booksbytheglass's reviews
879 reviews

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

okay hear me out, I enjoyed it, I binged it, but I didn’t… love it? it felt like a combination of a bunch of different fantasy books together with not as much character development 🤔

sisters scarlett and donatella want nothing more than to escape their abusive home and start their own lives - so when they’re invited to the elusive caraval by the master legend himself, everything changes 🤯 they’re immediately wrapped up in a land of magic, mystery, and more danger than they anticipated… 

scarlett was not the main character I was expecting, nor was she someone who was smart enough to survive the game, I fear. she quickly abandoned all of her morals as soon as she met morally grey characters, and even forgot her goal of saving her own sister for a bit?? and nativity was certainly her theme here 🙄

I wanted so much more from julian and scarlett’s story, even though the main themes surrounded family and sisterhood. it barely touched upon the desire for forbidden love and totally gave the same energy as elsa when she tells anna “you can’t marry a man you just met” 

and while donatella wasn’t much better, she wasn’t disguised as the older and “wiser” sister so 🤷🏼‍♀️

I did enjoy the world building and magical mystery behind caraval, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this journey expands in the rest of the series!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: blanc de noirs champagne 

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

BLACK CAKE was among my favorites of 2022, and I absolutely squealed with delight when I received an early copy of charmaine’s latest! she just knows how to blend historical fiction and drama so effortlessly, and add in her rich character backgrounds? perfection 😮‍💨

this story surrounds ebby and her family history, from the shooting of her brother when she was a child all the way back to when her ancestors were sold into slavery. and what a journey it was! 

the constant back and forth between timelines and characters was a bit jarring at first, especially since I had no idea how they all tied together (other than the obvious family tree). but it was so heartbreaking and beautiful to read about and how five little words can affect generations…

I absolutely loved the conversation between generational wealth and what it means to be an affluent black family in today’s society - and how everyone justifies their own path in the world… and while I did enjoy the side plot with henry and avery, I didn’t need chapters of them attempting to defend their selfish classist and passive racist actions 😅 

and while the ending was beautifully done in its own way, I wanted more answers for the mysteries of the past (and less of YT families doomed to repeat their actions bc they think they’re “trying to help”) 

still, another gorgeous and thought-provoking novel from charmaine and one I cannot recommend enough! thank you to netgalley and penguin random house for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: bordeaux cabernet sauvignon 

The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

the underlying plot behind black harbor is corruption and greed - and this one is no exception! surrounding drug cartels and a power struggle in the underworld, investigator kole and hazel must team up again after 8 years to solve the latest whodunnit 🙄

and they are STILL pining after each other, despite the toxic hot mess they got into in HELLO TRANSCRIBER… like you didn’t learn the first time? jesus christ

I think the stories with a focus on the drug underworld don’t really hit right for me 🥴 and I do think it’s because they’re fairly straight forward and only convoluted when the reader is figuring out who belongs to which gang… I wanted more mystery behind it all!!!!

I did love seeing the whole gang together again though, and I do hope hannah morrisey continues this series (with less focus on hades and buddha pls) 

thank you to netgalley and minotaur books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: primitivo zinfandel 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt

Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

for once, I’m very glad I read this series out of order, as this was by far the weakest of the black harbor series for me 🥲 the way the plot just went through unnecessary side plots only to get to an obvious and unsatisfying conclusion - it was just maddening…

hazel, a new transcriber to the police department, was an intriguing main character to unpack, until I got about halfway through and was wondering how she could possibly stay in this toxic situation any longer 🙄 I mean, if you hate the town and hate your family and hate your husband, why… why are you still suffering 🤠

and I’m super not a fan of the cheating trope - so the entire toxic situationship between hazel and detective kole was a big ick for me 🥴 like what was the point? hazel’s husband was ✨ the worst ✨ so just leave him? and you’re telling me kole was with his sister-in-law? just a big toxic mess that had me saying “why” out loud multiple times…

in terms of the mystery elements, it didn’t hold my interest as much as I thought it would. I would definitely recommend the 2nd and 3rd novels in this series instead…

rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: new zealand sauvignon blanc

