I just finished Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina and here are my thoughts. Azul is a necromancer and she only wants one thing.. Her sister.. back from death so she needs her sister's bones. But the Lord of death isn’t going to give up that easily. Their paths keep crossing and the deadly game has fate hanging in the balance…. The magic in this book is in the world building. It was absolutely earth shatteringly good. The magic was absolutely enchanting and I loved how descriptive the book was. I got an ARC and an ALC so I switched between the two and honestly, the audiobook was so good I did most of the book this way thanks to the great narration. I don’t think the constant shifting of timelines worked for me. It was a tad messy and hard to follow and there were too many POV to get a tight story. I think less POV and not so much time shifting would have made the story flow better. Another reason why the audio was better was because it was much easier to follow along this way. The characters are a tad underdeveloped at this point and it was hard to care about anyone because we didn’t dig deep enough for my liking. I'm hoping because this is book 1 of a duology that the characters will grow in the next book. All in all the magic is in the world building. The writing was actually quite beautiful and I am going to grab the next installment when it is out. 3.75 stars. I needed more character building. More balance!! You can grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/3Hv3oC0<< Thank you @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted arc and alc

I just finished Too Old for this by Samantha Downing and here are my thoughts. Lottie Jones has a small life but it suits her. That is until Plum shows up on her doorstep.. Wanting to do a docuseries on the murders Lottie was accused of decades earlier… She doesn’t want this dreaded up but invites Plum in… Plum did see the face hit coming and now Lottie has come out of retirement to protect the life she has so carefully curated. OMG!! I go in blind all the time but I wasn’t expecting this book to open with a bang and just keep banging!! The magic is in Lottie herself. She is so much fun… I mean for a serial killer but her internal monologue was quick and clever and she was ruthless AF!!!! She managed to pull off those murders, have her reputation tarnish and she got away with it all and a payday! The pacing was superb! I need fast paced thrillers and this one kept a brilliantly clever pace that kept me glued to my kindle. The chapters were short (I prefer this) and packed a massive punch!! I couldn’t put it down. It was the most perfect cat and mouse game and Lottie really was 10 steps ahead at all times. She uses her age to seem dotty and old but she is sharp as a whip! I actually found it funny as well as disturbing and that is by no means an easy feat! I totally loved Lottie and I don’t know what kind of person that made me when I was rooting for a serial killer to get a HEA but here we are.. HAHA I was on the edge of my seat the whole time so this was the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given a book! All the bloody stars!! GENIUS WRITING!! I needed more from this author. Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/4n6Trtr<< #toooldforthis #samanthadowning #thriller #5starbook #bookinfluencer #bookishblog #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookish #booknerd #bookaddict #reading #readersofinstagram #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks #bookblogger #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookphotography #bookshelf #booktok #reader #booklove #bookaholic #bookrecommendation #bookclub #review

I just finished Open Bar by Dan Schorr and here are my thoughts. Serena Stanfield uncovers a long time abusive coach who has been preying on teenagers in the university’s summer softball program. Putting her job online she refused to let it go and joined forces with a junior associate for an investigation firm and a city councillor, they pursue different paths to obtain justice but they have the same goal. Yeah this one was different. It didn’t have the tone I have come to expect from a thriller.. It had a ton of POVs and it felt like the author spent more time on the cover up than anything outside of that and it was a tad bland. There were no twists, it was mostly little ahhh I see moments which really didn’t work for me in this genre. I think it needs to be reclassified because I can see thriller readers being upset with this. It was a compelling read, lots of parts had my mind just spinning and it mostly stood on the triggers to provide the settings. Again, it didn’t fit the thriller genre for me and I went in looking for that and was disappointed. The character development was there though and there was some gifted writing… Real shame! 3.5 stars Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/425spKP<< #danschorr #openbar #bookreview #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readersofig #litdulterous #tbr #bookinfluencer #netgalley #kindlereader #colorsoft

