the_boozy_baking_bibliophile's reviews
1163 reviews

I love a good Rockton/Haven’s Rock book - they are one of my guilty pleasures. Even tho the story lines are always twisted and gruesome, they’re formulaic and a great palette cleanser for me between books that are more difficult. I read them in one sitting typically and they always go something like this…

Someone kills someone else in this intentional community for people seeking an escape from danger or trouble back home. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton + Storm, the greatest Newfoundland ever - are on the case. They have a rag tag group of loyal and trustworthy helpers - the inner circle - who all have their own trouble to escape but are dedicated to weeding out the bad elements and keeping their community safe. 

This one was no different although with a very very pregnant Casey at the center of the story, it’s definitely a bit wild (and maybe a little unrealistic) at times. Another fast read with another cliffhanger leading us into the next book - which I’ll read as well! 

Yet another propulsive twist fest from Kane. Another read in one sitting. 

Addison just married Richmond. It wasn’t for love. It was more for revenge. Now Richmond is dead and everyone is coming for Addison…except she really didn’t kill him. But now someone is trying to make her the prime suspect and they will make sure she dies before anyone can realize she’s innocent. 

Oh my gosh - I have to stop reading Newman! She gives me literal nightmares about all the things that could go wrong with a plane but this one takes the cake for me - uranium cake of course! Because what is more terrifying than a plane crushing into a nuclear power plant?!? Chernobyl has nothing on this one. 

All in all, I read this with zero get ups, bathroom breaks or pauses in a little over 2 hours. 10/10 would watch this movie. 

Fast paced and exciting, the Hawthornes are back! Except this time they are fully in supporting roles with a few faces we will recognize from past books and a few news ones to liven the place up. 

Avery has assumed the role of granddaddy Hawthorne by creating a grand game full of puzzles and riddles and action with the winner to receive part of her fortune on her quest to give it all away. Except not all is as it seems and people aren’t to be trusted in this dangerous game. 

Gahhhh - as someone with a fairly large following on Instagram (hello micro influencer 😉) - one of the rules I set in place when I began my account 4 years ago was that my children would never be shown on my account. They have appeared in numerous captions as funny side stories about chauffeuring them or their events giving me time to read - but in 4 years and over 1000 post - you won’t see their faces anywhere. Because privacy. Because sickos. Because. 

So the premise of this book made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and gave me some really queasy feelings because it had some of my big fears on the page. It was a very well done book with so many relatable moments - you genuinely felt for both MCs and could see both sides of things. Solid read for anyone bringing up kids in the social media digital scrapbook time frame - influencer or not. 

My only regret with this one is that I wish I had read it sooner! Kwan has a way of bringing you deep into the culture and inside jokes of his characters and gives so much richness to his cast. And not just in a crazy rich Asian way either! This was truly an adventure around the world - from London to Hawaii to Morocco to Paris to LA and many places in between. Crazy mothers and aunties and scheming playboys run amuck - and there are more wedding than one can count in this one. Truly a fun ride that I would choose again! 

This one took me a little longer than I would have liked to finish. It was a little slow on the front end and there were too many characters to keep up with initially. However, as we turned the corner and got halfway into it - I started to put 2 and 2 together and realized that there wasn’t a single person in the book who was telling the truth. Everyone had secrets and was misleading someone else - especially misleading me as the reader. The ending was the best part by far and gave me total reminders that BA Paris can surprise the hell out of you sometimes. I wish the rest of the book had lived up to the ending. 

I swoon! This was one of the most original and clever romcoms I’ve read in forever and I couldn’t put it down. Imagine being alone in your apartment when you choke on a fast food burger 🍔 and die - with no friends in the world or anyone who would even find you for days? Only to go to the after life and meet your SOUL MATE who wasn’t actually dead and came back to earth. 

And then being given the chance to find him and kiss him in order to have a chance to return to life? Who wouldn’t go for that? 

This one has every single romance trope you can imagine in it plus the added element of found family. I enthusiastically give it all the stars. 

I need a sequel. This is not enough for me. Tell me more please. 

I’m torn on this one - it’s definitely a 4, possibly 4.5 from me. Almost from the first page I found myself invested in Lenny - her quirkiness, her habits and her complete misreading of people. At first I had Eleanor Oliphant vibes and that never fully went away although Lenny is different. Her story is one of profound tragedy, masked by coping mechanisms that went too far until they couldn’t contain reality any longer. Her evolution and conclusion were truly remarkable and heart warming. You should always bet on Lenny.