ARC

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Beautiful, fit, smart, on the surface Lily Lennox appears to be the perfect seasonal employee and lifeguard of the exclusive Riovan Wellness Resort that celebrities, influencers, and the wealthy flock to in the pursuit of healthy “wellness”. While physically matching the social media curated brand look of the resort, Lily hides a hidden motive for her annual Caribbean summer job. A lifeguard when on-duty, vigilante killer of toxic and problematic people off-duty, her fifth year at Riovan starts out like every past summer. That is until an attractive and charismatic guest Daniel Black starts asking the wrong questions, complicating her annual tradition as well as causing her to question her actions, motives, and her hopes of “saving people.” Despite this novel being classified on paper under the romance genre, A Killer Getaway has so much more to offer outside of a possible tropical summer romance. Blending elements of the mystery thriller, crime thriller, literary fiction, and of course a bit of romance, Sienna Sharpe has crafted an extraordinarily well-rounded and ambitious Women’s Fiction/Contemporary drama story that was a consistently…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Mixing elements from both holiday and light magical romance genres, Timothy Janovsky’s A Mannequin for Christmas novel is a light-hearted and cute story perfect for the holidays, though it’s still a solid read outside of the winter months (I read the ARC going into the summer, oops). A cross between the 1980’s movie Mannequin and the classic Disney movie Life Sized, paired with the wishing/midnight hour premise of Cinderella, the story has a charming whimsical feel despite clearly having the light spice and style of an adult romance novel. Likewise, the comedic and sillier moments are nicely balanced out with more serious and somber content, resulting in a well-rounded novel that’s far more ambitious than most holiday themed stories. The story follows Henry’s struggles and insecurities revolving around maintaining his Aunt Isla’s vintage items store as well as his recent breakup, and in a moment of despair, he makes a wish at the afternoon magic hour for a perfect man. Between Henry’s amusing horror at the mannequin/Aidan’s sudden appearance and Aidan’s childlike confusion at how to be a…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Swimming lessons, a hot coast guard rescuer, Key West charm, plus a 160 lb great dane? The Love Haters by Katherine Center has a recipe of elements perfect for a sweet and bubbly summer cocktail of a read. Featuring a fun and light-hearted plot with a bit of added substance from heavier topics like body image and public scrutiny, The Love Haters delivers a solid romcom experience, despite being a bit formulaic and predictable. Although I had a few minor nitpicks regarding the overall pacing and how the novel executed some of its more dramatic moments, I still found it very entertaining and worth reading. Mixing the tropes of a fish out of water (or in this case, surrounded by water) with the disheartened and romance skeptic, Katie’s story is one that’s both fun to read as well as one that’s quite relatable. Apart from the main plot involving Katie trying to produce a promotional film featuring an unwilling real-life hero in an effort to keep her job, there’s a secondary storyline involving body image and self-acceptance. While…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Amazon Original Stories via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Eleven Numbers is a loosely government political/espionage themed thriller involving mathematics and system passwords. Mathematics professor Nathan Tyler is recruited by the US Government to gain access to Russia’s weaponry system protected by encryption designed by a famed (and fictional for the story) Russian mathematician. Consisting of two layers of passcodes, one that has eleven possible numerical options, Tyler is tasked with determining which is the key. Best known for his long-running Jack Reacher series, Lee Child is a veteran of crime thrillers and this short story has good pacing and is engaging to read. As a mathematician and an unorthodox character for a crime thriller, Eleven Numbers obviously lacks the action compared to Child’s other works but makes up for it with unexpected twists and more dialogue-focused “action”. One prominent plot twist flips the whole story on its head and made me want to go back and re-read the 2nd half of the short story to check for earlier signs of the surprise. While the the mathematics angle is unique, I personally felt like the overall premise…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Amazon Original Stories via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Knight and the Butcherbird is an intriguing dark fantasy short story that tells a brief, yet compelling tale in a modern world where shapeshifting monsters or “demons” roam the forests and wastelands. Narrated by Shrike, the rural community’s seventeen year old historian, the short story follows the arrival of legendary Knight who is summoned to the community to kill a demon that had been seen in the area. The only problem is the demon he’s been summoned to kill is Shrike’s wife May, a fellow villager who slowly transformed into a monster. Skillfully invoking a folklore/grimm fairytale vibe and incorporating dystopian and caste elements, The Knight and the Butcherbird is condensed yet imaginative and makes full use of its limited page counts to tell its satisfying and self-contained story. Featuring the Knight’s story within the overall story, I found the focal plot twist involving the Knight’s secret to be well done, with crucial clues subtlety presented within Shrike’s stories. I previously read Harrow’s full-length novel Starling House and while I had some reservations with its plot and…