I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

March 17, 2023September 5, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Damn, dude. I knew from the rave reviews this had to be a good one. I was not disappointed in McCurdy’s writing, though heartbroken and left raw from her story.

Jennette McCurdy is well known for her Nickelodeon roles as Sam Puckett on several popular kids shows. She was a huge part of my own childhood, and that is why I felt it so important to read this story, detailing the real life behind the mask she wore on television. McCurdy experienced every kind of abuse at the hands of her mother, who forced her into acting as a child, taught her the eating disorder that still plagues her today, and continued to emotionally destroy her through many of the years that we saw Jennette on screens in our own homes.

The writing in this book is absolutely top notch. The pacing, the voice behind it, are absolutely incredible and showcase McCurdy as an up-and-coming writing talent. I would be honored to read more of her work. I don’t want to acknowledge the substance in this book until I’ve acknowledged that, because as important as it is to read this story for the perspective shift it will create in your childhood memories, it’s just as important to know that this is no ordinary celebrity memoir. Jennette has real talent for writing and creating art from the written word. I was highly impressed and truthfully surprised by that.

That said, it was really hard to read about all that she endured from her mother through her childhood. You can see the echoes of the abuse and the way she’s been programmed to think about herself and others following her into adulthood, with her own relationships and relationship to her mental health being the most critically affected. My heart was breaking and simultaneously screaming over the internalized and broken sense of self that Jennette’s mother created in her.

Terribly disturbed and kind of disgusted that the negative reviews of this book were just mad because they thought Jennette was handling adulthood badly, or not actually looking to grow from her trauma…or even suggesting that the title showed a lack of maturity. I would like to tell those reviewers to kindly !&($ off, and how dare you. I don’t know how anyone can read this and not see an authentic account of what it’s like to come to terms with your own grief and mental illness. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It sure as hell doesn’t have to be wrapped up neatly with a bow. Her angst and impassivity and even her desires not to change or confront the issue were real: I think it’s just as important and poignant to write about a journey towards betterness as it is to write about being better.

I think, by the end, it’s easy to see why Jennette would be glad her mom died. I know the title has created a lot of shock value, but if you step back from it, I think understanding the mixed feelings of grief and growth make it true. She’s glad her mom died, because under her suffocating abuse, she could never grow beyond the problems she created for her. She’s glad her mom died, because she couldn’t be her own person until she did. She’s glad her mom died, because holding your breath and waiting for it to finally happen when you’re expecting it can be crushing, draining, and exhausting. And I don’t blame Jennette for anything she feels in the wake of her mom’s death. I genuinely wish her the best in continuing to get well.

This was a hugely emotional read and I think you will find it to be a rollercoaster of feelings, but I think it’s well worth it. I will read anything else McCurdy publishes; she is a very talented writer and I’m excited to see how she grows.

Enjoy the weekend, friends.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

March 10, 2023September 4, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Wow. I waited way too long to read this book. I haven’t been this emotionally impacted by a book in a long while, and I can’t even think about this one without tearing up all over again.

This multi-generational drama follows two women living in Afghanistan from the 1950s up through the early 2000s. Mariam is a harami, born outside of wedlock and forever doomed by this fate. Married off at fifteen, she struggles to bear children and fears the daily storm of her husband.

Laila, a child of Kabul, is a teen when revolution hits the city hard, forever changing her own fate as a brilliant, college-bound young Muslim woman into something far more darkly shadowed. Laila and Mariam end up tied to the same cruel man, Rasheed, as the country they love crumbles around them.

Reading this book can be overwhelming and heavy at times, and I had to take quite a few breaks while listening in order to breathe and separate myself a bit. It’s really, really hard to read some of the intimate abuse as well as the harshness of the regime governing them in Afghanistan. I never knew the half of it, what women in this country faced for years and years and I’m sure even now, and there was almost a shock of disbelief for me with each new chapter.

For example, when the Taliban takes over, Laila talks about the new rules being played out on loudspeakers and written on flyers strewn all over Kabul. Things like women cannot leave the house unless accompanied by a man, no films or television, etc – and as I’m listening to that, it suddenly hits me that while what I’m reading is technically fiction, this is rooted in truth. This detail really happened. And I just…it didn’t even hit me the reality of these rules, this situation until I was reading about how affected these women on an everyday level. That’s why I think books like this are so important; I personally didn’t connect with the real world counterpart until I was emotionally connected to the characters in this story who were experiencing it.

