The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Montague Siblings #1) by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

My Rating: ★★★★★

Monty, the son of an Earl, was meant to be a gentleman. What his family got instead is a partying, gambling, and all around self-absorbed son who got expelled from a prestigious boarding school. After somehow convincing his parents to let him go on a yearlong tour across Europe with his best friend, Percy, and his younger sister, Felicity. Monty prepares himself for a year of partying and hopefully something more than a smooch with his bestie when his dad informs him that this tour is his last chance at cleaning up or he's cut off from the family fortune. Prepared for one long boring trip, Monty finds himself in the middle of a dangerous adventure that brings him closer to Percy and Felicia.

I absolutely love this story. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started it, but what I got is a great set of characters and a historical fictional novel that deals homophobia, racism, and misogyny. Monty is a self-absorbed character who is bisexual in a era that identifying as anything but heterosexual is not accepted. His peers look down on him, his father verbally and physically abuses him, and his partying ways shames his family. Percy is an orphan raised by his father's family who accepts him as a half black man when society does not, but they frown upon him having a disability. Then there's Felicity, who wants to get an academic education and enter the medical field when she's expected to become a respectable future wife and mother.

Monty is such a messy character who puts so much focus on himself that he doesn't notice the things going around him. He had a lot of maturing to do when the story starts, which happens slowly as the story continues. I love that Percy and Felicity don't hesitate to call him out on how much he ignores and doesn't notice as well as his privilege as the story continues. I love the development of Percy and Felicia and would love more focus on them in the next installment.

Overall, the story is hilarious. The trio are attacked by highwaymen, chased by a murderous man that Monty insulted, abducted by pirates, and almost meet their deaths on a sinking island. On top of that, there are many hilarious moments and serious moments that leave you with a solid story. I'm extremely excited that there's going to be a second book because I want to see where the characters go from here.

Forget Her Name by Jane Holland

Forget Her Name by Jane Holland

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Catherine and her family have a huge secret: she has an older sister, Rachel, who died in a skiing accident when Catherine was a pre-teen, and they were all scared of her. Since her death, it's like she never existed. Even daring to speak her name is enough to upset everyone. Years later, Catherine is getting ready to marry the love of her life when someone starts terrorizing her in Rachel's name. Everyone's acting like it couldn't possibly be Rachel because she's been dead for many years. Or is she? What is everyone hiding from Catherine?

This is such an interesting read because it's like one big puzzle that I was sorting out while Catherine was trying to get answers. There's the main set of characters, which include Catherine as well as her parents and fiance. Then there's the characters that pop in and out, such as friends and the people Catherine work with. These characters are presented in a way that made me aware that something was amiss. It's clear that Rachel is the huge ghostly elephant in the room that everyone is avoiding like the plague. As the story continues, we get to know these characters better, including Rachel through Catherine's memories.

The mystery is a slow burn as we watch Catherine become more agitated by whoever is terrorizing her. It starts with someone mailing her Rachel's snow globe with an eye inside of it and slowly escalates to destroying Catherine's property. The odd thing is that no one believes Catherine, not even the police. Everyone thinks she's imagining things, doing it for attention, or that it's stress related and she just doesn't remember. Poor Catherine just wants answers, but no one wants to talk about it. Once the story gets rolling, it quickly spins out of control and we understand exactly what's happening and why everyone was so tight lipped until the 65% mark.

As I got closer to the halfway point, I had more than one theory about what was happening. My first theory was close, but didn't hit the nail on the head. The layers just peel off and I was left with an answer for everything. I was shocked about some of the revelations pertaining to one character that seemed a bit off, but I wasn't sure what it was until the ball was rolling. Sadly, I didn't care for the ending. I understand where Holland was going with it, but it just seemed too good to be true. However, it is a wonderful book and I was sitting on the edge of my seat until the very end and I would read it again.

Hot Blooded (New Orleans #1) by Lisa Jackson

Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson

My Rating: ★★

Samantha Leeds, a psychologist and radio personality known as Sam, is recovering from a trip gone wrong with her ex when she starts getting creepy phone calls and threats from a killer, Father John. He insists that she's a former prostitute who needs to atone for her sins, and he's working his way up to making her his final victim. As his attacks escalate, someone starts haunting her as the voice of a teenager who is believed to have committed suicide after contacting Sam for help. Then she becomes involved with her hot and mysterious new neighbor, Ty Wheeler, who knows a lot more about her than he lets on and he's hiding something big. Sam's head is spinning as she starts to point fingers, unsure who to trust, as Father John gets closer and more violent.

