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The Cabin at the End of the World
7.3
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Book
The Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts adds an inventive twist to the home...
Sky Without Stars (System Divine, #1)
Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
7.5
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Book
A thief. An officer. A guardian. Three strangers, one shared destiny . . . When the Last Days...
retelling
Where the Forest Meets the Stars
Book
A mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again. After the loss of her...
Gloom of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game
8.7
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Tabletop Game
The land of Kilforth is a perilous domain filled with nefarious monsters, mysterious Strangers and...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The First Shot ( Last Mrs Parish book 0.5) in Books
Feb 10, 2022
25 of 230
Kindle
The First Shot ( Last Mrs Parish 0.5)
By Liv Constantine
In this gripping prequel to the blockbuster best seller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, listeners will discover exactly how Amber Patterson transformed from small-town girl to master manipulator - after all, practice makes perfect.
Amber Patterson has many secrets. This much is clear when she sneaks out of her home in the dead of night and hitchhikes across state lines to meet up with a man she hasn’t seen or spoken to since high school graduation. So begins her desperate attempt to leave her old life behind, and she’ll use everything and everyone at her disposal, from social media stalking to the kindness of unsuspecting strangers, to get where she needs to go. It’s not long before she’s ready for the main event: armed with a new identity and a new purpose, she heads to Gunnison, Colorado, preparing herself to meet her future husband among the wealthy vacationers.
Even the smallest misstep could derail this carefully-laid plan, and in the end, can you ever truly outrun your past? The First Shot is an absorbing, binge-able thriller that shows just how far some will go to build the lives they want.
This is the prequel to The Last Mrs Parish and I absolutely loved that book. This was very good too getting a bit on how Lana/ Amber started and her first victim! I really love Liv. Constantine’s writing style.
Kindle
The First Shot ( Last Mrs Parish 0.5)
By Liv Constantine
In this gripping prequel to the blockbuster best seller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, listeners will discover exactly how Amber Patterson transformed from small-town girl to master manipulator - after all, practice makes perfect.
Amber Patterson has many secrets. This much is clear when she sneaks out of her home in the dead of night and hitchhikes across state lines to meet up with a man she hasn’t seen or spoken to since high school graduation. So begins her desperate attempt to leave her old life behind, and she’ll use everything and everyone at her disposal, from social media stalking to the kindness of unsuspecting strangers, to get where she needs to go. It’s not long before she’s ready for the main event: armed with a new identity and a new purpose, she heads to Gunnison, Colorado, preparing herself to meet her future husband among the wealthy vacationers.
Even the smallest misstep could derail this carefully-laid plan, and in the end, can you ever truly outrun your past? The First Shot is an absorbing, binge-able thriller that shows just how far some will go to build the lives they want.
This is the prequel to The Last Mrs Parish and I absolutely loved that book. This was very good too getting a bit on how Lana/ Amber started and her first victim! I really love Liv. Constantine’s writing style.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2387 KP) rated Thrown for a Scoop in Books
Jun 18, 2025
Is the Solution to an Old Mystery Here in Town?
Upper Sprocket is celebrating its centennial, and Trinidad Jones has created a special freak shake to celebrate the milestone. But before the celebration kicks off, a stranger wanders into her shake shop. He’s a true crime podcaster trying to track down clues on a fifty-year-old case, and he thinks that Trinidad’s soon to be brother-in-law, Doug, might know something about it. Since Doug isn’t good with strangers, Trinidad tries to warn him only to find that the stranger is dead when she arrives. Despite vowing to stay out of it, she can’t help but try to clear Doug. Can she do it?
I was pleased to see the author was self-publishing a fourth book in the series. It does a good job of updating us on the characters while also kicking the story off. We are treated to a well plotted story that kept me guessing until we reached the logical climax. And the characters are as quirky and charming as always. There were some continuity issues early on that felt like things left over from earlier drafts of the book, but once things really got going, I didn’t notice any more of them. This book will definitely make you crave ice cream, and I am curious what was in the breakfast ice cream that is featured in a fun subplot. Fans of this series will scoop up this book. I know I’m glad I did.
