Though the title (plus the MC‘s red hair) made me think this would be a little more overtly Little Mermaid-inspired, I was in no way disappointed by my first experience with Jimenez‘s writing! I loved this love story that has its own enchanting magic between Dr. Alexis & the man she meets by chance in such a charming small MN town! Great characters, & a fantastic audio performance had me listening at every opportunity! So excited for the sequel!

The drama club puts on Splendor In The Grass; Jessica stars opposite Bill Chase, using his crush on her to get him to do her bidding. She notices DeeDee Gordon‘s crush on Bill & intervenes. Bill continues giving DeeDee surfing lessons. DeeDee‘s father, a Hollywood agent, watches a rehearsal & says that he spied screenworthy talent. Certain it‘s her, Jessica magnanimously steps aside for DeeDee & Bill— until the screentest turns out to be for Bill!

Willingham‘s writing is consistently engaging & entertaining— this latest one is no exception! Claire returns to SC, thinking of her older sister who disappeared 22 years earlier. When looking through photos, she ends up following her sister‘s last summer plan & getting a job at the winery where she last worked. The discovery of Marcia‘s journal from the 1980s reveals secrets lurking beneath the surface. The dual timelines are great— a pageturner!

Set in the 1960s in a small VT town, this mystery introduces a fairly large cast & two main investigators. Franklin Warren has left the city to take a role with the state police & his neighbor, Alice Bellows, misses the excitement of her war work & gets involved in clearing the name of clerk accused of stealing. I liked the setting more than the characters & didn‘t find the ending to be very satisfying. I am curious where the series will go next.

This is one of my favorites! Liz is in a coma! Jessica won‘t leave her side & when Liz wakes up, she starts acting more Jessica than Jessica— flirty, skipping out on chores & getting new sexier clothing & avoiding Todd. At Lila‘s party, she drinks with Bruce & then sticks Jess with babysitting the Percy twins while going to Bruce‘s beach house! A second head injury (after more wine with Bruce who is a real creeper here), restores her personality!

I‘m really enjoying the #LeoAskerSeries! This follow-up, newly translated, picks up right after THE MOUNTAIN KING. Leo‘s father, after more than a decade of silence, reaches out for help after a corpse from 2006 is uncovered near his prepper compound, The Farm. Meanwhile, Martin‘s contacted by the Irving family to write a book about their legacy—but a string of dead bodies, urban legends about UFOs & hidden tunnels make this an exciting recovery!

With multiple perspectives, dual timelines & some multimedia add-ins like journal entries, & online forum chats, this makes for a quick listen. Identical triplets Rosie, Bettie & Cassie are looking at making a tough decision to place the father that raised them in a care home. The discovery of their mother‘s journal to them— a survival guide, raises questions & leads them across the ocean for answers. An engaging listen though not her best book!

Todd‘s traded his Datsun in for a Yamaha 750 Virago, much to Elizabeth‘s horror. She hasn‘t mustered up the courage to confess that after her cousin Rexy Wakefield‘s death, none of them are allowed on one. Liz finds herself getting weirdly jealous any time another girl is on the back of the bike & Todd tries to talk Ned & Alice into it, but fails. In the first #SVH twin intuition instance, Jess realizes while at Miller‘s Point that Liz needs her!

Set in a small Mississippi town in 2000, this family drama includes a brief history of the Seven Seals church, sermon notes, & multiple perspectives— mainly of the First Lady of the church, Priscilla, & Diamond, the teenager wildly in love with the youngest son of Priscilla & the reverend, “Wonderboy.” Unfortunately, outside of the football field & classroom, he‘s anything but wonderful. Slowly his dark actions uproot his whole family. A lot here!

Set in 1980, Alice‘s life is entirely within the walls of her home. Mute, though she can speak through ASL & writing, her parents seem more like jailers. Now in her early 20s, Alice suspects that her traveling salesman father harbors the darkest of secrets. When a new neighbor moves in next door, Alice‘s world broadens & she eventually endeavors to learn the truth, as horrible as it is. The setting & era worked well, but the ending is sad!

