February Wrap Up

Our shortest month is on the way out the door. I squeezed in 16 books this month. Here’s the breakdown. 

😍 Loved ‘em

📖The Paradise Problem

📖 Where the Bones Lie

🎧 Penitence

📖 Saint of the Narrows Street

🎧 Dead Money

👍🏻 Really liked

🎧 Head Cases

🎧The Note

📖 The Missing Half

🎧 That Friend

📖 Julie Chan Is Dead

📖 The Medusa Protocol 

🎧 More or Less Maddy

📖 The Mailman

🎧 Nemesis

😐 Liked but just ok

📖 Pro Bono

🎧 The Last Love Note

Nine of the books were from the library. Three books were e-arcs from NetGalley. Two were gifted audiobooks from @simon.audio. One book was a gift from the author and one audiobook was purchased so my husband could read it too. Definitely a good month. 

QOTD: How was your month or recommend a book you loved this month. 

#readingwrapup #monthlywrapup #februarywrapup #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram #librarybook #lovemylibrary

#audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview #audiobookrec 

The Mailman

 

Author: Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Publisher: Mysterious Press

Year: 2025

Happy #thrillerthursday! Andrew Welsh-Huggins latest thriller is The Mailman. Mercury Carter is a former postal inspector who had to give up his position after being wounded in an attempted assassination. After recovering, Mercury started his own delivery service and he takes his job very seriously. While making a delivery, he stumbles into a home invasion turned kidnapping. Mercury uses all the skills he learned as a postal inspector to track the bad guys and find the kidnapped woman. All to ensure she receives her parcel. 

I really enjoyed this book. Mercury is an interesting character. He’s a little quirky, very determined, and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Nothing gets in the way of his delivery. The pace of the story was good with lots of action. Think Jack Reacher if Reacher was a mailman, more talkative, and had an average build. Just an all round fun and entertaining read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: have you gotten any fun book mail lately? I’m really trying to use the library for as many books as possible instead of buy them. 

#crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram 

#librarybook #lovemylibrary #themailman #andrewelsh-huggins #mysteriouspress 

About the Author

Andrew Welsh-Huggins is the Shamus, Derringer, and International Thriller Writers-award-nominated author of the standalone crime novel The End of The Road; the Andy Hayes private eye series featuring a former Ohio State and Cleveland Browns quarterback turned investigator; and editor of the short story anthology Columbus Noir.

The Last Love Note

 

Author: Emma Grey

Narrator: Leanna Walsman

Publisher: Zibby Books 

Tear: 2023

The Last Love Note was my book club’s read this month and I was definitely in the minority opinion about this book. 

Two years after Kate losses her husband to early onset dementia, she wonders if she can ever find love again. After her husband’s death, Kate is a single parent trying to keep her life together. She has a demanding job, a hot new next door neighbor, and an incredibly understanding boss named Hugh. 

The ladies in my book club loved this book. I thought it was just all right. They thought it was funny and emotional. Several said they cried while reading it. Now, I’m usually an easy crier when a character dies. But for some reason, I didn’t make that emotional connection. I should have been sobbing, but I was dry eyed the whole time. So unlike me. This book got rave reviews from everyone in my book club and it has rave reviews on Goodreads. I did like Leanna Walsman’s narration and I liked the Australian setting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: what’s your controversial book opinion? 

Here are two of mine. I hated The Secret History and struggled to get through it. The term young adult is marketing term to let book buyers and readers know the books’s intended audience is teens. Young adult is not a genre unto itself. 

#contemporaryfiction #realisticfiction #familydrama #grieffiction #womensfiction #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram 

#librarybook #lovemylibrary

#audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview 

About the Author

Emma Grey is the acclaimed author of the global breakout bestseller The Last Love Note and Pictures of You. Grey lives in Canberra, Australia, where her world centers on her three children, stepchildren, and stepgrandchildren, as well as writing, photography, and endlessly chasing the aurora australis.

Nemesis

 

Author: Gregg Hurwitz

Narrator: Scott Brick

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Year: 2025

Happy Tuesday! 

Evan Smoak was known as Orphan X when he was an assassin for an off the books, super secret government program. Now he’s the Nowhere Man. He’s the guy hopeless people call to get them out of desperate situations. 

