NetGalley ARC | Twenty-Seven Minutes

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐

Ugh.

Phoebe Dean was killed in a car accident ten years ago. In those ten years, the small town where she grew up has been trying to understand why her brother, Grant, waited twenty-seven minutes before calling for help after the accident. Had he not waited so long, Phoebe might have been saved.

Phoebe's memorial is just days away and everyone is on edge. Gossip abounds as all the regrets, grief, and delusion collide. The four who really know what happened that night are pulled deeper into the storm because someone knows the truth and is ready to spill the details.

Unfortunately, I can't give a spoiler warning, because I don't know what happened. I made it 54% and could no longer suffer through the nonsense of this ridiculously boring book. I would not typically rate and review a book I did not finish, but given that I made it over halfway with this, I am going to.

In that entire 54%, nothing happened. There was all this talk about secrets, but the characters were all so uninteresting and caricature-ish that I truly did not care what those secrets were. I don't mind multiple points of view - if they're done well. The problem here is that all four lacked distinct voices.

From what we see of Phoebe, she was an absolute fucking psycho about her brother. Becca is also mentally ill, but in a different way. I didn't care why Wyatt is sick. I didn't care that June is doing whatever she is doing. Grant has given up on life.

By 54%, nothing had happened. All the talk of 'secrets' was basically summed up as, "We will never know what happened", despite the fact that Grant knew. No real plot, and no clues to even guide the reader. It felt like we were just supposed to wait until the end for the reveal, and enjoy the absolute nothingness along the way. Lack of strong characters could have at least kept me going but no, we don't even get that.

In the Goodreads summary this is billed as "Perfect for fans of Jane Harper" and that is an insanely massive insult to Harper. Her books are brilliant, masterfully told stories that keep me hooked from the start. Nothing of that kind even came close to happening in this book.

Not recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Hot Girl Murder Club

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

Well, that was...underwhelming. I wanted to love it, because I am all in favor of terrible things happening to terrible men - especially when we know victims won't get justice because our judicial system is set up to protect mediocre white men. And I have really liked a couple of the other Winstead books I've read, so this is likely a one-off.

Scout Sage has been in the industry for a while, finding moderate success as a singer and actress. Her life was completely altered ten years ago with her sister Georgia's mysterious death at a Hollywood party full of predators. She's done her best to keep her sister's memory alive, surrounding herself with a group of like-minded women.

But then a slew of murders occur in rapid succession, the targets all connected, and evidence points to Scout as the culprit. Scout must do whatever it takes to prove she's not guilty, so she can truly get justice for Georgia, before it's too late.

This book was messy, and not in a good way. There was so much happening, alternating timelines, and what felt like a billion POVs. The characters were pretty distinct for the most part, and multiple POVs don't bother me, but there was almost too much going on, to the point that nothing was done particularly well in the grand scheme of things. It made it hard to connect with any of the characters, with there being so many.

It's also kind of hard to tell at times whether the author is trying to say these women went too far with their revenge, or not far enough. Things spiral big time in the end and everything kind of explodes, literally and figuratively, and I was left feeling very blah about all of it.

Still, I love women supporting women. Seeing the bonds the women have created was very powerful, even though the bonds formed because of trauma and violence committed against them. And I also love seeing survivors make awful men pay for their crimes. Hence, two stars.

NetGalley ARC | Man of My Dreams

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐1/2

While not my most favorite of Worley's novels, it was still a fun, chaotic ride. 

Ivy Harcourt is a romance author who has just published her highly successful debut novel. She's been less lucky in love though, until she meets Liam. He's gorgeous, British, charming, and an architect - the exact same character she has started devloping for her second novel. Ivy has no idea how this has happened, but she is sure he is absolutely the man of her dreams.

As it turns out, Liam has some secrets. But so does Ivy.

I was heavily invested in the first half, trying to figure out who Liam was. But as more layers were revealed, the book went in a direction I was not expecting as more and more backstory was revealed. It wasn't terrible, it just was not what the synopsis hinted at. This isn't necessarily 'bad', but it felt like I was reading two different books about halfway through.

Things really start to spiral and we get some murder, friends behaving strangely, possible stalkers, the whole works. I truly thought the major twists were going to involve Liam, because that's what was promised. Yes, Ivy has secrets as well, but the reveal of how she came to meet this seemingly perfect guy, as though she conjured him herself, was not the Big Reveal. There was still so much left in the book, and Liam had nothing to do with the dual timelines.

Once we got more of Ivy's backstory from her teen years I started to put together where this was really going. Her parents and sister had been killed in a house fire that she barely escaped from. She'd been shipped across the country to LA to live with an estranged aunt, as her elderly grandparents in Florida were not a viable option.

