Book Review, Fiction, thriller

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Thriller

Ooh this was a twisty one! Evie Porter is living an idyllic American life with her handsome successful boyfriend Ryan, or is she? We quickly come to learn that ‘Evie’ is a fake identity assumed for her job working for the mysterious Mr. Smith. Evie has completed a number of questionable jobs for her employer, but is starting to question how much she can trust him. She’s also starting to quite like her life with Ryan.

This story splits the narrative between past and present, introducing many of the different identities Evie has adopted over the years and the jobs they have been associated with. Not gonna lie, I could not keep track of them all. I think including so many was supposed to paint a clear picture of how her relationship with Mr. Smith evolved over time, but it each vignette seemed so separate that it was hard for me to tie everything together chronologically and cohesively in my mind.

I did enjoy getting to see the true relationships that Evie made throughout the years and how she was able to either get help from them in the future as her cover is threatened, or to manipulate them based on past knowledge and experience. She was smart and crafty and made for a fun protagonist.

Evie is primarily trying to figure out what Mr. Smith’s intent is throughout the book, particularly when she finds herself being set up for a crime that happened in her vicinity during a past job. While she digs into these issues, she also has to figure out what to tell Ryan and how to keep their relationship in tact. There was a lot going on, which made this book go fast.

I definitely didn’t see the ending coming, and it made me rethink much of what I’d been told throughout the book, which I love from a thriller. It was a really satisfying wrap-up to Evie’s character and made her like her even more.

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Book Review, Nonfiction, Self Help

The Confidence Gap by Russ Harris ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Self help

This book was definitely not what I was expecting, but I also flew through it much faster than anticipated. It made me question my own definition of confidence and what actually makes someone confident. It starts by exploring confidence as a concept and then introduces activities to help achieve a more confident mindset.

The main themes throughout this book are creating a better relationship with fear and anxiety, clarifying and living in your values, learning how to handle negative thoughts and emotions, and implementing ‘confident’ actions, regardless of how you’re actually feeling. 

I found the exercises, particularly around negative thinking and fear, to be very helpful and easy to put into practice. I had never really considered the relationships between negative thoughts, fear, and confidence, but throughout the book it came to make a lot of sense to me that knowing how to effectively handle these negative emotions leaves space for feeling more confidence.

The concepts and exercises used in this book were really interesting and helpful, but also REALLY repetitive. By the end I was skimming because it felt like I was reading the same chapters over and over again. I would absolutely recommend this book, but it could have been about ⅔ as long and still covered all the content it needed to.

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Book Review, Fiction, thriller

The New Couple in 5B By Lisa Unger ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪
Genre: Thriller
Read if you liked: Lock Every Door

Rosie and Chad’s lives are forever changed when they inherit a luxury apartment in the esteemed Windermere in New York City from Chad’s late uncle. Initially, Rosie couldn’t be more thrilled at their change of circumstances, but as she learns more and more about the building’s dark past, she begins to suspect there’s something deeply disturbing still happening there.

There have been a lot of thrillers in recent years that focus on a creepy old building that seems to take on a life of its own. In my opinion, those other thrillers approach the premise a lot better than this one. The supernatural elements seemed very plot device-y and thrown in to try to do all the heavy lifting of making the Windermere seem spooky.

I had trouble connecting with the main characters, which made it difficult for me to get invested in their story. That said, the mystery surrounding their neighbors and the constant surveillance in the building intrigued me.

The story is told with alternating timelines and I was holding my breath to see how they tied together. The plotline set in the past is what kept me invested in unraveling the connections between past and present occurrences.

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Book Review, Fiction, Science Fiction

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Science Fiction
Read if you liked: A Psalm for the Wild-Built

To be back with Sibling Dex and Mosscap was such a joy. I loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built and truly questioned whether a sequel could give me the same peaceful/warm squishy feelings. In this story, the two are headed into the cities to allow Mosscap to learn more about humanity. Its arrival is heralded with much excitement anywhere it goes, a very new and somewhat overwhelming experience for both of our main characters.

Since this book was more focused on towns and cities, it lost some of the charm of wandering the forests in peace that I so loved in the first book. For about the first half, I was discouraged that this would keep me from fully enjoying the story, but wouldn’t you know it, Sibling Dex and Mosscap felt the exact same was as I did.

This was another philosophical, heartwarming, thoughtful story set in a world that is nuanced and fascinating. I usually find it a slog to read through a bunch of world building, but in this case, I loved uncovering more and it added so much depth to the book.

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Book Review, Fiction, thriller

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Thriller
Read if you liked: Final Girls

What a chilling read. Bright Young Women is a fictionalized retelling of Ted Bundy’s crimes told in alternating perspectives from two women, Pamela and Tina, who were close with his victims, as well as one of the victims herself, Ruth. It highlights the incompetence of law enforcement of catching and sentencing a serial killer and the vibrance and promise of the women whose lives he cut short.

Although this is largely a story following The Defendant’s crimes and sentencing, it delves deeply into Pamela, Tina, and Ruth’s lives, interests, desires and past trauma. Each one is richly detailed and it was so heartbreaking to see how their lives were altered forever by the actions of The Defendant.

Much of this book aims at highlighting the fact that The Defendant was not smart and attractive as media made out in the real case, he was actually quite dim and it was the lack of accountability in law enforcement that allowed him to continue murdering so many women.

I really appreciated that this was a true-crime style book that centered the victims and didn’t even name the perpetrator. It was a unique way to tell this story and one that I found powerful, although a bit slow for the first half.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romance
Read if you liked: One Night on the Island

This book is SCREAMING to be made into a romcom movie. For a living, Laura writes about how different couples met, and her boss is looking for a twist on their usual narratives. On a whim, Laura suggests telling the love story of her late-parents and soon finds herself on a whirlwind trip to the place where they met. When she arrives, she accidentally grabs the wrong suitcase at the airport, the contents of which point to it belonging to the man of her dreams. Laura teams up with grumpy taxi driver Ted, and they begin a twofold journey to relive her parent’s romance and to find the owner of the suitcase.

