This month something became very clear to me: I am fussy. And inconsistent. Like what bothers me horribly with one book doesn’t bother me in another book. I blame my mood. 😀 I am also much more forgiving when a story engrosses me completely. Flaws get overlooked and ignored but when a story drags or I really, really, REALLY hate a character, every plot hole aggravates me terribly. So yeah, I am persnickety and hypocritical and maybe a tad whiny. And I don’t care. All I care about is good books!
The Books I Loved, Liked and Loathed
On a different day or in a different mood, the order could change. But today, this day, this is how I feel about this wonderful things I call books.
The Books I Loved
These are the books that I love and love some more.
Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
Book Description: Three years after Emma and Cass disappeared, Cass reappears with an urgent plea to her family and the FBI to rescue her still captive sister.
Book Review: I loved Ms. Walker’s debut novel, All is Not Forgotten, which earned a spot on my 2016 Best Books list and now she’s back in fine form. Cass learned how to manipulate from the best — her mother. She also has an agenda but the game she is playing isn’t clear beyond a desperate need to rescue her sister. One twist I suspected and others I did not. It is not as morally complex as All is Not Forgotten, although a much easier read since you don’t want to punch the narrator repeatedly. To be fair, I still wanted to punch a few people by the end of this book too. 😀
To Read or Not To Read: Yes! This is not an action-packed book but a chess game with the unveiling of one seriously messed-up family. And one last bonus, you’ll laugh and laugh and laugh and then cry when you read her description of a narcissist.
Note: I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Emma in the Night is now available.
The Devil’s Prayer by Luke Gracias
Book Description: After her mother commits suicide, Siobahn Russo learns the terrifying reason why she disappeared six years ago.
Book Review: I really enjoyed this book, even though it had a couple of big flaws. The biggest was Gracias did so much research that he included in the book. Unfortunately, it killed momentum and changed the tenor of the story so it read more like a research paper (and happened at the end of the book). But the middle part, in particular, was amaze-balls which is how it landed a coveted love spot, even though it probably doesn’t quite deserve it. There was betrayal. Revenge. And so much juicy murder, which eventually led to lots and lots of fear because making a deal with the Devil never ends well. And oh yeah. It’s 2017. The Anti-Christ? It’s a girl. Take that, Damien! #TheFutureIsFemale
To Read or Not To Read: Yes. This wasn’t a scary book, although it is classified as horror. Just know that the end sags a bit, even though there were some fascinating tidbits he included. To be fair, some of the religious tidbits were scarier because of what they implied. I just wish he had either put his research as an addendum or found a way to incorporate it a bit more gracefully and organically. Regardless, I still look forward to reading the sequel because I always enjoy an epic battle between good and evil.
Note: I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. The Devil’s Prayer will be available on August 26, 2017.
The Books I Liked
These are the books I enjoyed overall, from most liked to like.
I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen
Book Description: An apparent murder without a clear cause of death baffles Rizzoli and Isles and leads them back to Isles’ estranged mother.
Book Review: I have a love/like relationship with the Rizzoli and Isles series. Some books are fabulous (Mephisto Club, The Silent Girl, Last to Die) and some are merely okay. This falls somewhere in-between for me. The case was intriguing and one revelation was very obvious (and likely meant to be) and one was a solid surprise. But I disliked a specific character Gerritsen clearly plans to revisit, which does not excite me. I also have very mixed feelings about Isles’ love life and I ain’t Catholic. 😀
To Read or Not To Read: Sure, I overall recommend the series. It is best read in order but any book (with the exception of Apprentice, you need to read Surgeon first) can be read as a stand-alone. Note: the book series is very different from the TNT series. I hated the TV show. Isles, in particular, is completely and utterly different. She is not quirky but aloof.
Note: I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I Know a Secret will be available on August 15, 2017.
The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Book Description: Susan’s latest editing project, Magpie Murders, seems like an ordinary book, but within the book hides a secret worth killing over.
Book Review: This book has a very unique set-up. It starts with a very brief introduction to Susan who is about to edit Magpie Murders, then the following 200 pages are the novel she’s editing. So it’s a novel within a novel. It’s also a whodunit in the vein of Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Horowitz wrote Moriarty) involving a murder and an eccentric cast of characters with lots of secrets. It’s a bit of a slow burn but still really enjoyable. Most mysteries I read tend to be quite intense, so it was actually nice to amble along without murder and mayhem every two seconds. However, some may not enjoy the slower pace.
