tessa_talks_books's reviews
1150 reviews

Bye, Baby isn’t a psychological thriller, as I was expecting. I would consider it psychological suspense, though, and it is an intriguing psychological study of the two main characters, Billie and Cassie, separately and together.

There aren’t any likable characters - they are all flawed and need counseling for big and small reasons. Billie and Cassie tell this dual timeline story in somewhat unreliable ways alternatingly. The past timeline seems unimportant, but clues are hidden to Billie and Cassie’s psychological state in each flashback, making it essential to understanding the current timeline and choices.

I enjoyed the few surprising twists and the fast-pace. I also found the evolution of a friendship tragically intriguing - as both characters progress in their life in vastly different ways. The ending is delightfully thought-provoking, and I bought into it as a possibility, considering everything.  

I also enjoyed the social media aspect. It wasn’t a vast aspect, but it is very now and fits Cassie’s psychological framework - it filled her need to present the perfect picture to the world. If you like psychological studies - you will love reading this story and dissecting the main characters!

A Haunting in the Arctic is a beautifully tragic story that held me in its grip from beginning to end. The story is told mainly in a dual timeline - a 1901 story featuring Nicky, who finds herself on a whaling vessel after being attacked in the street, and a current-day timeline featuring Dominique, who is filming the same boat (as in the 1901 timeline) that has since run aground and is slated to be pulled out to sea and allowed to sink.

I loved the Selkie Wife folklore that is threaded throughout the story. It’s just the perfect fit for this story, which is shockingly challenging and disturbing but ultimately heart-wrenching. I was fascinated by learning about the folklore and watching it play out in this story.

Both timelines’ stories are as harsh as the environment, which is vividly detailed and almost gothic in its oppressive atmospheric feel. I had to speed-read through quite a few more brutal scenes. Still, I’m so glad I stuck with it because the ending, which brought it all together - the two timelines and the various side stories - touched my heart profoundly.

A Haunting in the Arctic is beautifully written, heart-wrenchingly authentic, and delightfully crafted in the most challenging and perfect ways.

One More Breath by Ginny Sain is incredibly atmospheric from beginning to end, giving me that underwater feeling like when they're free diving in the story. This also kept the intensity strong and the pages flipping. You can imagine that I did not want to put this one down.

All the teens felt much older than their chronological years, especially Tru and Rio, who teamed up to solve an unsolved murder from 20 years prior. I loved all the small details, the red herrings and misdirections, and the shocking twists and turns. It worked seamlessly to keep me on the edge of my seat, not knowing what to expect.

The setting is just perfect, too, with all its natural dangers as well as the unnatural ones. Just the thought of alligators in the water gives me cold chills, and their presence just notched up what was already at a fever pitch - not to mention the oppressive heat and humidity of a Florida summer.

I don't want to say anymore because this story is one of those that the less you know, the better your reading experience. So, I'll end it by saying everything about this story is artfully chosen to create a murder mystery that had me reading long into the night and left me shocked and dumbfounded at the conclusion.

Take Two, Birdie Maxwell is a beautiful story that is much more than a rom-com. It’s an insightful story of Birdie Maxwell’s journey to connect with her authentic self rather than the actress who tries to be what other people want her to be. I loved witnessing her transformation as it felt authentically traveled and completely relatable.

I loved the witty banter. It’s intelligent and funny and helped create a fast pace. I also loved the pairing of Birdie and her best friend’s brother, Elliot. It provided a forbidden-type love (at least in their minds) that came with a lot of delightfully natural tension and felt more realistic than the typical barrier that suddenly pops up near the end, which often happens in this genre. They are a fun pair that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I also got loads of laughs from the real journey that went along with the symbolic one. Just imagining the RV had me laughing out loud. Even though deeper storylines are the most prominent, the romcom-ness of it thoroughly entertained me. The situation created an enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity story, two tropes I enjoy that made the story wholly irresistible and addictive.

I love a story that can entertain and teach me something simultaneously, which I experienced with The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry - the 18th book in the Cotton Malone series. It’s the first book I’ve read in this series. I had no trouble immersing myself without the knowledge from the previous 17 stories, so you can read it as a stand-alone book.

The story is fast-paced, with short chapters and lots of action, which I loved. The plot is fascinating, as it taught me about Bitcoin and the vaults of gold in banks in Switzerland - kept there by entities and individuals who don’t want anyone to know they have it. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The only issue I had while reading was that so many names begin with the letter K or the letter C with the k sound. It grew confusing as the story switched around POVs, and I couldn’t remember which character was which.

The personal plotlines that weave their way in and out of the main story are equally as compelling. And I loved how it ended with a personal story cliffhanger that had me speculating what was to come for the main character, Cotton Malone.

 I picked up this Danielle Steel book because I haven't read a book by her since my early twenties (maybe even my teens - she was a favorite of my mother, so they were always around the house for reading). Unfortunately, I'm not ready yet to read about explosions in NYC - even if they are fictional. I may never be. It just feels too real. Besides that, I enjoyed the beautiful people in beautiful places with lots of money, which I remember from Steel's books all those years ago.

