A quick little roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Early 2024. Beware of spoilers!
Title: Don’t Let Her Go
Author: Willow Rose
Series: Detective Billie Ann Wilde #1
Much thanks to Willow Rose, Bookouture Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was fine. A good mystery to pass the time, if not a terribly unique one. I feel kinda slimy saying child abduction and pedophilia is nothing new, but it’s not. Still makes me feel sick, though, so that’s good.
Rose seemed to throw the entire book of antagonists at the MC—cancer survivor, gay, marriage falling apart, rebellious teen children, history of rape, misogyny at work, accused of a crime, tense relationship with disapproving parents, issues with an ex-coworker. That’s aside from the murder and missing persons cases she’s working. And for the most part, Rose wove it all together pretty well—but it still felt like a lot, and dealing with all those sub-issues overshadowed the mystery. The cancer and rape history could have been cut at the very least.
Billie Ann was a decent protagonist, though she didn’t have much personality. Having 99 problems, see above, is not personality. I didn’t dislike her but I can’t say I wanted to be her friend; she felt like one of those people whom it would be stressful being friends with. She was sympathetic, though, and Rose cast a wide net for relatability with all those ants. Billie should be able to carry a series.
Overall, yes, a decent way to pass the time, but forgettable.
Title: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
Author: Heather Fawcett
Series: Emily Wilde #2
Much thanks to Heather Fawcett, Random House/Ballantine/Del Rey, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also thanks to whomever invited me to peruse the galley of this book—a marketing assistant of some kind I’m guessing, I’m sorry, I can’t find the email, but thank you, thank you, thank you!
LOOOOOOOVED it! I listened to book one to refresh my memory before beginning this one, and my appreciation for book one has only deepened with age.
Beware spoilers!!
I adored Emily, so strong yet so vulnerable, and I’m no longer on the fence about Wendell. Sure, I still give him a healthy dose of side-eye from time to time, but he was so, so endearing here that I was right there with Emily, falling in love with him. Or perhaps realizing we’d already fallen in love with him and just needed to acknowledge it. <3
Rose, too—okay, no, I didn’t fall in love with him, but by the end I thought he was a pretty good guy. I was nervous about Ariadne, she could have easily been very annoying, but she wasn’t. I liked her, too. If she’d had a crush on Wendell, I don’t think I could have stomached it, but thank goodness she was smart enough to be wary of him. And Poe was back! Oh, Poe, my little sweetie. I was so happy when I realized Emily was going to see him. I wish Snowball had been more like Poe and less…carnivorous…but I suppose they can’t all be Poes. An excellent, excellent cast.
Okay, well, de Grey was rather disappointing; after all we’d heard about her, she turned out to be an asshole and we only dealt with her for five minutes. I wish we could have heard what happened to them once they returned to London; did they bask in the shockwaves and fame or defer to Emily and Co. as the real heroes?
Everything Faerie continues to fascinate me, but I admit the realm of Faerie, like the actual place, continues to baffle me. In no way did I keep straight the difference among all the layers—the borderlands, the edges, kind of in Faerie but not really, how you can be in borderlands but not in Faerie, why doors are so hard to find—yeah, all that made my eyes cross. I just mentally shrugged and rolled with it.
I was genuinely unsure what Emily would decide regarding Wendell….but I’ll bet the next book will be fantastic as they navigate those unknown territories, literally and figuratively. Book three can’t come fast enough.
Title: The Fiction Writer
Author: Jillian Cantor
Series: n/a
Thank you to Jillian Cantor, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks also to Justine Sha for inviting me on the blog tour. I’m sorry unforeseen circumstances prevented me from participating as I had planned.
Aaaaaand perhaps that’s for the better, because DNF 45%. I cannot stand Olivia, and I want to punch Ash in the face. She’s letting this grade-A asshole billionaire yank her chain for no reason except he’s hot and she’s horny. Um, no. Have some dignity, woman. But he might give her a lot of money! Hey, I get it, I got bills, too, but either get it in writing or gtfo.
