Goodreads

Release date: August 2, 2022

Publisher: Avon

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

From the author of My Oxford Year, Julia Whelan’s uplifting novel tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator—who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident—and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel.

For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger.

On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.

As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.

If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.

Review:

Julia Whelan is one of my very favorite audiobook narrators, she’s SO good and if I see she’s narrating a book I’m on the fence about, I immediately add it to my TBR when her name pops up. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from her as an author and y’all, she blew my mind! This was such a fantastic romance, it had everything that matters to me and more and will surely be in my top reads of the year list come December.

There was something so playful about this one, there is a lot of talk about various romance tropes and there some fun, witty and sarcastic commentary surrounding the genre as a whole. I fell in love with Sewanee and found her to be charming, hilarious and totally genuine. There is one whole section that is epistolary and seeing as that format is one of my absolute favorites I was happy!! I adored every single page of this one although I never do rereads I’ll be listening to this one in the future.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: July 5, 2022

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

The competitive selection process for a prized college scholarship turns deadly in the latest thriller from USA Todaybestselling author David Bell.
On a beautiful spring day, six college students with nothing in common besides a desperate inability to pay for school gather to compete for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship.

Milo–The front-runner.
Natalia–The brain.
James–The rule follower.
Sydney–The athlete.
Duffy–The cowboy.
Emily–The social justice warrior.

The six of them must surrender their devices when they enter Hyde House, an aging Victorian structure that sits in a secluded part of campus.

Once inside, the doors lock behind them. The students are not allowed to leave until they spend eight hours with a college administrator who will do almost anything to keep the school afloat and Nicholas Hyde, the privileged and notoriously irresponsible heir to the Hyde family fortune. If the students leave before time is up, they’ll be immediately disqualified.

But when one of the six finalists drops dead, the other students fear they’re being picked off one by one. With a violent protest raging outside and no way to escape, the survivors viciously turn on each other.

The Finalists is a chilling and profound look at the lengths both students and colleges will go to survive in a resource-starved academic world.

Review:

David Bell has been one of my go to thriller authors for years now so I’m always excited when he has a new book out. He consistently writes books that are compelling, twisty and entertaining. Unfortunately I struggled with this one, it just didn’t feel like the type of solid book I’m used to from the author.

I think my biggest issue here was I didn’t believe in any aspect. I didn’t buy that a group of people locked inside a house would just stay when someone drops freaking dead and it just went on from there. I usually like a locked room style mystery but the reason for them being locked up just didn’t make sense or work for me. It’s hard to describe my frustration without giving you much away, so I’ll stop here and just say I’m still a fan of the author and I’ll be looking forward to his next book but this was a miss for me.

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: August 16, 2022

Publisher: Minotaur

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

Games can be dangerous. But blame can be deadly.

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. . . .

But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.

Review:

I think I’m finally realizing that maybe this authors books are just not for me. I was a huge fan of her debut and then her last few books have been just ok for me. I’ve been waiting for another amazing read from her and instead I end up being underwhelmed and disappointed. Her books always start out strong for me, I’m usually interested and they are definitely fast and addictive reads. But then everything falls apart in the end and that’s unfortunately what happened again with this one. Things just got ridiculous and a lot of the story didn’t make sense. It was either predictable or just downright absurd and I just couldn’t believe it. Definitely would classify this as a popcorn thriller but if you do decide to try it know that’s it out there, dramatic and incredibly over the top.

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: July 12, 2022

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

Two down-on-their-luck comedians embark on a road tour and find more than a few good laughs on the way.

Olivia Vincent dreams of stand-up comedy stardom. Bustling around a busy Manhattan office by day and hustling from club to club by night, she can’t catch a break. Work is falling through the cracks, and after ditching a major client to make a performance, Olivia gets the boot. 

Determined to pursue her dreams, she snags an audition in Los Angeles for a coveted spot on late-night TV. But the only way to get there is to join Nick Leto, a seasoned stand-up, on a cross-country road tour. She agrees on one condition—no funny business.

Icky comedy condos, tiny smoking nightclubs, and Nick’s incessant classic rock radio are a far cry from life on the Upper East Side. Reality sets in, and Olivia wonders if she can hack it in showbiz or if she’s just a hack. As Nick helps Olivia improve her act along the way, sparks begin to fly and ignite what they thought was an impossible flame. Maybe being stuck with Nick in a Jeep isn’t so bad. As long as it doesn’t get in the way of Olivia’s actual funny business.

Review:

I’ve never read a romance where the main characters are comedians before and that was such a fun angle! It provided a unique backdrop that I’ve never read before too and add in a cross country road trip and I was sold! As much as there is a romance developing between Olivia and Nick it almost felt like it took a backseat to Olivia and her personal growth. That was ok with me because I was invested enough in her anyway, just know this isn’t all that sexy and it’s closed door too, again Nick and Olivia both have to figure their own shit out in order to move forward both professionally and romantically. There were some great pop culture references from the 90’s and before that I loved and plenty of laughs, these two are comics after all! I really enjoyed this one and think if you know what to expect you just might too.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: July 12, 2022

Publisher: Forge

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

Set in the upscale DC private school scene, where silence can easily be bought, Aggie Blum Thompson’s All the Dirty Secretsasks how far you would go to protect your status and your family, and if some secrets should ever be revealed.

One warm summer night twenty-five years ago, Liza Gold and her friends celebrated their high school graduation with a party on the beach. It should have been the best night of their lives, only one of them never came back out of the ocean.

The tragedy haunted Liza Gold for years. Now, she’s a recently divorced working mom struggling to connect with her standoffish teenager daughter Zoe when history repeats itself. Another young woman has drowned at Beach Week, and this time the victim is Zoe’s secret best friend.

Liza begins to suspect that the two deaths are somehow related, which causes her to face hard truths and take an unflinching look at the people she’s called her closest friends for the past two decades. She must discover what really happened to both women before it’s too late.

Review:

As soon as I saw this centered on an elite private school I was already interested and then add in a dual timeline with a past mystery and I was sold. Told in both past and present and mainly from Liza and her daughter Zoe’s viewpoints I was engaged by this, both in the past and the present timelines. The author managed to craft a compelling mystery as well as add in some timely issues that are seen in the news today. The pacing was solid with most of the action happening in the last quarter of the book and while some things were predictable I still found the journey to get to the end to be both enjoyable and pretty gripping.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.