Novel but Nice

Last Girl Gone by J.G. Hetherton My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fantastic debut novel and an exciting start to a new series! I am drawn to books with a journalist as the lead (perhaps related to the fact that my grandfather was a notable journalist) because I think journalists are a great mix of detective and every-day person—and isn’t that all of our dream?? Laura Chambers is the lead character in what has been promised as a new series (they are calling this Laura Chambers #1 so I made the assumption) and she is a truly wonderful lead. She’s bold, uninhibited, vulnerable, driven, and empathetic. Just a truly wonderful mix of traits and Laura is a character I really connected with! I thought I’d enjoy this book, but it surpassed me expectations! Laura Chambers is down on her luck... Laura is back in her hometown in Hillsborough, North Carolina—a town she hoped she had left behind for good after high school. Working for the local paper is a big setback for Laura’s...

The Retreat by Mark Edwards My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars Haunting!!! Don’t read this book alone at night unless you keep the lights on!!! This is my first book by Mark Edwards and I absolutely loved it! I wasn’t sure what the genre would be at first, because it has such a tone of the supernatural about it. I think it is best for readers to just let it unfold. I didn’t know which genre it would be, and I liked it all the better for the intrigue it held in that regard. I loved the theme of possibility—the notion that what we believe as children sometimes carries into adulthood. The thought that we all have that, I don’t REALLY believe in ghosts, but maybe I do? That is the feeling you have while reading this book, and it adds to the spooky, unsettling quality of the story. This was home. Why had I waited so long to come back? […] I was sure that here, finally, I would be able to write again. Rediscover my voice, my inspiration. Lucas Radcliffe is a horror writer...

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book had me completely hooked from page one! I have to give this 5 glowing stars for Ruth Ware—who if I’m being honest never disappoints me! This book was positively haunting!!! It was spooky yet meaningful, with lovely prose and compelling plot twists. I cannot recommend it enough! I finished this book last night. It was one of those books that I stayed up late on a work night to finish, because I was so invested in the story. Hal’s dilemma had me completely immersed in the book. I think most readers will find themselves wondering what they would do if they were in Hal’s position! One thing that Ruth Ware does so well in this book (and in her previous work) is to write about characters that are cut off from society in some way. Sometimes this is done through a setting or an experience, and other times it is done through their social predicament. Hal fell into the latter category, with a dash of ...

The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel My rating: 4 of 5 stars What an adorable cozy mystery! A perfect weekend read :) I enjoyed this book immensely! One of my favorite aspects of this genre (the cozy mystery genre), is that you get the mix of the mystery/detective work, with this running commentary of the quirky lives of the town's residents. I actually discovered in the end of the epilogue that the author, Leslie Nagel, is from a real town of Oakwood, OH. Though there are likely less murders in the real Oakwood, I fell completely in love with this town, and Nagel's true experiences are why this town felt so authentic. This book made me want to live in that sweet town, with it's wacky residents and sweet hometown newpaper! Leslie Nagel's The Advice Column Murders is actually the third in her Oakwood Mystery series. I haven't read the first two, but any reader can absolutely go into this book as a standalone. At first I felt a bit thrust i...

Silent Lies by Kathryn Croft My rating: 5 of 5 stars My first Kathryn Croft book (but not my last)! This is my first Kathryn Croft book, and I enjoyed it so much. I had seen a few of my Goodreads favorite reviewers post about it in the fall around publication, and I ordered it from Amazon right away. It went into my growing stack of books to read, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. The pacing of this book is good, I didn't have parts that felt slow or too drawn out, which surprised me with the changes in time and perspective. Plot Teaser (Spoiler Free) 5 years ago... Mia's husband Zach is a college professor who teaches writing. They have an adorable daughter, Freya, and seem happy. But then, to Mia's surprise, Zach commits suicide. His body is found in the apartment of one of his college students, and the student has gone missing. The public goes after Mia, they know her husband is to blame for the girl's disappearance, and without hi...

The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish My rating: 3 of 5 stars A long book with a fascinating premise. I'd give The Sudden Departure of the Frasers 3.5 solid stars. This was such a well-written novel. My biggest reason for not giving it more stars was that the length of it was honestly a bit too long. There was a long stretch in the middle that was good, but not a lot was happening or revealed and it could have been shorter. That said, I absolutely loved the book! Plot Teaser (Spoiler Free) Two women, one house, one year apart... The story centers around a house--or really, it centers around a suburban street. In the best house on the most quaint block, two sets of tenants living their one year apart are mysteriously unsettled... The story changes back and forth in narration between Christy Davenport (the current occupant of the house) and Amber Fraser (the former occupant of the house). Christy and her husband Joe get the deal of a lifeti...

A Body to Die For by Kate White My rating: 4 of 5 stars The second Bailey Weggins, and a fun read!!! There's only so many times I can gush about the fun Bailey Weggins series, but I suppose if I'm reviewing, its as good a place to gush as any! Bailey Weggins is a fictional true crime writer in New York City, who routinely finds herself in the middle of a murder scene, and uses her keen journalistic skills and brain to help solve the mystery. I've heard the Bailey Weggins books described as Sex and the City meets Nancy Drew, and its very accurate! Some readers don't respond as well to these books. There are lots of comments made about fashion and appearances. I like these, but they certainly throw back to a YA type style, though these books are certainly not YA. I love the descriptors, and I've always been a magazine reader--these felt right in line with other things I've read and enjoyed in the past. Plot Teaser Bailey has had a rough f...

If Looks Could Kill by Kate White My rating: 4 of 5 stars A perfect guilty pleasure read (though I don't feel guilty at all)! I had recently become interested in Kate White books when I came across her book The Sixes and absolutely loved it. White is a former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, and I've seen her Bailey Weggins mysteries described as "Nancy Drew meets Sex and the City"--such a perfect descriptor! Plot Teaser (Spoiler Free) This is the first of the Bailey Weggins mysteries, and it opens with true crime writer and journalist Bailey Weggins getting a call from her boss Cat Jones, the editor of Gloss magazine, in a panic. Cat is calling first thing Sunday morning, and she is worried about her nanny Heidi's well-being. Despite the fact that Bailey is currently shacked up with a gorgeous new love interest, she gives in to Cat's panic and goes over to help. When Bailey arrives at Cat's townhome though, something is definitel...