I was intrigued by the mystery but Olivia is so frustrating, the pace so plodding, that I don’t care enough to stick around and find out more. Angelica’s excerpts come across as whiny. I’m not sure what to think about Charley; she doesn’t strike me as a good agent.
Anywho. Things to do, better books to read.
Title: The Bad Ones
Author: Melissa Albert
Series: n/a
Much thanks to Melissa Albert, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Possible spoilers
This isn’t horror. Just because some people disappear and a Reeper-esque figure appears once in a while? A little blood is shed? *fart noise* The tone’s tense but not eyes-wide WTF tense. You won’t be leaving the lights on tonight. This is a suspenseful and slightly dark YA mystery with fantastical elements. Which is plenty of genre.
That aside, The Bad Ones was okay. After the intrigue of the prologue, it takes its damn time getting interesting again. Slow burn for sure. I’d have appreciated if Nora spent more time investigating and a little less time being traumatized. She was baffled, understandably, but a fire needed to be lit under her butt. She seemed to think she had all the time in the world to sleuth; the stakes could have been upped if she’d also been haunted by knowing the more time passed, the less likely it was Becca would be found. Or found alive. Either way.
Also on the slow burn point, Albert spent too much time on the goddess lore. The legend was great but felt redundant after it was regurgitated by several different people. Yes, we needed different angles to narrow scope, but the point was belabored. Weird things happen when you invoke the goddess. We get it.
It’s tempting to rain hellfire on the narrative for switching POV and time periods too much. I do think there was too much of it; I love me a linear chronology and timeline. But we also scream at authors to show not tell, so it’s damned-do, damned-don’t. With Becca missing in the present, it was valuable to flash back and build the relationship between her and Nora. I could have lived without flashing back to the 60s, though—changing to that perspective jarred me, and I had trouble keeping up. Did we need that in such detail, or could the teacher lady—I forget her name, too many to remember—have summed it up in a few sentences?
I loved James. On one hand I wanted to tell Nora she didn’t have time for a crush at the moment, but on the other—James. He was such a sweetie. Sympathetic and likeable despite being a poor little rich boy.
I’m glad it ended the way it did; I was afraid there would be death for the sake of horror. Leaving the book on a good note helped me feel satisfied with the story.
Overall, not exceptional but pretty solid. It won me over to Albert better than The Hazel Wood ever did.
Title: Once Upon a Murder
Author: Samantha Larsen
Series: Lady Librarian Mystery #2
Thank you to Samantha Larsen, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Possible spoilers
I’m disappointed. Tiffany—I still don’t feel that name suits her, always struck me as more of a Harriet—was still a good character and I liked her, but she was OBSESSED with loving Mr. Lathrop and wanting children of her own. She thought of little else, and I got sick of it. I loved little Beau and Nathaniel, and I love a good romance, but I came for a juicy murder mystery, and the mystery was a complete afterthought here.
Lathrop was hardly around, and when he was he just cooed love at Tiffany and apologized over and over. His early twist really threw me; seemed to come out of nowhere and not at all in character for him.
I loved Catherine but it was completely unbelievable how she threw money around. She just became the ex machina character. Need this thing to happen? Have Catherine write a check.
I was shocked at how quickly Tiffany assumed ownership of Nat. Like almost from the moment—Elsie? Ellie?—appeared reluctant. I realize the mother abandoned ship, and I realize Tiffany was in love with the baby’s legal father, and I realize it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Tiffany, but you don’t just start calling yourself the baby’s mother not twelve hours after he was born. If the mother had given verbal permission for Tiffany to do so, I’d have felt better about it (in writing would have been best, but I doubt the mother had the ability). It was a sticky situation for sure, but Tiffany was rather vultureish about it.
Also, I disliked Mary. Very much. What a little dumbass.
Overall, it was very lazily written, stuffed with fluff, and not at all worthy of its predecessor. RIP, this series’ potential.
