left town at eighteen years old, she betrayed Cutter. Now with a ragtag group from the local paper where she works, Loyal goes in search of answers, uncovering a web of deceit and corruption that implicates those in town. It may be too late to apologize to Cutter, but Loyal has restitution in mind.

Weaving through the swamps and bayous of rural Louisiana, Our Last Wild Days is an atmospheric, smoldering suspense about our darker impulses—and how to set things right.]]> 352 Anna Bailey 1982157216 Dennis 4
When journalist Loyal May returns to her rural Louisiana hometown to care for her ailing mother, she’s quickly pulled into a chilling mystery: the suspicious death of her estranged childhood friend, Cutter Labasque. Determined to seek justice where no one else will, Loyal and a team from the local newspaper begin an investigation that slowly unravels a tangled web of corruption, secrets, and heartbreak.

This novel thrives on its rich setting—the humid, haunting Louisiana bayou practically becomes a character of its own—paired with lyrical and creeping writing. While the slow pace and abundance of characters can sometimes make the plot feel unwieldy, the core of the story remains strong. Fans of Southern Gothic fiction, complex characters, and slow-burn mysteries that simmer with tension until the final reveal will find themselves thoroughly immersed. If you enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing or Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End or All the Colors of the Dark, you will love OUR LAST WILD DAYS.]]> 3.98 2025
author: Anna Bailey
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: 2025, mystery, slow-burn, whodunnit, thriller
review:
I absolutely loved Anna Bailey's Where the Truth Lies, so I knew that I needed to immediately read their newest novel, OUR LAST WILD DAYS. This book is a slow-burning, atmospheric Southern Gothic mystery that plunges readers into the murky depths of small-town secrets and long-buried betrayals.

When journalist Loyal May returns to her rural Louisiana hometown to care for her ailing mother, she’s quickly pulled into a chilling mystery: the suspicious death of her estranged childhood friend, Cutter Labasque. Determined to seek justice where no one else will, Loyal and a team from the local newspaper begin an investigation that slowly unravels a tangled web of corruption, secrets, and heartbreak.

This novel thrives on its rich setting—the humid, haunting Louisiana bayou practically becomes a character of its own—paired with lyrical and creeping writing. While the slow pace and abundance of characters can sometimes make the plot feel unwieldy, the core of the story remains strong. Fans of Southern Gothic fiction, complex characters, and slow-burn mysteries that simmer with tension until the final reveal will find themselves thoroughly immersed. If you enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing or Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End or All the Colors of the Dark, you will love OUR LAST WILD DAYS.
]]> 227912363 A grandmother tells her granddaughter about her twisty, often surprising, journey to who she is now in this sweeping love story by USA Today bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Izzy Chen is dreading her family’s annual Chinese New Year celebration, where they all come together at a Michelin-starred restaurant to flaunt their status and successes in hopes to one up each other. So when her seventy-three-year-old glamorous and formidable grandmother walks in with a stunning woman on her arm and kisses her in front of everyone, it shakes Izzy to her core. She’d always considered herself the black sheep of the family for harboring similar feelings to the ones her Nainai just displayed.

Seeing herself in her teenage granddaughter's struggles with identity and acceptance, Magnolia Chen tells Izzy her own story, of how as a teen she was sent by her Indo-Chinese parents from Jakarta to Los Angeles for her education and fell in love with someone completely forbidden to her by both culture and gender norms—Ellery, an American college student who became Magnolia's best friend and the love of her life. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns but ultimately lead you to exactly who you're meant to be.]]> 352 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593816870 Dennis 0 to-read 4.21 2025
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220161389 A real-life Latin American haunted mansion. A murky labyrinth of family secrets. A young, aristocratic woman desperate to escape her past. This haunting debut gothic horror novel is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and The Shining.

In 1923 Soacha, Colombia, La Casona—an opulent mansion perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall—was once home to Antonia and her family, who settle in despite their constant nightmares and the house’s malevolent spirit. But tragedy strikes when Antonia’s mother takes a fatal fall into El Salto and her father, consumed by grief, attempts to burn the house down with Antonia still inside.

Three years later, haunted by disturbing dreams and cryptic journal entries from her late mother, Antonia is drawn back to her childhood home when it is converted into a luxurious hotel. As Antonia confronts her fragmented memories and the dark history of the estate, she wrestles with unsettling questions she can no longer Was her mother’s death by her own hands, or was it by someone else’s?

In a riveting quest for answers, Antonia must navigate the shadows of La Casona, unearthing its darkest secrets and confronting a legacy that threatens to swallow her whole.]]> 256 Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro 1668062577 Dennis 3
I've been so excited to read Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro's debut novel, BOCHICA, ever since I've seen it being compared to Mexican Gothic meets The Shining. UM HELLO! Thank you @atriabooks @atriathrillers for this gifted copy! The cover alone captivated me so I knew that I needed to prioritize this one.

Set in 1920s Colombia, this historical Gothic mystery follows Antonia, a young woman drawn back to her eerie childhood home—now a luxury hotel—perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall. Still haunted by her mother’s mysterious death and the house’s malevolent spirit, Antonia embarks on a chilling journey to uncover long-buried secrets and piece together her fragmented memories. The setting for BOCHICA is atmospheric and grounded in real folklore.

This book dives into familiar territory when it comes to horror novels—cults, mythology, secret societies—but they are sprinkled in rather than fully divulged. At around 250 pages, this book is a short fun ride! There's a large supporting cast, but Antonia is the one who takes full center throughout the novel. I am not sure I would say this is specifically in the same vein of Mexican Gothic and The Shining, but fans of light supernatural mysteries with Gothic aesthetics and historical backdrops, will definitely find BOCHICA hauntingly fun. I will definitely tune into this author for future works as she continues to dive into this paranormal gothic realm. ]]> 3.17 2025
author: Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

I've been so excited to read Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro's debut novel, BOCHICA, ever since I've seen it being compared to Mexican Gothic meets The Shining. UM HELLO! Thank you @atriabooks @atriathrillers for this gifted copy! The cover alone captivated me so I knew that I needed to prioritize this one.

Set in 1920s Colombia, this historical Gothic mystery follows Antonia, a young woman drawn back to her eerie childhood home—now a luxury hotel—perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall. Still haunted by her mother’s mysterious death and the house’s malevolent spirit, Antonia embarks on a chilling journey to uncover long-buried secrets and piece together her fragmented memories. The setting for BOCHICA is atmospheric and grounded in real folklore.

This book dives into familiar territory when it comes to horror novels—cults, mythology, secret societies—but they are sprinkled in rather than fully divulged. At around 250 pages, this book is a short fun ride! There's a large supporting cast, but Antonia is the one who takes full center throughout the novel. I am not sure I would say this is specifically in the same vein of Mexican Gothic and The Shining, but fans of light supernatural mysteries with Gothic aesthetics and historical backdrops, will definitely find BOCHICA hauntingly fun. I will definitely tune into this author for future works as she continues to dive into this paranormal gothic realm.
]]> 220813132 Living a double life always comes with a cost.

A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t afford. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying themself only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t refuse: Put a pill in the new member’s drink and, when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life.

Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Fifteen years have passed, and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm.

PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him. It was supposed to be easy, but she finds that while living her double life, the lines blur between who she is and who she’s pretending to be.

Stunned to see Tony again, Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead, it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends. Was someone else at the club—member or worker—tasked with poisoning PJ just as she had been instructed to do to Tony? Who would want both of them dead? With no one to trust and The Stranger to answer to, Kim must peel back the layers of deceit to reveal a deeply buried truth, more shocking than she could ever imagine…]]> 304 Jaime Lynn Hendricks 1613166044 Dennis 5
HER DOUBLE LIVES is a twisty, fast-paced story that kicks off with a desperate waitress, a poisoned cocktail, and a plot that spirals deliciously out of control. When Kim Valva is offered a shady deal by a mysterious figure to poison a man at the elite country club where she works, she never expects her target to be her ex-boyfriend—now a wealthy, rebranded fiancé. But when the wrong person drops dead, the mystery deepens, and Kim is pulled into a dangerous game of secrets, lies, and revenge.

