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dana_reads_travels's reviews
2347 reviews
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand
3.5
Just a fun beachy read. I have read quite a few EH books and while some are fine there are quite a few that are just really good. This was one of them. :)
House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen
4.5
4.5 rounded up
Ok. I have read every Sarah Pekkanen from her early days in women's fiction. I can honestly say I have enjoyed all of her books.
As for her thrillers, they have been really good. The Wife Between Us was a massive hit and I felt when she separated from co writing her book Gone Tonight from 2023 was her best since then. Then she writes House of Glass and I can honestly say I have found my favorite SP thriller book.
I was absolutely hooked from page 1. This fast paced thriller was well written and characters to cheer for an despise. Stella was fleshed out enough as a main character that you felt for her in every situation, and she was not one the protagonists you yell at the whole time. The Barclay family is dysfunctional, which just made the story that much better. But they were not so dysfunctional that you had to suspend belief, which for me tends to be a turn off sometimes.
About 75% of the way through the book, SP did throw something in for Stella's life that honestly just felt forced. Like it's fine and it didn't really change the story. It just felt like "where did that come from"?
I obviously recommend this one highly!
Ok. I have read every Sarah Pekkanen from her early days in women's fiction. I can honestly say I have enjoyed all of her books.
As for her thrillers, they have been really good. The Wife Between Us was a massive hit and I felt when she separated from co writing her book Gone Tonight from 2023 was her best since then. Then she writes House of Glass and I can honestly say I have found my favorite SP thriller book.
I was absolutely hooked from page 1. This fast paced thriller was well written and characters to cheer for an despise. Stella was fleshed out enough as a main character that you felt for her in every situation, and she was not one the protagonists you yell at the whole time. The Barclay family is dysfunctional, which just made the story that much better. But they were not so dysfunctional that you had to suspend belief, which for me tends to be a turn off sometimes.
About 75% of the way through the book, SP did throw something in for Stella's life that honestly just felt forced. Like it's fine and it didn't really change the story. It just felt like "where did that come from"?
I obviously recommend this one highly!
The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy.
I really enjoyed this thriller/suspense. It was well written and it had enough depth to the plot. Each character’s story was well done. Stella was extremely likable. The Europe travel made me jealous. LOL
Def recommend this one!
I really enjoyed this thriller/suspense. It was well written and it had enough depth to the plot. Each character’s story was well done. Stella was extremely likable. The Europe travel made me jealous. LOL
Def recommend this one!
Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
4.0
Thank you to the publisher for a free Netgalley.
I found this to just be super fun and cute. I enjoyed this one immensely. I am not a huge romance reader, but this is what I needed at this moment. I loved that miscommunication was not a trope in this book, as I truly hate that.
Though this had some predictability, I enjoyed both characters and secondary characters a lot. Which made this easier to enjoy!
Great debut novel!
I found this to just be super fun and cute. I enjoyed this one immensely. I am not a huge romance reader, but this is what I needed at this moment. I loved that miscommunication was not a trope in this book, as I truly hate that.
Though this had some predictability, I enjoyed both characters and secondary characters a lot. Which made this easier to enjoy!
Great debut novel!
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
4.0
Thank you Atria for a Netgalley!
Well this was creepy AF. Like no joke couldn’t read it at night in the bedroom if my husband wasn’t reading next to me.
This reminded me of the preview for The Strangers, which I’ve never watched. But the line when she asks why they’re doing this and they say “Because you were home”. The book is the same level of freakiness to me.
Love the premise and it took a hot minute for the interludes to really strike home.
My biggest qualm was the fact I have a few unanswered questions that made the plot feel like it had holes.
But overall, this was a great horror book and I cannot wait for the adaptation!
Well this was creepy AF. Like no joke couldn’t read it at night in the bedroom if my husband wasn’t reading next to me.
This reminded me of the preview for The Strangers, which I’ve never watched. But the line when she asks why they’re doing this and they say “Because you were home”. The book is the same level of freakiness to me.
Love the premise and it took a hot minute for the interludes to really strike home.
My biggest qualm was the fact I have a few unanswered questions that made the plot feel like it had holes.
But overall, this was a great horror book and I cannot wait for the adaptation!
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Nico is a small child in a 28 year old body. The girlfriend— whose name I can’t be bothered to look up— is meh.
Read some reviews to see if I should keep going and I’m not in the mood for a survival story.
Read some reviews to see if I should keep going and I’m not in the mood for a survival story.