Title: The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry
Author: Anna Rose Johnson
Series: n/a
Thank you to Anna Rose Johnson, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This children’s book was pretty good. Lucy was very sympathetic and I wanted so badly to just give her a hug. Her coping mechanism of switching to her alter egos was easy to follow, though I wish by the end she’d have stopped needing to use it so often; if she continues with them for long, we’re talking about a mental disorder.
The problem of having trouble fitting into a new group is entirely relatable, but I’m leery of the message that you won’t be accepted unless you make a huge superhuman gesture and save everyone’s lives—if you’re lucky and don’t die in the effort. That part isn’t so relatable, though it does make for a good climax.
The Native heritages of the characters were a welcome and interesting aspect, though it feels like more could have been done with it.
Overall, it was a good, heartwarming story I’d recommend to my nieces when they’re old enough for chapter books.
Title: In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation
Author: Alexandra Vasti
Series: Halifax Hellions #1
Thank you to Alexandra Vasti, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was okay. I didn’t realize it was a novella until I saw the runtime—and you can feel it while reading. Most of the development between the couple is off-screen history and having graphic sex. I liked both Henry and Margo, and they had chemistry, but I barely knew them. The narrative needed less sex and more character development—more story, period. Other things could have gone wrong during their adventure, they could have just missed Matilda once or twice more.
Overall, it’s a good “abridged” version of a story but really could have been fleshed out. I’d love to read more in the series (though I do tend to skip the graphic sex) but I’d expect less than a full story.
Title: The Artist’s Apprentice
Author: Clare Flynn
Series: Hearts of Glass #1
Thank you to Clare Flynn, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The summary for the book is misleading. Alice doesn’t leave her parents’ house until 45%. She doesn’t become Edmund’s assistant until 73%. Four or five YEARS pass between the broken engagement and their working together. Surprised? I was, too.
What actually happens is you spend almost the first half of the book watching the Cutlers and Daltons attempt to play marriage chess with their children, who at first capitulate before, psych, completely ruining the plan. First Gilbert and Alice are matched, but Alice finds him in a passionate embrace with her brother and cries off. Gilbert kills himself and her brother is sent to America. The ol’ rents try to match Alice with Edmund, but Edmund outmaneuvers them by marrying an art school classmate he’s been lusting after—and he quickly finds out he fucked up biiiiig time. Alice wants to wash her hands of all of it and runs away to live with her estranged aunt and join the suffrage efforts.
The next 30% is just watching Edmund flounder in the misery of his mistake and Alice live quite peacefully with her aunt. Then he gets a job making windows in the same town where she lives; he needs an assistant and she needs a job. Boom, reunited by fate. They fall in instalove and live in sin, happily ever after.
I thought they’d defy being matched by their parents then very quickly stumble into working with each other. It’d be an enemies to lovers deal where he’d grump at her and she’d put up with it because she could see the vulnerability underneath. Witty banter would morph into genuine affection and they’d end up doing what their parents wanted them to do to begin with. Hilarity ensues.
No no no. That is not this book.
This book is about a man making a hasty, selfish decision in his youth and spending his life paying for it. It’s about a woman sick of being a pawn, a possession, a bargaining chip, and taking control of her own life. And for shits and ironic giggles, they end up together. It’s not a romance like the clever summary would have you believe; it’s more like two women’s fiction storylines running parallel before intertwining in the end.
Alice was an okay character. Sympathetic and relatable in her limited choices, in her being subject to the patriarchy. She wasn’t particularly endearing, nor did she have much personality, but she wasn’t a bad character.
I didn’t like Edmund much but I also don’t have much against him. He’s not the first man to rush into marriage with the object of his lust. He’s also not the first artsy-fartsy kid who doesn’t want to go corporate like his parents want. I did respect his efforts to make his marriage better, despite a complete lack of encouragement from his wife.