Told in rotating perspectives, we see the story unfold from several different viewpoints, including Father John himself. Sadly, the only character that is well developed is Sam. We barely touch the surface on majority of the characters, including the detectives that return in future installments of this series. I also don't understand why John was so obsessed with Sam and her nonexistent past as a prostitute. I thought he was targeting prostitutes because Sam had been one herself deep in her past, but that's not the case. There are just some things that are a part of the mystery aspect that just don't make sense once I reached the end of the book.

The romance plot was okay. We just didn't learn enough about Ty, and what we did learn, made it seem unrealistic once the romance was in full swing. Although, Sam does have a habit of choosing all the wrong men, so I suppose it does make sense for her. I was mostly put off by the romance aspect because of the mystery plot. One minute, John was raping a murdering someone, and Sam was either being romanced or having sex in the next. I was distressed by John's chapters, so my brain was just not computing the romance.

The title of this book sounds like it's a romantic thriller, but don't let the title fool you. It's a thriller with a romance plot, so if you're looking for a romantic thriller, this might not be the story for you. That said, the mystery aspect of the novel is great. I was convinced that a particular character was Father John for majority of the book and it totally wasn't them. In fact, I didn't even figure out who Father John was until almost the end of the book. All in all, it's not a bad book. I was just put off by the romance in combination with the mystery plot, and I wish the characters were better developed.

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

My Rating: ★★★

Newly widowed, Julie Bishop just discovered that her fairytale life was nothing but a scam because her late husband duped her just as he did the many people he scammed out of every cent they had. She's barely hanging on by a thread when a mysterious man appears at her doorstep and offers her the chance at starting over. The catch? All she has to do is leave everything behind and live at Havenwood as his mother's companion. However, the longer she stays at Havenwood, the more she realizes the huge mistake she's made.

Julia's extremely naive and it's clear that she's an unreliable narrator from the beginning. I don't know about you, but I would be extremely suspicious if someone appeared and offered something that was too good to be true, especially if that person was a stranger. However, like I said, Julia's an unreliable narrator and she doesn't have anything to lose anyway, so she takes this man up on his offer. Personally, I find unreliable narrators more interesting to follow because we have to question their perspective. It adds an extra layer to the story that is being told. Many of the characters are directly linked to the estate's home, such as Drew, who clearly knows Julie even if she doesn't know him yet. I especially enjoyed Amaris Sinclair. She's such a vibrant character that I wouldn't mind hanging out with.

The narration does get repetitive, especially when Julia is faced with something she questions. If you can get past this, you'll enjoy the story. It's also easy to piece together most of what's going on, but the things left unanswered still pack a punch when they're revealed. I found myself glued to the pages and wondering when Julia was going to start piecing things together while enjoying the story. It's well written and has me looking forward to reading other work from Webb. If you're on the market for a ghost story, but you don't want anything that will have you sleeping with the lights on, this is the book for you.

Dark Pines by Will Dean

Dark Pines by Will Dean

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After moving to a rural Swedish town to be closer to her terminally ill mother, Tuva Moodyson finds herself working on a once in a lifetime story for the local newspaper. Tuva starts investigating the murder in connection with a series of similar cold case murders that took place in the same forest. Unfortunately for Tuva, she is forced to keep facing her fear of nature by constantly having to return to the forest during her investigation, which puts her on edge during this already dangerous story.

Tuva is such a well-written protagonist who is relatable from the very beginning. She's continuing the struggle with the death of her father, which leads her to strive to report the facts delicately so that she doesn't cause any additional suffering to the victim's families. Tuva also has a rocky relationship with her mother, which makes her feel guilty even though her feelings are justified. Plus, she's smart, strong, and driven, which makes her an extremely interesting character to follow. She's also deaf and bisexual, and neither of these characteristics are the sole reasons for her presence in the book. It's nice to see some positive representation!

In addition to Tuva, there's a cast of characters that range from fascinating to bizarre and suspicious. There's an eccentric ghost-writer, a man who is believed to have hoarding disorder, sisters who create trolls with a variety of items including some of their own hair, and a seemingly perfect couple hiding failing marriage. There's also Tuva's close friend Tammy, who is being submitted to racism at the hands of the people living in their rural town, and a cast of supportive to silently grumpy co-workers and acquaintances. Each of these characters and their circumstances are brought to life in a way that is easy to see them living their lives somewhere in reality.

