tracyt223's reviews
1431 reviews

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.  Think the BAU on the hit show Criminal Minds. 
When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer.

This story was a fast paced thriller, full of mysteries and puzzles.  I was drawn in right away and found the story hard to put down. I loved Gardner and the rest of the team members too.  This is a fantastic start to a series and cannot wait for the next one.  If you loved Criminal Minds or just a great police/FBI procedural then this one is for you! The audio narration was really well done by Will Damron also.

Many thanks to @netgally and @macmillanaudio for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.  Pub date 01/28/25

 How do you find yourself after you lose the one you loved the most?

Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not.

Lenny is a complete mess after losing her best friend Lou. She can't sleep, eat or even go back to her own apartment which they shared. She's been making ends meet by being a nanny. She happens into a job for Reese, watching her little girl Ainsley while she travels for her job. We then meet Miles, Ainsley's uncle. As we get to know Miles, we learn that he is dealing with a lot also, which is misinterpreted as grumpy. Miles agrees to help Lenny with her "learn to live again" list. But he just may end up helping himself as much as he helps her. This is a super slow burn type of romance. At times I felt it was a little too long. But I loved them as characters and was rooting for them all along. Ainsley is such a cute character too, she was so spunky and helped draw Miles out too. Overall, a really cute romance with some pretty heavy themes of grief. I have come to really love this author's voice and will continue to read whatever she writes next.

Thank you to @netgally and @randomhousepublishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Publishes March 4, 2025. 

Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she’ll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father’s—now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox—lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox’s centuries-old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents’ secret, just as she’s falling in love for the first time . . .
 
This was a pretty slow start for me and I never really felt that connected to the characters.  I wanted much more of her visits to the Lennox estate, I found that setting very interesting.  Also, for me the payoff for the "big mystery" just wasn't worth it.  

This was a Read With Jenna pick and I like a lot of her picks, but this one was just off the mark a bit for me.  The audiobook was very well done though, I always enjoy listening to Saskia Maarleveld.

After a nine month long maternity leave for her daughter Polly, Cam is returning to her job as a literary agent.  When she gets up, her husband, Luke isn't there and has left her a bit of a cryptic note.  She doesn't think a whole lot about it, she's stressed about dropping Polly at daycare and getting back into the swing of her job.  Once she gets there, she sees breaking news.  There is a hostage situation unfolding and she learns that her husband is involved.  But not as a hostage, he's the gunman.  She is in total shock and just can't believe that her husband would do something like this.  The police call in hostage negotiator, Niall to try to diffuse the situation.  Things don't go as planned leaving Cam devastated and Niall wrecked with guilt.  We then flash to seven years later and pick up both threads.  The first section was super fast paced and had me on edge.  Once we move forward, the story really changed pacing and slowed down.  We learn more about Cam and how she has tried to move on.  We also get to know her sister much better, who is really struggling with fertility.  The sisters each try to be there for each other, while each dealing with their own problems.  Niall not only has professional issues, but personal ones too, as his wife left him the day of the siege.  This really cements the two issues in his mind. I loved watching them both try to get to the truth behind what really happened that day.  Overall, a really good thriller with quite a few twists.  The pacing was off a bit in the middle, but I was pulled back in for the ending.  I really enjoy this author's writing and will definitely keep reading whatever she writes.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrow for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.  Publishes 02/25/2025.

Grady Green is a NYT bestselling author whose life has been turned upside down. After calling his wife to share the news, he hears Abby slam on the brakes and tells him she sees someone lying in the road.  He begs her not to get out of the car, but of course she does anyway, then nothing, total silence.  He finds her car abandoned by a cliffside, but she's nowhere to be found.  A year later he is struggling to move on with no answers and has developed terrible writer's block.  He is given an opportunity to go to a remote cabin on a Scottish Island to try to get back to writing.  Once he arrives he realizes there is no cell service, or phones and no way to really leave.  The island is definitely a character in it's self and it provided the perfect creepy, off balance vibe.  As we go along a lot of strange things start to happen, including Grady seeing what he thinks is his missing wife.  You're never really quite sure who or what to believe, is Grady loosing it or are these things for real.  It definitely keeps you guessing.  Some of the plot twists were a bit predictable and I am just wasn't crazy about the direction that the ending went, it just felt over the top and a bit off the rails.  I think this book had a lot of the classic Alice Feeney writing and plot that I love, and I will definitely keep reading anything she writes.  This one just wasn't my favorite of hers, but still good.  The audiobook was very well done with dual narration and also some atmospheric sounds thrown in as well.  
Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.  Publishes 01/14/2025

I really loved Big Fan from this imprint, and was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it just didn't work nearly as well for me. A lot of the story was based around cheating and I just didn't enjoy that. Plus it was just way to insta love for me. Max and Shera didn't know each other at all, yet they instantly bare their souls to each other. I just didn't buy it. Plus the writing seemed a little stilted and jumpy. I kept finding I had to go back and reread to see what was happening, it seemed to skip around in the story at times.

