Book – World of Bai

Book Review: “The Mistake” By Elle Kennedy

I am a John Logan Girly hands down and that is mostly due to the fact that Antonio Cipriano plays him in the Off Campus series and is my current Celebrity crush. I absolutely fell in love with John Logan in the first book and season of this series so after I finished I immediately hoped into his book “The Mistake”. I know my review won’t do his character enough justice but I am glad that I was able to read his story.

“The Deal” Full Book review and TV Show Thoughts

“Don’t waste your time obsessing over stupid actions of stupid people”
Elle Kennedy, The Mistake

About The Book

Author: Elle Kennedy

Publisher: Bloom Books

Published Date: April 28th, 2015

Page Count: 283 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 3.93

Format: E-Book

Synopsis

He’s a player in more ways than one… College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hook-ups, but behind his killer grins and easygoing charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he’ll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he’s worth a second chance. Now he’s going to need to up his game… After a less than stellar freshman year, Grace is back at Briar University, older, wiser, and so over the arrogant hockey player she nearly handed her V-card to. She’s not a charity case, and she’s not the quiet butterfly she was when they first hooked up. If Logan expects her to roll over and beg like all his other puck bunnies, he can think again. He wants her back? He’ll have to work for it. This time around, she’ll be the one in the driver’s seat…and she plans on driving him wild.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“First and foremost—be confident. Second—be spontaneous. Third—the only opinion that matters is your own.”
Elle Kennedy, The Mistake

Rating

Review

I have never been a big fan of second chance romances in books so I was a tad bit worried to hear that was the main trope going into this one. However, most of the second chance romances I have read have been high school sweethearts who drifted apart only to find love again years later. This one I could hardly count as a relationship before they “broke things off” and so few months passed before they were trying to make things work again so I didn’t end up having any issues with the main trope like I expected.

I really enjoyed the additional background information that we received on Logan’s life. His story was really heartbreaking. To have your life predetermined for you and ultimately feeling like you have to give up on your dreams just to help your family make ends meet is such a hard fate to accept. I could feel the anguish this was causing him but I could understand why he felt as if he had no choice. His story felt really personal and that’s why I really enjoyed it.

Grace felt really relatable in her own ways. Throughout the story you get to see her really grow and find her path and I really appreciated that in her character. I loved that she was able to find her voice and learn to stand up for herself. I don’t always feel like you get to see such a strong character arch in these romance books.

As for Logan and Grace’s romance it honestly felt kinda insta lovey for me and I think that is why I had the biggest issue with their relationship. I thought it was cute all the things Logan was willing to do to get Grace back but after only knowing the girl for a few weeks and then being hell bent on getting her back despite the obvious radio silence in my mind is a bit creepy. I am not sure I would have ever spoken to him again as he clearly doesn’t understand that silence is a boundary in of itself. But if I can get past that I do think they were cute together.

I heard so much about Logan’s poem to grace before I read the book that I was very let down by that part in the book. I thought it was going to be something very profound but in reality it was just meh. I almost wish it wasn’t so easy for Grace to take him back. I at least would have liked to see more of the 6 tasks she made him do instead of brief descriptions.

What I really loved was at the end of the book when Graces dad calls Logan Son and Logan just started bawling. It gave off a found family moment and I appreciated that. I adore when In laws are so accepting.

Honestly, I am not sure I will be continuing with this series as I don’t know if I care about the rest of the characters. The writing is ultimately not my favorite either so I am just not compelled to continue. But who knows. Maybe Ali and Dean’s season in the TV show will convince me other wise.

“Babe, you’ve gotta stop revealing all your crazy up front. Seriously. Save all that stuff for later, when you’re in a relationship with the guy and it’s harder for him to run away.”
Elle Kennedy, The Mistake

Book Review: “The Deal” By Elle Kennedy

This series has been sitting on my shelf for years and to be honest with you, I told myself if I didn’t pick the series up by the end of the year I would be unhauling them. I mean why let them collect any more dust and take up much needed shelf space if I was no longer interested in reading them?

The TV series is what brought new life to these books, I am one who sadly suffers from FOMO so I guess these books were given a second chance at life. Only time will tell if they will earn a permanent space on my shelves or if this was just a “phase”.