I was pleased to see the author was self-publishing a fourth book in the series. It does a good job of updating us on the characters while also kicking the story off. We are treated to a well plotted story that kept me guessing until we reached the logical climax. And the characters are as quirky and charming as always. There were some continuity issues early on that felt like things left over from earlier drafts of the book, but once things really got going, I didn’t notice any more of them. This book will definitely make you crave ice cream, and I am curious what was in the breakfast ice cream that is featured in a fun subplot. Fans of this series will scoop up this book. I know I’m glad I did.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Nine Perfect Strangers in Books
Mar 18, 2019
Funny & heart-wrenching, but marred by an unbelievable plot!
Nine disparate strangers are gathering at Tranquillum House, a gated health resort. Each is seeking a form of peace and change: through meditation, losing weight, counseling, and more. For Frances Welty, a famous romance novelist, she needs a way to start over. Her back is in intense pain, and she's hurting from both a romantic misstep and a harsh review of her work. But once at Tranquillum House, Frances isn't exactly sure what to think. The owner, Masha, is both dynamic and odd. What exactly does she have in store for Frances and her fellow resort-goers?
Well, this was an interesting one, to say the least, and not really what I was expecting! So, at first, it drew me in immediately, with a quick introduction to Masha and her associate Yao, in the past, and then fast forwarding to Tranquillum House. You then meet all the various "strangers" at the resort. It's a pretty easy read; each character has their own unique voice, though it did take me some time to sort them all out and keep track of some of them.
However, once they are at the House, things sort of slow down (which you'll find especially ironic, as the book is filled with little insider jokes about books and writing, including a particularly apropos mention of pace from Frances). Everyone is there, they have to take a vow of silence (umm, ok?), they can't read (what?! I'd be out of there!), and you're wondering what on earth is happening as your characters just sort of sit around and ponder to themselves. Oh, but don't worry, dear Reader, it's going to get much weirder.
Because the thing with this book is that so many of the characters are great--I really liked Frances, for instance, and Zoe, and Tony, and well--a lot of them--but the plot they are dropped into becomes almost too preposterous. It felt as if Moriarty was trying to see how crazy she was allowed to go, but no one was brave enough to stop her, so she just kept going. It was odd, and hard to believe, and I just couldn't rationalize that everything that went on would really occur, could really occur, etc.
And, as I said, it's a shame, because so much of the book is funny, with these great characters, and some of it is gut-wrenching, and so well-done. There's a family whose son has committed suicide, and oh my goodness; their passages are just devastating. It's been nearly 15 years since I lost my loved one to suicide, and yet these parts of the story were so real and so well-done, they were almost too hard to read: they hit me right in the gut.
Also, as mentioned, Moriarty fits in a lot of fun little asides about reading and writing books--some about romances, due to Frances' occupation, but some just writing in general, and it's very meta and very cool. Big portions of the book are really humorous, real, and fun. So it's sad that I wasn't really sure of the overall point of the book and its insane plot.
The end of the book picks up too, which complicates my rating even more. Let's recap, shall we: oft funny and heart-wrenching story with realistic characters marred by an unbelievable plot that carries over for most of the book. What to do, what to do? It's quite a book, that's for sure!
Well, this was an interesting one, to say the least, and not really what I was expecting! So, at first, it drew me in immediately, with a quick introduction to Masha and her associate Yao, in the past, and then fast forwarding to Tranquillum House. You then meet all the various "strangers" at the resort. It's a pretty easy read; each character has their own unique voice, though it did take me some time to sort them all out and keep track of some of them.
However, once they are at the House, things sort of slow down (which you'll find especially ironic, as the book is filled with little insider jokes about books and writing, including a particularly apropos mention of pace from Frances). Everyone is there, they have to take a vow of silence (umm, ok?), they can't read (what?! I'd be out of there!), and you're wondering what on earth is happening as your characters just sort of sit around and ponder to themselves. Oh, but don't worry, dear Reader, it's going to get much weirder.
Because the thing with this book is that so many of the characters are great--I really liked Frances, for instance, and Zoe, and Tony, and well--a lot of them--but the plot they are dropped into becomes almost too preposterous. It felt as if Moriarty was trying to see how crazy she was allowed to go, but no one was brave enough to stop her, so she just kept going. It was odd, and hard to believe, and I just couldn't rationalize that everything that went on would really occur, could really occur, etc.
And, as I said, it's a shame, because so much of the book is funny, with these great characters, and some of it is gut-wrenching, and so well-done. There's a family whose son has committed suicide, and oh my goodness; their passages are just devastating. It's been nearly 15 years since I lost my loved one to suicide, and yet these parts of the story were so real and so well-done, they were almost too hard to read: they hit me right in the gut.
Also, as mentioned, Moriarty fits in a lot of fun little asides about reading and writing books--some about romances, due to Frances' occupation, but some just writing in general, and it's very meta and very cool. Big portions of the book are really humorous, real, and fun. So it's sad that I wasn't really sure of the overall point of the book and its insane plot.
The end of the book picks up too, which complicates my rating even more. Let's recap, shall we: oft funny and heart-wrenching story with realistic characters marred by an unbelievable plot that carries over for most of the book. What to do, what to do? It's quite a book, that's for sure!
Interludes Box Set
10.0
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Temporary Home Sometimes past demons need to be faced before one can embrace what the future...
Contemporary Erotic Romance Men in Uniform MultiCultural
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated The Blessing (The Amish Cooking Class #2) in Books
Feb 25, 2019
How to write a review without giving spoilers, when there is so much I want to say!? I will say that, if you don't know by now, Wanda Brunstetter is one of my absolute favorite Amish novelists. She never fails to hook me with her books and keep me entertained the entire way through. And, The Blessing, book 2 in her Amish Cooking Class series is no exception! I was hooked from the beginning and held captive til the very end. True talent!
The Blessing picks up where book 1, The Seekers, left off. Heidi and Lyle Troyer are adopting a baby but a sad circumstance leaves Heidi heartbroken and once again teaching a class to occupy her mind. She, once again, opens her home to strangers and the fun begins! Each new character brings something special to the story and I loved watching Heidi interact with them. The messages thrown into the story and watching the characters realize what those messages were, was truly refreshing!
This book is deserving of so much more than 5 stars! Mrs. Brunstetter has created another wonderful novel that every Amish fiction fan (and those that are new to the genre!) will fall in love with. Not only with her writing style, but also with the characters. They quickly become a part of the reader! I highly recommend this book to all book lovers! Hats off to the talented Mrs. Brunstetter, once again! I can't wait for book 3 to release. <a href="http://cafinatedreads.com/book-review-the-blessing-by-wanda-brunstetter/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Cafinated Reads</a>
The Blessing picks up where book 1, The Seekers, left off. Heidi and Lyle Troyer are adopting a baby but a sad circumstance leaves Heidi heartbroken and once again teaching a class to occupy her mind. She, once again, opens her home to strangers and the fun begins! Each new character brings something special to the story and I loved watching Heidi interact with them. The messages thrown into the story and watching the characters realize what those messages were, was truly refreshing!
This book is deserving of so much more than 5 stars! Mrs. Brunstetter has created another wonderful novel that every Amish fiction fan (and those that are new to the genre!) will fall in love with. Not only with her writing style, but also with the characters. They quickly become a part of the reader! I highly recommend this book to all book lovers! Hats off to the talented Mrs. Brunstetter, once again! I can't wait for book 3 to release. <a href="http://cafinatedreads.com/book-review-the-blessing-by-wanda-brunstetter/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Cafinated Reads</a>