The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent. This was a Kindle Unlimited read that kept me turning pages and had an interesting premise, but overall, it felt too… happy and light for a thriller. Everything was going well until the “twist” - I guess it’s possible for a woman to have such a traumatic birth that she forgets about it, and forgets her baby was kidnapped? I was rolling my eyes reading it but if it happened to someone, I won’t invalidate them. It was just too convenient in this book though, and completely glossed over. You’d think that would open up even more trauma, but Nicollette totally rallied and it was only an issue for like… three pages? Also the two isolated teens that she took in totally adjusted and there was no struggle with integrating them into her house, etc. I just didn’t buy it once those storylines converged. I think there was potential to make it interesting and thrilling but this didn’t deliver.
The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams. I’m loving this series! Each mystery is so interesting and has great twists that I don’t think of but don’t seem hokey or manufactured.
Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver. This book was interesting and well-written. Each POV felt different to me, and I feel like I got to know the characters. The ending seemed pretty rushed though.
Graphic Rage by Aubrey Hirsch. I was so excited to read this book! It’s like doomscrolling but fact-based, and it’s a book instead of a screen! So while it did make me angry because of the subject matter of feminism and politics, I love the illustrations and how everything has a source.
Such a Good Family by Caitlin Weaver. After reading the author’s other book, I was expecting an interesting story and good writing. But a lot of these sentences seemed grammatically incorrect (in the ebook anyway, hopefully it was a transcription/formatting issue??) and the story was pretty bland. It was too similar to her other book so I kept getting the characters mixed up. As with the other book, the ending here was really rushed and glossed over.
Sandwich by Catherine Newman. This book made me laugh out loud in some places, so I appreciate that. But it felt like it meandered on way too long. I was sick of Rocky about ¾ of the way through. Everything was also a bit too cutesy, quippy, and easily resolved. Then the ending dropped one bomb that was just totally glossed over in a way I feel Rocky wouldn’t, so I finished the book feeling really unsettled and unsatisfied.
Also was NOT a fan of all the flashbacks because of how it seemed crucial to know when they came in Rocky’s life, but never quite added up for me since most happened during their week at the beach (with a few fall situations to flesh it out, I suppose). Some summers Jamie is 4 and Rocky is pregnant. But another summer Jamie is four and Willa is a baby. And then there’s a fall when Jamie is five and Willa is not yet two. I guess technically Willa being not quite two could mean she was also not yet a year? But later there’s yet another summer when Jamie was four and Willa was not quite one. I kept highlighting them, determined to put together the timeline, but it’s so convoluted. The thing is, just hinting at the time period would have been enough because Rocky later tells Willa when these things happened - and that’s crystal clear. But having random sections start with the specific timing totally pulled me out of the book and made me try to calculate it myself.
Here are some of the wordings:
When Jamie was three and I was very pregnant with Willa
“...Jamie when he was four. I was pregnant…”
“...a memory of Jamie at four, Willa a baby in the sling…”
The summer Jamie was four and Willa was not yet one
The summer Jamie was five and Willa was not yet two
The summer Jamie was six and Willa was not yet three
As I said, I guess some of them could be possible, depending on the birthdates, but it was just so specific that I felt like I NEEDED to pay attention to it, so I did, and it didn’t really add up, pulled me out of the story, and just seemed like too much. Call me nitpicky but it is what it is.
The Book of Candlelight by Ellery Adams. Absolutely love the new characters introduced here, but the mystery felt a bit disjointed. Still felt cozy, though, and made me eager to read the next to ensure some of the new additions stuck around.
Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams. This has been my least favorite installment in the series. The mystery wasn’t compelling to me and I felt like the women speaking out against “witchcraft” and banned books went silent way too easily compared to how things would have escalated in real life.
The Vanishing Type by Ellery Adams. I liked this a bit more than the last installment in the series but it still wasn’t my favorite. I do love McCabe and Bobbie being more active characters though.
Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams. I was glad to see some of Nora’s past coming after her in this book. After sharing the secret, then Bobbie coming into play, I thought something more would have to happen. This was a really good one, it felt a bit more dramatic and realistic than cozy, in a good way though. A series staying on the same level would get boring, so I appreciate how this mixed things up.
The Little Lost Library by Ellery Adams. This mystery was fun and made me wish I could see the little books Nora found! I also really liked the “A Rose for Emily” vibes with a twist.
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally. For being a suspense novel with a ticking bomb, this book was really slow to me. I didn’t care about either of the characters and thought the final twist, while not completely expected, didn’t really have much of an impact on the overall story for me.
The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander. I loved this one! The cute town pulled me in and the mystery festival had me hooked. I love the idea of solving her best friend’s death as a thread tying the books in the series together - definitely makes me want to read more.
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney. I read this whole series as a kid and was obsessed. Re-reading it was… not the same experience. I think part of it was that the ebook was formatted strangely, but the story jumped around a lot and focused way too much on random ideas (Denim and Lace anyone?) while glossing over really major emotional moments. I can see how it would be compelling for a younger reader (since it worked for me!) but the writing isn’t up to par compared to how it was in my memory.
Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell. Read for the Cozy Mystery Book Club. It took me a bit to get into this book because the character seemed a little flat at first, but by the last third of the book, I was hooked! Definitely interested in reading more.
Boom Town by Nic Stone. I love that Stone is writing for adults, and this is so well done. A lot of YA authors try for adult books but it’s just YA with a 27-year-old protagonist who acts 17… (Looking at you Holly Jackson, sorry). But Stone’s characters feel adult and the story was really compelling. Unfortunately, I feel like it’s a lot of build-up (excellent suspense) just to totally gloss over the critical action and the emotional beat that should have ended the book. I think even 10 extra pages - 5 for the climax and 5 for the emotional ending - would have completely elevated this book.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. I wanted to read this one based on the title alone, and went in blind otherwise. I like some historical fiction, and this era is one of my sweet spots. The characters made me think of my grandmother so I could really get into the story (and get outraged by a lot of the constraints that are becoming all too real once more).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. I read this book a lot as a kid and still have my (aging, brittle) copy. My kid is reading it for school and while I remember the end, I wanted to revisit it. It always made me cry and this time was no exception. It’s still oh-so-good.