“I want to murder him in his sleep, A. No, I want to murder him when he’s awake so he can see the joy on my face when I do it.”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal

About The Book

Author: Elle Kennedy

Publisher: Bloom Books

Published Date: February 24th, 2015

Page Count: 360 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.19

Format: E-Book

Synopsis

She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy… Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date. …and it’s going to be oh so good!

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“I fight back laughter.

“As you wish.”

“Did you really just Princess Bride me?”

“Did you really just use Princess Bride as a verb?”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal

Rating

Review

For someone who is a huge hockey fan I am honestly shocked it took me this long to get to this book. This hockey romance was one of the first ones to ever be added to my collection when i found this Sub Genre yet I kept passing over it. I had heard a lot of hype over the years for this series so I think I subconsciously held off on reading it as I was afraid it would not live up to the hype. As the years went by I started to hear people say it felt a little YA in the writing with the biggest complaint being how much swearing was in the dialogue. I can agree with those points now that I have finished the book.

I may not think that this book was the most well written book I have ever read but sometimes its not always about the skill of the writing but the vibes that the plot brings out. I had a fun time reading this book and that’s what matter the most to me by the end of it. I read this book really quickly which is always a great sign to my overall enjoyment.

Our main female lead, Hannah, has a past trauma regarding being Raped when she was in high school so if this is a trigger warning for you I recommend being cautious picking this up. While the book doesn’t go into too many details regarding this, the trauma is mentioned quite often and ultimately plays a big part in the characters development both personally and in relationships. This is a trope that I often try to avoid myself but I didn’t have too many issues with this topic in this particular book. I liked how the book handled this sensitive topic for the most part. The over arching theme is that your trauma does not define you but that it is okay to allow yourself the time and space to heal. I really enjoyed how her friends and family reacted to her story and didn’t beg her for further information that she wasn’t ready to share.

“And the most important lesson I learned is that I’m not a victim—I’m a survivor.”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal

I am a sucker for fake dating so I was really excited about that factor of this book but lets be honest.. it never really felt like fake dating to me. You could tell these two were head over heals for one another all too quickly so that pay off just wasn’t there for me. With that said their chemistry felt off the charts and that is what I loved about them the most. They were really able to lean into the trust aspect really easily and that had me falling hard.

Garrett Graham became a top tier book boyfriend for me by the end of the book but at the start I was honestly a little iffy about the whole thing. I just don’t love a reformed playboy but lets be honest… that is literally all of these men in this series so I just need to get over that I guess. Someone who is so cocky just gives me the ick, and he was beyond cocky at the start of this book so I was happy that that seemed to quickly dissipate as the love started to bloom. The hottest part of his character was that he truly fell first and that will always cause me to be wrapped around a book boyfriends finger.

I ultimately loved all the side plots and characters in this book and that makes a strong story for me. I WANTED to know about each of their passions, friends and family. I found myself looking forward to the music writing scenes or the ones where they were just hanging out with their group of friends. When we got to go to Thanksgiving with Garrett’s Dad I was so exciting cause we got to dive farther into his past when it felt like we mostly heard about Hannah’s and not his. Just overall the plot of this book was fun and interesting and I can’t say that about many romance books.

After finishing this book I immediately wanted more so I downloaded the second book “The Mistake” so I could learn more about the characters in this universe. When a book leaves me wanting more that is a great sign!

“How did I go so long without noticing you, damn it? Why did it take seeing a stupid A on your midterm to make me notice?”
He sounds so genuinely upset that I scoot closer and kiss him. “It doesn’t matter. You know me now.”
“I do,” he says fiercely.”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal

Off Campus Season One Review

Okay, this is going to have spoilers for both the book and TV series so if you have not read and watched the show I suggest skipping this part. There may be spoilers for book two “The Mistake” and Book three “The Score” so keep that in mind.

I have a love hate relationship with the book and series now that I have finished both (at least the first two books of the series so I could be missing some fundamental plot lines for the TV series). I know I have some controversial opinions so just remember that we are all allowed to think what we want and we can agree to disagree if we need to. I am happy to have a health conversation about our opinions.

