Category: Reviews

Posted in Reviews

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Merriweather Post by Allison Pataki

Posted on by Debbie

*****5 stars

This historical fiction account of Marjorie Merriweather Post’s life is both an absorbing and fascinating read. I gave it an extra star because I attended Long Island University on the C.W. Post campus and am familiar with Hillwood Commons and the Hutton House lectures, all of which I now know the stories behind.

This book was an eye opener about Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal magnet’s daughter, who married four times, built several homes across the country with her fortune, lived through two wars, traveled to Russia during Stalin’s reign, was friends with many famous people, and generously gave of her money and time by volunteering for different causes.

The story was told well, although I found it meandered in certain parts, but that might have been because I prefer other faster-moving genres such as mysteries. In any case, the author did a wonderful job bringing Ms. Post to life and the time in which she lived. If you’re a historical fiction fan or one who enjoys reading biographies, you’ll like this book. It’s also recommended for Post students and graduates who might want to learn more behind the woman who once lived at their school.

Posted in Reviews

Review of Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

Posted on by Debbie

*Note: This book was an advanced reader’s copy from Net Galley. It will be published on August 8, 2023, and is available for pre-order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Corners-Novel-Megan-Goldin/dp/1250280680/

****4-stars

This is the second book I’ve read by this author. I loved Stay Awake but found that, although this one was a very good thriller, it wasn’t as great as that book. I guessed all the twists very early, but I enjoyed the descriptions of podcasters and social media influencers.

The story follows Rachel Krall, the popular podcaster of “Guilty or Not Guilty” a podcast that has helped wrongly accused criminals. The FB summons Rachel to Florida to meet with Terence Bailey, an inmate who has requested to see her. Bailey is due to be released shortly but was suspected of serial killings of young women which there wasn’t enough proof to convict him. They sentenced him after a minor crime in the hope that they could find evidence to tie him into the murders. However, after they admitted him, the serial killings continued, which led the FBI to believe that Bailey was working with an accomplice.

The FBI agent working the case informs Rachel that the last person to visit Bailey in prison was Maddison Logan, a social media influencer. During that visit, Bailey asked Maddison to bring him Rachel Krall. Rachel has no idea why, but the FBI needs to know because Maddison disappeared after seeing Bailey and a body is found near her trailer that is thought to be hers.

Chapters alternate between Rachel’s story and that of a strange rideshare driver with a condition that causes him to give off an unpleasant odor. Is this man somehow connected with Terence Bailey?

Against Agent Martinez’ advice to head home when more bodies turn up and Bailey leaves Rachel a threatening message before his release, Rachel does her own investigation into Maddison’s disappearance that leads her into attending a conference of social media influencers. I found this part humorous, as it showed how obsessed some people can be with social media.

There are several twists that follow along with a budding romantic relationship for Rachel, but I felt these were all obvious. I liked the book and recommend it but felt it didn’t live up to Stay Awake. If you haven’t read that, start with this one. .

 

Posted in Reviews

Review of Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Posted on by Debbie

*****5 stars

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. It was excellent, and I’m embarrassed to admit that it’s the first book I’ve read by this popular author. I read it for a library book club and wasn’t sure how I would feel about it. I found the story picked up for me toward the middle. From that point on, I couldn’t put it down.

The story centers around two sisters, Meredith and Nina, and their relationship to their parents. The sisters have very different personalities. Meredith helps her father run the family business, an orchard, along with her husband, Jeff. Their grown children are in college. Nina is a photojournalist who travels to war-torn countries and has won awards for her photography. In her late thirties, she still hasn’t settled down but has an Irish boyfriend.

The women share a great love of their father but have not had a close relationship with their mother, Anya, who they know little about except that she’s Russian. The closest they’ve been to her is when she’s told them a fairytale about a peasant girl and a prince. But when Meredith staged a play about the fairytale, Anya reacts angrily and refuses to continue the tale. When their father dies, he asks them both to take care of Anya and requests that Nina ask her mother to tell the whole fairytale. Nina has no idea why but wants to satisfy his dying wish.

The story then alternates between the present and Anya’s recitation of the fairytale. Without giving spoilers, the sisters discover that there’s more to the fairytale than they believed. Once told, it changes their view of their mother and their relationship with her, with their loved ones, and with each other.

I loved the way the “fairytale” was told, the depiction of Russia during Stalin’s reign and World War II, and the way the author captured the beauty and vastness of current-day Alaska in the final part of the book. I recommend this highly for historical fiction fans and those who enjoy relationship stories. Don’t forget to bring a tissue with you as you read because you’ll shed tears of both sadness and joy. This will be a book you won’t quickly forget and one that is great for discussion.

