I just finished Deadly Vision by T.D Severin and here are my musings. What do you do when you invent a medical breakthrough so advanced that people are willing to kill to prevent it ever coming to light? Dr Taylor Abrahms is a gifted researcher and he has created a virtual reality AI microsurgery that will change the face of surgery. When medicine becomes political, the technology is being used to scapegoat as the health system is on the verge of bankruptcy. Dr Abrahms is now under attack and the research team he works with are being killed off one by one. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how excellent the writing is in this book? ………. Wow! I was not expecting this level of scientific excellence.. I don’t know if this tech is even a real thing but this author… Made me think it might just be! It felt so real it was actually a little intimidating! The plot is really intricate and you would think with all the things going on that there would be a plot hole or two.. If there was, I didn’t find it. I am still reeling from how nerve wracking the twists were. Imagine creating something so fantastical and now you are in bloody danger… No thanks haha. It was gripping… The pace was excellent and the whole thing was tight and tidy. It was absolutely mindblowing. It was a solid thriller and I am not one who enjoys medical thrillers… Or political thrillers for that matter but if they are all written like this one… I may be eating my words. 4.5 stars and it only lost half a star for making me feel like a dumbass haha Thank you to @tdseverin for my gifted copy.. What you got coming up next? Grab your copy here https://amzn.to/46gOozI #tdseverin #deadlyvision #medicalthriller #thriller #thrillerreader #bookreview #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookreviewblog #literacyinfluencer #bookinfluencer #bookalicious #bookalorian #litdulterous

I just finished Voidwalker by S.A Maclean and here are my thoughts. Fionamara is a smuggler… She uses her powers to smuggle contraband between planes and it keeps her town afloat but when she gets caught up in a political Coup d’état, she joins forces with Antal who rules over the territory to get her city back. A revolution has begun. I am going to say one thing first.. The world building was absolutely top notch! We have the usual enemies to lovers with the MMC being an immortal who eats humans… Yeah you read that right and a FMC with powers of her own and a vicious need to protect her home. I actually thought the romance was really well done considering I am not a lover of the trope. One thing you will find in spades… Really witty and classy banter. It was epic. My biggest beef was how long it was. I felt some sections could have been trimmed down to make the book more streamline. The author repeated phrases a lot but all in all I thought the plot was really clever, even if it didn’t feel as exciting as it really could have been and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I know you might be thinking.. It’s a monster romance…Yeah I get it but it really does work here. It was pretty dark but honestly I think it is worth a go. 4 stars Thank you @orbitbooks_us @hachetteus for my gifted copy Grab your copy here!! https://amzn.to/46ft5ie #voidwalker #samaclean #romantasy #fantasy #romantasyreader #bookreview #hatchettbooks #orbitbooks #bookinfluencer #readersofig #bookalorian 1w

I just finished An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon and here are my thoughts. Meg needs a reboot.. Dropping out of college to work for a now failed start up… That’s bad. Worst? When your fiance basically leaves you at the altar and takes your bridesmaid on your honeymoon… Even worse… Moving back home with your tail between your legs. Working at her mothers bookstore and art time doing research for a mystery writer is the highlight… That is until the writer's agent winds up dead and her uncle is looking at people she cares about as the perps.. An idea comes to her, writing a guidebook - a how to for criminal investigations. What can go wrong? OK it sounds cheesy…. NEWSFLASH! It was awesome!! The narration was excellent and really set a great mysterious tone to the whole book. It was cute! It was really well paced and there were even a little friends to lurvers to make your reader heart sing. I thought the characters were really well defined. Exceptionally so for a book 1 in a series. They all felt realistic and had real substance. I was really drawn to Meg. She didn’t let anything get in her way of what she was doing even when she wasn’t sure of herself, It was magical. I thought the whodunnit was really clever. I had no idea who it was and I was guessing wrong every few chapters haha. Brilliant plot, great entertainment, thoroughly impressed!! 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @tantoraudio for my gifted ALC! Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/4lMkCss<< #anamateursleuthsguidetomurder #lynncahoon #alc #audiobook #audiobookreview #bookalorian

