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Ruth Ware is one of the most well known mystery/thriller authors in the genre. She has written and published seven mystery/thriller novels, all of which have become hugely successful. Her newest novel, set to be released in September 2020, is already receiving high praise. I had never read a Ruth Ware novel before reading The Turn of the Key, her 2019 publication.

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.
It was everything.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Truthfully, I was very disappointed in this novel. I had expected great things from Ruth Ware, and this novel did not live up to the hype, in my opinion.

The pacing of this novel was very confusing. It was a quick read for me, but that could be because I am a fast reader in general (especially at a time like the one we are currently living in). However, I was very engrossed in the story and constantly wanted to know what was going on. I was genuinely scared at times, and had to flip my lights on during some chapters when I was getting creeped out – especially because I read this book over the span of two late nights!

Something I did enjoy was the writing style. This book is written in letters to a potential lawyer that Rowan, the protagonist, wants to use for her trial. She is essentially convincing him to come and help her case. However, I wish the letters were a bit shorter and more urgent sounding. It read as if she was just re-telling her side of the story, when in reality, I wish she would have done more convincing.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the ending. Believe it or not, at around the 75% mark, I saw it coming, but I enjoyed how Ruth Ware revealed it, and specifically how she wrote it. However, the main plot twist pertaining to the main character and the real reason why she applied to be their nanny I did not see coming at all!

I think what it came down to was the fact that I did not care about any of the characters. I am not someone who needs to read about likeable characters, in fact, I am a big fan of unreliable and unlikeable narrators. In this particular book, since I did not care about any of the characters, I found it hard to emotionally care about the plot line and the events that happened.

Overall, I gave this book a 2.25/5 stars. I do not understand all of the hype surrounding this novel, but I hope her 2020 release makes up for my thoughts on this one! Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending an eARC of this book my way!

Good Night Book Owls!

Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

Believe it or not, I have taken a short break from my dark and crazy mystery/thrillers and have been working my way through my unread contemporary romance novels! Although I claim that my favourite genre is mystery/thriller, contemporary romance novels always seem to take up a good chunk of my favourite books at the end of every year. Last year, I read Beth O’Leary’s debut novel, The Flatshare, and while it did not make my favourite books list, there is no doubt that her most recent publication, The Switch, will!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen.
Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn’t as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

This book was the equivalent of a chef’s kiss. It was perfection in every sense, and ever since I have finished the novel, I have been contemplating whether it is currently my #1 favourite book of the year!

What made this novel so great was the quirky, unique, and overall wonderful cast of characters. There were quite a few characters in this novel, but I never found them hard to keep track or remember. I became so emotionally attached to almost all of the characters, and found myself caring for them so much. I specifically loved Arnold, Martha, and Fitz’s characters, as they were side characters that added so much to the novel.

The writing in this novel really stood out to me while I was reading it. Like The Flatshare, this novel was written in dual perspective. Both points of view were written with very distinct voices, and I never had aa problem remembering which perspective I was reading from. The characters voices were established very well from the very beginning of the novel, which I enjoyed and appreciated immensely. In most cases of dual POV stories, often times one voice will stick out more than the other, and in this case, that voice was Eileen, the 79-year-old grandmother to Leena. Her voice was incredibly witty and humours, and it was such a joy reading all of her chapters!

I also really appreciated the way Beth O’Leary wrote both of the settings in this novel. Leena lives in a small village a couple of hours away from London. O’Leary wrote the town to perfection, and it really felt like I was in a small town when reading from her perspective.

Typically, I am not a huge fan of character driven novels, because I love plots with a clear problem and solution. However, this one was spectacular. Overall, I absolutely loved this novel and gave it 5/5 stars. And although I gave The Flatshare 5/5 stars as well, I somehow liked this novel 10x more! If you are a fan of character driven contemporary novels, I would highly suggest giving this one a try!

Good Night Book Owls!

Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

After reading so many mystery/thrillers over the past few months, I was in need of a good romance “palette cleanser” novel. I had a few of them to chose from, so I decided to read through the first page to see which one intrigued me the most. When I picked up the  novel, The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon, I read the first line – “Alexa, play Drake.” and I knew this was the one for me! {Also, NEW DRAKE TODAY!}

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor-have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status . . .
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?

This was the PERFECT romance for me. Since both of the main characters, Samiah and Daniel, work at a huge tech company, I really loved the tech elements presented in this book. I really loved reading about all of the projects they were tasked with and all of the extra tech-talk that was written in this novel.

Of course, one of the best elements of their workplace was the fact that Samiah was a women in a powerful position. In the male-dominated tech-world, it was so nice to read about a women of colour in a high-up position, who was respected and appreciated for by her employees and employers. I never enjoy reading the trope of the “unappreciated female employee”, so I was very happy that that was not included in this novel. Since Samiah is an important asset to her male-dominated company, there is a lot of great commentary about women – specifically women of colour – working in the tech industry and trying their best to succeed in order to keep doorways open for other women like them. A lot of the commentary was not something that I had ever read before or thought about, so I was incredibly grateful to have been opened up to those conversations.