Packed with dual timelines, morally gray characters, and jaw-dropping reveals, this novel is a masterclass in suspense that all thriller authors and readers need to see to believe. Hendricks blends dark humor (Carla's initial nickname had me cracking up) with sharp plotting and layered character development, creating a binge-worthy story that’s both emotionally grounded and wildly entertaining. If you love con-artist capers, twisty narratives, and unreliable narrators, THEIR DOUBLE LIVES is the popcorn thriller you won’t be able to put down. This book is a total five stars—just don’t read the blurb too closely! THEIR DOUBLE LIVES will definitely be in my top reads for 2025.]]> 4.01 2025
author: Jaime Lynn Hendricks
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves:
review:
Jaime Lynn Hendricks delivers another irresistible thriller with THEIR DOUBLE LIVES! I always love a good read by this author, but this one is her best yet!

HER DOUBLE LIVES is a twisty, fast-paced story that kicks off with a desperate waitress, a poisoned cocktail, and a plot that spirals deliciously out of control. When Kim Valva is offered a shady deal by a mysterious figure to poison a man at the elite country club where she works, she never expects her target to be her ex-boyfriend—now a wealthy, rebranded fiancé. But when the wrong person drops dead, the mystery deepens, and Kim is pulled into a dangerous game of secrets, lies, and revenge.

Packed with dual timelines, morally gray characters, and jaw-dropping reveals, this novel is a masterclass in suspense that all thriller authors and readers need to see to believe. Hendricks blends dark humor (Carla's initial nickname had me cracking up) with sharp plotting and layered character development, creating a binge-worthy story that’s both emotionally grounded and wildly entertaining. If you love con-artist capers, twisty narratives, and unreliable narrators, THEIR DOUBLE LIVES is the popcorn thriller you won’t be able to put down. This book is a total five stars—just don’t read the blurb too closely! THEIR DOUBLE LIVES will definitely be in my top reads for 2025.
]]> 224004049 “So clever and fresh with a wild and incredibly satisfying twist at the end.” —Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game when the old friends find themselves held at gunpoint. They are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out The Wasp Trap. This and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

Alternating between the past and present with a colorful ensemble of characters, The Wasp Trap is a fast-paced and twisty thrill ride that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Alice Feeney.]]> 336 Mark Edwards 1668204770 Dennis 0 to-read 3.98 2025
author: Mark Edwards
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217213002 Two women haunted by their sisters' unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

Nicole “Nic” Monroe is in a rut. At twenty-four, she lives alone in a dinky apartment in her hometown of Mishawaka, Indiana, she’s just gotten a DWI, and she works the same dead-end job she’s been working since high school, a job she only has because her boss is a family friend and feels sorry for her. Everyone has felt sorry for her for the last seven years—since the day her older sister, Kasey, vanished without a trace.

On the night Kasey went missing, her car was found over a hundred miles from home. The driver’s door was open and her purse was untouched in the seat next to it. The only real clue in her disappearance was Jules Connor, another young woman from the same area who disappeared in the same way, two weeks earlier. But with so little for the police to go on, both their cases eventually went cold.

Nic wants nothing more than to move on—from her sister’s disappearance and the state it’s left her in. But then one day, Jules’s sister, Jenna Connor, walks into her life and offers Nic something she hasn’t felt in a long hope. What follows is a gripping tale of two sisters who will do anything to find their missing halves, even if it means destroying everything they’ve ever known.]]> 272 Ashley Flowers 0593726987 Dennis 4
THE MISSING HALF is a compelling psychological suspense novel about two women—Nic Monroe and Jenna Connor—bonded by the unsolved disappearances of their sisters. A decade later, new evidence resurfaces, forcing them to confront old trauma and uncover long-buried truths. The story balances emotional depth with a steadily building mystery, exploring themes of grief, addiction, and resilience.

Though the pacing starts slow, it quickly ramps up into anti-slow burn territory, which is always a WIN for me. While the ending wasn't my favorite this time around, the book becomes increasingly hard to put down. I'm not sure if this book was a winner for me specifically because I ventured the audiobook route (thank you @prhaudio for the gifted ALC), but I really enjoyed the narration! With layered characters, thoughtful writing, and unexpected twists, this novel is a strong, emotionally resonant read—perfect for getting out of a reading slump.]]> 3.88 2025
author: Ashley Flowers
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/17
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: 2025, thriller, psychological-thriller
review:
Everybody's been waiting for Ashley Flowers' new book, THE MISSING HALF, after wowing readers with her debut, All Good People Here. Honestly, I didn't love her debut, but the twisted ending enticed me to continue with reading her books, so I knew I wanted to prioritize this new release.

THE MISSING HALF is a compelling psychological suspense novel about two women—Nic Monroe and Jenna Connor—bonded by the unsolved disappearances of their sisters. A decade later, new evidence resurfaces, forcing them to confront old trauma and uncover long-buried truths. The story balances emotional depth with a steadily building mystery, exploring themes of grief, addiction, and resilience.

Though the pacing starts slow, it quickly ramps up into anti-slow burn territory, which is always a WIN for me. While the ending wasn't my favorite this time around, the book becomes increasingly hard to put down. I'm not sure if this book was a winner for me specifically because I ventured the audiobook route (thank you @prhaudio for the gifted ALC), but I really enjoyed the narration! With layered characters, thoughtful writing, and unexpected twists, this novel is a strong, emotionally resonant read—perfect for getting out of a reading slump.
]]> 217247985
Robert Doughten Savile, aka “Doughty,” is the son of a once-wealthy, now hard-up family from Darien, Connecticut. Doughty lives in a perpetual cloud of delusion, convinced of his own genius and certain that the wealth and high status that he believes to be his birthright are just around the corner. While he has little capacity to accurately assess his own abilities or prospects, he cruises through life on the sheer force of his own sense of entitlement, dropping out of college and landing in the early ’90s in New York City, a place brimming with both prosperity and desperation.

He cons his way from a bed at the YMCA into the posh Soho loft of a middle-aged book editor, while pursuing a young bartender, whom he also abuses and gaslights. He spins elaborate tales about his imaginary high-power job in real estate while, in reality, he passes his days watching George Carlin specials on VHS, smoking crack in Tompkins Square Park, and engaging in occasional sex work in the restrooms of Grand Central Station. His many failures, however, only serve to sharpen his one true gift: Doughty is a skilled predator, and the damage he inflicts on the women around him is real and remorseless.

Fans of true crime podcasts about con men like Dirty John and Who the Hell Is Hamish? will revel in this novel and its portrait of the sociopath as a young loser. As shocking as it is illuminating, The Stalker confirms Paula Bomer as a contemporary master of the pitch-black comic novel.]]> 256 Paula Bomer 1641296267 Dennis 0 dnf 3.39 2025
author: Paula Bomer
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> 212276037 Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters, and the mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.]]> 565 Joe Abercrombie Dennis 0 dnf 4.30 2025
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/16
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> 217387739 From the bestselling author of If Something Happens to Me, comes one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers.

In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up at dinner.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

Told through multiple points of view in past and present—and marking the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift—Parents Weekend explores the weight of expectation, family dysfunction, and those exhilarating first days we all remember in the dorms when our friends become our family.]]> 312 Alex Finlay 1250360722 Dennis 3 2025, thriller, whodunnit
Alex Finlay is an auto-read for me, so I was eager to dive into Parents Weekend—especially with the return of FBI Agent Sarah Keller, a familiar face from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift.

