Crazy Little Thing by Ellie Thornton Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

3.5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Multiple POV

➮ Rockstar MMC

➮ Slow burn

➮ Second chance romance

➮ Miscommunication

Synopsis

Kate is a librarian who has recently entirely sworn off men. Kate ends up needing help to clean the library in preparation for a contest. Kate's best friend Samantha enlists the help of Axel, a world-famous rockstar (not that Kate knows that). Axel is in town to get away from his crazy life and visit his grandparents. His grandfather Don and his conniving group of friends are hatching a plan to "help" Axel. 

My Thoughts

This book is part of a series of interconnected standalones about the residents of Diamond Cove setting up their family members. This story follows Don setting up his grandson Axel. The elderly folks' scheming makes this book have a very charming vibe. 

This story combines a few of my favorite things, libraries, animals, and music. With many cute library moments, hilarious animal interactions, and copious musical references, it was a joy to read. I wasn't expecting gator pee to be amusing but here we are. A lot of animal moments in this story made me laugh.  If you are a music fan, you can expect to appreciate the many nods to classic songs. 

This book has SO much miscommunication. Kate thinks Axel is a bodyguard and a homeless person. Axel didn't covey things correctly to Kate. Basically, every moment of significant communication goes wrong. If you hate the miscommunication trope this book is not for you. Their miscommunication is what propels the plot. 

I could stand to see this book be a little bit shorter. There were definitely a couple of scenes that felt like they were dragging on. There were a few pages I was tempted to only skim. 

The story is set during the Halloween season. That said, it isn't spooky at all or particularly season-focused. It is much more Florida-themed compared to Halloween-themed. 

Family bond focus is the heart of this book, at least from Axel's perspective. Many of his family members are prominent characters. This focus adds a lot to the overall sweetness of the story. The family quirks and a bit of drama felt reminiscent of real families. 

Do keep in mind there is a partial focus on Alzheimer's as well as a few other much more minor triggers. 

Overall, I enjoyed this mostly fluff romance story. The family moments, animal moments, and music references are what sold it to me. The miscommunication was the biggest contributor to what I didn't love about this book. Nothing about it is super unique or stand-out but if you are looking for a cute fluffy romance with animals and meddling grandparents, this book is a great choice.

I received this book as an ARC and this is a completely voluntary review. 

The Other Murder by Kevin Chapman Review

* This review is spoiler-free *

4/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Multiple POVs

➮ Butterfly effect

Synopsis

Hannah Hawthorne is a cable news producer who is looking to revive her career. Paulo is a local newspaper reporter looking to bring more attention to the lives of locals. When an NYU sophomore is found dead in Central Park a frenzy ensues. Paulo wants to shed light on the other murder in the park that night, Hannah wants to solve the case, the media wants the juiciest story, the police want to keep the public out, and the people involved want to fly under the radar. The Other Murder follows all of their perspectives as the two murders bring these people together. 

Best Quote From the Book

“Hannah kept chasing the tentacles of the Angelica Monroe story, which were spreading out in every possible direction."

My Thoughts

This book follows the perspectives of at least seven characters. That said, it is all written in the third person. It was like there were a lot of different side plots like a TV  show yet every perspective unravels the main plot. At first, these many perspectives got a bit confusing as I was getting to know all of the characters. That said, it was totally worth it to get the rich depth about the two murders from the lens of many different people all with different motives. 

My biggest qualm with this book is that it is set in the active present. More specifically, modern-day truly 2024. There was a brief mention of the pandemic and I have to be honest it took me out of the book for a good bit. I would've liked it more if the book was set in the present without such clear and distinct time markers making it feel too, meta. 

This book does an INCREDIBLE job of demonstrating how one incident can shape the lives of many people. The deaths of Angelica and Javier connected so many people who would've never given each other a second chance otherwise. It goes to show how powerful the butterfly effect can be. One brief moment directly and indirectly shaped the lives of many people forever. I wonder how many indirect events have shaped the direction of my life?

I am not sure why exactly this happened but I did find myself starting to make much slower progress with the book at about the halfway point and beyond. Perhaps that was the point where the story started to become much more complex and took me longer to process. 

There is one moment at the end of the book I just, cannot forgive. All I will say is why Paulo, why would you do that? That alone knocked the book down a quarter of a star because it just seemed so insane and out of character. 

Thought-provoking book club questions. If you do give this book a chance, I would love to hear what you think about what this book has to say about the criminal justice system and reporting. I didn't dive into that aspect in my review because it didn't really shape my opinion of the book. 

In sum, this book stands out a lot to me as a part of the mystery genre. I greatly appreciate the power of the many perspectives around the murders. Hearing from so many voices provided so much richness and variety while all being about the ramifications of about 15 minutes if that. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Review

* This review is spoiler-free *

5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ LGBTQ+ Rep

➮ Flowing narrative

➮ Forbidden soulmates

➮ Immoral MC

Synopsis

This story dives into the wild tale of Evelyn Hugo. A woman who will get what she wants, no matter what it takes. In doing so, she accumulated a surprising number of husbands, all of which she outlived. The one to be able to tell her story? Monique Grant, an unknown magazine reporter. This opportunity is the chance of a lifetime for Monique to get her career off the ground, but why her?

Best Quote From the Book

“It's always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly."

LGBTQ+ Representation

4/5 🌈

In an attempt to avoid too many major spoilers, this part of my review will not be all that in-depth. A number of the main characters in the story are LGBTQ+ and must live with the fact that the world is not yet ready for public queer relationships. The sacrifices made in the story are akin to many stories of people who had to keep their true feelings and desires hidden from the world in order to create a difference in it. 

My Thoughts

This story became a five-star for me not long after I read it because I am confident that I will not be forgetting it any time soon. Evelyn and Monique's story gives a glimpse into how money cannot buy happiness but it can certainly change what are considered problems in your life. Even in the lives of the rich and famous, it can be truly challenging to balance what is important for you versus what is important for your place in the world. Reid does an excellent job of making Monique and Evelyn's relationship as stilted but comforting as it should be. I found myself thinking throughout the story "Ah yes that is so perfectly Evelyn" based on the various things she did. Reid is one of the best I have read so far in terms of creating a fleshed-out character with flaws that are easy to predict in a comfortable way. As if you've witnessed these characters for much longer than a single book. 

The entire time it felt like I was sitting down for a nice chat with Evelyn, letting her ramble on about notable moments in her life. Instead of feeling like an omnipotent person observing what happens to the characters, it feels like Evelyn and Monique are in the room with me. I'm sure this effect was strengthed because I was listening to the audiobook. The narrators did an excellent job keeping the entire book feeling conversational. 

Can I take a moment to say, the plot twist at the end had me reeling. It truly tied all of the loose ends together in a neat little bow and brought everything into focus. I will keep my thoughts at that as to avoid spoilers but this is honestly just me highly recommending this book. 

My favorite part of this book other than the conversational aspect is the lesson it teaches readers at the end. As I'm sure you can tell by the title, Evelyn is not the most blessed in the successful love story department. Despite this, she learned the value of unconventional loves. Whether this is platonic, a non-traditional relationship, a familial bond, or a soulmate that is simply your best friend. It is okay to want to spend your life with someone (or multiple people) that you are not romantically attracted to. What works for your life and fulfills you is more than enough. It doesn't have to be considered settling just because it doesn't fit in the traditional box. Even if this desire changes throughout your life, that is okay too. Accept your life will have phases and what is the best for you in one phase may not be the best for you in the next. 

In sum, read this book. Even if you do not love it, I can promise it is an entertaining read that provides many valuable life lessons in a genuine way. You should especially heed my recommendation because I am not usually the biggest fan of historical novels. I am sold on Evelyn's story and it is one I will be thinking about a while longer. 

I Didn't Do It by Jaime Lynn Hendricks Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Thriller

➮ General fiction

➮ Book about books

➮ Multiple povs

➮ Suspense

Synopsis

This book is set at a thriller writer convention, Murderpalooza. At this convention, thriller writers come together for book signings. panels, and a final award ceremony at the end of the convention. On the first day of the convention, Kristin Bailey, one of the famous authors at the convention, is reported dead. This story follows the various perspectives of people who all have the motive to be her killer. Each of these people is being threatened by an anonymous Twitter account determined to make them all spill their secrets. An unlikely quartet is formed in the process.

Best Quote From the Book

“This is what we do for a living. We take something horrible happening to someone normal and create a dense backstory rife with mystery. As readers, we pick apart every breadcrumb left by the author; and nine times out of ten, we figure out the ending."

My Thoughts

A murder at a thriller author convention, there truly cannot be a more perfect setting. With so many tantalizing suspects, there are many backstories to uncover. Getting to see the perspectives of each of these suspects provides a lot to chew on as a reader. All of the characters have their dirty laundry at risk of becoming part of the limelight. Four different forms of desperation and deception keep the story engaging.

I am personally always a fan of books where writers become the subject of the story. There are often a lot of interesting perspectives on the writing process and insights about how being an author is more than just typing out a story and helping choose a good-looking cover. Going in-depth on the perspectives and lives of four very different authors who all have connections to thriller writing and Kristin provided that behind-the-scenes look I appreciate.

I listened to the audiobook of this story which I think was both a benefit and a deficit. In audiobook format, there is a nice flowing narrative and the ability to hear the emotions of the characters as they happen. The problem is that not all of the characters had separate narrators. At the beginning that made it quite challenging to differentiate between the characters and who had what connection to Kristin. With so many moving parts to keep track of, different voices for all of the main four would've helped a lot in my initial understanding. It was to the point I almost felt the need to take notes to be able to keep up with who was who. 

The other thing that kept this from being rated higher was that all of the twists were isolated to the last 10% of the book. Generally, as a reader, I like to at least have a few twists throughout the story to help keep me on my toes. Instead, Hendricks keeps most of the story a flowing narrative where we find out more but none of it is much of a shock. At the last part of the book, it is like a Scooby Doo all-is-revealed ending. Suddenly many twists come to light, some making more sense than others. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who are fans of thrillers and like to see a bit of the behind-the-scenes of being an author. Just maybe keep a notepad by your side when you read or listen to help you not get confused like I did.