GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.

Tiberius has received a cryptic message-along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners-that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.

As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening’s events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for.

A GOOD FAREWELL.

At least that’s the vibe I got from this one and I was happy with how things wrapped up. After struggling through books six and seven I felt like this really returned to some of my favorite aspects that I’ve enjoyed over the past 8 books.

I liked this mystery and that we got to see a lot of Stoker’s brother, Tiberius. I love the banter between the group and how intriguing this mystery was. The one set location was great and I had a good time listening to the story unfold.

The romance getting some more spotlight was nice too. I needed to see some good development and it was a good turn back to the original vibes I loved between Veronica and Stoker.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Mystery + Romance
Language: very little
Romance: closed door
Violence: moderate
Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, poisoning, near death experiences

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Book Review

Book Review: Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

May 14, 2024January 23, 2024 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Naina Kumar
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: January 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this utterly charming debut romance, a teacher with big dreams joins forces with a no-nonsense engineer to survive an ex’s wedding and escape matchmaking pressure from their Indian families. Their plan? Faking an engagement, of course.

Meghna Raman’s parents wanted her to be an engineer, but instead she’s followed her passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. But when she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is suddenly engaged—and not to her—she realizes he’s about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he’s asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she’s agreed. Determined to try and move on and relieve a bit of the pressure she feels, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she’ll even find the engineer her family wishes she became. . . .

Grumpy, handsome engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents’ marriage to know that it isn’t for him. He only agreed to his mother’s matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can’t offer her a real marriage, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth’s wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for the next year.

But as they find common ground, grow protective of one another’s hearts, and learn to fall for the flaws they thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry takes shape. Soon, Meghna and Karthik’s expectations and insecurities threaten to risk something that’s become a lot more real than they hoped.

Say You’ll Be Mine is a delightful trip back to the heyday of swoony romantic comedies from the nineties, but with a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.

WHAT A GEM.

I took a random chance on this one and it was a HIT y’all. I really adored this whole story. Fake dating/engagement has kind of burnt me out lately, and I can happily say this broke that streak for me. I loved the way this was approached and handled.

If I was being a bit nitpicky the FMC, Meghna frustrated me a bit with the red flags here ex boyfriend/current best friend was clearly exhibiting from the get-go. Gratefully, the way it was delt with helped me kind of roll with it all and just let it be.

The romance was the sweetest and best kind of slow burn!! I loved that this wasn’t high unnecessary heat. There was great relationship development and some absolute heart squeezing moments that made me want to hug Karthik myself. I loved this entire progression of the story. I loved the families and friends and how there was just enough side plot without being a distraction from the main couple. Oh, and it’s dual POV! Also recommend the audio. Loved that format.

A fantastic debut, I am a fan and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: low
Romance: 1-2 open; low explicit
Trigger/Content Warnings: a Dad accused of workplace harassment, cheating (side characters)

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Book Review

Book Review: The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time #8) by Robert Jordan

May 13, 2024April 20, 2023 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 685 pages
Author: Robert Jordan
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 20th, 1998
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Seanchan invasion force is in possession of Ebou Dar. Nynaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha head for Caemlyn and Elayne’s rightful throne, but on the way they discover an enemy much worse than the Seanchan.

In Illian, Rand vows to throw the Seanchan back as he did once before. But signs of madness are appearing among the Asha’man.

In Ghealdan, Perrin faces the intrigues of Whitecloaks, Seanchan invaders, the scattered Shaido Aiel, and the Prophet himself. Perrin’s beloved wife, Faile, may pay with her life, and Perrin himself may have to destroy his soul to save her.

Meanwhile the rebel Aes Sedai under their young Amyrlin, Egwene al’Vere, face an army that intends to keep them away from the White Tower. But Egwene is determined to unseat the usurper Elaida and reunite the Aes Sedai. She does not yet understand the price that others—and she herself—will pay.

BARELY SURVIVED.

I don’t really have a lot to say for this one, so it’ll be short and not that sweet.

I’ve heard that these middle books are a slog and that’s how I feel each time. How many more do I have to go?! This felt really rambling and not all that memorable. I spent a lot of time wondering where Rand was and what he was up too. I wish there was a better balance of character points of view. The random ones + the regular main characters + everything else just gets overly complicated FAST.

Character development was low, not much happened and I am ready to move on to the next book. Thank goodness for audiobooks I can speed up.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: a little
Romance: Closed door
Violence: high

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Book Review

ARC Book Review: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

May 12, 2024April 18, 2024 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: May 14th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the free audiobook.

CHAOTIC GOOD.

I binged this in a morning while chaotically packing for a trip and I think the balance of the chaoticness of this book really hit a mood I didn’t know I was in. This book is filled with drama, a FMC who absolutely does not have it together and a handsome man who needs her help. I didn’t even know this was a MOC book until I started it and I loved the set-up.

There were a few writing quirks that stood out, like how she kept referring to his 🍆 as “g*ddamn” that I just couldn’t understand the necessity. And this and that that stood out enough for this not to be a full five star.

I actually didn’t mind the drama because this book leans into it hard and I felt like that was the point. I wanted the drama, the escapism of this beachy kind of read and the enjoyment of a good romance. I liked how Anna and Liam figured things out and even though there was a benefits moment, you could tell they had insane chemistry together and the caring groundwork was already in place.

This is another tally in the win column for a CL book.

Overall audience notes: