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I read We Were Liars years ago and watched the tv adaptation (unnecessarily depressing). This is the prequel so it takes place when the Sinclair sisters were young. I knew there was something that happened on the island since it was referenced in the first book, and Carrie is narrating the story of it to her son, Johnny.
Honestly, I couldn’t get into this book. I was not interested in the characters or the development, and the “twist” was pretty predictably considering. It was a quick listen though and the narration was good.
This was a cute read (listen) with good narration. Coincidentally enough, it also has a similar plot line to the audiobook I listened to right before this one. Main character named Lila who likes to bake fusion foods (one is Filipina, the other Cuban). Some drama throughout but mostly a hopeful story.
My friend recommended this book to me so I checked out the audiobook from my library. Good narration, I appreciated the accents. This is classified as a “cozy” mystery and there were content warnings shared in the beginning. I liked the idea of food and culture interwoven into a mystery. I’m still not a fan of any cop inclusion but I know it’s unavoidable with mysteries, unfortunately. I liked the cast of characters here and the descriptions of food, nice to include recipes at the end. Overalls this was enjoyable and I’ll probably listen to more from this series!
Had this bookmarked for a bit so I checked out the audiobook on hoopla, shout out to my public library. A cute story about love and baseball, with no major conflicts except emotional baggage. Narration threw me off initially because I didn’t realize the story took place in the 1960s. A bit quirky with the accents but it grew on me.
Pretty good mystery. I saw that it was recently adapted into a mini series, as the book cover has a Netflix logo on it. I love reading a book and then watching the screen version after, so I got this audiobook from hoopla. The narration was good, one for “him” and one for “her”. Pretty awful stuff happens in this book, especially to a certain character, so that’s always hard to get through. Kept me guessing as to who the murderer is with certain clues pointing towards someone, and in the end it was a surprise but not a great one. Didn’t 100% make sense but I’ll say there are some evil characters here. Looking forward to seeing it on the screen now!
I started this book in June 2025 and finally finished it. I’ve had this book in my library for years and took it with me on a trip, but I have a hard time reading print which is why I’m just finishing it. Overall I liked the story, it introduced me to a world that I knew nothing about, though it made me sad. There was a comment in the author’s notes section at the end that unsettled me about the misunderstood practices of fgm and “women being shrouded in burkas”, alongside foot binding. C’mon Lisa…
This was so bad 😭 The lovely booktooker I follow listed this as one of her favorites, so I put the audiobook on hold from Libby. After a few months, it became available.
Every character in this was pretty insufferable and I was rooting for no one! The premise was a bit intriguing, though I doubted how the author would pull it off. And I was right in my doubts. Naomi was a self-centered annoying woman and Nicholas needed to grow a spine and dump her long ago, though he is not without faults. I’ve been disappointed by recommendations before but this was rough.
This is the third book of the Molly the Maid series, fourth if you include the novella before this. I became invested in the fmc and wanted to see how her journey progressed. I actually enjoyed this one the most of the series, though the dual pov from her gran was distracting at times - I found that I wanted the story to return to Molly in present day. But the diary entries were obviously necessary to understanding the entire story and the history of the families.
I caught on to the thief early on in the book but that didn’t really deter the plot. I loved seeing Molly get what she deserves and to have her happily ever after. Gotta deduct half a star for the popo incorporation (that part with Speedy made me laugh out loud) and for one of the hotel staff joining the force, blech. Overall I’m glad I checked out these books!
This has been a solid mystery series so far but too cop heavy for me. I know it’s par for the course when murder and crime is involved, but I can’t get with it. One of the twists of this novel was something that was hinted at in the first book, so no real surprise. I did like that Molly was key to this case and showed her observation skills. I’ll probably finish the series since I’m almost done with the novella and there’s only one more left.
I thought this series had ended years ago but turns out there were a few more books published. This novella centers around Juliette and Warner’s upcoming nuptials and it is told from the groom’s point of view. It’s nice to get inside his head and understand why he acts like he does and how others around him perceive him. I may or may not finish this series, we’ll see how I feel. It’s tough when it’s been so long since I’ve been in this world.
I’ve been wanting to read more mysteries recently, so I got this audiobook from my library. It took some getting used to the main character and her personality, found it annoying initially but grew on me. I liked this one overall, “twist” revealed at the end was not so surprising but how the main character dealt with it was more so. This is a series so I’ll probably continue listening to it.
Been on a mission to finish Cindy Steel books so I got this audiobook from hoopla. Didn’t really enjoy the premise and hated the cop inclusion throughout, yuck. The court room scene gave me such secondhand embarrassment, it was a rough listen. I tend to like the mmc from this author but the fmc are usually annoying.
First book of 2026, though I started it last year. The premise drew me in: a Pakistani version of The Count of Monte Cristo? Yes, please. The narration was well-done for this audiobook and I listened to it within a few days. I don’t consume much fantasy but I liked this one for the most part. There was a “twist” towards the end that I didn’t care much for, felt it unnecessary honestly.
Not bad but not great either. The audiobook was fine, narrator was okay but I'm biased as I prefer female narrators. I wanted to listen to this before watching the second Wicked movie, and so I did. There was a lot going on in this book and I drifted off at times, so not the most interesting story. But glad I finished this because it made me think of the characters in a different light than from the movies.
Been on a Cindy Steel kick recently and got this audiobook from my beloved hoopla. There were 2 narrators: a woman for Tessa and a man for Logan. I liked the former but not the latter, men doing women's voices doesn't sound good to me. Plot wise, this had the makings of a fun plot: a bet with an expensive truck as the prize for not falling in love. The main characters are from another book by this author and so the setting and people were familiar. Maybe too much so? I didn't find myself too engrossed by the story and I wasn't very invested in the characters. Hoping the next book I listen to from this author does the trick.
Someone on Twitter recommended this book in a thread about ethical tourism and so I got the audiobook from hoopla. I was initially turned off by the example of “israeli” tourists in India but then a few mentions of Palestine made it clear the author's intent. I liked the different chapters on topics like passports and visas, travel guidebooks, exploring one's own city, and the historical context weaved throughout.
I read To Kill a Mockingbird a while ago and have had this on my TBR list since it came out. Finally got around to listening to it and it was just meh. Weird choice to have Reese Witherspoon narrate, especially with multiple uses of the n-word. The story itself was not inspiring, actually made me really mad at the end.
I listened to this audiobook because Imani Barbarin narrated it (she did a great job). I liked that this book looked at the Black Panther Party and their work in helping the community, creating a school, feeding protestors. It was also good to learn about the health organizations that emerged to focus on Black women and disabled folks. I appreciated the parallel of claiming one's race proudly to claiming one's disability identity.
Found this audiobook on hoopla and listened to it. Good narration and interesting story line. It felt human and the fmc was believable and honest. Though there were too many mentions of waze, was this an advertisement for them? I like that there wasn't an epilogue that tied things up nicely, it made it more honest and left to interpretation.