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strawberrymivvy's reviews
564 reviews
Vanished by Joseph Finder
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was a series that was recommended to a character in another book who was a fan of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay (as am I) so decided to give it a go, and wasn't disappointed.
Slightly dated as I decided to go back to the very start of the series and technology has moved on rapidly since then, but still an enjoyable tale of an ex military guy, now working as an investigator, who is called in by his sister in law and nephew to find his brother who has been violently abducted.
At times the plot got a little confusing, perhaps overly so, but for all that a very enjoyable read and a series I will read more of.
Slightly dated as I decided to go back to the very start of the series and technology has moved on rapidly since then, but still an enjoyable tale of an ex military guy, now working as an investigator, who is called in by his sister in law and nephew to find his brother who has been violently abducted.
At times the plot got a little confusing, perhaps overly so, but for all that a very enjoyable read and a series I will read more of.
The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was an OK read but it felt as if the author didn't quite know what she wanted - as if she wanted to step away from WWII fiction but she didn't make the leap particularly successfully, and this felt like 1960s fiction in name only, with the characters for the most part behaving as if they were in the 1940s.
Celia is a London teenager working in a used bookstore, with a fractious relationship with her parents and seeking excitement. When a handsome American comes into the shop she thinks her prayers have been answered. In a dual timeline we read about Anya, working with the resistance in WWII France. The bulk of the novel takes place in 1960s London, with the backdrop being the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
This was one of those novels where the coincidences just piled up too much to be in any way believable, that the secondary characters involved just happened to walk into the shop where Celia worked etc etc
Whilst I did finish it I did not particularly enjoy the novel and was frustrated and irritated by silly mistakes and those coincidences.
Celia is a London teenager working in a used bookstore, with a fractious relationship with her parents and seeking excitement. When a handsome American comes into the shop she thinks her prayers have been answered. In a dual timeline we read about Anya, working with the resistance in WWII France. The bulk of the novel takes place in 1960s London, with the backdrop being the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
This was one of those novels where the coincidences just piled up too much to be in any way believable, that the secondary characters involved just happened to walk into the shop where Celia worked etc etc
Whilst I did finish it I did not particularly enjoy the novel and was frustrated and irritated by silly mistakes and those coincidences.
Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a decent enough mystery/psychological thriller but I was disappointed by how quickly and simplistically everything was wrapped up at the end.
Rachel, a podcaster, drops everything to travel to Florida after a call from an FBI agents hints at an exclusive story. A young woman has vanished, the only clue being her sudden visit to a convicted felon and him asking her to contact Rachel.
I quite liked the location of the Instagram conference, and it definitely served to highlight the shallowness of social media, but as a result some of the characters felt caricaturish and lacked depth. We also heard part of the story from the killer's POV but the author didn't expand on his motivations.
All in all an enjoyable read and an author I'd read more of
Rachel, a podcaster, drops everything to travel to Florida after a call from an FBI agents hints at an exclusive story. A young woman has vanished, the only clue being her sudden visit to a convicted felon and him asking her to contact Rachel.
I quite liked the location of the Instagram conference, and it definitely served to highlight the shallowness of social media, but as a result some of the characters felt caricaturish and lacked depth. We also heard part of the story from the killer's POV but the author didn't expand on his motivations.
All in all an enjoyable read and an author I'd read more of
The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
An easy read, the tale of three adult adopted sisters, returning home to the highlands for Christmas. Their mother always wants everything to be perfect but strong personalities generally make that impossible.
This year things start to fall apart early on, but will it be the making of the sisters and their relationship?
A few tropes, as you’d expect in a novel of this sort, but likeable, slightly flawed characters with some more unusual elements thrown in.
I gather Christmas is this author’s preferred genre so not likely to be one I’d actively seek out, but enjoyable enough
This year things start to fall apart early on, but will it be the making of the sisters and their relationship?
A few tropes, as you’d expect in a novel of this sort, but likeable, slightly flawed characters with some more unusual elements thrown in.