There were a couple directions the author could have gone with for who was who and I was right with some of my predictions, wrong with others, but it was still a satisfying read in that aspect. But again, it was also very disjointing when it felt like I was reading two different books.

The pace is almost frenetic for the last portion and Ivy was right, not everyone gets a happily ever after. This was a quick, fun read even if it went in a completely different direction than anyone could even guess, just based on the synopsis we were given. Although technically it isn't a bait and switch, because Ivy DEFINITELY has secrets. They just were not secrets we had an indication were beneath the layers of the leading-man-turned-real mystery.

Recommended if you're looking for something quick and chaotic that doesn't require you to think too much because you are definitely just along for the ride.

Book Review | If I Disappear

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

To help you understand the protagonist right off the bat, she is as obsessed with Rachel/Rachel's True Crime podcast as I am with Dan Jones and Buffy. Her name is Sera, so do with that what you will.

Sera loves true crime podcasts and when Rachel, her favorite host, goes missing, Sera decides it is time to do something. She's been more or less adrift the last few years, and Rachel's disappearance suddenly gives her purpose. These podcasts have given her some hope, showing her that she can do something productive in a world where women like her disappear daily and no one bothers to look too hard for them.

Sera takes the clues she's uncovered from Rachel's podcast episodes and this leads her to Rachel's family's ranch outside Rachel's hometown. Sera secures a job as a ranch hand, something that she has no experiences in being, but she knows she has to do whatever it takes to find out what happened to Rachel. She is so focused on making Rachel proud, doing an investigation of her own, that she doesn't at first notice how off the isolated ranch feels. And finally Sera discovers that Rachel is not the first woman to go missing at the ranch. Yet her family, people from town, other employees? They don't seem terribly concerned. Sera has to figure out what's going, before anyone else disappears.

So, I LOVED this one. Loved it. Absolutely crazy to me that this was a DEBUT, when it was so masterfully told. The character development was top-notch and getting to know all of these people made me feel like I was in the story with Sera - who, by the way, totally unreliable and those are MY FAVORITES!

Sera doubts herself so much at times, that it's hard to see if this really is all a ruse on her part or not. She's extremely reliably unreliable and it really helped build the tension and suspense. Not to mention one never was quite sure which direction her investigation would go next as she started putting things together.

The atmosphere at the ranch is suffocating at times. And with so many suspicious characters to choose from, there really was no getting away from the mystery for even a moment. The reader does not get much of a chance to regroup with revelation on revelation and I could not put the book down because I was as invested as Sera.

This book first came out when the craze to include podcasts as a device was taking off and I think besides Sadie by Courtney Summers (this book WRECKED me. Sadie is etched so deeply in my bones, I STILL think about this book constantly), this is the best I've read that does so. Some choose to use podcasts because they don't know how else to deliver needed information, but that's not the case here. The podcast is Sera's guide and she refers back to episodes as she looks for Rachel, picking apart the clues she believes she's found.

The book is fast-paced, propelling the reader forward to its stunning conclusion and the story wraps up in a satisfying, if unexpected way.

Highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | West Heart Kill

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

Rich people who are awful to each other, a storm, and murder? Sounds like something I would LOVE, right? RIGHT!

Instead, I finally finished this slog of a book and only felt annoyed.

The book/author thought they were enitrely more clever than they actually were. It's absurd how many style and literary elements were used because in the end it was just a giant mess and nothing fit quite right. But the only reason I am giving it two stars instead of one is because at least it tried to be something unique.

So, we are at the West Heart Country Club where our main characters, Adam McAnnis is joining an old college friend and his family for some summer weekend festivities at the exclusive club. Everyone just kind of tolerates each other at best, but then the first body is discovered and it's obvious that someone is done tolerating. By the time the weekend is over, two more will die and as a private detective, Adam is going to figure out the mystery that has dropped into his lap so suddenly.

The major issue here is the story-telling styles themselves. Because there are multiple, and the book becomes so disjointed as the reader is thrown from one style to another that you never really get comfotable enough to actually start enjoying the story, getting to know the characters, attempt to figure out who is involved, etc.  The author spends so much time trying to be so clever, that it ends up a big clunky mess. Jumping from 1st to 2nd to 3rd person narration also did not help.

I don't mind the 4th wall being broken, with the narrator speaking directly to the reader. It's an interesting concept. What I DO mind, however, is the assumption of what I, as a mystery reader, am thinking, expecting, etc. It was kind of pompous, explaining HOW mysteries work.

