2.5⭐
• a novel told in reverse • murder mystery • domestic thriller • dual POV (I think) •

This is one book where reading the synopsis/reviews beforehand will end up working in your favor. I spent way too much of this book not realizing that it was being told in reverse. But honestly, telling a story in reverse is just weird. Then there are the characters, talk about unlikable, jeez. Also, this couple has the worst marriage ever.

3.25⭐
Why would anyone spend their life savings on getting all those people on a train to confront them about the wrongs they committed when she already gave the evidence to the authorities to have them locked up? It would‘ve been more believable if she had wanted to kill them. When the overarching premise doesn‘t sit well with you, it isn‘t easy to get on board with any of the story. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

2.75⭐
•This plotline feels overdone, and overall, it brought nothing new to it. It was a quick listen, though, so I don‘t feel too upset about it.
•Lauren Ezzo‘s voice tone doesn‘t work for me, and she does most of the book. Melanie Carey did fine.

5⭐
•I don‘t even have to know what a TJR book is about, because I know she‘s going to make it wholly worthwhile, regardless, and this book was no exception. She pulls emotion out of you like no other writer. My only nitpick: she spent an overabundance of time on the romance aspect, and I just wanted to get back to the tragedy on the spaceship.
•The narration by Kristen DiMercurio & Julia Whelan was fantastically performed.

3.75⭐
•If neighborhood drama is your thing, then this should hit just right. Seriously, with friends like these, who needs enemies? My principal issue with this was how difficult it was to follow whose head I was in. While Alex Picard‘s narration style was terrific, maybe multiple narrators would‘ve made this a non-issue.

4⭐
•I loved the Five Year Lie, which was Sarina Bowen‘s first thriller, and this one didn‘t disappoint, either. Well, except for the title failing to tie into the story at all. Otherwise, the romance blended perfectly with the mystery and thrills, and didn‘t feel forced, unlike many romantic suspense novels I‘ve tried, which I‘m always on the lookout for.
•Kathleen Early, Caitlin Kelly, & Sarah Mollo-Christensen performed the narration nicely.

4⭐
•A bit of slow-burn, but once it gets going, it will surprise you with how complex it is. It isn‘t a deep dive into a cult, but it swims in those waters. It was engaging, but I think I wanted more of a cult story than I got.
•Carlotta Brentan‘s narration was great as always.

4⭐
•Jewel E. Ann can write the best male leads; they are difficult not to love. This had decent feels with an angsty love story, a few twists, and while it didn‘t hit quite like For Lucy (my fav by this author) did, and I was really hoping it would, it still is worthy of all the love it‘s getting.
•Willa Jaymes & Gregory Salinas were good but not super good.

2.75⭐

• ya mystery thriller • lgbtq • small-town secrets • not for me, but could be for you •

• I‘m really struggling with connecting with YA books lately, and yet, sometimes one comes along that blows me away; this one wasn‘t one of those books.
•The narration was sufficient despite my issues with the story.

4⭐
•I think your enjoyment of this novella will really come down to whether or not you can tolerate the baby talk. I‘m thinking it‘s easier to bear on Audio since the narration is excellently performed. Overall, it was rather spare on details but generous with heart and grit.

My JUNE #bookspinbingo board is all set. And I already finished Dying to Meet You by Sarina Bowen just minutes ago.

Hopefully, this month I will manage to get my mojo back.🤩

@TheAromaofBooks

My May #bookspin board. I completed both my #bookspin and #doublespin.

I'd originally split both My Friends and Dissolution into two squares, but since I DNF'd those books, I changed them to one square and made the other ones free spaces.

Yes, I DNF'd My Friends--but seriously, I just couldn't get into it, no matter how many times I tried.

@TheAromaofBooks

My JUNE #bookspinbingo list. Hopefully, I can get my mojo back and finish most of these🙏🏻

@TheAromaofBooks

4.75⭐
•I‘m loving this series so far. I love the romance, the found family, and the overall depth of the characters. If I had to nitpick something, it would be that sometimes the action scenes feel incomplete, and therefore, they can be difficult to follow.

