Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: June 25th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Adult, Canada, Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction, Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Liz Lewis has tried everything to be what people want, but she’s always been labeled different in the boisterous world of wilderness expeditions. Her marriage to popular adventure guide Tobin Renner-Lewis is a sinkhole of toxic positivity where she’s the only one saying no.

When she gets mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party,Liz vows to stop playing a minor character in her own life. The (incredibly well-researched and scientific) plan? A crash course in confidence . . . via an improv comedy class. The catch? She’s terrible at it, and the only
person willing to practice with her is a certain extroverted wilderness guide who seems dead set on saving their marriage.

But as Liz and Tobin get closer again, she’s forced to confront all the reasons they didn’t work the first time, along with her growing suspicion that her social awkwardness might mean something deeper. Liz must learn improv’s most important lesson—“Yes, and”—or she’ll have to choose between the love she always wanted and the dreams that got away.

Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chances explores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice . . . with the same person?

First Line:

The first minute of my thirtieth birthday party is everyone I want it to be.

Important details about Rules for Second Chances

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Liz)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Rules for Second Changes contains themes that include parental neglect, abandonment, anti-autistic bias, needles, medication, lost child, lost pet, childbirth, ableism, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, toxic relationship, infidelity, emotional abuse, anxiety, anxiety attacks, depression, alcohol consumption, and animal injury. Please read carefully if these trigger you.

Language: Rules for Second Changes contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Rules for Second Chances.

Setting: Rules for Second Chances is set in Grey Tusk, British Columbia, Canada.

My Review

I was not expecting how this book would feel when I accepted the widget the publisher sent me. I had read the blurb and thought this would be quick and easy. Yeah, that wasn’t the case. Put it this way: I was a teary mess as the book ended. Since I read at night, that woke my husband up, and I tried to explain what set me off.

The main storyline for Rules for Second Chances is centered on Liz. When the book starts, Liz is hurrying to her thirtieth birthday party, which is thrown for her by her very popular, extroverted husband, Tobin. Liz loses her shit when a guest mistakes her for a server at her party. It pushes Liz to realize that she must take control of her life. And her way of doing that? Joining an improv class run by her husband’s best friend and asking Tobin for a divorce. Realizing she is terrible at improv, Liz decides to ask Tobin to help her practice. As she and Tobin grow closer, Liz begins to think that her social awkwardness might have a more profound meaning. Will she fold with pressure mounting at the wilderness guide company they both work for and in Liz’s personal life? Or will Liz roll with the punches, like improv has taught her? And most importantly, will she be able to save her marriage?

I started this book not liking Liz. The author didn’t give a lot of background to her. She worked with Tobin at the same wilderness guide company but was extremely socially awkward and insecure. But my dislike of her didn’t even last through the first chapter. The author made it almost painfully clear that Liz, for most of her life, was made to feel like she was a spectator in her own life. I loved seeing her character grow throughout the book. By the end of the book, she went from this mousy person who hated confrontation to this self-assured woman. It took Liz a lot of work to get where she was at the end of the book, but it was worth the journey.

Tobin was quickly my favorite character in Rules for Second Chances. He loved Liz and was willing to do anything to fix their marriage (the Little Mermaid scene will be forever etched into my brain). I liked that Tobin wasn’t as confident as he was made out to be. I also liked that he owned his mistakes and that, during one crucial scene, he was willing to let Liz go—because it would make her happy.

I did have characters I didn’t like, but I will touch on two because they were the most prevalent. I was not fond of Tobin’s father and Liz’s older sister. I was furious with both during different parts of the book. Tobin’s father was a piece of work (he was a piece of shit who managed to help ruin their wedding and an anniversary dinner). But Liz’s sister took home the award for the biggest asshole to date. She had her suspicions about Liz having autism, but instead of talking to Liz about it, she sat on it. It wasn’t in a normal conversation when she decided to tell Liz her suspicions. Instead, it was blurted out in an argument, which made it somewhat worse for Liz to hear. The author did attempt to have Liz’s sister redeem herself towards the end of the book. But Tobin’s father jetted and was only mentioned once or twice after that scene.

I loved the secondary storyline that revolved around the improv group and the self-help book. Those were some of the funniest scenes in the book, but they were also some of the most heartbreaking.

I liked how the author handled Liz’s journey through her autism diagnosis. The author’s forward explains that she wrote Liz’s character and autism journey to the best of her ability and that Liz doesn’t portray every adult autism diagnosis.

The end of Rules for Second Chances was terrific. I loved how the author ended things for Tobin and Liz. It was the perfect ending for this book!!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Maggie North for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Rules for Second Chances. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Rules for Second Chances, then you will enjoy these books:

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam

Date of publication: July 9th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Suspense

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When an heiress goes missing, her best friend races to unravel the secrets behind her disappearance using clues left behind in an explosive manuscript…

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were girls, forever bonded by the tragedy that unfolded in Greece when they were eighteen. In the aftermath, bookish Abby threw herself into her studies while heiress Gia chronicled the events of that fateful summer in a salacious memoir.

