Currently reading 2023

[Christine]

I finished my 36th book

[PamG]

Here's my 4.29 rounded to 4 stars review of Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Police Procedural

Once again, Carolyn Arnold has penned a strong and impactful tale. Overall, this was a story that captivated me from the first page to its last. The author did a great job of building suspense throughout the story and weaving the threads together.

[Tammy]

Started rereading The Fall of Rome: A Novel of a World Lost by Michael Curtis Ford

[[deleted user]]

Now up to 25; read an ADHD book my wife wanted me to read. Now doing the Joy Luck Club.

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I finished The Housemaid and started Roses Are Red. Still reading The Wishing Game.

[Phrynne]

My review of Titanium Noir: A novel by Nick Harkaway

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

I finished my 37th book

[Tammy]

Started reading Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I finished Roses Are Red. I thought it was ok. I haven't read the previous books in the series, so I didn't get as much out of it as other readers might. It has some really slow spots for me.

About to start Battleshipped.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Pond is a curious meandering through the narrator's mind by Claire-Louise Bennett. Some stories are pointedly funny and self-deprecating, some are dreamy and philosophical.
4.5~5★ My review of Pond

[PattyMacDotComma]

The Short Story Club recently read Separating written in 1974 by John Updike. An American couple is deciding how to tell their four teens that they are splitting up. American suburban angst.
4★ My review of Separating with a link to the story online.

[Christine]

I finished my 38th book

[Christine]

I finished my 39th book

[[deleted user]]

I finally am making good on my resolution to finish all of the series I have been wanting to get around to reading once and for all. I did LOTR finally this year. Now doing Twilight; next will likely be The Inheritance Cycle before the new one drops in November.

Thank you for not ridiculing me because I enjoy Twilight and vampire novels.

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I have a long list of series that I've started and would like to finish, Travis. I never seem to get around to them.

No ridicule here! Honestly, I think everyone should read whatever they find interesting or makes them happy.

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

Oh, and I am now also reading Remarkably Bright Creatures along with Battleshipped and The Wishing Game.

[[deleted user]]

Kristie wrote: "Oh, and I am now also reading Remarkably Bright Creatures along with Battleshipped and The Wishing Game."

Good to know! I will eventually also finish the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice; I have read the first seven. Not a fan of those of the smut variety though.

[PattyMacDotComma]

These inventive Backstories of famous (and infamous) people are an entertaining collection by Simon Van der Velde. The reader isn't told who they are, but there are clues to trigger your memory or send you down your favourite 'research' rabbithole.
4★ My review of Backstories

[PattyMacDotComma]

Dawoud/Dawit/David's attempt to get from Eritrea to Israel meant he had to keep changing his identity and left him feeling like black foam, tossed around but never allowed to settle. In Black Foam: A Novel by Eritrean author Haji Jabir, you can see what he's up against. Moving and eye-opening.
4★ My review of Black Foam

[sonya]

Mr.Mercedes. Scribd

[[deleted user]]

sonya wrote: "Mr.Mercedes. Scribd"

This is a very good book; one of the best of Stephen King's modern works.

[PamG]

Here is my 4.21 rounded to 4 stars review of Peril by Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy, and Rebecca Zanetti:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Romantic Suspense

Overall, this fantastic trio of novellas has three wonderful couples facing a gang of criminals in very different situations. It’s emotionally-charged, suspenseful, and entertaining.

[PamG]

Here is my 4.16 rounded to 4 stars review of Identity Identity by Nora Roberts:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Romantic Suspense

Overall, this was a story that quickly pulled me into the narrative and the lives of Morgan and those around her. While the pacing isn’t as brisk as some romantic suspense novels, the author did a great job of building suspense throughout the story and I enjoyed the journey. She is a superb storyteller that intermingled the ever-present threat that was looming over Morgan and the rebuilding of her life. I would love to see this become a series.

[Esther]

Catching up on a long due review of a dissapointing medieval-style fantasy that needed some significant editing
Scourge
3 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In contrast a more recent and much more sucessful genre-bending scifi-police procedural.
How does the world cope when everyone suddenly goes blind and can we trust the technology that replaces our natural vision?
The Blind Spots
4.5 stars (rounded up)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Woman Reading]

I've been slow to discover Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse but I'm glad I finally got around to it.

Shadow and Bone #1

My Review -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

Woman Reading wrote: "I've been slow to discover Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse but I'm glad I finally got around to it.

Shadow and Bone #1 ..."

Nice review. I still have this one on my TBR. I'm also late to the party.

[PamG]

Here is my 4.23 rounded to 4 stars review of Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Cozy Mystery - Engaging and funny with great characters

[Jessandria]

currently finishing up "If He Had Been With Me" started reading "A Game of Thrones" last night, so far so good my lovelies! My next read will be "The Vampire Lestat".

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I finished Battleshipped and Remarkably Bright Creatures. I enjoyed both of them.

I have just started Cursed. It is the follow-up and conclusion to Gilded.