One of my favourite aspects of this novel was reading about the strong female friendships between Samiah, London, and Taylor. Although they are brought together by an unfortunate event, their friendship blossomed throughout the story and was simply a joy to read. I have a strong group of friends like the one written about in this novel, and it made me appreciate them even more!

And of course, I LOVED Daniel! He was definitely my favourite character in this novel. Without spoiling anything, he does some questionable things in this novel, but they are all for a purpose and easy to understand. He is put in some hard situations, and even Samiah comes to understand why he did what he did. I loved Daniel and Samiah’s relationship from the very beginning of this novel, as they liked each other right away. I know the hate-to-love relationship trope is very popular, but I find it to be a tad overdone. I really enjoyed the pace of their relationship, and I enjoyed reading about every aspect of it!

The writing in this novel is nothing special, but I appreciated that the synopsis began and ended within the first 50 pages of the novel, and truthfully, most of what occurs in the novel, is not even mentioned in the synopsis at all! As for the “steamy scenes” (as I like to call them!), they were the perfect amount of sweet and steamy, and were not to overly descriptive. In my opinion, it was the perfect amount for a contemporary romance.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and gave it 5/5 stars. Thanks to HBG Canada for providing me with a finished copy to read and review!

Good Night Book Owls!

P.S. I’m low-key convinced the Farrah Rochon and myself are the same person based on her author-bio on the bag of the novel! We both love reading, travelling, Walt Disney World and Broadway shows!!

Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

As you may know by now, I have recently been reading new Mystery/Thriller novels like it is nobody’s business! The mystery/thriller genre has been my favourite since 2018, but I think I have read more books from that genre this year than I did all of last year! In 2019, I read J.P. Delaney’s The Perfect Wife, and while I really enjoyed it, I did not find to be very memorable. However, with her newest mystery/thriller Playing Nice, I don’t think I will be able to forget this story or these characters for a very long time.

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

Pete Riley answers the door one morning and lets in a parent’s worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, a stranger who breaks the devastating news that Pete’s son, Theo, isn’t actually his son–he is the Lamberts’, switched at birth by an understaffed hospital while their real son was sent home with Miles and his wife, Lucy. For Pete, his partner Maddie, and the little boy they’ve been raising for the past two years, life will never be the same again.
The two families, reeling from the shock, take comfort in shared good intentions, eagerly entwining their very different lives in the hope of becoming one unconventional modern family. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an official investigation that unearths some disturbing questions about the night their children were switched. How much can they trust the other parents–or even each other? What secrets are hidden behind the Lamberts’ glossy front door? Stretched to the breaking point, Pete and Maddie discover they will each stop at nothing to keep their family safe.
They are done playing nice.

There are two word I would use to describe this book: simply stellar. Everything about this book was so simple, but done to such a high degree of effectiveness. The overall concept of this novel is unique, but done so simply with such intricate emphasis on the plot. As I previously shared, I have read one other J.P. Delaney book, The Perfect Wife (click here to read my review), and while I enjoyed that one, I enjoyed this novel so much more. I found as the story in The Perfect Wife developed, it became less and less realistic, whereas that never happened with this one. I truly think what makes this book so thrilling, is not due to any specific detail in the novel itself, but rather the plot seems so horrifyingly realistic.

In the past, I’ve had issues with the pacing and longevity of thrillers—especially those that are around the 400 page mark. Some seem to drag on for ages, and not everything in them tends to be necessary for the overall development of the plot. However, this book felt like one of the shortest thrillers I have ever read—even though it is over 400 pages! The pacing of this novel was impeccable, and since this book has small twists or conversations that lead you to want to continue reading at the end of each chapter, I read the book so quickly, which in this case, I did unintentionally. Sometimes, especially in readathons, I will read quickly for a purpose, but this book was so engrossing and captivating that it pushed me to read it at an unusually quick speed.

The POV style of this book was very surprising, and immediately caught me off guard. You would think that a novel that centres around a pair of couples whose children were accidentally swapped at the NICU upon birth would be written in two POVS—one person from each respective couple. However, in this novel, the book is written from two POVs—the man and woman who have a partnership together (they are not married). As the plot line develops, it is unknown as to why the author made this choice, but when you get to the last few chapters, it suddenly becomes clear.

The writing itself was very simple, but incredibly enjoyable. I find that in thrillers, I appreciate simple yet clear writing, as it makes the story easy to read and helps to pick the pace of the book up, even if it is a little bit slow, unlike this particular novel.

The characters were very, very interesting. Immediately upon reading this book, I felt attached to Pete, the father of Theo. He is a stay-at-home father, a profession that is not typically amplified enough in many adult novels. He is a very kind and sensitive person, and takes passion in taking care of his son while his wife is at work. Because I liked him so much, it was easy to care deeply about his emotions and thoughts while the story developed. I also really enjoyed reading from Maddie’s perspective, Pete’s partner and Theo’s mother. She has a very distinct and ominous voice throughout the book, and her character developed into something unexpected but very appreciated as the novel concluded.

This book was an amazing mystery/thriller, that embodied everything I love about and in mystery/thriller novels. I rated this book 5/5 stars, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys novels centred around family dynamics, children, or court room dramas.

Good Night Book Owls!