Twelve years later, Gia is back in Greece for the summer with her shiny new husband and a motley crew of glamorous guests, preparing to sell the family estate in the wake of her father’s death. When Abby receives an invitation from Gia to celebrate her birthday in September beneath the Northern Lights, she’s thrilled to be granted the time off from her high-pressure job. But the day of her flight, she receives a mysterious, threatening email in her inbox, and when she and Gia’s brother Benny arrive at the Swedish resort, Gia isn’t there. After days of cryptic messages and unanswered calls, Abby and Benny are worried enough to fly to Greece to check on her.

Only, when they arrive, they find Gia’s beachfront estate eerily deserted, the sole clue to her whereabouts a manuscript she wrote detailing the events leading up to her disappearance. The pages reveal the dark truth about Gia’s provocative new marriage and the dirty secrets of the guests they entertained with fizzy champagne under the hot Mediterranean sun. As tensions rise, Gia feels less and less safe in her own home. But the pages end abruptly, leaving Abby and Benny with more questions than answers.

Where is Gia now? And, more importantly, will they find her before it’s too late?

First Line

The night before Hugo Torres’s funeral, a cheetah escaped it’s enclosure at the Bronx Zoo and devoured a warthog.

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

Important details about Ladykiller

Pace: Fast

POV: 1st person (Abby and Gia)

Ladykiller contains themes of infidelity, toxic relationships, gaslighting, toxic friendship, alcohol, death, drug use, emotional abuse, blood, and the death of a parent. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Ladykiller contains moderate to explicit swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is explicit sexual content in Ladykiller.

Setting: Ladykiller is set in Greece, Sweden, New York, and California. 

My Review:

Thrillers are one of my favorite genres to read (romance is my top genre), so I try to accept any and all requests that end up in my inbox. So, I didn’t hesitate when Random House sent me the invite for Ladykiller. I was taken in by the blurb and the cover (which is gorgeous). But now that I have finished the book, I am slightly disappointed.

There are two interconnected storylines in Ladykiller. The first centers on Gia and is told through a manuscript. The second storyline centers on Abby (and later Benny) and their search for Gia. Both storylines merge towards the end of the book. That merger and the events afterward made me go from really liking the book to feeling “meh” about it.

The storyline centered on Gia was interesting to read. The author provided a lot of information in those chapters of the manuscript. Gia came across as very trusting and, if I dare say it, a little naive. But that notion was blown away when she caught onto her husband’s duplicity. The end of her storyline was left up in the air, and I honestly didn’t know what to believe by the end of the book.

The storyline that centered on Abby was more straightforward than Gia’s. Abby seemed to be a straight shooter. But, after Sweden, there was something different about her. Her secrets ate her alive, and Greece was the center of everything. I found Abby boring. She wavered with her feelings for Benny. Her friendship with Gia was like a remora (right from the book), and I wish that she had taken the advice she was given.

As I said above, when the two storylines merge, I started to feel “meh” about the book. There was no lead into Gia’s disappearance nor clues as to where she could be. I also didn’t believe that everyone in that house disappeared without a trace or that the local authorities would let an outsider take over the investigation. I could have dealt with that and with not knowing who to believe. I would have been happy with the author’s half, no, and semi-explanations. But the epilogue made me go from “good book” to “meh.” It was too much.

The mystery angle of Ladykiller was truly that—a mystery. Because Gia was unreliable and her manuscript embellished, I had a hard time believing her story. I also had a hard time believing Abby’s story once both twists were revealed. Yes, there are two twists, and both I did see coming.

The end of Ladykiller was interesting. The author wrapped up one storyline but left the other storylines wide open. In a way, it is genius. I will never know what the real truth is, only what Abby precieves is the truth. And I don’t even believe that.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Katherine Wood for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Ladykiller. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Ladykiller, then you will enjoy these books:

Knife River by Justine Champine

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press

Date of publication: May 28th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, LGBT, Suspense, Adult, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Lesbian

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Jess was thirteen her mother went for a walk and never returned. Jess and her older sister Liz never found out what happened. Instead, they did what they hoped their mother would do: survive. As soon as she was old enough, Jess fled their small town of Knife River, wandering from girlfriend to girlfriend like a ghost in her own life, aimless in her attempts to outrun grief and confusion. But one morning fifteen years later she gets the call she’s been bracing herself for: Her mother’s remains have been found.

First Line:

Her bones were discovered by a group of children playing in the woods.

Important details about Knife River

Pace: Slow

POV: 1st person (Jess)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Knife River contains themes that include alcoholism, murder, alcohol, gun violence, the death of a parent, cancer, bullying, cheating, infidelity, anxiety, anxiety attacks, depression, mental health, blood, disappearance of a loved one, and homophobia. Please read carefully if these trigger you.

Language: Knife River contains moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Knife River.

Setting: Knife River is set in Knife River, New York.

My Review

When I read the blurb for Knife River, I was intrigued. I read it after some internal debate (because I always do that with these books) and am glad I did. This book is a poignant and heartbreaking look into life after a loved one disappears. It also explores what the family goes through when a victim is found.

The main storyline of Knife River follows Jess. Jess was thirteen when her mother disappeared. Her mother’s disappearance and her older sister raising her had a drastic impact on Jess. She drifted from one relationship to another and kept everyone (including family) at arm’s length. One day, she receives a phone call from her older sister that turns her world upside down. Her mother’s body had been found, and she needed a home. Jess is determined to understand why her mother disappeared and looks for answers. The deeper she digs, the more she uncovers about her mother; not all is good. The answers she seeks might be different from what she wants to hear.

Knife River is a slow book. The slowness grated on me in places, but I understood why the author chose to keep it at this pace. The book needed to be slow to understand Jess’s state of mind and her actions throughout the book.

Jess was not likable, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Sometimes, she couldn’t get out of her own way and made things worse for herself. She also did and said things that made my eyebrows raise and made me wonder, “Why?” She was so damaged, and the author didn’t sugarcoat it.

The mystery of Jess’s mother’s disappearance was very well written. The author did a great job of showing what went into investigating a cold case and trying to find leads after fifteen years. She showed Jess and her sister’s frustration with the police when they stopped communicating with them about the case (of course, there was another reason why). I also liked Jess’s investigation and how she accidentally stumbled upon the truth of what happened. That was a massive twist to the disappearance. It was one that I didn’t see coming and took me completely by surprise.

The end of Knife River left me with more questions than answers. I was confused as to what happened with Jess and the girl she was sleeping with and why she just sat on the confession she got. But I did like that Jess and her sister had grown closer at the end of the book and, in a way, started healing from their mother’s disappearance.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and Justine Champine for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Knife River. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Knife River, then you will enjoy these books:

All’s Fair in Love and War (Miss Prentice’s Protegee’s: Book 1) by Virginia Heath

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: May 28th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Regency, Fiction, Adult, Regency Romance, Humor, British Literature

Series: Miss Prentice’s Protegee’s

All’s Fair in Love and War—Book 1

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A new Regency romp of a series, about governess who believes in cultivating joy in her charges, clashes with the children’s uncle who hired her, only to find herself falling in love.

When the flighty older sister of former naval captain, Henry Kincaid, decides on a whim to accompany her explorer husband on an expedition to Egypt, he finds himself unwittingly left in the lurch with her three unruly children and her giant, mad dog. With no clue how to manage the little rascals, a busy career at the Admiralty that requires all of his attention, and no idea when his sister is coming back, Harry has to hire an emergency governess to ensure that everything in his ordered house continues to run shipshape. In desperation, he goes to Miss Prentice’s School for Girls prepared to pay whatever it takes to get a governess quick sharp to bring order to the chaos.

Thanks to her miserable, strict upbringing, fledgling governess Georgina Rowe does not subscribe to the ethos that children should be seen and not heard. She believes childhood should be everything that hers wasn’t, filled with laughter, adventure, and discovery. Thankfully, the three Pendleton children she has been tasked with looking after are already delightfully bohemian and instantly embrace her unconventional educational ethos. Their staid, stickler-for-the-rules uncle, however, is another matter entirely…

First Line:

Georgie stared up at the strange building while her stepfather’s latest dour housekeeper supervised the unloading of her things from the back of the hackney.

Important details about All’s Fair in Love and War

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Henry and Georgina)

Series: All’s Fair in Love and War is the first book in Miss Prentice’s Protegees series.

Content/Trigger Guidance: All’s Fair in Love and War contains themes that include the death of a parent, child abuse, emotional abuse, animal cruelty, abandonment, classism, era-appropriate sexism & misogyny, anxiety, anxiety attacks, alcohol consumption, military service, military deployment, and conscription.

Language: All’s Fair in Love and War contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in All’s Fair in Love and War.

Setting: All’s Fair in Love and War is set in London (Mayfair), Plymouth, and Cawsand, England.

My Review

When I started reading All’s Fair in Love and War, I badly needed a book that didn’t require me to think about what I read. The previous three books I had read before this one were heavy books, and I badly needed one that I could coast through. Thankfully, All’s Fair in Love and War let my overstimulated brain rest.

