Review: The Other Mrs.

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Beetle

The Beetle by Richard Marsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was interesting. It is a book that was originally published in the same year as Dracula and has the Gothic, horror feel. Unfortunately, it had pacing issues and ups and downs in plot that through me off in the enjoyment of the story. It started out great, really drawing you into the story but then dropped the plot too far. It wasn't until the end where it sort of picked up again, but by then, it was hard to be excited about that.
Not a book for me.
Thank you for the early copy to review. #Netgalley #PoisonedPenPress

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Review: Things in Jars

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has so much atmospheric appeal that it was a pleasure to read and imagine the events unfolding. It centers around Bridie Divine, who is a women investigating the disappearance of 6-year-old Christobel from her wealthy family's estate.
There is so much depth to this story, set in Victorian England and giving all the feeling of an old-fashioned "Who done It?" type of mystery except there are also fairytale themes and magical realism throughout.
One of my favorite connections is between Bridie and Ruby., a deceased boxer, who assists her with the investigation. I would love to see these two in future books by Jess Kidd.
I began by reading this in physical format then listened to the audiobook, which was fabulously narrated by Jacqueline Milne. She has such an expressive voice and range of accents that I found myself listening and reading together once I was able to choose the format. Highly recommended!
Thank you for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Review: Dead to Her

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was quite the read. It will twist you around many times making it a challenge to guess the spoilers. The book is centered around the social elite in Savannah, Georgia which is one of the reasons this book drew me into it. I know this area well enough to relate to much of the descriptions and locations from personal experience. The two main couples are both deeply flawed in many ways. There are Jason and Marcie who are the good looking couple who both have messy past histories and who wed after an affair that rocked Savannah society. The other couple is William and Keisha, he is a wealthy widower who barely mourned his wife's passing before finding a new wife in the UK with stunning Keisha. There are issues with her as well of course because she is much younger than William, from a different country and also is black. This is all shocking to the Country Clubbers who don't even yet allow the wives/women to hold primary membership .
There are twists and turns throughout and there are components of magical thinking with voodoo playing a role in the theme. Overall, I enjoyed the story and plot. The characters seemed flat at times and were all unlikeable. Only a few of the supporting characters seemed to be written as decent people. The pacing also was great at the start and the end but lagged in the middle stretch.
3.5/5
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Review: American Dirt

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would like to thank #netgalley and #FlatironBooks for the early copy to review. I initially intended to finish this for the publication date and had started it. The beginning immediately drew me into the story and the characters. I was engrossed by the narrow escape for Lydia, a mother and her 8-year-old son Luca from a brutal, mass murder by a cartel who executed their entire family. It is a brutal beginning to a novel.
I was about one-third of the way into it when all the criticism became so insistent and attacks on reviewers, like me were happening. I started to relook at what I was reading and if I was really fully grasping it as I should. Was the right person telling the story? Was the author taking liberties with exploiting Mexican and Central American Heritage that she didn't have the right to do? Was her story accurate? There are many "truths" that could be questioned about this book. Some of these were addressed by the author herself in the notes at the end and some are not. All valid points of view but maybe not all answerable within this story.
I think for me, it initially caused me to put the book down for awhile and give it a little space. My first conclusion is that I think we are holding this to too high a standard for a work that is marketed as fiction, not historical fiction or a memoir. It doesn't mean that it shouldn’t be respectful or try to be factual but certainly that buys the author some license to miss some details. Also, based on the author's notes, I felt that she was intending to use the US-Mexican border as the backdrop to her story but that it was really more loosely a story about immigration in general, from all regions of the world. And in the reading of the book I felt that the characters were the main event. The humanity or lack of humanity in their trip and their love for each other were some of the themes that are universal and spoke loudest within the pages of this story. The journey was the backdrop to tell of the love and resilience of the human spirit after suffering the greatest of losses. I don't think getting lost in the weeds changes the overall message.
I personally have never been further into Mexico than across the border, walking into a border town. I don't know anything about Mexico culturally outside of that and the people that I know personally who are from there. I think I cannot speak to the accuracies of the voices in terms of character portrayal or respect for the heritage. I have other, own voices books next up that are not fictional, about immigration stories. One is about a immigration story about a woman from Guatemala who crosses into the USA and the other is short stories from immigrants from several different countries around the world. I think this will offer the alternate perspective to balance this fictional story and hopefully show me inaccuracies if they are there.
Thanks for the early release.
Overall, I loved the writing and the characters. The story is gripping and page-turning. Loved it!

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Review: The Measure of Malice: Scientific Detection Stories

The Measure of Malice: Scientific Detection Stories by Martin Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a pleasure to tread back into these stories of traditional British Crime Classics, like Sherlock Holmes and my favorite was by Dorothy L. Sayers. These are your more traditional "who done it" sort of stories, some were more entertaining and better written or more engaging than others. As with most collections, each story speaks to different people so the collection as a whole may suffer a bit because the stories are varying strengths in writing or tone.
Overall, I would recommend this as an good read and a nudge to pick up some of these authors works again.
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Review: The Blink of an Eye: What Dying Taught Me About Living

