Jeff Sexton

Excellent Twisty Thriller With Uniquely Broken Characters Will Be Far Too Difficult For Some. Straight up, I loved this one. It was so *oppressively* dark, yet done in such a way that even though there is truly little light to be had and also with no supernatural element to the darkness at all... you still want to see exactly what happened to make this tale this way.

The reason it will be difficult for some, perhaps many, is because of the *rampant* child abuse, including some sexual abuse and even a rape - though while "on screen" it is more "dark room" based. Still described, but not as... vividly... as it could have been. Showing that Hepworth *does* show restraint when going even more explicit doesn't add anything further to the actual story. There is also a rather horrifying birth scene, though this is far from the "splatterpunk" / "horror" that one reviewer described it as. Though going further would perhaps spoil what happens there *too* much, so I'll show the same restraint in the review that Hepworth did in the text. If such scenes are difficult for you... this may not be the book for you.

The reason I actually enjoyed the book though was because of how the central characters - three chosen sisters bound not by blood, but by shared trauma and survival- were both broken... and how they used that brokenness as adults, showing that even some of the most difficult times, the darkest times of someone's life, *can* be overcome to varying degrees. Not that any of our adults are truly "normal" healthy - again showing a great deal of reality here - but that they're still, to use a term used to describe Autistics that I truly despise but fits here, "functional". Ish.

Ultimately this is one of those books that will likely prove divisive in at least some groups, but I thought was done well, with the author using so many real world horrors (and yes, in my own work through my church as a teen and just generally being an observant adult, I've seen this and so much worse on occassion) to craft the story she is trying to tell... while showing restraint where further graphic details don't add any more needed information to extract the desired emotions from the reader. Showing that Hepworth truly is a master of her craft, even when she is somewhat intentionally pushing some buttons of some people.

Very much recommended.

Solid Second Book In Series. This is one of those tales where both the author and the reader are going on an adventure- ok, the first book was *awesome*, but I had all the time in the world to write the thing and now I need to produce a sequel in a timely manner since my name isn't GRR Martin... so what do I do?

Johnson's answer here is a thrilling ride that perhaps doesn't have the same level of social commentary from the first book - though to be clear, there is still *some* here - yet manages to keep up with the action and even introduces some wrinkles not seen in the first book, going in a direction not often seen, but which makes perfect sense within this world.

And then... just when you think everything is all said and done... Thanos appears. No, not really. But there *is* that stinger scene at the end that reveals the storm clouds on the horizon... storm clouds that portend one *intense* battle coming up. Will we see that battle in Book 3, or will we simply edge closer to the storm? Yet again, I for one can't wait to find out.

Very much recommended.

Fast Paced Action Thriller Featuring Atypical Hero - Yet Set During "Real"-World Collapse. Straight up: This would have *easily* been a 5* book for me had it been set in literally any period of human history *other than* 2020 - 2022... unfortunately, where it as actually set. Kara is awesome as a non-straight (it is never made clear in *this* text exactly what her sexuality is, though it may have been clarified in the preceding book, To Catch A Storm, which I read 20 months and 300+ books ago) badass with a certain condition that Mejia works with well to show its uses and detriments. Max is excellent as the more by-the-book cop just trying to do his best to do his job and get back to his wife and son, particularly during the period the book is set in. Together (and separately), they're going to find themselves in some pretty cool to watch action sequences that would get most of us real dead, real fast in real life. But ultimately, that is exactly what you're coming into a book like this for - escapist action of a near cinematic quality, and other than the time period this is set in (which, to Mejia's both benefit and detriment, she *does* show all too realistically and all too well), this book *is* that very action first with solid backstory and drama kind of tale that is generally so pleasing to read.

So for those of you who can withstand a book set entirely within the COVID lockdown period... this is one of the best books I've seen written telling a story within that period. But for those of us who - for whatever reason - *don't* want to read a story set in that period... unfortunately you're going to miss out on a truly fun, kick ass book unless you can overcome that particular mental objection.

Very much recommended.

Title Vs Genre Will Cause A War In Booklandia. This is a book where the title will quell any riots over the story... and yet so many places (perhaps because of the publisher? unclear there) classifying this as a "romance" for genre purposes... is going to spark those very riots. To be clear, this book does NOT meet RWA qualifications for a "romance novel" - and is actually all the stronger for it. (As is generally the case, fwiw.) Which is why the title is correct and speaks to exactly what you can expect here: a scifi love story, both with the characters and from the writer to the audience. This is a quirky, funny, heart bursting, extremely cloudy room kind of scifi tale that is going to take you less on a rollercoaster of emotion and more through a multiverse of various combinations of emotions.

Yes, at its base this is a Groundhog Day/ Edge Of Tomorrow kind of time looping tale. Which then builds into almost Terminator level time looping. Even certain elements of a Michael Crichton TIMELINE or a Randall Ingermanson TRANSGRESSION or even a Jeremy Robinson THE DIDYMUS CONTINGENCY. All while based in and around a "super-LHC" - which reminds me, make sure to check hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com a few times while reading this book, just to be sure - and its experiments.

And while I normally make it a point to never reveal anything about spoilers, there is one in particular that applies here that people routinely ask about re: dogs. So I'm going to put it under a spoiler tag (or remove this entire paragraph on sites that don't support a spoiler tag) and you, the reader of my review, can choose to read it or not: <spoiler>Yes, the dog dies in this book. It is a carefully selected rescue dog and has a long and healthy life before dying peacefully in its sleep, but it does die.</spoiler>

Overall this book really was quite good and quite a ride - one of the very few where I knew I had to immediately begin writing the review as soon as I finished the book itself. That, to me over the course of *so very many* books and Advance Review Copies over the last several years, is one of the marks of a particularly good book - you're just left in such emotional upheaval that you *have* to write to get the thoughts out of your own head. But don't go into this book expecting a romance - it does NOT meet those "official" guidelines - and, again, is stronger for it. It absolutely IS a love story (and yes, "clean"/ "sweet" crowd, you'll find this one perfectly acceptable), and honestly one of the better ones I've read in the last several years.

Very much recommended.

Slow Burn Scifi Thriller Does Just Enough To Feel Like A Singular Complete Tale Series Starter. This is one of those books that starts off as an edge of your seat thriller, slows down so much that one may think they are being cryogenically frozen themselves, and then picks back up as though you're being thawed out and called to action - not unlike the opening sequence to Mass Effect 2, which echoed The Million Dollar Man's "We can rebuild him. We have the technology". Which... well, to say what I was about to say would get into spoiler territory. Even the references above may get a *touch* close, but they're also generic enough to my mind to get right up to the line without crossing it, yet give the reader of the review an idea of what they're getting into here. As this tale ended, it honestly looked like it was going to get a star deduction for being a tale cut into half in a blatant cash grab, but Grumley does *just* enough in the last few pages to at least seal this particular tale off into its own complete tale... while still being a very blatant setup for a future tale. It will be interesting to see where Grumley takes this series next, as some passages brought ideas put forth in Marcus Sakey's Afterlife to this reader's mind (and/ or, if one prefers a more well known reference point here... a particular X-Man, though that one is *slightly* more tenuous than the Sakey reference).

Overall an interesting tale for what it is, which is a slow burn series starter. Recommended.

Will Be Difficult For Many. Read It Anyway. This book is a romance that is about surviving domestic violence and the lengths some people will go through to do that. It is about the lengths two mothers will go to to protect their children in that situation, as best they can. And yes, there happens to be a second chance romance in there as well. Ultimately, it almost feels as though the romance plays second fiddle to the more women's fiction domestic violence drama though, even though the book *does* meet all known romance novel "requirements"... *without* going the Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (which also meets them) route. And without being near as explicit in anything, though the "spiciness" here is at least say jalapeno level. So for those that prefer the spice level of maybe a warm glass of milk... read this book for the women's fiction side and maybe shield your eyes or something when things get more "exciting". ;)

Ultimately a solid book that does indeed begin to create at least the possibility of some dusty rooms, this really is one that everyone should read, even those who find it most difficult. Perhaps *particularly* those who find it most difficult.