I loved both Mariam and Laila for different reasons. I saw more of myself in Laila’s feistiness, but Mariam’s gentle nature was warm and inviting, and made me care for her and her happiness. Their interactions with the other characters in the book were also enlightening, and I feel like they were just as important to telling the story as the actual plot; the way everyone interacts is informative of the culture in its own way. Everything about this book feels thoughtful and artfully composed to be heart-wrenching.

Sad as it is and hard as it is to read, this is just such an important book. It really shifted my perspective on world politics and opened my eyes to things I didn’t previously get/understand. I’m so glad I read it, finally pulling it out of the tbr pile – I wish I hadn’t waited so long to do so.

Have a fabulous weekend.

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

February 24, 2023September 1, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well, this is quite possibly the strangest thing I’ve read in awhile.

Called back by her dying mother to return to her childhood home, Vera Crowder heads home after more than ten years apart from the house her father was arrested in for serial killings.

Once she arrives, however, it’s clear there will be no somber reunion with her mother, Daphne. She is incredibly close to death, and Vera is merely here to pack the boxes. The more she takes apart, though, the more she finds that things in the Crowder House are not as they seem. Something is causing a chill in the back of her neck…

The first half of this was honestly one of the scariest things I’ve read in a long, long time. I totally got the creeps, sitting in my car, yelling lots of expletives with every passing page. What I loved so much about it in the first half is that there was clearly something horrible happening, and yet we weren’t naming it or putting a face to it; the terrifying reality of whatever it could be left to the reader’s imagination. I had several guesses…but let me tell you, I was not correct.

But, in the second half, when things are unveiled – also creepy as hell. It takes an especially twisted mind to conjure up something with enough horrifying detail that you can picture it in your mind and you are disturbed. Gailey whole-heartedly achieves that when we learn the true nature of the haunting at Crowder House.

This book is not what I expected it to be, and I bet you like a hundred bucks it won’t be what you expect either. Nothing is as it seems, and Gailey’s imagination ran wilder with this story, characters, and setting than my mind ever could on its own. And I loved it. It was deeply original, creepy af, and still left me haunted to the very end. Like what even?!

I’m not going to remark too much on the characters in this novel, particularly because not a soul is who you think they are. The one character I consistently did not like, and even at the end couldn’t discern the point of, was the “parasitic artist” James Duvall – son of the author who originally wrote about the Crowder family. He’s mostly just a giant pain the entire time, though he does appear to have some small role in the story…you’ll see what I mean. Regardless? Not a fan.

So yeah – big huge fan of this one. Thought it was super weird and super creepy and exactly the vibe we’re looking for right now. Highly recommend!

Have a great weekend!

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

February 17, 2023September 1, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I liked this one! I don’t know if I’ll ever love another one of Moreno-Garcia’s books as much as I love Mexican Gothic, but the sci-fi element of this one makes for a really intriguing story. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau certainly lived up to my expectations.

Carlota Moreau is the singular bastard daughter of Doctor Moreau – a man who has thoroughly entrenched himself in the Yucatán to carry out his biological research. They are surrounded by the results of his experiments: “the hybrids” are half-animal, half-humans crafted by the doctors hand, and used as servants with the intent of their perfected versions becoming laborers for Moreau’s patron, the Lizaldes.

When Carlota is fourteen, they receive a new manager of the estate, Montgomery Laughton. The two circle one another even six years later, when the son of the elder Lizalde arrives in a flurry with the intent of marrying Carlota. The events that transpire in the wake of his arrival might just unravel everything they have built at Yaxaktun, their home.

I loved Carlota! I don’t say that often, and I definitely don’t say it much about Moreno-Garcia’s leading ladies. But Carlota had an inner sense of power that only grew in strength throughout the novel. There was a sense of surety and love that she used to will her world and dreams into the future. I never felt truly like the other characters had her best interest at heart, even when they were acknowledged that she was so pure and good, and wanted to be in her orbit. They were too selfish for their own good, but Carlota was always, always selfless. I loved her character.

The book alternates between the perspectives of Carlota and Montgomery, who is essentially the caretaker of Yaxaktun. While I loved Carlota, I only really *liked* Montgomery, and at times, I didn’t even like him. He made himself hard to like, at times, by being utterly stupid. That sounds harsh, but it’s so true! It was reminiscent of Maite in Velvet Was the Night: the lack of self awareness… painful. I just feel like he causes pain by being concerned about the past, or about himself.