And for all that work, reading through one device after another, constantly getting tossed around, you'd think we coould get a resolution, right?

WRONG.

So, you can see why I was annoyed.

Some readers will enjoy this. I did not.

NetGalley ARC | The Blackhouse

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for and honest review.

Rating | ⭐

This was a pretty solid four stars for me for the majority of the book. Even with the weird reincarnation angle. It was atmospheric and at times suffocating, but in the right way because the setting was as much a character as anyone in the story. I had ideas where the ending might lead, but wasn't especially committed to any one scenario.

But then came the final reveal. Yuck.

Everyone is lying about everything.

The guy who died is eincarnated into the woman who is then in love with...the guy's son. Like, I love yous and forevers and everything.

Are we all just ignoring that? The major yuck factor? For real?

But it's fine because at the end of the story the main character decides she's none of the things that have been proclaimed throughout the entire story.

What a waste.

Definitely NOT recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Anniversary

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐

The Anniversary focuses on Quinn and Jules, not friends but friendly, high school students. One night both of their lives change forever. Quinn is arrested for nearly killing someone and Jules survives an attack by a serial rapist/killer known as the May Day Killer who only strikes, as you might guess, on May 1st.

We follow their lives from that night in 1992 and see Quinn released from juvenile detention, while Jules is struggling with the trauma of her attack and the question of why she was spared when so many others were not. There's the additional trauma for Quinn of his mother's unsolved murder, which he is determined to solve.

The story meanders on for the next decade and we meet them again on each May 1st. Quinn and Jules are repeatedly brought together through various circumstances, until answers are finally revealed and killers are unmasked.

Okay, so I really loved the first two books I read by this author. The Night Shift was a very solid four stars for me and If Something Happens to Me was an easy five-star read.

This though? I kind of feel like two stars is generous. Instead of reading his new work (Parents Weekend was an atrocious one-star. I HATED it), maybe I should go back and read previous books becuase his new stuff is just not working for me.

With Parents Weekend, the whole plot and reasoning for anything was just absurd. Way too many characters, super convoluted, a complete mess. This one though, the characters simply were not compelling. I wasn't really drawn to Quinn or Jules, though I found Quinn's search for his mom's killer a much more engaging mystery than the May Day Killer.

I think one reason it was so hard to connect to either character was because we never really get to know them. Since the story is told through a series of May firsts, we miss out on the rest of the year. We get a kind of info-dump of what they were up to, but we only see them in relation to their individual traumas and struggles connected to May 1st - even when other major life events are occurring on any other day. We are only told about them afterward if they don't occur on a May 1st. This results in characters not being particularly fleshed out. And it's really hard to care about characters that you have no investment in.

I don't feel like this novel compares at all to the previous two I mentioned that I absolutely loved. I would definitely recommend either of those and pass on this one.

NetGalley ARC | Tell Them You Lied

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

Anna and Willow met at art school in 1996. They became friends quickly; Willow was her muse and Anna was sure that this would be a life-long friendship. Everyone was obsessed with Willow, so effortlessly cool and mysterious - and moody.

Fast forward to 2001 and Anna is tired. The realities of the art world weigh heavily on her and in the five years since they first met, Willow has shown time and again who she has always been. She is her own muse and cares little for others - even her supposed best friend.

So, one perfect day in September - with a sky so beautiful and blue that people will argue over it's color even decades later - Anna and her boyfriend plan to stage a little drama to send Willow back to her best friend. A fake mugging is the obvious way to do this, no?

If you hadn't guessed by the sky description, the day of their planned mugging turns out to be one of the worst days in the history of the United States. It is against the backdrop of 9/11 that the plan unfolds - or does it? Willow never returns home and Anna begins to panic. Hours, then days, crawl by and still no word from Willow. Is Anna the mastermind she thought she was by taking control back, or has Willow retained that power all along?

I liked the alternating timelines. We see the friendship develop during their art school days, and their 'current' lives in 2001 NYC.

I love a good toxic friendship story. The enigmatic girl who controls everyone around her, while being arrogant and manipulative and self-serving, can't exactly be blamed for the fact that people trip over themselves to be her friend. It's clear from the start that Willow is exactly this type of person, so it's hard to feel sorry for people who refuse to see her for who she is.

But everyone else is toxic in their own ways; they're self-centered and arrogant as well, though they all show it in different ways. They can't see that they cause as much damage as Willow.

