MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated American Homemaker in Books
Sep 20, 2019
Melody Morgan: Contract killer on the brink of retirement, or so she thinks. She mistakenly kills a cartel's money man (oops) and is dealing with the fallout.
These are very broad strokes, so as not to spoil anything. There's SO much more going on throughout the story. The other members of the Homemakers Association of Vermont (Brooke, Paige, and Megan) all have their own...issues, let's call them. Are any of these women particularly likable? No, not at all, but for me at least, that didn't take away from the story.
I got an absolute kick out of this book!
(Side note: This may be because I've been watching Why Women Kill (CBS All Access) - although there is WAY more killing happening in this book than on that show. Also, if you're not watching it, why not?)
Fun, smart, and sharply written, American Homemaker has definitely earned its place among my favorite books of the year.
Thank you to the author and BookishFirst for the free copy!
The Game of Life
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Pruning the Dead
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Cardiac Arrest
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Murder Runs in the Family
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Former PI-in-training Amber Winslow has decided to flee her life in the dead of night, carrying...
ClareR (6238 KP) rated Spitting Gold in Books
Jun 4, 2026
Atmospheric writing places the reader in Paris after the French Revolution, where Baroness Sylvie is living a perfect life with her affluent lawyer husband.
Her estranged sister, Charlotte Mothe, visits with an offer that’s hard to refuse. Their father is very ill, Charlotte needs to pay the bills, and Sylvie must come out of retirement and conduct a seance to help her out. But Sylvie is risking her marriage.
Spitting Gold is a debut, and I thought it was gripping and entertaining - it kept me reading! The characters were fleshed out, believable and colourful (to say the least!). There were moments where it made me feel very uncomfortable - was it the ghosts?
There’s a bit of something for everyone here: historical fiction, mystery, the paranormal, sapphic romance and family dynamics.
Recommended!
Killers of a Certain Age
7.0
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Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon. They’ve spent...
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Last Thing I Told You in Books
Mar 10, 2019
Well, this was a different sort of psychological thriller. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but one of my favorite things about it was that it was different, even if it favored the varying point-of-view aspect that is quite popular these days. The narration flips between Nadine and Henry, and because both are often telling stories that go back in time, it can vary in time periods as well. It takes a little getting used to, but it's also quite compelling. I read the book in a day while on vacation, finding it to be quite suspenseful and intriguing.
For me, the main draw to this one was the characters. Nadine is nuanced, complicated, and imperfect, but the real star was Henry. I enjoyed the book the most due to him. He's hard to describe, but he too is multi-faceted and flawed. He's a father to spirited twin girls (only a year older than mine), and I felt drawn to him immediately. Nadine and Henry are both different on the surface but each searching for things in a similar way--again, I was very impressed with their characterization. So much of the book takes place in and is shaped by the small town in which the characters live, and it's all quite well-done.
I don't want to go into much more to spoil the plot, as it does keep you guessing. A lot of what happened surprised me, which I always enjoy (doesn't often happen in a thriller). Overall, this one was different but enjoyable, buoyed by its strong characters and complex plot.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss/Librarything in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
Set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superhero's are (were) real but have since been outlawed, there's a definite argument to be made that this would inspire the Pixar film The Incredibles: family drama, costumed superheroes coming out of retirement, conspiracies afoot ... see what I mean?
But whereas The Incredibles is aimed at a family audience, this is anything but: violent throughout, slow (at times seemingly glacial) moving and even dealing with the effects of (and fallout from) rape, this is definitely not one for the younger reader!
On the plus side, it does have a stunningly realised world alongside a compelling backstory to several of the characters: like several other literary classics, this is one that I can now say that I've read but wouldn't really be rushing back to do so again anytime soon.