Tag: thriller book

TBR, Top Ten Tuesdays

❄️Winter TBR❄️

by amyleighreads1 Comment on ❄️Winter TBR❄️

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the books I plan to read this Winter! I’m in the mood for a lot more mystery/thrillers, cozy mysteries, fantasies, and romances as well so that is what I am going to try and pick up over the next couple of months. These are the ten that are at the top of those genre’s:

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The Only One Left by Riley Sager

A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette

Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

Reviews

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Review

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*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet). But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

I absolutely LOVED Vera! Just the way she cuts through all of the mess and is just straightforward with everyone is so entertaining and engaging. Her helpfulness definitely has no boundaries and she will not take no for an answer. I really enjoyed how she just comes to accept that this man has died in her tea house so now it’s her responsibility to figure out who killed him.

The way the rest of the characters are introduced to us by turning up to the teahouse just as Vera suspected was a great way to form a connection with everyone. Throughout the course of the plot I was definitely trying to pin point which of the 4 actually did it and how they were connected to the murder.

The plot at times did get a little unrealistic for me which did in turn kind of take me out of the story a little bit, but once I was able to overlook that I very much enjoyed the book as a whole. It kept me guessing right up to the very end of the plot and I couldn’t predict absolutely anything that was going to happen. This was low stakes but still had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

⭐️4/5 stars Kind of silly but entertaining!

Reviews

Daisy Darker Review

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*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

I had no idea what to expect throughout the course of this book and I was honestly surprised at every turn. Daisy seemed like a bit of a ambivalent character, she didn’t really stand out in any way throughout the book and no one ever suspected her of being the one to commit the murders. I was definitely intrigued by her past and finding out about the dynamics within the Darker family.

I didn’t really find any of the other characters within the book particularly likeable which I think was the intention. The way that they all treated each other throughout the course of the night in retrospect makes sense when the big final twist happens. Nana definitely is my favourite out of all of them, though her favoritism towards Daisy when they were children is a little questionable.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the setting of the cottage. The isolation and the storm really ramps up the creepy tone of the plot and makes for a great backdrop as we try and figure out who is picking everyone off one by one. Even though the start was a little slower paced for me the build up of anticipation and intrigue kept me engaged.

When we eventually are told who the murderer is and why the Darker family was killed I struggled to accept that Daisy was already dead. I just thought there were so many scenes where she interacted with her family members but upon reflection and don’t think they ever responded back to her. I almost immediately wanted to restart the book and delve into every scene and see whether or not it made sense. I think that supernatural twist was unexpected and shocking and I think was ultimately necessary otherwise there wasn’t many options that would of been as shocking.

⭐️4/5 stars oh poor Daisy!

Reviews

When No One is Watching Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on When No One is Watching Review

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo. But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

I liked Sydney right from the start when we are introduced to her at the tour of the neighborhood and she challenges the tour guide. She is very unforgiving of her attitude towards these families that have come and are seemingly taking over yet she knows when to leave things alone even though it’s unfair and very racist. She was a little bit of an unreliable character which did get on my nerves a bit but I think it was realistic when we find out what she has had to deal with.

Theo I didn’t feel as connected to as Sydney. It was an interesting perspective to put into the book for sure as we kind of get to see things from the other side of the ‘invaders’. I didn’t really know what his intentions were right up to the climax of the book. I was annoyed that he wouldn’t call out the problematic language his girlfriend would use and make excuses for her when she was obviously racially profiling people and using her white privilege to get what she wanted.

I loved the feeling of comradery between the neighbors and that sense of familiarity and comfort that can be had by knowing so much about the people around you and then how violating that can be when new people keep forcing their way in. The book was a little slow in terms of pace for a good two thirds of the book but the ending does ramp up. There was just this ominous tone that was woven throughout the storyline that kept me hooked and eager to find out what was going to happen next and boy could I not predict that ending!

⭐️4/5 stars Darker than what I was expecting!

Reviews

One of Us Is Dead Review

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Meet the women of Buckhead—a place of expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships. Shannon was once the queen bee of Buckhead. But she’s been unceremoniously dumped by Bryce, her politician husband. When Bryce replaces her with a much younger woman, Shannon sets out to take revenge … Crystal has stepped into Shannon’s old shoes. A young, innocent Texan girl, she simply has no idea what she’s up against … Olivia has waited years to take Shannon’s crown as the unofficial queen of Buckhead. Finally, her moment has come. But to take her rightful place, she will need to use every backstabbing, manipulative, underhand trick in the book … Jenny owns Glow, the most exclusive salon in town. Jenny knows all her clients’ secrets and darkest desires. But will she ever tell? Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead—and who will wind up dead? They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly.

Jenny was a good buffer between all of these pretentious housewives. She really utilised the connections that Olivia has and built up her salon from basically nothing. I wish she would of exerted her power as the owner a little bit more, especially when she knew Olivia was up to her tricks but I can understand her wanting to keep the status quo. Seeing the behind the scenes of how much these women need Jenny to handle their upkeep just to keep up appearances in this town was fun and pretty crazy.

The rest of the ladies at first were a little hard to distinguish between but as the plot unfolds they become more distinct. Olivia is our obvious antagonist and she does very well at it, Crystal is a little too naïve for the majority of story, Karen was a bit of a wild card and was quite fun to see how her story unfolds and I couldn’t help but feel bad for Shannon. None of them were particularly likeable but that was definitely by design but I think they were all very integral to the plot and kept things interesting.

The premise of this book is just so fun and entertaining. Knowing that one of these women are dead and going back and trying to figure out which was a great time. It definitely got a lot darker than what I was expecting which once again kept me so engaged and eager to find out what is going to happen next. These women are so conniving and strategic and the way that the story plays out was so satisfying.

⭐️4/5 stars Rich housewife drama that takes a deadly turn, so much fun!