Lydia
Let me be very, very clear: there is not a single likeable character in this entire book, and that is not an exaggeration. If you need to like characters in the books you read- RUN. That being said, I loved this. THIS BOOK RIGHT HERE IS A THRILLER! This book is intense and you will not want to put it down.
My only other annoyance is that Rijks does a lot of telling over showing, as well as unneeded descriptions. We don't need to know the color of a character's shirt unless it's relevant (it never is).
SPOILER-ISH
I hated the ending so much. I wanted even worse for Leonie.
Thank you to NetGalley
THE CHILLS I HAD AT THE END. This never happens. I read so many thrillers that I am desensitized to most twists, but this one was genuinely unexpected. I recently read Hemlock by Kiersten and loved it, although I didn't consider it a thriller, but this one is definitely a thriller. Heart pounding from start to finish. Bravo, very well done.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC.
I have many thoughts on this. The first and foremost being that this is primarily a romance with a tinge of thriller towards the end, so if you are looking for your next great thriller novel, this is not it. That being said, this is an absolutely FANTASTIC book. A lot of the pop points are pretty predictable, but I was so invested that I didn't really care. You will hate some of these characters, you will love some of these characters, you will hate to love some of these characters, it's a great combination.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy.
As someone who HATES when people ask me about what I'm eating, this resonated with me.
NOPE NOPE NOPE. I never DNF advanced copies, but I simply cannot and will not finish this book. The writing is terrible, the language is foul (coming from someone who curses often, but I can't stand the r-word every two sentences, especially from a 10 year old's mouth), and the characters are atrocious. I usually will say a book just isn't for me and to go ahead and give it a try, but this time I'm very strongly recommending you avoid.
Absolutely loved this! I'm usually not a fan of cozy mysteries, but I was completely invested and didn't want to leave when the book was over. I had so much fun with the the fourth wall breaks and enjoyed it more because the audiobook embedded the footnotes within the story (I heard the footnotes are literal footnotes in text copies, which would've probably gotten on my nerves).
I'm a little annoyed that this is a debut book as I can't read anything else by Mack right away. Hurry up with book two!
The pacing was a little off, but I still was really loving it until the ending when the big reveals started happening (spoiler alert, the reveals were not surprising at all).
I've sat and thought about this book for days, and I am changing my mind. This book was frustrating looking back. Feminist thriller? WHERE?
God, I have no idea how this book has more than a 1 star rating. It's terribly cliche, the characters are annoying as hell, the storyline is dry as hell. Lewis is a terrible lover interest, Summer is a dab lead character, Clover is a horrible villain. Don't read this garbage. Just don't.
I would have loved it more had the ending not been so fast, neat, and tidy. I guess I'm not a happy endings girl, but I also hated all of the characters so perhaps I wanted it to turn out worse. Still a good read! 3.5.
This is a must read for comedy! Such a witty little book. I can't wait to read the next in the trilogy.
I liked this way more than I thought I would. There were a few very obvious parts of the mystery, and some of the smut was a little too technical for my taste, but I enjoyed it overall.
Swiftie Book Club for March
Ugh. Many thoughts. I enjoyed this book, but I guessed everything that was going to happen, down to the (pun completely intended) last words of the book. There were so many over the top cliches, and the twists were so predictable that I hesitate to even call them twists.
I truly did enjoy the ride, but I'm disappointed Taylor Adams didn't throw in something unique.
God, this book is disturbing on a whole new level. I'm giving it 4 stars because it's well written and definitely draws you in, but before diving in I would recommend reading some trigger warnings.
**2023 update: upping this to 5 stars because I STILL think about it.
My least favorite in the series, mostly due to the rushed climax and conclusion, but still a great read!
Calling all dark academia + cozy mystery + drama club girlies!
While I loved the concept and usually enjoy multiple timelines, this one felt a little too convoluted and drug on for a bit too long. I would've been happier if it was edited down by about 100 pages. It was also a little too “cozy” of me. Ultimately, I prefer more thrilling thrillers.
My biggest complaint is petty- but the title trips me up every time I talk about this book. I always say “The Twelves Murders of Christmas”. IT WAS RIGHT THERE!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audio of The Twelve Days of Murder.
This book is a second chance romance, crisis-based, holiday escapade that relies very heavily on miscommunication and hijinks. None of these are things I enjoy. I simply couldn't root for the main characters to be together as they stressed me out to the max just listening to them interact. I hate romanticizing toxic relationships, and this one very much felt toxic to me. I didn't like the characters on their own, either. The ending wrapped up way too quickly, and I ultimately was disappointed.
That being said, I know these are not tropes I enjoy, so I will rate it higher than I feel to be more objective. This will give you all of the holiday craziness feels. The story is predictable, but if you like all of the above tropes, this was a fun read.
My personal rating would be more of a 2.5, but I'll give it a 4 on netgalley because I think a lot of people will love it.
Thank you to netgalley for this ALC.