I just finished The Man made of Smoke by Alex North and here are my musings. Dan’s life could have ended when he was a child. He came dangerously close to a notorious serial killer. He grew up to be a criminal profiler. When his father goes missing, presumed dead, he returns back to the place where it all started. There is so much that points toward the killer who still hasn’t been captured in all these years. Do you know what I love the most about Alex North? He writes these horror/thrillers with these undertones of supernatural but they are never actually supernatural. It's clever… It's a real skill. I love his style. Now I got a paperback ARC… An ALC and I got it from, book of the month, I had to. It was creepy AF. I love books that bring you in and raise the hairs on the back of your neck. The only thing about the book was the pace was slower than I needed but I think it painted the backstory really really well. He knows how to build tension. It's like a creeping fog, not the boom boom racing heart but a dark omnibus vibes. ADORED IT! Read if you like Small Town Island Father/son dynamic Multiple POVs Serial killers "Nobody sees," the man says. "And nobody cares." That was bone chilling! BONE CHILLING! I loved how complex Dan was. He was really a raw and thoughtful dude. It was mildly heartbreaking, a little more emotional than I am used to but dang.. Solid book! 4 stars Thank you to @celadonbooks for my gifted copy #themanmadeofsmoke #alexnorth #horror #thriller #horrorreader #thrillerreader #celadonbooks #bookreview #bookblog #readerblog #bookishvlog #bookalorian #litdulterous #bookish #booksofig #igreads #booktok

I just finished Climbing in Heels by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and here are my musings. 3 ladies… 3 paths…. Sisterhood… Watch them climb their way to the top in their high heels… Sex… Drugs and all the power… I got some real Devil wear Prada heels from the synopsis. All 3 of these women are secretaries at the hottest agency in Hollywood. Set in the 1980s it really takes out down to the nitty gritty of the seediness of the world of films being all about what men want. They take what they want and all 3 of them are very different but they have the same goals. I thought it was really well written, tad slow for my liking but I thought it was an excellent story… Women pushing the status quo in the 80s? HECK YEAHHHH. It was very well done. I actually blew through it in one sitting. I loved the whole vibe of the book… My biggest issue… Too many side characters.. I think it should have been kept tighter with the characters. It got a bit lucy goosy in the middle but the ending more than made up for it. I am one of those readers who need the grit, glitz and glamor and this book had it. If you like books with women who push past that glass ceiling… Grab this one. Be aware there is a lot of cocaine and sex.. Check the triggers before picking up. 4 stars Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. #climbinginheels #elainegoldsmiththomas #historicalfiction #bookalorian #litdulterous #bookreview #bookblog #fbreader #smpearlyreader #bookinfluencer #booksbooksbooks #bookreaderofig #igbooks #bookloversofig

I just finished The Ripple Effect by Maggie North and here are my musings. Stellar is on burnout.. Her job as an ER doc has brought her to her knees and she needs to find a new job. She didn’t expect it to come from Sunshine psychologist Lyle. A man she has been avoiding since they hooked up a year ago… The only way she can really help his business is to help him with a fake engagement.. Her hardness to his softness might just be what the doctor ordered.. Big fan of when the girl is the grump and the man is the sunshine. I love sunshine men! This one was different. I kinda liked how Stellar was written. It was a unique and clever way of bringing the kind of FMC that writers usually avoid. Big fan. I loved the first book in the series and this one was just as good. I like that it's not your normal trope book. The author kinda flips the trope script and goes against the grain. It's refreshing. The slow burn is even quite delicious. I am more an instalove gal but this one really built the best kind of tension and I am here all day for that. Read if you like Fake Engagement Found Family One Night Stand Forced Proximity Black cat/golden retriever Joyous! 4 stars! I love books like this! Gimme more! Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my gifted paperback and ebook! #therippleeffect #maggienorth #canadianauthor #canadareads #canadianbooktok #canadianbookstagram #slowburnromance #fakeengagement #forcedproximity #blackcat #goldenretriever #romanceread #bookalorian #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #bookreview #smpearlyreader

