Scan barcode
booklistqueen's reviews
612 reviews
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
In an excellent Reese's Book Club pick, Gillian McAllister presents a spin on the traditional time travel novel. I enjoyed how Jen kept going backwards in time, giving a fascinating look at cause and effect. Tracing back through decades of her family, Jen must find the actual root of the murder, which is much deeper in her life than you would expect. Wrong Place Wrong Time makes you ponder the things we do for love and the signs we miss along the way. I especially loved Jen's realization that she was a good mother even if she wasn't perfect.
4.0
Just after midnight, Jen is watching out the window for her teenage son Todd to come home when she sees him murder an older man right outside their house. With her son in custody, Jen goes to sleep in despair but wakes to find herself two days before. Going further and further back in time, Jen searches for clues to the murder and learns things that will change everything she thought she knew about her family.
In an excellent Reese's Book Club pick, Gillian McAllister presents a spin on the traditional time travel novel. I enjoyed how Jen kept going backwards in time, giving a fascinating look at cause and effect. Tracing back through decades of her family, Jen must find the actual root of the murder, which is much deeper in her life than you would expect. Wrong Place Wrong Time makes you ponder the things we do for love and the signs we miss along the way. I especially loved Jen's realization that she was a good mother even if she wasn't perfect.
Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
Alice Feeney has penned another intriguing thriller that hooks you from the start. Good Bad Girl opens with the kidnapping of a baby and then leaves you wondering how this event connects to the larger narrative. With four main characters each with her own backstories, the plot is a bit complicated at first. But once you settle into this mother-daughter story, your glued to a mystery full of predictable twists with clever spins that you don't see coming.
4.0
Alice Feeney plays with your perception of good and bad people in a mother-daughter thriller. Eighty-year-old Edith is busy hatching her escape plan from the nursing home. Edith befriends Patience, a young employee whose kindness hides a host of lies about herself. Is Edith's daughter Clio as evil as her mother makes her out to be? Then prison librarian Frankie arranges a therapy session with Clio but with uliterior motives in her search for her runaway daughter. Slowly, the connections between the four women become clear but the question is, how does this all tie to a baby stolen from a stroller decades earlier?
Alice Feeney has penned another intriguing thriller that hooks you from the start. Good Bad Girl opens with the kidnapping of a baby and then leaves you wondering how this event connects to the larger narrative. With four main characters each with her own backstories, the plot is a bit complicated at first. But once you settle into this mother-daughter story, your glued to a mystery full of predictable twists with clever spins that you don't see coming.
Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
Shari Lapena delivers a solid domestic thriller whose audiobook narration stood out as particularly engaging. The longer Avery is missing, the more the accusations fly as neighbors turn on each other. Lapena slowly adds characters to broaden the suspect pool and then sprinkles in excellent twists to keep you guessing. And the mystery is made even more complex since Avery is no saint but instead a manipulative and temperamental child.
4.0
When William Wooler's mistress calls off their affair, he comes home to find his nine-year-old daughter home unexpectedly early from school and loses his temper at her. An hour later, Avery's brother finds her missing when he goes to pick her up after his practice. As the police investigate Avery's disappearance, William hides that he saw his daughter that day. Now Avery's neighbors want to spill the beans, but it seems that it's not just William. Everyone here is lying.
Shari Lapena delivers a solid domestic thriller whose audiobook narration stood out as particularly engaging. The longer Avery is missing, the more the accusations fly as neighbors turn on each other. Lapena slowly adds characters to broaden the suspect pool and then sprinkles in excellent twists to keep you guessing. And the mystery is made even more complex since Avery is no saint but instead a manipulative and temperamental child.
On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
On the Rooftop was a disappointing read, especially since it was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. The conflict between a mother's dream and her daughters didn't have any teeth because Sexton doesn't add any emotional pull. Vivian is extremely unlikable but unfortunately the daughters are almost entirely forgettable. It didn't help that On the Rooftop lacked a climax. Despite having the bones of a good story, Sexton couldn't rise above its lackluster plot.
slow-paced
3.0
In 1950s San Francisco, Vivian is ecstatic when her three daughters begin to make a name for themselves as the singing girl group, The Salvations. Although Vivian has arranged a once-in-a-lifetime chance for The Salvations, her daughters have begun to grow up and have desires of their own. As the Black neighborhood begins gentrifying, Vivian struggles to maintain control even as new avenues open for her own desires.