Casting

Lets start out with what I think is the easiest category for me to discuss, Casting. I have only read the first two books so I don’t feel like I can get the most accurate feel for characters who show up later but we will cross that path as we go.

Overall I enjoyed the casting. I only had a few minor issues which I feel is pretty promising! This will not be a comprehensive list.

Garret Graham: Belmont Cameli
- Belmont was probably my favorite casting choice in this show so far. I think his acting was really great. He felt right for the role in my opinion. He was good looking, able to make me feel his emotions and ultimately gave off the right vibes for his character. I felt as if he understood his character really well going into the show and that is the most important part.
Hannah Wells: Ella Bright
- Oh man, Ella was probably my second least favorite casting choice which is probably the first controversial opinion I am sharing. I just was not convinced by her acting. Her character has a really emotional arc and her acting just didn’t really let these emotions shine through for me. Don’t get me wrong, there were times where I felt like “Hey, now that’s Hannah.” But most of the time I just wasn’t connecting to her character.
Ali Hayes: Mika Abdalla
- I love Ali’s character in the first book, I have not yet gotten to book three which portrays her story so I feel like my opinion on her casting might not be the most valuable insight. TV show Ali did not entirely match my expectation of the Ali I know from the book but despite that I think Mika is a good actress and really embodied the screen character she was playing. I feel like If I do end up reading her book that her on screen character will make more sense to me.
Dean Di Luarentis: Stephen Kalyn
- Again I have not read Dean’s book yet so I don’t know his character all too well. I mentioned above in my review of the book that I don’t love a reformed fuck boy but by the end of season one I was really enjoying Dean’s character. I think Stephen will do his character justice and make the next season a good one.
John Logan: Antonio Cipriano
- I am an Antonio super fan so I am probably bias when I say that I absolutely loved his acting in this series. The puppy dog yearning eyes get me every time. I feel like Antonio shows his emotions really well when acting and that’s very important to me when connecting to characters. I can not wait for his season as I feel like it might be my personal favorite of the show.
John Tucker: Jalen Thomas Brooks
- Tucker is such a fun side character and Jalen was a lot of fun to watch during the show. You don’t get to know him all too well so it can be hard for those characters to shine but Jalen really steals some of his scenes and I really loved that. I am excited to see what he does with his character as the show goes on.
Justin – Josh Heuston
- Lets be honest, my least favorite character by far. His acting was fine I guess… All I can say is not my Xaden Riorson ….IYKYK…

Plot Changes

In my mind I almost have to separate the TV series from the book. In my personal opinion, I feel like there were too many changes or adjustments for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that in order for us to an adaptation for any of our favorite books there will have to be changes but that doesn’t mean we have to like that, we just need to accept them in order for us to enjoy the show. So with that said the changes made did not make me dislike the show it just made me a little frustrated.

The biggest change that bothered me was that she was no longer doing the show case because she was a singer. She was a musical composer which is close enough I suppose, But for some reason this really bothered me. By the time we got to the end of the show where she was able to overcome her writing block it did make up for some of that frustration but man the song she wrote was not good… Sorry not sorry.
Related to the Show Case change was having Justin and Cass’s Characters be morphed into one character. I really enjoyed the Cass plot line in the book, it gave me a character to hate without making him a huge part of the story line. It made the show case actually interesting in my opinion. One good thing about this change is that her liking Justin actually made sense. She is a musician and so is he it felt natural for her to form a crush on him rather than a football player. Also they only had 8 episodes so to find time for two characters instead of one would have been much harder. We do get a glimpse at Cass in episode one or two I believe when she shares her musical composition with her class to get their opinions, which I appreciated.
This one really pissed me off and honestly I might move it to my number one spot. But Garrett breaking up with Hannah? Excuse me?! The Garrett I knew would have never let his ego get in the way of his relationship. The third act break up did not make sense to me in the show. In the book I can understand why Hannah called things off with him due to his horrible father but the show literally did not give me a good reason for this. Well okay except for maybe helping Hannah over come some of her traumas and given her something to write about I guess… But I think this could have been done no matter who broke up with who.
Ali in the book felt like such a better friend than in the TV show and I think that is because again we were only given 8 episodes to work with and they moved up Ali and Dean’s season to season two so they had to rush their story line which I feel like caused them to lose focus on the best friend aspect between her and Hannah and hoped that we could just sense the strong bond between the two of them and I felt like I didn’t feel it as much as I should have. I hope that as the seasons progress we will get to see their friendship deepen.
John Logan has an older brother in the books and as far as I can remember not a younger sister. Jules was kinda just thrown into this show and it threw me off a bit. I am curious how this will affect Logan’s back story. In the books it is also his dad who is an alcoholic and not his mom but I am not sure this will make too big of a change for the shows plot, but we shall see.
One that makes me sound super nit picky is that Della’s Dinner and Malone’s Bar was combined into one location. I understand this on a filming aspect but again story wise I just didn’t love it.
A change that after reflection I didn’t mind was that Hannah’s Attacker was on the opposing hockey team and Garrett Beat him up on the ice. In the book it was just one of the attackers friends who defended him when everything went down who happened to be at the St. Anthony’s game and Hannah saw him so Garrett attacked him in the concessions. I think plot wise the change makes more sense and made for a more convincing fight scene.
Where was the car sex scene after Thanksgiving?
One that I actually liked was that Hannah had a bike instead of borrowing someones car every time she needed to go somewhere. That detail in the book just felt really weird to me, she practically had possession of that poor girls car more than the girl did.
Dean and Beau sharing a birthday party was one that I didn’t mind but it also made it so there was one less party for Hannah and Garrett to connect at. It made sense for the shortened timeline we had with 8 episodes though and it really helped Beau and Dean’s friendship shine through which I think I didn’t really get in the book.
The campus wide hands off law was one of the greatest things in the book. It felt very “Garrett” coded. but because of the way the break up happened in the series just didn’t allow the Off hands law to make as big of an impact and felt like it was just tossed into the show for the readers.

Now that I am done ranting about the changes I know it sounds like I hated the show but that’s not true. I did enjoy the TV series quite a bit but I can’t let myself compare it to the book. My husband was sick of hearing me say “This is not how it happened in the book.” He would just roll his eyes. And I am sure I missed several other changes but these are the ones that really stuck out to me.

“Living well and being happy is how we get over the shit in our past.”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal

Now that I have gave you a review for the Book and my thoughts on the TV show I guess it is time to tell you my thoughts as a whole. I had a fun time with the book and the series really brought the characters to life. I see myself continuing to watch the series as new seasons are released but I am not sure if I will continue with the books. I finished book 2 “The Mistake” (review coming soon) but I don’t know if I care enough about the characters who are left in the series to finish reading them. While the books happen to read very quickly I just have so many other books that I am actually dying to read. However, this would not be the first time I eat my words.. I am almost positive that after watching Dean and Ali’s season I will wish I would have read their book. So I make no promises.

I hope you all give this book and TV series a try and I hope that you love every second of it.

“Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal

Book Review: “Dungeon Crawler Carl: A Parade Of Horribles” By: Matt Dinniman

Now Before you ask “Wait Bailie, where are the other seven book reviews for this series?” I will tell you. I read the first 7 books in the last half of 2025, and if you look at my blog post history you will see hardly any posts during that time. I was in a writing slump. So some of my DCC series reviews are on my Bookstagram and some are not. I just honestly wanted to enjoy these books and not have to think too much about my thoughts and how they would be perceived. Lets just say this is an all time favorite series of mine and upon my re read I will post deeper reviews for the rest of the series.

I have been waiting for this book to release since early December when I finished the 7th book. I even requested May 12th off months in advanced so I could just read on release day. So lets just say I had very high expectations for this book. Did this book meet my ever growing expectations for this series? Read to find out!

“Sometimes we don’t need to know someone’s full life story to understand them.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

** There Will Be SPOILERS Ahead!!**

About The Book

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Published Date: May 12th, 2026

Page Count: 704 Pages

Main Genre: Sci-fi

GoodReads Rating: 4.73

Format: E-Book

“And what about the biscuits!” “The what?” Mordecai asked. “Biscuits, Mordecai! I need to make biscuits!”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

Synopsis

It’s off to the races in the explosive eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they’re forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks. Well, normal for the dungeon.

