North of Nowhere

 

Author: Allison Brennan

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Year: 2023

❄️𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄❄️

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital arc. 

For five years, the former enforcer for the head of a Los Angeles crime family has lived in hiding in Montana with the children of Boyd, his former boss. Tony took the two kids and fled after  children’s mother was murdered. For five years, Tony has raised them as his own while trying to keep the kids safe and hidden from father and cruel grandmother. Their luck runs out when Boyd and his henchmen finally track them down. Tony and the kids escape into the Montana wilderness as Boyd closes in. As a blizzard moves in, the danger ratchets up. 

This was an entertaining, but messy mix of crime fiction and wilderness survival story. I say messy because there were so many tangents to the story. Crime boss Boyd’s estranged sister literally parachutes into the Montana forest to help find the kids. An LA police detective with his own agenda turns up on the scene. It was a lot of work keeping track of all the characters and threads to this story. 

I thought there was a little too much telling and not enough showing with this story. We hear how terrible the grandmother is, but it’s quite awhile into the book before we see any examples of her cruelty. I thought the sense of urgency to find the kids during the blizzard was mitigated by how much time all the adults in the woods spent standing around talking. I had trouble overlooking the fact that Tony never changed his last name and even registered the kids in school with his last name. 🤦‍♀️ And if you don’t want anyone to find you, maybe don’t send the kids to school on picture day? I thought the story ran a smidge too long and could have been tightened up to keep the story moving. I liked it and this it could be a good choice for readers who enjoy survival/adventure or who want an escape into the Montana wilderness. North of Nowhere is available today. 

QOTD: what’s for dinner tonight? I think we’re have steak and corn on the cob. And I think by hubby is doing the cooking. 😀

#northofnowhere #minotaurbooks #netgalley #crimefiction #survivalfiction #adventurefiction #thrillerbooks #familydrama #montana #bookstagram #newbook

Whalefall

 

Author: Daniel Kraus

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Publication date: August 8, 2023

🐋 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 🐋

Wow! I was on the edge of my seat listening to this book. I couldn’t put it down. Thank you @simon.audio for the #gifted copy.

Jay Gardiner often had a rocky relationship with his father, who was a legendary diver. Jay, grieving and guilt ridden after his father’s suicide, thinks the only way to heal his family is by finding and recovering his father’s bones from the ocean. He makes a dangerous solo dive off the coast of Monastery Beach. And then everything goes horribly wrong. He encounters an elusive giant squid. Jay marvels at the sight, until an enormous sperm whale, hunting the giant squid, appears. Jay gets caught by one of the squid’s tentacles and dragged into whale’s mouth as it feeds on the squid. Jay’s swallowed by the behemoth.  From there it’s a race against time until his Jay’s air runs out. 

I’d characterize this book as a thriller/survival story with a very literary feel to it. Author Daniel Kraus’s writing is deep and powerful. His characters are layered and complex-especially Jay’s father. Kraus must have done a ton of research for this book. He doesn’t overwhelm readers with the technical aspects of diving or the biology of sea creatures, but the information he provides is essential to the story. I thought it also fit perfectly into Jay’s and his dad’s personalities. I also really enjoyed Kirby Heybourne’s narration. I know this one will be one of my top ten books this year. 

Whalefall is out on Tuesday, August 8. You don’t want to miss this one! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: Let’s do predictive text! I scuba diving and saw_______. 

I went scuba diving and saw a couple of people with their feet in the air. 😀 

#whalefall #danielkraus #simonaudio #kirbyheybourne #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #audiobooksofinstagram #publishingsoon #thrillerfiction #survivalfiction #familydrama #fatersonrelationship #pacificocean #scubadiving #spermwhale #giantsquid

July Reading Wrap Up

 

𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗨𝗽

Happy August! Hope your reading was as hot as the temperatures! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧Alias, Emma - it’s a race against time when a British spy must keep her asset safe from Russian assassins & get him across London in one harrowing night. Really loved this tightly plotted, fast paced thriller! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧The Searcher - a retired Chicago cop moves to rural Ireland to get away from it all. Instead he ends up helping a young teen find out what happened to their missing older brother. Really enjoyed this one & loved the setting. 