All’s Fair in Love and War is the first book in the Miss Prentice’s Protegee’s series. Since it is the first book, there will be no warning if it is a standalone. You can dive right into this book without having to worry about that.

The storyline of All’s Fair in Love and War follows Georgina and Henry. Georgina has been trained to be a governess at a prestigious school, where she is the founder’s protege. However, she has been having issues finding work because she does not adhere to conventional teaching or raising children. Because of her childhood, which was spent being shuttled from naval base to naval base by her stepfather, she abhors rules and believes that children should be seen and not kept in the classrooms or out of sight. These beliefs have cost her jobs. When Henry, a former naval captain on the fast track to becoming an Admiral, inquired at the agency about governesses after his sister left her three children with him, Georgina was presented and hired. Georgina and Henry’s relationship begins, both working and personal. The more time the two spend together, with and without the children, the closer they get.

Georgina (or Georgie) was way ahead of her time, education-wise, and I liked that. I do have a feeling that Georgie’s views on education and childrearing will upset some of the die-hard Regency readers (too modern), But, for me, it was refreshing. I liked seeing the children bloom under Georgie’s care. I was also surprised when it was revealed (by the children) that their mother taught them and that all of them were smart beyond their years. Georgie considered that in their lessons, and I loved seeing the children learning in an environment that enriched and supported them.

I liked Georgie. She wasn’t afraid to let people know her feelings and views. Her childhood (and the abandonment at Miss Prentice’s school) did scar her, but she refused to let it bring her down. She was authentically herself and stayed true to herself throughout the book.

I also liked Henry. He did come across as an uptight, rigid person at the beginning of the book. But, as his backstory was explained, I understood why he was that way. He was terrified of reliving his childhood with irresponsible parents. But, at the same time, he was also terrified not to live up to the standards that his grandfather and the Royal Navy beat into him. He was also a workaholic and was severely stressed out when Georgie and the children came into his life. He needed them, even if he wouldn’t admit that to himself. His character growth was fun, and I loved seeing him unwind. I also loved seeing him slowly realize there is more to life than work and promotions.

I can’t write this review without mentioning the children or the dogs. The children and Norbert (the dog) stole scenes when they were in them. I laughed at their shenanigans. I also agreed with Henry when he said that they were hellions. And Norbert, you have to read the book to understand my Norbert love (and I am including his son, too). Everyone should have a Norbert.

The romance angle of All’s Fair in Love and War was sweet and a little spicy. Henry fought, falling in love with Georgie. At a point in the book, I got a little frustrated with him because he was hung up on something that happened years earlier (being forced to break an engagement). I would be rich if I had a nickel for every eye roll I did when that woman’s name was mentioned. I liked that Georgie was more straightforward. Once she got to know Henry (saw past what he projected), she fell in love with the inner him.

Of course, there is sex in this book. Because of the chemistry and the build-up that the author did with Henry and Georgie, the sex was fantastic—a little vanilla but amazing.

The end of All’s Fair in Love and War was your typical HEA. I liked that everything worked out for Henry and Georgie. But I am curious about the next book and whether it will be anything like Henry and Georgie’s romance.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Virginia Heath for allowing me to read and review this ARC of All’s Fair in Love and War. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to All’s Fair in Love and War, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Virginia Heath

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: June 11th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Chick-Lit, Adult, Adult Fiction, Family

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

First Line

Logan Scott called just as I was making dinner, and I almost didn’t answer because my dad and I were singing along to ABBA’s greatest hits.

Important details about The Rom-Commers

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Emma)

Content/Trigger Guidance: The Rom-Commers contains themes that include the death of a parent, cancer, grief, injury, injury detail, medical content, death, medical trauma, panic attacks, chronic illness, car accident, terminal illness, misogyny, blood, alcohol, vomit, toxic friendship, animal death, infertility, and toxic relationship. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: The Rom-Commers contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is semi-graphic sexual content in The Rom-Commers.

Setting: The Rom-Commers is set in Los Angeles, California, but the beginning and ending chapters are in Texas.

My Review:

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors. I have read every book she has published in the last four or five years and enjoyed each. As soon as I see that she has a book coming out, I stalk it and pray that I get to read the ARC. When the publisher decides to send me the widget, I get super excited, and I can’t download the book fast enough. That is how it played out with The Rom-Commers. I did get a little worried, though. Books I have built up in my mind have a habit of not living up to the hype. That wasn’t the case with The Rom-Commers, thankfully. 