Very much recommended.

All The Feels - Including A Few Very Dusty Rooms. Payne is very much making a career out of intricate character stories that pack a lot of emotional depth and complexity in with a fair amount of drama and action, and this book is exactly in that vein. Here, we get truly visceral looks at the emotions surrounding death and abandonment, emotions which will be difficult for some and will cause the aforementioned dusty rooms for more. The way Payne can bring these things to life via her words is truly remarkable, and that she can do so in such a story without ever appearing preachy - if anything, pretty much the exact opposite - is even more remarkable.

If you're looking for a light and breezy "beach read", this isn't that. If you're looking for a "beach read" in that you can read this book while on a beach... and bawl your eyes out in the process... yeah, this is that kind of book.

Very much recommended.

Gruesome Crime Horror/ Thriller Starts With A Bang. Seriously, the start of this book feels like Hilton read Jeff Guinn's Waco, because it truly feels like Hilton took Guinn's hyper realistic descriptions of what actually went down there to scaffold his own fictional version.

Which is actually a *phenomenal* way to begin this particular tale.

The rest of the tale then flashes forward a bit and crosses the "pond", becoming a UK based police/ crime tale featuring some particularly horrific murders that fans of Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter trilogy or Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Pendergast series will absolutely enjoy. The pacing of the investigation is solid, and the way the various characters meld together is done quite well.

Surprises late are well executed, and by the end you're going to be questioning if this is meant to be a series starter afterall...

Overall truly a great crime story excellently told, and a solid change of pace from Hilton's Grey and Villere thrillers in particular in that while the action is equally intense, the criminals here feel so much more decidedly dark and truly evil. Very much recommended.

Relentless Action. This is one of those books that starts off with the barest semblance of "normalcy", and then... well, I hope you like balls to the walls action, because that is what you're going to get here. The heart of the crime here is typical enough to be easily understood, with enough wrinkles to make it interesting to try to figure out exactly what the hell happened. But the action is what you're here for. If, like me, you found Hilton first through the Po and Villere thrillers... well, if you thought the action in those tales was relentless, you aint seen nothing yet. And here, the action is just as violent as anything you'll see there... without the massive hulking excons to execute it. Indeed, in what could be a bit of a bridge too far for some, the young girl in question has more of a proclivity for violence than some of those entrusted with her care, which produces interesting relational dynamics at times. Overall a fun and short action thriller, great for those times when you just want some basic escapism without too much thinking involved. Very much recommended.

Dark. Dreary. Dismal. Oppressive. And Then The Candle Flickers To Life. This is one of those books that takes the hyper-dark and hyper-oppressive feel of the singular worst book I've *EVER* read - The Road by Cormac McCarthy - and does what McCarthy never could: Provide just that flicker of a spark of a candle lighting. *Just* enough to provide *some* level of hope. Even when most everyone in this book is so broken by the central issue - a child going missing decades ago - and their secrets about that night that none of them *really* *want* that hope, the reader *needs* that smallest flicker... and Whalen provides it in particularly dramatic form.

For those who are not fans of multi-perspective books... this one isn't going to change that, sorry. There are a lot of perspectives going on here, and a lot of sudden switching that can get a touch confusing at times, particularly as we switch between "then" and "now".

But really, that was the only *potential* flaw here, and not everyone has that particular hangup. (I don't, I actually thought the multi-perspectives made the story work much *better* in this particular case, as we get so many views on what happened here and how different people are reacting differently.)

