thereadingraccoon's reviews
1495 reviews

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Summer Romance is a contemporary adult romance about a thirty-something mom of three who navigates love again after the back-to-back losses of her mother and her marriage.

When Summer Romance opens, Ali is living in old sweatpants and barely keeping her house together a year after her husband announced he was leaving. She has never quite recovered from losing her mother and keeps busy doing the bookkeeping for her friend Frannie’s diner and working as a professional organizer. But a chance encounter at the dog park brings an exciting opportunity for love and romance into her life when she least expects it. She’ll have to decide if pursuing a relationship that could end when summer does is worth risking her heart.

This is a sweet and swoony romance between a mom who is finding herself and her voice for the first time, and a fun and thoughtful man. I loved the banter between the characters and their chemistry. It was nice to enjoy a well-written grown-up romance without a bunch of the same old tropes. This couple faces real-life obstacles and must find a way to be together without giving up who they are. I also appreciated the lesson about living in the moment and not regretting loving someone (or a dog) even when you know that you’ll most likely lose them.

I highly recommend Summer Romance!
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If Something Happens to Me is a twisty crime thriller about a missing person’s case that gets reopened five years later.

Five years earlier, Ryan Richardson’s girlfriend, Ali, is kidnapped right in front of him while they were parked on a Lover’s Lane in Lexington, Kansas. Ryan’s recollection of what happened is hazy because he was struck on the head and didn’t see who took her or where they went in her car, but he becomes the main suspect in the court of public opinion. But five years later her car, which has remained missing since that night, is found in a nearby lake with two unidentified men, Ali’s purse, and an encrypted note in her writing that says, “If something happens to me.” The story of that night and what happened to Ali is told through alternating points of view: a brand new deputy sheriff, Ryan under a new name on a college trip to Italy, and the head of an organized crime family in Pittsburgh.

This is a fast-paced and enjoyable mystery and thriller with twists and turns.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Audiobook Notes: If Something Happens to Me is narrated by Paul Dateh, Helen Laser, and John Pirhalla, who do an excellent job bringing the three different points of view to life.
Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure by Lorenzo Carcaterra

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure is the third book in the cozy mystery series by Lorenzo Carcaterra. In this latest installment, Nonna Maria helps a young lady whose grandfather left her a “treasure map” on his deathbed and tries to keep her friend and local carabinieri Captain Murino from getting assassinated by an organized crime syndicate.

When former mob hitman Il Presidente spots a man in his old line of work on Ischia, he makes sure the man knows that if he does anything to hurt Nonna Maria or the people she cares about, there will be trouble. But Captain Murino of the local carabinieri crossed an organized syndicate when he worked in Naples, and they are out for revenge. While Nonna Maria calls on her friends to help Murino, she is also approached by the granddaughter of an old friend trying to understand a treasure map he left her. Nonna Maria reaches out to her old friend the Pirate and a mysterious figure known as The Magician to help her navigate the beach caves around Ischia to find the treasure.

Like the other books in the Nonna Maria series, this is a low-stress mystery where a widow beloved by her island is able to help her friends using her connections and calling in favors. I loved the details about the Castello Aragonese, its torture museum, and the Cemetery of Dead Nuns, which were deliciously gruesome. I always look forward to the Nonna Maria books because I know I’ll get some sleuthing on a beautiful Italian island.
Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Better Left Unsent is a contemporary romance novel about a receptionist at a TV broadcast company whose world is upended when the entire contents of her email drafts folder are sent to her co-workers, friends, family, and an ex-boyfriend.

Twenty-nine-year-old Millie Chandler has been writing bluntly honest, semi-savage, and emotionally vulnerable emails to the people in both her work and personal life for two years without the intention of ever sending them. But overnight, all of the emails were sent like little truth bombs, and Millie is left to face the consequences. Helping her navigate feelings of guilt and remorse are her adorable roommate Ralph, best friends Cate and Petra, and possible love interest Jack.