📖What We Were Promised- family drama involving a Chinese couple who return to Shanghai after living in the US for many years. A very layered story of family, love, & one’s place on the world. 

📖North of Nowhere- a mix of crime fiction & survival story. Two kids are on the run in the Montana wilderness just as a blizzard hits. Thank you @netgalley & @minotaur_books  for the digital arc. Out next week. 

📖Second Shot - a retired CIA assassin goes on the hunt after being targeted & discovering there might be a traitor in the agency. There’s also a serial killer on the loose. 

🎧A Solitude of Wolverines - a wildlife biologist, studying wolverines on a preserve in rural Montana, uncovers a nefarious enterprise. 

📖Salvage the World - after her partner disappears, a woman & her young son flee to her father’s house in the hurricane ravaged Deep South. In the meantime, a religious zealot who’s been capturing the attention & money of the storm weary people becomes increasingly violent. 

📖Sing Her Down - a gritty modern day Western. Florida Baum isn’t the doe-eyed naive young woman who got mixed up with the wrong man & ended up in jail. Her cell mate Dios knows deep down Florida is hiding a violent personality. Dios’s obsession with Florida begins a violent cat & mouse game through pandemic locked down LA that can only end in bloodshed. 

🎧Fourth Wing- booksgram made me read it. Harry Potter+Game of Thrones+enemies to lovers wide open door romance. The dragons were cool. 

🎧Those Empty Eyes - Alex’s family was murdered one night when she was a teen. Accused of the crime & hounded by the media, she’s forced to change her name & appearance. But she never stops searching for the real killer.

#monthlywrapup #readingwrapup #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #espionagefiction #familydrama #survivalfiction #adventurestory #spyfiction 

Prom Mon

 

Author: Laura Lippman

Publisher: William Morrow 

Date: 2023

📖 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘆! 📖

Amber Glass is the antihero main character in this slow burning modern noir tale. 

This is the kind of book you savor because of the nuanced writing. Lippman slowly unfolds the story, intertwining past and present. But the slow burn doesn’t mean it’s slow paced. This will hook you because you’ll want to see where this twisted story goes. 

The story keeps you guessing about who is the real villain. Is it love struck teenage Amber who kept her pregnancy secret and caused the infant to die? Is it golden boy Joe, Amber’s prom date and father of her child, who abandoned Amber at prom? Is it a grown Amber scheming to insert herself back into Joe’s picture perfect life and marriage? Is it Joe who thinks he’s a good guy even though he occasionally steps out on his wife? 

Lippman is a master of this type of domestic thriller. She explores the questions of how well do we really know the people we love and just how far will seemingly ordinary people go to get what they want. 

Prom Mom is out today. It’s a must read and a great beach or pool read to finish out the summer. It’s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book for me and will be in my top ten favorites for the year. Thank you William Morrow Books  and NetGalley for the digital review copy. 

#prommom #lauralippman #williammorrowbooks #netgalley #bookreview #baltimore #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #slowburnbooks #noir #noirbooks #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #revengethriller #domesticthriller 

How Can I Help You

 

Author: Laura Sims

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Year: 2023

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘆!

How could I not love a book about two librarians who play a dangerous game of cat and mouse?

Margo needs a fresh starts and moves to a new town, landing a job at the public library. She’s a model employee- friendly, helpful, and capable. Her colleagues and patrons don’t realize Margo is hiding a dark secret. She’s a former nurse who was responsible for the deaths of numerous patients. Margo’s calm and quiet new life is upset when the library hires Patricia, a new reference librarian. Patricia is also starting over after failing to to get her novel published. After Margo is present when a  patron dies in the library, Patricia begins watching Margo closely and digging into her background. What Patricia discovers ignites her passion to write again. What happens when Margo realizes Patricia discovered her secrets and is writing about them? 

