rookiebookiereview

[rookiebookiereview]

Beneath the Poet's House; Christa Carmen

Tags: General Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Horror, Gothic Mystery

Personal Review: 4/5

Released: set to release Dec 2024

Book Description:

For a grieving writer, the secrets of the past and present converge in a novel of gripping psychological suspense from the author of The Daughters of Block Island.

Unmoored by her husband’s death and suffering from writer’s block, novelist Saoirse White moves to Providence, and into the historic home of Sarah Helen Whitman, the nineteenth-century poet and spiritualist once courted by Edgar Allan Poe. Saoirse’s certain she’ll find inspiration in the quiet rooms, as well as in the tucked-away rose garden and forgotten cemetery at the back of the property.

Saoirse is immediately welcomed by an effusive trio of transcendentalists obsessed with Whitman, the house, and Whitman’s mystic beliefs. Saoirse, emerging from grief and loneliness, welcomes the idea of new friends taking her mind off the past—even as they hope to summon it. When she meets Emmit Powell, a charismatic and charming prize-winning author, Saoirse thinks she’s finally turned a corner.

Emboldened by new romance, Saoirse begins to write again and, through her writing, rediscover herself. But as old fears return, she finds that nothing about her new life is what it seems—and a secret she’s tried so hard to bury may not be the only thing that comes back to haunt her.

Review:

Wow. While a few parts in the middle are just slightly slow, the plot slaps you in the face again immediately. Characters are well written and love the ending which is surprising, for me.

The way the author tends to drag you into the story and keep giving you just a little more revealing factors as you go is nice. Even with the fast pace you don't feel like it's unraveling too quickly.

Personally, I love the friendships and the heroin feel. Very dramatic, gothic themes as well. Interested to read more by this author as this is my first!

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Have you read this book? Does it sound like something you may want to read? I wanna know!

[rookiebookiereview]

The Midnight Feast; Lucy Foley

Tags: General Fiction, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Thriller

Personal Rating: 4/5

Released: June 18, 2024

Book Description:

Secrets. Lies. Murder. Let the festivities begin...

"Sharp, stylish and stunning...Foley's best yet." -- Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End

"Everything you want in a thriller." -- Harper's Bazaar

"Agatha Christie for the Instagram age." -- Guardian

The deliciously twisty new locked room murder mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment

It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. Something’s not right with the guests. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered.

THE FOUNDER * THE HUSBAND * THE MYSTERY GUEST * THE KITCHEN HELP

It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…The Midnight Feast.

Review:

This is my first Foley read, the storyline was good and I like a story where most things get tidied up nicely in the end with the story.

Not a huge fan of the amount of characters/ names that get flung at you all at once but it does tie in at the end, I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

You just tend to get the right amount of feels from each character as you should with how the story progresses. You are meant to see right and wrong as you go and it's got it's "oooohhhh, that's from this" moments thrown in a decent bit.

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Have you read this book? Does it sound like something you may want to read? I wanna know!

[rookiebookiereview]

Booked For Murder; P.J.Nelson

Tags: Mystery

Personal Rating: 3/5

Released: set to release Dec 2024

Book Description:

In this atmospheric southern cozy debut, Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets. Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately.

But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim.

Review:

I liked a lot of characters in this book and their relationships. My least favorite character in the book happened to be the main character so it puts a little damper on the rest of a good solid read.

You could guess some things coming but the most frustrating part of the book was how headstrong the lead could be about most things with what seemed to be simple or small things that got blown out of proportion.

There were also a few small things that seemed to get started in the book with relationships or seemed like they had a purpose that never really seemed to get answered in the end. That may change if a sequel comes to the series, which if it continues on the stories given I expect it to be a good read.

Overall, good read. Love the supporting characters which was, in my opinion, the best part of the book. I should mention as well I read a pre-release copy of this book.

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Have you read this book? Does it sound like something you may want to read? I wanna know!