On the Rooftop was a disappointing read, especially since it was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. The conflict between a mother's dream and her daughters didn't have any teeth because Sexton doesn't add any emotional pull. Vivian is extremely unlikable but unfortunately the daughters are almost entirely forgettable. It didn't help that On the Rooftop lacked a climax. Despite having the bones of a good story, Sexton couldn't rise above its lackluster plot.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
I'd been hearing great things about The God of the Woods since it came out last summer and I immediately snagged a copy. Which proceeded to sit on my shelf for months, intimidated by its large size (almost 500 pages). I'm so glad I finally picked it up because I was completely engrossed staying up way too late to finish it. Moore does the slow build of suspense perfectly, gradually unwinding the past and present in an atmospheric story with rich characters.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
5.0
In August 1975, Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her summer camp bed. A tragedy for any child, but Barbara is the daughter of the wealthy owner of the camp and the nearby estate. Fourteen years ago, Barbara's older brother also went missing without a trace. Tying together the wealthy Van Laar family with the working class community that supports the camp and estate, The God of the Woods is a multi-layered drama about secrets that refuse to be forgotten.
I'd been hearing great things about The God of the Woods since it came out last summer and I immediately snagged a copy. Which proceeded to sit on my shelf for months, intimidated by its large size (almost 500 pages). I'm so glad I finally picked it up because I was completely engrossed staying up way too late to finish it. Moore does the slow build of suspense perfectly, gradually unwinding the past and present in an atmospheric story with rich characters.
The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt paints an enlightening (and terrifying) picture of the damage screen-based childhood has done on a generation of children. He perfectly expressed in data the feelings I already had about my kids and phones. While Haidt mostly focuses on the dangers of social media and smartphones, he also focuses on the solutions, especially a greater need for connections, independence and in-person interaction. I will definitely be making some changes to my parenting after reading this one and I absolutely recommend it to everyone.
informative
slow-paced
4.5
Jonathan Haidt explains why moving from a play-based childhood to a screen-based childhood has changed the neurological development children, making them more anxious, along with other mental health problems. Haidt shows why this causes them to withdraw further into a digital world, and then proposes a solution that he says will reduce the incidence of mental illness in the rising generations.
Jonathan Haidt paints an enlightening (and terrifying) picture of the damage screen-based childhood has done on a generation of children. He perfectly expressed in data the feelings I already had about my kids and phones. While Haidt mostly focuses on the dangers of social media and smartphones, he also focuses on the solutions, especially a greater need for connections, independence and in-person interaction. I will definitely be making some changes to my parenting after reading this one and I absolutely recommend it to everyone.
What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange
Tearjerker alert. I cried several times while reading Lange's latest novel which, I should add, I devoured in one day. Tracey Lange knows how to tear my heart and then put it back together in just the right ways and I am loving her family dramas. The complicated intertwining of grief and guilt that destroyed their marriage is painfully realistic and hits you like a truck but the hopeful ending provides the catharsis you need to warm your heart back up.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celadon Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
When his father has a stroke, Kyle McCray reluctantly returns to his hometown to care for him. Two and half years ago, Kyle abruptly left town abandoning his father, his friends, his employees, and Casey, his wife of sixteen years. When asked to coach the struggling middle school hockey team, Kyle finds an chance for redemption. But to stay in town permanently, he must make peace with Casey as the book slowly reveals what caused a love-filled relationship to collapse so suddenly.
Tearjerker alert. I cried several times while reading Lange's latest novel which, I should add, I devoured in one day. Tracey Lange knows how to tear my heart and then put it back together in just the right ways and I am loving her family dramas. The complicated intertwining of grief and guilt that destroyed their marriage is painfully realistic and hits you like a truck but the hopeful ending provides the catharsis you need to warm your heart back up.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celadon Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
5.0
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is where the overarching series story arc really feels starts to kick in. Rowling does an excellent job of balancing the fun and joy of being a student at Hogwarts and normal preteen problems with the darker story of a convict on the loose and Lord Voldemort's supporters gaining power.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5.0
The second book of the Harry Potter series continues the imaginative nature of the first book and deepens the world building. To the charm of the magical world, Rowling uses her classic good vs evil theme to start to introduce a little more darkness into the school year. As an adult, it sometimes shocks me how nonchalant the wizarding world is about danger to children but I have to remind myself, it's just a book.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
5.0
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is engaging and imaginative and just as entertaining for adults as children. I love rereading this series to spot the foreshadowing of future plot points. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone does an excellent job kicking off the series, mostly focusing on the incredible world-building and letting you fall in love with Harry, Ron and Hermione.