Nemesis is author Gregg Hurwitz’s the tenth book in the series and the series just keeps getting better. Narrator Scott Brick once again does excellent work bringing the story and characters to life. 

Evan was raised to be an assassin and lives by a certain code given to him by his handler. Evan has lots of skills from hand to hand combat to shooting, but his people skills are a bit lacking lacking. It’s been interesting to see Evan navigate the world of normal, everyday people and how he’s subtly changed throughout the series. 

In Nemesis, Evan goes up against Tommy Stojack, Evan’s best friend and confidant. Stojack is a genius gunsmith and provides an Evan with all his guns and gear. But Evan believes Stojack has crossed a line and their argument turns into warfare. 

If you’re looking for a fast paced and action packed escape, Orphan X will definitely deliver. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let’s play predictive text. My biggest nemesis is ______. 

My biggest nemesis is my dog. 🐶 She’s lucky she so cute! 😂 

#thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram #audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview #audiobookrec 

#orphanx #nowhereman #nemesis 

About the Author

Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times, #1 internationally bestselling author of 23 thrillers, including the Orphan X series, and two award-winning thriller novels for teens. His novels have won numerous literary awards, graced top ten lists, and have been published in 33 languages. Gregg currently serves as the Co-President of International Thriller Writers (ITW). 

More or Less Maddy

 

Author: Lisa Genova

Narrator: Tessa Albertson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2025

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook. Appreciate it! 

Do you enjoy books that dive deep into complex characters and emotional journeys? More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova does just that. 

Maddy Banks is like a lot of college students- stressed out and feeling overwhelmed with schoolwork and trying to get over a recent brake up. She’s also the sibling out of place in her upper middle class family. Unlike Maddy, her two older siblings have no problem fitting into the family’s country club lifestyle and acceptable career paths. When Maddy hits a very low point, she goes on a prescribed antidepressant. Soon after, Maddy spirals into a wild mania. She then gets a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Maddy must learn to navigate the effects her diagnosis has on her life, her relationships, her personality, and her future. 

This is the first book I’ve read by author Lisa Genova and I’m really impressed. Genova writes with expertise and compassion, shedding light on this tough diagnosis. Genova provides enough medical information about what a bipolar diagnosis is and its treatments without getting too technical with the intricacies of it. She also provides hope that someone with this diagnosis can thrive and chase their dreams. Kudos to narrator Tessa Albertson for her work on this audiobook. Her performance is amazing. The scenes when Maddy is spiraling in mania are powerful and raw. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: What’s the most thought-provoking book you’ve read recently? Does More or Less Maddy sound like one you’d add to your list?

I’ll eventually read some of Lisa Genova’s other books. 

#moreorlessmaddy #lisagenova #simonaudio #contemporaryfiction #realisticfiction #mentalhealth #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm #booklover#bookstagram #audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview #audiobookrec 

About the Author

Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University.

​

She is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O’Briens, and Every Note Played. Her first work of nonfiction, REMEMBER: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, published March 2021, became an instant New York Times bestseller.

​

Still Alice was adapted into a film starring Julianne Moore, won the 2015 Best Actress Oscar for her role.

Saint of the Narrows Street

 

Author: William Boyle

Publisher: Soho Press

Year: 2025

“Secrets and lies won’t hold.”

A split second decision changes everything for a small close knit family in Brooklyn. When Risa’s husband Sav threatens her sister Giulia, Risa impulsively bashes Sav in the head with a cast iron frying pan, killing him. Instead of calling the police, Risa calls upon her neighbor  Chooch, Sav’s childhood friend. Risa, Giulia, and Chooch bury Sav’s body on a plot of land in the woods in upstate New York. They tell everyone that Sav left town, abandoning Ria and baby Fab. Their actions will have consequences for years to come. 

This is the first book by author William Boyle that I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last. I already know this book will be one of my favorites of the year. This is such an atmospheric story. As I read, I could picture the way the entire neighborhood looked and smelled. It was like I was walking the block with the characters. The main characters are so complex, layered, and real. Even the minor characters are memorable. Secrets and lies shape each character. Those secrets eventually set an 18 year old Fab on a search for his father and forces a tragic reckoning for the truth. 

Boyle’s storytelling and writing are fantastic. He masterfully weaves a rich tapestry of lives, grief, hope, and regrets. The ending of the book was so beautifully written, so brutally poetic, and ultimately heartbreaking that it brought me to tears. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: any fun plans for the weekend? 