I just finished The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen and here are my musings. Georgia is in a psychiatric unit… Charged with killing her sister.. The biological daughter of her rich adoptive parents. Their sibling rivalry is well documented in their family and friend circles so no one is surprised.. The only person she will see is her biological twin sister.. The sister that has no idea she has a twin. Amanda goes to visit but she doesn’t expect to hear Georgia whisper that she is innocent. Georgia leads Amanda on a chase to find the truth… but is Georgia innocent or is she the master of manipulation? WOW WOW WOW! That was one heck of a trip!! I don’t even know what to unpack first!! OK Amanda. She knew she was adopted but she didn’t know there was a twin out there. I could imagine how curious she would have been. There was also something a little dark about Amanda. She didn’t have any problems stepping into Georgia’s world to ask questions and it felt like she was a well seasoned liar. Georgia did know about Amanda but it was only for a few months. They were different but the same.. It was a really nice contrast to see them together and what they were up to apart. I liked the plot. I thought it was clever and the ending was a big mindblowing conclusion! I didn’t work it out so that’s always a bonus for me with thrillers. The pace was a touch slow but there was a lot to find out and I think the pace matched the way we found information in the right way. I loved the audiobook narration. I already ordered a copy to have on my shelf. The writing is incredible and I was hooked from the very beginning. The storyline was like an onion, the more you peel back the harder it is to keep watching! It was intense!! The institution was absolutely terrifying so having the balance of the luxury life vs being on the ward… GAHHHH it was absolutely epic. It felt so real! 4.5 stars I loved spending the book feeling wrong footed the whole time!! You can order your copy right here >>https://amzn.to/4lYRPRK<< Thank you to @netgalley @macmillanaudio and @stmartinspress for my gifted ALC and ARC!!! #Thelockedward #sarahpekkanen #thriller #alc

I just finished Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham and here are my musings. When Claire’s sister Natalie disappeared.. They expected the worst. Days later her blood is found in a car and a man goes to jail for her death… even with her body. 22 years later Claire is an investigative journalist and when her dad calls about her mom… She runs home. When nothing has changed she flees her childhood home and ends up in a seasonal job on a farm…. She never intended to stay but finding a diary by the owner has her so intrigued, she starts to dig and the more she digs… The more she sees that her sister's disappearance and the diary might all be tied together. This book had layer upon layer of twists and it really hooked me from page one. I had the audio and the ebook and I went back and forth between formats. The audio was excellent but I really enjoyed hearing it in my own voice too. I loved Claire. The journalist in her was so nosy and she just couldn’t help herself. A normal person wouldn’t have read a diary they found by accident but that’s not what she did. So we get the story from Claire's perspective and then all the diary entries. It was absolutely loaded with suspense. It wasn’t intense but it was like a low constant thrum. It was awesome. I had the book done in a day. It was a slow burn but it worked so well. Excellent thriller book. 4 stars Thank you to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for my ebook and @macmillanaudio for my alc. Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/45Ewvfp<< #forgetmenot #stacywillingham #thriller #fictionaddiction #fictionreader #thrillerreader #thrillerrecs #booklover #bookalorian #lionessofliteracy

I just finished High Season by Katie Bishop and here are my thoughts. Twenty years ago something tragic happened… Tamara.. Just 17 years old, was found floating face down in the pool. The only witness, her 6 year old sister who testifies that her babysitter, Josie, held her sister’s head under water and was to blame. Trouble is… All these years later, Nina isn’t sure she saw what she saw and now a true crime documentary is going to dig deep into the incident, Nina is invigorated to find out what really happened that night but truth always comes at a cost. I always go in blind and the last time I did that was with a Katie Bishop book… The title and cover didn’t match the intensity of the story hidden inside so I went in knowing to expect the unexpected. This book was set over 2 timelines. The past, on the lead up to the drowning and the present day. I normally feel two timelines tend to get messy and sometimes they are defined enough for you to know you have switched but this worked really well. True crime is a hot topic right now and it was a clever twist to add the documentary into it. Lots of POVs didn’t distract from the excellent plot either. It was very atmospheric. You could feel the tension in this slow-burn mystery. I actually thought the less fast pace worked excellent in building the story to the right crescendo. There's one thing that the author always manages to do… She will serve you up characters who are a total and utter mess but so relatable. You can understand all the characters and find empathy with them all. I loved the setting of the book too! The writing is so eloquent for a thriller and the narration was done to perfection! I switched between my ALC and my hardcover I was sent and even did some immersion reading. It’s not the easiest thing to do but it was so worth it. 4.5 stars and out now Grab your copy here >> https://amzn.to/4mhpJSz << Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillanaudio for my ALC, ARC and hardcover! #highseason #bookreview #katiebishop #bookalorian #booklover #readerofig #igbooks #booktok #booktube