The tie in to Richard Jewel of the Centennial Park Bombing during the 1996 Olympic Park Bombings in Atlanta was interesting, even if Whalen actually meant that particular character to be a more general representation. (And to be clear, it is only my own mind that made the connection at all, though perhaps others who were living in the Atlanta region during that time also might make it. The actual characterization is far more generic and could represent any number of people in similar situations.)

Overall a strong, if extremely dark and depressing, tale extremely well told. Very much recommended.

Slow, Problematic (Some Say Offensive) Main Character, Largely Forgettable. Yet Good Enough. This is a book where from an objective (ish) standpoint, there really isn't much if anything actually *wrong* about it. Yes, it is absolutely a slow burn - and yes, some people may prefer faster pacing, particularly in a "thriller". But that is taste, and the artist is allowed to do as they will there. The MC could be argued to be quite stupid or even downright evil by some, but there again - artistic license. Writing this review even 5 days after finishing the book (while having read 5 other books since, and with quite a bit going on in my own life at the moment, admittedly), I must confess that I barely remembered the book at all and only really picked up what it was when reading other reviews.

And yet, despite all of that... I *do* remember the book as enjoyable enough while I was reading it, and a good enough tale to be a worthy read for those looking for a solid enough mystery/ thriller. It won't be going on my personal "best of" lists any time soon, but it was also solid enough that I don't in any way feel I was cheated out the time I spent with the book. Obviously, other reviewers have had stronger reactions both directions and will continue to have so long as this book exists. But for *me*, it was ok and with nothing objectively (ish) wrong, therefore it gets a 5* rating, a decent enough review, and an encouragement from me to you, the reader of my review, to check out the blurb, maybe check out some reviews from other reviewers you trust not to spoil anything who may highly praise it - and others who highly despise it - and make your own call.

For me, I'm comfortable enough saying: Recommended.

Strong Premise Reminiscent Of The Flatliners. Ok, this is possibly a bit of a stretch even for me, but that is where my mind is going as I think about this book, and I think it applies *enough* to give you, the reader of my review, a sense of both the overall tone and style of this book, at least to a point. In both this book and that movie, you have a group of people coming together to test the bounds of medical knowledge... and things go wrong, of course. Add in the "time travel" (ish) element of the book (which could have used a great deal of internal clarification, fwiw, but worked well enough), and you've got an interestingly dark, almost goth/ emo/ gothic kind of vibe going on throughout, which the overall setting of our "current" timeline really helps to establish, particularly down the stretch into the endgame.

Overall an intriguing debut, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this author does next.

Very much recommended.

Mystery/ Thriller With Cults And Magical Realism? Yes Please. First off, if you're turned off by any discussion of cults... this book likely isn't your thing. If you're turned off by any element of magical realism... this book probably isn't your thing. If you can't handle books dealing with domestic violence and/ or sexual assault/ rape... this book probably isn't your thing. If you can't handle books with multiple POVs... this book probably isn't your thing. If you're turned off by books with dual timelines... this book probably isn't your thing. If you're turned off by books with any LGBT characters at all... this book probably isn't your thing.

With all of *that* out of the way, I thought this book was done particularly well and told a not-overly-typical (because it dealt so intrinsically with cults/ life after cults) tale in new and interesting ways (re: magical realism elements). All of the various elements work well to create a story with an admittedly slow start that absolutely heats up later in the text, particularly during a somewhat detailed account of the night everything came crashing down in the earlier timeline. The overall mystery ties both timelines together well, and while the front of the book can seem a bit disjointed at times with its POV switches, it *does* all come together quite beautifully and dramatically down the stretch.

Ultimately a fun read that is different enough to stick out in a very crowded field of similar ish (re: mystery/ thriller) books, this is definitely one to check out - even if it is a touch longer than some will be comfortable with (just over 400 pages).

Very much recommended.

