thoughts on books

Category: Recommendations

  • The last time we drowned by Saratoga Schaefer

    🚨 If you love influencer drama + locked-room chaos + stormy, slightly unhinged thrillers… this is your next binge.

    The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer is giving luxury yacht meets social media meltdown—and I was completely along for the ride.

    Charlie, a low-key bookish influencer (honestly relatable), gets the opportunity of a lifetime: an invite aboard the Empress, a lavish yacht owned by a billionaire and staffed with a curated group of influencers. Each one sells the fantasy of elite, 1% living—but Charlie is stepping into a role that belonged to someone else… someone who mysteriously disappeared.

    With her best friend gone and her life feeling stuck, Charlie takes the chance. But between the glossy posts, curated personas, and the creeping feeling that something is very off, it quickly becomes clear this trip isn’t what it seems.

    ✨ Think:
    • influencer culture meets psychological thriller
    • a confined, high-tension setting
    • secrets, shifting dynamics, and major storm energy

    This book is pure popcorn thriller goodness. Yes, some twists are a little predictable—but honestly? That didn’t take away from the fun at all. It’s fast, addictive, and once things start spiraling (hello, hurricane season on a yacht with no real captain?!), I could not put it down.

    The characters lean a bit archetypal, but they totally work for the vibe. And if you’ve read Schaefer before, you’ll catch those subtle horror undertones creeping in 👀

    📚 Bottom line:
    If you’re in the mood for a wild, twisty, slightly chaotic thriller that you can devour in a couple sittings—add this to your list.

    And the best part? We’re getting more from Saratoga Schaefer soon… and I am READY.

    Thanks, NetGalley and Cosmo reads for the ARC. Book to be published June 2, 2026.

  • The dating game by ally zetterberg

    Dexter, but make it Monaco—with a neurodiverse, board-game mastermind who’s done playing nice. ♟️💋

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

    The Dating Game by Ally Zetterberg is a dark dating rom-dramedy that delivers equal parts chaos, catharsis, and clever revenge.

    Meet Tilda: 30, wildly successful board game designer, independently wealthy, and just a little… unconventional. After losing her mother far too soon, she decides to approach life the only way she knows how—like a game. First: friendship. Then: love. Finally: the “endgame” of a perfect, happy life. Simple, right?

    Except Tilda isn’t your typical heroine. Think Eleanor Oliphant vibes with a sharper edge—and a whole lot more feminine rage. There are plenty of mediocre men in this story, and let’s just say… they tend to get exactly what’s coming to them. 👀

    Set against the glamorous backdrop of Monaco, this book is packed with action, dark humor, and morally grey choices that somehow still have you rooting hard for Tilda. Yes, it’s a bit predictable at times—but honestly? That didn’t take away from how satisfying it was to watch everything unfold.

    It’s an easy, fast-paced read—a total popcorn thriller with bite.

    Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

  • The insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch

    🌙📖 THIS BOOK KEPT ME UP ALL NIGHT… and I regret NOTHING 😱✨

    WOW. I am still reeling from the ending of The Insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch 🤯💭

    This story pulls you in FAST with some seriously rich character development. We follow four strangers who can’t sleep and meet in a Sudoku chat room (yes, you read that right 🧩💻), and somehow… it works SO well.

    ✨ Meet the crew:
    ⚾ Zeke Rodriguez — an All-Star pitcher for the New York Mets
    👩‍⚕️ Sybil — former med student turned stay-at-home mom in her 40s (she’s my fave)
    🍬 Julian — a candy shop owner and devoted father
    ☕ Betty — the overnight diner worker who sees it all

    They form a late-night bond, calling themselves The Insomniacs 🌃 — but here’s the thing… everyone is hiding something 👀

    And trust me, you do NOT want spoilers for this one 🤐

    I was so hooked I literally blew off work just to finish it 😅📚 It felt like the pages reached out and pulled me in — I couldn’t stop until I knew the truth.