I look forward to seeing what the imprint puts out next and hopefully will be more like the first story. 

This novel deeply explores a married couple in their golden years, from when they met across big ups, deep downs, and survive-it-all, opposites-attract love.

Abe and Ruth meet through mutual friends, set up an a pretty awful blind date.  But despite the start, these two get together and spend the next seventy years married and devoted to each other.  The story starts in the present timeline as we see Abe turning 90 and then we go back and forth to how they met, and follow them through several decades of life together.  They marry, move to a farm on Bainbridge Island and raise 4 children together.  Their path was definitely not an easy one, they are two very different people, which causes lots of strife and many problems through the years.  But deep down, they have such a strong and abiding love for one another.  Something as simple as a loose tooth for Ruth turns into so much more.  We watch these two come to terms with their past and prepare for the twilight years together.  Neither one is sure how they will make it without the other when the worst comes around.  I did not always like Ruth as a person, and really questioned a lot of her decisions.  Abe could be quite set in his ways and difficult too.  It was a testament to love watching them stick it out through the rough times and be there for each other when they were really needed.  If you enjoy a book with older protagonists, give this one a try. 

A podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating—but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love? Cecily loves making podcasts and she fiercely protects those she's close to, coworkers, friends and family.  After a disastrous breakup with a former colleague, she is left with a broken heart and broken dreams after he steals her ideas and the show she's worked so hard on.  Her boss, (a complete jerk, lol) then pressures her into a new podcast where she reluctantly agrees to a dating coach who sets her up on 20 blind dates in order to find true love.  Once she agrees, she has a chance encounter with a a big, loveable dog and the man who is chasing him down the street.  From here she keeps running into Will and things get really complicated from there.  

I have loved Holmes previous two books, Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo, and was beyond thrilled to receive this advanced copy from @netgalley and @randomhouse.  This one was no exception, and Linda Holmes is now solidly in the "auto by author" category for me!  She writes such fun and interesting characters, and I am always drawn right into their stories.  These are always people I always root for, and I was definitely rooting for Cecily and Will the whole way through.  Also a pretty entertaining look at the current state of dating, online influencers and a bit of behind the scenes look at the behind the scenes of podcasting.  

Be sure to put this one on your list! Publishes on 02/25/2025

Maddie Sanderson would be proud to honor her older brother’s dying wish, that she scatters his ashes over eight destinations that the adventurous 29-year-old never got to visit before he died from cancer. But in his will, Josh assigned her an impossible partner to help complete the mission—Dominic Perry. Seriously, if Maddie weren’t already at his funeral, she would have killed him for this. 

We then follow Maddie and Dominic as they try to honor Josh's last wishes.  The destinations take them all over the country and definitely push Maddie way outside of her comfort zone.  I really enjoyed these 2 as characters and watching them try to navigate their grief and figure out what all this means for their lives and futures.  Maddie's family, her Mother and Grandmother were truly awful people and treated her so badly her entire life.  Meanwhile, Dom's family is amazing and always helped give Maddie what she needed.  Great story of found family and also figuring out that you're usually a lot stronger than you think you are.  

The  audiobook was really well done, Karissa Vacker was great as always.  The only downside for me was it did seem a little long.  But overall it was a good read and enjoyable!

This is a very different reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, set in a mythical Alaska landscape.  The writing was at times beautiful and very atmospheric, but it got a little too wordy for me and I found myself skimming in certain sections.  Especially in Part Two.  I found the main character of Birdie, very dislikable and I just could not get onboard with her decisions.  Especially where her daughter was concerned.  Then we have the "beast" character of Arthur.  I can't really go too much into why he didn't work for me.  Let's just say that it was super weird and not something I feel could really happen.  You really had to suspend disbelief here.  

This one may work for the correct reader, I just didn't connect to it myself.  Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.