Messy Magical Maddie Dawson Book. One of the reasons I so love Dawson's writing is because even her main characters are usually *far* from perfect - but manage to live their lives and largely achieve their goals anyway, even as we come to love them for their flaws. This book is no different, with the dose of magical realism at play here being a brief visit to a psychic that sets in play several of the decisions our main character ultimately makes. Obviously, if you're looking for some pure paragon of whatever ideal you may have... Dawson's books aren't the place to find those kind of characters, and this being a Dawson book, well, like I said already... not the kind of characters you're going to find here.

But I really do love that Dawson always manages to bring it around to a happy ending... even when it isn't the ending the character thought they would get at the beginning of the book (hello, character growth! story arc! etc :D) and perhaps isn't the ending the reader saw for that character, but still ultimately works within the story told to that point.

If you like quirky /funky / off beat / off the wall / decent amount of WTF moment kind of tales, you're going to enjoy this book. If you're more a tried and true straight arrow type, eh, *I* still enjoyed this book, but you may not.

Overall a fun book and another solid entry in Dawson's catalog. Very much recommended.

Their Secrets Have Secrets. Easily a great line in The Avengers (the Marvel version, you Imperialists) is when Tony Stark is speaking of Nick Fury and says "his secrets have secrets" - which is absolutely true, both in The Avengers and this book. If you enjoy semi-slow burn (to start) almost disaster movie type suspense, where everything starts off a touch slow and normal ish before completely fucking unravelling... this is exactly the kind of book you're going to enjoy.

The other great thing about this, to me, was how well Mercer used the setting she created to create an atypical emergency situation. Without giving anything away, let's just say that it put an interesting spin on a couple of fairly worn concepts and made everything seem newer and much more intriguing in the process.

Ultimately one of those books you're going to be reading deep into the night, because "one more chapter" will never be enough.

Very much recommended.

Solid Slow Burn Mystery Will Be Jarring For Some. While never a fan of content/ trigger warnings printed in books (I prefer them on the author's website or in reviews like this, either way separate from the book at hand and easily findable with a modicum of research), let me say up front that if you have severe issues with child sexual abuse or child neglect... this may not be the best book for you. Same with violence against women generally, addiction, stripping, etc.

That dispensed with, this was a remarkable tale of generations of women trying to leave a dying small rural town... and failing miserably, only for the cycle to repeat with their own daughters ad nauseum. It is a slow burn missing woman tale where we do get both the current timeline of one of the women being missing and the older timeline of what her life was up to the very moment she became missing. Both parts of the tale carry the same dull, dismal, depressing stylings throughout, even as both sets of women actively rebel against their situations and try their damnedest to be the women that break the cycle.

For anyone who has ever spent time in a run down house or trailer, you know this life quite well. You've probably lived a version of it - hopefully *without* the abuse, though this is admittedly far more common than it should be in such situations. Which makes the story that much more "real"... and yet also that much more depressing, to a point, as many read fiction as a way to *escape* their current "real" world bonds.

The time switches could be a bit jarring - they are labeled, but the label is somewhat easily missed - and the inconclusive ending, with several questions still lingering, could put some off. Personally, I felt this particular ending made the tale that much more "real" and worked for the story told to that point, particularly in the final build up to the reveal. So it is absolutely a "your mileage may vary", and unless you are just 100% opposed to such endings... do yourself a favor and read this book and see what you think of it yourself.

Overall truly a great and all-too-real (sadly) story, and very well told. Very much recommended. With the warnings noted in this review.

Romeo And Juliet. But Lesbian. With Mob Families. In Boston. Without Suicide. Seriously, that's most of what there is to this book, without going too deep into spoiler territory (as many other reviews have done, to my mind). Will this book be a Shakespeare level classic, nearly single handedly redefining literature for centuries to come? No. Is it an interesting spin on a tale that *did* do that? Yes. And honestly, for that reason alone it is one you should read.

Now, one flaw here that didn't quite raise to the level of a star deduction, but does deserve to be mentioned, is the casual misandry of the text. It is one thing to be a feminist and want equal treatment for both sexes - an ideal I too share. But when you go so far as to be so overtly bigoted against either sex... you've stepped too far, and this book does that a fair amount. Again, not so pervasive as to warrant a star deduction, but often enough that a discussion in the review is warranted.

