I really wanted to love this one. The concept had so much potential. A murder mystery set in 1920s Harlem with flapper vibes and a young Black woman at the center of it all? Yes, please. But unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me. The opening started strong: we meet a girl who survives…
Category: Berkley
Weather Girl
Let me tell you… this book was like a cozy rainy day wrapped in a warm blanket: comforting, emotional, and surprisingly bright. In Weather Girl, we follow Ari Abrams, a Seattle TV meteorologist who’s passionate about weather but struggling under the emotional thunderclouds of a toxic workplace and her own lifelong battle with depression. When…
Dial A for Aunties
I’ve read the entire Aunties series by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and I can confidently say that the first book, Dial A for Aunties, is by far my favorite. This story is a perfect blend of chaos, comedy, and charm that kept me laughing from start to finish. Meddy Chan is just trying to be a…
The Busybody Book Club
In The Busybody Book Club, five wildly different members of a dysfunctional village book club are thrown together to solve a real-life mystery when one of their own vanishes—and a dead body is found at his house. Nova Davies, new to town and trying to save the struggling community center, inadvertently finds herself at the…
Jane and Dan at the End of the World
Celebrating their 19th anniversary Jane & Dan are at a crossroads in their marriage. When a hostage situation takes place during their dinner at an exclusive restaurant, Jane & Dan will need to not only face their own issues but also the kidnappers. Jane and Dan at the End of the World was just a…
Kills Well with Others
Another fun book from Deanna Raybourn. The gang is back in this Golden Girls meets Charlie’s Angels novel. Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie may be retired but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle their own still. When they’re recalled to take on an off the books job for organization known as The Museum, they’re…
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
This review pains me so much to write but Grady did not deliver with Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. I adore Grady’s books and his weird ideas but being 4months postpartum- I am not the right audience for a story about Maternity Homes in the 1960s/1970s right now. This book felt so different from Grady’s other…
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping [on a Dead Man]
Oh how I love a good bossy and chaotic older character, especially in cozy mysteries. I love their banter and their ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. After loving Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers in 2023, I was stoked to get an advanced copy of Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man). With the…
Meet Me at the Lake
This was the first Carley Fortune book I read, and maybe my expectations were too high after all the hype of her first book, but I didn’t love this one. Fortune is obviously a talented writer, and she was great at capturing not just the mood but also the atmosphere of being at the lake….
Check & Mate
Mallory hasn’t played chess in years. Her dad, as a Grand Master, was always pushing Mallory to be better, but ever since he left, she’s sworn off the game. That is until her best friend convinces her to take part in a charity event, where Mallory inadvertently beats Nolan Sawyer, the world’s #1 player. When…