I just finished We Can Never Leave by H.E. Edgmon and here are my musings. There's a world between worlds.. A Caravan of inhumans looking for others… They awoke in the world with no memories. 5 teens wake one morning to find the caravan of their people has disappeared. The 5 of them have to work together to uncover the mystery before something terrible happens to them too. Wow… Just wow. I kind of just sat for a moment and felt all the feels when I was done. If you read my reviews then you know I am not a fan of slow moving books. This one had teeth so the speed actually wasn’t a negative. The teens did a lot of fighting and that was a tad irritating. A lot of really cool things happen and they kind of spoil it haha. I could have done with less POVs, it was a tad messy but I see what the author was trying to do. The writing was quite excellent and I was pretty much sucked in. Read if you like Queer rep YA Contemporary fantasy Unreliable narrators It's a rich and complex story with some excellent twists. Lots of secrets, a great mystery and an entertaining read. It was hard to give a rating for but I think its a solid 3.75 Thank you to @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for my gifted copy. Out now #wecanneverleave #yahorror #yafantasy #lgbtq #lgbtqrep #pridemonth #HEedgmon #netgalley #kindlereader #bookinfluencer #booklover #litdulterous # bookalorian #readersofig #readersofacebook #bookloversofig #wednesdaybooks

Cold Eternity by S A Barnes Halley is on the run and finding a job on a ship with a cryo program seems like the ideal place to hide… Things aren’t what they seem. The hologram hosts are glitching… They don’t act like a computer program. Halley can feel something isn’t right here and what is slithering around the vents… It started out slow… I was a tad bored at first… Once Halley is on that ship.. GAME ON! It felt like coming online and you could feel the tension. I actually really enjoyed it. I am very specific about my sci-fi and this one was exceptional! The narration was excellent and I enjoyed the heck out of it. The plot was insane! I was totally grossed out and engrossed in equal measures. It felt like a warning too… It was excellent. 4.5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted copy! Grab your hardcover here https://amzn.to/4l5P3tE Grab your ebook here https://amzn.to/45YoLVW Grab your audio here https://amzn.to/4ld21WH #coldeternity #sabarnes #horrorbook #horroreader #scifi #scifireader #booklover #bookreview #bookblogger #readervlog #bookvlogger #readingallday #bookalorian #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #literaryinfluencer

I just finished Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab and here are my thoughts. A wandering stranger, a wild girl….. A hunger so real… Time.. Endless. A girl with a tender heart offered her freedom at a price no one should have to pay. A girl running from her past when a one night stand leaves her with questions…. 3 time lines… 3 womens lives all intertwined… This is like Addie LaRue on steroids. I normally hate books that have more than one timeline but this worked. It worked really well. I often find myself enjoying one timeline more so I get frustrated with the ones I don’t but that didn’t happen to me. This book will sit with you. The kind of book that is more character driven the plot heavy but the writing is so beautiful and slow pace will have you fully submerged into the story in the best kind of ways. Do you like vampire stories? How about sapphic vampire stories? This one is for you. The book is full of toxic love. These women burn for the kind of world that isn’t made for them. They are women ahead of their times. Read if you like Feminine Rage Morally Grey Characters Cat and mouse games Lovers to enemies!!! I loved the writing, I loved the slow creepy factor it had going on. I think I would have preferred the audio more but this was 4.5 stars for me. Thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for my gifted copy!!!! #litdulterous #bookalorian #bookreview #BuryOurBonesintheMidnightSoil #veschwab #horrorreader #hprrprbook #vampires #sapphicvampires #sapphic #historicalfiction #torpublishing #booklover #bookblog #litdulteouspodcast #booktalk #bookchat #bookish