Overall, an interesting spin on a beloved classic that does enough blending of classic tale and modern stylings to be entertaining on both levels. Very much recommended.

Small Town Southern Mystery Reminiscent of Malibu Rising. As I begin to think about this book and my experience with it, Malibu Rising keeps coming to mind - which, given that *that* book was a bestseller, tends to be a favorable comparison for this book - or so Ms. Bird likely hopes. Up front, this book does have several different POVs, which is clearly something some readers don't enjoy. So if you're one of those, know this book probably isn't for you. That noted, Ms. Bird actually uses those POVs quite effectively, with the grandma character very much feeling like an old school small town Southern grandma, particularly of the "knows everybody and their business" variety. On some other aspects, at times the tale gets perhaps a bit *too* blatant in its commentary, seemingly coming millimeters from using the actual names (NXVIM, Allison Mack, etc) it is referring to. At other points, it is perhaps a touch too *obtuse*, at times using a few dozen words when a single word or short phrase would have worked just as well.

But ultimately this was a fun book that managed to keep the pacing and mystery solid enough to be entertaining without being so serious and deep as to be dragging. The surprises were done well and the villains were sufficiently creepy, and the humor was just enough to keep everything refreshing. Very much recommended.

Action Packed Thrill Ride For The War On Terror Era. If you're like me, you see a title like "The Paris Widow" and you're thinking this is going to be some WWII historical fiction novel that tends to blend into each other because it has both been done so much and because you've read so many of them.

Well, you'd be wrong, in this case.

Because *this* is actually one of those "who can I trust" action packed suspense thrillers where everybody has secrets and literally no one - not even the maid - can be trusted. It is one you're going to sit up reading well past bedtime because Belle has mastered the art of leaving the chapter on just enough of an edge that you *need* to read the next chapter to see what happens next... only to now find that you're a dozen chapters and a couple hours after you said "just one more chapter".

Set primarily in Paris, with some flashbacks to earlier interludes in Atlanta, Georgia (US) and others in a few different locations in and around the Mediterranean, this is one of those tales where while the settings don't become characters themselves, they are described so beautifully that you're going to wish you were there yourself.

Fans of the "ho hum this is just another story that oh fuck oh Fuck Oh FUck OH FUCK!" type of tale are going to have a particularly fun time with this one. (And let's be real here, that sentence was also fairly fun to write. :) )

So pick this book up, sit down in that beach chair right there on the pool deck, and prepare for the sunburn of your life as you get engrossed in this book for several hours until you finish it in one sitting. You've been warned. :)

Very much recommended.

Cathartic Trippiness. Imagine a Stanley Kubric type acid trip - and now imagine it in full virtual reality 8K. That is what reading one particular pivotal scene of this book is like, and it is in this sequence in particular that Lonsdale pulls out storytelling elements that even after having read literally every book she's written to date, I didn't know she had. Which is one of the reasons I love checking in every year for her annual release and seeing what she has come up with now - she is a master of evolving and expanding her skillset while still remaining true to the emotional depth and complexities of characters that she has crafted in every book, no matter the particulars or particular mechanics of the book at hand.

This is one of those books where the current fad of "magical realism" is done particularly well, even competing with one of my favorite scifi based such scenes in any medium ever, where in the movie Frequency (2000), the ending sequence features things happening in two timelines at once at a pivotal moment and the past being shown to directly impact the present in a key way. What Lonsdale manages to do is almost the opposite yet also quite the the same in a sense, and eventually we get to where we can almost *see* the character at hand's neurons re-wiring as all that has happened becomes known.

And then there is the catharsis on so many levels. As noted above, Lonsdale excels in creating particularly complex characters, and this tale is no exception. That she manages to create *so many* characters that are each equally complex shows true skill - I've read quite a few books even just when counting as starting around the same time I read my first book from Lonsdale, and rare indeed does a book have quite this level of depth and "flavor".

