#TheAgathas

**** out of 5 *s for #TheAgathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.

I loved this book, and would’ve given it 5 stars if it hadn’t been for what I felt was a very forced use of Agatha Christie.

This is your basic YA mystery, with the usual and expected cast of high schoolers. Alice Ogilivie, former top of the cool kids clique, disappeared for a while and her disappearance caused her fall from grace at the Castle Cove high school. Nerdy and typically invisible Iris Adams is assigned to tutor her.

Alice’s ex-bff Brooke disappears and when her body is found everyone suspects Brooke’s boyfriend Steve, who had been Alice’s boyfriend.

Solving the mystery becomes paramount for Alice and Iris. And here’s where Alice’s obsession with Agatha Christie comes in. It’s forced and frankly unbelievable. Alice supposedly is intelligent enough to read and understand Christie, but has never heard of some very basic Greek myths.

The book is genuinely very good, and very well written. I do absolutely recommend it. I received a review copy from @netgalley in return for my honest review.

#WomanOfLight by #KaliFajardoAnstine

***** out of 5 *s
#WomanOfLight by @kalimaja,  to be published by @randomhouse on 6/7/22

This book grabs you on the first page and sweeps you away on a journey that goes by far too quickly. Propulsively readable, filled with the light of the title, it immerses you in a world simultaneously long gone and very present.

I felt genuinely caught up in the author’s descriptions and mastery of language. She evokes every sense; I could smell the copal incense in the church. Richly written, this debut novel (after the author’s award winning collection of short stories, #SabrinaAndCorina) left me wanting more.

As I said in my review of #SabrinaAndCorina, I’m probably biased because I know the author’s family. I also said that her writing is on par with #LuciaBerlin, and I stand by that. #KaliFajardoAnstine has a brilliant future.

I received an ARC from @randomhouse via @netgalley

#ThePinkHotel by #LiskaJacobs

ThePinkHotel by #LiskaJacobs

*** out of 5 *s

I absolutely loved this book. The writing is reminiscent of #Rebecca or #RosemarysBaby. Stunning descriptions, multidimensional characters, and chock full of charm.

I’m giving it a lower rating due to MANY grammatical and spelling errors. “Broach” for brooch. “Bassline” for baseline. “All together” for altogether. “Wrapped” for rapped. “Fawn” for faun. It was so bad that I nearly didn’t finish the book, and I pray the many errors are corrected when the book is published.

I received an #ARC from.@NetGalley

#GreatOrNothing by #JoyMcCullough #CarolineTungRichmond #TessSharpe #JessicaSpotswood

**** out of 5 *s
#GreatOrNothing by #JoyMcCullough #CarolineTungRichmond #TessSharpe #JessicaSpotswood
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I absolutely adored this WW2-era retelling of #LittleWomen! Honestly, from the very first chapter these 4 authors had me convinced that WW2 was the only possible setting for the tale of the March sisters.
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I had one complaint, and it involved timing of events. The book is set in 1942 and yet mentions correction fluid (invented in 1956) and concealer makeup (invented in 1954). They did get the timing right for the Casablanca premiere and the Cocoanut Grove fire right though. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this incredible book. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!
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#bookstagram #littlewomen #bookishness

#BloodOfBeasts

#BloodOfBeasts by #RebeccaLemke

5 stars out of 5!

This book, by an up and coming talent, is a dystopian YA with sooo many twists!

We are in a world where food is scarce, and where gene-editing is king. The characters are very richly drawn, and believable, as are their quests in this brave new world.

I absolutely recommend this!

#AnUnlikelySpy by #RebeccaStarford

***** out of 5 *s
#AnUnlikelySpy by #RebeccaStarford
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The lines between good and evil are not always clear. Evelyn Varley, an Oxford-educated young woman in 1930s/1940s Britain, finds this out after she is recruited by MI5 as a spy. The book, cutting seamlessly and easily between two time periods, tells the story of her journey to Nazi Germany and tells of the choices she is forced to make.
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Not your run-of-the-mill 1940s era historical novel, this one will keep you on your toes. The author’s note on her inspirations for the novel is very informative as well. ARC received via @netgalley.
#bookishness #bookstagrammers #bookstagram

#ATimelessChristmas by #AlexisStanton

**** out of 5 *s
#ATimelessChristmas by #AlexisStanton
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A wonderful, truly feel-good Christmas read from @hallmark!
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Megan Turner is working as a guide in an historic mansion once owned by millionaire Charles Whitley. Whitley had mysteriously disappeared in 1902. Megan has a bit of a crush on a photo of Whitley, and is gobsmacked when a man appears claiming to be the actual Whitley. It appears he has traveled through time.
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I am hopelessly addicted to #HallmarkChristmasMovies and this book is just plain perfect for folks like me! ARC received via @netgalley.
#bookishness #bookstagrammers #bookstagram

#HeStartedIt by #SamanthaDowning

***** out of 5 *s
#HeStartedIt by #SamanthaDowning
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Holy cow, this book! The word #propulsive was invented to describe this book, I swear.
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Grandpa has died, leaving his 3 grandchildren a whopping bunch of money. The catch? They have to re-create a road trip they took with him 20 years before, and they have to do so EXACTLY.
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Absolutely nobody is who they seem, and absolutely nothing is as it seems to be. Densely plotted, this book is one to devour whole and then immediately, and slowly, re-read for all the things you didn’t notice the first time. My FAVORITE book so far this year.
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#readersofinstsgram #bookishness #bookstagram

#HomeBeforeDark by #RileySager

***** out of 5 *s
#HomeBeforeDark by #rileysager
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The best novel by #RileySager so far, hands down! This is a very brief review because there’s no way I can do a longer one without spoilers.
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Maggie Holt was a child when her parents took her and fled from a home they’d moved into 20 days before, never to return and leaving all of their belongings behind. 25 years later, she inherits the house, Baneberry Hall, and goes back intending to renovate it and sell it.
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The Holts fled a haunted house, according to a book written by Maggie’s father. Maggie, as an adult, believes the entire story was pure fiction invented by her father. But events at the house soon have her doubting everything.
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Shades of #AmityvilleHorror? Check. Things that literally go bump in the night? Check. A book that you won’t be able to put down, and will read with every light in your house on? CHECK.
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#bookstagram #bookishness #scary #horror #creepy #librarylabellove

#SummerDarlings by #BrookeLeaFoster

*** out of 5 *s
#SummerDarlings by #BrookeLeaFoster
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#ARC received from @netgalley.
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This debut is a perfect little #beachread and I highly recommend snapping it up when it publishes in May! That said, though, I did find it jarring in places. My mind kept tripping over idiosyncrasies that stood out pretty glaringly. Inserted throughout this book set in 1962 were speech patterns and word usages straight from today.
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Heddy is a scholarship student at Wellesley who gets offered the job of a lifetime. A budding screenwriter, she becomes a live-in nanny for a wealthy couple on Martha’s Vineyard. She becomes quickly and, in my opinion, naively swept up in their world. She comes to realize that all that glitters is not gold.
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I do recommend this book, as I said, but to be honest it just wasn’t quite for me.
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#readersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ARC #beachread #maynewreleases #debutnovel #marthasvineyard #1962 #1960s