Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball
Book
A GORGEOUSLY GOTHIC, WICKEDLY FUNNY NEW SERIES FROM WITCH WARS ILLUSTRATOR LAURA ELLEN ANDERSON...
Wide Sargasso Sea
Angela Smith, Jean Rhys and Andrea Ashworth
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Her grand attempt to tell what she felt was the story of "Jane Eyre's" 'madwoman in the attic',...
The Severed Streets
Book
Summer in London: a city in turmoil. The vicious murder of a well-known MP is like a match to tinder...
Letters to Strabo
Book
Set in the late 1970s, Letters to Strabo is the fictional autobiography of Adam Finnegan Black, or...
Omari Hardwick recommended A Pornographic Affair (Une Liaison Pornographique) (1999) in Movies (curated)
Nancy Whang recommended Silence Yourself by Savages in Music (curated)
Beth has a husband who is struggling with Beth’s roles as a mother and a wife and consequently won’t have sex with her. The final main character, Lauren, is a model and seems to have it all. At least that’s what her Instagram posts tell us (and by the way, some of the comments on her Instagram posts are so funny. Not very nice, but very funny!).
These are all very relatable women, we may not have ‘been there’ but we can understand and relate to where they’re coming from. Beth’s employee, Risky (and what an appropriate name that is!) was such a good character - she seemed to be there to remind the reader that everything is normal, and we should support and empower one another as women. And she was hilarious. Because I both laughed out loud and I cried at this book. Parts were just heartbreaking, saved by a healthy dose of black humour.
This is the first Dawn O’Porter book I’ve read, and it’s thanks to The Pigeonhole that I got the opportunity to do so. She’s not an author that I’d immediately think of reading, but I’m so glad that I did. This is an excellent book, and I’d highly recommend it.
The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman
Book
'No one keeps more secrets. No one is better at hiding them. SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH...
Crime Thriller
Merissa (14048 KP) rated The Long Way Home (Coming Home #1) in Books
Feb 28, 2025
Marcus was a troubled teen/trust fund child who got together with Declan, someone out of the same group of people who actually wanted to spend time with him. Unfortunately, Declan became seriously ill and made Marcus continue on with his life without Declan being in it. Cory became a dad at 19 and a single dad six months later. His whole life revolves around his daughter and his family. The sparks fly when these two meet, but not for the reasons Marcus thinks.
I will say, most of this book is angst between the two, with lots of misconstrued signals and attempts to speak. Considering they're both adults, this became frustrating very quickly. You could cut out half of this and still have a decent-sized novel, as this was a LONG read.
I found both characters to be slightly inconsistent in how they thought and behaved, especially Cory. Considering how he'd been earlier in the book, there was a bit of whiplash involved when he and Marcus actually had their first date.
On the whole, this was a good read that I would give 3.5 stars to (rounded up). It is a debut novel and there is plenty of potential for future stories.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 28, 2025
Debbiereadsbook (1772 KP) rated Make Them Beg (Pretty Deadly Things #3) in Books
Jan 9, 2026
This is book 3 in the series, but you don't need to have read the other two books. Helpful, to see how this group work as a unit but not necessary, I don't think. I enjoyed those two books.
And I enjoyed this one too, but for a very different reason.
Lark and Knight have been doing the denial tango (stolen straight out the book!) for a long time. Thrown together in close proximity after a job goes wrong and they get a target on their backs, they finally admit to themselves and each other, just what they really think about the other.
And this, is whay I enjoyed it so much. Both have feelings for the other, but they've been fighting it for so long. And ending up in the murder cabin (again, out the book!) with a possibility this could end very badly, gives them the shove to admit those feelings. But not just about the attraction, about what it might mean for them to be together and how they are both scared and worried and ALL IN! Because these two are all in from the start, and I loved that.
Dean Maddox pops up, as Does Ranger Cole (from Maddox Security) but you don't need to read their books before this. Arrow, Gage, Knight and Ozzy have been recruited by Maddox is all.
The book leads nicely into Ozzy's story and I hope I get to read it!
4 very VERY good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere





