the_boozy_baking_bibliophile's reviews
1163 reviews

The GUP is back and it’s been five long years since his time with Maisie and Grant in Palm Springs. The kids are growing up and becoming their own people and are no longer as enamored with their guncle as they once were. Their father is on the precipice of getting remarried, and the children have the goal of stopping the nuptials. Patrick steps in and takes them on a whirlwind tour of Europe, from London to Paris, to Austria, to Italy, where the wedding is supposed to take place. Enter their future launt (lesbian aunt) and a whole host of new characters as nothing goes to plan. 

As always, Rowley left me with tears of joy at the end - what a perfect end cap to my 2023 reading. 

A new series set in the same world as the Gilded Age series - with Camille, Violet and August in minor supporting roles!! This time, it’s a new set of American sisters seeking their mates within the ton - but these ladies have a bevy of secrets in their trousseau and everything to lose if they are discovered. 

Ok - real talk. I totally loved Cora and her pragmatic approach to seeking a husband. I also found Leo to be endearing in his demeanor, it was unexpected and disarming. Do I wish they had gotten hot and heavy sooner? Absolutely. Were the scenes where they did mash parts worth the wait? Absofuckinlutely. The mirror scene was especially hot 🥵 

I look forward to see where HSG takes this new series - I think it’s going to be a wild ride. 

Ahhhh this one was so fun. It all started with two college kids getting married to get family housing and it turned into so much more. 

Fake dating (errrr marriage) turned real - one of my favorite tropes. This one also features the ever popular poor little rich characters teaming up with someone who genuinely has no nickels to rub together. 

Fun story arc - lots of heart and soul - plus a napoleon like villain you root against from the first encounter. Plus the sex was 🔥 

Ahhhh another stellar Alex Finlay book! This one involves multiple perspectives and mobsters and so so much death. I could not put this book down and read past my bedtime at least once and ignored family responsibilities in order to finish it. 

It has a dash of police procedural - a hefty dose of mafia - lots of cover-up and misdirection and so much revenge and blood. Perfect for the holiday season 😜 

This is a solid thriller told in the perspectives of two very different women. Cara, the mostly by-the-book manager of a high end rehab clinic. And Meg, an opioid addicted poker player entering the facility to investigate the death of her sister in the clinic. There is a lot of childhood trauma discussed, a lot of psychology (some seemed like it was more pseudo-science than real) and a cast of other patients and doctors that made it a very colorful read. I raced through it, needing to know what happened and wasn’t overly shocked by the big reveal. I felt like it could have been buttoned up a bit sooner and even tho the chapters were short - 117 of them is a whole helluva lot. 

Ok…so I started out really enjoying this thriller set on a tropical island in Thailand. Two main characters - Cass and Brooke. One a dive instructor and the other a travel influencer. There had been a little murder on the island and then another and I was starting to get invested…but then things went sideways for me. 

Because a third character was introduced and they were the star of the show. Everything was their fault and their name appeared on almost every page. Xanax. And I just said Phuket at that point because it was so over the top. 

This book had so much potential and then it turned into utter drivel with plot holes so big I could park a Buick Skylark in them. Origin stories that were tossed in there casually and explained so quickly that I had to re-read it and think - “really? That’s what they went with here?” 

I don’t normally hate on books - especially by a new author - but this one is a hard pass from me. Too far fetched, full of ridiculous plot “twists” and the classic unreliable woman who is too boozed up to know what’s real or not, except in this case it’s benzo’d. 

Another solid read from Marshall - one with an ending that had me re-reading multiple times because I still didn’t know who did it. That alone makes this a winner! 

Another solid read by Kimberly McCreight. Like Mother, Like Daughter follows Kat and Cleo as they race to find the answers to two separate problems/mysteries. For Kat, it’s who is threatening her daughter by bringing her own past back from the dead. For Cleo, it’s - where is her mother and who hurt her? 

Intriguing from the jump - check it out.

I can’t decide how to rate this one. On one hand, it was an edge of my seat type read because I couldn’t believe the things I was reading. On the other hand, it made me supremely uncomfortable at times and is potentially triggering. 

Read it for yourselves - it’s definitely unique in its telling and plot but the subject matter is in our headlines daily which makes it all too real. 

Started this one last night and finished it this morning - if that tells you anything about how engrossing this latest Megan Miranda is…

It’s a story of a small lake town, its police force, intertwined families, secrets and lies…and a drought that begins to dry up the lake that has so conveniently hid the sins of the past. Some things are best left submerged.