The murder mystery is well planned and had me glued to the pages. I found a handful of characters highly suspicious and zeroed in on a character that was not the murderer on the loose in the forest. The way that Dean develops the murder plot is gripping and had me wanting to continue reading even when I couldn't. The case is eerie and jarring but, unfortunately, the killer's motives lack depth. The big reveal is also a bit rushed and the story has an open ending that I wish had been tied up. I think the story could benefit from an additional chapter or two to wrap things up. Regardless, I enjoyed following Tuva through the twists and turns the story takes her through and find myself looking forward to reading more from Dean.

Join by Steve Toutonghi

Join by Steve Toutonghi

My Rating: ★★★★

As humanity faces devastating storms threaten their future on Earth, new technology emerges that allows multiple consciousness into a single mind across each of their bodies. This technology, Join, gives humanity a chance at immortality because their mind will outlive their bodies as long as it's joined with at least one living person. The joined slowly ignore the environmental threats to their habitat in favor of what emerging technology can bring while those who choose to remain solo are more concerned about fixing Earth. When the shroud is ripped from the eyes of two close friends, Chance and Leap, they soon discover that Join and the companies behind it are not what they've been led to believe.

I was a little confused at first because each person who is joined has one name, so it threw me off that Chance was Chance One, Chance Two, and so on. I was able to fully get into the story once I got used to how the clusters worked. After that, I enjoyed this complex story that covered the science and human aspects of the world it takes place in. At some point, I was reading it like Join was a totally normal and real scientific discovery. The science behind it in this world is fascinating. Picture something like Sense8, if you've seen it, but taken to another level where each person in the cluster are all one person once they've joined. Add how anyone can complete the procedure as long as they pass all the medical and psychological checkpoints and afford it, and you've got Join.

Underneath the science of this world, it's a story about mortality, technology, and environmentalism. Many people wish that they could live forever, and technology solves that in this story. People are dazzled by new technology and begin to overlook how it can help us save the environment. It's a great dystopian novel that amplifies the things that concern many on a daily basis and turns it into a scenario covering what could go wrong.

Above all, it has complex and rich characters that had a hold on me. I loved learning about each of the characters and why or why not they chose to use Join. The way these people interacted with each other and brought their valid concerns to light is extremely captivating. The mystery plot that surfaces is just one of the many elements that goes on to answer questions one may or may not have. I'm excited to see what Toutonghi's future work has in store for us.

Silence of the Flans (Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery #2) by Laura Bradford

Silence of the Flans by Laura Bradford

My Rating: ★★★

Winnie's new business is just starting to pick up when her latest recipient turns up dead with a Emergency Dessert Squad blackberry crisp in her mouth. Her customers dry up as she finds herself the talk of the town and a murder suspect. With plenty of time suddenly on her hands, Winnie decides to investigate the murder and clear her name once and for all.

The second installment of the series is just as charming as the first. All of the old folks that Winnie hangs out with on a regular basis are such sweet and fun characters. Mr. Nelson and Bridget remind me of people I know, so it's so much fun to watch these characters appear throughout the story. Then there's Renee, who is a wonderful and supportive friend. I love these characters and the dynamic between them. However, I've found that Winnie is not my favorite person even though she's the protagonist. She's often too naive to be believable, which takes me out of the story from time to time. Otherwise, I love watching these characters interact and grow as people.

Unlike the first novel, this installment is primarily focused on the murder mystery because Winnie is in the spotlight because her tasty crisp is allegedly the murder weapon. She begins the investigation with a partner and quickly begins investigating on her own only to discover the real killer when they're face to face. I wish that she had a partner during her investigation for much longer than she did because Winnie is more interesting and believable when she's closely linked with one or more secondary characters. I love the story; I just wish that she did less solo investigating.

I love Winnie's struggles with Lovey, the cat who seems to love everyone but her new owner. I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship continue and if Lovey will ever be somewhat loving toward Winnie in the future. I'm a cat person, so I love seeing Lovey's interactions with the characters as well as Winnie's struggles with her. Plus, Lovey seems to be the main ice breaker between Winnie and Jay's daughter. I'm looking forward to the next installment as well as more tasty sounding recipes!