    🔥 What I loved:
    ✨ Unique pacing that doesn’t follow your typical mystery formula
    ✨ Twists, red herrings, and constant “wait… WHAT?” moments
    ✨ Themes of identity, secrecy, and even some cult-like undertones using Christian language ⛪
    ✨ A subtle, budding romance 💕 that adds just the right touch

    Honestly, this book felt like a breath of fresh air in the mystery genre 🌬️📖

    If you love stories where nothing is as it seems and the ending leaves you stunned… this one is for you 💥

    🙏 Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!
    📅 Publishes April 14, 2026 — add it to your TBR NOW!! 📚✨

  • The caretaker by Marcus kliewer

    A jump scare in a book. It’s like playing Five Nights at Freddy’s. This is horror for people who are okay with not getting all of the answers and like to sit in the creepiness of a haunted house.

    Macy Mullins is taking care of her younger sister Jemma, they are close to being evicted and can’t afford her asthma inhaler. Their father has died, they used to work together at his landscaping business and now Macy and Jemma are barely getting by. She gets the chance to be a caretaker for a woman who is a multimillionaire- and gets paid handsomely just to watch their house and follow the rites. So she has to do things like turn off lights, catch bunnies who get inside, watch tapes on a VCR “if this happens” read letters; keep her heart rate under 150. If she fails, and she often does, then things get worse.

    As I read this book I found myself reading quicker and quicker. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t stand not knowing what would happen next. The reader will be rooting for Macy to survive the night and will be irritated with her as she is trying to fight her case. There is just enough character development and back story for me to care about the people in the story, it there isn’t enough for me to know the difference between a “visitor” and the person that the visitor is pretending to be.

    This would make a great horror movie. Bring the popcorn!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler for the ARC. Book to be published 4/20/26.

  • Handle with care by Marybeth mayhew whalen

    🎧📚 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 📚🎧

    ALC Review — Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson Audio for the early listen!

    💥 Handle With Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen (publishing 4/13/26)

    This one surprised me—in the best way. It’s marketed with a bit of thriller energy, and while there is a tense, hostage situation at the center, this is really a deeply character-driven women’s fiction story about what happens when life pushes you to your breaking point.

    The setup is simple but powerful: three women walk into a post office, another is working the counter—and suddenly everything changes when Nadine’s estranged husband, desperate and fueled by scotch, storms in and takes them hostage after she refuses to reconcile.

    But what makes this story shine is why each woman is there. Each one is mailing something that represents a turning point in her life, and as the situation unfolds, we get layers of their stories, their choices, and what—and who—they’re willing to fight for.

    ✨ My standout character: Morrow. She felt so real and relatable, the kind of character you recognize pieces of yourself in.
    ✨ I also loved Hope, the hostage negotiator—steady, thoughtful, and compelling in a quieter way.

    🎧 And the narration?? Jane Oppenheimer absolutely nailed it. You might think a multi-POV story like this would need a full cast, but she brings such distinct tone and emotion to each character that it’s effortless to follow. Her performance is subtle, immersive, and really lets the emotional weight of the story land.

    This book explores:
    💔 Limits and breaking points
    🛡️ Who we choose to protect
    🔄 Life at a crossroads

    It’s tense, emotional, and quietly powerful—an audiobook that keeps you hooked while also making you feel. I flew through it.

    ⭐️ 4.25 stars — highly recommend

    Every woman will see herself somewhere in these pages.

    AudiobookReview #HandleWithCare #MarybethMayhewWhalen #NetGalley #ThomasNelsonAudio #WomensFiction #Bookstagram #ALCReview #AudiobookLover #EmotionalRead

  • Tropesick by Lauren okie

    I went into this expecting a trope-filled romance… and came out completely wrecked in the best way. Because yes, the romance is there (and it delivers), but this story is so much more about grief, addiction, and the messy, complicated process of growing up and moving forward.