3.25⭐(Almost A Pick)
•This didn‘t hit like the first two books in this series did. We have a new couple and a new time period…it did pick up towards the end, so hopefully, especially since I already own it, the next book is less boring.
•I love duet narration, but something was off with the audio quality of this book, and it definitely took away from my enjoyment.

My fourth completed letter in my #atozultimatechallenge is Q!

Q~ Title = Quicksilver
Q~ Author = Jesse Q. Sutanto for I'm Not Done With You Yet
Q~ Character = When We Bright and Beautiful
Q~ Item = Where are you, Echo Blue?
Q~QUICKIE = (A Novella between 75 and 125 pages long) In The Tall Trees

link to challenge on Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/f958009c-40f5-456a-aef4-4156b6a...

4.25⭐
•A couple takes on a roommate—what could go wrong? It turns out, plenty could go wrong, especially when Freida is in charge of the storytelling. This turned out to be quite fun, even though it wasn‘t always believable…like could all of “that” really be pulled off?
•Will Damron & Christine Lakin were wonderful, especially considering I don‘t usually like the narrators that she has for her books.

2⭐
•I really struggled with this one. There were way too many characters for me to keep track of, and I failed to connect with any of them or their plight. It‘s a bummer since I really like this author.
•I love Brittany Pressley; maybe additional narrators would‘ve helped, but maybe not.

4.75⭐
• I loved this one…the found family vibes don‘t get much better than this. I‘m also totally there for the tension that‘s building between Frankie and Yorke.

4.5⭐
•I never know what I will get when I try a book on KU, it‘s definitely a crapshoot. But this book, and it‘s a short one at 140 pages, completely shook me. I‘m so invested in these characters…especially Auden, when he comes into the story, I was so emotional. Something about this kid reminds me of my grandson. I really like Frankie and Yorke, too, and I‘m looking forward to the rest of their story.

4.25⭐
•Honestly, this has everything a good missing person mystery thriller needs, and I might‘ve rated it even higher if I weren‘t in such a funk lately. Also, I‘m feeling fairly burned out on Saskia Maarleveld‘s narration lately; it feels like she‘s narrating everything.

2.25⭐• Ursula‘s back story • with mentions of many other Disney characters •
•The only reason I picked this up was for the U character name to go in my A-Z book challenge, and there could‘ve been a decent story here for all I know. Unfortunately, the narration killed it for me. I disliked the accent, which, to be fair, is most definitely a me thing, but her voice tone was also horrendous. Her character voices were just a high-pitched mess.

3.5⭐(Light Pick)
•I believe this book is scary, and if I had watched it on TV, I‘m sure it would‘ve had me terrified. But in this medium, my connection to the story and the characters was really only surface-level. I wonder if I didn‘t let myself get too immersed because I didn‘t want to be freaked out when I go camping in these particular mountains in a few weeks.
•Leanne Woodward was fine, but I would‘ve liked additional narrators.

4.5⭐
•This isn‘t the first book I‘ve read about the Chowchilla bus kidnapping, but it is, by far, the better of the two. The other one is 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 3𝘉. Both are only loosely based on that incident, and each went in fairly different directions. You can read both and get a distinct story.
•All four narrators did a phenomenal job with the narration. The full cast of narrators put this version over the top for me.

2.25⭐
•What started decently quickly descended deep into the murky darkness. Just like these girls and their deep dives. The characters failed to draw me in, especially after she broke up with her long-time boyfriend, East. It felt all wrong, and I didn‘t buy the relationship between her and Rio; it felt forced/contrived. Unlike many readers who quickly guessed the killer, I wasn‘t even motivated to try.
•Sophie Amoss gave a decent performance.