Races. Get from point A to point B, and don’t come in last. After each race, they pick an upgrade for their vehicle and the track gets more challenging. It all seems a little too normal, a little too simple.

Ignore those strange glitches that are occurring with increasing frequency. Don’t listen to those whispers about what’s happening on the mysterious eleventh floor, something the system AI calls A Parade of Horribles. Nobody, not even the showrunners, knows what that means. Just that the AI has ominously dubbed it “a coming-out party for the ages.”

Everything is fine, Crawler. I repeat, everything is fine.

Carl hates that it’s business as usual. The rules of this floor have taken away his agency. That just will not do.

So Carl is planning a party of his own. It’s a plan so dangerous, so insane, he can’t even consult his friends lest the AI put a stop to it. Because if it goes wrong, it’s not just the end of Carl and Donut. No. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.

Synopsis from Goodreads

“Sometimes there are no good choices, and we just do what we have to.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

Rating

Review

** NEW ACHIEVEMENT**

“Way to go! You have officially finished 8 books in the most gut wrenching series you have ever picked up!”

REWARD

“Emotional trauma while you wait for books Nine and Ten. “

Okay but in all seriousness this one wasn’t as gut wrenching as I expected it to be. And again one finally time there will be spoilers so if you have not finished this yet DO NOT READ the rest of this!

I think I only teared up once in this whole book which is really odd for me. In the past I have sobbed my way throughout most of the books. I am not saying I hoped for some of my favorite characters to die or anything but maybe a bit more plot that tried to rip my heart out or something. I think the most I sobbed at was when Rend “Died” and literally came back to life.. Like okay not that big of a deal I suppose.

I personally thought that floor ten was quite boring compared to the rest of the floors we have seen. We hardly spent any time on the floor when you consider that each heat of the race was pretty different and the timelines were relatively short for most of the heats. My favorite parts were in between races as this is where most of the plot happened.

By no means is this me saying I hated this book. I really did have fun reading it but it did remind me why the series was so addicting at the beginning. I was missing the atmospheres of past floors, The consistent loot box opening but mostly, I have been missing the character interactions. We used to spend a lot of time with our fellow crawlers getting to know them but now everything is so high stakes that they don’t get those brief moments to breathe and develop as much with other crawlers. But that is the nature of this series and I do need to remind myself this is exactly how it is supposed to feel. Like we are in the dungeon with them not getting a second to take a break and relax. Did you notice they just didn’t even mention sleep at all? So sad that something as simple as sleep is just non existent now.

Despite me missing “simpler” days of the early dungeon, I truly did enjoy this book. We are getting so many more details into the AI and outer world that my brain feels like its swimming with nonsense. I can’t wait for all the dots to connect, even if that means the series and the crawl all come to what I assume will be a classic explosive Carl plan.

Seeing Donut drop her guard more in this book and see how the Dungeon has been affecting her has been breaking my heart. She is so strong but the strongest people tend to hold everything in till the metaphorical river overflows and everything comes streaming out. I love seeing her step up so well into a motherly role for Mongo and Rend, its the one thing outside of a performing that she can really fall back to and feel like a “normal” being.

Carl is even more Unhinged than ever. One of my favorite quotes is from Chapter 94. (see below) Somehow Carl’s chaos plans seem to always pan out, god knows why but everyone is so very thankful for them.

“Carl: Plan C. Gotta go with plan C. Donut, be ready. Elle: Of course. The Psycho Plan. Got It. Donut: It’s CALLED PLAN CARL. Florin: We really need to start making plan C the primary one.
DCC 8 Chapter 94

Imani and Chris! Enough said there, but dang, I need a side book just for their relationship. I really hope that they can reconnect soon. They both have been through enough!