    Katie is ghostwriting for a famous romance author (think Nora Roberts vibes 👀) when she finds out her co-writer is none other than Tyler—her ex-boyfriend and her late brother’s best friend. The same Tyler who disappeared from her life eight years ago after her brother Mikey’s death. And now? They’re forced to work together in close quarters. Cue tension, unresolved feelings, and so much chemistry.

    Let me just say: the marketing calls this a love letter to romance tropes, but that almost undersells it. The tropes don’t feel like boxes being checked—they feel natural, lived-in, and completely earned. The story itself flows effortlessly, and the emotional depth hits hard.

    And Meredith??? ICON. Every single line of wisdom she gives is stunning—I highlighted almost all of them. Truly one of those side characters who quietly steals the whole book.

    No spoilers, but there is a twist—and if anyone tells you they saw it coming… they’re lying. Immediate unfollow. 🚫😂

    Tyler’s final declaration of love?? I’m still not over it. Gentle, generous, and deeply romantic in a way that feels real. Raise your standards, everyone.

    Other things I loved:
    ✨ The picturesque setting
    ✨ Katie’s chaotic, whimsical fashion (think: a 5-year-old at Disneyland and I mean that lovingly)
    ✨ The chemistry—palpable, emotional, and earned
    ✨ A respectful, realistic portrayal of recovery and addiction

    ⚠️ CW: sibling death, parental neglect/abandonment, addiction

    I preordered a copy the second I finished—and I cannot wait for more people to experience this one. It’s not just a steamy romance—it’s a deeply human story that stays with you.

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Bookstagram #ARCReview #Tropesick #LaurenOkie #RomanceBooks #NetGalley #AvonBooks #BookReview #EmotionalReads #SecondChanceRomance

    ARC Review — Thank you to NetGalley & Avon for the early copy!

  • extracurricular by rachel lynn solomon

    I absolutely loved Ramona and Nick’s story in Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon. Ramona is a feminine, flirty pop star who I kept picturing as Olivia Rodrigo. She was cast as a child in a Disney Channel–style show called Greta Lives and went on to have an incredibly successful pop career. But after years of nonstop work and extreme exhaustion, she decides to step away from the music industry and enroll at UCLA as a first-year student to try to live a normal life.

    That’s where she meets Nick Navarro—her psychology professor. Nick is 36, divorced, and living with his sister and her daughter. He’s a caring, thoughtful professor who truly loves teaching and isn’t looking for love at all.

    This book features an age-gap romance (Nick is 36 and Ramona is 26) and a professor/student dynamic. Normally that trope can feel uncomfortable because of the power imbalance, and it’s something I usually find pretty icky. But in this case, it worked for me. Ramona is independently wealthy and extremely famous, while Nick is very much not, which shifts the typical power dynamic and makes the relationship feel much more balanced and believable.

    One of my favorite things about this book is that there’s no third-act breakup—which felt refreshing and let the story focus on the characters actually building something together. The banter between Ramona and Nick is incredible and made their chemistry feel so real.

    The ending especially sealed the deal for me. There are two scenes near the end that had me making the full-on “this is so cute” face, 😍and they were so sweet that I bumped my rating up from 4 stars to 4.5.

    I loved this book so much that I already preordered a finished copy—especially after seeing that it has sprayed edges and decorated inner and outer covers. This is definitely one I can see myself returning to again and again. I really believed in their love, and the chemistry between them was fantastic.

    Content warnings (mild spoilers): off-page sexual assault prior to the timeline, panic attacks, and discussion of the stress, loneliness, and pressures of being a child star.

    Thank you to Berkley for the ARC.
    Extracurricular will be published July 14, 2026

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars)

  • love is an algorithm by laura brooke robson

    What a unique story and a fresh new voice in fiction. Danny is a tech start up bro, he is the coding half of the duo that started Pattern, a dating app that measures compatibility. Eve is a musician who comes from a Manhattan elite family, her brother co-founded the company with Danny. He is marrying a beautiful “influencer” and says things like “crushing it.” Danny is approaching the app and the compatibility score with a lot of thoughtfulness, and it is being used in very human, messy ways.