Liz agrees to cover for Jessica‘s sneaking out on a Sunday for her first official date with the older, mustachioed Scott Daniels. Liz is worried that Jess will blow her test for the tour guide license that Monday. Jess at first has fun— flirting & teasing Scott (she yuckily takes being called jailbait a compliment though…) until he starts being more aggressive with her. He‘s too drunk & high to drive, so Jess is stuck out all night! ⬇️

This is my first experience with Richell‘s writing— & she certainly has a gift for a twisty plot that kept me guessing. It opens after a Halloween party in the woods near a private high school, where one girl never makes it home. With multiple perspectives & plenty of suspicious characters, this makes for a quick & engaging read!

In this post-apocalyptic thriller, humanity exists only in fortified settlements to protect from the Feeders— those who were once human but are now more like vampires (if they are lucky) or mindless zombies (if they are less lucky). Solid world building as Layla makes a Crossing to the outside in search of antibiotics. Well-performed audio & genuinely engaging but I wanted a bit more depth to the characters— still a quick & exciting listen!

This is definitely one of the more memorable ones— & it covers more time than is usual. Though the twins only joined the school sorority Pi Beta Alpha in the first book, Jessica is now the president! Chubby Robin Wilson follows Jessica around adoringly & while Jess has no trouble using her to run her errands for her, she‘s horrified at the thought of the girl in the sorority. Liz intervenes & Robin makes it through the difficult pledge trials- ⬇️

I‘m a sucker for any story involving identical twins (obviously!) so this book set in a small Australian beach town reeled me right in. Cassie & Andie have spent the past decade knowing that they are actually from the future & that the titular character is not their birth mother at all. In the days before & after the twins‘ 21st birthday, truths big & small emerge forever changing their lives. Unique & moving, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Though well-performed, this audio re-release after twenty years & the new popularity of SLOW HORSES just wasn‘t for me. Sarah leaps to some wild conclusions after a home in her neighborhood blows up, leaving only a young girl as a survivor. Sarah blows up her own life in trying to find the girl. The abrupt transitions & cast size did make me wish that I physically read this instead though I doubt that would have helped me connect with Sarah.

Jessica‘s long harbored a crush on wealthy & handsome Bruce Patman & she‘s more determined than ever to date him. He flirts with her at Secca Lake (even unties red bikini in front of everyone!), then make out in the bushes until Liz worriedly tracks them down. Jess loses herself with Bruce— from letting him beat her at tennis, changing her fashion sense & even skips cheerleading! When Liz schemes to reveal 1Bruce1 lied to her, Jess dumps him!

The 4th book in the #FrankieElkinSeries harkens back quite a bit to the first with a more urban backdrop— this time Tucson— and deeply invested in the Afghani refugee community there. A friend of a missing young mother contacts Frankie to find a woman who no one seems to be looking for— not even her husband. With new reptile roommates & a fresh cast to provide assistance, this moves quickly but with a lot of background into her target‘s story.

The 3rd in the #FrankieElkinSeries trades the wilds of WY for an even more remote Hawaiian atoll. A death row inmate convinces Frankie to rescue her much younger sister as the perfect undercover person to infiltrate the island. It‘s not long before Frankie finds herself in over her head with secrets, betrayals & much less cuddly animal roommates (a wolf spider & a crab!). Lots of action, twists though there are some thin spots to some of the plan.

Wow—for as much as I didn‘t love the first book in the #FrankieElkinSeries, I sure did love this second one! Impulsively, nomadic citizen finder of missing persons, Frankie joins the search for Tim O‘Day who went into the WY Shoshone National Forest with his groomsmen for a bachelor party weekend & was the only one to not make it out, despite being the most experienced outdoorsman. 5 years later, they‘re hoping the SAR dog Daisy can bring closure.