4⭐
This was my first finished e-book of the year. Since the hold for the Audio was so freaking long, I decided to read this on KU.
This is one of the better Freida books I‘ve finished. Maybe reading them is the way to go since I don‘t usually like her choice of narrators. It surprised me and kept me engaged, and I loved the easy-to-read writing style. I will be continuing the series…, but whether it will be on audio or Kindle remains to be seen.

4⭐
•The overall theme at work here was solid, but sometimes it went off on unnecessary tangents that pulled me out of the story entirely too often.
•Helen Laser‘s narration was fantastic.

4⭐
•This is the kind of story that delves into the unexpected corners of the heart, proving that rescue comes in many forms and speaks in myriad tongues (think medieval knight). And just maybe, Gentry is exactly what Zee never knew she needed.
•The full cast of narrators made this a very worthwhile listen.

4.5⭐
•This was an endearingly sweet story that hit all the feels, but it didn‘t quite hit me like Dark Room Etiquette did. While it had a similar feel to it, I still wasn‘t quite as hooked. Although it‘s still completely worthwhile because the love in this seriously shines.
•Graham Halsted & Christopher Gebauer‘s narration was excellently performed.

3.25⭐
•Lately, I‘ve not been easily pulled into a book…it has to be really good. Unfortunately, this didn‘t manage to pull me in. That‘s not to say it isn‘t worthwhile, as many others have found it satisfactory. If toxic female friendship mixed with books about people who write books is your jam, this could be your story.
•Yu-Li Alice Shen, Saskia Maarleveld, Leiana Bertrand, & Eunice Wong were all fantastic.

My MAY #bookspinbingo board.

#bookspin = Tell Me What I Am by Una Mannion
#doublespin = Across Time by Elle O'Roark

@TheAromaofBooks

2.5⭐
• 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 • 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧 • 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬 • 𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐎𝐕𝐬 •
•Sometimes KMod‘s books are a hit, and sometimes they are a miss…this one was definitely more of a miss for me. While it was suspenseful, there were too many improbable events for me to get behind what was happening here.
•Craig Van Ness and Lauryn Allman‘s narration was decent enough.

My only 5-star book this month was Don't Tell Me How To Die.

Currently, Sunrise on the Reaping will be #1 for the first half of the year. I also feel it could easily be my #1 for the entire year.

4.25⭐
•For me, 6:30 (the dog) stole the show and I loved his POV. The other characters weren‘t too bad, either. Elizabeth Zott was an intriquingly quirky MC that really broke the mold of the typical female of her time. It did get a little monotonous at times, especially towards the end, but for the most part this was an engaging feminist-centered story.
•Miranda Raison‘s narration was fantastic.

April #bookspinbingoboard. 4 Bingo's and 4 DNFs total. I only finished 14 books this month, which is down 6 books from last month. I think I'm in a rut😟.

#bookspin = completed (The Defense by Steve Cavanagh)
#doublespin = completed (Retreat by Krysten Ritter)

@TheAromaofBooks

Here's my #bookspinbingo list for May.
I tried to keep it small, like small books, and broke up anything over 13 hours in length into two entries since I'm going on vacation at the end of this month, and I usually don't get much listening time in when we go UTV riding for the week. We are going to West Virginia this year, and we have a large group of people going, so l'm looking forward to it.

@TheAromaofBooks

3.5⭐Mostly A Pick but also So-So.
•This started great, and I was fully invested, but eventually, the witchcraft elements got a bit out of hand, which I feel is typical for Hendrix. It got to the point that I couldn‘t follow what was going on. I don‘t think the narration did this issue any favors, either. Overall, for me, it dragged something fierce.
•The narration for the birthing sections was atrocious to listen to.
⬇️⬇️⬇️

3⭐
•This author‘s books are either a hit for me or a near miss…this one falls into the latter. Despite wanting to, I never connected with the characters or the story. I‘m willing to admit it might be a me thing.
•Christine Lakin‘s narration was decent.

