May was a decent month for me in terms of reading. I didn’t read (or listen to) anything that was a total dud. I stuck with my usual genres- contemporary romance, crime/thriller, and a non-fiction related to fashion.
Let’s get right to the reviews.
The Strawberry Hearts Diner by Carolyn Brown
The charm of Pick draws her in as well as the rekindling of an old flame. She must battle some self-confidence issues to believe that a community like Pick would accept her. Read and listened on Kindle Unlimited 4 stars
Brown’s stories are always easy to listen to or read and have heartwarming touches. This one is no exception.
Dead Against Her (Bree Taggert 5) by Melinda Leigh
This one was just released in May, and I love Melinda Leigh so much I inhale a new release as soon as it’s available.
Sheriff Bree Taggert is called to an isolated farm to check on an elderly widow and finds a brutal double homicide. One of the victims is Eugene Oscar, the bitter and corrupt former deputy she recently forced out of the department.
The investigation reveals that she isn’t the only one who had a troubling history with Eugene. But someone doesn’t want Bree digging up the past. She becomes the target of a stranger’s sick and devious campaign calculated to destroy her reputation, career, family, and new relationship with Matt. To make matters worse, she’s the prime suspect in Eugene’s murder.
After backing off the investigation due a conflict of investigation, Bree’s chief deputy goes missing. She doesn’t back down from pursuing his kidnappers.
This is a great, action packed thriller and crime mystery. 5 stars Listened and read on Kindle Unlimited
“Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.”
A good twisty thriller but it got a little stretched out. I was invested enough but at some point, I wanted it finished. That could have been because of the narrator. Reading it in print might have been different. I listened to the entire book on Scribd. 3 stars
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
It’s rare that I read books the same year they are released (Melinda Leigh series are the exception.) It’s also rare that I read something I put on my TBR list soon after putting it on my list. I let them sit there until I can’t remember why I even put them on the list. I made an exception with this one and I’m glad I did. I listened to the audio book on Scribd. It’s twisty and you begin to wonder who you can trust. At one point, I didn’t think I even trusted the main character due to her dependence on pills. Was she the killer? Was she imagining things?
“When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.
Now twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. So when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren’t actually there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer?” 5 stars
Make It Sweet by Kristin Callahan
Another recommendation from the link up that I put on my TBR list recently. I challenged myself to read some of those TBR list books and to read new to me authors last month.
Emma is known as Princess Anya on Dark Castle, but then her character gets the axe―literally. Then she finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman. She needs a break, and sanctuary comes in the form of Rosemont, a gorgeous estate in California promising rest and relaxation.
At the estate she meets the owner’s equally gorgeous grandson, ex–hockey player and current recluse Lucian Osmond. He is fighting his own internal demons as he had to leave his hockey career due to injury and he is trying to find himself outside of hockey.
It’s instant attraction but they both try to avoid each other, until they can’t and don’t. This story is a steamy romance with the main characters trying to restart life.
Warning: this book has crude sexual language that could have been left out and you would still get the image with different word choices. I still enjoyed the overall story. Read and listened on Kindle Unlimited 4 stars
The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees
A guide to finding and expressing personal style. I started this book in January 2021 and finally finished it in May 2022. I’m not sure why I left it in 2021 and just got back to it.
The author walks you through defining what you like and want to wear, how you want to look and gives exercises to help you develop style skills. She doesn’t agree with trying to choose a style personality type and trying to make yourself fit into it, yet some of her advice goes right back to the same advice given for determining those categories. She just doesn’t want to use the labels.
Overall, she gives great advise if you need to overhaul your closet and style. 4 stars Read on Kindle
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” – Groucho Marx
I hope you had a great reading month! What are you planning to read this summer?
Linking up with Show Us Your Books.