From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing—with a special bonus chapter!
Under One Roof An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.
Stuck with You A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.
Below Zero A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.
Don’t go in the guest bedroom.” A shadow falls on Douglas Garrick’s face as he touches the door with his fingertips. “My wife… she’s very ill.” As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can’t risk losing this job—not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe…
It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want.
It’s almost perfect. But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…
That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe.
Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It’s simply a question of how far I’m willing to go…
Review:
When I talk about a popcorn style thriller this book is exactly what I mean, the very definition of one for me. It’s juicy and fast paced, it’s wickedly fun and twisty and it’s addicting and unputdownable. Really I couldn’t want anything more and if I was worried this wouldn’t be quite as good as the first book I shouldn’t have even wondered for a second. I don’t even really want to discuss the plot at all, it’s too fun for me to even allude to anything but just know if you enjoy devious thrillers this is a must.
As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.
But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.
But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.
Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again.
Review:
I don’t read YA books super often but when I do they’re usually by Emma Lord. She writes the most adorable, heartfelt and quirky books that always leave me feeling warm and cozy and this was no exception. I swear if you started this one and were in a bad mood you wouldn’t be by the time you finished, it’s too cute! Andie is the most endearing heroine and I loved her personality and sense of humor and her growth throughout the book felt so authentic. I was utterly charmed by this from beginning to end and highly recommend this sweet book as a mood lifting treat.
In a fast-paced new novel in the vein of Big Little Lies, a single mom goes undercover to investigate a host of disturbing secrets held by the leaders of a local suburban parent-school association, including embezzlement, bribery, adultery, and murder—by the bestselling author of Wish You Were Gone.
Paige Lancaster, single mom and prodigal daughter, has returned to the East Coast from her prestigious, well-paid job in Los Angeles, writing for the smartest detective series on television. Something terrible happened to her back in Hollywood. Okay, two terrible things, one featuring a misplaced tire iron—and now she’s broke, homeless, and living with her widowed mother and eight-year-old daughter, Izzy, in her Connecticut hometown.
Paige needs to buckle down and find a new writing gig but first, she meets the movers and shakers of Izzy’s school’s Parent Booster Association, run by the intimidatingly gorgeous Ainsley Anderson, who just happens to be married to Paige’s old high school flame, John.
Then she shows up at the annual Parents and Pinot fundraiser, held at Ainsley and John’s dazzling mansion in the toniest part of town, where she’s caught in a compromising position with John, accidentally destroys the guest bathroom, overhears an incriminating conversation, and discovers that her purse has gone missing. And later that night, Ainsley turns up dead at the bottom of her own driveway.
Did she fall? Or was she pushed?
Paige may have only written about detectives, but she is convinced she can handle a little undercover sleuthing. After all, it’ll give her an excuse to spend more time with John. Still, she can’t help but wonder: could he be capable of murder? Or could one of the PBA members have planned a dastardly crime to reach the top? But the most important question of all: will Paige ever get her life back on track?
Review:
When a book is compared to Big Little Lies I’m always curious and then if the book lives up to the comparison I’m thrilled. I’m happy to say I think the comp was pretty spot on here, it had that same juicy and entertaining feel to it. I’m such a sucker for suburban dramas featuring rich and entitled people behaving badly and this one had plenty of those types making questionable decisions. I loved all the secrets the characters were keeping and while some of them were fairly obvious I was still wildly entertained by them. There are several viewpoints that switch back and forth between chapters and I enjoyed the bird’s eye overlook of what was going in the characters lives and the town in general. Some of the characters actually made me laugh so despite this being super dramatic I also found it to be humorous. Overall I definitely recommend as a fun popcorn thriller.
Narrators: Stephanie Willing and Timothy Andres Pabon
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. Get By the Cup salad shop off the ground. Do literally everything possible to make it a success. Repeat. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.
Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. With a string of lackluster first dates and the pain from his parents’ angry divorce following him around, he’d much rather find someone who he likes, but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.
When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.
What could possibly go wrong?
Review:
This was a pretty cute friends to lovers romance with some sunshine/grump energy. While this is the third book in a series I think you could easily read it on its own as each book focuses on one of the Jansen brothers. Since Wes and Hailey start off firmly as just friends this is a super slow burn and it’s also closed door so if you’re thinking the wait may be worth it as far as heat goes it won’t 😂 I don’t mind no steam books occasionally though especially when they’re as sweet and quirky as this one. I loved that Hailey owned a salad shop and I’ve never wanted a salad more in my life after reading this. Found family has been one of my favorite things in books lately and I really enjoyed seeing Hailey create her own support system here. Recommended if you’re in the mood for a light and playful romance.
A working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society to fulfill her dreams risks losing everything in the process—including herself—in this propulsive novel by debut author Kyla Zhao.
For as long as she can remember, Samantha Song has dreamed of writing for a high-society magazine—and she’d do anything to get there. But the constant struggle to help her mom make ends meet and her low social status cause her dream to feel like a distant fantasy.
Now Samantha finds herself working at a drab PR firm. Living vicariously through her wealthy coworker and friend, Anya Chen, is the closest she’ll get to her ideal life. Until she meets Timothy Kingston: the disillusioned son of one of Singapore’s elite families—and Samantha’s one chance at infiltrating the high-society world to which she desperately wants to belong.
To Samantha’s surprise, Timothy and Anya both agree to help her make a name for herself on Singapore’s socialite scene. But the borrowed designer clothes and plus-ones to every glamorous event can only get her so far. The rest is on Samantha, and she’s determined to impress the editor in chief of Singapore’s poshest magazine. But the deeper Samantha wades into this fraud, the more she fears being exposed—especially with a mysterious gossip columnist on the prowl for dirt—forcing her to reconcile her pretense with who she really is before she loses it all.
