Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ashbydodd's reviews
483 reviews
I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones
mysterious
2.75
There's something about a mystery set around the music industry that makes me want to drop everything and read. So when I read the premise of I Would Die For You by Sandie Jones, I was in.
Nicole's daughter vanishes, and at the same time, a reporter reaches out asking for a comment on a decades-old scandal involving a famous British rock band. She was involved in the band's downfall back in 1986 and is convinced that the two events are connected, which is an excellent setup.
Unfortunately, despite the premise, I just couldn't get into the book the way I wanted to. There were moments - some that definitely sparked my interest - but overall, I couldn't connect with the story. I kept waiting for that can't-put-it-down magic to kick in, but it never quite happened. I finished it mostly because I needed to, not because I couldn't wait to find out what happened.
That said, this was my first time reading Sandie Jones, and even though this particular book didn't click for me, I really liked her pacing and writing style. I'm definitely planning to check out more of her work; sometimes, it just comes down to the right story at the right time.
If you love rock-and-roll drama and family secrets, I Would Die For You might be a good match. Even though it wasn't the one for me, I still think there's something worth exploring.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Nicole's daughter vanishes, and at the same time, a reporter reaches out asking for a comment on a decades-old scandal involving a famous British rock band. She was involved in the band's downfall back in 1986 and is convinced that the two events are connected, which is an excellent setup.
Unfortunately, despite the premise, I just couldn't get into the book the way I wanted to. There were moments - some that definitely sparked my interest - but overall, I couldn't connect with the story. I kept waiting for that can't-put-it-down magic to kick in, but it never quite happened. I finished it mostly because I needed to, not because I couldn't wait to find out what happened.
That said, this was my first time reading Sandie Jones, and even though this particular book didn't click for me, I really liked her pacing and writing style. I'm definitely planning to check out more of her work; sometimes, it just comes down to the right story at the right time.
If you love rock-and-roll drama and family secrets, I Would Die For You might be a good match. Even though it wasn't the one for me, I still think there's something worth exploring.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Saltwater by Katy Hays
3.5
Saltwater is a sun-drenched, secret-filled slow burn perfect for fans of rich people behaving badly. It's not a five-star review for me, but it's an entertaining read with doomed-vacation vibes.
Thirty years after Sarah Lingate died in 1992, her daughter, Helen, and the whole Lingate family return to the glamorous island of Capri. They never expected the necklace her mother wore the night she died to resurface three decades later.
You're in the right place if you're into family dramas with luxury backdrops and intergenerational tension so thick you could slice it with a gelato spoon. Saltwater is all about the messy entanglements that money, power, and old family grudges can bury… but never quite kill. There's definitely a vibe here - a little Succession meets The White Lotus season finale.
The setting is absolutely a character in and of itself. Hays describes Capri so vividly that I half expected to find a villa key in my pocket. And the characters are super dramatic, entitled, secretive, and deliciously flawed.
But here's where I'm torn: while the book had all the ingredients I love (death, secrets, high society dysfunction), the plot itself was a little too predictable at times. I saw a few of the big reveals coming before the characters did. I also struggled to get into the book at first - it felt like wading slowly into saltwater and waiting for the temperature to adjust.
Still, even if Saltwater wasn't my personal favorite, I can't deny Katy Hays knows how to tell a good story. She creates an immersive world and wonderfully tangled relationships filled with dysfunction. This was my first time reading Hays, but I'll definitely read more by the author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Thirty years after Sarah Lingate died in 1992, her daughter, Helen, and the whole Lingate family return to the glamorous island of Capri. They never expected the necklace her mother wore the night she died to resurface three decades later.
You're in the right place if you're into family dramas with luxury backdrops and intergenerational tension so thick you could slice it with a gelato spoon. Saltwater is all about the messy entanglements that money, power, and old family grudges can bury… but never quite kill. There's definitely a vibe here - a little Succession meets The White Lotus season finale.