I gather Christmas is this author’s preferred genre so not likely to be one I’d actively seek out, but enjoyable enough
In It to Win It by Sharon C. Cooper
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Took me a while to warm up to the characters in this book, but ultimately it was an enjoyable enough light summer read.
Former college sweethearts reconnect when they find themselves competing to buy the same commercial property in LA. There wasn't a lot of substance to either of the main characters, but I did like the slight twist of having the younger siblings involved.
I was slightly irritated by the constant referring to "my woman" but that might be a cultural thing
Not an author I'd actively seek out or avoid
Former college sweethearts reconnect when they find themselves competing to buy the same commercial property in LA. There wasn't a lot of substance to either of the main characters, but I did like the slight twist of having the younger siblings involved.
I was slightly irritated by the constant referring to "my woman" but that might be a cultural thing
Not an author I'd actively seek out or avoid
The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was an easy beach read, but not much more than that.
Two best friends, living thousands of miles apart, have daughters of the same age and at the same time, all 4 of their lives start to fall apart. Jess and Caitlin return from Charleston to Jess' home town of Cape Cod and of course everything falls into place!
The characters were all OK but a little flat, for some reason I couldn't keep the mother/daughter pairings straight all the way through the book which is not a good sign, but everyone needs a bit of fluff on vacation.
Not an author I'd actively seek out, but was OK
Two best friends, living thousands of miles apart, have daughters of the same age and at the same time, all 4 of their lives start to fall apart. Jess and Caitlin return from Charleston to Jess' home town of Cape Cod and of course everything falls into place!
The characters were all OK but a little flat, for some reason I couldn't keep the mother/daughter pairings straight all the way through the book which is not a good sign, but everyone needs a bit of fluff on vacation.
Not an author I'd actively seek out, but was OK
Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was at times quite a challenging book, as we see how quickly a seemingly respectable person's life can spiral out of control when they are thrown a curveball.
Emma seems to have it all, a great career, a loving husband and son, and is recovering from her difficult childhood, having lost her parents at a young age. When her son is diagnosed with a serious cancer, and the prognosis looks bad, their medical bills soon spiral out of control and she finds herself selling opioids to pay the bills and get him the treatment he needs.
This was pretty well-written and kept the pages turning, but it all seemed to happen a bit too quickly for my liking, and I'm not sure how realistic the time scale of her descent really was.
A good eye-opener to not just the opioid crisis, but more importantly the farce that is the US medical system that would see a young child die if the family doesn't have hundreds of thousands of dollars available.
Emma seems to have it all, a great career, a loving husband and son, and is recovering from her difficult childhood, having lost her parents at a young age. When her son is diagnosed with a serious cancer, and the prognosis looks bad, their medical bills soon spiral out of control and she finds herself selling opioids to pay the bills and get him the treatment he needs.
This was pretty well-written and kept the pages turning, but it all seemed to happen a bit too quickly for my liking, and I'm not sure how realistic the time scale of her descent really was.
A good eye-opener to not just the opioid crisis, but more importantly the farce that is the US medical system that would see a young child die if the family doesn't have hundreds of thousands of dollars available.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse and Murder
Always On My Mind by Beth Moran
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A fun light-hearted romance with slightly unusual main characters. Jessie is forced to return home after losing her home, job and boyfriend all at the same time.
She finds herself through working with seniors, and ultimately rekindles the spark with her high school boyfriend who suffered a TBI
She finds herself through working with seniors, and ultimately rekindles the spark with her high school boyfriend who suffered a TBI
T'ree Tins of Turpentine: Dirt Poor and Irish in Sixties Leicester - One Family's True Story by Tim O'Sullivan
medium-paced
2.0
I know this was a self-published memoir, but really, they needed a good editor! Names were mis-spelled from one paragraph to the next, lots of repetition and ultimately read like a stream of consciousness with incomplete sentences.
Interesting in the loosest sense of the world, but really I had no interest in hearing this self-indulgent trouble-maker's story
Interesting in the loosest sense of the world, but really I had no interest in hearing this self-indulgent trouble-maker's story