I just finished Dealing with Feeling by Marc Brackett and here are my thoughts. This book came at a welcome time. As a woman with 2 asd kids and an asd husband, emotional regulation is a hard thing to manage here. I found the book oddly enlightening. I don’t have (I don’t think) issues with emotional regulation but it was interesting to read it from the standpoint of understanding someone else. I really enjoyed reading about Marc Brackett’s struggles himself and I had no idea that he is the director for Emotional intelligence at the Yale center so clearly he knows a thing or two! It was a really interesting book. As an adult you don’t think about your emotional regulation, you assume you have it until someone else points it out. We aren’t born with it, it’s a learned thing and clearly, thanks to this book, it's not too late to fix it. (Thank FFFFFF) There’s tips and tricks to help you with your emotional regulation and it’s so well written. It’s relatable and you feel safe being vulnerable as you read. I definitely learned a lot and it will help me help the people I love to find success in their lives. Thank you to @celadonbooks for my gifted copy Out in September #dealingwithyourfeeling #celadonreads #celadonreader #partner #marcbrackett #nonfiction #selfhelp #emotionalregulation #bookalorian #nonfictionreview #bookreview #readersofinstagram #lionessofliteracy #litdulterous #bookishpodcast #booklover

I just finished Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell and here are my musings. Aubrey ignored the no trespassing signs to get into the Hotel Seabrink to get photos of the abandoned hotel. She never expected to bump into a youtuber called Dimitri looking to do a netflix show on abandoned buildings. After spending the night together, Aubrey wakes to find him gone… He fell off the cliff in the middle of the night. What was he doing walking up there in the dark and has it anything to do with the curse? OOHH this book gave me the CREEPS!!!! I love abandoned buildings so I already knew I was going to adore this book. So much to unpack! There were small storylines weaved over the top of the main one. Audrey wants to know what happened to Dimitri. It’s not easy to believe suicide when you just spent the night with the person. The more she learns, the more danger she is in! I loved finding out about the history of the hotel and the dark secrets that haunt the walls and the legend the townsfolk have of it. Well written and well paced, I was drawn right into the story. I finished it in one sitting and I felt the dark undertones under my skin the whole time. If you are looking for a dark thriller, this is the one!!!! 5 stars Grab your copy here >>> https://amzn.to/3HrEhj9 <<< Come check out my bookish podcast youtube.com/@litdulterous Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy #asylumhouse #bookreview #berkleypublishing #penguinreader #julietblackwell #thriller #thrillerreader #kindlebook #kindlereader #booksonthego #bookalorian #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #Bookreview #bookrecs

I just finished His First Wife by Sue Watson and here are my thoughts. Sophie wasn’t expected to find love in Sicily after the loss of her husband but she couldn’t help herself when kind, beautiful and funny Emilio, a professor at the university, showed an interest. Even when she finds out he is married she still doesn’t walk away… Even when his wife turns out to be missing… She still doesn’t heed the warning and when a shadowy figure begins to watch her… she doesn’t know what is real or what is just paranoia. I normally love Sue Watson books. She writes fast faced, twisty books but this one wasn’t fast paced and the first half of the book was boring. It was a real shame because I so wanted to love it all. 3 stars for the first part of the book and 9 for the last haha. I didn’t care much for Sophie. She was mildly annoying. In fact, everyone was annoying. The story was what held the whole thing together and the amazing narration. The ending was really solid and if you can get past the first half the magic is in the last half. 3.75 stars Grab your copy today >>> https://amzn.to/4frJMLo <<< Come check out my podcast youtube.com/@litdulterous Thank you @netgalley and @brillianceaudio for my gifted ALC #hisfirstwife #suewatson #thriller #thrillerreader #thrillerbook #netgalley #booklover #bookalorian #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #bookreviews #bookblog #readerblog