Welcome to Litsy!

#Bookspin read. Not a favorite.
@TheAromaofBooks

Mission Accomplished as I read all I set out to read. I finished Thunderstruck, The Five Wounds. I kept up with my SundayBuddyRead and started the tagged book. 🙌🏻
##MagnificentMay @Andrew65

I like to check in with the thriller genre every now and then to make sure I‘m not missing out. This book confirmed my suspicions that I‘m growing further and further away from this type of fiction. Maya is an unreliable narrator due to substance abuse, nothing new there. Granted, the twist is different, but I didn‘t find it riveting. I did appreciate the Guatemala setting during a small part. Nice cover.

I‘m only bailing on this one for now….I just can‘t get into the physical book and am hoping I‘ll enjoy the audiobook more. I‘ve got the audiobook on hold at the library but it‘s not going to be available to me for months and months 🤦🏼‍♀️. I just don‘t want it sitting on “currently reading” that long, making me feel guilty for giving up 🤣.

I've had this on hold at the library since the release and have managed to avoid spoilers - but the overall ratings/general sentiment have me concerned. I'm about half way through and honestly it's compulsively readable with the short chapters and alternating timeline... but I have a feeling the ending will ruin it 🤣 (yet I don't even have a guess at what it will be!!)

End of the holiday 😭
Looking on the bright side, I have about 30 hours of reading time ahead of me...

The 2nd in my #BirthdayHaul is this thriller set in a small town. Deep in the woods, densely surrounded by tall pines is a cabin that may look rundown but inside is enticing & warm. But Maya knows better, when her best friend & herself visited the cabin one summer, only Maya went home. Now another woman has died in the same way & Maya believes only she can save the next innocent girl using her broken memory & an unfinished book her father wrote.

3-24-23: My 32nd finished book of 2023! I really liked the concept but didn‘t love the ending. This was almost a so-so for me. 7 years ago, Maya‘s best friend dropped dead and she‘s sure the man she was dating did it. It was never proven and now after seeing a YouTube video showing the man she had dated and another woman dying, Maya decides it‘s time to go home and prove she isn‘t going crazy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣3️⃣2️⃣

This was another lackluster thriller for me. I think I'm over using the unreliable female narrator in mysteries/thrillers. Yet again, this book features a female going through benzo withdrawals who drinks to excess. At first the mystery pulled me in, but then it gets messy and predictable. At the point I was ready to give up, the author tosses in a paranormal twist, which I thought was interesting.

Another quick read that left me underwhelmed.

3⭐️/5⭐️

I‘ve typically liked the books I‘ve read from Reese‘s picks, but this one‘s just bad. It‘s starts out as a middling mystery/thriller with clunky character development and goes downhill from there. I wish I hadn‘t bothered.

I think I‘m getting into a thriller rut where I keep picking books with unreliable female narrators, so I wasn‘t really feeling this book at first, however, it really turned around for me and had a “paranormal”-ish aspect that I enjoy being added to thrillers. This is her debut novel and I‘m excited to see more from her. 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The reviews are all over the place for this one but I thought it was really creepy & sinister.

Maya is drinking too much to take the edge off her benzo withdrawals when she comes across a viral video. A woman drops dead in a diner in front of her ex-bf, the same way her friend had 7 years ago.

It‘s a slow burn & a quick read

Getting an oil change…”No, I don‘t mind waiting” 😁

Starting this one while we wait for our vet appointment.

Listening along with Reese Witherspoon‘s book club. Not the worst of all reads but at times, I kind of wished I was listening to something else. Didn‘t see the ending which was a redeeming quality for me 📖 #LitsyLoveReads

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This one has mixed reviews on goodreads and I would say I enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite book. The story kept me intrigued enough until the end.

2/5 ⭐

It was okay but not the best one. It was strange. Nothing really grabbed my attention.