I loved the journey Kezia traversed in this story. She had to figure out who she was now that she was a widow, her daughters were out of the nest, and she decided to move from San Francisco to New York City. Her old life is gone, and how she bravely forges a new life is inspiring.  

I also loved the family themes and the various relationships within the families. Kate's struggles were particularly touching. She needed to resolve why her biological father had never been in her life in her own mind. The many unanswered questions weighed her down and made her unable to open up to new experiences and relationships. I loved watching her face that relationship head-on.

Never Too Late is a beautiful look at family members in transition and the bravery it takes to achieve self-actualization.

 

Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison introduced me to a creative new fantasy world, though my reading experience was mixed. For the first time ever, I found myself tired of reading a particular word. It was said many times on every page, and I'm not sure what it was about this word - because it was essential to the story - but seeing it so many times irritated me. I am still trying to figure out what to make of that, so I won't say any more.

The magic system, however, and the world both intrigued me. The world is developed very well. I understood the different sides and their ideals. The magic system was more of an enigma. The by-product is something called dross, a word in our own language that means rubbish, and that's basically what it is - magical rubbish. But there is much more to be learned about this system.

The story is about Petra Grady, a Sweeper of dross whose life is turned upside down when the current magic system of mages and sweepers is blown to pieces. She has to reidentify herself as what she truly is. The pacing is fast, and the thrills are non-stop. I sped-read my way through the story with all of its twists and turns. And I loved where it ended with a lovely soft conclusion rather than a cliffhanger.

Murder Road by Simone St. James is as creepy as the blurb makes it sound. I stayed up long into the night reading it and loved every minute of the creepiness, tension, and ghostly sitings. Usually, ghosts scare the bejesus out of me, but they add just the right amount of thrills and mystery to this story.

I loved the lore aspect because small-town lore fascinates me, even in fictional towns. The townspeople believe that the Lost Girl (the ghost of someone found dead on the side of Atticus Line - aka. Murder Road - in the 70s) is still haunting the road and murdering hitchhikers that are going to and from a small beach on the lake where free-spirits tend to stay. But the police are trying to find actual corporeal killers. The story is based on discovering who the murderer is and whether or not there is any truth to the lore.

The mystery of who stabbed (and killed) the girl April and Eddie found walking along Atticus Line is so complex, especially when so many unexpected pieces come into play. I loved every minute of trying to figure it out. There are plenty of red herrings and loads of thrills, plus a fun pair of sisters (who reminded me of the Frog brothers but more intelligent and strategic) who bring it all together and offer a townie's POV.

The atmosphere is perfect, especially when the main characters - April and Eddie - are traveling along the road. It's described in such a creepy, repressive way that the terror comes naturally to the reader and the characters. It's just a perfect blend of paranormal and mystery that created a story I couldn't put down.

Finlay Donovan’s mix of mom humor and thrilling action sequences never disappoints. The newest book in the series, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice, kept me in stitches from beginning to end and even worried me for a while.

Like the other books in the series, Rolls the Dice is fast-paced with plenty of action and deception. Finlay is the everywoman who brings a relatability to entirely unrelatable situations. She manages to care for her children and career while taking down bad guys and burying bodies.

I loved that I got to learn more about Vero. Her childhood and love interest are laid bare in this installment. I enjoyed learning about this once-elusive character who encourages Finlay to do crazy things. The character development now aligns with her role in the series.

The romance between Finlay and Nick is very intriguing. Everyone loves the pairing except her ex-husband, and I agree wholeheartedly. Still, as the events unfold in Atlantic City - an edge is added to the relationship that adds an interesting twist that I can’t wait to see play out.

Another excellent installment in the Finlay Donovan series - one that I thoroughly enjoyed!

 

One-word review: Breathtaking

Emojis: 🫣🥰🥹

Rating: 5 🌟s
 
My thoughts:

Heartless Hunter simply took my breath away - from its detailed world-building to its emotional love story and every point in between. I found myself instantly pulled into its world and sped my way through all of the action, tears, and subterfuge, and now I have to wait for its conclusion patiently. In saying that, I LOVED that the story ended in a soft conclusion or a transition point. It would have made me even more of an emotional wreck than I already was had it ended with a cliffhanger.

The story is a loose retelling of the Scarlet Pimpernel, but you see that the most in the tragic aspects of the tale more than anything. Unlike Scarlet Pimpernel, Heartless Hunter has magic and witches, which I loved. The magic system is well described, and the power struggles between the witches and the humans are described just enough for the reader to understand the situation, but not in so much detail that it slows the pacing of the story down.

The enemies-to-lovers chemistry between Rune - the main character and camouflaged witch - and Gideon - our male lead and witch hunter - is palpable, making their story much more emotional. I loved that will-they-won’t-they angle with the added complication of Gideon’s brother being one of Rune’s best friends who loves her in secret. It’s such a deliciously messy situation, and watching it play out took me on a complete emotional roller coaster.

This fantastic story swept me away into a world of witches and witch hunters, and I can’t wait for book 2 to come out!