This is really a book about emotional honesty and how keeping so much of ourselves hidden and secret out of fear and shame is to our detriment. Millie had to have some honest conversations with everyone to get past what happened and start living life on her own terms. There is a lot of cute banter, strong friendships, and I loved the coastal U.K. setting. I did not enjoy the storyline about her parents and the issues they were having in their marriage (ick for including their daughter in this conversation) and felt like it wasn’t really that big of a deal and could have been left out. But it did add to the overall thread about keeping secrets.

Although I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as some of her previous books, it was still enjoyable and a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.
Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Book Review: Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

Not Like Other Girls is a young adult contemporary novel about a high school senior investigating her former best friend’s disappearance.

Jo-Lynn has been on the outs with her friend group for a long time, so she’s shocked when her neighbor and former BFF, Maddie, asks for her help and then disappears. Jo-Lynn wants to find out what Maddie wanted from her and where she went, but her only way back into the popular crowd is through a fake relationship proposed by her classmate, Hudson. While investigating Maddie, she is forced to face her own past and the various ways that she, too, was betrayed and victimized by the people in her life.

This is an excellent book for readers of all ages that puts a spotlight on toxic friend groups, academic dishonesty, sexual double standards, and predatory behavior towards minors. It also has an enjoyable romantic storyline and a realistic portrayal of parents who are neither conveniently perfect or absent.

🎧 Audiobook notes: Not Like Other Girls was narrated by Georgina Sadler, who does a great job with the various teen and adult voices, both male and female.

 * a free audiobook copy of Not Like Other Girls was provided by LibroFM for review purposes
The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Book Review: The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse

The Brightwood Code is a young adult historical novel and mystery about a young woman haunted by her past as a “Hello Girl” during World War I.

Etta is back in the U.S. after her service in France as one of the switchboard operators for the army. This group of women had to translate calls in French and English and memorize the many changing military code words used in both languages. She is haunted by what happened over there, especially the memory of a group of young men killed during an operation on her last day. But during a shift at her new job as a Bell operator in Washington D.C., a whispered voice comes over the line saying the word “Brightwood”. Only a small group of people on the other side of the ocean know that word, and her fear is that her mistake on her last day in France has caught up with her.

This is an intriguing mystery and historical novel that captures a time when young women were placed in impossible situations both in their work and personal life yet still didn’t have fundamental rights. Etta is clearly suffering, and Monica Hesse does a great job showing that to the reader without giving too much away. I also enjoyed the small romantic storyline between Etta and her neighbor Theo and his attempts to help her solve the mystery caller.

I highly recommend The Brightwood Code and look forward to reading more from Monica Hesse.
Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Beastly Beauty is a young adult gender-swapped retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," featuring a thief who wanders into a castle in search of food and riches and a young woman who has been trapped there for a hundred years.

Beau and his band of thieves cannot believe their luck when they stumble upon a castle with the gates wide open and food ready on the table. But when a beast appears and they run for their lives, only Beau doesn’t make it across the bridge before it crashes into the moat. When he meets the lady of the house (Arabella), he discovers that the castle is under an enchantment, and he won’t be able to leave. He will need to outsmart Arabella’s court of strange women, build a new bridge across the moat, and help her break the curse if he ever wants to return to Barcelona to help his ailing younger brother.

This "Beauty and the Beast" retelling started strong with Beau and his band of thieves but quickly lost steam. I found the curse overly complicated with too many players, and the reason behind it disappointing. Since we already know the original story, at the very least, a retelling can provide a few fresh takes and be entertaining, and I didn’t find either of those to be true. There are some interesting thoughts based on other fairy tales, which I appreciated and wished this book had. Unfortunately, the chemistry between Beau and Arabella didn’t jump off the page, and the various court women with their scrambled-up names based on emotions (Rega, Espidra, Hesma, etc.) became annoying as the book went on. I spent the last 20% just wanting to wrap everything up and see how the curse would be resolved.

Beastly Beauty has a beautiful cover and attempts to look at "Beauty and the Beast" in a new way with female empowerment, self-love, and forgiveness as the main themes. But the overly complicated curse, courtly women with their word scramble names, and the lack of chemistry between Beau and Arabella made it a slog for me.

