Tag: ARC

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – Christmas Cocoa Murder

Aimeeeliz

Christmas Cocoa Murder is a cute collection of hot cocoa-themed cozy mysteries. Christmas Cocoa Murder, Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse, and Death by Hot Cocoa each feature a mysterious death that somehow involves hot chocolate.

Christmas Cocoa Murder was fine – set in Ireland with an absurd cast of characters (typical for a cozy!) I loved our main character Siobhan’s family. This was the most fleshed out story of the three.

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse was a good story, but a bit dark and sad for a cozy. The writing was good, and the overall mystery was interesting, but it wasn’t as lighthearted as I had expected.

Death by Hot Cocoa is the shortest of the three stories, but is unique because it takes place over the span of a few short hours. I loved the angle of our cast of characters being stuck in a Christmas escape room. The overall mystery was tough for the reader to solve, but a solid short Christmas-y story nonetheless.

Overall this is a decent collection of stories – great for readers looking for a quick, easy Christmas read.

Thank you Kensington Books for the ARC!

REVIEW – How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond Fleischmann

Aimeeeliz

How Quickly She Disappears is an interesting debut with promise – but ultimately falls a bit flat. The overall plot is interesting and eerie. Elisabeth’s character starts off strong but I found myself growing more and more frustrated with her as the book went on (this may have been intentional!) The villain does have an underlying creepiness but I thought he could have been a bit more fleshed out.

I did find it tough to determine if the flashbacks were memories or dreams at the beginning (again, this may have been intentional, it’s not necessarily a negative). I did think that through the flashbacks, Elisabeth and Jacqueline seemed older than 11 (Jacqueline especially) so sometimes it was hard to buy that it was the dialogue, thoughts and actions of children.

Elisabeth’s daughter was interesting but there’s a shift in her personality that isn’t much accounted for or explained and seems very abrupt.

It doesn’t seem like setting the book in WWII was really necessary to the story. It did provide challenges that wouldn’t exist if set in modern-day, but the background of the war starting wasn’t important enough of a detail to make a difference.

However, there’s a lot of good bits of writing in this book and I think that with more time and experience, Fleischmann could produce a very compelling thriller. (Also, I cannot give half stars but I would put this solidly as a 2.5.)

Thank you Berkley for the NetGalley ARC.

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox

Aimeeeliz

An Ale of Two Cities is a book for book lovers. The Shady Creek Winter Carnival is off to a great start – until a competitor in the ice carving competition is found dead.

This book has just the right amount of coziness and fun, mixed with more serious parts and investigative details.

I do have one complaint – the Inkwell is a fictional pub! It sounds amazing – featuring a menu full of literary food puns and yummy cocktails.

Thank you Kensington Books for the ARC!

REVIEW – Anyone by Charles Soule

Aimeeeliz

Be anyone with Anyone. Sounds kind of neat, right? NOPE. I’m glad this is purely fiction and this technology doesn’t exist.

This book is incredible – it moves at a breakneck pace and never slows down. The reader is treated to two timelines – present day, and 25 years into the future.

The story is visceral. It’s gory and gritty. I exclaimed “omg!” and “holy sh*t!” out loud a few times while reading. The stakes are incredibly high, and I was shocked by quite a few plot points throughout the book.

All in all, an insane entry into the sci-fi thriller genre – amazing for those who are looking for something dark and uncomfortable, but maybe not so great for the faint of heart.

Thank you Harper Perennial for sending me an ARC of this book!

REVIEW – Eventide by Mae Clair

Aimeeeliz

Eventide starts off super creepy and then somewhat plateaus for a bit – with bursts of horrifying and gruesome action in some spots.

Third in a series, Eventide does reference some earlier events which I assume took place in the other books, but this doesn’t negatively affect the reading experience. You could easily read this book without having read the others.

The book includes dual timelines which are interesting at first, but the older timeline lost my attention a bit in the middle. The pay off is decent though, and there are some great reveals if you don’t figure them out first (but realizing what’s coming doesn’t ruin the overall story!)

Thank you Kensington Books for the digital review copy.

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

Aimeeeliz

What a sweet little cozy! Winnie and her Granny Smythe run Blossom Valley’s historic apple orchard. Winnie has dreams of opening a cider shop on the property, but then a dead body is found in the apple press.

This is a great read for late fall/early winter – featuring a great cast of characters, an interesting mystery and all of the drool worthy apple cider you could dream of!

Thank you Kensington Books for the ARC!

REVIEW – A Bookshop in Berlin by Francoise Frenkel

Aimeeeliz

A Bookshop in Berlin/No Place to Lay One’s Head is the fascinating true account of Francoise Frenkel’s escape to Switzerland during WWII.

I’ll admit it was refreshing to read a nonfiction WWII book after reading so many fictional stories about the war.

Francoise dreams of opening a French bookshop in Berlin. It’s truly a labor of love – she’s a very thoughtful and compassionate bookseller, and quickly forms close friendships with her customers.

Through Francoise’s eyes, we see the slow confiscation of books and newspapers, signaling the rise of Hitler’s reign of terror. The horrors and tension escalate quickly, and we are pulled into her journey of survival and escape.

Beneath the racism and brutality, there is hope and camaraderie. Strangers become friends, taking dangerous measures to keep one another safe.

Thank you Atria for providing me with a digital copy of this book.

REVIEW – Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

Aimeeeliz

This book has so many layers – it starts off as an almost external examination of the relationship between sisters. There are surface observations of different families enjoying their vacations in paradise.

Then Alison disappears. And her body is discovered a few days later. The narrative shifts into a heartbreaking exploration of a family’s terror and grief. Most importantly, grief from the perspective of a little girl.

We move quickly into the (near) present. Little sister Claire is how an adult, but her sister’s mysterious death shapes her entire life. As she uncovers more details about her older sister, she also learns more about herself.

This does slow down a bit towards the middle and, at times, Claire is a very unlikable character, but the story is unique and compelling and complex. This will likely be a very popular pick for book clubs in 2020!

Thank you Celadon for providing me with a copy of this book.

REVIEW – The Light Over London by Julia Kelly

Aimeeeliz

The Light Over London is primarily about one woman’s experience during WWII – I loved reading about the gunner girls and the whole crew.

I would categorize this as light historical fiction (well, half historical, half contemporary) that’s easy on the history but heavier on the romance. It’s a great read for anyone who’s looking for something set in WWII without the disturbing, gory details. It’s emotional, but not overly sad.

I thought the ending was a little too quick and wrapped up a little too neatly, but it was still an enjoyable book!

Thank you Gallery for the NetGalley copy!