The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Libby • Thriller • 2024
Short synopsis: A woman falls to her death from a London bank’s rooftop, and you’re arrested for her murder. You claim you tried to stop her, but as the police uncover holes in your story and your lawyer doubts you, one question remains—what secrets are you hiding, and who are you protecting?
This was an excellent thriller! I thought it was told in such a clever way that I haven’t really seen in the thriller genre, and I’ll admit I was so curious about what was happening and why this woman was being charged with murder when it seemed like the woman on the rooftop fell to her death on her own. The novel goes back and forth in time as we uncover more about the story between the two women and what really happened that night. There was one character in the story where I went through so many emotions about! First, I hated them. Then, I was disgusted by them. And then I had the utmost empathy for them. I couldn’t believe the roller coaster the author took me on! Will this thriller stand out for me at the end of the year? Probably not. But it was a great read nonetheless.
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen (★★☆☆☆)
Print • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Fiction • 2011
Short synopsis: When Willa Jackson’s old classmate restores her family’s once-grand estate, a buried skeleton is unearthed, unraveling long-hidden secrets and stirring up the town’s troubled past. Now, Willa and Paxton must confront a decades-old mystery that binds their families and threatens to reshape their lives.
This book was a snooze. I think the best way to get a sense of what you’ll be reading in this book is to peek at the Goodreads synopsis because it is filled with overwrought writing that doesn’t really say anything of value. I found all of the characters to be one-dimensional and boring. There wasn’t enough meat to the plot to make me care about what was happening. The mystery at the center of the novel felt like an afterthought. There were some magical, ghost-y elements to the novel that could have been interesting… but they just weren’t. I don’t even know why I kept reading this book other than it was short and didn’t take much brainpower to read. Meh.
The Marriage Contract by Katee Robert (★★★★☆)
E-Book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2015
Short synopsis: Forced into an arranged marriage for a business alliance, Teague O’Malley is ready to resist—until he meets Callista Sheridan and vows to protect her from the danger she hides. But as their connection deepens, Callie’s dark secret threatens to destroy them both.
This book was a reread for me. I originally read Robert’s The O’Malleys series in 2017 and I felt like it was time to revisit it. I loved this book, even though it definitely falls into the category of dark romance and I don’t normally love that subgenre. But this one somehow works for me. The novel starts off with a bang and doesn’t let up the whole time. I felt the chemistry between Teague and Callista crackling on the page, and all of the characters in this novel were so well-drawn—some I immediately fell in love with and some I wanted to strangle. I love when an author can elicit such emotion! I’m glad I picked this one up again and looking forward to zooming through the rest of the series.
What are you reading?
First of all, what I have to say has nothing to do with this post: I listened to your podcast yesterday and thanks for the shout-out! How exciting that was and I’m so glad that “there will be a time after this” resonates with you. It was originally something my friend Allison said when she was supervising a field trip. “There will be a time after the field trip.” This was probably almost fifteen years ago, and those words have gotten me through many a rough period. Also many a field trip.
I’m reading Her First Palestinian, which is a short story collection, and like most short story collections, some are good and some aren’t as good. The writing style is okay, but I don’t love it. But then it’s written by a man.
Oh yay! I’m glad you listened and heard the shout-out. 🙂
I, too, struggle with books written by men. I FEEL YOU.
I read and liked the peach keeper years ago but my tastes have changed since then so I kind of doubt I would like it now.
I just finished another holiday romance – home for the holidays. It was quite sad as the protagonist looses her mom from due to alcoholism. So it was less of a romance and more of a deeper story of grief with a bit of romance for levity. Now I am reading The Bee Sting since multiple bloggers read and loved it. It is LONG though!!
Lisa, I saw your rating/review on Goodreads and was so surprised! But then I saw that you read it during your time in Charlotte so I’m giving you a pass, lol. It was probably a sweet, light book to read when you were going through so many emotions!
I am finding more and more romances that deal with very heavy themes. It can be nice to get a deeper story, but sometimes I just want to read a silly romance novel with very little stakes! So that’s when I go back to my older romances, lol.
I haven’t read any of these- the first one sounds good! I’ll definitely skip The Peach Keeper, and I don’t know about the last one. Not sure if a “dark romance” is my genre!
JENNY I STILL HAVEN’T GIVEN YOU A ROMANCE REC! I just remembered. OMG. It’s only been two months, it’s fiiiiiine. This is on my to-do list for tomorrow!
I also was not wowed by the Peach Keeper, and I even read another book of hers, Other Birds, and it was also just okay. So maybe no more of this author for me. However, I was just going to say that I like Mancini, but I checked my GR and I think that I am confusing her with the Woman in Cabin 10, which is Ruth WARE, so now I am going to put the Mancini on hold, because I do love me a good thriller. Actually, it is available, so I just borrowed it! It is raining here and so I think I know what I am doing today… 🙂 I read a lot of silly books in Feb, but my favorites were A Well Trained Wife, Women of Tehran and Brain on Fire.
You’ll have to tell me your thoughts on The Woman on the Ledge! I’m glad you were able to pick it up on a rainy day – perfect!
Well, I took the Peach Keeper of my TBR. Thank you for that review.