The Blink of an Eye: What Dying Taught Me About Living by Rikke Schmidt Kjærgaard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a fascinating account of what someone actually experiences when faced with a near-death or even, life-threatening medical issue. I am on the medical side of this, having treated people and dealt with families on the receiving end of potentially devastating news. There is not a good way for the medical community to train for this aspect of medical care, each situation is different and the person we care for is loved by someone. To read through someone's experience as essentially given up for dead and then in a locked-in state is interesting. I have treated people with this and other similar conditions, but to hear firsthand, after leaving acute care, what that looks like from their perspective is truly a gift.
And the most glorious thing of all is, after the horror of the acute illness subsided, the insight that allowed her to feel that her life was enriched by this experience is just breath-taking. It feels like human nature would be to question, "Why me?" and sink into despair and yet for her it was a gift that allowed the focus of her consciousness to be on what matters. That is saintly. Beautiful.
Thank you for this ARC. It is wonderful and insightful.
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Review: The Everything Mediterranean Instant Pot® Cookbook: 300 Recipes for Healthy Mediterranean Meals—Made in Minutes

The Everything Mediterranean Instant Pot® Cookbook: 300 Recipes for Healthy Mediterranean Meals—Made in Minutes by Kelly Jaggers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am excited to see the final version of this book. The recipes look terrific and the presentation and descriptions were mouth-watering. I am not sure what to try first. So many dishes looked tempting and I am certainly excited to give the Instant Pot a try for these meals. I have read through several Mediterranean Cookbooks, some of which were for the Instant Pot, but this one deserves high praise.
There are several things that it does well for me as a lover of cookbooks in general.
1) Recipes! Wide variety with easy to follow instructions (including conversions for wherever in the world you are) and good pairings to make a complete meal.
2) Wide variety of selections with everything from breakfast ideas, oatmeal ideas and frittata that doesn't need micromanaging to appetizers that I often eat as a smaller meal, like varieties of make-at-home hummus and others. Then full meals and sides, such as chicken, rice, soups, pasta, meats and vegetarian options. There are desserts as well. Many of these were appealing and appetizing. I started to get bogged down in perusing this cookbook because my handwritten grocery list was consuming my time!
3) The aside commentary was a terrific addition. This included "tips" like "recipe versatility" suggestions or substitution tips and then how to properly cook the recipe with the sub. So, for instance, if subbing certain tougher, longer cooking veggies, the tip to dice into smaller sizes compared with the quicker cooking veggies in the recipe is very helpful to a home cook like myself. Another great tip was the "Quick Soaked Beans" to get your dried beans (way cheaper) ready for use faster than an overnight soak.
4) The history of various recipes or ingredients used certain recipes and either how it became associated or known as Mediterranean or pointing out if it actually originated elsewhere.I love this in a great cookbook. It really adds to the joy of going through one. You get a sense for the time, the culture and the atmosphere, as well as why the ingredients are what they are.
5) The photography. The photos appeared to be really well done and are always a huge part of a successful cookbook. I think the final version will be the best test of this aspect though.
Thank you for the early copy for review. Highly recommend.
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Review: Behind Every Lie

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a thriller with a good premise, what if you woke up in a hospital bed accused of murdering your mother but had no memory of the events leading to her death? This is what happens to the protagonist, Eva Hansen when her mother is murdered and she is the one suspected because she was seen at her mother's house last. This is a duel timeline story that goes between the events leading up to the murder and Eva's current day predicament. She slowly tries to work through her memory loss that occurred due to a lightening strike following her mother's death.
Overall, there are some aspects of this book that I enjoyed. I like the premise and setting of the book as well as the mother-daughter dynamic that is at the forefront. I did not like the unsurprising reveals and the oddities in the protagonist ways. Some of her decision making appeared to be just who she was, rather than secondary to her head injury, but did not seem sufficiently explained or discussed.
Just okay for me.
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Review: The Museum of Desire

The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Museum of Desire is Jonathan Kellerman's 35th novel centered around the duo of Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. Alex is a psychologist who is periodically called into the LAPD to assist with challenging cases being investigated by his good friend Lieutenant Milo Sturgis. They now have a broader team that has grown over the years. Diving into an Alex Delaware book is like returning to friends that you haven't seen in awhile but who always treat you like they just saw you yesterday. Not skipping a beat, you become engrossed in the next case and into these characters lives yet again, as though you never left.
There are some interesting details of this novel that highlight the sensitivity of the author as a writer and psychologist himself. The story centers around an Art Gallery and a party held at a different site, but following the party, a murder scene is discovered. One of the victims is a young man who was living at a home specifically for developmentally disabled individuals. His story is interesting and some of the details in the investigation around this are certainly from Kellerman's own experience in psychology. Also, one of the possible witnesses is a young man who you quickly realize has developmental issues, and has been homeschooled for most of his life but who appears to have a possible spectrum disorder. Alex is given the task of 1) deciding if he should be questioned and 2) how to go about handling him in this event. I felt that this also showed the interplay between the real-life author and the novel's protagonist who is a psychologist as well. This was so beautifully and realistically written.
Overall, another hit for Kellerman and the Alex Delaware series. Loved it. It felt like coming home.
Thank you for the opportunity to review it early.
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Review: The Other People

The Other People by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

C. J. Tudor has written a unique story with this novel. It combines a mystery/thriller with the magical realism of a Stephen King or Haruki Murakami. At first, I wasn't quite certain that this would hold up to that level of combining genres but in the end, it worked. The story is engaging and although there are some clunky bits that seemed to not flow as well as the novel as a whole, in general, the plot and characters were engaging. I enjoyed the way the storylines ultimately came together at the end, while leaving some questions for the future.
All in all, this was more of a win than early reviews would have had me expecting. It was definitely worth a read if you like those mentioned genres.
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