Set at a small Northern California college, the story kicks off during Parents Weekend when five freshmen mysteriously vanish. At first, everyone assumes they're just off partying, but as silence stretches into a second day, panic sets in. Search efforts begin, media descends, and suspicions rise. The missing students—nicknamed “The Five”—come from vastly different families, and secrets begin to surface. Are their parents' pasts catching up with them, or is the danger closer to home?

Told through multiple POVs and dual timelines, this is a fast-paced, drama-heavy mystery perfect for fans of ensemble casts. While I found the twists predictable and the vibe a bit too familiar to Finlay’s earlier work, it was still an engaging read. Keller remains a standout, and I’d happily follow her into another investigation.]]> 3.52 2025
author: Alex Finlay
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: 2025, thriller, whodunnit
review:
3.5 stars

Alex Finlay is an auto-read for me, so I was eager to dive into Parents Weekend—especially with the return of FBI Agent Sarah Keller, a familiar face from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift.

Set at a small Northern California college, the story kicks off during Parents Weekend when five freshmen mysteriously vanish. At first, everyone assumes they're just off partying, but as silence stretches into a second day, panic sets in. Search efforts begin, media descends, and suspicions rise. The missing students—nicknamed “The Five”—come from vastly different families, and secrets begin to surface. Are their parents' pasts catching up with them, or is the danger closer to home?

Told through multiple POVs and dual timelines, this is a fast-paced, drama-heavy mystery perfect for fans of ensemble casts. While I found the twists predictable and the vibe a bit too familiar to Finlay’s earlier work, it was still an engaging read. Keller remains a standout, and I’d happily follow her into another investigation.
]]> 210191773 Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.]]> 560 R.F. Kuang 0063021471 Dennis 0 to-read 4.17 2025
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199236743 Tensions bubble to the surface in a family of four newly transplanted to L.A. when the oldest daughter wakes up bruised and battered from a night she can’t remember… and no one wants to talk about it.

Meet the Jansen family:

Since the weekend of the party – the one Liv can’t remember, the one that left her covered in bruises – there’s been a padlock on the door of her bedroom. Her parents said they found mold, and it needs to be decontaminated, but they’re behaving oddly. Her friend Leilani isn’t answering her texts, so maybe Liv did get a little out of control that night. Sharing a room with her younger brother Casper for a while isn’t the end of the world, as long as he doesn’t tell their parents that she’s started sleepwalking. They’re already acting strangely enough.

The guilt over that weekend is getting to her father Janus. He’s forever looking over his shoulder. Janus, a horror author, is on a deadline to adapt his book into a screenplay.  Now he’s now finding it hard to stomach the violence of his own stories. But Janus brought his whole family from Australia to LA to chase his dream, and he can’t let them down. Not again.

Kay wasn’t sure she wanted to be a mother when she got pregnant with Liv, but she gave up everything for her daughter and then her son, Casper. She’ll do whatever she has to do to take care of her kids. Her marriage, though, is a different story. And the neighbors – well, she’ll just have to be more careful.

Casper was away that weekend, but he knows something isn’t right. His parents don’t look each other in the eye anymore. His father’s hands tremble for no reason. And where does Liv keep disappearing to in the middle of the night? Casper decides to find out what no one will tell him about that weekend, and what lies behind the padlocked door.]]> 336 Anna Snoekstra 0593475720 Dennis 2 2025, slow-burn, thriller 3.45 2025
author: Anna Snoekstra
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: 2025, slow-burn, thriller
review:

]]> 219833105
But these things happen only when Emily is alone, so are they happening at all? She is still medically fragile. Her post-sepsis condition can cause hallucinatory side effects, which means she cannot fully trust her senses. Freddie does not notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start. She, however, starts to believe the house is haunted by someone who had been murdered in it even though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge. But just as the house has secrets so do Emily and her husband.]]> 291 Sarah Pinborough 1250394058 Dennis 5
After a near-fatal accident leaving our protagonist in a coma, Emily moves with her husband Freddie to a grand but unsettling country house called Larkin Lodge. This home is very different from their flat in London, but part of the dream Emily and Freddie always wanted. However, Larkin Lodge isn't what they thought it would be. Strange things begin to happen—only when Emily's alone—making her question whether it’s the house or her fragile health playing tricks on her. As the eerie events escalate and her marriage begins to unravel, Emily grows convinced the house is hiding a dark secret—and so is Freddie.

Don't even begin to assume you know how this story will evolve, because YOU WILL NOT. I was hoping the story would not play out how I assumed it would and it completely threw me for a loop. It is vaguely familiar to a very popular horror movie but if I told you, I'd be spoiling the entire story, so DM me if you'd want to know more about my thoughts after you finish. This book is my favorite Sarah Pinborough yet! I loved the compelling and claustrophobic sense of the storytelling, I loved that the suspense oozed from chapter to chapter, and I loved being able to question what I thought was going to happen the entire time. WE LIVE HERE NOW will be in my top reads of 2025 for sure.

RANKINGS:
1. We Used to Live Here (loved!)
2. Insomnia (really enjoyed)
3. Dead to Her (very much enjoyed)
4. Cross Her Heart (did not like)
5. Behind Her Eyes (the ending ruined it for me)]]> 3.75 2025
author: Sarah Pinborough
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: 2025, horror, domestic-thriller, psychological-thriller
review:
Say what you want about Sarah Pinborough, but she NEVER tells a regurgitated novel. Ever. Her newest novel, WE LIVE HERE NOW, has been on my anticipated 2025 reads list since I've heard about it a few months ago, and IT LIVES UP TO THE HYPE BOOKSTAFAM!

After a near-fatal accident leaving our protagonist in a coma, Emily moves with her husband Freddie to a grand but unsettling country house called Larkin Lodge. This home is very different from their flat in London, but part of the dream Emily and Freddie always wanted. However, Larkin Lodge isn't what they thought it would be. Strange things begin to happen—only when Emily's alone—making her question whether it’s the house or her fragile health playing tricks on her. As the eerie events escalate and her marriage begins to unravel, Emily grows convinced the house is hiding a dark secret—and so is Freddie.

Don't even begin to assume you know how this story will evolve, because YOU WILL NOT. I was hoping the story would not play out how I assumed it would and it completely threw me for a loop. It is vaguely familiar to a very popular horror movie but if I told you, I'd be spoiling the entire story, so DM me if you'd want to know more about my thoughts after you finish. This book is my favorite Sarah Pinborough yet! I loved the compelling and claustrophobic sense of the storytelling, I loved that the suspense oozed from chapter to chapter, and I loved being able to question what I thought was going to happen the entire time. WE LIVE HERE NOW will be in my top reads of 2025 for sure.

RANKINGS:
1. We Used to Live Here (loved!)
2. Insomnia (really enjoyed)
3. Dead to Her (very much enjoyed)
4. Cross Her Heart (did not like)
5. Behind Her Eyes (the ending ruined it for me)
]]> 187955012 Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and In Five Years—a beautiful, powerful, and transportive new novel about a music executive desperately trying to bring a rock band back from the brink, from bestselling author Ashley Winstead.

This is a love story, but not the one you’re expecting.

When record executive Theo meets the Future Saints, they’re bombing at a dive bar in their hometown. Since the tragic death of their manager, the band has been in a downward spiral and Theo has been dispatched to coax a new—and successful—album out of them, or else let them go.

Immediately, Theo is struck by Hannah, the group’s impetuous lead singer, who’s gone off script by debuting a whole new sound, replacing their California pop with gut-wrenching rock. When this new music goes viral, striking an unexpected chord with fans, Theo puts his career on the line to give the Saints one last shot at success with a new tour, new record, and new start.