The premise of this book was so cute and it was executed exactly as you’d expect it to be; packed with warm, genuine small-town characters and self-discovery as Laura’s journey uncovers unexpected truths about her family. The romance was a slow burn, but I lovedd the build-up and Laura’s experience figuring out what she really valued in a partner. 

There were some romcom tropes that felt a little far-fetched to me and one love interest I found super annoying. I think this book did everything it was trying to do, it just wasn’t anything particularly novel or groundbreaking. Overall a sweet story, but not my favorite by Sophie Cousens.

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Buy Just Haven’t Met You Yet at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Romance

You, With a View by Jessica Joyce ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romance
Read if you liked: Mrs. Nash’s Ashes

After Noelle loses her grandmother, she discovers photos and letters hinting at an old flame her grandmother had and never told her about. Noelle and her grandmother shared all their secrets, or so she thought, and she takes to TikTok for answers about the lost love she never knew about. Noelle is ultimately successful in tracking down Paul, only to discover that he’s the grandfather of her devastatingly handsome high school rival, Theo. Together, the three of them set off to take the road trip Paul never got to take with Noelle’s grandmother.

First of all, posting the info about her grandma without asking her family first felt weird to me, although Noelle seems to have issues telling the truth to people she cares about, so I guess that tracks. That part aside, I loved the premise of this story, Noelle’s unlikely friendship with Paul, and the way he told his story over the course of their travels through the letters he got from Noelle’s grandma.

The actual trip itself was pretty boring. It had so much potential, but it kept focusing on Noelle feeling guilty for not being honest about her life, Theo being in awe of her photography skills, and her going through comments on her TikToks. There wasn’t a whole lot of substance, particularly enough to make the romance feel realistic.

The concept behind this book was incredible and there certain relationships that I really enjoyed. I also love a ‘finding yourself road trip.’ The overall execution though, was lacking for me.

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Book Review, Fiction, Magical Realism

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Romance/Magical Realism
Read if you liked: The Seven Year Slip

Ooh I loved this book. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: I’m a sucker for a story with a whisper of magical realism. In The Good Part, Lucy is tired of struggling through her days as a defeated-feeling twenty-six year old. When she stops into a little shop to hide from the rain and notices a whimsical wishing machine, she makes a wish to skip ahead to the good part of her life. When she wakes up, Lucy finds that her wish has been granted.

I was definitely stresseddd for Lucy at times as she tries to adjust to her new life in the future and scared that she would really screw things up. There were moments, particularly with her husband, that were heartbreaking as she tries to communicate her reality while also feeling utterly disconnected from the life around her. I was obsessed with the fact that her little son was trying so hard to help her find her time machine. Their relationship was so sweet and I loved its unconventional nature.

Lucy quickly realizes that skipping out on a huge chunk of her life is perhaps not exactly what she wanted for herself. As she grows closer to the new people in her life, she’s forced to decide if she wanted to go back in time and get to live out all those missed years even though there is no guarantee that her actions will lead her back to this exact future.

Spending time with Lucy and her friends and family was such a joy. I loved the support systems around her and seeing everyone’s attempts to help her. The dilemma she has to deal with was especially thought-provoking and made my heart hurt for her in the way only great writing can do.

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Buy The Good Part at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, thriller

One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Thriller

One of Us is Dead follows a group of women in uber-rich Buckhead. Jenny runs an exclusive salon, giving her direct access to the latest drama and gossip. With Shannon, the queen bee, going through a divorce sure to dethrone her, tensions are at an all-time high.

The book is set up with excerpts in the future when Jenny is being interviewed by the police about a murder. As the story unfolds in the past, we cut to these scenes, slowly understanding the underlying group dynamics more and more. This set-up kept me invested in the story and I was sooo curious about who had died and what caused it. It’s clear that Jenny is frustrated with the way the police are carrying out the investigation and I was intrigued as to how she played into everything.

I loved the addition of Jenny’s perspective overall. As an outsider, it helped to get a more objective view of the other women and was a great way to add a voyeur-esque feel. The other women I found mostly insufferable. Shannon was delusional to a point where it wasn’t even fun to read, she just made me roll my eyes. Olivia, poised to take Shannon’s spot in the group, was ruthless in a way that wasn’t likable, but was fun to read.

There’s not really all that much happening in this book in the sections set in the past besides kind of repetitive backstabbing, until the end. There’s a big shocking reveal that changes everything and I did not see it coming. It was wayyy more serious than the rest of the book which made it kind of hard for me to feel like it fit into the story…still processing how I felt about that, but I did like how it tied into the ultimate murder and the incentive behind that.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

Florence spent a lot of time during her childhood at a funeral home – the family business, especially notable since she has the ability to see ghosts. When she returns home unexpectedly for her father’s funeral, she finds that the ghost of her hot new editor, Benji, has come with her.

I really loved the romance in this book. Florence and Benji have palpable chemistry, particularly impressive since he’s a ghost for most of the book, and I was holding my breath to see what would happen with the two of them. There’s a mystery swirling around Benji’s life and death and why he seems to be following Florence, and the exploration of it unfolded very naturally.

The book also included a storyline about Florence’s work as a ghostwriter for a well-known romance author and her struggle to come up with her next book following a brutal breakup.

This was such a lovely mix of eccentric family, romance, career, and grief (and a little bit of paranormal obviously) and it made for a well-rounded story that was unique and hard to stop reading. I loved the conclusion and how wonderfully everything came together.

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