3.75⭐
•While the writing fell a bit flat for me at times, I‘m still rather impressed with this. A formidably scary premise, and I can‘t help but feel that it would be totally plausible in the very near future. This and more—yikes!
•I love separate narrators, but a greater contrast between voices would‘ve hit more effectively, otherwise, all three were quite good.

5⭐
•A clever story that holds you in suspense and will keep you on your toes because you‘ll be wondering where it's going. Things start in the past and feel quite contemporary, which some might say is slow burn, but I thought it worked out really well. Then it moves to the present and begins to slowly change into something far more ominous, which I was definitely here for.
•January LaVoy is a queen!

4.25⭐
•What a gruesome little dragon tale. One that involves dragons suddenly appearing in real life and doesn‘t shy away from death and dismemberment, not even with animals (I could‘ve done without that kind of imagery). This story could definitely be elaborated on or continued. Also, it would make an excellent movie as long as it‘s not done in the interview style of this book.
•The narration was fantastic as long as you like full dramatization.

2.75⭐
•I tried this while knowing it probably wouldn‘t work for me, despite really liking Kill For Me, Kill For You. Inevitably, it was a combination of the narration and the storyline that didn‘t work for me. It wasn‘t my style of book, I believe. When it comes to thrillers, I‘m more new-school than old-school, and this felt old-school to me, which more than likely translates to it being liked by many others.

3.25⭐
•Kysten Ritter‘s narration was fantastic, at least I believe it was, but something about this left my mind wandering. Maybe it was the glibness of the characters that pulled me out of the story. I wanted to like this more than I actually did, but that‘s not to say that it won‘t work for others.

1.5⭐

• horror • cursed film • mixed media • past & present timelines • multiple POVs •

•This is one of those books that either works for you or doesn‘t. It‘s obvious where I fall on this spectrum. I was completely adrift; for me, the writing was too disjointed, the narration too oddly done, and overall, it felt like there wasn‘t really a story here. Was it scary? I have no f-ing clue.

3.5⭐Light Pick
•An engagingly diabolical story where you‘re left trying to figure out who was the unreliable one. Unfortunately, I did have a few issues. 1. I‘m pretty sure the covid stuff was a turn-off for me. I lived through it, don‘t want to read about it. 2. The MC's meddling ways were overly annoying, & 3, I saw the end coming, although I didn't see that extreme, because wow, it was unhinged.
•Maggi Meg-Reed brought her A-game with this one.

3.75⭐
• This is an interesting look at an impossible situation: where you bury your significant other and win the lottery on the same day. While it was a tad slow at times, I still found myself intrigued by where the hell this was going, and it managed to go in a direction I didn't see coming.
• Gary Bennett‘s narration was fantastic.

3.75⭐
•While she did get on her soapbox again, and I‘m seriously not a fan of that sort of thing, I still mostly enjoyed this second edition of this duo. It has the same fast-paced craziness that the first book brought, and continues Ness‘s journey of self-discovery in a world that seems hell-bent on bringing her down.
•Saskia Maarleveld‘s voice isn‘t a favorite, but she is always consistent.

3.5⭐Light Pick
•Overall, this was a moderately engaging story with an interesting family dynamic and some tense, eerie moments culminating in a somewhat lackluster ending.
•But hey, I found another accented narrator with whom I can stay in the story with.

My third completed letter in my #atozultimatechallenge is X!

X~ Title = Baby X
X~ Author = Cindy R.X, He for Perfect Little Monsters
X~ Character = Xaden (Riorson) from Onyx Storm
X~ Item = Lights Out
X~XEROX Book where the Plot, Title, or Cover is the same as a book you've previously read = The New Neighbor (in this case, I've read another book with this title)

3.25⭐I think this one tries to throw you off with the synopsis, which can be good or bad. Despite having similar cover art, having a pregnant MC, & coming out simultaneously, I can say that it‘s quite different from “The Crash” by FM.
I had no idea what direction it was going in, & I was completely taken by surprise with where it went, so much so that I was left scrambling to figure out what was going on. By the time I figured it out, it was over.