Some reviews I saw said that 9/11 didn't need to be involved because it had nothing to do with the story, but...it's a pretty big part in terms of how it triggers Anna's panic. She has this elaborate plan to fake this mugging of Willow, basically to shake some sense into her I guess, and then once everything starts happening in Manhatten Anna is worried that something worse has happened to Willow as a result. I get how our minds can play tricks on us and always think of the worst possible scenario, and we shouldn't do that. But in this case, a really terrible unexpected scenario came true that day and Anna's fears seem justified. 9/11 occurring is the catalyst to make Anna freak out.

This one definitely kept me guessing because I had no idea what Willow was going to do. We know Anna's motivations because we are in her head. Willow is the big unknown here - though given her past behavior, we can ake educated guesses.

That being said, Anna drove me absolutely bonkers at times. It's like sometimes she had no concept of reality when she was so focused on Willow, when the world was falling apart around her. She continued to stay in Willow's orbit even after it was clear Willow was not nice to her, or even really a friend. Hence why I wasn't so worried about her disappearing. It was just another mean wake to wreck Anna and keep her around. But that didn't stop me from wanting to know what was really going on.

I didn't guess the ending entirely, though I got some things right. There were some decent twists that tripped me up, so that's always a bonus. I think the two timelines worked well and I would read this author again.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Lost House

I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Forty years ago a young mother and her infant daughter were found buried in the snow in the small village of Bifrost, Iceland. The mother's throat was slashed and the baby had drowned. The case remains unsolved, though after the husband took their son and left for California, that seems to be enough proof for the villagers that he'd murdered his wife and daughter, but escaped justice for lack of evidence.

Fast forward to the present, Agnes is determined to clear her gradfather's name. He passed away a year prior, and Agnes needs a distraction from her own life as she recovers from a serious leg injury and the recent break-up with her girlfriend, while dealing with an addiction to painkillers because of said injury. Agnes accepts an invitation from Nora Carver, a true crime expert, to be interviewed for her podcast on the topic. Agnes heads off to Iceland to figure out what happened to part of her family all those years ago.

Upon Agnes's arrival, she learns that a local girl has been reported missing. She had last been seen at a party at Agnes's old family home where her grandparents, father, and aunt once lived. The home has a new owner who kept the home much the same as it had been forty years earlier. Now the outsiders, Agnes and Nora, have two investigations on their hands, as it couldn't possibly be a coincidence, could it? Nora's focus is drawn to the current case and Agnes must get to the bottom of her family story, no matter what revelations come to light. Either her grandfather was a murderer, or not. One way or another, she will find out what people are willing to do to protect themselves, their families, and their secrets.

The landscape of Iceland is practically a character in itself and I enjoyed that immensely. Iceland in the winter is not for the faint of heart and seeing Agnes struggle with this as she tries to understand what happened to her family was an important part of this well-written mystery. The author sets the scene brilliantly, and you really feel like you are there with Agnes every step of the way.

The build-up of suspense was incredible, as Agnes tracks down every last person she can who knew her grandparents. The clues unfold slowly and we hear most of the stories from friends and neighbors, but not in a way that felt like an info-dump. We also know going in that obviously someone is not telling the whole truth, and Agnes must figure out whose recollection is purposely not accurate. We get to know the characters really well in this way and the author did a wonderful job keeping voices distinct. Through Agnes the reader can determine viable suspects, though nothing felt obvious or out of place, like it was thrown in to make the answer clear. It was hard to know who to trust as more and more was revealed.

I really loved this book quite a lot. The author masterfully told a compelling story that kept me reading; I had to know the answer. Agnes has to overcome so much to find the truth, given her own difficulties with the injury and addiction on top of thinking about what it could possibly mean for her if her much-loved grandfather turns out to be the murderer.

Highly recommended

NetGalley ARC | Something in the Walls

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

Ugh. Yet another gorgeous cover that tricked me. But to be fair, the synopsis got me, too. This is my second book by this author and will likely be my last, as both were only two-star reads for me.

The main character, Mina, has just finished her schooling to become a child psychologist. She's having trouble gaining experience in her field, so she is a bit unmoored as she thinks almost exclusively about her upcoming wedding to Oscar, and the death of her brother many years ago.

Mina attends a grief-share type group to cope with her brother's death and there she meets a journalist named Sam. He shares with Mina the story of Alice, a thirteen year old who claims a witch is haunting her. Alice travels to the remote village where Alice and her family live, hoping to make a difference and help the family. Mina needs the money and the experience; Sam will get the story; Alice will be cured; everyone will be happy.

Instead, Alice's behavior becomes increasingly worse and intense. It doesn't help that the residents of the small village still believe deeply in superstition and witchcraft. They know how to deal with this evil themselves and don't expect Mina to understand what must be done.

Sounds GREAT, right??