To Read or Not To Read: Sure, especially if you are a fan of Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. It’s very reminiscent of their style.
A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman
Book Description: Ex-FBI Agent, Brigid Quinn, must help her former partner save a man innocent of his family’s murder before his execution in a few days.
Book Review: This is book 3 in the Brigid Quinn series and the first book I read in the series. Yes, I know. Normally I try to start with book 1 but this caught my eye so I went for it. Overall, I like Brigid and the premise of trying to help an innocent man on death row. I like that she’s an older woman who is smart and very, very tough (both mentally and physically) and some of the story choices Masterman made. Quinn breaks the rules, which brings out some mixed feelings. It never bothered me before but these days I find myself less okay with it. Overall, though, I enjoyed meeting Brigid and plan to start from the beginning. Note: The series is somewhat serial but not enough where I was confused or regretted my decision to start here.
To Read or Not To Read: Read it if you love mysteries, some messed-up family dynamics (some of the stuff with the family shocked me a bit) and a strong, albeit occasionally morally murky, lady cop.
The Other Girl by Erica Spindler
Book Description: A brutal murder of a beloved college professor forces Detective Miranda Radar to confront her past and old secrets.
Book Review: This is an enjoyable read that doesn’t necessarily hold up under lots of scrutiny. So yeah, you guessed it … I scrutinized, which I know not to do. Maybe, I need to read fewer mysteries (not going to happen) but when I’m not fully engrossed, I start picking things apart, like lead investigators not figuring out the person trying to frame them is probably the killer. Oy vey.
To Read or Not To Read: Sure. Just roll with it and it’s a good, pass-the-time book for mystery fans.
Note: I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. The Other Girl will be available on August 22, 2017.
The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky
Book Description: When someone murders young women using an ancient Greek ritual, Selene DiSilva, aka the former Greek Goddess Artemis, vows to bring the killer to justice.
Book Review: I read this for Erin’s 7.0 Reading Challenge as my pick for Book with Non-Human Main Character. Since I love Greek Gods, I was pretty excited to discover this new trilogy. It takes place in the here and now with the Greek Gods living amongst us, although mostly powerless. Sadly, I feel rather neutral about this book as it was also a bit of a slog to get through. While I don’t regret reading it, my interest to read book #2 waned after seeing it was a 100 pages longer than this book, which was already 100 pages too long in my opinion.
To Read or Not To Read: Sure, if you enjoy Greek Gods and a lot of Greek history mixed in with your fiction.
The Book that Shoulda Been Better
So much great possibility but …
Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber
Book Description: When a popular podcast revisits the murder of Josie’s father’s, old lies begin to unravel.
Book Review: Within this book is a really good book but … the final product left me a bit (a lot) wanting. I love the idea of a podcast being the premise but I wish Barber had made Poppy the main focus, preferably also less opportunistic and Alex Jones like, although I can handle a snake-oil narrator provided the story is really good. This started out quite strong but petered out rather quickly and left me a tad annoyed. It took me some time to put my finger on why but I eventually figured it out. Barber’s handling of mental illness felt off, like she didn’t have firsthand experience with it. While fear of passing mental illness to your kids is a very legitimate concern and fear, in her world, depressed (and potentially more than that) people were ephemeral or a cootie-infested person to avoid.
To Read or Not To Read: It did not wow me but obviously I read every word of it too. 😀 I did not really find it to be much of a mystery/thriller so if that’s what you’re seeking, this might not hit the spot for you.
Note: I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Are You Sleeping is now available.
The Book I Could Stop and Did Stop.
In other words, I DNFed this sucker.
Breakdown by B.A. Paris
Book Review: It’s been a very long time since I DNFed a book because I cannot quit books. But by the end of the first chapter, I was clenching my teeth so hard that lockjaw became a distinct possibility. Listen, I can handle a neurotic character because I’m a little neurotic but holy moly! She was annoying as piss. And I found it to be very predictable, although predictability isn’t a sin. I’d take predictability over authors who contort both characters and plot into something horribly convoluted or nonsensical in a poor attempt to be unique, which Paris did not do. But I also cannot take a boring ass story with an annoying character to wind-up at an inevitable ending either.
To Read or Not To Read: No, I don’t recommend it. However, lots of smart people do. So if it seems up your alley, try it. Just like Mikey, you might like it! (totally dating myself with that reference but I don’t care!)
Note: I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review (please continue to approve books I request!). Breakdown is now available.