But Hannah’s grief has larger consequences for the group, and her increasingly destructive antics become a distraction as she and her sister Ginny—her lifelong partner in crime—undermine Theo at every turn. Hannah isn’t ready to move on or prepared for the fame she’s been chasing, and the weight of her problems jeopardize the band, her growing closeness with Theo, and, worst of all, her relationship with her sister—all while the world watches closely. The Future Saints’s big break is here—if only they can survive it.

A novel about sisterhood, friendship, and the ghosts that haunt us, The Future Saints is “a mesmerizing look at grief, love, and the music industry that's so raw and emotional, you’ll want to play it on repeat.” (Laura Hankin, author of One-Star Romance).]]> Ashley Winstead Dennis 0 to-read 5.00 2026
author: Ashley Winstead
name: Dennis
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216522634 A breathtaking, joy-filled novel about the people we love, the secrets we keep, and the enduring power of family, from the bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James.

The four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—were once inseparable, a bond created by the absence of their dazzling, mercurial mother, who would return for a few weeks each summer to whisk them off on sprawling road trips around the country.

Decades later, the unthinkable has happened: the Endicotts haven’t spoken in years . . . until an out-of-the-blue text arrives from Jude, now a famous actress, summoning them to a small town in North Dakota. They’re each at a crossroads: Gemma, who put her own ambitions aside to raise the others, now isn’t sure if she wants to be a mother herself; Connor, a celebrated novelist, is floundering after his recent divorce and suffering from an epic case of writer’s block; and Roddy, at the tail end of a professional soccer career, is dangerously close to losing his future husband for the chance at one last season.

Jude is the only Endicott who seems to have it all together—but appearances can be deceiving. As the weekend unfolds, and the siblings wrestle with their shared past and uncertain futures, they’ll discover that Jude has been keeping three secrets . . . each of which could change everything.

A captivating journey and an ode to forgiveness that takes readers across all fifty states, Fun for the Whole Family brims with heart and resonates long after the final page.]]> 357 Jennifer E. Smith 0593358309 Dennis 4
Once inseparable, the four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—drifted apart after a childhood shaped by their absent, free-spirited mother. Years later, an unexpected message from Jude, now a famous actress, reunites them in North Dakota, where long-buried tensions, life-altering decisions, and Jude’s three shocking secrets threaten to change everything.

This genre typically isn't my sort of read, but I enjoyed listening to it while working. This heartfelt, character-driven novel follows four estranged siblings reuniting after years apart, weaving together past and present timelines to explore their complex bond. Smith masterfully develops each sibling’s unique voice, making them feel authentic and easy to connect with, while balancing humor, heartbreak, and plenty of family drama. A beautifully narrated, slow-burn story filled with emotion, this is a must-read for fans of rich, character-driven family sagas. I immediately texted my family chat after wrapping this one up!]]> 4.09 2025
author: Jennifer E. Smith
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: 2025, family-drama, literary-fiction, drama, contemporary, character-driven
review:
Jennifer E. Smith's upcoming novel, FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, is getting lots of buzz right now, and for good measure. This author's last book, The Unsinkable Greta James, was a very popular novel a few years back and readers are hungry for something new. Thank you to @prhaudio for providing me with a gifted ALC as I chose to take my journey with this book via audiobook route.

Once inseparable, the four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—drifted apart after a childhood shaped by their absent, free-spirited mother. Years later, an unexpected message from Jude, now a famous actress, reunites them in North Dakota, where long-buried tensions, life-altering decisions, and Jude’s three shocking secrets threaten to change everything.

This genre typically isn't my sort of read, but I enjoyed listening to it while working. This heartfelt, character-driven novel follows four estranged siblings reuniting after years apart, weaving together past and present timelines to explore their complex bond. Smith masterfully develops each sibling’s unique voice, making them feel authentic and easy to connect with, while balancing humor, heartbreak, and plenty of family drama. A beautifully narrated, slow-burn story filled with emotion, this is a must-read for fans of rich, character-driven family sagas. I immediately texted my family chat after wrapping this one up!
]]> 221473784
Meg Hart has taken great pains to create her perfect All-American family. It looks effortless, but that’s because she’s been smart about it.

However, on a brisk spring morning weeks before his graduation, her son McClane goes missing. And as the investigation deepens, the police zero in on her as their perfect suspect. Tragedy has struck this family before, and all signs suggest that she is the source. Add in her elusive husband’s strange behavior and inconsistencies in her story, it becomes clear that she has plenty to hide.

Before he disappears, it turns out McClane has secrets of his own: a pregnant girlfriend, a shocking truth about his wrestling career, and a chilling discovery—the person he trusts most has betrayed him in the worst way.

Alternating between Meg’s perspective in the initial days of the investigation and McClane’s in the hours leading up to his disappearance, Upstanding Young Man is packed with relentless tension and short, fast-paced chapters that will keep readers up all night.]]> 432 Sharon Doering 136811380X Dennis 0 to-read 4.02
author: Sharon Doering
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211143113
But Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires, and make her own bid for freedom.

With this gothic coming-of-age tale, novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire, and animal instincts—and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.]]> 336 Lucy Rose 0063374609 Dennis 4
I don't think this is a spoiler, but this book involves cannibalism. Once you get over the grotesque subject matter, this book is a fun journey for readers. Surprisingly, this story isn't that scary, but more of a voyeuristic peek into the life of a child being completely manipulated by evil. You will see how Margot and her mother live duplicitous double lives and how that relationship changes and evolves when Eden, a third party, joins the family. This book speaks in metaphors at times, if readers really want to go there. I had an absolute blast with this one and I think any horror fans should consider prioritizing this one. ]]> 3.85 2025
author: Lucy Rose
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: 2025, horror, family-drama, lgbt, gothic
review:
This book was a total #BookstagramMadeMeDoIt ! This book was not on my radar until I started seeing glowing after glowing review, so I knew immediately that I needed to read this one. I am in my horror girlie era and Lucy Rose's debut horror, THE LAMB, is continuing that trend with me for 2025. The story is centered around Margot and her mother Ruth. They have always lived on the edge of the forest, their cottage a quiet refuge from the world. Mama welcomes lost travelers with open arms, offering them warmth, wine, and a fate they never see coming. But when Eden, a stranger to the family arrives, Margot is forced to question everything—her mother, her own hunger, and the cost of breaking free.

I don't think this is a spoiler, but this book involves cannibalism. Once you get over the grotesque subject matter, this book is a fun journey for readers. Surprisingly, this story isn't that scary, but more of a voyeuristic peek into the life of a child being completely manipulated by evil. You will see how Margot and her mother live duplicitous double lives and how that relationship changes and evolves when Eden, a third party, joins the family. This book speaks in metaphors at times, if readers really want to go there. I had an absolute blast with this one and I think any horror fans should consider prioritizing this one.
]]> 220999067 When a mysterious figure shows up in the photograph an architect takes of the derelict Seabrink Hotel, ghostly encounters and murder are unleashed.

Aubrey Spencer loves photographing classic old buildings and abandoned places that hold old secrets. The Hotel Seabrink, perched overlooking the sea, is one such place. Currently abandoned but scheduled for a major renovation, it has a torrid history. Back in the 1920s it hosted A-list celebrity clientele, and now the locals insist it is haunted by the ghosts of two young women who died there. When Aubrey goes to photograph the site before the renovation begins, she bumps into a man named Dimitri Petroff, a minor online celebrity who shares her fascination with old buildings, the Hotel Seabrink in particular.

When he is found dead the next day at the base of a cliff, the police are quick to close the investigation. But Aubrey feels unsettled by locals who claim he was murdered and that it’s not the first time someone interested in the hotel was killed. As she digs deeper into the property’s dark history (and its origins as an asylum) as well as Dimitri’s professional rivalries, she becomes mired in an unsolved murder case from several decades earlier, one with eerie parallels to the contemporary case.  But someone is determined to keep her from discovering the truth—at any cost.]]> 384 Juliet Blackwell 0593638247 Dennis 0 to-read 3.65 2025
author: Juliet Blackwell
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222361666 With an expert hand, Rachel Louise Adams’s debut No Rest for the Wicked reads like an edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie.

