I’ll be the first to admit that Buried Seeds: A Yolanda Ávila Mystery isn’t a typical read for me. It covers WWII-adjacent topics. It’s part of a mystery series (which I’m very selective about reading). And, it navigates a lot of current social and political issues that I tend to shy away from.
But when author Verónica Gutiérrez reached out to me about her book, I was really intrigued by her novel’s premise. (And the fact that she...
The Last Lady B is trying to be "Jane Austen meets The White Lotus." Julia Quinn of Bridgerton fame blurbed the book, and it promised a witty historical romance with a Gothic twist.
Brace yourself, Tartlets: these are all rather lofty comparisons.
This book isn’t nearly as exciting as The White Lotus. And, it’s not nearly as “I burn for you” as season one of Bridgerton.
And, nothing about The Last Lady B is similar to Jane Austen except...
Calling all Elder Millennials! Remember the early days of reality TV -- and the crash-and-burn lovefest that was Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's Newlyweds?
In case you've forgotten, Honeymoon Stage is here to remind you of the highs, the lows, and all the craziness we just loved to hate.
What’s Honeymoon Stage about? Cassidy Baum is about to get married on the set of a reality TV show. Even though she doesn’t really like reality TV....
I waited a long time to read The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. At least, it feels like I did.
This historical fiction novel published in December 2023, and I started seeing its beautiful book cover appear on Instagram not long after. Everyone who recommended it to me told me it was a great “winter read.”
I love me a good seasonal read, so even though my library had the book in stock somewhere around June 2024, I held off. I wanted to read...
I had really high hopes for The Alchemy of Flowers by Laura Resau. This women’s fiction novel promised magical realism, romance, mystery, and lots and lots of flowers. While all these things appear in the book, I still feel there could have been more.
A little more magical realism. A little more suspense. And a lot less romance.
Let’s get into it.
What is The Alchemy of Flowers about?
The Alchemy of Flowers is about mid-forties...
Tartlets, I was super excited when I saw the publication announcement for The Medici Curse by Daco S. Auffenorde. It promised Gothic suspense, missing family jewels, a potential family curse -- and, it's set in Italy. It all sounds so good.
Unfortunately, I added The Medici Curse to my DNF pile. Let's talk about why.
What’s The Medici Curse about?
In The Medici Curse, Anna de’ Medici Rossi inherits her childhood home: an opulent...
If you’re looking for a chilly winter read with a chilling premise, you need to pick up Echo: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller.
What’s Echo about? Echo is the third and final book in the Detective Harriet Foster series by Tracy Clark. The primary plot of this novel focuses on Chicago police detective Harriet “Harri” Foster, who's working with her partner Vera Li to solve the murder of a billionaire’s college-age son and the...
Things Half in Shadow is written by an author that you’ve all heard of.
You’re probably looking at the book cover photo and going, “Nope. Never heard of Alan Finn.” And, I agree: most of you probably haven’t.
But I’m sure many of you have heard of Riley Sager, author of bestselling thriller novels like Lock Every Door, The House Across the Lake, and his latest, Middle of the Night.
Before Sager’s name was everywhere as a prolific...
I regularly attend goat yoga sessions in the summer, so when I heard that Janna Rollins was writing a cozy mystery titled An Escape Goat: A Zen Goat Mystery about a goat yoga retreat gone awry, I knew I had to read this book.
Prepare yourselves, Tartlets, for all the goats, all the yoga, all the foodie fiction, and, yes, for a spot of murder.
What’s An Escape Goat about?
An Escape Goat is about a woman named Callie who opens up a goat yoga...
The Fury isn’t the first book I’ve read by Alex Michaelides – and, unfortunately, it wasn’t my favorite.
What’s The Fury about?
This thriller is about a supposedly close-knit group of friends on a lavish vacation together on a private Greek island – and one up them ends up dead. The story is told through the eyes of one of the friends, Elliot Chase, who narrates the The Fury.
And, who is super annoying.
There’s basically two...
