I just finished The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins and here are my musings. Megan goes to St Mawgen Cove for a vacation… and to get to the bottom of a family secret that has been haunting her father for decades… Things go awry from the moment she arrives. The inn is haunted… The legends are many and the stories of witchcraft if toe curling… There is a dark history in the cove… Can Megan bring peace to the past so it stops destroying the future? It took me a while to get into the past timeline. It wasn’t interesting to begin with and honestly, I was more intrigued with what Megan was up to and why she was at the cove. The past did get really exciting about half way through though and actually was more entertaining than Megan haha The writing style was really solid. I got sucked right into the story and I was so invested in it, I stayed up past my bedtime and I hate doing that haha! It was all really well done and worked well together. Like I said, my only gripe was how mundane the past was but it’s necessary for you to know the story. Now the pace was a bit slow, I needed a faster trot but honestly, it worked for me anyway. Definitely one of the best reads of the month. 4.5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @theboldbookclub for it gifted copy #historcalfiction #gothicread #gothicbook #gothicreader #bookreview #bookclub #bookishbanter #booklover #ghoststory #thecornishwitch #boldwoodbooks #elenacollins #bookalorian #netgalley

I just finished The Thrashers by Julie Soto and here are my thoughts. Emily Mills wanted to be a thrasher so bad and it killed her….. Jodi, Julian, Paige, Lucy and Zack… Zack Thrasher…They are the elite friend group… Everyone wants to be in their orbit but when Emily’s journal surfaces.. The friend group comes under scrutiny and Jodi has to decide whether she is saving her friends… The people she isn’t the same as.. Or herself… But even as the police close in…. The weird occurrences are more frightening.. Firstly I got the ALC and ARC versions of this book. The narration was amazing! I switched back and forth between the two and they were both outstanding. It was hard to really connect with the characters until closer to the end because you got the version of the characters they wanted you to see until you the real characters began to shine through and that for me, showed a real talent in the writing. I really enjoyed the supernatural elements in the book. I would have loved more of that but I think it was done really well regardless. The focal point was the friend group and I loved the contrast of how the friends saw each other and then how outsiders saw them individually and as a collective. It was really clever and skillfully done. It was well paced and all the mystery elements were executed really well. I enjoyed the heck out of it. I thought it was going to be a whiny teenage drama and it wasn’t that at all. The epilogue though.. OMFG! That just about slayed me. Brilliant book! 4.5 stars Thank you to @macmillanaudio, @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for my gifted ALC and ARC. #thethrashers #yanovel #wednesdaybooks #juliesoto #bookreview #bookishreview #bookishblog #readerblog #newrelease #bookreel #bookstoread #reelstagram #bookreviewblog #bookoftheday #mysterybookreader #readersofig

I just finished A Proposal to Die for By Molly Harper and here are my thoughts. Jess has a successful business.. Marriage proposal planning… But with rising rent she takes on the proposal of her snobby highschool classmate…. At the bridal retreat, things go from bad to worse… People are turning up dead and if Jess doesn’t unravel the mysteries … she might not make it out alive… Who doesn’t love a multi-genre mashup!!! The plot was the right mix of humor, and suspense with a pinch of romance. The characters are all really quirky and mildly annoying. No one was particularly likeable but it didn’t detract from the enjoyment. The start was a bit rocky…. But it was well paced and I got sucked in, especially when they got to the retreat. I did figure out what was going on but I am the master of that haha! I really enjoyed the writing style and I gave it a solid 4 stars or bookalorian thumbs up Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for my gifted copy!!! #aproposaltodiefor #mollyharper #berkley #bookreview #cozymystery #mysteryreader #bookblogger #bookishblog #literaryinfluencer #bookinfluencer #readingallday #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readreadread #romancereader