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

moral of the story: never trust rich people, they can cover up anything 😶 (for legal reasons, this is a joke)

kate alice marshall always writes the most heart-pounding non-stop thrillers, and this one was no exception! I lost track of how many twists and diversions there were by 3/4 of the way through 🫨

when theo meets her fiancé’s family over the holidays, in the middle of nowhere ski country, she’s immediately drawn in by classism with severe flashbacks to the past she could never remember 👀 and although the characters seemed fine chalking the entire plot of the story up to fate, I wanted a deeper meaning!!!! I wanted a plausible explanation!!!!

the slow burn mystery was well written with the pacing of each action and event keeping readers on their toes until the very end! 2025 is shaping up to be the year of thrillers - I’m so happy to be out of my reading slump!

thank you to netgalley and flat iron books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: new zealand sauvignon blanc

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

the first book of 2025 and it was such a banger!!! I absolutely love gillian’s creative writing & how everything just ties together so well by the end! 🤯

the “missing spouse” trope is so overdone, but the fact that gillian immediately morphed that trope into a hostage situation blew my ever-loving thriller mind!! this plot had my heart racing as I wanted to read faster and faster to see what the resolution was!

flipping POVs between the confused and devastated spouse who just learned her husband is involved in a hostage crisis & the hostage detective on the case … was an absolutely brilliant move! it kept the pace active and moving without having a dull middle section

and that conclusion, while albeit a bit predictable, was incredible! even though I did guess a part of the twist, seeing all the puzzle pieces click together was so satisfying 🫨🫨🫨

a fantastic thriller to start off 2025! thank you william morrow and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
Did not finish book.

very wordy and drawn out explanations followed with telling rather than showing

Dashing All The Way by Chelsea Curto

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I love me an age gap romance okay 😌 was this anything to write home about? no, but that wasn’t the purpose. chelsea says herself that this is a spicy book with a little bit of cute fluffy wholesome plot - and that’s exactly what I needed! 

margo and finn are the unlikely duo I needed, and boy were they so hot together 🫨 like please I need this in my life (begging for 2025 thx)

I loved the open communication about needs and wants, and how they were realistic about their own separate lives and how they fit in with one another (literally and metaphorically 😏) 

the perfect last spicy book to finish out 2024!!!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: rosa regale sparkling wine

Hexed by Emily McIntire

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

okay this might be one of my new favorites of this series!! I love when the villains are just misunderstood morally grey baddies 😌 and venesa was NO exception! 

and y’all know how much I enjoy a mafia romance, so the west side story-esque set up between enzo (prince of the NY mafia) and venesa (princess of the southern mob) was done so so well! emily mcintere NEVER lets me down when it comes to forbidden romances 😮‍💨😮‍💨

what worked so well for me was the clear development of the side and background characters! between aria, bastian, fisher, and gio, I wanted spin offs of them all! I want to see how they all grew up together and where they go from here!!

and of course, it wouldn’t be a classic never after story without betrayals and crazy plot twists! I devoured this one and am greedily demanding the next one pls 

also, complete side note, but emily writing this masterpiece while undergoing chemo for stage 4 cancer and beating its ass? she’s the true icon and badass & we love her for it 🩷

READ THIS SERIES THANK YEW 

rating: 5 stars
wine pairing: virginia rosé

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

alice feeney has done it again!!! the absolute queen of thrillers and plot twists is BACK - and this time, it’s a doozy 👀 I finished the book and immediately had to go back and tab it because holy shit what did I just read

the story focuses on grady, an author who decides to move to a remote island to write his latest book after his wife disappears. and let me tell you, even though grady (and at times abby too) were the most unlikable narrators and characters ever, there was so much to love about the rest of the story!

the setting itself is what cemented the story into top tier category for me! from the mist and fog always rolling in, to the redwood trees haunting around the cabins, and even to the residents of the island who all have their mysterious quirks, I was so invested from start to finish!!!

this is definitely a slow burn thriller, and boy does the ending pay off! I did guess one of the minor twists based on my history of reading, but I loved being gut punched by the rest 😳 per alice feeney fashion, it ain’t over until it’s over

there were a few moments that annoyed me about both grady and his wife abby and kept me from giving this story a full five stars. the entire pregnancy side plot was a big cringe to me as it seemed that both grady and abby just kept ignoring each other’s wishes for their future. and the reason behind the island’s existence needed a bit more flushing out for me 😶

TLDR: another alice feeney winner in my book, but nothing can ever top HIS AND HERS 🔪

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: tasmania malbec