Books You’re on the Fence About - 2024

[PamG]

Here is my 3.48 rounded to 3 stars review of Miranda Warning by Heather Day Gilbert:

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

Mystery / Suspense
Suspenseful and captured my interest, but didn't quite deliver for me due to pacing.

[Debra]

My review for Six of Sorrow

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

My review for Tangled Up in You

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

[Carol]

On the Mountain - Riley Hart
Genera: M/M Romance
3★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Suz]

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

I guess I'm on the fence as I know I'll read more of her?!

My review 2⭐

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

[Brenda]

My review for The Last Trace by Petronella McGovern

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

[Phrynne]

I have enjoyed many books by this author but this one just was not for me!
My review of Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor

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

[Liz]

The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne came across as flat. My three star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Troubled Waters by Mary Annaïse Heglar

Great intent, average execution.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Carol]

Missionary - L. A. Witt (Somewhere in Africa)
Genera: M/M Romance/Morman Religion Practices.
3★
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Carolyn]

Although this thriller set in the Maldives has been rating well, it just didn't work for me. I liked the location and the concept but not the execution.

Bad Tourists by Caro Carver

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

[Anita]

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack 3 1/2-Stars
New author with sarcastic humor and cozy mystery
My Review

Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren 3 1/2-Stars
Clean Romance
My Review

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

In This Ravishing World by Nina Schuyler

Might have worked better for me had it been advertised as a composite literary fiction than as a short story collection.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Brenda]

My review for Beyond Summerland by Jenny Lecoat

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

[Robin]

I listened to Just Imagine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

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

[Helen]

My review for Beyond Summerland Jenny Lecoat

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

[Suz]

Worthy Opponents by Danielle Steel

My review 3⭐

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

[Carolyn]

The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green is a character driven literary debut about the aftereffects of a teenage girl on her family and friends. Slow pacing and a little too literary (lots of words I've never heard of and had to look up!), but pretty good for a debut so a generous 3.5★

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

[Dorie - Cats&Books :)]

Thanks for your honest review Carolyn, I has less patience these days. Unless I think there will be an exciting finish 😊

[Liz]

By Any Other Name was interesting but not one of Picoult’s best. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Debra]

my review for The World After Alice

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

My review for The House That Horror Built

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

[Phrynne]

My review of Murder at an English Pub by Alice Castle

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

[Carol]

The Colors Between Us- Kate Hawthorne - (California)
Lonely Hearts Series Book #2
Genera: M/M Romance
4★
Possible Triggers: Depression, Alcoholism

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

[Faith]

My review of Baumgartner by Paul Auster

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

[MarilynW]

Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age Kathleen Sheppard

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

[PamG]

Here is my 2.8 rounded to 3 stars review of The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville:

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

Military Thriller / Science Fiction
This one didn't quite work for me. Stylistically different, the writing style felt uneven and unfocused at times which adversely affected the flow. It's also non-linear.
Despite this, it has a great premise and is thought-provoking.
This may appeal more to those familiar with the world of the BRZRKR comic books.

[Jonetta]

I finished listening to Jackrabbit Skin by Ivy Pochoda, Never Tell Collection #5, and while the writing is superb, it wasn’t my cuppa.
my review

[Anita]

Temptation and Surrender by Stephanie Laurens 3 1/2-Stars
The search for a family treasure brings danger.
My Review

[PamG]

Here is my 3.15 rounded to 3 stars review of One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie

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

Dystopian Near-Future Britain
Mystery
Science Fiction

Provocative, Intriguing, and Disturbing
However, the twists were relatively easy to see coming.
The Story is told from 4 different points of view that goes backwards and forwards in time and adversely affects the pacing for me.

[Debra]

My review for Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age

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

[Book Concierge]

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder – Valerie Burns – 3***
Book one in a new cozy mystery series. Maddy Montgomery’s great aunt Octavia has left her a lakefront house, a bakery, and an English mastiff named Baby. Maddy’s barely in town for a day when there’s a murder IN the bakery. Who would want to frame her? The residents rally round, especially Sheriff April Johnson and veterinarian Michael Portman. Fast, entertaining read.
LINK to my full review

[Helen]

My review for A Father's Secret Yvonne Lindsay

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

[MarilynW]

In a League of Her Own Kaia Alderson

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

[Phrynne]

My review of Absolute Power by David Baldacci

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

[Carol]

The Devil's Kiss - William W. Johnstone (Nebraska)
The Devil Series Book #1
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Horror
4★
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

The Bit Dance by Tilmer Wright Jr.

A great story but needs a lot of editing and trimming.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Suz]

The Dark Side by Danielle Steel

My review 3⭐, just

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

[Carol]

My Name is Mary Sutter - Robin Oliveria - (Washington D.C.)
Genera: U.S. Civil War
3★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Random Spider (on a hiatus?)]

You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace was a mixed bag for me.

Here's my non-spoiler review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Brenda]

My review for The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter

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

My review for There's No Murder Like Show Murder by M.S. Greene

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

[Jonetta]

I finished listening to The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton and despite incredible world building, the narrator ruined the listening experience.
my review

[Book Concierge]

A Hope Divided – Alyssa Cole – 3***
Book number two in the Loyal League series of Civil-War-era romances. Healer and free woman Marlie Lynch meets Union soldier and prisoner-of-war Ewan McCall when she goes to tend to the men at the nearby prison. Before long they are fleeing together from the Home Guard. It’s a pretty typical romance.
LINK to my full review

[Sandra]

Here's my review of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day. 3 Stars My Review. Recommended to fans of locked room style mysteries and domestic thrillers.

[Book Concierge]

Sex and Vanity – Kevin Kwan – 2**
There were a few over-the-top scenes that tickled my funny bone, and I gave it two stars for those. I realize that Kwan means these works to be satires of “crazy rich Asians” but I just find them tedious. The characters were uniformly vain and shallow, and I grew tired of their obsession with appearances.
LINK to my full review

[Carol]

Break The Rules - Leighton Greene - (California/New York)
Rough Love Series Book #3
Genera: M/M Romance/Heavy BDSM  
4.5★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm putting this here instead of the 'recommended' section because the subject nor the story will be for everyone's liking.

[Book Concierge]

One Of Us Is Lying – Karen M McManus – 3.5***
Five students are together in detention when one of them died. Who did it? This was a twisty mystery and the students surprised me with their insight and tenacity in trying to clear their names. Of course, there is the usual teenage drama as well as issues of dysfunctional families, and racism. Surprisingly I didn’t think all this teen drama distracted from the central plot. I certainly was kept guessing and didn’t figure out the culprit until the author chose to reveal the truth.
LINK to my full review

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Maplecroft by Mary-Clare Terrill

A dual timeline novel, with the historical timelines based on actual love letters written by the author's great-grandparents to each other. This is what made me give the novel a go. The historical timeline makes it a good read, tough I am not too happy with the contemporary timeline.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Debra]

My review for The Housekeeper's Secret

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

My review for Here One Moment

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

[Debra]

My review for The Summer Club

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

[Liz]

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment attempts deep and serious but comes across more as a cliche. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Coming out in September.

[Liz]

How much you like Sandwich will depend on your tolerance for the MC. Mine fell short. My 3 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...