I just finished House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama and here are my musings. Josephine is feeling chaffed under the care of her brother after the death of her father so when her childhood friend, Hiraya invites her to her home, she jump on the chance to escape her brother's watchful eye… The idea of going to visit and playing games like they used to when they were young is too tempting. If she wins, she will get whatever her little heart desires… There have been rumors. That Hiraya is a witch but Josephine does not care.. She must play to win but the house only allows victory with blood… It was so eerie and incredibly intense!! The writing was phenomenal with its slow burn start and the olympic sprint in the last half of the book, I was hooked from the start. Imagine being invited by a friend to a house that thrives on murdering people.. I would be hella angry haha but Josephine really took it in her stride, maybe a touch too loyal. I actually felt a little bad for Hiraya. I don’t think I was supposed to sympathize but I really did. I didn’t know much about Filipino folklore but I am hella intrigued now. There were so many threads weaved together to create this underlying thrum of unease… I loved the dynamic between the characters and the power struggles that emanate off the pages, it created a really unique story and I am a massive fan of gothic horror so this is high praise. You need to push through the slow burn if you aren’t a fan of it because the book really picks up and that’s where all the magic is. I will warn you.. The insects… BLEH!!!!!! I was thoroughly entertained! 4.5 stars!! I think had the pace of the first half been a bit faster, it would have been the best read of the year. Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted arc! Grab your copy TODAY! >>https://amzn.to/45RULcD<< #bookalorian #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

I just finished The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos - A Porter Beck Mystery and here are my musings. Sheriff Porter Beck is on the case! With the help of his new girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse. They investigate the death of a pilot that was found dead that then led to the savage murder of the person coordinator for the bureau of land management.. Trouble is there are too many suspects and too many secrets and one wrong step could mean his last. Do you know how hard it is to review a book in a series you already adore? VERY HARD! You may wonder why… You feel like you are just repeating the same gushy things you always say. OK I will do my best! I love Beck. He is such a brilliant character. He is flawed and has this hard exterior but he is really a marshmallow. I love the direction his character is going in. I hated that the book brought up covid. I feel like this 100% unnecessary and why add something that could trigger someone when it had zero need to be there. There you go I did have something no gushy to say. I really enjoyed the plot and the pace was well done. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next installment. 4 stars Thank you @minotaur_books for my gifted copy

I just finished Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina and here are my thoughts. Azul is a necromancer and she only wants one thing.. Her sister.. back from death so she needs her sister's bones. But the Lord of death isn’t going to give up that easily. Their paths keep crossing and the deadly game has fate hanging in the balance…. The magic in this book is in the world building. It was absolutely earth shatteringly good. The magic was absolutely enchanting and I loved how descriptive the book was. I got an ARC and an ALC so I switched between the two and honestly, the audiobook was so good I did most of the book this way thanks to the great narration. I don’t think the constant shifting of timelines worked for me. It was a tad messy and hard to follow and there were too many POV to get a tight story. I think less POV and not so much time shifting would have made the story flow better. Another reason why the audio was better was because it was much easier to follow along this way. The characters are a tad underdeveloped at this point and it was hard to care about anyone because we didn’t dig deep enough for my liking. I'm hoping because this is book 1 of a duology that the characters will grow in the next book. All in all the magic is in the world building. The writing was actually quite beautiful and I am going to grab the next installment when it is out. 3.75 stars. I needed more character building. More balance!! You can grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/3Hv3oC0<< Thank you @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted arc and alc

