When your best friend who can’t swim suddenly drowns, you know something isn’t right. That’s exactly what sends hotel heiress Torie Bergstrom back to Georgia’s Jekyll Island in Colleen Coble’s A Stranger’s Game. Torie hasn’t been home since she was ten, but she’s the one who arranged her best friend Lisbeth’s job at one of the family’s properties. Now Lisbeth is dead, and Torie is convinced it wasn’t an accident. To get answers, she checks into the hotel under an alias, only to discover that danger is lurking much closer than she imagined. Her quest for the truth leads her straight into the path of Joe Abbott and his young […]
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Secrets, Twists, and Shifting Truths
🌟🌟🌟🌟 James Patterson and David Ellis are back at it with Lies He Told Me, a thriller that keeps the pages flying and the tension high. The story centers on a husband whose life starts to unravel as secrets pile up, half-truths get exposed, and trust becomes a dangerous illusion. One of the best parts? You’ll find yourself second-guessing everyone—because in this book, nobody’s story is quite what it seems. The trademark Patterson pacing is here—short, snappy chapters that dare you to put the book down. Ellis adds his courtroom savvy and knack for layered characters, giving the novel more depth than some of Patterson’s lighter collaborations. The twists come fast, […]
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The Syndicate Spy Misses the Mark
⭐️⭐️☆☆☆ Every so often, a book comes along with a premise that sounds like a surefire winner. Brittany Butler’s The Syndicate Spy is one of those. A futuristic, female-led spy syndicate battling over dwindling oil supplies in a climate-altered world? Count me in. Sadly, the story never quite lives up to its promise. I don’t wish to be unkind, after all, writing a book is hard work, but the pacing is uneven, with stretches of clunky exposition slowing the action to a crawl. The world-building, while creative, often feels more like background noise than an integral part of the story. Juliet Arroway, the lead spy, has plenty of potential but […]
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When Stephanie Goes Rogue, You Go Along for the Chaos
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stephanie Plum has survived exploding cars, disastrous stakeouts, and endless doughnut runs, but in Going Rogue, the danger feels personal. When Connie—steady, tough-as-nails Connie—gets kidnapped, Stephanie and her merry band of misfits launch into action. The ransom? A mysterious coin tied to murder, mobsters, and more chaos than even Trenton can handle. What follows is classic Evanovich: a wacky chase, more near-death moments than any bail bond agent should endure and laugh-out-loud antics from Lula and Grandma Mazur. Add in the ongoing tug-of-war between Morelli and Ranger, and you’ve got another zippy romp that’s equal parts mystery, comedy, and popcorn entertainment. Do the hijinks sometimes feel familiar after 29 […]
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A Dark and Twisty Honeymoon Gone Wrong
4.5 stars Talk about dysfunctional families! Everyone in Karin Slaughter’s This Is Why We Lied has secrets, but only one of them is a killer. From the first scream at McAlpine Lodge, the tension never lets up. This locked-room mystery—the 12th book in the Will Trent series—had me hooked from the start. Will Trent and Sara Linton just wanted a quiet honeymoon. Instead, they stumble upon a murder and a web of lies so tangled it’s hard to know who to trust. Mercy McAlpine, the lodge manager, dies whispering her last words to Will, and every family member and guest quickly becomes a suspect. Mercy’s abusive ex, her ice-cold parents, […]
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Smart and Sassy: A Book Club Worth Joining
This one reminded me so much of Lorna Landvik’s Angry Wives Eating Bon Bons—strong women, suburban setting, and a whole lot of heart. Set in early 1960s Virginia, The Book Club for Troublesome Women follows four women who start reading The Feminine Mystique and suddenly start seeing their own lives in a new light. From tea and cake to personal revolutions—it escalates quickly. The real beauty of this novel is in the friendships. Margaret, Bitsy, Charlotte, and Viv are flawed, funny, brave, and loyal. Their bond feels authentic, and their individual arcs show how liberating (and scary) it can be to start dreaming again after years of playing it safe. […]
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The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) This novel had so much going for it—a dual timeline, a real historical figure, and a mystery rooted in the fate of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. I went in eager to learn more about Eleanor Dare, a woman I find absolutely fascinating. And while the premise had great potential, the execution didn’t quite live up to it. The story follows Alice, a war widow, and her daughter, Penn, as they return to their family’s ancestral home in the 1940s. There, they begin to uncover secrets tied to their lineage and the legacy of Eleanor Dare. The emotional threads—grief, identity, forgiveness, and healing—are the strongest parts of […]
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A Journey of Hope and Friendship: The Next Ship Home by Heather Webb
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book! The Next Ship Home by Heather Webb is historical fiction at its best—deeply emotional, incredibly well written, and unputdownable. Webb’s word pictures are spot-on. I could practically hear the chaos of Ellis Island, smell the salt air, and feel the anxiety and hope radiating from every corner of the page. She built a world I could truly see. The story follows Francesca, a brave Italian immigrant, and Alma, a young American woman working at Ellis Island. Their unlikely friendship unfolds against a backdrop of corruption, prejudice, and the longing for something better. Both women are impressively developed—flawed, relatable, and fiercely strong. They felt so real, […]
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Unveiling a Hidden Heroine: A Review of Let Us March On
Shara Moon’s Let Us March On brings overdue attention to Elizabeth “Lizzie” McDuffie, a maid in FDR’s White House who quietly advocated for civil rights. Known as the “Secretary-On-Colored-People’s-Affairs,” Lizzie acted as a vital bridge between the Black community and the President—an incredible feat for a woman in her position during the 1930s. Told through Lizzie’s eyes, the story offers an inside look at the Roosevelts and the political landscape of the time. Moon captures Lizzie’s strength and determination, showing how she used her role to push for justice in subtle but powerful ways. That said, the pacing lags in spots, especially when it gets too bogged down in politics. […]
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A Journey Through Love and Loss in Venice
Rhys Bowen’s The Venice Sketchbook is an emotional dual-timeline novel filled with love, loss, and hidden truths. When Caroline Grant’s beloved great-aunt Lettie passes away, she leaves behind a cryptic inheritance—a sketchbook, three keys, and one last word: “Venice.” As Caroline embarks on a journey to scatter Lettie’s ashes in the city she loved, she uncovers a decades-old story of passion and sacrifice. In 1938, art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in Venice, reconnecting with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves but cannot have. As war looms over Europe, impossible circumstances test their star-crossed romance, forcing Juliet to make heart-wrenching choices. The novel weaves together Caroline’s modern-day search for answers […]
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