The first half of the novel really captivated me, but I do have to say that the second half slowed my interest. I get what we were building towards, but the action in the second half didn’t grab me nearly as much as the drama and the historical intrigue of the first half. I don’t know if it just lost my attention or become too much or what, but it’s certainly not that didn’t make sense in the context of the story. I actually thought the resolution was pretty good – just kind of boring?

The novel is loosely based on HG Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, which I admittedly have not read, or had even heard of prior to this book. Moreno-Garcia gave a sort of recap in the afterword so as to explain her intent with the retelling, and it sounds both authentic and like a great continuation of the story for a new generation. I thought a big part of the story’s importance was that Carlota and Montgomery had both respect and love for the hybrids, where others did not – it felt like adding a touch of humanity to the original story and twisting the characters from the Wells story so you can derive the original intent.

Highly recommend this one, and of course, all her other novels. I might backtrack and read more of her books; I didn’t realize she had published so much! I really love her writing style.

Have a great weekend!

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

February 10, 2023August 27, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Other Possible Prompts: 22. An unlikely detective, 26. Has an “Author’s Note”

Trigger warning for this review: suicide and mental illness discussed throughout.

Quite possibly the fewest number of prompts a book has fit all year! I actually enjoyed this book for the most part, but I think it could’ve been at least one hundred pages shorter, hence my lower rating. The story is interesting, but I don’t know if it’s interesting enough to carry it nearly five hundred pages.

On the cusp of an incredible career in science, a Harvard degree, and his whole life ahead of him, Cady Archer’s brother Eric jumped from his dorm room window at Harvard University and left this world. His schizophrenia had turned his last few years into a disturbing frenzy, unlike the brother she had grown up with. Now, over a year later, Cady has decided to start her own degree there by joining the class as a freshman…however, there’s a lot more than legacy to her decision. Eric left behind a series of cryptic notebooks and unanswered questions, and Cady wants to know more about that last year of his life that took him from her.

As she meets his friends and teachers, and sees the sights he did, Cady grows increasingly confused by what she learns. Were Eric’s final months more than a delusion? Was he onto something with his concern about being watched – but too far into his illness to get the help and attention he needed? And what, then, of the voices she herself hears?

There was a lot going on in this book. There’s just…a lot of different story elements, so it becomes a bit hard to follow the point. I think it makes it entertaining, but as for the point she was trying to make…that was a bit lost in translation. There’s the mental illness aspect; Eric was schizophrenic, and evidently, Cady becomes concerned she is meeting the same fate. While she would already be predisposed to it, in her efforts to track Eric’s last movements, she put herself in the same environment that brought on his own schizophrenia and thus increased her odds of developing it. Then, it seems like maybe those voices are ghosts. Each of the voices in Cady’s head have historical reference at the college, which Cady picks up on from time to time. But then also, maybe they’re voices and bodies from another dimension? See there’s a lot happening here and it’s ultimately not clear to me, even at the end, which one we’re supposed to believe (or maybe we’re not supposed to care?).

Everyone Cady meets at Harvard sucks. I was going to sugarcoat it, but it’s honestly true. There isn’t a single character I liked without hesitation. Her roommates suck, her love interests suck, the professors suck. And while they’re not from Harvard, her parents, a central part of the story, also suck. Cady isn’t my absolute favorite, but she sucks significantly less than everyone else. I at least understood her; the other characters around her do really annoying, awful things with no rhyme or reason. It’s really no wonder Cady was having a bad time at Harvard.

There was an author’s note at the end detailing the historical research Serritella did to inform the personalities of the “ghosts”. I respect that, but what I was actually most worried about was her representation of schizophrenia. This is a huge part of the book, and truthfully I wouldn’t know if she had or had not done it justice, or given her characters and over-dramatized version of it. There is no mention of her background or research in this area, which bothers me. Has anyone read this and have some background knowledge that would shed some light on her representation of schizophrenia? I would be much more worried about this, than of her historical representation of some ghosts.

I think what bothers me most, even having enjoyed the ride of this story, is that it truly goes nowhere. The ending, in my opinion, clearly seems to be aiming for something, but misses its target. I couldn’t tell you what she meant by it.

This book was decent, but I don’t think I’m recommending it. I wouldn’t read it again, given the opportunity. Have a wonderful weekend.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

January 27, 2023August 26, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Why did I resist this one so much?! I feel like I’ve said that a lot this year (writing from 2022)…I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a number of bestsellers that I probably wouldn’t have picked up, if not for friends’ recommendations or local booksellers’ praise. Book Lovers falls squarely in that category. And I loved it!

