Quirky and charming and sweet and unpredictable and funny and just an all around delight

I would love to see this performed live! (because I'm not really a fan of reading plays...)

So I quite liked this - but I did expect a little more to happen. Once I settled into the style of the book, it was hard to put down. Zippy is such a sweet, naive young woman and my favourite parts were when she was working with her customers. I would love to revisit her and see where she is in five years!

This is such a sweet little mystery, it's perfect with a cup of tea and a blanket and an open afternoon. I haven't read Sampson before but I may need to take a peak at her backlist.

WTF. How is it November?? My November #BookSpin list looks suspiciously like October‘s but whatcha gonna do?

It‘s time for the #finishwhatyoustarted readathon to clear out whatever you need to get finished before the end of the year! I was hoping to start strong and finish something this weekend but I just got a notification from the library that 3 holds are in and I still have six in the house so I should prolly work on those!

My #AlwaysFullyBooked planner arrived!! This is the first year I‘ve gotten the light cover and I‘m so delighted with it! It‘s taking all my self-control not to dive in now and start setting it up.

Well, I meant to post this stack last week but I had to start a couple more books so I had lots of choice for my #finishwhatyoustarted readathon. Some of these were started in 2022!!! 🙈

Do you also have a few in-progress books or challenges you want to focus on finishing for the rest of the year? Join me!

This was fun but nothing amazing. I did enjoy Kausar‘s reveal of how things went down at the end but overall, the book felt long and I had a hard time getting into it.

If I hadn‘t started this last night as I was falling asleep, it would have been a one-day read for me. I love Janice Hallett, I‘ll read anything she puts out. I had a couple of good snorts of laughter throughout this and while I understand why people thought the first half kinda dragged, I enjoyed the repetitiveness. The one-star reviews killed me.

Yikes. I‘ve just realized I have an unreasonable number of half-read books that I‘d really like to get read before the end of the year. Feeling the same? Join me for a #finishwhatyoustarted readathon starting Nov 1.

It doesn‘t need to be half-read books. Maybe you are behind on a challenge or some buddy reads? Make whatever you like of it!

I‘ll post my stack later this week when I‘m brave enough to put all the books in one spot.

A total page turner. There is such a good twist that just throws everything you think you know into complete disarray. In retrospect, it‘s so obvious but I didn‘t see it coming!

My #DoubleSpin and Roll 47 for #Roll100

Wow. This book is devastating.

My August #BookSpin

A one-day vacation read that was a perfect vacation read! I did see almost all of it coming but it was still fun to watch everything unravel. And this was my first Sally Hepworth, shockingly! Need to read more

Roll 30 for #Roll100

This was my pick this year for #mummydaughterbookclub and we all really liked it. It gave me some Secret History vibes early on, which I loved, but then it turned into its own interesting story. I hope Knight writes more!

Great reading while you are on vacation! This was light and cute and easy. There were a few things that felt weird based on my experience travelling in Italy (you can‘t get to Pompeii from Rome that quickly…) but I‘m willing to suspend disbelief for some murder froth.

My June #DoubleSpin

Reading during our rest day on the Tour Du Mont Blanc!

The framing of Claudia Lin wanting to become a detective like her favourite fictional detective was such fun! And adding the family dynamic gave this an extra bit of dimension that bumped this from an okay book to a really good one. Looking forward to the next in the series!

Book 5 for #14Books14Weeks, way past when the challenge ended, as per my usual approach to this challenge 🤪

While I‘m terribly behind on posting, I‘m actually doing okay at keeping up with reading my #BookSpin picks (bingo is another story…) so let‘s see if I can keep it going!

Haven‘t even looked at my September #Roll100 books so obviously, it is time to pull three more off the shelf. I‘m just not feeling two of these three. Definitely will be focusing on my #trappedinaspookyhouse books!!

After Book 2, I wasn‘t sure I wanted to keep going with this series - it was just too similar to Book 1. But this was felt like part of the series but different enough, I didn‘t feel like I was reading the same book. I really enjoy how Swanson starts with the characters that‘ll just be in the current book and then brings in recurring characters. It works for me.

My second book finished for #TurnThePage
#SeriesLove2025
Roll 46 for #Roll100

I had no idea how Swanson was going to turn The Kind Worth Killing into a series but he pulled it off! I think he did follow the template of the first book a little too closely but still a good read - and nice to get more backstory on Kimball

#SeriesLove2025

Ooh, this was good! I love that Swanson didn‘t stick to the typical thriller with a twist formula. I didn‘t love the narrators for the audio but the plot kept me listening.

#SeriesLove2025

Blech - I stuck with the awkward and overly dense writing to see how it resolved and frankly, the end wasn‘t worth it. It was really difficult to reconcile the culprit with the person you were getting to know, it just didn‘t feel like they were the same person. And frankly, the characters all felt the exact same, I had a lot of trouble keeping them straight.

First book finished for #TurnThePage and my August #DoubleSpin

My list is ready for #CastTheDie, even if my TBR is not ☺️

Thank you @Bookwormjillk for hosting the #TurnThePage readathon! I‘m going to try to finish my in-progress ebook, my library book and two shortish books from my TBR. Fingers crossed!

What a page turner!! The tension Abdullah creates on literally every single page is so good. Everyone is so unlikeable in the best possible way and she just nails how anything can get twisted around for either good or bad.

Though I do need to remember to not get American copies of British books. Neighbor? Miles? Ugh.
(Although the American title is way better!)

Roll 41 for #Roll100

Oh no, @bekakins - you escaped the masked killer but now find yourself locked in when the door to the library slams shut behind you! Luckily, the shelves are stocked with books that intrigue you to keep you company while you‘re #trappedinaspookyhouse.

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.