Overall truly an intriguing book that will likely be remembered for many years by at least some.

Very much recommended.

Stoker Meets Doyle With A Touch Of The MCU Approach. If you love the non-sparkly, dark, horrific, brooding, *evil* vampire lore... you're gonna love this book. If you love the Sherlock Holmes type detective tale, perhaps with a more solo "beat people until they give you answers" Batman/ Jack Reacher type bent... you're gonna love this book. If you like MCU style storytelling with a shared universe with lots of different well known characters... you're gonna love this book.

Here, Holloway clearly shows that he too is a massive fan of all of the above, and he uses his skills as a writer to manage to combine elements of each into a cohesive tale that works both on its own and works to set up a "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" type saga. At just under 300 pages, this isn't the shortest book out there, but it provides just enough... *ahem* red meat *ahem*... to tell its tale well without overstaying its welcome (a danger, with these types of characters, just sayin) and while effectively both satisfying the reader of this tale and leaving them wanting a subsequent tale in this shared universe.

Meaning the book did its job on all fronts, and did them all well.

Now I just need y'all to fall in love with this book and start preaching its wonders so we can see how far Holloway can take it. ;)

Very much recommended.

Slow Start Leads To Rollercoaster Twists. This is one of those books that starts out almost disaster movie slow. Other than the prologue that reveals an intriguing setup, a lot of the front of the book is solid enough in slowly building tension in an idyllic setting. But it really is more the back half, or maybe even the last third, of the book where it seems to become more of a cat and mouse, what the hell is going on, who can the reader actually trust kind of tale, one that ends with a deliciously ambiguous ending that would be intriguing to see a follow up to - IF Ms. Wood can manage to replicate the almost lightning in a bottle feel she has going on here, particularly through the last bit of the book.

Ultimately, this tale won't be for everyone, for a variety of reasons. But if you're looking for an interesting tale in a beautiful location and aren't averse to a fair amount of onscreen sex (and not always exactly of the missionary-position-only-with-lights-off variety), this may be a book for you.

Very much recommended.

Sometimes One Shot Really Can Change Everything. This is one of those tales where it should have been over from the very beginning - these two people are just *so* broken by their lives to this point that it *shouldn't* work...

And yet it does, because this is a romantic comedy and that is the very *purpose* of romantic comedies, to give the rest of us hope that something like this *can* work - even in our own completely broken states. And hell, *particularly* when the book is meta enough to actively make *that very same point* within its text. (Helped by the overall plot of... actively writing a romantic comedy movie. ;) )

Yes, some of the things that both characters do are horrible. Yes, perhaps some (or even much) of this tale doesn't or even can't happen in real life. Well, again as pointed out within the text here, neither can zombies or space aliens or some such... and yet people love those movies for somewhat similar reasons as to why they love romantic comedies.

So sit back and enjoy the ride and the feels. If you have to turn your brain off and enjoy the spectacle for sheer spectacle, *do that*. But don't criticize a book that many will truly love and find catharsis in over your own hangups. Particularly don't review bomb something just because "that can't really happen". *Particularly when one of the main issues in the book is exploring how reality doesn't really apply in romantic comedies, including this one.*

Overall a strong tale with complex and complicated characters, with a lot of laughs, some smiles, and even a few dusty room scenes to boot. Come in expecting to laugh and perhaps wet your eyes a bit, and you truly won't be disappointed here.

Very much recommended.

For The Xennials. Yes, we are a tighter demographic than most others, but we - those born roughly 1978 to 1983 - are still mighty, and this book hits us pretty directly. While directly pulling from a hidden-just-enough-to-prevent-copyright-claims version of Dawson's Creek, there are also *several* other TV shows and movies of our teen generation (specifically that late 90s/ early 2000s period) referenced here. Pleasantville being not even that arguably the second most obvious, but also The Notebook and Miss Congeniality, among others. So for us + those just older or younger than us who grew up/ became "new adults" watching these things, this was a great nostalgic trip into an interesting romcom premise that I, despite reading roughly 200 books per year, had never come across something *quite* like this.