I just finished Too Old for this by Samantha Downing and here are my thoughts. Lottie Jones has a small life but it suits her. That is until Plum shows up on her doorstep.. Wanting to do a docuseries on the murders Lottie was accused of decades earlier… She doesn’t want this dreaded up but invites Plum in… Plum did see the face hit coming and now Lottie has come out of retirement to protect the life she has so carefully curated. OMG!! I go in blind all the time but I wasn’t expecting this book to open with a bang and just keep banging!! The magic is in Lottie herself. She is so much fun… I mean for a serial killer but her internal monologue was quick and clever and she was ruthless AF!!!! She managed to pull off those murders, have her reputation tarnish and she got away with it all and a payday! The pacing was superb! I need fast paced thrillers and this one kept a brilliantly clever pace that kept me glued to my kindle. The chapters were short (I prefer this) and packed a massive punch!! I couldn’t put it down. It was the most perfect cat and mouse game and Lottie really was 10 steps ahead at all times. She uses her age to seem dotty and old but she is sharp as a whip! I actually found it funny as well as disturbing and that is by no means an easy feat! I totally loved Lottie and I don’t know what kind of person that made me when I was rooting for a serial killer to get a HEA but here we are.. HAHA I was on the edge of my seat the whole time so this was the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given a book! All the bloody stars!! GENIUS WRITING!! I needed more from this author. Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/4n6Trtr<< #toooldforthis #samanthadowning #thriller #5starbook #bookinfluencer #bookishblog #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookish #booknerd #bookaddict #reading #readersofinstagram #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks #bookblogger #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookphotography #bookshelf #booktok #reader #booklove #bookaholic #bookrecommendation #bookclub #review

I just finished Open Bar by Dan Schorr and here are my thoughts. Serena Stanfield uncovers a long time abusive coach who has been preying on teenagers in the university’s summer softball program. Putting her job online she refused to let it go and joined forces with a junior associate for an investigation firm and a city councillor, they pursue different paths to obtain justice but they have the same goal. Yeah this one was different. It didn’t have the tone I have come to expect from a thriller.. It had a ton of POVs and it felt like the author spent more time on the cover up than anything outside of that and it was a tad bland. There were no twists, it was mostly little ahhh I see moments which really didn’t work for me in this genre. I think it needs to be reclassified because I can see thriller readers being upset with this. It was a compelling read, lots of parts had my mind just spinning and it mostly stood on the triggers to provide the settings. Again, it didn’t fit the thriller genre for me and I went in looking for that and was disappointed. The character development was there though and there was some gifted writing… Real shame! 3.5 stars Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/425spKP<< #danschorr #openbar #bookreview #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readersofig #litdulterous #tbr #bookinfluencer #netgalley #kindlereader #colorsoft

I just finished The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen and here are my musings. Georgia is in a psychiatric unit… Charged with killing her sister.. The biological daughter of her rich adoptive parents. Their sibling rivalry is well documented in their family and friend circles so no one is surprised.. The only person she will see is her biological twin sister.. The sister that has no idea she has a twin. Amanda goes to visit but she doesn’t expect to hear Georgia whisper that she is innocent. Georgia leads Amanda on a chase to find the truth… but is Georgia innocent or is she the master of manipulation? WOW WOW WOW! That was one heck of a trip!! I don’t even know what to unpack first!! OK Amanda. She knew she was adopted but she didn’t know there was a twin out there. I could imagine how curious she would have been. There was also something a little dark about Amanda. She didn’t have any problems stepping into Georgia’s world to ask questions and it felt like she was a well seasoned liar. Georgia did know about Amanda but it was only for a few months. They were different but the same.. It was a really nice contrast to see them together and what they were up to apart. I liked the plot. I thought it was clever and the ending was a big mindblowing conclusion! I didn’t work it out so that’s always a bonus for me with thrillers. The pace was a touch slow but there was a lot to find out and I think the pace matched the way we found information in the right way. I loved the audiobook narration. I already ordered a copy to have on my shelf. The writing is incredible and I was hooked from the very beginning. The storyline was like an onion, the more you peel back the harder it is to keep watching! It was intense!! The institution was absolutely terrifying so having the balance of the luxury life vs being on the ward… GAHHHH it was absolutely epic. It felt so real! 4.5 stars I loved spending the book feeling wrong footed the whole time!! You can order your copy right here >>https://amzn.to/4lYRPRK<< Thank you to @netgalley @macmillanaudio and @stmartinspress for my gifted ALC and ARC!!! #Thelockedward #sarahpekkanen #thriller #alc