In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone’s on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it’s only the beginning.

It’s been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it’s the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father--the former mayor turned US Senator--is missing under mysterious circumstances.

Some people count to ten to wake up from a nightmare. Dolores always counts the bones of her head sphenoid, frontal, lacrimal. But no matter how many times she counts them, it doesn’t change the fact that her father is missing, that his final words of warning to her were to trust no one, and that now, the rest of her family is giving Dolores a chilling welcome. With Halloween fast approaching, Dolores must face the past she left behind before it’s too late.]]> Rachel Louise Adams 1250362121 Dennis 0 to-read 4.23 2025
author: Rachel Louise Adams
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216971219 A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods.

While on a camping trip, five high-schoolers bound by an oath to always protect one another discover something in the middle of the forest: a mysterious staircase to nowhere. One friend climbs up but does not come back down. Then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later it reappears, and the friends return to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase.]]> 388 Chuck Wendig 0593156560 Dennis 3
Five troubled high school friends find an abandoned staircase in the woods, and when one of them, Matty, disappears, the mystery remains. Twenty years later, Nick brings the others—Hamish, Lore, and Owen—back to search for him, forcing them to choose between friendship and the unknown.

This book wasn't really a horror novel, but more like a fantasy with a YA edge to it. I felt that the story dragged a bit and left a lot of open-ended side stories by the end. It explores themes of friendship, abandonment, and PTSD. The book wasn't really something I would pick up if I knew it leaned more into fantasy than horror. However, the social commentary and political environment within this book was a factor in the storytelling, but it was done in a non-preachy way (I really don't want to hear about it from the MAGA folks). The story is an epic adventure and somewhat fun journey at times, with fun chapter titles to keep you in the groove and want to investigate. I was banking on the ending to push this to 4 stars, but it was a bit abrupt compared to everything else going on (like c'mon, we get it wrapped up way too easily and fast for a 400+ page slowburn). Overall, I really enjoyed the "universe" that THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS provides readers, but I felt that I wanted more from it.

RANKINGS:
1. The Book of Accidents
2. Black River Orchard
3. The Staircase in the Woods
4. Wanderers]]> 3.62 2025
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: 2025, adventure, fantasy, slow-burn
review:
I am up and down with Chuck Wendig's books. I DNFd Wanderers, loved The Book of Accidents, and somewhat liked Black River Orchard. That being said, I knewwwww I wanted to read his upcoming novel, THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS, not because it was giving different realm vibes but I am weirdly obsessed with spiral staircases!

Five troubled high school friends find an abandoned staircase in the woods, and when one of them, Matty, disappears, the mystery remains. Twenty years later, Nick brings the others—Hamish, Lore, and Owen—back to search for him, forcing them to choose between friendship and the unknown.

This book wasn't really a horror novel, but more like a fantasy with a YA edge to it. I felt that the story dragged a bit and left a lot of open-ended side stories by the end. It explores themes of friendship, abandonment, and PTSD. The book wasn't really something I would pick up if I knew it leaned more into fantasy than horror. However, the social commentary and political environment within this book was a factor in the storytelling, but it was done in a non-preachy way (I really don't want to hear about it from the MAGA folks). The story is an epic adventure and somewhat fun journey at times, with fun chapter titles to keep you in the groove and want to investigate. I was banking on the ending to push this to 4 stars, but it was a bit abrupt compared to everything else going on (like c'mon, we get it wrapped up way too easily and fast for a 400+ page slowburn). Overall, I really enjoyed the "universe" that THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS provides readers, but I felt that I wanted more from it.

RANKINGS:
1. The Book of Accidents
2. Black River Orchard
3. The Staircase in the Woods
4. Wanderers
]]> 229070419 Adults can behave badly too...

 It's the mid-1980s in the tiny town of Longview, Texas. Nellie Anderson, the beautiful daughter of the Anderson family dynasty, has burst onto the scene. She always gets what she wants. What she can't get for herself… well, that's what her mother is for. Because Charleigh Andersen, blond, beautiful, and ruthlessly cunning, remembers all too well having to claw her way to the top. When she was coming of age on the poor side of East Texas, she was a loser, an outcast, humiliated, and shunned by the in-crowd, whose approval she'd so desperately thirsted for. When a prairie-kissed family moves to town, all trad wife, woodworking dad, wholesome daughter vibes, Charleigh's entire self-made social empire threatens to crumble. Who will be left standing when the dust settles?

From the author of The Hunting Wives comes a deliciously wicked new thriller about mean girls, mean moms, and the delicious secrets inside all the little houses. 


]]> 480 May Cobb 1464245797 Dennis 0 to-read 5.00
author: May Cobb
name: Dennis
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 228029088 Michael McDowell's Blackwater meets Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show in the disturbing first installment of a new trilogy of intense, visceral, beautifully written queer horror set in a small New England town.

A chilling supernatural tale of transgressive literary horror from the Bram Stoker Award® finalist and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

The lives of those residing in the isolated town of Burnt Sparrow, New Hampshire, are forever altered after three faceless entities arrive on Christmas morning to perform a brutal act of violence—a senseless tragedy that can never be undone. While the townspeople grieve their losses and grapple with the aftermath of the attack, a young teenage boy named Rupert Cromwell is forced to confront the painful realities of his family situation. Once relationships become intertwined and more carnage ensues as a result of the massacre, the town residents quickly learn that true retribution is futile, cruelty is earned, and certain thresholds must never be crossed no matter what.

Engrossing, atmospheric, and unsettling, this is a devastating story of a small New England community rocked by an unforgivable act of violence. Writing with visceral intensity and profound eloquence, LaRocca journeys deep into the dark heart of Burnt Sparrow, leaving you chilled to the bone and wanting more.]]> 304 Eric LaRocca 1803368675 Dennis 0 to-read 4.00
author: Eric LaRocca
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219833265
Chloe has always dreamed of becoming a bestselling writer. Then she meets enigmatic influencer Clara Holland, and at last, Chloe has something to write about. They bond instantly, and Chloe moves into Clara’s mansion. But as Clara’s fame skyrockets, she starts behaving strangely, hosting increasingly wild parties, complete with bonfire rituals and moonlit river baptisms.

Clara opens up her home to other girls desperate to live like her. The media call it a cult, and soon Chloe begins to hear unsettling rumours from Clara's past. After one spectacular party, a girl goes missing and the rumours take on a sinister new meaning. If Chloe can’t escape Clara’s influence, she may be next …

THE GOLDENS is about to become your newest obsession.]]> 304 Lauren Wilson 125036230X Dennis 0 to-read 3.81
author: Lauren Wilson
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214565614 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians comes a tale of the American West, writ in blood.

This chilling historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as he haunts the fields of the Blackfeet Nation looking for justice.

It begins when a diary written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall in 2012. What is unveiled is a slow massacre, a nearly forgotten chain of events that goes back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow, told in the transcribed interviews with Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar and unnaturally long life over a series of confessional visits.

This is an American Indian revenge story, captured in the vivid voices of the time, by one of the new masters of literary horror, Stephen Graham Jones.]]> 435 Stephen Graham Jones 1668075083 Dennis 0 dnf 4.13 2025
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> 211004124 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes the story of three siblings who, upon the death of their father, are forced to reckon with their long-festering rivalries, dangerous abilities, and the crushing weight of all their unrealized adolescent potential.

Where there’s a will, there’s a war.

Thayer Wren, the brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech and so-called father of modern technology, is dead. Any one of his three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted children would be a plausible inheritor to the Wrenfare throne.

Or at least, so they like to think.