I was super into this one, but then we move on from Alice being a witch and never getting any conclusion about that. The twist wasn't even a twist, it was so obvious once the story started to meander away from the set-up towards a completely different story. I still would've liked the book if there had been a real resolution, and just completely ignored the first half of the book.

Once I started this one, I was hooked. I could not put it down, but the complete pivot away from eveything else was jarring and disappointing. It wasn't even ambiguous, which can be phenomenal when done well. There was just...nothing.

I like to think I am intelligent, so I'm not sure if I missed something, but...what was in the walls? How did I miss this piece of information that seems super important, given the title of the book? Yet when I started looking at other reviews, I found I was not the only one confused by this whole book, after loving the beginning.

It's not just that we don't know the answer to that, but the whole thing about Alice being haunted by a witch, or being a witch? That just gets completely dropped. We hear nothing more about it with the reveal of a child molester within the village. It would be easy to point to that and say that's the source of Alice's behavior.

But it's not, and that makes everything all the more confusing than it already is.

Not recommended.

NetGalley ARC | You Are Fatally Invited

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

Tricked by a cover again! I know, it is my own fault, judging and all, but COME ON. The cover is gorgeous.

J.R. Alastor (pseudonym), a renowned author, hires Mila to host a writing retreat. Alastor will be hosting it at his private manor tucked peacefully away on an island off the coast of Maine. Mila is excited for the opportuity - for many reasons. She's a former aspiring writer herself, and she desperately needs to get revenge on one of the attendees.

The guest list is small, just six well-known authors who have all mastered their craft and are writers of thrillers and mysteries. They know the tropes inside and out, can toss out red herrings, create misdirection and mayhem, and are above all else, deceitful.

Alastor and Mila have planned a whole week's worth of events and the plan is to use the cover of the retreat to take her revenge. But before she can, a different guest ends up dead and Mila realizes things are not what she thought, and Alastor may not be who she believed.

Then the storm comes along and they are cut off from the mainland. More die and Mila has to figure out what the game really is before she is next.

Well, this was a big fat disappointment for me. It had all the things I love: small group of unlikeable characters, no contact with the outside world, and murder.

It was hard to even decide how to rate this one. The plot itself I really enjoyed, because this type of thriller is my favorite. Do not, however, for one moment compare it to And Then There Were None. I see that as a alllllll the time and nothing ever even comes a tiny bit close. It's one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time. 

But there were too many POVs and some of the voices were not distrinct enough to carry their own chapters; I had to keep going back to the beginning to see who I was reading. Other characters were basically caricatures of pretentious and self-absorbed authors who had no idea they were about to finally being held accountable for some past behavior because they's JUST SUCH TALENTED WRITERS. As the game progressed wildly off-course, the chapters with various sins as titles were added and those were even worse.

Even so, I was enjoying the mystery itself - until the reveal. It fell flat and was so disappointing because it was something I considered early on after the first two deaths, but then dismissed because I felt like it was too obvious to actually be the thing that this all led up to. What an unsatisfying ending for such great build-up. I am always willing to suspend some belief for a fantastic reveal, but this was too much for me.

So again, I am torn. The plot itself was great and I loved the build-up. But the uncompelling characters and suspension of belief needed for the reveal are the reason for two stars.

I guess I would recommend with caution. Don't say I didn't warn you about the bad bits though.

NetGalley ARC | A Killer Wedding

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐1/2

This was a lot of fun and I was highly engaged throughout. The reveals weren't shocking, but they were interesting. The final reveal wasn't something that could easily be guessed because of all the moving parts, but it was entirely possible in most respects, though some things stretched the bounds of believability. Easily a solid four-star read.

EXCEPT!

The history lover in me absolutely hated the incorrect information about Brian Boru and Ballymoon Castle. First of all, Ballymoon Castle is ruins now. Beautiful, yes, but still ruins and obviously not renovated into a high-end hotel-like structure that caters to the extremely and obnoxiously rich. Secondly, it was most decidedly NOT the home base of one of Ireland's greatest medieval kings, Brian Boru. Boru was born around 941 and died in 1014. Based on architecture of the time, Ballymoon wasn't built until 1290-1310. Thirdly, even if the timelines matched up, Boru was killed in battle - though he did not directly participate due to his age and health. This means his third wife, Gormflaith, did NOT conspire with his enemies to kill him, then attempt to use the tunnels of the castle to flee. I also can't remember exactly for sure, but the author may have placed the castle in the wrong county. Ballymoon is in County Carlow and I feel like the author said County Clare. I can't remember for sure, so don't quote me on this. It could be mis-remembering, since the county names are so similar.