I just finished Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro and here are my musings. Brynn is struggling with motherhood and being a wife. Her husband has been withdrawn and she can’t manage to do her job around the baby… When a waitress at their country club is found murdered, then tragedy hits her home… Her husband has been arrested for the crime.. It looks like he did it but Brynn isn’t so sure and she will stop at nothing to find the truth. This one was really well done. I loved the narration. It really brought me into the story and held my attention. I felt the postpartum aspects of the story were handled with care and accuracy so that was a big plus too. It was loaded with family drama and the thriller side of it felt like the secondary story which was a bit of a bummer. Brynn was the star of the show. Her whole character was what kept me going through the whole story. The pace was a bit slow for a thriller but Brynn kept me engaged. It was a really clever story. I didn’t figure out what happened so the ending hit me hard. I was like what the SHEET!!!! I love it when I am kept guessing…. This is definitely a different type of thriller to my norm but I enjoyed the heck out of it!! The writing was great, the other characters were a bit flat but all in all… I great book, well narrated and I was entertained. 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio and @minotaur_books for my ALC and ARC! #suchagoodmom #juliaspiro #netgalley #bookreviewer #bookishblogger #bookvlogger #bookishcommunity #thrillerreader #readingallday #bookalorian #bookreadersofig #igreader #bookloversofig

I just finished The Beauty Molecule by Nicholas Perricone. M.D and here are my musings. I love books like this… I am really big on natural ways to unlock your health. You don’t need weight loss shots or botox to naturally bring your beauty back!! I firmly believe this and this book proves me right. So this book is all about fortifying your health on a cellular level in such a way anyone can do it. You don’t need to be rich!! It basically promotes food as medicine. One of the things I loved the most was the part about hydrogen water!! PRAISE BE!! We drink it here. It’s a game changer. I have RA so keeping inflammation down is top priority and you can do it too! This book will help. 21 days… What do you have to lose.? Dr. Perricone’s latest work reveals: - How to slow mitochondrial aging with powerful amino acids like glycine and N-acetyl cysteine. - The secret connection between the vagus nerve and acetylcholine—the ultimate mind-beauty link. - Hydrogen water: the magic bullet for reversing cellular degeneration, restoring muscle tone, improving memory, and unlocking external radiance. - Antioxidant 3.0, a next-level approach to combating inflammation and promoting cellular renewal. It’s easy, it’s smart and it will keep you healthy at any age! I knew all this stuff already and the author lays it all out in a simple and easy to follow way! 4.5 stars!! Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy #thebeautymolecule #nicholasperriconemd #nonfiction #medicine #healthbook #21daystoanewyou #bookreview #bookishreview #bookblogger #bookblog #readervlog #vlogger #bookalorian

I just finished I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones and here are my thoughts. Nicole is living a small town life in Coronado with her small family but her past comes crashing to her doorstep when a young woman comes asking questions about her past and then her daughter goes missing… She has worked hard to forget about her life back in london… Her sister's obsession with a band leads to lives being destroyed and Nicole isn’t willing to relive it but now her child is in danger… She may not have a choice. This book was awesome right up to the end. I found the ending a bit weird to be honest. It didn’t seem well thought out and it was twist over twist crashing over a twist and it didn’t need it. I particularly enjoyed the narration and the past. The current day… It didn’t work for me. The husband acted like a total freak. I get why she fled.. I get all that but there were so many things that felt disjointed. The girl showed up at the door and the reason she was there she didn’t explain at the door, we find out later but the reason she didn't tell her in the first place… STUPID. Nicole pretending that she didn’t have a sister when the school said that’s who picked her up. It was all mental. I dunno I think the magic was in the past and the lead up to the big event. The writing was really good but there were just some elements that didn’t sit well with me. I really thought the story had some really excellent elements. I loved the build up. I wish the ending wasn’t so outlandish. Having said that, I did enjoy the book and I think I am in the minority with the ending but I think an opportunity was missed. 3.75 stars Thank you to @macmillanaudio @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my gifted ALC and ARC. #iwoulddieforyou #sandiejones #thriller #mystery #bookreview #bookishreview #bookblogger #bookalorian #booktok #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #amreading #readerofbooks #readerofinsta