 

 

Posted in Reviews

Review of The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Posted on by Debbie

*Note: This book was an advanced reader’s copy from Net Galley. It will be published on February 21, 2023, and is available for pre-order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Retreat-Novel-Julia-Bartz-ebook/dp/B0B3Y84THW/

****4 stars

This book disappointed me, although some readers may enjoy it. I read it because I like fictional stories about authors. It started out with an interesting theme. A famous horror writer sponsors a writing retreat for young female authors at her secluded home. After reading samples of their writing, she chooses six women under thirty. Alex, a fan of Rosa Vallo since reading one of her bestselling books as a teen, ends up taking the place of one of the retreat members even though she’s thirty-years-old and is suffering from writer’s block. Alex is unaware that another retreat member is her previous best friend, Wren. After they broke up, Wren was accidentally injured at a party that Alex attended. Alex has blamed herself for Wren’s injury since. When they’re reunited at Rosa’s mansion, they initially regard one another with animosity. That changes when incidents occur that cause both women to realize the pettiness or their hostility toward one another.

A central theme to the book involves the history of Rosa’s home and how the previous occupants, a woman named Daphne and her husband Horace, were found brutally murdered in the 1800’s.. Daphne had been involved in spiritualism that her husband didn’t condone and was rumored to have conjured up an evil spirit. Alex uses these characters and background for the work-in-progress Rosa requests of the retreat members who must each submit a certain word count each day to participate in a contest where the winner will be published by Rosa’s publisher.

Without giving away the twists, this book contains elements of the supernatural, lesbianism, and how far an author will go to become famously published. Not recommended, but everyone, but some will find it a unique read.

Posted in Reviews

Review of Cowboys and Chaos, Magical Mystery Book Club #3 by Elizabeth Pantley

Posted on by Debbie

*****5-stars

This is another delightful addition to Elizabeth Pantley’s Magical Mystery Book Club cozy mystery series that features a group of book club members who go into cozy mystery books to solve mysteries. In this story, Paige and her aunt Glo, along with the members of their book club including Frank, the talking cat, end up in an old western town where they’re reunited with GeeGee, the owner of the bookstore that was bequeathed to Paige and Glo upon her death, but GeeGee didn’t die. She simply retired into a 3-book series set in the Old West.

The murder that the book club members must solve this time is that of Mollie, the saloon girl who, not realizing she’s died, is a ghost that only they can see. Plot twists abound in this imaginative and fun tale. If you haven’t read the first two, I’d highly recommend it, although you won’t have trouble following this third installment on its own.

You can pick up your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Chaos-Magical-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B0BB1HS7XL/

Posted in Reviews

Review of It Ends at Midnight by Harriet Tyce

Posted on by Debbie


*Note: This book was an advanced reader’s copy from Net Galley. It will be published on February 21, 2023, and is available for pre-order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Ends-at-Midnight-Harriet-Tyce/dp/1728263840/

*****5 stars

This was a hard book to put down.. I loved the way the author didn’t reveal the victims until the end of the story and how she featured triple twists to wrap up things. I didn’t guess who-done-it or who the victims were, which is a rarity for me.

This book starts on New Year’s Eve in Scotland (hogmanay as it’s called there). Two people, a man and a woman, are found impaled on fence stakes outside a house at which a party has taken place. Readers are priivvy to the dying thoughts of the victims throughout the book as it alternates from that time backwards.

Sylvie, a lawyer, is the main character. When she learns her best friend, Tess, has an inoperable brain tumor, she agrees to inform Tess’ husband and also help Tess locate a childhood friend whom Tess wants to make amends with for something they both did to her back in their school days.

As the plot moves forward to New Year’s Eve when Tess plans to renew her vows with her husband at a house where Sylvie’s boyfriend, a caterer, will be arranging the food, Sylvie has flashbacks to the event she’s tried to erase from her mind for twenty years.

The title of the book is appropriate, as the final scenes of the story take place as New Year’s Eve turns into New Year’s Day. My only criticism of the book is that the characters aren’t too likable, but the ending more than makes up for that. I recommend this to fans of Gone Girl and other dark fiction tales.

Posted in Reviews

Review of The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Posted on by Debbie

*Note: This book was an advanced reader’s copy from Net Galley. It will be published on May 30, 2023, and is available for pre-order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Game-Novel-Meg-Shaffer-ebook/dp/B0BHD79NZ9/

*****5-stars

The reclusive and very rich children’s book author, Jack Masterson, is writing again after a long dry spell. On his private island, Clock Island, named for his book series, he’s devised a contest for four adults who once ran away from home to visit him. The prize is the only copy of his new book, valued at six figures. One of these people, Lucy, a teacher’s assistant, desperately wants to win the contest, so she can afford to foster a young boy and eventually adopt him.