Usually I‘m a life‘s too short to read bad books, but this one was for my book club. I just kept thinking there had to be more. Some sort of plot twist, or bigger reveal than what actually happened. However, I do believe it will bring some good discussion at book club #booked2023 #newin2023

• #ReesesBookClub January 2023 pick

#StoryGraph: fiction mystery thriller dark mysterious reflective
336 pages

I am particularly attracted to books about “mind-control” in any form it takes. So, when this story started turning in that direction, I was all in. The mediocre ratings on Goodreads baffles me. 5-stars from me.

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who witnessed her friend‘s mysterious death has since spent her life trying to forget.

I was very disappointed with this book described as unputdownable but I shouldn‘t have finished. The pacing was weird and I didn‘t feel like there was a twist- maybe I just figured it out early. Didn‘t even feel creepy. A miss for me.

I had to restart this book twice because I just could not focus on listening to it. I had to sit down and do a puzzle because my mind could not focus on this book. I did not like the pacing of this book, it felt all over the place. In the audio version, it didn't say when switching from past to present and that would confuse me sometimes. Also I just got more bored and uninterested in the book as it went along. 2/5

Book mail!

Book 15🎧 2.4⭐️

I was underwhelmed with this story.

I was expecting spooky cabin in the woods and this just wasn‘t it unfortunately.

3✨
I really don't like unreliable narrators... and for some reason I keep picking books with precisely what I dislike. 🙄
🎧 This was an interesting story and I did like the writing style, very lush and full. Will keep Ana in mind for future work.

@Clwojick #Pantone2023 #Macchinato #BlazingYellow #PeachPink #OysterMushroom

A slow burn thriller with a clever twist. The narrator was more reliable than I expected considering her circumstances. A solid debut. I‘d read more by this author in the future.

#sharreadathon

I hate to not finish a book, but I am bailing on this one. I don‘t see why there‘s a buzz about it. Really boring and nothing compelling me to go on. 👎🏻

What did I just read?

#JumpStart2023 update:

Another full week of hitting 50 pages or more a day.
Can't believe I've already finished 6 books with very little effort, just consistently read at least 50 pages a day.

@Lizpixie @Clwojick

Wow! This novel really had me from the start. It pulls you into Maya‘s state of mind, her confusion and frustration. We know something oddly sinister is happening to her, and when we finally find out, the truth is chilling. The ending left me feeling uneasy, yet hopeful. Quite the eerie novel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to love it bc it‘s a Reese‘s pick & described as a “can‘t put it down” thriller but I found that not to be the case. IMO it‘s not a typical thriller, which may be the appeal for some. I don‘t really want to say too much bc I don‘t want to give anything away. I‘m curious as to others‘ thoughts on this one! Let me know in the comments!

Well written and an interesting topic. But I was disappointed at the ending. For a first novel it was good and I will definitely look out for more by Ann Reyes @Cathythoughts you might like this subject.

Jumping in….seeing this everywhere lately!

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If you‘re looking for a psychological thriller that‘s a bit different and will keep you turning the pages to see WTF is going on, try this one, but don‘t read much about it beforehand! I thought the conclusion was satisfying and creepy. Unreliable narrators due to drug/alcohol issues can feel overdone, but I read that the author drew from her own experience of benzodiazepine withdrawal, so I appreciate that authenticity. #reesesbookclub

I love how descriptive the author was in setting up different scenes, you could really visually the story. A slow burn and parts were thrilling but still left unanswered questions at the end.

I read this book in two days because I couldn‘t put it down. I enjoyed the mystery and it was a different concept than I‘ve read in thrillers before. However, I wanted more of a twist and more shock at the end. I think it‘s definitely worth the read if you‘re interested in thrillers.

Lightning quick thriller about a young woman who suspects her ex is a killer. I guessed the twist!!! (Very proud.) Thanks to #netgalley for access to this title.

Review is up! This one has a twisted ending!

https://reecaspieces.com/2023/01/02/the-house-in-the-pines-by-ana-reyes-booktwit...