Review:
This was such a fun read and it felt like a guilty pleasure as you’re getting a glimpse into high society life. I immediately liked Sam, her hard work and drive to succeed was impressive. I loved her relationship with her mom, it was really sweet and the fact that most of her reason behind wanting to better herself came from the desire to set her mother up with a better life was adorable. All of the relationships here were great actually now that I’m really thinking about it, Sam and her friends scheming was just so fun especially set against such a glitzy backdrop. Everything was so well described, from the fashions the socialites were wearing to the decadent food and the party decor you really felt like you were attending fab parties with Sam. Definitely recommended if you like Crazy Rich Asians with a side of The Devil Wears Prada.
For fans of Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Stephen Amidon’s Locust Lane is a taut and utterly propulsive story about the search for justice and the fault lines of power and influence in a seemingly idyllic town. Can anyone be trusted?
On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.
With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose—a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.
Review:
This one sounded really good and exactly like the kind of domestic drama that usually works for me but unfortunately it was just ok for me in the end. The writing itself was strong but maybe a bit too verbose for my liking. It spent a lot of time diving deep into the characterization aspect and it just went too deep for me. But if you enjoy character driven suspense this may work for you. There were also a lot of characters too which is usually ok with me but the way things jumped around between them was odd for me. The plot was decent enough and several pieces were clever but in the end it just wasn’t enough to wow me.
One year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally.
Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.
Isabelle’s entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle’s past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust… including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.
Review:
Well this author has no firmly cemented herself as an auto read for me after impressing me with her debut and her follow up. I’ve been putting together my best of the year lists over the last few days and I noticed that as much as thrillers are my first love, 2022 wasn’t great for me in that genre. Yeah, there were a handful that I really loved but my favorites were romance by a landslide which actually made me a little sad. But all of that rambling to say, when I find a good thriller and I rave about it just know that I’ve gotten pretty picky and I’ve gotten stingier with my thriller ratings so I really mean it when I say SW is a thriller author to get excited about. One of the things that I enjoy most about her books is that she writes the type of thrillers that I truly don’t want to put down. She’s got the whole gripping and addictive thing down and I was invested in this one from start to finish. The suspense was a steady and methodical build up that culminated in a strong ending that satisfied me. Karissa Vacker is such a pro, her narration was outstanding so I highly recommend the audio version of this one, she’s just so incredibly talented. Definitely recommended by me, it was both fun and entertaining as well as twisty and tense.
She’s an outsider desperate to belong, but the cost of entry might be her darkest secret in this intoxicating debut of literary suspense following a clique of dangerously ambitious students at the University of Edinburgh.
Edinburgh, Scotland: a moody city of labyrinthine alleyways, oppressive fog, and buried history; the ultimate destination for someone with something to hide. Perfect for Clare, then, who arrives utterly alone and yearning to reinvent herself. And what better place to conceal the dark secrets in her past than at the university in the heart of the fabled, cobblestoned Old Town?
When Clare meets Tabitha, a charismatic, beautiful, and intimidatingly rich girl from her art history class, she knows she’s destined to be friends with her and her exclusive circle: raffish Samuel; shrewd Ava; and pragmatic Imogen. Clare is immediately drawn into their libertine world of sophisticated dinner parties and summers in France. The new life she always envisioned for herself has seemingly begun.
And then Tabitha reveals a little project she’s been working on, one that she needs Clare’s help with. Even though it goes against everything Clare has tried to repent for. Even though their intimacy begins to darken into codependence. But as Clare starts to realize just what her friends are capable of, it’s already too late. Because they’ve taken the plunge. They’re so close to attaining the things they want. And there’s no going back.
What is the cost of an extraordinary life if others have to pay? Reimagining the classic themes of obsession and striving with an original and sinister edge, The Things We Do to Our Friends is a seductive thriller about the toxic battle between those who have, and those who covet–between the desire to truly belong, and the danger of being truly known.
Review:
What a strange read this one and my experience with it overall was odd as well. My feelings were mixed the entire time I was reading it and I flipped back and forth between being interested in these toxic and obsessive relationships and then being kind of bored. There were so many times I wondered where the whole thing was going and wondering if it would be worth my time in the end and I’m still not sure if I have a straight answer to that question. I did like parts of this bizarre tale and I always like when an author veers into dark and dangerous territory but there were aspects of the plot and the characters behavior that just frustrated the hell out of me. So overall I’m somewhere in the middle here, but I would definitely read more from the author because some of the darkness was pretty good.
A romance novel–obsessed social media influencer revisits her exes on her hunt for true love in this romantic comedy from the author of Set On You.
Romance-novel connoisseur Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten different men–all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. Nevertheless, Tara is determined to find The One. The only problem? Classic meet-cutes are dead thanks to modern dating apps. So Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.
Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. When his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes, he reluctantly agrees. But Tara’s journey is leading him to discover his own new chapter.
The more time they spend together, the more Tara realizes Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic, dramatic self. To claim their happily-ever-after, can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection?
Review:
I adore the authors brand of romance, she writes such authentic feeling stories and as much as I loved her previous book, I am obsessed with this one! The characters were the best, Tara is a romance book reviewer so clearly I thought she was super cool and Trevor is a firefighter who has the whole broody sexiness thing going on. They were both so well drawn and such a perfect match for each other and their love story was hard fought. Romance readers will delight in the way the author uses well loved tropes as part of the story, Tara’s love of second chance romances prompts her to revisit past relationships to see if there’s still a chance with any of her exes and I adored that fun premise. You also get forced proximity mixed with some friends to lovers with some sexy moments and lots of fun banter. Safe to safe I really loved this one and can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.
Novelgossip 