Wow, what a gut punch that last 1/3 of this book is! I would have loved to spend twice as long with these characters, but alas, the story wrapped up.

I could have done without the podcast transcript at the end but otherwise, this was top notch! I love how Gentill put everything together and I liked that I had a strong inkling but hadn't figured everything out when things started coming together. This is everything I wanted in an Orient Express mystery!

OMG, how is it September? I‘m travelling most of the month so don‘t imagine I‘ll get much reading done - #bookspin or otherwise. Oh well!

A one-day read for me. I really enjoyed the section from Lilian‘s POV. Jet‘s was okay. I didn‘t like Ryan‘s - but likely because I just didn‘t like him, even at the beginning. There‘s a lot of tough stuff in this book but it was beautifully written.

What a romp! Rich people problems plus a bit of a mystery? Sign me up! This was on track to be a fabulous summer read but, the pace really slowed at the end and the spark of romance between Jia and Darius felt inconsistent.

Oof, Vermette has this incredibly ability to just rip your heart out while also making you so hopeful for everyone you meet. That being said, POV changes A LOT and you only get slivers when you want a chunk. I‘d have preferred more time with fewer characters.

Roll 81 for #Roll100

While there are a couple of dark moments, for the most part, this is a lovely little romp, perfect for the Great British Bakeoff fan. I did find it difficult to reconcile how Alain's character shifted but maybe that's just how dudes are :P

Roll 98 for #Roll100

This was a great P&P retelling! I am shocked it‘s not more popular. The audio was great, too.

#audiopuzzling

Not my favourite Marie Benedict. There were some liberties that were a little too far for my taste. I also had a hard time following the story sometimes, I don‘t know if I was distracted or what but I won‘t remember this for long.

#audiopuzzling

This was great! I really thought it would be predictable but there were some great twists and turns that kept me sucked right in!

Roll 4 for #Roll100

My library hold took a long time to come in so I was sitting with the cliffhanger from Book 2 for a while. I thought this one was paced better than the others but it felt predictable. Baker was so annoying to me in the first book but now is my fav character. I would have liked a little more on the Russ storyline, it felt a bit too wrapped up but also somehow not wrapped up at all?

#ElinHProject

This was a re-read for me. It was fun to dip into historical fiction but still keep secrets & gossip that I'm coming to love from Elin. For the most part, I really loved the characters but there was something about Kate that bothered me that I still can't put my finger on. I'd love to go even further back in history and get Exalta's story - there's gotta be something that made her the way she was, right?!

#ElinHProject

I was fine with Fray & Leland getting back together, I liked Linc & Bess getting together, I laughed at Coop and the chaos that is his love life but I was MAD about Ursula & Jake. That last little bit ruined this whole update for me.

#ElinHProject

The little Greek chorus at the beginning of each chapter helped to keep me in time. And I liked that there wasn't a spotlight on every weekend. I enjoyed getting little vignettes from the various characters, dipping in & out of their lives and seeing how they had grown & changed (particularly Ursula & Leland!) But I hate this was framed around an affair and I hate Jake for carrying on an affair for YEARS, even before he was married.

#ElinHProject

Not what I was expecting but I enjoyed the mystery clues. Some of the backstory was revealed in a bit of a heavy-handed way but it was a nice summer read.

My July #DoubleSpin

I wasn‘t too sure about this because magical realism usually just annoys me but there was so much more going on - the relationship between Monica and her grandparents, her friendship and blossoming romance with Louise, the relationship between Meng and Yun, the Chinese history… so much to take in, hard to believe it‘s a debut.

I didn‘t love the audio narration so give it a preview before committing.

My July #BookSpin

Oh, good. Another middle aged white dude that thinks more highly of himself than everyone else combined.

#audiopuzzling
#SeriesLove2025

If there‘s a Daisy Jones & The Six or The Final Revival of Opal & Nev shaped hole in your heart, this might fill it. The first part felt a bit hazy with the second part feeling frenzied, though I did find pretty much every single person in the book unlikeable.

My fourth read for #14books14weeks

I enjoyed the twists & turns in how we got to the end and the back & forth in time structure worked for me. The writing was maybe grittier than I prefer but overall, a good summer read.

My third book finished for #14books14weeks

I‘m happy I picked this up before I read The Fraud Squad because the writing in that one was so rough that I wouldn‘t have picked up another Zhao. But she‘s made MASSIVE strides in her writing, this was such an improvement. I really enjoyed it!

My second read for #14books14weeks
My June #BookSpin read in July

The plot was fun but the writing was a bit of a struggle sometimes.

My first finished book for #14books14weeks
My May #BookSpin that I finished in June

The first half was not great - I considered bailing. I found things a bit confusing and hard to follow. But things really shifted in the second half and the resolution was so good!

My April #BookSpin that I actually read in April but am super slow on reviewing.

This isn't something I would have ever picked up on my own - and there were pieces that I tuned out because they just didn't jive with my views & beliefs. But the author has a nice sense of humour and it is an interesting story.

My April #DoubleSpin that I finished in April but haven‘t reviewed until now

This was a one-day listen for me on a day trip out to Cuenca from Madrid.