Seriously, this kind of stuff annoys me. All of this was easily searchable within seconds for anyone not familiar with this part of Ireland's history. I even looked Boru up just to make sure I was not imagining things when it was discussed in the beginning when and how he supposedly died.

Okay, now for the book itself, because it was a very fun and complicated little mystery.

Christine Russo has scored the gig of a lifetime - to cover the wedding of Gloria Beaufort's favorite grandson, Graham Ripton. Beaufort is a beauty icon, found of the massively successful beauty empire Glo. Russo has just been promoted to senior editor of Bespoke Weddings, a sub-publication of Bespoke, a high-end fashion magazine. She's off to Ireland on an all-expenses paid trip that will make her career.

Except the morning following a disastrous family dinner, Gloria is found dead in her suite. The family decides they have to keep her death a secret and control the flow of information - meaning Christine is basically threatened into silence - until the ceremony is over and everyone can get back home. A lot of bad press and impending lawsuits are about to mess with the wealthy world of the Ripton family, and the press that would come with the murder of their matriarch is the last thing they need.

The suspect list is endless and Christine does her best to navigate the situation, as someone starts leaving her clues to direct her that all is not what it seems. There's her son Trey, a complete embarassment who has no idea how to run a company and is driving Glo into the ground, and his wife Clementine who is losing her marbles as the chaos erupts. Their son Ben is walking time bomb and raging alcoholic with a temper to match, and his wife Carlyle is definitely pissed about several goings-on related to both her business and personal life. Father Kenneth has been involved with the family for decades and knows them all very well. Elliott, the constantly-frazzled wedding planner, was arguing with Gloria the night before she died. There's even Jane, Graham's bride-to-be, to whom there is more than meets the eye. Graham, Trey and Clem's second son and the groom, seems to be the only one without any skeletons.

Initially the book is mainly told from Christine's point of view. As the threads begin to tie together, we get POVs from the other characters as flashbacks, giving us the information we needed, when we needed it, to figure out who was involved with what. I felt like this was a great way to deliver those aspects, instead of random info-dumps that would have felt out of place and contrived. We find out why they should or should not be considered a suspect without slowing down the action in the present day.

Some of the characters are quite unlikeable, which I always love. Gloria herself is kind of awful, in only the way an uber-rich, judgy old lady can be. Christine had a fairly strong voice, even as she realized she was way out of her element and could easily end up the next victim.

Overall, I really liked this one. It's clever and funny, and when everything comes together, things mostly make sense. I had ideas of who was involved and some ideas for how, but did not guess the biggest reveal. I'm not sure anyone would. Even so, it was a good way to spend a few hours and I would read the author's next book.

If only the history would have been accurate.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Party of Liars

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I freaking loved this one!

Sophie's dad Ethan has spared no expense for her sweet sixteen birthday party. It will be a night that no one will ever forget - not least of all because of the body that falls from the balconey to the dance floor just as Sophie is about to blow out the candles on her cake.

Do not be fooled by the cover or the fact that this takes place at a teen's birthday party, it is not YA - which I thought it was at first. This is not a knock on YA, I love the genre, but this book turned out to be so much deeper than I thought it would be, with a cast of characters who are flawed, intriguing, enigmatic, and so much more.

Over a decade ago Ethan and his first wife, Kim, purchased the dilapitated Victorian mansion deep in the Hill Country of Texas. With over one hundred years of history, it's no surprise that there are rumors of the house being haunted, and most locals have avoided the place for as long as they've lived there.

Fast forward to Sophie's birthday, which is hosted in the gorgeously renovated mansion by Ethan and her step-mother, Dani. Sophie's mom Kim is also attending the party. Then there is the ever-present nanny, Orlaith, hired to care for Ethan and Dani's new baby, Charlotte. Sophie's best friend Mikayla, her ex-boyfriend Mason, and a variety of other characters fill out the cast. All will have varying degrees of importance at different times in the story, as it is split into three parts.

The 'Before the Party' introduces us to our four narrators: Dani, Orlaith, Kim, and Mikayla. We get to know each of these women very well as we observe events through their eyes and are privy to their thoughts and secrets.

Dani is Sophie's step-mom and recently gave birth to Charlotte. She feels like she's failing at everything and sees a psychiatrist - who happens to be her husband's best friend. No conflict of interest AT ALL there. Dani is convinced someone is stalking her and wants Charlotte for themselves. Rumors of the house being haunted by 'the mother' do not help at all as odd things keep happening in their home. It's incredibly easy to have so much empathy for a woman who is clearly drowning but trying her best to not let it show. She's put her dream of opening a bakery on hold and settles for social media to showcase her talent for now.