Meredith, textbook accomplished eldest daughter and the head of her own groundbreaking biotech company, has recently cured mental illness. You're welcome! If only her father's fortune wasn't her last hope for keeping her journalist ex-boyfriend from exposing what she really is: a total fraud.

Arthur, second-youngest congressman in history, fights the good fight every day of his life. And yet, his wife might be leaving him, and he's losing his re-election campaign. But his dead father’s approval in the form of a seat on the Wrenfare throne might just turn his sinking ship around.

Eilidh, once the world's most famous ballerina, has spent the last five years as a run-of-the-mill marketing executive at her father’s company after a life-altering injury put an end to her prodigious career. She might be lacking in accolades compared to her siblings, but if her father left her everything, it would finally validate her worth—by confirming she'd been his favorite all along.

On the pipeline of gifted kid to clinically depressed adult, nobody wins—but which Wren will come out on top?]]> 512 Olivie Blake 1250883407 Dennis 4
I was not a fan of Olivie Blake's Atlas Six, but when I heard she was writing another book, specifically a magical book of darkness and Succession vibes, I was tuned in. The cover alone is intriguing and accurately depics three powerful siblings at war with each other. GIFTED & TALENTED dives into this powerful Wren family and theur dynamics.

Thayer Wren, the visionary CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, is dead, leaving his three gifted children vying for the throne. Meredith, the biotech genius, hides a dark secret; Arthur, the ambitious congressman, is losing everything; and Eilidh, the former ballerina, seeks validation from her late father’s fortune. As each struggles with their own personal demons, only one will claim the inheritance—and the power that comes with it.

I truly enjoyed the POVs of each of the siblings in their own different ways. Meredith is a complete Slay ICON queen b psychopath, who may have been my overall favorite. Arthur is sensitive and sexy, where he dabbles in polyamory (whether his wife actually agrees on this is still out for the jury) and Eilidh is probably the most normal of the Wren family. The other characters are more down to earth than this trio, and they round out the bunch in fun and messy ways. GIFTED & TALENTED is a book about the three siblings and their journey for power and acceptance. This book is a character-driven family saga at its core, with magic sprinkled in at times, so I would say this book is magic-lite at best (win for me!). I would have given this book a total 5 stars, but midway through the pacing slowed down in ways that I didn't expect, which caught me wanting to take a break from the story. That being said, I did read this saga in only a few days because the overall story kept me completely hooked. If Olivie Blake continues down this journey for her books, this reader will be tuned in! ]]> 3.63 2025
author: Olivie Blake
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: 2025, family-drama, character-driven, contemporary, science-fiction, magical-realism, slow-burn
review:
THIS APP WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY :)

I was not a fan of Olivie Blake's Atlas Six, but when I heard she was writing another book, specifically a magical book of darkness and Succession vibes, I was tuned in. The cover alone is intriguing and accurately depics three powerful siblings at war with each other. GIFTED & TALENTED dives into this powerful Wren family and theur dynamics.

Thayer Wren, the visionary CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, is dead, leaving his three gifted children vying for the throne. Meredith, the biotech genius, hides a dark secret; Arthur, the ambitious congressman, is losing everything; and Eilidh, the former ballerina, seeks validation from her late father’s fortune. As each struggles with their own personal demons, only one will claim the inheritance—and the power that comes with it.

I truly enjoyed the POVs of each of the siblings in their own different ways. Meredith is a complete Slay ICON queen b psychopath, who may have been my overall favorite. Arthur is sensitive and sexy, where he dabbles in polyamory (whether his wife actually agrees on this is still out for the jury) and Eilidh is probably the most normal of the Wren family. The other characters are more down to earth than this trio, and they round out the bunch in fun and messy ways. GIFTED & TALENTED is a book about the three siblings and their journey for power and acceptance. This book is a character-driven family saga at its core, with magic sprinkled in at times, so I would say this book is magic-lite at best (win for me!). I would have given this book a total 5 stars, but midway through the pacing slowed down in ways that I didn't expect, which caught me wanting to take a break from the story. That being said, I did read this saga in only a few days because the overall story kept me completely hooked. If Olivie Blake continues down this journey for her books, this reader will be tuned in!
]]> 228142779 No one is supposed to know harmless office worker Gwen Tanner is the vanished daughter of serial killer Abel Haggerty. But a low profile and a new name aren’t going to cut it when an obsessive new killer starts targeting her, in this lively and propulsive thriller with a standout voice.

Marin Haggerty, the daughter of a notorious serial killer, was only a child when they arrested her father. Ripped from her home and given a new identity, Marin disappeared.

Twenty years later, Gwen Tanner keeps everyone at a distance, preferring to satirize the world around her than participate in it. It’s for her safety—and theirs. But when someone starts sending body parts to her front door, the message is I Know Who You Are.

To preserve her secrets, Gwen must hunt down the killer, a journey which immerses her in the twisted world of true crime fandom and makes her confront her past once and for all. Maybe she is capable of deep, human connections, but she’s not the only one keeping secrets. Will opening herself up to others help her find the killer, or remind her why it was necessary she hide her true self in the first place?

The apple never falls too far, after all.]]> 368 Amy K. Green 0593953495 Dennis 0 to-read 3.93
author: Amy K. Green
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216522745 Four strangers are brought together to participate in an experimental treatment designed to heal broken hearts in this surprising and heartfelt debut novel from author Amelia Ireland.

In a perfectly ordinary building, four strangers who couldn't be more different meet for the first time. Their skepticism of this new kind of grief therapy—and the unnervingly perceptive group leader—means they're all wary, but as the weeks go by, they find themselves returning again and again, pulled to work toward healing, even if it means first facing the pain head-on.

A sharp-tongued lawyer who has no intention of letting down her walls, a fragile young woman looking for a place to belong, a musician at the top of his game who's one drink away from losing it all, and an interior designer facing the crumbling of her picture-perfect life—this unlikely group slowly opens up, not only to the possibility of a happier future but to friendship, change, and even romance.

When a shocking revelation reveals the real reason they were chosen for this group, it shakes the very foundation of what they thought they knew. What began as a journey designed to heal turns out to be a much greater test of friendship, strength, and love as they realize happiness is just outside the door...if they're brave enough to seek it.]]> 368 Amelia Ireland 0593952634 Dennis 3
Although avoiding grief cannot be avoided, I wanted to see if the book would move forward in how to deal with it without being bogged down for so long. I also wanted to see if this book would resonate with my trauma with my divorce from infidelity on my ex husband’s part. Luckily, it was not, but I did feel that the book focused too much on grief as a messaging tool that I slowly got bored with the characters. There’s only so much back and forth between the four main characters where it began to feel monotonous. However, the big reveal was unexpected and won me over in the end. I won’t reveal too much, but the twist made the entire journey worth it, even if it took so long for me to get to the point of enjoyment. Amelia Ireland’s debut was unique that’s for sure and I would read more from her in the future. ]]> 3.81 2025
author: Amelia Ireland
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: 2025, character-driven, literary-fiction
review:
The premise of this book immediately drew me in. Four strangers, each grappling with grief, agree to attend group therapy. Every week, they sit together, hesitantly opening up about their lives while avoiding the traumatic events that led them there. Their therapist, Genevieve, is also navigating new territory, testing a technique she hasn’t used before. What they don’t realize is that she has another reason for bringing them together.

Although avoiding grief cannot be avoided, I wanted to see if the book would move forward in how to deal with it without being bogged down for so long. I also wanted to see if this book would resonate with my trauma with my divorce from infidelity on my ex husband’s part. Luckily, it was not, but I did feel that the book focused too much on grief as a messaging tool that I slowly got bored with the characters. There’s only so much back and forth between the four main characters where it began to feel monotonous. However, the big reveal was unexpected and won me over in the end. I won’t reveal too much, but the twist made the entire journey worth it, even if it took so long for me to get to the point of enjoyment. Amelia Ireland’s debut was unique that’s for sure and I would read more from her in the future.
]]> 217387696 In the new novel from the bestselling author of Two Nights in Lisbon, on the worst night in the greatest city on Earth, a doorman at the toniest address in town is drawn into a web of intrigue, robbery, and murder.

