A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

MIRROR ME Book Review

My 50-page rule strikes again! It took me a little while to become invested in Mirror Me. I’m glad I persevered because I ended up really enjoying this unique and twisty psychological thriller from Lisa Willamson Rosenberg.   What’s Mirror Me about? Mirror Me is about Eddie, who dramatically demands entrance to a psych hospital one night after thinking he murdered his lover, Lucy (who also happens to be his brother’s fiancé…). The...

ECHO: A DETECTIVE HARRIET FOSTER THRILLER Book Review

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...

WHEN WE WERE SILENT Book Review

Welcome, Tartlets, to a special Saturday edition of the blog. I’m excited to post this book review as part of the Blog Tour for When We Were Silent, the debut novel written by Fiona McPhillips and published by Flatiron Books.   What’s When We Were Silent about? Set in the 1980s, When We Were Silent is about working-class girl Louise, who enrolls in an exclusive Dublin school called Highfield Manor. We first meet Louise in present day, when...

FORGOTTEN SISTERS Book Review

Forgotten Sisters combines true crime, suspense, historical fiction, fairy tales, and supernatural horror to deliver a ghostly tale of two sisters with a past.    What’s Forgotten Sisters about? The Forgotten Sisters follows Anna and Jennie Arbor, who live in an historic and ghost-filled house on the Chicago River. Anna hosts her own spooky podcast, while Jennie fixes antique musical instruments. Neither young woman leaves the house...

THE CLOISTERS Book Review

Tartlets, I’m a bit confused about my thoughts on The Cloisters. When I first finished reading this suspense novel that combines medieval art history, dark academia, and astrology, I really liked it. Then, after talking with a few people, I realized that I didn't like this book as much as I think I did. You know how when you’re dating someone new and you think they're awesome? Then, that person meets your friends, and they all throw you...

THE ECHO WIFE Book Review

The Echo Wife is very different from the type of books I usually read. The premise sounded a bit domestic suspense-y, so I grabbed it since I love reading thrillers in the winter months. It wasn’t until I glanced at the side of my library copy and saw a little “science fiction” sticker on the spine that I was like, “Wait, what?” What I got from author Sarah Gailey’s novel was so much more. This domestic thriller/science fiction...

THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP Book Review

Grady Hendrix is so fucking brilliant. The Final Girl Support Group blew me away with its originality, its wit, and its non-stop, heart-pounding, guess-again action.   What’s a “final girl”? “Final Girl” is the term coined for the last girl left standing in a horror story. You know, there’s a close-knit group of a few teens, and the killer picks them off one by one until, finally, there’s only one person – usually a girl –...

THE FURY Book Review

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...

GREENWICH PARK Book Review

Greenwich Park isn't the best thriller I've ever read, but it's certainly not the worst.  I know, I know. Not the world's great accolade. I've read a lot of great thrillers, and while this one kept me entertained, it didn't necessarily blow me out of the water. A large reason for that is because while there are plenty of plot twists, I saw about half of them coming a mile away. It's all just kind of predictable.    What's Greenwich Park...

A NOVEL OBSESSION Book Review

I bet Naomi, the main character in A Novel Obsession, has "crazy eyes." She has to have crazy eyes. Because, it sure doesn't take long for her crazy to start coming out.   What's A Novel Obsession about? I stumbled across A Novel Obsession when I decided to take a writing workshop taught by author Caitlin Barasch. The story’s premise intrigued me right away: twenty-something Naomi stalks her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend under the guise of...