Kim is Sophie's mom, Ethan's ex-wife. She's got a bit of a drinking problem and a habit of holding onto grudges forever - as she should, perhaps. She's definitely angry at Ethan, this was once her home after all, too. But she's going to try her best (maybe) to hold it all together for Sophie's big night - if she can control her rage and her alcohol intake. At times it is harder to have empathy for Kim, you want to shake her and just tell her to stop drinking for ONE NIGHT. But she deserves that empathy as much as Dani.

Mikayla is Sophie's best friend, though perhaps she's not been quite as good of a friend as Sophie thought. There's a side to her that none of her friends have seen before and it's possible her secrets will come out at the party. 

Last but certainly not least is my favorite, Orlaith. She's the Irish nanny who perceives danger around every corner. Rumors about the house have circulated for decades, and there has to be a reason. She knows something is not right in the home and will protect Charlotte, and anyone else who needs her, at all costs.

Sometimes an author runs the risk of characters sounding alike with multiple narrators, but that was not the case here at all. Each lead was her own fully fleshed out person. It's been a while since I've read a multi-POV book and have not had to go back and see who is narrating at least once or twice. But here, each female has such a unique voice and situation, though they're so closely entwined, that there is no trouble telling them apart.

The majority of the action takes place in part two. We see events unfold in real time and as we move from character to character, slowly each layer of the mystery is peeled back as the pieces quickly or slowly move into place.

The third part takes place after the party, where we get other points of view from more minor characters, which adds to some of the confusion for those who don't know what's really happened. There was so much I did not see coming.

I feel like the pacing was fantastic, especially for a book where most of the story takes place in a span of a few hours. Things were constantly happening and bummer for you if you weren't paying attention. The tension is constantly building, because between Dani and Orlaith, there is clearly something not right about the house. Whether it's a paranormal cause, or another human toying with them, it's impossible to tell.

It was so hard to tell who to trust, which is what made it so difficult to determine who the killer was. Each narrator was complex and had things they were hiding, so it felt like with each chapter I was constantly changing my mind about who was capable of murder. At that same time, all of the woman had motive, and would have been well within their right to do something drastic.

I can happily say I was wrong a lot. I'd keep changing my mind, sure that I had it figured out THIS TIME, and then boom! New information.

This was a fantastically written novel, don't let the sparkly cover fool you. It's not a cheap thriller that you'll forget about when it's over. You get to know the characters so well, and there are several themes that weave their way throughout the story - focuses on mental health, the dark side of motherhood we don't talk about enough, the deep feelings of regret and rage. 

You won't necessarily like all the characters, but you'll definitely feel empathy and respect.

Highly, highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Parents Weekend

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐

I freaking LOVED If Something Happens to Me and The Night Shift. Five and four star reads, easy.

I wasn't totally sold on the premise, to be honest. But given my enjoyment of the previous two novels I read, I went for it anyway.

Should have listened to my gut.

Five families are in town to celebrate the end of the first year of college for their children at a small private school in northern California.

The first event of the evening starts with dinner and cocktails for the families, but five students all from the same dorm never show up. My first issue came right away with this - everyone just kidn of shrugs it off as, "Oh, they're just being kids, went off to party, blah blah,"

...like, what?

Your family travels all this way to see you and celebrate with you, and you have a track record that would make it make sense to them that you just didn't show? Okay...

Anyway, the hours fly by and none of the missing students have contacted their parents. Everyone panics, the campus police call in help, they get search parties going and reporters pop up quick.

Armchair sleuths are quick to compile theories and share them widely. Do their disappearances have to do with their parents, or something the students have done themselves?

I could not have cared less.

Not one single character had a unique voice. I didn't care what happened to any of them, because we didn't get to know the kids. They were just kind of there, but not, since they'd been kidnapped and were absent for much of the book.

The single biggest problem with this book, that then causes all the other problems, is because there were too many characters. You've got five kidnapped kids, which equals five sets of parents, though some were divorced or single parents. Way too many points of view.

TOO MANY CHARACTERS. TOO MANY TOO MANY TOO MANY.

With that many people milling around, you don't get to know any of them. I don't typically demand to know characters of thrillers and mysteries inside-out, but I would like to know enough about them to at least care somewhat about their survival, when warrented.

Given the fact that we don't get to know the kids very well, it's was extremely hard for me to remember which kid belong to which parent(s). And honestly, it didn't really make a difference because the story could have easily taken place with fewer kids/parents and still been the same. Excet maybe then I would have been more invested because I would have actually been able to keep straight who was with who.