The Rom-Commer’s main storyline is centered around Emma. Emma is a socially awkward, slightly obnoxious, but sweet wanna-be screenwriter. When her father was seriously hurt and her mother was killed in a freak rock-climbing accident, Emma had to put her dreams on hold to take care of her father and sister. When her best friend offers her a job to rewrite a script for a famous screenwriter, she accepts. With her sister and father urging her, Emma sets out to LA. Once there, she is surprised that her best friend has forced her onto Charlie without warning. But when Charlie reads her revisions, he reluctantly agrees to the rewrite. The longer Emma stays with Charlie, the more she falls for him. But Charlie is a cynic. He does not believe in love. It isn’t until Emma leaves that he is forced to face his feelings.

I enjoyed The Rom-Commers. I don’t know anything about what goes into being a screenwriter, but the author did a great job of explaining it. She only went into great depth with some things, but she explained enough so I understood the basics.

I liked Emma. As I said above, she was a socially awkward, slightly obnoxious, but sweet girl. She had a whole lot of stuff dumped on her at an early age (she was in her mid-to-late teens when the accident happened). Plus, she had to almost single-handedly raise her younger sister while her father relearned to live with his disabilities. I liked that she was good at what she did and knew it.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Charlie for most of the book. He was surprised when Emma showed up with his manager out of the blue. I also get that he suffered from writer’s block, which contributed to his writing such a bad rom-com. But, everything after that, Charlie was being a jerk. The things he said about Emma were horrible (he didn’t know she overheard), and how he treated her was awful. But Charlie did redeem himself in my eyes. I’m not going into what he did, but let’s say that I was bawling my eyes out when Emma confronted him about everything.

The romance angle was slow. I felt that it was a one-step-forward/three-step-back progression. It didn’t help that Charlie didn’t believe in love and thought Emma (a rom-com addict) was ridiculous in her beliefs. There was a point in the book where I wanted to slap Charlie upside the head and shake some sense into him. But once Charlie’s Grinch heart grew three sizes too big, he realized what he had given up.

The end of The Rom-Commers felt rushed. It wasn’t my favorite ending, but it worked. I wish more attention had been paid to Charlie and Emma’s HEA. While I liked reading about everyone else, I didn’t think it was needed. It was that extra that made the ending rushed.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Katherine Center for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Rom-Commers. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Rom-Commers, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Katherine Center

Dead Tired (The Expectant Detectives: Book 2) by Kat Ailes

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: June 4th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Adult

Series: The Expectant Detectives

The Expectant Detectives—Book 1 (review here)

Dead Tired—Book 2

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Being a new mom is murder.

Alice didn’t think her maternity leave would involve so much, well, murder. Before becoming proud new moms, she and her friends bonded more than members of a prenatal group usually would, as they became accidental amateur sleuths and solved a crime together. Now, with all this behind them and Alice’s son Jack somehow already a year old, Alice is keen to finally catch up on some sleep. So when an opportunity presents itself in the unlikely form of an eco-protest, Alice and her friends willingly chain themselves to trees and settle in as an excuse to get some overdue rest. Not the most comfortable arrangement ever, but at this point, they’ll take what they can get.

However, the next morning one of their fellow protesters is found strangled, and any hope of a peaceful interlude is suddenly swept away. Soon Alice and her friends become entangled in a plot involving rogue artists, an enigmatic local entrepreneur, and nude (optional) protesting, offering an unexpected—but not necessarily unwelcome—break from changing diapers and wrestling baby toys away from Helen the dog.

Alice, whose success rate in solving countryside murder is at an all-time high (one out of one), cannot resist the chance to demonstrate her detective skills once more, and assembles her gang of new moms to investigate this latest mystery in their not-so-sleepy English countryside village.

First Line:

There used to be an advert for Boursin herby cheese that showed a couple enjoying a picture-perfect picnic in a meadow-only to zoom out and reveal a combine harveswter heading straight for them.

Important details about Dead Tired

Pace: Fast

POV: 1st person (Alice)

Series: Dead Tired is the 2nd book in The Expectant Detectives series.

Content/Trigger Guidance: Dead Tired contains themes that include classism, alcohol consumption, dead bodies, death of a partner, death of a sibling, grief & loss depiction, strangulation, murder, and poisoning. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Dead Tired contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Dead Tired.

Setting: Dead Tired is set in the town of Penton, England.

My Review

I had been waiting for Dead Tired to come out as soon as I had finished The Expectant Detectives. I couldn’t wait to see what trouble Alice, Hen, Poppy, and Ailsa could get into. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. This book had me laughing and trying to figure out who killed Leila and Sam.

Dead Tired is the second book in The Expectant Detective series. It cannot be read standalone; you need to read book 1 to understand what is happening in book 2.

The main storyline in Dead Tired revolves around Alice, her friends, a protest group, two murders, and Alice and her friends (minus Hen) investigating them. The storyline has a nice blend of humor and suspense.

The mystery angle of the book was terrific. The author kept who killed Leila and Sam under wraps until almost the end of the book. There were many red herrings and misdirections from the author, so when it was revealed, I was shocked and saddened. I was also shocked by the murder of Sam and why that person did it.