[Hadassah]

Right now I'm reading King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard. I've been wanting to read The Red Queen series for a while, I'm already on book 3, and so far it's really good and I can't wait to see what happens next.

[PattyMacDotComma]

One of my favourites, acclaimed Irish author John Boyne never writes the same thing twice. The Absolutist is a powerful story of the boys who met in the army and fought in WWI in the muddy trenches of France. It is both wonderful and awful.
5★ My review of The Absolutist

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

My review for Battleshipped : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Phrynne]

My review of Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PamG]

Here is my 4.59 rounded to 5 stars review of Second Shot by Cindy Dees:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Action Thriller - first book in a new series

What a fabulous start to a new series! Cincy Dees, a new-to-me author, has created an exciting action-packed and suspenseful thriller with a more mature main character. Overall, this fantastic novel is shocking, emotionally-charged, and pulse-pounding.

[Shannon]

Yeah Making up form last year I only read 75 books lol didn't feel like reading alot last year but this year I'm making it up lol!

Here is what I read lately lot of these i read from Libby app on my phone

5/5 Couldn't put it down!

3/5 Found it overhype on booktok didnt like it all and hated all the characters

5/5 a reread for a book club I still loved it. Now I want to go and read the rest of the series lol!

5/5 I loved it!

4/5 i loved it. Very good new author for me too

4/5 Love it but not as much as her first book

3/5 another book was overhype on booktok didn't like it much

5/5 this one I couldnt put it down!

3/5 Found it very boring

5/5 I read it in less 24 hoursI couldn't put it down!

5/5 I loved it and was shock I would like a book like this but I couldn't put it down.

4/5 Prequel to her A Good Girl's Guide to Murder I just didn't loved this like I did her other 3 books in the series

5/5 Another great book from Erica Spindler

5/5 Reread and I still love it! Still creepy as hell!

5/5 Another great book from Peter Swanson!

5/5 I loved it will have to check out more from this author

5/5 Another great Karen Rose book. I'm slowly trying to get her whole serie read lol!

4/5 Shock I gave this a 4 stars but I found this book not her best.

5/5 Loved this. I though I read this before but I didn't and wanted to read it before I read the 2nd book soon

5/5 I loved couldn't put it down

3/5 Not that good as I thought it would be.

I'm staring on these soon

[Melissa]

just started The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry. so far so good, my first time reading this author

[PamG]

Here is my 4 star review of Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Paranormal Romantic Suspense / Urban Fantasy

This is a story that combines romance, suspense, and action with humor. A fiery and intense protagonist, a manipulative ex-wife, a supervillian antagonist, and great secondary characters are combined with a compelling story line, exciting scenes, and a plot with a few twists and turns.

[PamG]

Here is my 4.15 rounded to 4 stars review of Dead Drop by M.P. Woodward:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Espionage thriller
The premise of the story felt all too real to me, making it thought-provoking and believable. From the shocking prologue to the tension-filled middle to the action-filled conclusion, this story captivated me. Overall, this book was intense, briskly paced, suspenseful, and a powerful page-turner.

[Christine]

I finished my 40th book

[Woman Reading]

The Marylebone Drop by Mick Herron

A little op within the MI5 / Slough House misfits. John Bachelor seemed like a more sad sack character than before. Well narrated and a clever story but not very humorous. But still it was appreciated for the backdrop of the Snow White ops and Lech's story.

My Review -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

Conspirators on the Dark Web don't need someone to have an internet presence in order to target them. In Aussie author Ashley Kalagian-Blunt's unsettling new book, Dark Mode, anyone is fair game - game as in being hunted for sport. Watch yourself!
4★ My review of Dark Mode

[PattyMacDotComma]

I wish everyone could read this and understand the value of ancient cultures and what they can offer the world. I, the Aboriginal, an autobiography, kind of ghostwritten by Douglas Lockwood, has fascinated me for decades. Aussies, especially, should learn our shared history.
5★ My review of I, The Aboriginal

[sonya]

The Writing Retreat and What Lies in the Woods

[Christine]

I’m reading my 41st book

[Woman Reading]

Siege and Storm #2 in Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse

my review -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Woman Reading]

Finished the first Grishaverse trilogy -- Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

I can see why Netflix has a televised adaptation. The books are good but I can see where Netflix might heighten the tension or character arcs.

My Review -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Woman Reading]

Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

I had no idea that the authors had planned a follow-up series for Kate Daniels, and I was really happy to see this. It delivered all of the humor and action that have distinguished the Kate Daniels series. And a sequel - Magic Claims - will be released this summer.


My Review -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I finished Hello Stranger. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


I've started Murder on Thames.

[Phrynne]

My review of The Wonderful Thing about Phoenix Rose by Josephine Moon

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PamG]

Here is my 4.11 rounded to 4 stars review of Marrying Off Morgan McBride by Amy Barry:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Historical Romance - Western Setting - 1887

Both the characterization and the world-building were great. Overall, it was an entertaining, heartwarming, and funny novel with some deeper themes embedded into the story line.