Feeling that she’s losing a beloved closeness with her little sister, Libby, city-girl and shark-like literary agent Nora agrees to a month’s retreat to the small town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. The pair set out with a list, written by Libby, of things you do in small towns according to literature: save a small business, ride a horse, and date the locals. While she remains committed to working through the “vacation”, she endeavours to help with the list before Libby’s third child arrives…the last thing she’s expecting is cold and ruthless book editor Charlie to be in Sunshine Falls, too. And they just can’t seem to stop running into one another.

This book is, and somehow isn’t, what I was expecting. I don’t think I ever expected it to be a ~romantic comedy~ in its entirety, despite its Book Lovers title. However, there was *a lot* more romance than I thought there would be. I love Nora and Charlie’s dynamic. It feels both reminiscent of The Hating Game in its wit and simultaneously transcendent of it for how they fit together so well, so perfectly to serve the plot and their character growth. This isn’t wholly a romance, but it hits the mark for that as well.

I also love that, from the very beginning, Nora acknowledges that she will never be that small town girl people fall for, that she is cutting and calculating, loves the city, and is never going to soften for another person. She remains committed to that narrative and I love her all the more for it. Not everyone needs to get teary-eyed for small Christmas tree farms and towns where everyone knows everyone. City girls and hard-working bosses deserve love and happiness too! And not only do they deserve it, they can find it in places that aren’t those very small towns. I like the hopefulness of that message, and how surprising and refreshing it feels in the romance genre.

But the real reason I love this book all around is the storyline. There is so much more here than a love story. This is an awesome work of literary fiction, and while I may not have totally related to Nora, I connected with her, thought her story was well-composed and earnest. Her relationships with her sister and formerly her mother, her previous romantic entanglements, her clients – they were all very real and raw; even when things were bad you could feel every human reason why Nora was the way she was, as things slowly unfurled. I just really loved all of these characters, in their own way. Henry nails a small town-feel, but with a larger focal point: a bigger problem than that small town can solve. There’s a lot to love here.

Highly, highly recommend this one. Don’t be me, don’t resist. Just read it. ❤

Have a wonderful weekend!

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

January 20, 2023August 25, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This series continues to be quite good, and perfect to put you in the fall mood! While the writing and storyline in this one were, again, top notch, I dragged through this in comparison to the way I tore through Payback’s a Witch. It took me significantly longer and I’m hoping I figure out why in the process of reviewing!

At the Thistle Grove Beltane festival, Isidora Avramov witnesses an evil spell trying to take the power of one of the Thorn family girls as she competes to be May Queen. Being the daughter of an Elder, and of the house under suspicion for such dark magic, she is chosen to collaborate along with her arch-nemesis, Rowan Thorn, to investigate the incident.

Issa and Rowan are determined to be professional about their (ugly) history, but it doesn’t take long for the antics (and sparks) to start. To Rowan, it’s clear Issa has a lot more integrity and depth than he previously thought, and for Issa, Rowan’s good deeds might actually be just that: good deeds, and not the holier-than-thou attempts at the spotlight she thought they were. Through the investigation, they grow closer together, the closer they get to the answer: who cast that evil spell, and who has it out for the Thorns?

These books hit the perfect note for fall, even if this one is more spring-themed. Lana Harper, who, as it turns out, is actually Lana Popović (YA fantasy author), writes a great witch story. The magic is both in-depth and immersive while also remaining based just enough in reality that I, as someone who hates fantasy, still thoroughly enjoy it. I get into all of the Thistle Grove magic and history while I’m reading, even if that’s not usually my speed. She makes it easy to enjoy.

I really liked Issa and Rowan, but for some reason they just weren’t as magnetic as characters to me as Talia and Emmy were. I think there’s also something to be said about immersing yourself in a sequel, where the world has already been established and therefore doesn’t require further explanation. In Payback’s a Witch, we were learning of Thistle Grove for the first time, and therefore a lot of the content had to be directed at explaining that. There is less of this in From Bad to Cursed, so it seems as though the romance or mystery should be more present… but I think they were about the same, comparatively. Maybe I was more driven by the storyline of the first novel, whereas the mystery in this one is good, but not as high-energy. Sorry for all my rambling! Point being, I liked book one better, but this one is still really good and enjoyable.