Okay, Now it is time to discuss my favorite character from this floor, Drum Roll please! Prepotente (AKA Pony)!! Ugh the few background pieces we got for him were everything! Merium Dom in the apartment living a life where she never had Pony nearly Broke me! Basically all of chapter 77 had a hold of my heart,

“Carl,” Prepotente said, stopping me. He wiped his eyes again. “yeah?” “You can call me Pony if you like.”
DCC 8 Chapter 77

Now that I have discussed some of my favorite characters I would like to discuss the ending of this book. The ending was literally where I felt like all the meat and potatoes were. All shoved into the last 100 maybe 150 pages of the book.

So much was revealed on floor eleven. I can barely even process everything that happened. I am so glad that all of our main characters made it through this floor despite the craziness. I mean Carl really said “fuck it” but somehow those things work out well for him.

I am left with so many more questions than answers. Like who the heck is Samantha? What kind of Chaos is Eris going to bring? The history of the AI and how a Princess lost everything just to give the universe another chance.. Does that mean Donut will live while everyone else she loves dies? What do you mean everyone went to the 15th floor and not the Pineapple Cabaret?

Ugh so much yet to unfold and we only have two books left? I have no clue how Matt is going to pull this off but lets just say I am terrified! I can’t get all my thoughts out here but hit up my DM’s and lets chat!

Quotes

“It’s okay to forgive yourself. Sometimes there are no good choices, and we just do what we have to.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“You keep trying to divide us. Don’t you realize what you created? We have been tempered in the fires of Hell, and we are now passed the point of being broken. Your downfall has already been written in the stars. You may hurt us. You may kill us all, but it’s not going to matter. Don’t you realize? Don’t. You. Realize?”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“If you go to war against drugs, drugs will always win. Drugs will win because what you’re really doing is going to war against the biological imperative all living creatures have to find comfort and happiness. And if you’re unwilling or unable to first provide that, artificial alternatives, no matter how destructive, will always prevail.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“Since you’re new to this, let me give you your first lesson on being a princess. Lesson one, don’t put yourself in situations where you’re so afraid that you piss yourself. It shows a lack of decorum.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“I don’t even know what the hell this is. This bitch is coloring outside the lines.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“We sluggalos have a code. That code is ‘unity, support, family, and kneecapping bitches.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“Elle: I’m alive. Barely. Someone help me dig me and Bodi out of this truck. It’s wrecked pretty good. I haven’t been folded like this since Brandon showed us how to use Tinder.”
DCC 8 Chapter 96

Book Review: “It’s Not Her” By Mary Kubica

This is a book that I would have never heard of on my own so I am very thankful for my Bookstagram friend moreazlibros for sharing her thoughts of this book on her Instagram stories. This is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time to come and there was a very high chance that I would have never even known it existed. That would have been a major missed opportunity.

“You should’ve known better than to trust a guy like me. Did you really not think I might try to hurt you?”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

About The Book

Author: Mary Kubica

Publisher: Park Row

Published Date: February 3rd, 2026

Page Count: 342 Pages

Main Genre: Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 3.97

Format: Audio Book

“Ignorance,” she says, never taking her eyes off me, “is the hardest thing. Even if the answers you get aren’t the ones you want, they’re still answers.”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

Synopsis

A scream shatters the silence…

Courtney Gray’s peaceful vacation turns into a nightmare when she discovers her brother and sister-in-law dead in their lakeside cottage. Her niece Reese is missing. Her nephew Wyatt is asleep upstairs—unharmed.

A town full of secrets…

As police swarm the quiet resort, dark truths about Courtney’s family—and the town itself—begin to surface. Is Reese a victim… or the killer?

A truth no one saw coming…

With everyone hiding something, Courtney races to uncover the terrible mystery. But the closer she gets, the harder it is to know who—or what—to trust.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“How are you feeling?” At first she’s silent. “The longer they’re gone, the easier it gets,” she finally says. “But that’s when the guilt and shame kick in, because it should never get any easier.”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

Rating

Review

Thrillers used to be my go to genre when I first got into reading, but over the years it has taken a back seat in my reading. Somehow this year it has been my most read genre. This is completely without trying, Thriller audio books just keep landing in my lap and I am not complaining. Sometimes you just need to go back to the basics in order to find your love for the hobby again.