The pacing was fast, but not the way it was probably intended. Instead of creating the tension and making readers feel like it was a race against time to save these kids, it was more like the faster we go, the fewer plot holes able to be pondered because you're already on to the next event.

So there's chaos because the kids are missing, chaos because there's too many characters, chaos because nothing is making any kind of sense.

I also found the reference to the brutal murders of the four Idaho students gross and unnecessary. And Calling the missing kids 'The Five' was weird, like trying to link them to the 'Idaho Four'.

Absolutely not recommended.

NetGalley ARC | So Happy Together

I receved a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

So delightfully unhinged and bonkers, I could not put it down.

Jane is trying to make it as a playwrite in New York City and also find the love of her life. Dating apps are not helpful, until she meets Colin. She is at once smitten, completely head over heels. Thus, you can imagine her confusion and hurt when the love of her life breaks off the relationship after six dates.

Determined to win him back, Jane is sure she can accomplish this with time. Until she finds out he is already dating someone new.

Enter Zoe, Jane's competition. Zoe is everything - kind and welcoming, beautiful, a talented artist. Jane knows Zoe will never love Colin the way she does though, so of course, chaos ensues.

It seems like there is a very fine line between love and obsession, so watching Jane creep around on the edges of Colin's life, only to suddenly be thrust dead-center in the middle of it was such a trip. Especially because Zoe is the one who draws Jane deeper and deeper into their lives.

Jane and Zoe become close as Jane plays the part of a college friend of Colin's, which he goes along with as well, though he is clearly uncomfortable with the developing friendship between the two. Colin begins to pull away from Zoe as the book goes on, which only confuses Jane further.

Zoe was confusing to me too, but only because I could not figure out what her end-game was. She was just as much of a trip as Jane, in a wildly different way because I just could not figure her out.

Learning more about Jane's past was the sobering aspect of the book, which kind of made her actions in the present make more sense, and why she was so susceptible to Zoe's charm.

The book is fast-paced and delusional and chaotic and messy. It's not life-changing but it is so much fun.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Bachelorette Party

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed The Lost Village, so I am game to read more of this author's work. Unfortunately for me, this one did work quite as well for me, but it was still a decent read.

Every year four friends get together on a remote island off the coast of Sweden. No one knows where they disappear to each year, only that they are off somewhere together. They've been best friends since they were children, and once a year they come back together to be drink and dance and enjoy each other's company before returning to their adult lives full of expectations and responsibilities.

One year, they do not return. It's presumed to be an accident, though their bodies are never found.

Ten years later, Tessa Nilsson is obsessed by the story. That obsession became a popular true crime podcast and this is the one case that Tessa longs to solve. Few clues were ever found to indicate what truly happened, and authorities could only guess. A presumed boating accident involving alcohol was their best idea, though Tessa does not believe that's accurate.

Unfortunately for Tessa, due to a major misstep ending in tragedy, her podcast and reputation are in shambles and gone is her chance to find out what really happened.

UNTIL.

Because of course there is always an UNTIL.

Tessa's best friend Anneliese is to be married soon and her bachelorette party is set to take place at a yoga retreat on a remote island off the coast of Sweden. When Tessa realizes it is the same island - owned now by one of the victim's sisters - she knows this might be her last chance to find out what really happened.

The problem is, Tessa wants the truth, but someone else on the island wants revenge.

With only two others on the island in addition to the handful in the party, there is a small suspect pool to draw from. I worked out pretty quickly who, but given the back and forth between the time lines, I wasn't quite sure why, and what exactly they were intent on getting revenge for.

Dual timelines can be difficult to write but I think it is a strength for the author. Even when I was not totally sure at first how they connected, the clues are there and they come together well. The pacing was also well-done in both timelines. Neither lagged at any point, so I was invested in both.

I was also intrigued by Tessa's own personal mystery, and what could have possibly happened to absolutely make her life explode. That was engaging enough in itself, without overshadowing the events that Tessa needed in order to start rebuilding her life again.

My main issue with the book is that the timelines themselves kept tripping me up. It seems like the dates are a bit off, things don't necessarily seem to line up in the way they are described, so it kept throwing me. I can't tell if it was intentionally off, which could be possible but then other parts don't work. I am honestly not really sure how to describe it without bringing up spoilers, which I will happily do with books I hate, but I didn't hate this one and still want to recommend it.

As a result, this one did not quite grab me the way The Lost Village did, but I still recommend it. It's not groundbreaking in the genre, but readers will still enjoy the mystery. I still ntend to read other work by this author.

Recommended.

But please also read The Lost Village.