I just got approved for Back in a Spell on NetGalley, so I’m sure I’ll be picking that up in the fall! I will definitely continue to be a reader of this series; I always enjoy them and I appreciate the diversity and inclusivity of the books, as well as the atmosphere of the setting and the magic.

Have a great weekend! 🙂

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

January 13, 2023August 16, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Bleh. I actually really liked Josie Silver usually so this was kind of a huge disappointment. I think I was expecting the complete wrong thing, but on top of that, it wasn’t good at being what it turned out to be. I’m going to stop speaking in code now and just tell you what’s up…

As one of her writing assignments, journalist Cleo is sent to the remote island of Salvation, Ireland to “marry herself” on her thirtieth birthday. Already feeling annoyed and out of control, she’s even more upset to find that the cabin she rented has also been rented by American photographer Mack, who traces his roots back to Salvation and is here to see the land for himself. With neither budging or willing to leave, they share the cabin and continue to get on each other’s nerves.

Meanwhile, they’re both falling hard for Salvation. The tiny island of one hundred residents has a natural beauty and an incredible kinship neither have ever felt – Cleo lives in London with the hopes of making her dreams come true, and Mack has had his marriage on pause for over a year. What will the island teach them about what’s happening in their own homes?

So, based on the description of this book and the reviews I saw, I assumed this was romance. I guess I kind of assumed that about The Two Lives of Lydia Bird as well, but this one especially. I purposely wrote this description so you would not confuse it as romance. I definitely would not actually classify it as such. This is definitely more in the “contemporary fiction” side of things, and not good contemporary fiction either. The characters fell flat or were borderline annoying, and a lot of the plot elements were unnecessary to the story.

I immediately bristled when I discovered that Cleo was British. Every time I read a British book or it has British characters, I find myself increasingly frustrated by the frivolity and harshness of them. Especially in contrast to the nice, Irish folk who live on Salvation, Cleo really starts out hard to like. She snaps at Mack unnecessarily, and acts like a princess who cannot be bothered to do things for herself. I’m glad to see there’s some character growth by the end of it, which I think is due in part to the island changing and shaping her character. I think Cleo does go through a transformation, compared to Mack, but I think what Silver is not doing is drawing direct comparisons and lessons from the plot. That lacking component makes the book, and each little piece of it, feel near pointless.

This ending? Also sucks. I know I’m picky, but I can’t stand stuff like this. It reminds me of A Lot Like Adios and I’m not here for it. I get that life is messy, and life should inform art…but I like when there’s a clear direction and a happy bow to tie it all together when I read. I didn’t even know how I wanted this to end, as the reader, but this wasn’t it. It felt open ended and depressing; I would not be satisfied with it if I were the character, and shouldn’t you want the best for your characters?

The only bright spot in this whole book was the island. The landscape and the people of Salvation were the best part of this book. The supporting characters were lovely and warm, and I wish I could’ve read about them instead. Delta and Barney, especially.

I think this turned me off to Josie Silver in the future. While I loved Lydia Bird, both synopses have felt a bit like a bait and switch in a bad way. I’m all set with that.

Have an awesome weekend!

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

December 30, 2022August 12, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 2 Comments

Other Possible Prompts: 6. Household object on the cover, 11. A book with less than 2022 Goodreads ratings, 23. Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name, 38. Don’t judge a book by its cover!, 41. Involves a second chance, 45. A book with illustrated people on the cover

I think I’m in a challenge with myself to see just how much Tessa Bailey I can read in a single year. I’m killing it in 2022, and I’d be even one point higher if she released the sequel to this one as soon as possible because I need it.

Hallie has been pining for Julian Vos, heir to the local winery, since her freshman year of high school. When he returns to their town of St. Helena for the summer, Hallie finagles a gardening job at the Vos guest house so she has a front row seat for his return. When Julian can’t help but break his rigid schedules for the charming Hallie, and real sparks start to fly, Hallie realizes reality with Julian may be even better than what she’s been imagining all these years…

…if only she hadn’t written anonymous secret admirer letters to Julian at the same time – and he wrote back.

