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dig_the_plot's Reviews (98)
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
Family drama is not my genre but I really enjoy this author. I read We Are The Brennans in 2021 so it’s been a while but I gave it five stars. This author does a great job making you feel apart of the family and you really care about her characters. The Connelly’s of County Down is no different. Tara Connelly is being released from prison after serving 18 months on a drug charge. She is basically starting over at the age of 30. She has no money and now with a record knows finding employment will be difficult. She is moving in with her siblings who have their own problems. Her sister Geraldine is hiding a big secret at work and her brother Eddie struggles with the ongoing effects of a brain injury. Eddie is also raising his son Connor. When Tara and Eddie were little they played in the attic and brought to life one of their mother’s fairy tales “The Connelly’s of County Down.” Again this is a family drama so there are no twists or bombshells just life. A dysfunctional family dealing with life and standing up and protecting one another at all costs. My favorite part of this book was Geraldine. Tara was suppose to be the stand out main character but I stuck around for Geraldine. This is a slow book but I couldn’t wait to find out what Geraldine was up to. The therapy session was hilarious! One part of this I didn’t understand was the fairytale aspect of the story. It was never elaborated on and felt somewhat pointless. Tracey Lange writes books that are easy to read and invite you to be apart of the family. The last note I made in this book said I enjoyed the ending. These people were so frustrating and I needed the ending!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Push was the first book I read in 2023 and I couldn’t wait to get this one. This author writes about topics that are hard and you’ll see a lot of trigger warnings with her books. The first sentence sets the tone for the whole book. “There is something animalistic about the way the middle-aged adults size each other up while feigning friendliness in the backyard of the most expensive house on the street.” Whitney and Jacob Loverly are hosting a dinner party in their backyard. They have 3 children with their oldest Xavier being hardest for Whitney to deal with. He disappears during the party and Whitney finds him in a bedroom eating everyone’s candy. She loses her mind on this child and realizes the window is open and everyone has heard. She knows in this moment what she has lost….no not her son….but her status. Fast forward 9 months from the party and we learn Xavier is in a coma after falling out of his bedroom window. The story spins out over the course of one week. It’s told in the alternating voices of the women in each family as they are forced to face the secrets in their own homes. There is so much raw emotion in this book and so many layers to this story. It feels like real people, real lives and real thoughts. Thoughts that can be scary and writing them down even scarier. There are so many jaw dropping revelations and it’s an emotionally charged story. This author is not afraid to tackle tough topics on a very in-your-face honest way. She can make you feel uncomfortable like you’re responsible. The topics are very intense - miscarriage, infidelity, jealousy and ultimately what happens when you put your needs before your child’s. It’s a dark realistic depiction of what goes on behind closed doors and not what is put on display for the world to see. Ashley Audrain is an excellent author. She takes ugly gut wrenching subjects and turns them into a book you don’t want to put down.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have read several Margot Hunt books maybe even all of them. They are very quick easy reads. A category 5 hurricane is headed toward Marlow and Lee Davies home. They had weathered hurricanes before so they decided to ride out the storm at home. Right before the storm hit a boat tied up at their dock and they feel they have no choice but to offer them shelter. Something is off from the beginning and everyone feels it. I loved the premise of this story but I did not enjoy how it was told so much. The dialogue was the downfall of this book. At times it felt so cheesy. There was no character development and that would have made for a much better story. My favorite character was Mick and well he didn’t last long. How many times did they say the police wouldn’t respond to distress calls? It’s murder. It’s a little more than a distress call. I seen the twist coming and that was disappointing. If it had been something that would have blown me out of the water I might have overlooked some of the other things but it didn’t. If you’ve never read Margot Hunt I would start with another one of her books.