Gardner‘s long been one of my favorite authors & now that she‘s 4 books deep into the #FrankieElkinSeries, I am excited to binge them! Unfortunately, this is probably my least favorite of her books… Frankie‘s a nomadic alcoholic who for 9 years has traded her addiction to booze for being a citizen detective finding missing persons— specializing in victims of color. Gardner addresses loosely the optics of a white savior complex, but not smoothly.

The Fall Dance is only 2 weeks away & Jessica‘s determined to win as Fall Queen, since it‘s a guarantee that Bruce Patman will be king. Enid‘s boyfriend, Ronnie Edwards, is on the dance committee so Jess can‘t help but share with him a letter she found in Liz‘s bedroom—from Enid‘s ex, George Warren! Enid‘s wild past (as a 13 year old?!) is revealed & Enid blames Liz for blabbing her secrets. For revenge, Liz gets Winston Egbert crowned king!

This #YANovel is set on a Scottish “ghost island” (meaning it‘s not on original maps), & opens with Fraser, his mute brother & newcomer Hayley, being thrust together on a stormy night— that in the morning washes up a dead whale & then a dead body not long after! Though predictable, I enjoyed the magic of the whales enough to overcome some of the mixed messages & unrealistic dialogue & characters. Fun audio performance with a great accent!

Happy Publication Day! I really think Bishop‘s second novel is even better than her first! With multiple perspectives, timelines & a multimedia slant, this makes for a summer thriller that handles big issues, a murder & family drama— as well as the deeper bonds of friendship & family— making it impossible to put down! I loved it! The characters all come to life— as well as the beautiful Cote de Azur setting! A terrific summer read for sure!

My #SweetValleyReRead is getting to the books I‘m the most excited to revisit! My original copy of this book is actually a misprint so this is the first time that I‘ve read pages 90-123 (56-90 are included twice in mine!)! Grounded from driving, Jessica rebels & sneaks out on a date with dropout Rick Andover. She gets caught at the seedy roadhouse bar, Kelly‘s & doesn‘t correct the cop who thinks she‘s Liz! Liz suffers rumors & mopes about Todd.

Chase‘s latest is another solidly entertaining dual timeline/dual perspective story. Siblings Maggie & Kit are especially close—though their small family certainly has more than its share of secrets. In 2019, a phone call from the past has put Maggie in a tailspin, leaving Paris to return to England. Kit, now in antiques, has also been searching through the past & his own fragmented memories of the time when their mother failed to come home.

Jackson‘s adult thriller debut is solidly entertaining with an engaging hook, a tight timeline & a unique angle. At 27, Jet isn‘t as far in life as she expected to be… living back at home with her parents with a catchphrase of doing everything “later”. This arrested development abruptly comes to a change on Halloween when she‘s attacked in their kitchen & given a week to live. So she sets out, with her childhood friend, to solver her own murder!

The end of #SweetValleyJrHigh! The Wakefield family is headed to Utah & the kids are all devastated. Jessica can‘t bear to tell Damon, & when he finds out from overhearing Liz & Blue, he‘s very upset! Their friends decide to throw a going away party but Sal knows he can‘t keep a secret, so he avoids Liz just as their romance is blooming! Both twins feel lonely until the party, where everyone makes up & Ned gives them the good news they‘re staying!

What an impressive debut fantasy novel! Alma‘s deepest connection is with her mother, largely shunned in their town for being born out of wedlock. When her mother falls ill, Alma reaches out for help everywhere even involving the father she never knew. When she is taken as his heir, she finds an even colder welcome. But in the dark magic swirling around them, Alma finds the friend she always dreamt of! Violent, heartbreaking & hopeful, I loved it!

I enjoyed this standalone more than the last couple of Jackson‘s books that I‘ve read! While it shares a disdain for the justice system & a preference for handling things yourself, it has a similar chemistry of partner investigation that I loved about AGGTM. Bel has lived nearly her whole life in the shadow of her mother‘s sudden disappearance but when the family agrees to a documentary, her mother reappears & Bel‘s determined to find the truth!