I enjoyed the humor in the book. As a mother of three, I related to Alice, Poppy, Hen, and Ailsa. I could see myself in each of them. Everything was relatable, from Alice’s dirty house to Ailsa’s crunchy mothering. The first birthday scene had me in stitches, as did the scene where Alice stripped Aurora and put Jack’s clothes on her so she could get dirty.

The end of Dead Tired was typical. I liked how Alice figured everything out and presented the case to everyone. The author also left enough wiggle room with the last sentence in the epilogue. I will be eagerly awaiting book 3.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Kat Ailes for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Dead Tired. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Dead Tired, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Kat Ailes

Mind Games by Nora Roberts

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 21st, 2024

Genre: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Paranormal, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Identity presents a suspenseful new novel of tragedy and trauma, love and family, and the evil that awaits.

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse―because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them―and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

First Line:

For Thea, the very best part of summer started the second week of June.

Important details about Mind Games

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Thea, Tyler, Ray)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Mind Games contains themes that include the death of a parent(s), murder, violence, grief, panic attacks, stalking, death of a child, gaslighting, domestic abuse, gun violence, emotional abuse, blood, injury, injury detail, animal cruelty, and physical abuse. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Mind Games contain moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Mind Games.

Setting: Mind Games is set in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky.

My Review:

I have been reading Nora Roberts’ books for as long as I can remember. My grandmother was a huge fan, and I would snatch her latest book after she read it. So, it was a no-brainer for me to read Mind Games.

The main storyline of Mind Games centers around Thea, her relationship with her parents’ murderer, her gift, and her relationship with Tyler. It is a well-written storyline that shook me with the trauma that Thea endured throughout the book.

I found Thea’s gift fascinating. Thea was psychic, and somehow, she formed a connection with Ray, the murderer, who is also psychic. Thankfully, Lucy (her grandmother) is also psychic and taught Thea how to control the gift. Those lessons also, for the most part, kept Ray out of Thea’s head during her teenage years. Thea’s gift was strong, but I didn’t realize how strong it was until she built that world where it physically hurt Ray. And let’s remember what she did at the end. That did scare me because it showed exactly how strong her gift was.

Tyler and Thea’s romance did seem a little forced, but the more they interacted, the more I liked them together. During the breakup scene, I was heartbroken because of what was said and the accusations that Tyler flung at Thea. I also didn’t like how he didn’t let her explain herself. I also didn’t like that Thea tried to prove herself to Tyler with her gift. That did make me go, WTH?

I enjoyed the thriller angle of the book. I liked that it was a more mental game between Thea and Ray (because he was in prison). Even though I knew he couldn’t get out, I tensed up when he taunted Thea through their link.

I loved the end of Mind Games. I liked how everything turned out, and I felt that Ray got what he deserved!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Nora Roberts for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Mind Games. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Mind Games, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Nora Roberts

Rednecks by Taylor Brown

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 14th, 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Southern, Drama

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A historical drama based on the Battle of Blair Mountain, pitting a multi-ethnic army of 10,000 coal miners against mine owners, state militia, and the United States government in the largest labor uprising in American history.

Rednecks is a tour de force, big canvas historical novel that dramatizes the 1920 to 1921 events of the West Virginia Mine Wars—from the Matewan Massacre through the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, when some one million rounds were fired, bombs were dropped on Appalachia, and the term “redneck” would come to have an unexpected origin story.

Brimming with the high stakes drama of America’s buried history, Rednecks tells a powerful story of rebellion against oppression. In a land where the coal companies use violence and intimidation to keep miners from organizing, “Doc Moo” Muhanna, a Lebanese-American doctor (inspired by the author’s own great-grandfather), toils amid the blood and injustice of the mining camps. When Frank Hugham, a Black World War One veteran and coal miner, takes dramatic steps to lead a miners’ revolt with a band of fellow veterans, Doc Moo risks his life and career to treat sick and wounded miners, while Frank’s grandmother, Beulah, fights her own battle to save her home and grandson. Real-life historical figures burn bright among the hills: the fiery Mother Jones, an Irish-born labor organizer once known as “The Most Dangerous Woman in America,” struggles to maintain the ear of the miners (“her boys”) amid the tide of rebellion, while the sharp-shooting police chief “Smilin” Sid Hatfield dares to stand up to the “gun thugs” of the coal companies, becoming a folk hero of the mine wars.

Award-winning novelist Taylor Brown brings to life one of the most compelling events in 20th century American history, reminding us of the hard-won origins of today’s unions. Rednecks is a propulsive, character-driven tale that’s both a century old and blisteringly contemporary: a story of unexpected friendship, heroism in the face of injustice, and the power of love and community against all odds.