2.5 stars 
Oracle by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Oracle is a paranormal horror novel about a group of people affected by the discovery of a ghost ship stranded in the middle of a field in the Netherlands.

The character of Robert Grim is back after the devastation of the cursed town of Black Spring. Now something paranormal has occurred, and he’s pulled out of his life as a hermit in Atlantic City to investigate. An 18th-century ship has appeared overnight in a farmer’s field in the Netherlands, and every local who has gone inside to investigate has never reappeared. The ship becomes a political tool of various covert government and military groups, and Grim is quickly sidelined despite his expertise. In order to save young Luca (a teenager who lost both his best friend and father to the ship), Grim will have to stay one step ahead of the Dutch secret service and its villainous operative, Eleanor. But the ship is just part of a long unfulfilled desire of devastation by an ancient being, and Luca is the key to discovering what it wants.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book when it was limited to the terror of what the ship can do and the addition of Robert Grim (who could be an elderly Fox Mulder by this point), but then it goes off the rails, and I wasn’t sure what was happening. Whether it’s cultural or lost in translation, I just didn’t vibe with the last portion of the book or the overarching ancient evil and what it was asking.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Audio notes: Oracle was narrated by Nathaniel Priestley, who does an excellent job with the story, but it seemed on the slow side, and I felt like it flowed better sped up to 1.25x.

* A free advanced copy of Oracle was provided by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Daughters of Shandong is a historical fiction novel about a woman and her children who face nearly insurmountable odds when China falls to communism.

Hai, her sisters (Di and Lan), and her mother (Chiang-Yue) have been living as second-class citizens in their home in the Shandong countryside. As landowners, they live in relative luxury, but without a male heir, her mother’s position in the household is low, and she’s often ridiculed and punished by her cruel mother-in-law. When they are warned that the Communist army is marching toward Shandong, it is decided that Chiang-Yue will stay behind with her daughters to defend their land and that the rest of the family will move to a safer location without the extra female mouths to feed. But immediately, the house is seized by the Communist army, and thirteen-year-old Hai is punished in place of her absent father, grandfather, and uncle. In fear for their lives, Chiang-Yue and her children will flee their province and become refugees with no money and protection while trying to reunite with the rest of their family in the middle of a civil war. Constantly on the move, they find unimaginable poverty and conditions along with small pockets of kindness and community.

Daughters of Shandong is a fascinating story of an era where women and girls are held in such little regard within their own family that it can cost them their lives. But Chiang-Yue’s difficult life under her mother-in-law and love for her daughters made her resourceful and strong even in the most dire circumstances. The reader can’t help but root for them to defy the odds and prosper despite their circumstances. The book is nicely paced with plenty of plot along with character and historical detail. I really enjoyed the author's note where she explained her inspiration and research. I look forward to reading more from Eve J. Chung in the future.
888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers by Abraham Chang

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funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers is a coming-of-age novel about a young "American Born Chinese" man searching for the meaning of life and love through numbers.

Young Wang is growing up in Queens in the late '80s with his elegant spokesmodel mother and professor father. He has an adorable younger sister he loves, and a world-traveling uncle who has taught him the power and magic of numbers. As he grows up and the world moves into the 1990s, he counts the girls he's loved, looking toward the magical final love—the predicted lucky number seven. But first, he falls for number six, Erena, a smart and confident fellow college student at NYU. Is Erena going to be his final number seven, or is there still more adventures in love out there for Young Wang?

Abraham Chang plays with song playlists, movie and pop culture references, along with the superstition around numbers. I enjoyed his letters from his fun-loving globe-trotting uncle but not the imaginary conversations with film directors. Despite knowing this was a coming-of-age novel, I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but it never did, making the final chapters and epilogue feel rather slow and drawn out. Although I loved the humor and energy of the characters, I wanted a little more action and surprises.

Rating: 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Audiobook notes: This book is expertly narrated by Eunice Wong. I seriously thought it had multiple narrators because she did such a great job with the various characters, accents, and non-English terms.