I Need You to Read This

 

Author: Jenna Maxwell

Narrator: Carolotta Brentan

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2024

🎧 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 🎧

Many thanks to @simon.audio for the gifted audiobook of I Need You to Read This by Jenna Maxwell. Appreciate it! 

Alex moved to New York for a fresh start. When she lands her dream job as an advice columnist for a big newspaper, she begins digging into her predecessor’s murder. Danger from Alex’s past closes in as she looks for answers. Can Alex figure out who killed the woman she considered a hero and mentor before her past catches up with her? 

My favorite part of this book were the two secondary characters - a waitress and a retired cop. They befriend Alex and help out her investigation. They are humorous and have hidden layers in their past. I also liked the timeline shift from past to present that unfolds through letters written to legendary advice columnist before she was murdered. There were enough twists and turns to keep me on my toes. I really enjoyed the narration by Carlotta Brentan. My advice to readers: pick this one up if you’re looking for a satisfying thriller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s been a minute since my last post. How’s everyone doing? 

#ineedyoutireadthis #jessamaxwell #simonaudio #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram

Bad Tourists

 

Author: Caro Carver

Narrator: Lesley Sharp

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year:2924

🎧 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 🎧

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted audiobook! 

Best gal pals Darcy, Camilla, and Kate go on holiday to a posh resort in the Maldives. The ladies are “celebrating” Darcy’s divorce. What should be a sunny and boozy time quickly turns turns deadly. 

The three friends had bonded over a shared trauma and all have secrets. I thought this was an entertaining thriller with some twists and turns. It’s a good beach or pool read to squeeze in before the end of summer. The narration by Lesley Sharp was great and the setting left me dreaming of an exotic island vacation. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: any weekend plans? I have some errands to run and have a tee time for Sunday. 

#badtourists #carocarver #simonaudio #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #thrillerfiction #crimefiction #vacationthriller #beachbook #maldives #mysteryfiction #bookstagram

July Reading Wrap Up

 

📚𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗨𝗽📚

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted copies of Under Your Spell, Bad Tourists, I Was a Teenage Slasher, and I Nees You to Read This. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital review copy of The Divide and William Morrow for the digital review copy of The Queen City Detective Agency. Happy August! Last month was a good reading month for me. I enjoyed 15 books. Here’s the breakdown: 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

🎧 Under Your Spell- fun, humorous romance

🎧The Lager Queen of Minnesota- great characters & so much heart

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

📖 The Queen City Detective Agency- 80s vibe southern noir 

🎧 Swan Song - Hilderbrand never disappoints 

🎧 Bad Tourists - twisty vacation thriller

📖 The Divide - Hollywood thriller with a big twist

🎧 The Collected Regrets of Clover - touching drama about grieving & growing 

🎧 What You Leave Behind - slow burning social justice mystery

🎧 Too Close to Breath - Irish police procedural 

🎧 I Need You to Read This- interesting characters & tons of twists and turns

🎧 Butcher & Blackbird - funny, spicy serial killers fall in love

🎧 I Was a Teenage Slasher - fun filled horror featuring all the slasher movie tropes 

🎧 The Long and Faraway Gone - private investigator tries to reconcile his past while a woman searches for answers of her own. Really good! 

🎧 The God of the Wood - is the disappearance of a girl at a summer camp connected to her brother’s disappearance years earlier?

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

📖 The Last One - over the top reality show on a cruise ship. The ending made me cringe. 

QOTD: what was your favorite July read? 

#monthlywrapup #readingwraoup #julywrapup #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #thrillerfiction #romancebooks #policeproceedual #irishfiction #audiobookstarm #bookstagram

The Divide

 

Author: Morgan Richter

Publisher: Knopf

Release date: August 20,2024

📖 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 📖

Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for the digital review copy. 

Jenny St. John is a washed up actress with one movie credit. She was the lead in an independent movie years ago called The Divide. Serge Grumet, the director, went on to become a big time Hollywood director, while Jenny’s career went nowhere. Twenty years later, Jenny’s barely keeping her head above water working as a psychic life coach, trying to kid herself that she not just a grifter. When Serge is murdered, Jenny’s life is turned upside down. Jenny discovers that Serge’s ex wife Gena bares more than a striking resemblance to Jenny. Gena, who’s told people for years that she was the star of the long ago movie, is now missing. Is she a murderer on the lam or a victim too? Jenny sets out to find Gena, reclaim her one & only movie credit, and discover who killed Serge. Hollywood can be a killer business, can Jenny survive? 