Chicky Diaz stands on his little patch of the earth, the clean quiet sidewalk in front of the Bohemia Apartments, there sure are a lot of great places to kill someone in this city.

Chicky Diaz is everyone’s favorite doorman at the Bohemia, New York City’s world-famous home of celebrities, financiers, and the cultural elite.

Chicky serves at the pleasure of residents like Emily Longworth, who, up in her penthouse, leads a life of her perfect kids in her perfect home, her perfect worries about museum boards, charity work, and so on. Emily’s husband, though . . . perfectly wealthy, but she has quietly loathed Whit Longworth since well before the revelations that he’s a private-equity war profiteer. But their marriage came with an iron-clad prenup, and Emily can’t bring herself to leave all that. Yet.

Meanwhile, in apartment 2A, there’s nothing perfect about Julian Sonnenberg’s middle-aged life. Already struggling with the indignities of turning fifty—a stale marriage, teenage kids who no longer need him, his work as an art gallerist making him feel culturally obsolete—and now his doctor tells him that he needs openheart surgery, immediately. Things are falling apart awfully fast.

In the basement staff room, the life-and-death stakes of daily life are hardly news to the primarily Black and Latino hospitality. So when the NYPD fatally shoots an unarmed Black man and the streets swell with both protestors and counterprotestors, the staff’s concerns are less about the building and more about their survival—and what justice will look like.

Enter Chicky in his epauletted suit, manning the line between the turbulent streets outside the Bohemia and the far more sanguine world within. And not that the Bohemia’s residents care much (except maybe Emily Longworth), but Chicky has his own problems, the kind that mean that for tonight’s shift, for the first time in thirty years, Chicky will be carrying a gun. Because someone, tonight, is going to die.

In what is far away his best and most ambitious book yet, Chris Pavone has delivered a piercing portrait of the way we live now that is also a finely honed thriller of ticking-clock suspense. The Doorman is a book about class and privilege in a city poised to boil over its proverbial melting pot, and the ever starker divisions testing everything the City likes to believe about itself.]]> 388 Chris Pavone 0374604797 Dennis 4
The story mainly takes place at the Bohemia, one of New York City’s most exclusive buildings. Our protagonist is doorman Chicky Diaz and he stands at the threshold between its elite residents and the chaos of the streets. Inside, lives unravel—Emily Longworth, trapped in a loveless marriage bound by an ironclad prenup, and Julian Sonnenberg, facing a failing career, a crumbling marriage, and a life-threatening diagnosis. But as protests rage outside and tensions rise within, Chicky faces his own crisis—tonight, for the first time in thirty years, he’s carrying a gun, and before his shift ends, someone will die.

This book is a lottttttttt! I ventured into this story via audiobook and I highly recommend that route. Chris Pavone delivers a gripping thriller where class divides run deep and power is wielded through wealth. With a very well drawn-out cast spanning all socioeconomic backgrounds, Pavone masterfully blends suspense with social commentary. So many moving parts and thoroughly a political thriller. Trigger warnings as it really dives into the juxtaposition of what is going on in American politics right now. Fast-paced and thought provoking, THE DOORMAN will captivate fans of Harlan Coben and John Grisham. ]]> 3.68
author: Chris Pavone
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: 2025, mystery, thriller, political
review:
THE DOORMAN is my first read by Chris Pavone, but so many people loved his last book, Two Nights in Lisbon, so I knew that I wanted to give this author a try and I'm so happy that I did!

The story mainly takes place at the Bohemia, one of New York City’s most exclusive buildings. Our protagonist is doorman Chicky Diaz and he stands at the threshold between its elite residents and the chaos of the streets. Inside, lives unravel—Emily Longworth, trapped in a loveless marriage bound by an ironclad prenup, and Julian Sonnenberg, facing a failing career, a crumbling marriage, and a life-threatening diagnosis. But as protests rage outside and tensions rise within, Chicky faces his own crisis—tonight, for the first time in thirty years, he’s carrying a gun, and before his shift ends, someone will die.

This book is a lottttttttt! I ventured into this story via audiobook and I highly recommend that route. Chris Pavone delivers a gripping thriller where class divides run deep and power is wielded through wealth. With a very well drawn-out cast spanning all socioeconomic backgrounds, Pavone masterfully blends suspense with social commentary. So many moving parts and thoroughly a political thriller. Trigger warnings as it really dives into the juxtaposition of what is going on in American politics right now. Fast-paced and thought provoking, THE DOORMAN will captivate fans of Harlan Coben and John Grisham.
]]> 221733722 There’s no place like home…

Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…]]> 368 Freida McFadden 1464227314 Dennis 3 2025, popcorn-thriller
Blake Porter had it all—until a sudden firing and mounting debt left him scrambling. When Whitney, a seemingly perfect tenant, moves into his brownstone, she offers a financial lifeline—but also an unsettling presence he can’t ignore. As the walls close in and eerie disturbances mount, Blake realizes too late that inviting her in may have been the biggest mistake of his life.

Honestly, I knew immediately what was going to happen and I was right. It's about as obvious as The Boyfriend was (the characterization, the weird dialogue between the antagonist/s and the twist reveal, etc.) but as bingeable as it was as well. I liked this one more than The Crash, but ugh I am all over the place with McFadden books. I read this book in one sitting, so you know it'll be a fun journey, just don't expect anything unique or thought provoking.]]> 3.75 2025
author: Freida McFadden
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 2025, popcorn-thriller
review:
I am always nosey about what is coming up next with Freida McFadden and her newest book, THE TENANT, seemed so interesting that I knew that I needed to prioritize it. This book is a binge/read-in-one-sitting type of read, that's for sure!

Blake Porter had it all—until a sudden firing and mounting debt left him scrambling. When Whitney, a seemingly perfect tenant, moves into his brownstone, she offers a financial lifeline—but also an unsettling presence he can’t ignore. As the walls close in and eerie disturbances mount, Blake realizes too late that inviting her in may have been the biggest mistake of his life.

Honestly, I knew immediately what was going to happen and I was right. It's about as obvious as The Boyfriend was (the characterization, the weird dialogue between the antagonist/s and the twist reveal, etc.) but as bingeable as it was as well. I liked this one more than The Crash, but ugh I am all over the place with McFadden books. I read this book in one sitting, so you know it'll be a fun journey, just don't expect anything unique or thought provoking.
]]> 218671839 A spiritual companion to Strange Pictures and a bestselling horror phenomenon in Japan —mysterious spaces, trap doors, windowless children's rooms . . . something is wrong with this house. Can you solve the "mystery" of its floor plan?

A writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an acquaintance who is considering purchasing a second-hand house in Tokyo. With its bright and spacious interior, the home seems perfect. But looking closer, the building’s floor plan reveals a mysterious "dead space” hidden between the walls. Seeking a second opinion, the writer shares the floor plan with an architect friend only to discover more “strange spaces” dotted across the house.

What are these mysterious “strange spaces” and why do they exist—are they really there, or is there something off with the floor plan? Who is the home’s former resident who suddenly disappeared?

The freelance writer and his architect friend can’t resist the challenge of solving the riddle of these puzzling floor plans . . . and the terrifying plot behind it all.]]> 208 Uketsu 006343315X Dennis 0 to-read 3.69 2021
author: Uketsu
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216522695 A young Black gay man reckoning with the death of his father must confront his painful past—and his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.

The venerated Reverend Doctor John Freeman did not raise his son, Davis, to be touched by any man, let alone a white man. He did not raise his son to whisper that man’s name with tenderness.

