Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli (★★★★★)
Audiobook • Libby • Thriller • 2024
Short synopsis: Three murdered women, connected only by the charming online predator who killed them, must join forces from beyond the grave to stop him from claiming his next victim.
Put simply: This might be one of the best thrillers I’ve read… maybe ever? It was unexpectedly touching, with a very satisfying ending. In this book, we’re following three women from three different timelines: Meghan, Brecia, and Skye. All three were courted by the same man who turned on the charm to get them to trust him… and then he murdered them. The women are now ghosts (!!), and are on a mission to figure out how to stop the next murder.
The thriller itself was a wild ride, and I listened to the last few hours with my heart in my throat! I couldn’t put it down for anything. But what made this book even more special is this idea of what’s waiting for us after we die. I don’t think this is a spoiler, but maybe skip the rest of my review if you plan on reading the book! (And then please message me with your thoughts after you read!!!) Each woman is visited by one of her ancestors to greet them into the afterlife. One of them was her grandma, who died a few years ago. When I finished the book, I texted Kim to tell her my thoughts (since she had recently read and recommended the book). And I couldn’t help it: I started to cry, thinking about my grandma greeting me in the afterlife. This idea of being in such an unsettling place, but here comes a woman who loved me so, so much, and who I miss so, so much… I lost it.
I’ve never cried after reading a thriller, but this one was so special, and really made me think. It’s the one thriller I want to shove into everyone’s hands! (Side note: It was a little hard to keep track of three women and their timelines, so I kept a note in my phone to remind me who was who.)
Sipsworth by Simon van Booy (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Contemporary Fiction • 2024
Short synopsis: An older, reclusive woman returns to her childhood English village hoping for a quiet end to her life, but an unexpected encounter with an abandoned mouse leads her to rediscover friendship and the joys of living.
Gosh, this book really divided my book club, and I truly didn’t expect that! I first heard about the book from Lisa, one of my most trusted recommendation sources. I’m a sucker for an older protagonist and a found-family plot, so this book was right up my alley. I’ll be honest, though: This book started really slow, and I wasn’t a huge fan of Helen. She was just so blah and sad, and I didn’t love being in her head. However, the book quickly turned around for me as Helen began to open up her life little by little, thanks to this little mouse. I love the way the author revealed bits and pieces of Helen’s life. I thought it was a clever way to write this book: at the beginning, Helen feels closed off to us, the readers, because she is. Then, as she opens up to others, we open up to her. I loved the book, even though I was a bit of an outlier within book club.
Under Your Spell by Laura Wood (★★★★☆)
E-book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2024
Short synopsis: After a disastrous breakup leads Clementine to a very unexpected new job working for the world’s biggest rock star, she finds herself falling for the one man she swore she’d never date.
This book was a lot of fun! I read it during my trip, and it was an easy one to dip in and out of while I was adventuring. I really loved Clementine and Theo’s characters. Their meet-cute was very sweet, and I loved the way they kept falling back to each other, even as they tried not to. I could relate to Clemmie’s issues with her father, although I was a little perturbed by the way that plotline resolved. That’s probably my own biases at play, though. All in all, a very sweet romance with great characters and a satisfying ending.
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