This was a fun one! I loved the LA setting. Author Morgan Richter definitely knows the ins and outs of the entertainment industry. Jenny’s character was very likable, and there were a ton of suspects. While I was able to figure out who the killer was, there was a twist at the end I never would have guessed in a million years. This is an enjoyable whodunnit with a breezy California vibe. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Divide publishes August 20. 

QOTD: have you watched any good movies lately? My husband & I watched The Beekeeper recently. It had an outlandish plot and over the top action, but was entertaining. 

#thedivide #morganrichter #knopf #crimefiction #mysteryfiction #thrillerbooks #hollywoodfiction #hollywoodcrimefiction #whodunnit #bookstagram #publishingsoon

The Queen City Detective Agency

 

Author: Snowden Wright

Publisher: William Morrow Books

Release date: August 13, 2024

📖 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 📖

Thank you William Morrow books and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

Randall Hubbard, a wealthy white real estate developer in Mississippi in the 1980s, is murdered in his home. His business mostly centered on building strip malls in low income Black neighborhoods. Hubbard’s wife is accused of hiring Turnip Coogan to set up the hit on Hubbard. Coogan, who allegedly has ties to the Dixie Mafia, dies under suspicion circumstances while in jail for the murder. Clementine Baldwin, a former cop turned private investigator, is hired to investigate Coogan’s death. Being a Black female PI in Mississippi isn’t an easy job. When Clem’s investigation keeps leading her to the Dixie Mafia, the job quickly becomes deadly. 

I loved the 80’s vibe of this Southern noir mystery. Race plays a big part in this story-not only in Clem’s investigation, but also her personal life and family dynamic. Her search for answers forces her to confront painful truths and pits her against powerful and dangerous men. The setting is atmospheric filled with a myriad of characters. The pace flows at a brisk and steady pace. I liked the relationship Clem has with her investigative partner Dixon. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me on my toes. I hope we see Clem again in the near future. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Put The Queen City Detective Agency  on your tbr list now so you don’t miss it when it publishes on August 13th. 

QOTD: what’s for dinner tonight? 

I think I’m going to grill some beef kabobs. 

#thequeencitydetectiveagency #snowdenwright #williammorrowbooks #netgalley #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #historicalfiction #mississippifiction #femaledetective #femaleprivateinvestigator #bookstagram #thrillerthursday #southernnoir #publishingsoon

Under Your Spell

 

Author: Laura Wood

Narrator: Ellie Heydon

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2024

🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🎧

Many thanks to @simon.audio for the gifted audiobook!

Poor Clemmie has been just been dumped by her cheating boyfriend, lost her job, and is about to lose her apartment. As the daughter of an aging rock and roll star, she definitely does not want to date a celebrity- especially a rock star. But she finds herself spending six weeks alone with the gorgeous Theo Eliott while he works on his new album. What will Clemmie do when the sparks fly? 

This was such a fun book! I loved everything about it. The characters are wonderful. Clemmie is in dire straits and her sisters are there for her. I loved the dynamic and bond Clemmie and her sisters had. Theo isn’t a cliche of a major rock star. He’s down to earth and a genuinely nice guy. Kudos to author Laura Wood for being able to infuse humor throughout the story, along with some spicy romance. I thought the pacing was fairly fast and Ellie Heydon’s narration was excellent. If you’re looking the perfect beach or pool read, pick this one up. It’ll make you laugh, cry, and swoon! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: Who’s your favorite rock star? 

My favorite is Springsteen. Taylor Swift has been growing on me the last few year. 

#underyourspell #laurawood #simonaudio  #ellieheydon #romancebooks #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #bookstagram #fivestarbook #romcombookstagram #romcombooks #rockandroll 

Middletide

 

Author: Sarah Crouch

Narrator: Kaleo Griffith

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2024

🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🎧

Thank you @simon.audio for the gifted audiobook!

A small town on Puget Sound is rocked when the body of a beautiful and popular doctor is found dead. The sheriff’s investigation points to a murder staged as a suicide. The body was found on Elijah Leith’s property. As a young man, Elijah fled his small hometown to become a writer. After his first book received a bad review, Elijah returned home believing his writing career was over. Now there’s been a murder that is eerily similar to one in Elijah’s book. Is it a coincidence? 

I thought this was as going to be a straight up mystery or police procedural. It is, but it isn’t. It’s more literary mystery or character study than I had anticipated. Author Sarah Crouch created a very atmospheric story in this debut novel. Kaleo Griffith provides an engaging narration. I’m a more action oriented reader, but I know plenty of readers will love this slow burning, moody novel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#middletide #middletidebook #sarahcrouch #simonaudio #crimefiction #literaryfiction #pacificnorthwest #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #bookstagram #debutnovel #2024debut