First Line:

Doc Moo was up at the coal camp above town, checking on an elderly patient of his, when the Baldwins came rattling up the road in a pair of tin lizzies, their rifles and shotguns prickling from the windows, like hackles and spines.

Important details about Rednecks

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (numerous characters)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Rednecks contains themes that include bullying, classism, homelessness, poverty, racism, terrorism, alcohol consumption, blood, gore, body horror, dead bodies, body parts, decapitation, dismemberment, loss of limb, medical treatment, medical procedures, mutilation, physical injuries, scars, death, grief, explosions, fire, arson, gun violence, murder, physical assault, police brutality, police violence, torture, mass murder, war themes, and military violence. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Rednecks contain moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is nongraphic sexual content in Rednecks.

Setting: Rednecks is set around Blair Mountain, West Virginia.

My Review:

The storyline of Rednecks is centered around a conflict called the West Virginia Miner Wars (1920-1921). These wars were the most significant armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, but little is known about it because politicians and coal mining executives covered it up. I will warn you: this book is bloody, violent, and is not an easy read. But people need to read because this is a part of American history.

Another thing that I liked about this book was how the author incorporated actual events and people into the timeline. Everyone (and every event) in this book is real, except for Dr. Muhanna (Doc Moo), a Lebanese-American doctor based on the author’s great-grandfather. It made the book stand out more to me. 

I do want to explain the book’s title. The miners wore red kerchiefs tied around their necks, identifying them to the police and army they were fighting against. The police and army started using this as a derogatory statement, and it has stuck to this day.

I was irritated by the end of the book. I thought people would have been up in arms over what happened (a year of war in Appalachia). But instead, people who were sympathetic to the coal miners (mainly politicians) started denouncing everything that happened. And the reason the coal miners went on strike (working conditions and wanting shorter days) was forgotten.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Taylor Brown for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Summers at the Saint. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Rednecks, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Taylor Brown

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 7th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction, Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .

Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

First Line

The first time Traci Eddings saw the Saint she was six or seven.

Important details about Summers at the Saint

Pace: Fast

POV: 3rd person (Traci, Olivia, Shannon, Felice, Garrett)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Summers at the Saint contains themes that include drug use, fatphobia, homophobia, rape, sexual assault, murder, child death, classism, alcoholism, death, drug abuse, infidelity, violence, fire, fire injury, adult/minor relationships, gaslighting, workplace harassment, divorce, abandonment, anxiety & anxiety attacks, drugging, teen pregnancy, terminal illness, hospitalization, physical injuries, death of a parent, death of a spouse, grief & loss depiction, and car accident. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Summers at the Saint contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is mild, nongraphic sexual content in Summers at the Saint.

Setting: Summers at the Saint in the fictional town of Bonaventure, Georgia, at a hotel called the Saint.

My Review:

When I think of Mary Kay Andrews, my mind immediately goes to beach reads. I have read several books by her, and they all have the potential to be such books. So, when I read the blurb of Summers at the Saint, I thought that it was a given that this book (being set in a hotel, in the summer, and on the beach) would be one of those books. Well, color me surprised because I was wrong. Summers at the Saint isn’t a beach book. Instead, I got a fast-paced mystery that kept me glued to the book.

The main storyline of Summers at the Saint centers around the hotel, Traci Eddings, two murders (one from the mid-90s and one in the present), and drama with Traci’s in-laws. Numerous secondary storylines feed into and flesh out the main storyline.

I do want to warn you that this book has several POVs. I don’t like more than two because I feel that switching back and forth can get bogged down. But in this case, it worked. Backgrounds were explained (or alluded to), and storylines were given more depth.

I liked Traci, but she was so busy with everything happening at the hotel and in her personal life that she missed some blatant things happening in and around the hotel. Stuff that was so blatant and so obvious that these people were waving a red flag in front of her, and she didn’t see it. Not that I blamed her because she was dealing with so much.

Other characters in the book get a lot of page time, but if I went through them all, this review would be huge. Each character added depth and background to the primary (and secondary) storylines.

The mystery angle of Summers at the Saint was terrific. The big mystery (the murder) was very twisty and very turny. The author had me in knots trying to figure out who the killer was, and I was shocked by who it was. I was also surprised at the reason why. The death of a small boy nineteen years earlier was also a significant part of the storyline. That mystery led to one of the saddest scenes I have read and gave some much-needed background on why Traci and Shannon stopped being friends.