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the kind of book where you don’t even realize you’re 200 pages in. You haven’t blinked, eaten, used the bathroom…you’re glued to the story. It’s a very fast paced easy read and I feel like that’s the way with all of McFadden’s books. Nora has tried her whole like to escape the fact her dad is a serial killer. Her dad was seemingly an upstanding citizen, a true family man that everyone liked. Unless you consider the 18 plus women he murdered. Her mom committed suicide while in prison awaiting trial charged an accessory. Nora went to live with her grandma and changed her name. She grew up and became a general surgeon that ran from all relationships. The book switches between present day and 26 years earlier so you can see a glimpse of Nora’s childhood. Is she like her father? There are subtle hints along the way that lead you to believe that she is like dear old dad. Like the last sentence of chapter 8. Lord this book! Nora’s life gave me anxiety. I enjoyed the switching back and forth because it always left you hanging and thinking I’ll read one more chapter….just one more chapter….just one more chapter and then boom you’ve read the book. I did only give it four stars. I’m still undecided on if I liked the twist…the one who was replicating Nora’s fathers crimes. I felt like I seen it coming and was hoping for something twistier. And I would have loved to have had more about Nora’s childhood. McFadden has definitely made a name for herself in the mystery/thriller community. You can’t go wrong with any of her books.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What in the world!?! I went into this book completely blind. I didn’t read the summary. I just knew it was Jeneva Rose and I wanted to read it. This is best described as a bad horror film that you can’t look away from and I’m here for it. Cheesy? Yes. Addicting? Yes. Corny? Yes. Satisfying? Oddly yes. I can’t even describe how she managed build the tension in this book. My heart would be racing and I would be expecting the worst…turn the page and everything was normal. But yet you knew something was coming and it was going to be bad. You just had no clue when or what or who. I love to read other reviews and this book was the extreme both ways. She had all kinds of one star reviews and just as many five star reviews. You won’t be middle of the road on this book. You’ll either love it or hate it. Grace heads out on a vacation to an airbnb in DuBois, Wyoming. Calvin Wells owns the rental which is basically a room in his house. They find each other attractive and it’s a constant flirt fest. I did somewhat find it annoying because one minute Grace wanted Calvin and the next she didn’t trust him and found him creepy. The chapters are broke up in “days.” Which I loved. I took notes on this book as if I was going to discuss it completely….from start to finish on my podcast. It’s still up in the air if I am going to try this but this would be a good one to start with. Like it or hate it, it’s a book you won’t soon forget.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is perfect for spooky season! The setting is 1920s England and the author did an excellent job of capturing the time period and the atmosphere. Sarah Piper lives a lonely meek existence so when her temp agency sent her to meet Alistair Gellis about a job she knew she couldn’t turn it down. But could she be a ghost hunter? They traveled to Warringstoke to investigate the spirit of a 19 year old maid Maddy Clare who is said to be haunting the barn in which she committed suicide. Alistair had already been told in order for him to report this story that he had to bring a woman to speak to Maddy because she hated men. Maddy showed up on the Clare’s doorstep one night injured, abused and unable to speak. As soon as Sarah gets to the barn and gets set up she encounters a very very angry Maddy. This is my kind of ghost story. It’s not what I would describe as scary just really creepy. I could feel my pulse quicken when Sarah entered the barn and felt Maddy’s presence. Every one in town seemed to have something to hide when it came to what happened to Maddy. And Lord those crows! Gag! You’ll just have to read it but I couldn’t stand those darn crows. It’s up to Sarah, Alistair and Matthew to find out what happened to Maddy so her spirit can rest. This book has a little bit of everything - suspense, paranormal, mystery and even romance which I hate but it wasn’t enough to make you sick. To me this is the perfect creepy book if you are not into full on horror. And if you are into horror this would be a light read. It’s definitely giving Sherlock Holmes vibes.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First of all let’s start this with Stacy Willingham wrote two of my most favorite books that I read in 2022. A Flickr In The Dark and All The Dangerous Things are definite must reads and two my of all time favorite books. So clearly I love this author but this book just hit different. It almost felt like a YA book but I don’t think it was meant to be. It may have felt that way because we are dealing with college students. It was also a slow burn and I felt it was a little repetitive at times but despite all of that I wouldn’t miss the chance at reading this. The book opens with Lucy is missing and Detective Frank is asking when the girls when they last seen her. He also hints that Lucy is being looked at for the death of Levi. The books switches between now and then. More “than” than “now.” Margot blames Eliza’s death on Levi and she can’t believe he has followed her to college. She wants nothing to do with him. Margo is completely taken with Lucy…she knows Lucy picked her because she is “vanilla” but she doesn’t care. She wants to be molded and shaped into something else. That’s what Eliza did for her and she’s looking for someone else to fill those shoes. You quickly learn Lucy is the catalyst here and she isn’t who she seems. And all these girls are hiding a ton of secrets and a ton of guilt. Fun fact about this book: There are some aspects of this book that are real. The author lived in a house like this during her junior and senior years at the University of Georgia. The crawl space and the fraternity owning it was all real. The people thankfully were not.