Reviews
In the interests of full disclosure, and so you can’t hold it against me at some later date, these will not all be new or recently released books. I will delve into my reading journals and unearth some oldies but goodies. As well I intend to give away very little of the story, you can read the synopsis on the inside cover. My hope here is that you discover here something unexpected to add to your own reading list!
Supernatural Fiction
Rating: 9/10
When Marshall gets pulled over by a local cop, something is off. Maybe it’s the girl crying in the back of the cop car, or maybe the sinister threat the cop utters. And that’s before he finds out there is no such cop on the force. A summer internship with a PI might be just the thing to get the mystery out of his head. A wonderful coming of age story wrapped up in a supernatural thriller! And the twist…it’s a doozy!
Food Memoir
Rating: 9/10
Simply defined, hospitality is about how to treat people, how to make people feel like they belong, how to be welcoming, how to listen and most of all how to be curious. It’s a dialogue, not a monologue. Think of it like this, service is black and white, hospitality is colour. It needs to be tailored, to be crafted. This author shows us how, not only in business, but in life. My favourite ideal, the charitable assumption. Something we could all be better at!
Thriller
Rating: 8.5/10
When a high security prison experiences technical failures, a wrongly imprisoned retired cop and the governor’s idealist daughter are going to have to work together with a group of misfits to get out alive. All they have to do is get from the ground floor infirmary to the roof, bypassing six floors of convicts who may or may not be free from their cells. If this sounds like a recipe for non-stop, relentless action…it is! Fast paced doesn’t do it justice.
Hitting The Books-April 2025
This month’s read-a-likes are curated for the release Hard Town by Adam Plantinga. The story of a small town mired in dark secrets that has no idea what they are in for with their new resident. Kurt is an ex-cop with a deeply ingrained sense of justice and zero interest in backing down from a fight. When he is asked to help find a missing father and son, he turns over every rock and pulls no punches to get to the truth. No matter the cost. Books with gritty atmosphere and powerful prose, here we come!
New Books On The Shelves-April 2025
I’m a planner in every way you could imagine, a particular quirk that benefits my reading life. And now you dear reader, will reap the rewards with my new monthly post that will feature three of the most interesting books coming out in the next month as well as a few extra just for fun. Happy Reading!
Memoir
Rating: 9/10
I love music, not as much as books (like that’s remotely attainable) but I do. Unlike reads, I am lousy at finding new or untapped listens. My roundabout way of getting there? A curated, themed playlist. You know how much I love my lists! That’s I how stumbled upon the impressive and lovely vocal stylings of one Brandi Carlile. When I added her cover of Black Hole Sun to my Gotcha Covered playlist, I made a mental note to go back and check out her music. I found this amazing book first, and what a treat! Beautifully rendered in every way!
Mystery/Suspense
Rating: 8/10
Looking at her, tattooed, pierced, hard drinking, cigarette smoking and a bit of a hot mess, you might be surprised to find out that Maggie is a genius when it comes to language. A savant able to unravel any linguistics puzzle, she is a star student in her forensic linguistics class. Soon she is tapped police to use her unique skillset to help solve crime. This book pairs my fascination with language and linguistics and my love of books that give me new info for my data loving brain. I’m okay with that statement screaming NERD! It’s who I am…
Mystery/Suspense
Rating: 8/10
Six friends gather at a country house for a birthday weekend. They decide to play a game, or rather it’s decided for them. All six of their names are chosen twice, once to star as the victim, once as the murderer. They must write the story and read it out loud. It’s supposed to be fun, to be fiction. It’s not supposed to be full of secrets and grudges, to reveal their true feelings for each other. And no one is supposed to die…
Fantasy
Rating: 8.5/10
I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this, but all fairytales are fiction. Except maybe this one. When they were fourteen, best friends Jeremy and Rafe went missing in the forest for weeks before being found. One has no memory of where they were or what happened, and the other isn’t sharing. But both feel as it they are in a story they don’t belong in. As they get pulled back into the past, the reader is immersed in a wondrous and charming fairytale kingdom! Don’t miss the recipe for a fairytale!
Books On Books
Rating: 9/10
If I didn’t know it before, I know it now. At heart, I was born to be a shopkeeper. To embrace and embody the traditions, the codes of conduct, the etiquette, the customs, the minutia that make up a day in the life of one who keeps a shop. To put to good use my innate ability to look at what a person is reading and know everything I need to put the next book in their hands. To glory in the task of the hunt for just the right read for that one person. If I won the lottery, a shop would be my hearts desire!