I don’t have any plans. I’ll just read and maybe watch some college basketball. 

#crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram#librarybook #lovemylibrary #saintofthenarrowsstreet #brooklyn #gravesend #williamboyle #sohopress 

About the Author 

William Boyle is the author of eight books set in the southern Brooklyn neighborhood where he was born and raised, including his debut, Gravesend; the story collection Death Don’t Have No Mercy; The Lonely Witness, nominated for the Hammett Prize; A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself, an Amazon Best Book of 2019; City of Margins, a Washington Post Best Thriller and Mystery Book of 2020; and Shoot the Moonlight Out, listed by CrimeReads as one of the ten best noir novels of 2021. He currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi.

Head Cases

 

Author: John McMahon 

Narrator: Will Damron

Publisher: MacMillan Audio

Year: 2025

The FBI’s Patterns and Recognition Unit (PAR) is a special group of agents who investigate cases no one else can solve. Agent Gardner Camden is a brilliant and neurodivergent investigator who can discover patterns and make connections that other agents miss. Gardner and his unit are on the hunt for a serial killer who’s meting out his own gruesome brand of justice. The pressure’s on and case becomes personal when the killer strikes out at Gardner’s mother. It’s a race against the clock to catch a monster. 

Author John McMahon is off to a great start with this new series. The characters are complex and interesting. I liked the cat and mouse game the killer plays taunting Gardner. The tension builds steadily throughout the book as the agents race to find answers. Narrator Will Damron does a fantastic job bringing the story and characters to life. I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: Do you prefer psychological thrillers or fast-paced crime thrillers? Why?

I definitely like fast-paced crime thrillers more than psychological thrillers. I like action and more tangible crime than psychological. I’ll take a heist, a con, or a murder over a psychological thriller any day. 

#crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram 

#librarybook #lovemylibrary

#audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview #audiobookrec #headcases #macmillan #willdamron

About the Author 

John McMahon studied Creative Writing at The University of Arizona. In his role as an ad agency creative director, his work has won a Gold Clio for Fiat, and he’s written a Superbowl spot for Alfa Romeo. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and two rescue animals. He’s hard at work on another P.T. Marsh book and dreams of splitting time between Cabo San Lucas and Lake Lanier.

Julie Chan Is Dead

 

Author: Liann Zhang

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication date: April 29, 2025

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-arc. 

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

This is the story of twin sisters separated as young children after their parents died suddenly. Julie went to live a hardscrabble life with her mean aunt. Her sister Chloe was adopted by a wealthy couple and raised seemingly without a care in the world. Chloe became an internet influencer with tons of followers and raking in the dough. After a mysterious phone call from Chloe, Julie goes to NYC to find Chloe. Julie discovers Chloe dead in her apartment of an overdose. When the emergency responders arrive, they mistake Julie for Chloe and a plan forms in Julie‘s mind. Julie steps into Chloe’s influencer life of money and fame and quickly realizes that life isn’t what it seems. Being an influencer could be deadly. 

I really enjoyed this fabulous debut novel from Liam Zhang. I couldn’t wait to see where this twin switching story went and boy,  I wasn’t expecting the direction it took. The pace and tension steadily built throughout the book. This is also an interesting look at social media vs reality and how social media manipulates public perception. It also turns a glaring eye on how far some influencers would for coveted engagement numbers. Lots of good stuff in the book. 

Read this if you like: 

✅stories of twins switching places

✅ thrillers with a big twist

✅ a cult-like gaggle of influencers 

✅ a main character willing to do just about anything to survive 

✅ read this if you’re a fan of Yellowface

This was a fun and thought provoking read. I found it to be a really unique, timely, and polished story. It’ll be exciting to see what’s next from this debut author. Julie Chan Is Dead publishes April 29. Don’t miss this one! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: have you read any great debut books so far this year? Or what new release are looking forward to? 

I’m looking forward to Michael Connelly’s new book in May. 

#crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram #juliechanisdead #liannzhang #atriabooks #2025debut #publishingsoon #netgalley 

About the Author

Liann Zhang is a second-generation Chinese Canadian who splits her time between Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. After a short stint as a skincare content creator, she graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in psychology and criminology. Julie Chan Is Dead is her first novel.