Omg his wife….I know she’s a product of her time and class, but I despised her. So much. I wanted Edmund’s father to kill her and free Edmund, I sincerely thought that would happen, but apparently the ol’ guy drew a line at murder. I’m not sure how Dora came to be such an entitled brat, but she acted like she deserved a rich lady simply because she paid her dues growing up lower class, taking care of her dad and marrying some schmuck like women were supposed to. Entirely self-centered.
Overall, others make like this novel, but it was not for me. The romance isn’t there, the characters are only meh, the story meanders—takes forever to accomplish anything, and I’m seldom a fan of alternating POVs.
Title: The Highgate Cemetery Murder
Author: Irina Shapiro
Series: Tate and Bell Mystery #1
Much thanks to Irina Shapiro, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This has to be one of the best murder mysteries I’ve read recently. It’s just dark enough in tone, the plot just twisty enough to keep me guessing without seeming like it’s trying too hard to be clever with its red herrings. The pace is perfect,* fast enough to keep me engaged but slow enough to have character development.
I love the MCs, though I could have used a little more Gemma. An epilogue for her would have been nice. Sebastian’s a good man but flawed and in no way self-righteous; Gemma’s strong, respectable, and just modern enough to appeal to a feminist audience. The snooty holier-than-thous get knocked down a peg and the scumbags get served.
My only issue—and it’s not really even an issue—was that the narrator spoke so slowly. I had to turn the speed up to 1.5, when normally the 1.15 to 1.3 range suits me. I don’t know if the narrator actually spoke that slowly or if it was edited to be that way, but it was a bit baffling. *Considering that, I should toss in the caveat that if the listener’s listening to it at only 1.0 playback, the pace might seem slower. Aside from that, Imogen Church is a fantastic narrator.
Wait, I have another issue—Shapiro’s work isn’t available to libraries!!!! I used a credit to get The Hanging Tree on Audible last year and loved it, but she’s a prolific writer and I simply can’t afford to purchase all her books (because I would very much like to experience them all!). I can’t always afford Audible, either. So I hope the fact that this one is on NetGalley and listed in Overdrive’s catalogue means more of her work might be available to libraries in future.
Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely.
Title: Sisters of Fortune
Author: Anna Lee Huber
Series: n/a
Much thanks to Anna Lee Huber, Kensington, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Mm-mm, nope, not doing it. I knew this book was a bad idea as soon as it was announced. I knew I would not enjoy it. But it’s Anna Lee Huber… and I know what happens to the Titanic, so I’m prepared, right? I can’t be traumatized by what I’m expecting, right? It’ll be fine.
It is not fine. I’ve spent the last eight hours growing fond of this family, these characters. They’ve just hit the burg and I decide to stop there for the night; I don’t need the stress as I’m trying to go to sleep. But for shits and giggles I google the characters to see who’s going to die when I resume reading tomorrow.
These aren’t truly spoilers considering it’s googleable, but I’ll mark it as such anyway. The women survive, the men do not. My heart broke for the loss of the father and ship-loving brother, but that’s not all that surprising; they do prioritize saving first class women and children in the sinking. Next I look up Flora so I can read about her and Ches’s real-life happy-ever-after.
……Except irl Flora marries Crawford Gordon. Has his kids. Is buried next to him.
Loudest squealing mental brakes ever.
Frantically I search for Chester Kingey, famous tennis star circa early 1900s.
I can’t find him. He does not exist.
Huber created him to die.
Oh HELL no.
I am NOT doing Jack and Rose again. Nope. No sirree. You can’t make me. Do you know how much Jack’s death traumatized me as a child? I mean, the whole movie did, I refused to watch the second half for a long time, but his was so unnecessary! (He could have fit on that door!)
If I’d thought for a second that Huber would dare have one of the sisters meet a blond American charmer her parents disapproved of, fall in love with him despite having a fiance, promise to break off her engagement and marry charmer instead, and then (presumably) have him die and the sister go on loving his memory, I’d have never begun it. Because that sounds awfully familiar.
DNF 60%. That 60% was excellent, but I’m not willing to have my heart broken right now.
