At First Spite by Olivia Dade (★★★★★)
Print • Library • Contemporary Romance • 2024
Short synopsis: After her fiancé ends their engagement, Athena Greydon moves into the narrow Spite House she bought for him, only to find herself living next to the very man who convinced her fiancé to leave her—Matthew, her fiancé’s brother. While she initially plots petty revenge, her growing attraction to Matthew complicates her plans.
Oh my goodness, I just loved this sweet romance! It reminded me of an Abby Jimenez novel as it dealt with some heavy themes (including depression) but also had such a sweet love story at the center of the novel. I truly couldn’t get enough of Athena and Matthew. They had an instant chemistry that crackled off the pages. Athena battles depression in this novel and the author described her mental illness with such a deft hand that I found myself tearing up for Athena. She’s a woman in her 30s who has struggled to find where she fits, especially as it relates to her career, and it really touched me. I will say that I didn’t love the petty revenge part of the novel (I just honestly can’t with adults being petty like that, it drives me crazy), but others may find it hysterical. YMMV! All in all, though, this was a delightful romance!
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (★★★★★)
Print • Book of the Month • Mystery • 2024
Short synopsis: In August 1975, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar vanishes from her family’s summer camp, mirroring her brother’s disappearance 14 years earlier. As a frantic search begins, the story unravels the dark secrets of the Van Laar family and the community intertwined with their legacy.
Everyone is raving about this novel, so I went into it with high expectations. Good news: It did not disappoint! I was enthralled with it from the first pages until the end, and I loved every minute I spent with this book. It may be a contender for my overall favorite book of the year! This story had a lot of people to keep track of and a lot of intermingling storylines and while sometimes I had to reorient myself with who I was reading about (is this the counselor or the mom or the investigator?!), it didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the book. The last 150 pages I read in a single day, using every little break I could to sit down and read a few pages. I even came home from the gym and plopped right down on my couch to finish the book because I had to know how it all turned out. I think Liz Moore is incredibly skilled at writing these complex mysteries, making you care so much for characters and sit with a nearly 500-page book that you can’t put down! I loved the setting, the characters, the overall plot… everything about this book was perfection!
A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Library • Mystery • 2023
Short synopsis: Charlotte Holmes is offered a chance to reclaim a normal life by recovering a lost dossier for the crown. However, her mission aboard the RMS Provence is complicated by a murder, forcing her to avoid detection to keep her secret identity intact.
This is the seventh book in the Lady Holmes mystery series where Sherry Thomas reimagines Sherlock Holmes as a woman. I didn’t even realize she had released two more books in the series until someone on my Goodreads timeline reviewed this book. What a delightful discovery! I always enjoy my time with Charlotte and her people, and this one was especially fun as it took place on a ship and involved Charlotte donning a disguise to avoid detection. I found it difficult to keep track of all the different characters, which may have been due to the audiobook and not paying attention as closely as I should have. Eventually, though, I started to make sense of who was who and why they were important to the story. All in all, it was another great novel in this continuing series and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book!
What are you reading?
Ooh, I have a library hold on God of the Woods. It’s taking a long time, but that’s okay (I’ve got other things to read right now.) I can’t wait to read it though.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It was an excellent mystery!
I can’t wait to read God of the Woods! I’ve had it on my Libby holds FOREVER and it’s now just 4 weeks away.
YAY! It’s almost heeeere!
I was so nervous to see what you rated The God of the Woods so was relieved to see you gave it 5 stars! It’s definitely one of my top reads of the year. Moore is amazing! I really loved her last book, Long Bright River, but this was even better.
I’m reading “Absolution” right now which is solidly lit fic about the families living in Vietnam in the years leading up to the war. I didn’t realize whole families were living in Saigon. I would have thought only the men would be stationed there. The story is told is 2nd person which can be clumsy to read but it’s working so far. But there is really no plot to speak of so far and I’m probably 1/3 of the way through…
Yes, I think The God of the Woods was better than Long Bright River. She is such an excellent storyteller!
Absolution does NOT sound like my kind of book, even though I do want to read more Vietnam war stories!
I can’t wait to read God of the Woods, I’m still waiting for it. But five of my library holds just came in, eep.
I just finished The Burnout which was a cute light book, after the Bee Sting, which was NOT cute and light (but was excellent).
I hope it comes in soon, but not TOO soon, so you can read your other library holds first!
Oh THE GOD OF THE WOODS sounds like a really great book. I tend to read this kind of stories during fall so I will immediately stop reading blog posts and go on a hunt to find this book. Wish me luck.
Thank you for always adding to my pile of unread books.
I hope you find The God of the Woods. It’s the PERFECT book for fall!