And yes, it also "draws inspiration from" others of the same period of different forms, such as The Family Man in particular, and it is truly this combination of The Family Man + Pleasantville where the romance side of this truly comes home and works quite well.

As a side note for those who clearly feel opposite from how I do, please stop rating a book 1* if you DNF'd it. I understand Goodreads and their corporate overlords at Amazon don't allow you to have a direct DNF option, but other alternatives such as Hardcover.app *do* allow you to explicitly note a DNF without giving a star rating - and you can still review the book. It just doesn't plummet the ratings average the way a 1* is when you didn't even finish the book, and at least to me, rating a book you didn't finish feels dishonest - though clearly, you do you.

With that aside out of the way, again, I truly enjoyed this book and its premise really hit home as exactly that age group that it was very clearly targeting, but clearly there are a wide variety of views on this particular book. You, dear reader of this review, should absolutely read it for yourself and make your own call there. (And, remember, if you DNF it, please review it on Goodreads alternatives like Hardcover.app and use their explicit "DNF" option. :D)

Very much recommended.

Hollywood Hubris. The evocative and darkly hilarious tale of a kidnapping of a Hollywood star's daughter is well paced and quite descriptive, though it does evoke more of the 70s/ 80s vibes than more modern times - despite clearly being set in said more modern times. So perhaps it feels a touch anachronistic at times as well, but it actually somehow manages to work?

No, the biggest problem here wasn't the characterizations or the action or the (dark) comedy, it was the guns - and specifically the typical Hollywood hubris of not knowing basically anything about them. No, civilians do not have "automatic" pistols - those things are hard to get for even criminals, and generally extend a jail term much longer than they're actually worth as a tool. Instead, every time Lindstrom says "automatic", he *should* be saying "semi-automatic" or even simply "pistol", if he is seeking to distinguish it from a revolver (which he also uses in this text). (Both revolvers and non-revolving pistols are semi-automatic, meaning one bullet fires per trigger squeeze vs automatic meaning bullets keep firing as long as the trigger is held down, for those reading this review who may be under the same lack of basic gun knowledge as Lindstrom and his editors.) Further, several times when someone is shot - both from a shotgun (which does in fact pack more of a punch, as depending on the load it can send up to 2-3 .45 caliber sized pellets flying at the same speeds that a pistol sends a single .45 bullet flying at) and a pistol - the body is described as flying backwards, as Hollywood tends to do. However, this is one that anyone who has watched Mythbusters knows is incorrect, as they specifically tested this exact myth and showed that it does not actually happen. And that is *without* even having any actual gun knowledge, as it is basic physics! (F= mA -> Force = mass x Acceleration, but the target also has standing inertia that the force must be powerful enough to overcome to achieve said result... and bullets that civilians might fire - yes, even the vaunted .50 BMG round - simply don't have that kind of mass and acceleration. And by the time you get up to rounds that *do* have that kind of force... it tends to have a *far*... messier... impact than simply causing someone to fly backwards off their feet for a few feet.) A final note related yet not to these points about guns is that another author I know is actually a medical investigator in Saint Augustine, FL, and per his commentary over the years, the "tangy coppery" smell of blood that so many fiction authors use - including Lindstrom here? Also fictional. It is for all of these blatant inaccuracies - yes, even in fiction, as they actively perpetuate misinformation that could harm real people - that the star was deducted.

Still, for those who simply want an almost "Expendables" type action/ thriller with a cast of "seasoned" Hollywood dwellers trying to resolve a kidnapping of a family member of one of their own on their own... this really is quite a strong tale in that particular vein, and as long as you approach it as just that type of Hollywood action movie and check your brains at the door, you'll find a quite strong and enjoyable tale.

Recommended.