Liz‘s love life is at front & center! After her dance & first kiss with Blue, she wants to make sure they are officially dating. When Sal spies them kiss by the bus line, his jealousy flares… but it‘s overshadowed by Ned‘s news that he is considering a new job in Salt Lake City! Jessica makes Liz promise to keep it a secret until they know for sure, but the boys in Liz‘s life can tell she‘s upset. When she confides in Sal, it‘s the end for Blue!

I loved Grodstein‘s WE MUST NOT THINK OF OURSELVES—plus I am a sucker for dogs both real & fictional, so this novel about an American woman traveling to Tbilisi, Georgia to help find a lost dog seemed tailor made for my enjoyment! And while o did read it quickly, a late stage coming-of-age novel coupled with a more political focus than I expected took the fun out. Amy‘s actions were frustrating at times though as a travelogue to Georgia, it works!

Happy Publication Day! I‘m a sucker for all twin stories, & this one hooked me in from the start! Told in alternating perspectives, Georgia is in the titular locked ward within a Charlotte hospital, on a mandatory evaluation hold instead of jail for the murder of her sister. Mandy receives a call from Georgia‘s lawyer with the startling news that Georgia is her twin… and maybe her only hope for freedom. In part predictable but fast paced!

It‘s the first formal at #SVJH & while Jessica‘s happily going with Damon, she really wants Elizabeth to go with Blue. But Liz gets waylaid at Jessica‘s locker & Ronald Rheece‘s crush on Liz is apparently reignited. She can‘t come up with a nice way to say no, so she‘s stuck with the nerd. Blue does ask, but it‘s too late… or maybe they can be each other‘s secret dates. Bethel gets angsty about Jameel‘s age again & Sal brings his grandmother!

Jackson‘s first standalone takes place in a fixed setting over one night. Narrator Red, her BFF Maddy, Maddy‘s older brother & his girlfriend, along with 2 other friends are all in a 31‘ RV on their way from PA to AL for spring break. Their first night doesn‘t go as planned when the RV breaks down & they‘re pinned in place by a mysterious armed person demanding they hand over their secrets! The pace is oddly slow & Red‘s spaciness drove me nuts!

I‘m not sure how this #TrueCrime book first came to my attention but it‘s impeccably researched with the author using her personal connections to the case to give a deeper perspective into Polly‘s case. Cross captures the terror of a young girl taken from a sleepover in her home—the mistreatment of the young witnesses as well as the investigation, & eventual legacy Polly has left behind in terms of laws, protocols & procedures. Sad but riveting.

In a recycled from #SweetValleyTwins plot, the #SVJH‘s history class assigns a time capsule assignment. Liz & her friends make a Sweet Valley Monopoly game while Jess & Bethel decide to make a documentary. But they need a camcorder, so Jess reluctantly calls Lila to ask for a favor. Coincidentally, Lila‘s new group of the Double Ees have been ditching her so she enjoys her old friendship dynamic with Jess. Oddly, Mrs. Pervis is replaced by Hester!

Well, unfortunately this last book in the #AGoodGirlsGuideToMurderSeries is one of those that the more I think about it, the less I like it. Sure, it is a pageturner that kept my attention throughout but I really hated seeing Pip‘s character completely devolve from being such a tenacious hero into, a vigilante unwilling to trust any authority figure or adult in her life. To go from upstanding citizen to complete lawbreaker felt out of character.

I‘ve been looking forward to reading this sequel for 5 years! And I couldn‘t put it down— I read it in practically one sitting! Opening up just a few months later, Pip‘s still in her final year of high school (though I‘ve switched from the US to the UK copies so she‘s not in Fairview anymore but Little Kilton!) when Connor‘s brother goes missing after the 6 year tribute for Andie & Sal. Pip doesn‘t want to investigate but can‘t refuse to help!

My #bookclub read this one for July & I was excited to re-read it—& binge read the rest of Jackson‘s books that have been on my TBR! As a reread, this holds up well! I love the multimedia angle here & honestly, hadn‘t remembered all the twists of the plot! Sure, some clues play out with a heavier hand than others but it‘s a fun #YAThriller & it was definitely well-liked by the whole club! Looking forward to the rest & for seeing the TV adaptation!

