Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:07:49 -0700WeeblyMon, 09 Dec 2024 21:29:30 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/the-lost-houseBy Melissa Larsen
** Publication Date 14 January 2025 **
​5 stars 

This was one heck of a thriller. Larsen writes beautifully, sharing the wild nature of Iceland with us. 


Agnes was devoted to her grandfather. While she felt very removed from her father, her grandfather doted on her and made her feel loved. Agnes knows little of the story of her family and why they fled Iceland for northern California, but she does know that it involved the murder of her grandmother and aunt.


When a true crime podcaster reaches out to the family, near the 40th anniversary of the Frozen Madonna’s murder, Agnes’ father Magnús declines to participate. But Agnes decides she wants to know more. So Agnes agrees to meet Nora in Iceland and help shed some light on her family.


Agnes doesn’t know how her arrival in the small town of Bïfrost is going to upset the locals. Apparently she looks just like her grandmother Marie, the Frozen Madonna. While in a Starbucks she also sees that another doppelgänger who has gone missing from Bïfrost. The plot deepens and Agnes finds that she’s not only immersed in the history of her grandmother and aunt, but also this latest missing person’s case.


This was an amazing story about trying to find yourself in the midst of life upheaval. Agnes has been to hell and back after the death of her grandfather. While in Iceland, Agnes comes to terms with a lot of what has been haunting her. It’s so well written. Agnes is very layered.


I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the concept and location. Truly makes me want to visit Iceland someday. 

]]>Wed, 04 Dec 2024 22:27:59 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/sweet-furyBy Sash Bischoff
** Publication Date 7 January 2025 **
4.5 stars
​
I like to think that I can usually puzzle out the culprit in a suspense or mystery novel. Not this one. This one kept me guessing. So many lies and unexpected twists. Hard to believe this is a debut novel.


Lila Crayne is a beautiful, young actress, living a stellar life with her partner, director Kurt Royall. They have just started working on a new film to be based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. It’s an adaptation with a twist. Lila will star and Kurt will direct and it should be the movie of a lifetime.


Lila is also entering into therapy for emotional and physical trauma suffered as a child when her father was killed in a car accident. She and her mother were in the car. Lila has some issues to resolve, and she thinks therapy will help her better understand her role in the movie. Maybe also heal her from the tragedy of her father’s death.


Step in Jonah Gabriel, a psychotherapist who specializes in helping abused women resolve their trauma and leave unhealthy relationships. Jonah and his fiancé Maggie live in NYC in a building that houses both their home and his office. Jonah has an obsession with Fitzgerald. Has for many years. He also has an obsession with a young actress named Lila Crayne. Also for many years.


Here they are, Jonah the therapist and Lila the actress starting this therapy journey together. This, however, will be a journey unlike any therapy journey before it. Especially for Jonah. 


Truly brilliantly written. So many loose ends that are not tied up neatly in the end, but leave us wondering and saying holy moly. I loved this one. Such a page turner.
]]>Wed, 27 Nov 2024 21:55:55 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/the-noteBy Alafair Burke
​** Publication Date 7 January 2025**
5 stars 

Everyone is a suspect. Every single person in this book seems to have secrets that could make them the murder suspect. It will leave you guessing until the very end. 


May is the good girl. As the first born child of a Chinese immigrant and an American father, she is expected to always succeed and do the right thing. When her father disappears, her mother raises her alone. An accomplished pianist and lawyer, May has always been somewhat judgmental and uptight.


Lauren and Kelsey are May’s best friends. Well, at one time they were. Kelsey and May had a falling out years ago. Lauren has mostly been the glue that kept the threesome together. So when Kelsey invites May and Lauren to spend a weekend with her at a private home in the Hamptons, it’s an opportunity for the women to renew their friendship. 


Until a man goes missing and the women realize they saw him the night before, stealing their parking space. A harmless prank turns the women into suspects and tests their friendship. 


I will say this one definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. While May is clearly the lead protagonist, Lauren and Kelsey are well thought out characters. It’s an odd threesome, but their friendship does make sense. Sometimes you’ll get a notion of who is the culprit, but this one really had me stumped. I couldn’t wait to finish it to find out who was the guilty one. 



]]>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:21:46 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/absorbedBy Jaime Townzen
** Publication Date 6 January 2025 **
​4 stars 

Initially I didn’t think I was going to like this book. It started out slow, and with a protagonist that didn’t seem too likable. Gotta say, my mind was changed long before the end of the book.



Stacey struggles with self-esteem. She’s a tall teenage girl, who also isn’t the skinny model type. So when she’s picked to be a lifeguard over the summer at the local pool, she is anything but excited to have to wear a swimsuit every day. Once she attends the orientation, she’s even less excited since the girls are all, in Stacey’s eyes, perfect. The boys, well, at least one named Jesse, hot. How can she possibly wear a swimsuit around these people?


Yet as the summer goes on, Stacey becomes more comfortable not only with herself, but with her coworkers, forging friendships she never expected. Even the totally hot Jesse. Life is never perfect, nor as expected, and her newfound confidence and desire to be desirable causes a rift with her best friend Gabe. Stacey is going to have to figure out what she really wants and how to get it.


Stacey starts out kind of whiny and insufferable, but over the summer (and the book) becomes so much more of a well rounded human, flaws and all. It’s a great novel about being yourself and trusting your instincts. The teenage years are challenging for anyone. This novel points out that even when you thinks someone has it all, they might be hiding some real things from you. 


Turned out to be a pretty good novel about growing up. I enjoyed it.
​]]>Fri, 15 Nov 2024 20:10:42 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/what-the-woods-tookBy Courtney Gould
** Publication Date 10 December 2024 **
​4 stars
This book definitely has some trigger warnings, which is fair, since it focuses on kids attending a ‘wilderness’ program to try to rehabilitate bad behaviors. Just prefacing in case that might be an issue for you.


The story starts with Devin, a foster teen, being kidnapped. But she’s not really being kidnapped, as it becomes clear, her foster parents have arranged this abduction. Forced into a van with another teen, Ollie, they find out that they’re headed a long way to the forest. Ollie appears defeated, Devin is still angry.


When they reach the destination they find three other teens and two adults waiting. Sheridan, Hannah, and Aiden, who have also been sent by their families as a last resort to curb bad behaviors. Their leaders Liv & Ethan don’t look much older than them. Handed a pack of what they’ll need and an overview of what’s to come, they begin their 50 days in the wild.


As the days progress, things get strange. The leaders vanish. The five teens are stuck trying to figure out how to survive. And something is living in the treetops and tormenting them. 


Unbelievably frightening and detailed, this novel really gave me pause about sending your kids on one of these encounters. Not to mention whatever it was stalking them in the forest. It’s a chilling account that definitely leaves some things in the woods that are better left there. No spoilers, but these kids have to pull their crap together and work as a unit, something none of them is really comfortable with. Great story. Loved how intense it was. 




]]>