But on the eve of his wedding, all Davis can think about is how beautiful he wants to look when he meets his beloved Everett at the altar. Never mind that his mother, who died decades before, and his father, whose anger drove Davis to flee their home in Ohio for a freer life in New York City, won’t be there to walk him down the aisle. All Davis needs to be happy in this life is Everett, his new family, and his burgeoning career as an award-winning violist.

When Davis learns during the wedding reception that his father has died in a terrible car accident, years of childhood trauma and unspoken emotion resurface. Davis must revisit everything that went wrong between them, his fledgling marriage and irresistible self-confidence spiraling into a pit of despair.

In resplendent prose, Denne Michele Norris’s When the Harvest Comes fearlessly reveals the pain of inheritance and the heroic power of love, reminding us that in the end we are more than the men who came before us.]]> 304 Denne Michele Norris 0593729609 Dennis 4
n the eve of his wedding, Davis, a young Black gay man, is ready to embrace love and the life he has built—until news of his estranged father’s sudden death forces him to confront the painful past he thought he left behind. As childhood trauma resurfaces, his confidence and new marriage teeter on the edge, challenging his understanding of family, identity, and desire.

This synopsis doesn't really paint the picture accurately because readers get so much more than that in WHEN THE HARVEST COMES. The story behind Everett and Davis is really at the forefront and this book is more of a love story than of a drama between Davis and Davis' father. I loved the characterization and the POVs we are provided. The love story between Davis and Everett is beautiful, unique to their story, and something that I really resonated deeply with. The story is not so much a fast-paced plot powerhouse, but more of a voyeuristic character-driven emotional journey for our characters. I would be shocked if you didn't take something away from this book by the time you get to the end. This story will stay with me for some time. ]]> 3.85 2025
author: Denne Michele Norris
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: 2025, gay, lgbt, romance, contemporary, literary-fiction, character-driven
review:
I haven't seen much buzz about Denne Michele Norris' upcoming novel, WHEN THE HARVEST COMES, but it immediately caught my attention and moved right to the top of my TBR. This book sounds very much like a Bryan Washington (Lot, Memorial, Family Meal) type of vibe, so I knew that I wanted to dive in.

n the eve of his wedding, Davis, a young Black gay man, is ready to embrace love and the life he has built—until news of his estranged father’s sudden death forces him to confront the painful past he thought he left behind. As childhood trauma resurfaces, his confidence and new marriage teeter on the edge, challenging his understanding of family, identity, and desire.

This synopsis doesn't really paint the picture accurately because readers get so much more than that in WHEN THE HARVEST COMES. The story behind Everett and Davis is really at the forefront and this book is more of a love story than of a drama between Davis and Davis' father. I loved the characterization and the POVs we are provided. The love story between Davis and Everett is beautiful, unique to their story, and something that I really resonated deeply with. The story is not so much a fast-paced plot powerhouse, but more of a voyeuristic character-driven emotional journey for our characters. I would be shocked if you didn't take something away from this book by the time you get to the end. This story will stay with me for some time.
]]> 223524394 Bunny, Samatha Heather Mackey, a lonely outsider student at a highly selective MFA program in New England, was first ostracized and then seduced by a clique of creepy-sweet rich girls who call themselves “Bunny.” An invitation to the Bunnies’ Smut Salon leads Samantha down a dark rabbit hole (pun intended) into the violently surreal world of their off-campus workshops where monstrous creations are conjured with deadly and wondrous consequences.

When We Love You, Bunny opens, Sam has just published her first novel to critical acclaim. But at a New England stop on her book tour, her one-time frenemies, furious at the way they’ve been portrayed, kidnap her. Now a captive audience, it’s her (and our) turn to hear the Bunnies’ side of the story. One by one, they take turns holding the axe, and recount the birth throes of their unholy alliance, their discovery of their unusual creative powers—and the phantasmagoric adventure of conjuring their first creation. With a bound and gagged Sam, we embark on a wickedly intoxicating journey into the heart of dark academia: a fairy tale slasher that explores the wonder and horror of creation itself. Not to mention the transformative powers of love and friendship, Bunny.

Frankenstein by way of Heathers, We Love You, Bunny is both a prequel and a sequel, and an unabashedly wild and totally complete stand-alone novel. Open your hearts, Bunny, to another dazzlingly original and darkly hilarious romp in the Bunny-verse from the queen of the fever-dream, Mona Awad.]]> 496 Mona Awad 1668098482 Dennis 0 to-read 4.11 2025
author: Mona Awad
name: Dennis
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217111869 This star-crossed gay romance is a #1 bestselling TikTok sensation that made international news and catalyzed one of Russia’s largest-ever crackdowns on LGBTQ representation

The banned gay romance that took Russia by storm . . .

In the waning days of the Soviet Union, two teenage boys find each other at Pioneer Camp, a patriotic summer program similar to the Boy Scouts. Yury Konev, 16, anticipates the weeks ahead of him with boredom and dread, but things change when he meets 19-year-old counselor Volodya. The two boys are drawn to each other, and though both fear the consequences of their illegal attraction, its gravity pulls them together.

Now, 20 years later, Yury returns to the abandoned camp to reminisce on the relationship that changed his life forever—and discovers that not all history is destined to remain in the past.

Cowritten by a Ukrainian–Russian duo and originally published by an independent publisher, Popcorn Books, Pioneer Summer became a TikTok sensation and runaway #1 bestseller in Russia. Catalyzed by this success, Russian Parliament officials and anti-LGBT activists began a campaign to ban the novel and others like it, an effort which became law just two months after the second book in the series was published. The authors were forced to flee the country, and Popcorn Books ceased publication.

But they—and we—will not be so easily cowed. Beginning in the summer of 2025, Pioneer Summer will become available for the first time in English, with the other two novels to follow.]]> 448 Elena Malisova 1419773100 Dennis 0 to-read 3.84
author: Elena Malisova
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219542936 A look inside the TV show that watches you back

In a house designed for manipulation, paranoia, and power plays, sixteen strangers are cut off from the outside world—watched every second by cameras, judged by millions.

Welcome to Big Brother. A show ahead of its time, it was once dismissed as fluff television. Now this voyeuristic reality show has quietly become a cultural juggernaut, capturing the rawest truths of human behavior while building an intense, obsessive fanbase along the way. 

But what are the costs of turning human lives into entertainment? What kind of psychological toll does it take to be put in isolation, under constant surveillance, in a perpetual state of suspicion? And what does it say about us as a society that we love to watch it unfold? 

Behind the Inside the World of Big Brother peels back the layers of the historic franchise and dives deep into the game that never sleeps. Through years of live footage, online discourse, and controversial castings, this eye-opening book unpacks how Big Brother has shaped and exposed societal dynamics around race, gender, identity, power, and surveillance. It's the story of a show that thrives in chaos and reveals a reflection of us all—ambitious, flawed, strategic, and deeply human. Whether you're a diehard fan or an unimpressed skeptic, Behind the Mirror will challenge what you thought you knew about reality TV. 

Because if you think Big Brother is just a game, you haven't been paying attention.]]> 416 Taran Armstrong 1464224536 Dennis 0 to-read 0.0
author: Taran Armstrong
name: Dennis
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217248010 In the late 1980s, a coven of queer witches on New York's Fire Island strives to protect a young man facing a devastating tragedy.

A gripping novel of magic, romance, and hope—perfect for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea, the Tales of the City series, and Red, White, and Royal Blue.

It’s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island—and young men like Joe—from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven’s protective powers have been seriously damaged.

Unaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe’s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island—a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom.

The Disco Witches need to find help—fast—if they’re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how? Fans of queer romances with a dash of fantasy will fall in love with this stunning novel of community, love, sex, magic, and hope in desperate times.]]> 352 Blair Fell Dennis 0 to-read 3.82 2025
author: Blair Fell
name: Dennis
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>