Ali

I love this little recovering assassin family.

I read almost all of this in a single day because I needed to know how the events in the first chapter came to be. I needed to know how the family would be tested time and again supporting the ones they’ve grown to love in their imperfect ways. And by god, they were tested. Partially as the result of their own actions, but that just kept me turning pages.

You don’t get the ending you might want but it makes sense after everything has unfolded.

Lulu deserves her own book cause she’s clearly got one hell of a backstory. Lucia and Kittie Smalls? You’re both perfect just as you are.

(Also I need to know what this dumpling place was based on!)

I hope we get another adventure some time soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the opportunity to read and review.

Let’s put it out there from the start - the Golden Girls mysteries are for fans of the show who want to feel like they’re in an episode. If you’re looking for hard hitting, twisty turny mysteries, look elsewhere. The author again nails the characters and had this been a few decades earlier, could easily have joined the show’s writing staff.

I thought the mystery itself was better than the first one although I feel like someone would’ve reporting at least one of the guests missing by the 3rd day. The events of the “rescue” were the most implausible part of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read and review.

I wanted to read the graphic adaptation of “Mister Magic” because I enjoyed the novel and graphic adaptation of another Kiersten White novel, “Hide”. The difference this time is that I’m approaching the graphic version without having read the novel version first.

That will need to be rectified at some point because I need to better understand the monster at the center of this. We all watched shows as kids that left us with an odd taste in our mouths and questions later in life.

I’m still trying to make sense of the ending. Why are they perpetuating things instead of bringing closure? Things are never going back and those who got out deserve to live free, fulfilled lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read and review.

I applied for an ARC for “A Violent Masterpiece” as it came highly recommended by one of my favorite authors, S.A. Cosby, and I’m glad I did. What a ride!

Yes, it’s a sort of mishmash of ripped from the headlines stories but it’s packaged in a way to seem fresh and compelling. Jake was the most interesting character for me and I enjoyed his musings. I also thought the 3 POVs/storylines converged in a way that made sense and served the rest of the book.

I ache for real life ending to this timeline.

Thank you NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company and Mulholland Books for the opportunity to read and review.

An overview of heartland rock in the 80s with particular focus on 4 figures: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Bob Seger and John Mellencamp, “Won’t Back Down” was a book absolutely geared for me.

I enjoyed the chapters corresponding to each year of the decade. Too many music books try to clump together concepts and you get completely lost chronologically. There are tangents but they make sense when discussing albums and songs of that respective year. Kudos to the author for including many female musicians in her narrative.

That said, it was hard to overlook a bevy of glaring errors that should’ve been caught long before ARC stage. (If you’re gonna mention The Pretenders’ classic “My City Was Gone”, you gotta get the title right). Also sections about Bonnie Raitt were repeated.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton and Company for the opportunity to read and review.

This is the real American road trip. Yes, it includes famous sights like Disneyland and Mount Rushmore but it’s so much more than those. It’s also exploring the good and the bad, the small towns and the brief moments that had outsized impacts on America as it is today.

Occasionally slow and preachy at times, it’s still a worthwhile read as we stand at a crossroads 250 years after our founding. I especially enjoyed learning about lesser known sites like Mound Bayou and the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review.

I keep flip flopping on how I feel about this book. I enjoyed it and was correct on who the ultimate villain ended up being (it was pretty clear early on) but I also felt that it could’ve been 100 pages shorter and the main characters better fleshed out.

A lot of suspension of disbelief is required with regard to production of “The Escape Game” show. You would think the show would’ve been shut down after a murder. The indeterminate ages of the characters caused issues for me as those under 18 would never be unchaperoned around those over 18, let alone be able to sign binding contracts. Where are the parents when all this is happening? The shooting schedule seems insane for a show with underage participants. One show a week for five weeks with a crazy amount of downtime in between to get in trouble and try to solve crimes?

That said, I agree with other readers who felt the writing was seamless between the two authors. I also anticipate the implied sequel and the direction it seems to be headed. Hopefully the characters will gain a little more depth, especially Carter, as she came across poorly when compared to her 3 team members.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group/ G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review.

This is definitely one of those books that probably should’ve gone straight to being a movie instead. The premise is gripping and you want to keep reading and learning more through the twists and turns.

I wish there had been more info on the MMC’s mother and the antagonist’s estrangement.

I thought the big twist was well executed and that many characters got a satisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins/Minotaur for the opportunity to read and review.