The Drowning Kind has made me SO happy that I didn't buy a house with a pond. Or, a lake. Hell, even a pool. Because I am legit now a little creeped out by all bodies of water and what may be lurking beneath the surface.
I've long been a Jennifer McMahon fan, ever since I read The Winter People. McMahon's written numerous novels since then, all of them perfectly entertaining, mysterious, and even a little scary...
But I know what you're...
The quickest way to dissolve a marriage is with secrets and lies. Both abound in Recipe for a Perfect Wife.
This bold, thought-provoking, and heartfelt novel by Karma Brown captured me right from the start with its recipes, its gardening advice, and its setting in the New York suburbs – all the things an in-her-late-30s woman like myself enjoys. Much of Recipe for a Perfect Wife reminded me of a mix of Friends and Strangers and Julie and...
The Lost Village is an excellent example of why I really, really dislike organized religion. Of course, I fully understand and acknowledge that not every religion turns into a cult. But the framework is there, and The Lost Village makes you realize just how easily the tide can turn with the right (or wrong) person to lead it. Despite that, I love a good cult story and an atmospheric creepy thriller, and this debut novel by Camilla Sten delivers...
It took me a few chapters to get drawn into Surviving Savannah, but once I did, I couldn’t put this book down. Settle in, Tartlets, because this book review is going to be a little longer than usual. This bittersweet, fascinating historical fiction novel left me with two things: 1) a hardened resolve to never, ever, ever take a cruise 2) a need to know more about the real story behind the Pulaski steamship disaster Author Patti Callahan...
It took me a long time to read Where the Crawdads Sing. Please don't make the same mistake I did. There has been So. Much. Hype. around this 2018 novel by Delia Owens. It was picked up by both Oprah's Book Club and Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club. And, the movie adaptation releases next week. Clearly, Where the Crawdads Sing is a BIG DEAL. So, why'd it take me so long to read it? **shrug** I'm suspicious about mega-hyped books....
I suppose that when Emma Donoghue wrote The Pull of the Stars in 2018, the premise of a story set during the 1918 influenza pandemic was pretty darn unique. Not to mention a great way to celebrate the world being free of a crippling epidemic for 100+ years. Enter 2020, the year that The Pull of the Stars was published -- a.k.a, the year COVID-19 overtook the world. Ummm, yeah. Scratch that statement about being epidemic-free. As someone obsessed...
The Bone Houses has one of the best first lines I've ever read: "The evening air smelled pleasantly of a fresh grave." I mean, come on. HOW CAN YOU NOT GET SUCKED IN BY THAT? Talk about imagery. Take notes, fellow writers. This is just one example of author Emily Lloyd-Jones's beautiful writing in this young adult historical fiction/ fantasy / horror novel mash-up. Lloyd-Jones has mastered the art of being evocative enough to immerse you in the...
The Invisble Life of Addie La Rue was another different type of read for me: fantasy. This creative story by V.E. Schwab is rich and complex; it’s detailed and emotional; it’s sweet and exciting. There are SO many things going on in this behemoth of a novel that it’s hard to pinpoint what to talk about. Let’s start at the beginning, which I actually didn’t love. The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue is slow to start. There’s a lot of...
Homegoing is one of those novels that I’ve borrowed from the library various times, only to return it, time and time again, unread. It’s been recommended to me by several people, but it wasn’t until my blogger friend Literary Dates posted about this powerful book that I actually cracked it open and began reading. This novel by Yaa Gyasi is everything people promised it would be. It's gripping, it's emotional. It's raw, it's honest. It's...
I'm not sure how I stumbled across The Girl Who Died; I think author Ragnar Jonasson blurbed another scary book that I'd read and loved. I thought, if I loved that book, I'd probably love books by this author, too. The Girl Who Died, despite its off-putting title, was a really enjoyable read. It's brimming with tension and atmopshere, suspense and mystery. Main character Una spontaneously accepts a teaching job in the ultra-remote Icelandic...