The setting is absolutely a character in and of itself. Hays describes Capri so vividly that I half expected to find a villa key in my pocket. And the characters are super dramatic, entitled, secretive, and deliciously flawed.
But here's where I'm torn: while the book had all the ingredients I love (death, secrets, high society dysfunction), the plot itself was a little too predictable at times. I saw a few of the big reveals coming before the characters did. I also struggled to get into the book at first - it felt like wading slowly into saltwater and waiting for the temperature to adjust.
Still, even if Saltwater wasn't my personal favorite, I can't deny Katy Hays knows how to tell a good story. She creates an immersive world and wonderfully tangled relationships filled with dysfunction. This was my first time reading Hays, but I'll definitely read more by the author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Free: My Search for Meaning by Amanda Knox
reflective
3.25
If you've followed Amanda Knox's story over the years, Free: My Search for Meaning is worth a read - but check your expectations. This isn't a true crime tell-all. It's a reflective memoir that walks through Knox's life before, during, and after the media circus, focusing more on meaning and identity than facts and timelines.
Knox writes candidly about her time in prison, the years of retrials, and being known as "Foxy Knoxy" around the world. Her face-to-face meeting with the very prosecutor who helped derail her life, many years after the trial, was a particular highlight for me.
It's not a fast-paced read - I put it down a lot - but her introspectiveness pulled me back in time after time. If you're looking for insight rather than new evidence, this quiet, thoughtful memoir might be your next read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Knox writes candidly about her time in prison, the years of retrials, and being known as "Foxy Knoxy" around the world. Her face-to-face meeting with the very prosecutor who helped derail her life, many years after the trial, was a particular highlight for me.
It's not a fast-paced read - I put it down a lot - but her introspectiveness pulled me back in time after time. If you're looking for insight rather than new evidence, this quiet, thoughtful memoir might be your next read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Elphie by Gregory Maguire
dark
emotional
3.5
Gregory Maguire is back in Oz—again!—and this time, he's taking us on a prequel journey with Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, a companion to his now thirty-year-old breakout hit Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Now, before you assume you should read this because of your Wicked musical obsession, let me just say, the books and the musical are not the same thing. I feel like I need a neon sign every time I talk about this series. The musical is catchy, whimsical, and digestible for the masses (love it!); the books are a little more Oz by way of Dickens, packed with political and social commentary. Elphaba in the book is not belting "Defying Gravity"—she's navigating a gritty, layered world where "good" and "wicked" are more labels than truths.
That said, I do love both versions for what they are. I'll sing along to the Broadway soundtrack but also crack open a Maguire novel when I want to stew in something dense and darkly magical. Which brings me back to Elphie.
This book fills in the mysterious gap between baby Elphaba and college-age Elphaba at Shiz University. In Wicked, we basically blink, and she's on campus; in Elphie we walk through her childhood and all the odd, turns that lead her to Shiz.
Some parts of Elphie are deeply engaging, but I found myself drifting through large sections of the book. The pacing meanders, and while I typically enjoy Maguire's style, this one didn't grip me the way Wicked did.
If you're new to Maguire's series, start with Wicked. That novel set the tone for everything that followed. Elphie works better as a bonus for readers who are already invested in this twisted version of Oz. If you're even a little bit curious about Elphaba's younger years, give it a shot.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Now, before you assume you should read this because of your Wicked musical obsession, let me just say, the books and the musical are not the same thing. I feel like I need a neon sign every time I talk about this series. The musical is catchy, whimsical, and digestible for the masses (love it!); the books are a little more Oz by way of Dickens, packed with political and social commentary. Elphaba in the book is not belting "Defying Gravity"—she's navigating a gritty, layered world where "good" and "wicked" are more labels than truths.
That said, I do love both versions for what they are. I'll sing along to the Broadway soundtrack but also crack open a Maguire novel when I want to stew in something dense and darkly magical. Which brings me back to Elphie.
This book fills in the mysterious gap between baby Elphaba and college-age Elphaba at Shiz University. In Wicked, we basically blink, and she's on campus; in Elphie we walk through her childhood and all the odd, turns that lead her to Shiz.