Audio books have also been my most read format this year which blows my mind but it is a welcome change for me. It gives me something to listen to while I clean our Air BnB or even just doing yard work in our new home.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. I loved where it started in the story and then continued to flop back and forth from timelines. The two different POV’s that we had made this book all that more interesting.

The best part of this book was that I did not find it predictable in the slightest. It had me second guessing every character, I had no clue who you could trust. This made our main POV’s motives all that more believable because I could feel her worry, skepticism and anger in every choice she made. I didn’t blame her for a single finger she pointed as I would have done the same in her shoes.

The ending of this book had me in shock. I heard that some people did not find the ending to be believable but in my mind it all made perfect sense. It did give me a bit of whiplash but I believe this is why I had so much fun listening to the story unfold.

Reese’s POV was probably my favorite in the book. This is because she really focused on some deeper topics like how your parents relationships can affect your childhood or how teen friendships falling apart can cause some deep wounds. There was mild talk about depression and suicidal thoughts coming from her that felt really relatable due to the things she was going through in her life. But the most important topic in her POV, in my opinion, was being preyed upon by an older man. At that age, especially, any attention you got was exciting, you don’t think too much about the consequences of your actions. You just feel special, that is until the next new shiny toy comes into view and you get cast aside. These things are super scary but beyond common. I think her POV was a great portrayal of a teenagers life and experiences and I was really impressed by this.

This was an audio book that came into my life at the perfect time. I have been deep into a reading slump all of April so starting May off this strong feels like a breath of fresh air. I know I will be looking for more books from this author in the future.

“I wish I could tell someone that I’m lonely and scared. That I feel like no one likes me. That I worry no one ever will. That I’ll be alone forever.”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

QOTD: What thriller do you keep coming back to?

Book Review: “Heated Rivalry” By Rachel Reid

This TV show took the world by storm. Anyone and everyone was talking about it and frankly still are. Not only to escape the major FOMO, but to also appease my bestie Syd, I finally got around to reading this book.

I did watch the Show first (Against my will, kinda), mostly because my husband couldn’t wait for my books to arrive so I could read the first and second books in this series, which honestly was for the best because I am just now getting finished with my end of that bargain, sooner than I expected of myself so there’s that.

I am very excited to share this review with you all. I just hope I can put my thoughts into a cohesive review for you cause currently all I can think is “OHHHH That was cute!” and “Damn!”, Not much to those thoughts if you ask me. So here we go!

“He wanted to tell Shane that the closest he felt to home was when he was with him.”
Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

About The Book

Author: Rachel Reid

Publisher: Carina Press

Published Date: April 18th, 2023

Page Count: 372 Pages

Main Genre: Sports Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.28

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option.

Synopsis from GoodReads

“Fuck you and your loon!” Ilya said. “Stupid Canadian wolf bird.”
Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

Rating

Review

I feel like giving this book a 4 star rating is a bit controversial. Most everyone who I have talked to about this book gave it a raving 5 stars. Maybe I would have as well if I hadn’t watched the TV Series first.

The TV Series in my opinion was a near perfect adaptation of the book which is rare to find. But the actors is what really made it perfect in my eyes. They really made this story come to life. And because I felt like it was a near perfect adaptation, while I was reading the book I just found myself wishing I was watching it instead of reading it.

The other thing going against this book for me is that I have just not been in a romance mood lately. I found myself skimming the spicy scenes more often than not so that I could get to the dialogue. This feels like a bookish Sin so I apologize for my behavior, but it just felt like their was a spicy scene every few pages and I was struggling to want to pick this book up at times because of it so skimming felt like a pretty good option to me. I probably read this at the wrong time for me to truly appreciate the book but I really did enjoy the dialogue and growth that these characters had outside of the spicy scenes.

Anytime Ilya spoke I was enraptured! Whenever her opened his mouth you didn’t know if you were going to get some kind of witty come back, a surprisingly sweet compliment or a shockingly deep revelation. He is for sure my favorite character in this series this far so getting to read his book felt like getting to know him on a personal level. I really adored how Ilya professed his sincerest thoughts in Russian to Shane so he could get those feelings out in the open without the risk of rejection or judgement. Ilya just has the purest soul and I am so glad that his character came into my life.