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t say enough how much I love Shari LaPena! She is my go-to author and never disappoints. She is always the first author I recommend to people when someone is looking for a book to read. I loved the plot from the moment I read the summary and this was on my most anticipated book list for this year. I felt like it was going to be like nothing I had read before and it wasn’t. Dr. William Wooler was angry and disappointed and beyond upset that his mistress had ended their affair. He just wanted to go home and be alone before having to deal with his family. But when he arrived home 9 year-old Avery was already there and refused to tell him why she had been sent home. She is a difficult child and truth be told the whole family is scared of her. William slaps her pretty hard and immediately apologizes and decides to just go drive around. Did he slap her too hard? Did he kill her? “Oh what tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” Shari is an excellent story teller and while there are several players in this story there is never any confusion. What happened to Avery? There are multiple suspects and everyone in this neighborhood seems to be hiding something. I changed my mind a dozen times on who was the perpetrator. You will be so mad at William for lying, you’re going to have a strong dislike for Avery (yes I realize she’s 9) and feel so sorry for her brother Michael. To me everything about this story is plausible. I had strong opinions and feelings toward everyone of these characters. Absolutely nothing will prepare you for the ending. You will never guess what happened to Avery and why.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have so many books stacked up and lined up to read that I have no clue why I requested this book on Libby. I had never even heard of it but this ended up being a really good book. After I read it I found out it was a standalone story with a crossover to his novel The Dead Husband. Which after I finished this book I did wish I had read the other one first. So keep that in mind if you add this to your TBR. Is today the best day of his life….or the worst? Aidan Marlowe’s wife Holly has died. While having a final moment at the funeral he realizes he has won the lottery. He decides to move and start a new life in a new town called Bury, New Hampshire. He buys an 8,000 sq ft home that had been abandoned by its previous owner, Logan Yates, who was in his 70s. In fact Logan’s two daughters and grandson have all disappeared. Marlow begins to receive creepy letters that are threatening him and his kids. As I stated earlier this is a good book but it held so many frustrating parts. I loved the atmosphere and the house and the creepiness surrounding it. I also loved the storyline and the characters but slowly things fell apart for me. For one thing one of the most important parts of the book had no resolution. I anxiously awaited the answer to why all of these people disappeared and they just stopped talking about it. Ummm what? Hellllur? That’s a vital part of this story. There’s something else that didn’t make any sense but it’s a huge twist so I’ll leave that part alone. There were just so many loose ends that were never tied up which is why this book got 3 stars. It just needed more story development. Maybe if I had read The Dead Husband first it would have provided more insight to things I felt were missing.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well. This story was terrible. I couldn’t stand any of these women. Nor did I like the cops. And I kept trying to look at it from the perspective that they were the “elite” but does that mean you are just stupid. Kiersten, Whitney, Brooke and Jade all belong to the West Hollywood Mom’s Club and were best friends. And I use that term loosely because these women were not best friends or knew what the word meant. The story alternates between the women and between now and then. (I also didn’t like the font that was used for then and now. Weird I know.) There were so many great storylines in this story that should have been expounded upon but instead just silly stuff was thrown in. I would love to make bullet points on all of it but it would be spoilers. This book was so frustrating because it had such potential. There are so many cringey parts! And again most of the cringey parts are the twists and bombshells! The writing is good! I really like Lucinda Berry and I looked at few other reviews and I’m definitely in the minority with this review. This is definitely a book I would like re-write to make a better story. And this is one of those times I would love to give spoilers just so I could discuss what I would do differently. I gave it two stars because I did finish it and I wanted to know the ending. As bad as it was.