    This is a really unique writing style that I will admit, it took me awhile to get used to. With razor sharp references, this seems to skip prose and descriptions in favor of rapid jumps to snippets of conversations. The narrative skips around in character and time frame rather abruptly, but once I got used to the style, I realized that I knew the characters in their complexity and relationships much more so than I would have expected in just a few hundred pages. This is one that grew on me over the course of me reading it. By the ending, you realize the commentary it is making on relationships, how they work, and how they are influenced by the modern age.

    The best thing about this book is the rather complex conversation that it is having around AI, Algorithms, how we are relying upon our devices and some AI that has been programmed by some very very human and imperfect people.

    I was lucky to approach this as an immersive read as I received both the ARC from Harlequin Trade as well as the ALC from Harlequin Audio. The audiobook performance was excellent, but audio-only could be a challenge to some readers due to the writing style. I personally did very much need the “eyeball” reading to keep track of where I was in the book.

    Book to be published March 31, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, and the author.

  • wait for me by amy jo burns

    If you are interested in this novel and not sure if you should read with your eyes or ears, this is great on audio. Not only is it exquisitely acted, well paces for audio, easy to follow, the performance is excellent and there are several songs that really set the mood. Because this is blue grass, 70’s country music hearing it sung and produced really enhances the experience of the story.

    The genre is mainly historical fiction, but reads like family drama as we follow the story of young singer songwriter Elle Harlow, her trauma and tragedy, how she comes into Nashville and befriends Josie, another singer that comes from Tennessee royalty. It asks questions of privilege and how talent versus presence versus having the right contacts makes you successful back in the 1970’s, then fast forwarding to the 90’s. Elle Harlow had 2 great albums then disappeared for 18 years. Marijohn is an 18 year old girl unsure of her parentage. She also loves music, has a great father, and follows him into the mystery of Elle Harlow and if this is her mother.

    The dual timeline really works well here, as each story progresses, we learn the reasons why people are the way they are and build up our empathy. The record company executive Cleo is a great character to hate, but at the end of the day you understand his motivations as well. I loved Josie and Elle and their experience and how they gained and lost loyalty to each other.

    Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC. Book to be published March 3, 2026

  • vera stein is fine by julie murphy

    Vera has turned 40 and is taking an about face to her life. She has made herself small to fit the ego oh her long term boss and situationship. When she discovers his plan to let her go in exchange for several 20 something assistants, she sends a resignation letter and heads to her grandmother’s retirement community. Vera recently lost her mother to cancer and so her grandmother is her only escape hatch. Soon Vera is crashing on the chaise lounge and discovering what life is like in the community.

    Naturally, her ex also works there! and she gets a job as the events coordinator. Vera has an old screenplay from 10 years ago that she sometimes edits. The interstitial chapters are the screenplay (which is kind of awful, on purpose) and through these she is realizing that she is not the same person she was when she originally found this to be a love story.

    I found the way Vera left behind Brody to be inspiring! Like many Julie Murphy heroine’s, Vera is in a larger body. She is confident and secure in her body, there is no fatphobia or weight loss talk in this book- which is great. I do love some books that handle fatphobia and body acceptance, but in this book her size is mentioned but is not a major plot point. I really hated Brody and was angry at how much he did not appreciate Vera and he was such a dumb, mediocre white man. It was hard to understand why she would allow herself to be in that situation for as long as she did, but you were really rooting for her to find herself.

    I would find this a midlife second chance coming of age book. I loved the octogenarians, the descriptions in the banter and the time jumps allowed us to know Vera and Elias and how their characters developed. I loved this one!

    Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC- I have already pre-ordered a trophy copy!
    Book to be published June 21, 2026