Some parts of Elphie are deeply engaging, but I found myself drifting through large sections of the book. The pacing meanders, and while I typically enjoy Maguire's style, this one didn't grip me the way Wicked did.
If you're new to Maguire's series, start with Wicked. That novel set the tone for everything that followed. Elphie works better as a bonus for readers who are already invested in this twisted version of Oz. If you're even a little bit curious about Elphaba's younger years, give it a shot.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
3.25
Ashley Winstead knows how to hook a reader—I'll give her that. The premise of This Book Will Bury Me is sharp, suspenseful, and darkly intriguing, and the beginning pulled me in immediately. In fact, I was all in… until I wasn't.
Somewhere along the way, I realized the fictional murder at the heart of the story was a reimagined version of the Idaho college murders. That's where the experience shifted for me. Not because Winstead wasn't up to the task—she's a great writer—but because that real-life case had already been dissected, sensationalized, and emotionally draining in every way. I wasn't interested in revisiting it, even from a new fictional perspective.
Still, if that connection doesn't bother you (or if you somehow missed the real-world events entirely), this book is a solid, haunting mystery. This Book Will Bury Me has its strengths and could be a standout for the right reader. Just… know what you're walking into before you dive in.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Somewhere along the way, I realized the fictional murder at the heart of the story was a reimagined version of the Idaho college murders. That's where the experience shifted for me. Not because Winstead wasn't up to the task—she's a great writer—but because that real-life case had already been dissected, sensationalized, and emotionally draining in every way. I wasn't interested in revisiting it, even from a new fictional perspective.
Still, if that connection doesn't bother you (or if you somehow missed the real-world events entirely), this book is a solid, haunting mystery. This Book Will Bury Me has its strengths and could be a standout for the right reader. Just… know what you're walking into before you dive in.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Blood Moon by Sandra Brown
fast-paced
4.0
Listen, if you're showing up to a Sandra Brown novel expecting Pulitzer-level writing or deeply introspective character arcs… I genuinely don't know what to tell you. But if you're here for a good time, then Blood Moon is exactly the ride you want.
The story takes place in Louisiana, where Detective Bowie (no relation to David, unfortunately) is on the edge of losing his job. He's jaded and probably overdue for a vacation, when Beth, a TV producer from a true crime show that sounds a lot like Dateline or 48 Hours, shows up. She's revisiting a disappearance that took place during—you guessed it—a blood moon. The cold case just so happens to be Bowie's.
Now, let's be honest: the characters aren't exactly well-rounded. But it works. You don't read Sandra Brown because you're emotionally invested in someone's backstory; you read her because she knows how to keep the momentum going. And in Blood Moon, the pacing is practically caffeinated. I told myself I'd read a chapter or two just to get a feel for it—cut to me finishing the book in one night.
This is the kind of book that asks very little of you and, in return, gives you a lot: murder, mystery, steamy moments, wild twists, and the kind of energy that makes it feel like a summer blockbuster in paperback form. If you're in the mood for something fun and fast, Blood Moon delivers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
The story takes place in Louisiana, where Detective Bowie (no relation to David, unfortunately) is on the edge of losing his job. He's jaded and probably overdue for a vacation, when Beth, a TV producer from a true crime show that sounds a lot like Dateline or 48 Hours, shows up. She's revisiting a disappearance that took place during—you guessed it—a blood moon. The cold case just so happens to be Bowie's.
Now, let's be honest: the characters aren't exactly well-rounded. But it works. You don't read Sandra Brown because you're emotionally invested in someone's backstory; you read her because she knows how to keep the momentum going. And in Blood Moon, the pacing is practically caffeinated. I told myself I'd read a chapter or two just to get a feel for it—cut to me finishing the book in one night.
This is the kind of book that asks very little of you and, in return, gives you a lot: murder, mystery, steamy moments, wild twists, and the kind of energy that makes it feel like a summer blockbuster in paperback form. If you're in the mood for something fun and fast, Blood Moon delivers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.