This was an entertaining and fast paced read. The women become obsessed with each other as they desperately try to find out each others’ secrets. It was fascinating to watch Margo desperately try to hang on to the benign personality and life she crafted only to slowly start unraveling after Patricia arrives at the library. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Putnam Books, author Laura Sims, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. How Can I Help You is on shelves now. Library lovers need to check this book out! 

#howcanihelpyou #laurasims #putnambooks #librarylife #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #librarians #secrets #suspense #suspensebooks #bookstagram #dontmesswithlibrarians 

June Reading Wrap Up

 

𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗨𝗽

June was a five star reading month for me. I read nine books this month & five of them were five stars. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧All the Sinners Bleed- a Black sherif must bring down a serial killer. Riveting story. Great characters. Excellent audio narration. 

📖Yellowface - I flew through this one. It drew me right in. An author steals a novel her dead friend wrote. Jealousy, racism, & a peek behind the curtain at publishing. Engrossing. 

📖Prom Mom - tragedy, secrets, lies. Author Laura Lippman gives us a masterclass in slow burning character study with this one. Thank you @netgalley & @williammorrowbooks for the digital review copy. 

🎧Lady Tan’s Circle of Women- set in 15th century China, this examines the roles expectations of women in this multigenerational story. Beautifully written and an excellent narration. Thank you @simon.audio for the gifted copy. 

🎧Star Splitter-intriguing sci fi centered around a teen meeting up with her scientist parents after years apart. In space, things can go wrong very quickly. Really unique space travel concept. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧Long Way Back- a teenage influencer goes missing on the eve of her high school graduation. Her mother desperately searches for answers. Lots of twists and turns. Thank you @simon.audio for the gifted copy. 

📖The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece- enjoyed this behind the scenes look at movie making. 

📖Barbed Wire Heart- a young woman is poised to take over her father’s criminal enterprise. But she has plans of her own. Love when tough guys are outsmarted & outplayed by a badass girl. 

🎧Untamed - my book club’s read for the month. Author Glennon Doyle offers a mix of autobiography & self help. Lots of girl power. 

QOTD: how was your reading month? 

#monthlywrapup #readingwrapup #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #historicalfiction #sciencefiction #nonfiction #alwaysreading #fivestarbooks #fourstarbooks 

May Reading Wrap Up

 

𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗨𝗽

Happy June! Summer’s finally arrived! One word to describe my May reading: consistent. I read ten books & enjoyed them all. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖Lone Women - a mash up of historical fic, survival story & horror made for a unique story with strong female characters. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧Zero Days - a security expert is suspected of killing her husband. Ruth Ware never disappoints. 

🎧The Nigerwife - the wife of a wealthy Nigerian man disappears & the only person who seems concerned is the missing woman’s aunt. Loved the setting of this one. 

🎧The Bromance Book Club - super cute premise and spicy. 

🎧Fixit - IQ, a modern day Sherlock Holmes, races to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend.

📖How Can I Help You? - how could I not like a book about a sketchy librarian?! 

📖Shutter - an impressive 2022 debut about a crime scene photographer who sees ghosts. Great mix of thriller and paranormal. 

🎧Stone Cold Fox - I always enjoy a good story about a conwoman. 

📖Scorched Grace - a former punk rocker turned nun investigates arson & murder at her convent. 

📖Dope Thief - two ex-cons make their living by robbing drug dealers. Then they rob the wrong crew & everything goes south. 

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the complimentary copies of Zero Days & The Nigerwife. Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the digital arc of How Can I Help You? 

QOTD: what book are you reading to kick off June? 

I’m reading Barbed Wire Heart. Should finish it soon. 

#readingwrapup #monthlywrapup #audiobooks #audiobookstagram #bookstagram #netgalleyarc #penguinbooks #simonaudio #thrillerfiction #romancebooks #crimefiction #historicalfiction #horrorbooks #alwaysreading