This novella prequel to #AGoodGirlsGuideToMurder is certainly a fast read! Connor‘s birthday dinner has a 1920s murder mystery theme (which made me nostalgic for my own 16th birthday party which was the same idea!) & as the clues emerge, Pip is certain she has it all solved! It‘s just a game that shows the motivation for Pip‘s capstone subject. Honestly, had I paid $1.99 for this on kindle, I wouldn‘t have been disappointed but $7.99 was too much!

Brian may have a nice guy reputation but he‘s feeling taken advantage of by his family & his girlfriend, Kristin, who casually blows him off twice in a row to hang out with Lacey. So, naturally, he gets a haircut & borrows cooler clothes from his older brother—& his upset inspires his band, Big Noise, to write a song perfect to debut at their first gig—an open mic night at the Manchester Club. Meanwhile, Liz is getting attention from Blue & Sal!

I actually have been looking forward to listening to this one for years! But maybe my hopes were just too high… it sounded like Addamsville, IN would be a creepy story, but I just needed a more grounded setting to find anything remotely scary. These “fire starters” needed more background & frankly, Zora‘s repetitive angst about feeling like the whole town hated her was so overdone that I started siding with the townsfolk! Wish I had DNF‘ed, truly!

Miranda‘s books are always engaging & fast-paced pageturners & this latest, while not my favorite, is no exception. Narrator Beckett dreads dropping her only daughter off at Wyatt college—not only because of an empty nest but also due to her own past with that college. Her senior year, 2 local men died & her roommate disappeared. When an alarming call comes in the middle of the night, Beckett drops everything to investigate, even summoning her ex!

Two events with plenty of build-up happen over the two weeks this installment covers— the student government planned Olympics & the performance of West Side Story. When Bianca, playing Maria, gets strep, Anna moves from playing Anita to Maria— meaning she gets to star with her real-life BF Toby as Tony! But short tempers lose their chemistry— luckily they get it together in time! Meanwhile, Lacey nearly loses it all for her team with her attitude!

I have listened to three of Khaw‘s earlier novels— she writes well & always has an intriguing premise. This latest is no exception, though despite the great performance, the cast size made me wish to have physically read this instead. There‘s plenty of action, but it‘s a bit light on explanations, making it hard to feel truly invested in the characters as they struggle to survive their own magical graduation. #AudioColoring

I‘ve been a fan of Miranda‘s for years & am excited to have two of her books to read this month! Here, Hazel returns to Mirror Lake, NC for her father‘s memorial service & the surprising revelation that she is the sole inheritor of his house, leaving nothing to either of his sons. Uneasy & unsettled by the house itself, Hazel starts poking at the past as a drought brings up its own watery secrets. Engaging & fast-paced, I couldn‘t put this down!

This one is more aptly titled “Pointless” as nothing actually happens! The Wakefield twins may be the center point, but the stories are lame… Elizabeth has writer‘s block & Blue offers to teach her to surf in a week so that she can enter a competition to write about it (Brian‘s plot from the last one) & Jessica tries to have Ronald hack into the computer to change the Olympics team to kick off Lacey…
But Liz doesn‘t learn & Lacey‘s on the team!

This book is a little silly, but I think it‘s one of my favorites of the year so far! It‘s a fantastic debut novel! It opens on Eugenie‘s 30th birthday & when her magical grandmother tells her that any wish she makes will come true, but cannot be reversed, who can blame Genie for not truly believing? The next morning, she wakes up to find her golden retriever is now a man! Enlisting the help of her neighbor (& crush!), Genie sets to righting Rory!

I‘ve really enjoyed this series— though I must admit, the 2020 setting of this third installment probably makes this my least favorite so far (the loaded setting just takes away from the entertainment of murders, hah!). Surrounding the treatment of mustangs in NV, deaths—one particularly grisly—takes place, putting Porter in position to solve them all. As usual, his sister Brinley steals every scene she‘s in & I‘m looking forward to the next book!