This is going to be the perfect Valentine’s Day read. It comes out right before Valentines 2023, and it’s a sweet-as-pie romance for the day. The whole “secret admirer” concept feels very Valentines-y, and I think this romance has less bite and more sweetness to it than the usual Tessa Bailey. It’s a little on the lighter side and I think the cover reflects that…

I hate the cover. I’m just going to come right out and say it. I don’t know who’s been doing the last few Tessa Bailey covers (except My Killer Vacation…that one was good actually), but they do not impress me. We’ve ventured far, far into the land of “borderline immature”, over the line of “looks like young adult but is dangerously not”. These literally look like kids cartoons, and it’s too far gone. Reel it in a bit, graphic design department. I can say *with confidence* if this had not been Tessa Bailey I just wouldn’t have picked it up.

I don’t think I’ve rated a Tessa Bailey this low in quite a while, and I think it’s because I just didn’t connect with this one in any way. I didn’t hate Hallie, but I didn’t love her. I liked her chaos, but I felt like she was making a lot of excuses for something and not a lot of progress. She should’ve been seeking therapy or grief counseling in the book, like she kept encouraging Julian to do for his anxiety. While his panic attacks were very legitimate, and his desire to keep things so regimented for management felt very real, I still didn’t really connect with him even as someone with anxiety. Beyond his mental illness, this guy just had a stick up his ass. At least Hallie was carefree and warm; no matter how much he tried to prove the contrary, I couldn’t see Julian as anything other than a cold and calculating rich dude in a suit.

I still think this lives up to the standard for her romance books, but I definitely didn’t connect with it or enjoy the tropes. She executes it well but it’s not a romance I would’ve picked to read if it hadn’t been an author that I loved so much. If you *do* like those tropes, I would definitely recommend as it is still quality romance! What I really can’t wait for is the sequel. Clearly, Julian’s sister Natalie has an enemies-to-lovers trope happening based on some of the scenes in this book, and I can’t wait for it.

A copy of Secretly Yours was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It will be released February 7, 2023. Hope you all have a great week!

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

December 27, 2022August 12, 2022 by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Other Possible Prompts: 5. Chapters have titles, 22. An unlikely detective, 23. An author with an X, Y, or Z in their name, 25. A wealthy character, 33. A bilingual character, 52. Published in 2022

I finally got around to The Paris Apartment! I bought it on release day and my friends have been telling me to read it for months now, because they loved it so much. It doesn’t stand out to me as an incredible mystery/thriller, but it did have me constantly guessing and gasping out loud – so that’s a win in my book!

Jess arrives in Paris late one night to spend some time with her half-brother, Ben, at his apartment. As she stands at the gate, no one lets her in. When she finally makes her way into his flat, no one is home. With his keys and wallet left behind, Jess begins to feel something is off…Ben was expecting her just an hour before. Something is wrong. She begins to ask questions of the building’s other inhabitants – the rich woman in the penthouse, a lost and innocent young woman, Ben’s old friend, and an alcoholic – about his whereabouts, and ends up uncovering a mystery that goes far beyond her brother. Everyone has something to hide…no one is safe.

As many of the reviews say, pay attention to *everything* in this book. Every little detail is important, and you’ll find yourself going “OMG THAT’S WHY!!” over and over again while you read! That level of detail and craftsmanship in a novel is hella admirable, and incredibly difficult to find. Very, very well done on Foley’s part. Definitely makes me want to read another one of hers!

I couldn’t shake the feeling when I started this that it had Lock Every Door vibes, and the setting and the storyline actually do feel a bit similar even after finishing it. I actually feel like a lot of the books I’ve read as of late have that feeling about them, and that unmistakable feeling that it’s going to be a Murder on the Orient Express situation. When you can’t seem to pinpoint anyone’s innocence, you start to wonder if they might all be guilty. A lot of the thrillers I’ve picked up lately seem to be falling along those lines, but I thought this one was especially well done, even a cut above the others – including Lock Every Door. Her writing style and the mapped out storyline just feel more mature and thoughtful.

Jess is really the only character I genuinely liked, but I think I understood all of them in their own ways. It made the story all the more interesting when I didn’t really *like* someone, but I could understand why they were the way that they were. Jess was kind of a neutral, but I thought her sleuthing abilities were top notch. The story that unfolds will just keep on surprising you, and each character fits seamlessly into the narrative in their own way. Just don’t trust anyone.

The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars was the fact that it just didn’t totally wow me. Foley didn’t reinvent the wheel, but she wrote a damn good mystery. I want to read more of her books for sure, and maybe one of them will shock me so much it’ll earn my fifth star!

Have an awesome week friends!

The Charmed Librarian

The Charmed Librarian is a book review blog for new and upcoming releases! Get your weekly dose of lit love right here.