What a romp! Filled with quirky characters and an absolutely ridiculous end but also a little heart, this is such a sweet book.

When is Agatha Raisin going to figure out she has terrible taste in men?

Progress for #SeriesLove2025

I had high hopes for this but it just wasn‘t it for me.

Roll 51 for #Roll199 (that I actually read in March but am only getting around to reviewing now.)

I enjoyed this much more than I expected because I typically don‘t go for short stories. But this was quite lovely. Obviously some stories were better than others but how everything was pulled together at the end really made it for me.

Oof - this was hard for me because of what happens with Stephen. But ignoring that, I think this is one of the best Murder Club books yet. I love that Joyce is coming out of her shell and I laughed right out loud at so many moments. I am looking forward to the next one.

My May #DoubleSpin and progress on #SeriesLove2025

I can understand why people are saying this is the best Taylor Jenkins Reid so far. For me, that'll always be Evelyn Hugo but this is right up there. It would absolutely have been a one-day read for me if I had started it on a weekend morning versus a weekday night. I wanted to punch Barb in the face so many times but that storyline with Frances was a good way to fill out the overall plot.

Honestly, I don‘t know why I finished this series. It took me four years to get through six books. It wasn‘t for me but happily, I know someone who is really excited to take these copies off my hands.

Roll 84 for #Roll100

This was really quite sweet! I enjoyed the fake murder week with all of its clues and investigation, which is what I was expecting. What I wasn‘t expecting was the softer side of Cath exploring her relationship with her mother. The two together made this go down super fast as a one-day read for me.

Ooh, I‘m excited for these #Roll100 picks! Now to just make the time to read them 🤣

Ready to go with my August #BookSpin list. You‘d never know it from how far behind I am in posting but I‘ve actually read almost all my book spin and double spin picks from the year!

My #Roll100 books are really starting to pile up… but every month, I get excited about the new rolls.

Late with my July #BookSpin list but I don‘t think I got my June list posted at all so I‘m taking this as a win!

I am lucky that my parents are into their 70s and in very good health. But now, my Dad is going through the process to be diagnosed with dementia. My sister & I are doing what we do best - turning to books. These are some of the recs I‘ve received. She has picked up The 36 Hour Day, the Care Giver‘s Guide to Dementia and Dementia With Dignity.
If there are glaring gaps that would help us navigate the coming years, I‘d be grateful to hear them.

I‘m so excited… while shopping for more gorgeous copies of Pride & Prejudice, I stumbled on Kennys, a bookshop in Galway. I bought four copies of P&P that I haven‘t seen in Canada but also got their €100 mystery book hamper. I chose Irish authors and added a note that I‘d love books not available in Canada. And they delivered! I‘m so excited for almost all of these - especially Solo, which is written by one of their staff!

#bookhaul

How awesome to have another Charmaine Wilkerson! I did get confused a few times about the timeline but overall, really enjoyed this. Wilkerson writes beautiful characters and moving stories.

My February #BookSpin

Has Jasmine Guillory gotten too successful for a hard edit? As usual, her characters and general storyline are fantastic. But this felt so uneven! Some of the dialogue felt awkward & unnecessary, the lessons got repetitive and there were too many one-dimensional friends. And since this is nearly 400 pages, it didn‘t need filler. The best bits were the more unique bits and the more flushed-out friendships.

OMG, I read next to nothing in May. So I‘ve pull all my library holds on pause and I‘m hellbent on reading my June #Roll100 books IN JUNE. Wish me luck.

Instagram kept feeding this up to me as an ad and I bit the bullet, expecting it would be a bit of a disaster IF it ever arrived. But it did and it‘s gorgeous! I‘ve only been to a few, including this library in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This is the perfect book to curl up with and daydream ❤️

What a page turner… you never really know what‘s going on and it just makes you want to keep reading. I think it broke my brain in a few places - but in a good way!

I had a hard time seeing the Nora we meet on the page as a nun for 30 years. But I really liked the dynamic she had with the Inspector and the mystery was well plotted. I‘ll likely pick up the next, if the series continues.

Thank you, @Liz_M for bringing back #14books14weeks! It turns out, I have a couple of authors with more than one of their books on my TBR so I‘ve got 2 books each from 7 authors for my list. Looking forward to so many of these titles!

Perfect long weekend reading! I loved Henry‘s take on the “older famous woman who has left the limelight has ulterior motives when she tells her story to journalist for tell-all book” trope.

Remember how about two weeks ago I was chastising myself for not sticking to my 2-out-1-in rule? I continue to throw the rules in my own face.

I love Beth O‘Leary. She always finds such an interesting way of introducing conflict without relying on old, tired - and frankly, dumb - tropes. And she just excels at character development!

I love an epistolary novel - and this was a really lovely one about a friendship blossoming between two young women. I loved where each woman started and where they ended up. And the descriptions of food made me salivate.

Really great ideas on how to make really big changes when things feel totally broken!

Better than the first in the series and I really loved the cliffhanger ending. I still struggled with the balance between what happened to Russ and everyone‘s love lives. And I had a really hard time with Rosie‘s diaries - she knew Russ was married and I‘m finding it hard to find sympathy for her. The list for book 3 is super long at my library, I hope it moves quickly!

#ElinHProject