The end of Summers at the Saint was a feel-good ending. I liked that the author gave all the major players HEAs, and justice was dealt to the bad guys. I liked seeing everyone a year in the future and happy!!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Mary Kay Andrews for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Summers at the Saint. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Summers at the Saint, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Mary Kay Andrews

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure (Nonna Maria: Book 3) by Lorenzo Carcaterra

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam

Date of Publication: May 7th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Italy, Mystery Thriller, Amateur Slueth, Italian Literature

Series: Nonna Maria

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride—Book 1

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Stolen Necklace—Book 2

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure—Book 3

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nonna Maria, “one of the most charming amateur sleuths ever created” (Tess Gerritsen), dodges assassins and hunts for hidden treasure in this transporting mystery from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lorenzo Carcaterra.

As Nonna Maria’s longtime friend and sometimes colleague, Captain Murino of the Ischian caribineri never wanted to see harm brought to the doorstep of everyone’s favorite espresso-brewing, counsel-giving amateur sleuth. But when you live a long life, you’re bound to make a few enemies. And when those enemies come calling, you have to rely on friends. Faced with an assassin seeking revenge for a decades-old grudge, Captain Murino has no choice but to turn to Maria, who must use all her neighborly resources, clever faculties, and web of connections to save him from his perilous predicament.

On the other side of the island, a second mystery begins to unfold from the deathbed of another of Maria’s old friends, when he hands his granddaughter a yellowed map and tells her of a treasure to be found in one of Ischia’s secret caverns, known as the Magician’s Cave. There are traps and pits. There will be others with sinister motives who will do all they can to make the treasure their own. But this map is a guide—the only gift he has to give. When the granddaughter needs help cracking the code, she turns to her grandfather’s most trusted Nonna Maria.

From battling foes in medieval castles to exploring the notorious caverns where smugglers hid their goods, Nonna Maria and her friends—some old, some new—embark on their most swashbuckling adventure yet.

First Line

The man pulled a chair from a small outdoor table and sat down.

Important details about Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Nonna Maria, Captain Murino)

Series: 3rd book in the Nonna Maria series

Content/Trigger Guidance: Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure contains themes that include alcohol consumption, blood, physical injuries, death of a grandparent, grief & loss depiction, death of a spouse, attempted murder, organized crime, physical assault, and violence. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure.

Setting: Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure on the island of Ischia, which is off the coast of Italy in the Bay of Naples.

My Review:

I had a brain fart when I first read the blurb for Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure (side note: for your sanity and to keep this review somewhat short, I will be using NM as an abbreviation). I quickly read the blurb and assumed that it was a middle-grade mystery. Please don’t ask me why because I don’t have an answer. My best answer is that my kids were asking me questions or fighting (more likely the latter), and I didn’t fully pay attention to the blurb. Anyway, I accepted, and I am glad that I did. NM was a good read.

NM is the third book in the Nonna Maria series. You can read it as a standalone, but as I always do, I recommend reading the first two books first. That way, you get a better understanding of the characters and their relationships.

I have a new location to add to my list of places to go. NM is set on the island of Ischia. I did a quick Google search, and oh boy, do I want to go there. The watercolor is fantastic, and I couldn’t get over how the beaches looked in the pictures. Plus, there is the castle (which does make an appearance in this book).

NM has two main storylines. One storyline centers around Nonna Maria, Captain Murino, and the assassin working for an outside mob boss. The other storyline centers around Nonna Maria, the map her deceased friend left his granddaughter, and the search for that. Each storyline was exciting and well-written. When the author merges them at the end of the book, it is almost seamless.

The storyline that centers around Nonna Maria, Captain Murino, and the assassin is interesting. The author goes back to years earlier when Captain Murino was part of an operation to bring down the mob in Florence. I got confused and had to reread the first couple of paragraphs to figure out what was happening. But that didn’t last long, and it was the only time in the book that it happened, so I let it slide. I wasn’t a big fan of Nonna Maria being put in the middle and used almost as bait. But it did lead to an exciting ending to that storyline.

The storyline that centers on Nonna Maria, the map, and the search for the treasure was also exciting. I did get a crash course on the island’s history and how the caves were used. The author also introduced two colorful characters, the Pirate and the Magician, and an American treasure hunter and his assistant. I couldn’t get enough of this storyline and was eager to see if the treasure was uncovered. Of course, there were hijinks (which Nonna Maria was left out of) that led to a race for that group to find the granddaughter’s treasure. Those hijinks were amped up to almost a fever pitch when this group figured out where the treasure was. The end of this storyline was interesting because it didn’t end. It was left up in the air and gave me a feeling that these characters and at least some of this storyline will appear in another book.

I liked Nonna Maria. She had eyes and ears everywhere and often got news faster than Captain Murino. She didn’t let her age slow her down. I also got a laugh that she only drank expresso and wine. But, most of all, I liked the devotion she had and that she inspired in other people.

The end of NM was interesting. While the two mysteries were solved, enough was left open on both to make me wonder if any of these storylines/characters would be reintroduced in another book.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Lorenzo Carcaterra for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Lorenzo Carcaterra