When Lucy arrives on the island and meets the other contestants, she also meets Masterson’s book illustrator with whom she becomes attracted. The contest involves several difficult puzzles. Lucy starts out ahead by solving the first but then falls behind. The only way she can win is to solve the last puzzle.

What I liked about this book was the backstory about the author and illustrator as well as that of Lucy and her young friend. The writing was enchanting with touches of fantasy and whimsy that reflected the best quality of children’s books in an adult novel. I recommend this read to those who enjoy a sweet story and a happy but not necessarily obvious ending.

Posted in Cozy Mystery, Paranormal, Reviews

Review of the Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges

Posted on by Debbie

*Note: This book was an advanced reader’s copy from Net Galley. It will be published on January 24, 2023, and is available for order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Minuscule-Mansion-Myra-Malone/dp/0593546474

****4 stars

If you’ve ever had a dollhouse or been enchanted by miniatures as I have, you would enjoy this book about Myra Malone who inherits a dollhouse she calls a mansion after her grandmother dies in a car crash in which Myra is severely injured and deformed. Myra becomes a recluse, but a friend helps her find meaning to her life by sharing her hobby of miniatures on social media where she gains worldwide fans including a man across the country whose house has an eerie similarity to the rooms of her “mansion.”

I found this story charming, and I liked the paranormal element. However, I felt some of the loose ends weren’t tied up as well as I’d hoped. If you’re a fan of miniatures and sweet love stories with a supernatural theme, you’ll enjoy this book.

Posted in Reviews

Review for Verity by Colleen Hoover

Posted on by Debbie

*****5 stars

Working as a librarian at a public library, I’ve been having more and more requests for books by this author, so I wanted to see what all the hype was about. After reading Verity, I’m not at all surprised at Colleen Hoover’s popularity.

I enjoy reading a variety of genres. Verity is dark fiction at its best. It reminded me of Gone Girl, although it’s a totally different story. Told in first person by Lowen Ashleigh, an undiscovered writer who has a chance meeting with Jeremy Crawford, the husband of bestselling author, Verity Crawford. The chance meeting turns into an offer between Lowen’s agent and Jeremy who is seeking someone to write the last three books of his wife’s series while she is recovering from a car accident.

Verity accepts the generous offer despite the fact that she’s not sure she’s up to the job. When she arrives at the Crawfords’ home, she’s surprised at the extent of Verity’s injuries and discovers an unpublished manuscript of her autobiography that contains some disturbing facts about her relationship with her husband and the death of her twin daughters.

Lowen becomes involved romantically with Jeremy and continues reading his wife’s autobiography while she attempts to finish writing Verity’s series narrated by the villian.

I had a hard time putting this book down. It was well written and featured a wonderful twist. If you enjoy dark fiction, psychological mysteries, and books about authors, you will love this novel. It definitely lives up to the hype.

 

Posted in Horror, Reviews

Review for Malice House by Megan Shepherd

Posted on by Debbie

*Note: This book was an advanced reader’s copy from Net Galley. It will be published on October 4, 2022, and is available for order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Malice-House-Megan-Shepherd-ebook/dp/B09VHD298B/

****4 stars

Malice House by Megan Shepherd

If you’re looking for a new Halloween read, look no further. The premise of this book is a curse on a family that allows them to bring alive monsters from their writing and artwork.

Haven Marbury, a children’s book illustrator, is the daughter of bestselling author Amory Marbury. When he dies, she goes to his secluded home in the small town of Lundie Bay to clear it out.

While going through her father’s papers, Haven finds an unpublished manuscript that was written while her father suffered from dementia. Unlike his award-winning style, the manuscript appears to be a horror novel featuring an assortment of monsters. Haven adds her own drawings of the monsters to the manuscript, hoping to sell it. She shares the unpublished book and her artwork with the members of the Ink Drinkers, a literary club of which her father was a member and who work in a nearby bookstore. The club members reject her drawings, but one of them, a young woman named Kylie, befriends her..

As strange murders occur in town, including that of her father’s housekeeper, an officer suspects Haven may be involved, as the killings are like those in one of her father’s books. Haven grows close to her father’s neighbor, Rafe, an heir to a peanut butter fortune until she discovers some grisly items that he’s hiding.

This book is a perfect October/Halloween read. The monsters are well depicted, and there are quite a few twists to satisfy a reader. I would recommend, however, not to read it at night with the light off.