TL;DR – My Recommendations for You
Another solid reading month overall. I highly recommend Emma in the Night to everyone and The Devil’s Prayer for those who like horror-lite. I Know a Secret and A Twist of the Knife are good choices for mystery lovers, especially those who love strong, female characters. Those who love mysteries more in the vein of Agatha Christie (i.e. less graphic, slower paced) will enjoy Magpie Murders.
To More Great Books
August reading looks like more NetGalley books and some library holds that should come in this month. Then I need to get cracking on Erin’s 7.0 Challenge because I feel behind. 😀 As always, I’m partaking in the Show Us Your Books Link-Up hosted by Jana and Steph. Be sure to see what everyone else is reading!
What books are you adding to your TBR?
Tanya
I love Brigid Quinn. I read the first two and was unaware the third had come out so thank you! I’ll get on that.
I hope you enjoy it! And I need to read the first two books in her series. I read their descriptions after finishing Twist of the Knife and they sound really good.
The Greek book sounds like a great idea, too bad the execution wasn’t up to par 🙁
I was disappointed but to be completely fair, I’m not enjoying fantasy books as much as I previously did. So it’s possible fantasy lovers would have a very different reaction.
I just jumped on the Netgalley wagon and was approved for Emma in the Night. Just have to start reading it! LOL! I’m waiting for The Breakdown to come in from the library. Too bad it was a DNF for you. The Other Girl is on my to read list. I love suspense/thrillers so even though it wasn’t a great read for you, I’ll probably give it a try!
YAY! I was a bit slow to get on the NetGalley wagon but overall I’m glad that I did. I hope you like Emma in the Night as I enjoyed it quite a bit. It seriously bummed me that The Breakdown was a DNF for me. I actually saved it to read around my birthday as a treat, which made it even more annoying that it didn’t work for me. Just keep a roll with it attitude with The Other Girls and you’ll be fine!
Emma in the night didnt sound like it would be a book that would hold laughter so that makes me really want to check it out now – I love a mix of light hearted & mystery… makes it more real to me.
Funny that Are you Sleeping has taken the podcast craze of looking at unsolved mysteries & did a book on it- so yeah, I’m sure there is a lot of potential with that hot topic modern thinking… shame it didnt live up to the idea though.
I so much loved the premise of Are You Sleeping and though the podcast and social media bits were well done and very realistic. But it just didn’t work for me. Oh well. Some books you love and some you don’t!
I’ll be adding quite a few of your books to my TBR list. Thank you.
You’re welcome and I hope you enjoy them!
Okay, so you know I am adding the Magpie Murders to my TBR list! But you knew that, right? 😉
I absolutely thought of you after I read it! I hope you enjoy it! 😀
I requested the book at the library that day, and I am literally the 80th person in line waiting to read it 🙁 #bookwormproblems
NO!!!!! I hate that when it happens! The worst part, beyond the horrible wait, is by the time you get it – you won’t remember why you wanted to read it! 🙁
I haven’t heard of most of these and I love when that happens. I think I have Breakdown on my TBR but clearly it’s not a priority since I can’t even remember if it’s there or not.
I have a few more library books to get through and then it’s NetGalley for the rest of the month. It’s almost embarrassing how many books I have in my queue that have had their pub date.
I always love it when people reviews books that I am unfamiliar with as well. I only have a couple more NetGalley books to get through and then I might take a break. Granted, I’ve said that before and then go crazy. 😀
i am like that as well. i hate something in one book and love it in another. eh. i’m okay with it. haha. especially if i’m already annoyed, it’s like a snowball of annoyance haha. i have the breakdown on my kindle so hopefully i don’t hate it lol
Oh good! I’m glad that I’m not the only one who does this! LOL! I feel bad (sometimes) but there you go. And yes, when something bothers me, it can snowball quickly because I start noticing every little flaw and turn them into mountains! I hope you enjoy The Breakdown. It didn’t work for me but lots of people really enjoyed it.
Emma In The Night sounds like such a great book! I love a good thriller, especially if it keeps me guessing. And I finished reading The Breakdown in August, and I agree with you that it wasn’t my favorite book, and I actually liked Behind Closed Doors a lot more. I think that you’re right though, sometimes how much we enjoy a book depends on what type of mood we’re in when we read it!