I just finished Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan @lindyryanwrites Book 2 of Bless your heart series and here are my thoughts. Evan's women have an important job… Making sure the dead stay buried and after the loss of 2 of their family members… It’s up to Luna and Lenore to keep the fight going. Trouble is… Something is out there tearing people to shreds.. It’s not something they have seen before but the trouble is coming right to their door and they are the only ones who can fight whatever monster it is and keep the town safe. I liked the first book. I went into it blind and had no idea it was a southern vampire horror with cozy vibes.. But I enjoyed it. So this time round I got the audio and the kindle… When I read a book, I have a tone and voices in my head… Moving into audio upset my balance haha. Once I got past the change the audio was soooooo much better than I could have hoped for. I really love Luna in this installment. She didn’t sit well with me in the first book but I really started to warm to her and now I love her! It’s a lot to bury family and she managed to stay on point. Lenore was great the whole time and I absolutely adore Ducey. She is cranky and a bad ass! It’s hard to blend genres and keep a balance but there was some really emotional moments, some chuckle worthy moments and some carnage! It’s a win win win. Yes it’s a cozy horror. I know that seems oxymoronic but it was so good. I don’t even know if it’s a real genre but it’s coined now haha. I love the southern charm, the generational family magic and the fact we were introduced to what appears to be some kind of werewolf!! HOWLLLLLLL….. It was great. I cannot wait for book 3! Honestly if you love southern vampire reads.. Give this a go. 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley @minotaur_books and #macmillanaudio for my gifted arc and alc! #anotherfinemess #lindyryan #blesssyourheart #anotherfinemess #vampirebook #paranormalread #horror #cozyhorror #bookreview #bookishreviewer #bookblogger #readingallday #readreadread #justonemorechapter

I just finished The Difference that makes the Difference by Josh Davis PH.D and Greg Prosmushkin and here are my thoughts. Stop waiting for your life to change… Change it today!!! This book was really an eye opener. I had no idea about Neuro Linguistic Programming…. No clue what it was or meant. This book will do things like help you to communicate confidently! Sign me up for some of that!! It will teach you how to learn and master new skills through modelling excellence. It was a really interesting book. The formatting was a bit squished for me. I would have liked paragraph breaks so I could make notes and tabs. I know it's a lot of info but it was hard to correlate what I wanted to save without the space to do so. That’s my only gripe. There was some excellent info in here, some I implemented immediately. My favorite section is how to change someone else's mind…. Yours or theirs… It tells you how to get along with people, how to change their mental image. It was profoundly clever in honesty. Anyone who feels defeated should give this book a read. It can help you to bring about the more confident life you have been dreaming of.. 4 stars Thank you @stmartinspress @stmartinsessentials for my gifted copy #nonfiction #TheDifferencethatmakestheDifference #joshdavisphd #stmartinspress #smpinfluencer #booklover #bookblog #bookreview #selfhelp #bookloversofig #igbooks #igreader #bookinfluencer #bookreviewer

I just finished the Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose @nitaprose and here are my musings. Molly Gray never thought her life would look like this. Head maid and Special events manager at her beloved Regency hotel. Engaged to Juan and planning her wedding… Everything is as perfect as can be.. That is until the antiquities show Hidden Treasures comes to the hotel and discovers that Molly has a treasure… But when the auction is running to sell it… someone manages to steal it…. The only answers seem to be the clues in the diary from her deceased grandmother… I am a superfan of Molly. I love her. I have been following her story since it started and every book is better than the last. This time round we learned more about her grandmother Flora. About half the book was her history from diary entries that she left for Molly. I actually thought it was a brilliant way to round out Molly and Flora’s origins and I felt like it kinda gave Molly some closure… She knew how much her grandmother loved her but everything she did was for her family and to be true to herself. I teared up when she let John go… The plot of the story was the best yet. I feel like all the characters are all well established and I love realistic and well rounded characters. I feel like I am part of the team. I love Nita’s writing style. It’s cozy, warm and draws you in. I feel like I am being invited in for tea with my friends and it's always a pleasure. I hope this isn’t the last book. It ended so beautifully I can see how it could be done but I refuse to accept that is the end of Molly! If you haven’t started this series yet, you really should. While this book is written in a way you could read it as a standalone… You have to come to love Molly the way I did and that means starting at book 1. Make sure you have a tissue for your issue as Molly cordially invites you to her wedding… I loved every second of this book. 5 stars. Thank you @penguinrandomca and @netgalley for my gifted copy #themaidssecret #nitaprose #canadianauthor #bookreview #mollythemaid #mollythemaidseries #cozymystery #mysteryreader #bookblogger #bookishblog #literaryinfluencer #bookinfluencer #readingallday #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readreadread #5starread