As for Shane’s character, I enjoyed how he seemed so opposite of Ilya. He is more soft spoken and cautious. Having this character dynamic at first was a bit jarring to me but it ultimately grew on me as the characters developed.

I may not have been drawn to Shane’s character as much as Ilya’s but I wouldn’t have wished for anyone else to be in his place. These two make an unlikely pair which made this story that much more enjoyable.

Ultimately I fell in love with them as a couple and I can’t wait to see where their story goes.

“Does it…does it feel like agony for you too?’
Ilya started to nod, then stopped. He shook his head slowly instead.
‘Not anymore.”
Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

QOTD: If you are a hockey fan, who is your favorite team?

Book Review: “The Rose Bargain” By Sasha Peyton Smith

I have owned this book since the day it was first released. I have been wanting to read it since I laid my hands on the beautiful cover but kept putting it off as I didn’t want this five star prediction to let me down. I am glad I waited as I think I picked this book up at the perfect time. I had just finished reading book six of the Bridgerton series and got fully caught up on season four of the TV Adaptation. I even went to a Bridgerton styled event on a local book store. So picking up this book and falling right back into the Regency Era felt like coming home but with a twist.

“Sometimes I feel like one day every other girl was given instructions on how to grow up, and I missed the lesson.”
Sasha Peyton Smith, The Rose Bargain

About The Book

Author: Sasha Peyton Smith

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published Date: February 4th, 2025

Page Count: 389 Pages

Main Genre: Romantasy

GoodReads Rating: 3.94

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.

As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.

Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“But I know now, the thing about love is that you don’t realize you’re in it until it’s too late.”
Sasha Peyton Smith, The Rose Bargain

Rating

Review

I picked this book up during a busy time in my life and that is what I regret the most. I could not stop thinking about this book, I was trying to sneak a chapter in where ever I could. It even got to the point where the characters started to sneak themselves into my dreams. That is how I know I am truly obsessed with a book.

I believe that if I had more free time on my hands I would have finished this book in one sitting. The writing had every ounce of my brain power turning over the plot and trying to figure out any hidden secrets that might have been seeping through the pages.

The characters in this book were a little hit or miss for me at the beginning but I started to appreciate them more as we got to know their background a bit more. The way Sasha formatted this book, sprinkling in different POV’s as we went along, really helped this story build a plot with a lot of depth.

The different POV’s gave us as readers insights into the book that we would have never of gotten from our main FMC. I am not saying Ivy was an unreliable narrator but she truly did not have all the insight into what was happening around her and why. So the little added tidbits we got from the other girls POV’s really helped our characters grow in my eyes.

My favorite character is Emmett, I mean come on, when is the MMC not my favorite character in a book? Emmett has a tough exterior and a reputation that precedes him but there is more to him than meets the eye. I adored getting to see him from Ivy’s eyes as she was forced to be in his proximity but you could feel his attitude changing as we moved through the story. Even though we see him mostly through Ivy’s eyes the little tidbits from Faiths storyline that we were given gave us enough information about Emmet’s true character to know when he started to fall for Ivy. A man who falls first will always make me melt.

The family dynamics seemed to play a pretty big part in this story. Each person had a different relationship with their families that shaped their individual characters and their motivations. I think this is a big reason why I ended up caring for each character in their own way. Everyone seemed to be facing their own battles internally so by the time you finally read first hand what issues they were facing you could grasp why they were saying and doing the things they did. I really appreciated that part of the story telling as it really felt integral to the plot and didn’t just get swept aside like they so often do in these kinds of books.

Sasha really had me trying to guess how this story was going to go, it felt like she was leaving me little bread crumbs that had me thinking one thing but then by the next chapter I was second guessing everything I had came up with. There were a few plot points that I caught onto pretty quick while others left my mouth gaping. I am so glad I waited to read this book until closer to the release date of the second book as I am not sure I can wait to find out what happens.

“I’ve spent my whole life on my hands and knees, clamoring for crumbs of love. I don’t know if there will ever come a time I am not hungry for it.”
Sasha Peyton Smith, The Rose Bargain

QOTD: Do you like Regency Romances?