I really enjoyed Emma in the Night and I’ve become a real fan of Wendy Walker. She writes such interesting books. I have not read Behind Closed Doors but did notice that those who really liked Behind Closed Doors seemed to like The Breakdown less. Mood definitely affects how I feel about a book. It’s not necessarily fair but that’s how it is. 😀
Definitely persnickety/hypocritical about books. If I can’t stand one of the main characters the other aspects of the book had better be PERFECT or I am probably not finishing it.
Yay! Another persnickety reader! We do exist! I’m with you completely. If the main character really grates my nerves than the book has to absolutely engross me otherwise I have a real tough time with it. I hated pretty much every character in The Girl on the Train but I devoured the book because I had to know what was going on.
I think I might like the Magpie Murders – I’m definitely in the “cozy mystery” camp.
I think you might like it too. It was a really good read and a nice break for me from my more typically mystery/thriller reads.
I think I have Emma in the Night on my NetGalley list, so it sounds like I need to read it soon! Same with The Other Girl.
I hope you enjoy both books, Olya!
Emma in the Night is sitting on my Netgalley shelf along with like 16 other books. I need to get caught up!!!! I am glad it was good though, makes me want to move it to the top of my shelf. I had no clue that Rizzoli and Isles was a book series!!! I just told my husband the other day I wanted to try the show. Glad I read your review, maybe I just need to read the books instead. You crack me up with your Mikey reference. Ohhh the good old days!
I cleared out quite a few NetGalley books in June and July and it feels so good! Yes, Rizzoli and Isles started as a book series. I don’t think the TV show was ever very true to the books, which is fine and pretty common. But I just could not handle how they changed Isles. The good ole days. Sometimes I really, really miss them!
I wasn’t totally impressed with B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors, but I’ll probably still read The Breakdown and be just as annoyed. I feel the urge to check it out, anyway. The Wendy Walker book sounds interesting!
I have not read Behind Closed Door so I’m not sure how they rate against each other. I did notice some reviewers who really like Behind Closed Doors were less found of The Breakdown and vice versa. So you may end up enjoying The Breakdown!
I love the way you do your book reviews, good info! Sad to see that the B.A. Paris book was a dud, I loved the last one I read of theirs.
I was so bummed that The Breakdown was a DNF for me. Honestly, I expected it would rate as one of my favorite books last month. Oh well. 😀
The Breakdown was pretty intense for me but the writing wasn’t amazing. It definitely kept my interest though! Same with Behind Closed Doors. I want to get into the Tess Gerritsen series someday. I enjoyed The Other Girl for what it was.
I just really had trouble with the main character. It was one of those weird situations where she was like fingernails on a chalkboard so I just couldn’t do it. I would have enjoyed The Other Girls so much more if I would have stopped poking holes into it. 😀 The Rizzoli and Isles series is overall really good. There are a couple books that were only okay for me but most were very good and several were excellent.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts about Breakdown. I always find it fascinating that some books are well-received by many but disliked by others. I had one of those this month too. It’s truly one of the things I enjoy most of book talk, is to see all of our unique perspectives about books we read.
It’s kind of weird but I enjoy learning why people don’t like certain books. Because sometimes in seeing what bothered others, I can better determine if I will enjoy the book. We all have different triggers and tastes so sometimes what bothers someone else, doesn’t bother me and vice versa.
I feel like I’m falling behind on the Erin 7.0 challenge too! I can’t believe how many people have already finished!
Magpie Murders sounds right up my alley also. I have very low tolerance for graphic mysteries. It’s my old lady sensibilities, I suppose…
It always impresses me how many people finish Erin’s 7.0 Challenge in the first month too! I feel like such a slacker but I also have this weird tendency to not want to read assigned reading (if when I chose the books!), so I have to mix my challenge books with regular, old books. Magpie Murders is definitely not overly graphic. There is murder(s) but it doesn’t linger and revel in the gory details. 😀
Oh good to know! I have Emma in the Night in my Netgalley queue as well! Bummer about the DNF but it happens! XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
I hope you enjoy Emma in the Night as much as I did! 😀
You had some interesting reads this month. I picked up The Breakdown maybe it was a good idea I put it back down. 🙂
LOL! I sadly did not enjoy The Breakdown but I have seen plenty of others who did. 😀
So many thrillers and mysteries this month! DNF books always intrigue me, haha. I 100% know I should take other readers’ advice, but I’m always like, “Ooooh, what was so terrible about them??” It’s like watching a train wreck or trash TV, haha.
It’s weird but DNF books always interest me the most because I find it fascinating what causes people to give up on a book. And there have been several times when some of my favorite books are DNF books for others. That’s part of the fun, I think. 😀