I just finished Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell by Gillian French and here are my thoughts. 16 years ago Shaw suffered a great loss. Her sister went missing. Never to be found. She knows her obsession to find the truth has pushed her husband away but she cannot stop. Especially when Anders Jansen calls her… Telling her he committed the crime. Playing with her. The more she tries to ignore him… The more he escalates and she is putting everyone in danger for the truth. WHOAAAAA This book was something else! I was gripped, I tell ya… GRIPPED!!! It was chilling!! Bone chilling! I could feel how close the stalker was getting as the book went on. It was excellent. Dark and gritty with a hot mess of an FMC. I wasn’t much of a fan of Shaw’s but I kind of think we weren’t supposed to. Respect her yep.. Like her? NOOOOO. My biggest problem was that we knew what was going on pretty early in the book. I would have liked more of a mystery. The pace was really awesome and I was lucky to get an audiobook version along with the paperback copy. The narrator did an amazing bringing the book to life for me. The pacing was a bit weird in spots and it was slower than I like my thrillers. I also felt that the police not investigating the calls before was a bit weird to me but all in all I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style and I definitely will try this author again. 3.75 stars. Thank you to @netgalley @macmillanaudio and @minotaur_books for my gifted copy and ALC. #shawconnollylivestotell #gillianfrench #thriller #booklover #bookreview #bookishreview #bookblog #readervlog #litdulterous #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readreadread #booktok #bookstagrammer

I just finished Six days in Bombay by Alka Joshi and here are my thoughts. Sona is a nurse and when Mira comes to her hospital having a miscarriage they strike up a friendship. Sona is devastated when she dies but finds that MIra has left her a task. To deliver paintings to some of the people who matter to her, also leaving her a painting too.. After losing her job at the hospital, Sona is set on the adventure of a lifetime. Firstly I am a massive, MASSIVE fan of Alka Joshi so I had high expectations of this book. It didn’t disappoint. The stage is set in an epic fashion. Sona is a wonderful character and I love how much depth there was to her. Mira is an interesting character. We get the version of her she wanted Sona to see and you get a different version of her with every person Sona gives a painting to. It was fascinating. I loved the plot. It was fully immersive and the narration was on point!! I love her writing style and this standalone book might be my favourite of hers to date. It was clever, well paced and entertaining from start to finish. 5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for my gifted ALC #alkajoshi #sixdaysinbombay #historicalfiction #bookreview #audiobook #audiobooklover #audiobookreader #readersofig #bookalorian #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #bookblog #booktalk #bookishpodcast #bookchat

I just finished Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler for my book tour for @berkleypub and here are my musings. Nina is licking her wounds and heading back to her childhood home.. Only to find the house next door is not empty…But has Quentin Bell, her ex best friend and secret crush. Radio silence for years but their friendship seems to have stood the test of time and the treasure hunt they started all those years ago is still calling to them… Can they work through the hurt they both harbor? Cute Romance Friends to lovers Childhood friends Treasure hunt Old Mystery Second Chance Small town These are the exact ingredients needed for the kind of romance read, all romance readers need… on any given day. I loved the dynamic between Quentin and Nina. I love romance reads that have romances bloom from childhood friendships. I love the added bit of mystery with the treasure hunt. It gave us something else to focus on that wasn’t just the will they won’t they tension that the book had in spades. I also loved the small town vibes that were going on. I thought the book alternating between the man who set the hunt and the present day was clever. I wasn’t so sure about the flitting back and forth at first but it really gave the book a much needed dimension from the source of the hunt opposed to the duo finding the answers along the way. I loved the writing. It was clean and well paced. I think the author did an awesome job of keeping the mystery and romance simmering at equal levels. I do wish the ending had been a bit splashier… What they found at the end, while very sweet, was a bit of a let down too. I did think the HEA was a nice touch though and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 4 stars! This little gem of a book is available tomorrow JUNE 24TH! So go grab your copy! (I think the cover is excellent by the way!) Thank you to @netgalley and Berkley Publishing for my gifted copy. I have massively enjoyed my tour spot! #finderskeepers #sarahadler #blogtour #booktour #readerblog #readervlog #booklover #bookreview #berkleybooks #berkleypub #romance #womensfiction #netgalley #kindlereader #litdulterous #bookalorian