This is the latest book in my favorite detective series, and it did not disappoint. The mystery was complicated and the ongoing story of Maeve‘s personal life moved forward in interesting ways. The mystery was solved but the book also ended in a giant cliffhanger! I can‘t wait for the next one!

This was my #DoubleSpin for April

For @dabbe here are my Kate and Pippa. Pippa is the tuxedo in the back and Kate is the tortie. They prefer naps to reading.

I thought this was going to be about one thing, but it turned into a lot more (I don‘t want to spoil!) and I really enjoyed it. Some of the twists were kind of crazy but i thought they were earned by the story. I have been enjoying a lot of Irish crime novels lately, and will definitely look for more by this author, who was new to me. This was my #BookSpin for March and I never reviewed it. I wanted to make sure I did!

I absolutely loved this memoir. Journalism was my major so I love reporter memoirs. I had put this one off because I thought it was going to be strictly about mothering kids about to leave home. It is about that, and those parts were very engaging, but there‘s also a lot about her work as a journalist. A standout chapter covers her infamous interview with then-Sec. of State Mike Pompeo. I finished the audiobook in two days.

My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks for this month are two very recent releases. I‘m excited to have a chance to read them before something else catches my eye! I‘m especially excited for the Jane Casey — I love her Maeve Kerrigan series.

Sharing my March #BookSpinBingo results. I finished 10 books, including my BookSpin, and got one bingo. I‘m still working on my double spin, which was a nonfiction book that‘s a slower read. Ready for more reading in April!

I reserve the right to change this list before April, but these are the #BookSpinBingo books I‘m planning for next month. I‘m allowing a little flexibility too. Looking forward to seeing everyone else‘s book picks!

This was a fun spy story featuring a woman with amnesia. It starts really well and a some fun twists. It reminded me of the Findlay Donovan books. The audiobook was narrated well too.

My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks for March! I am hoping to dive in to All Her Fault today.

I didn‘t get a bingo but February was still a good reading month. Eight books finished. A couple of nonfiction, one romance, the rest mystery/thriller. On to March!

#BookSpinBingo

This gets a soft pick from me. I think my expectations were too high based on some of the hype this got. The story is good but for reasons I‘ll spoil in the comments I thought something was missing. The female narrator wasn‘t great either — her voice didn‘t show a lot of emotion.

I still plan to use my extra day in February to maybe finish another book, but here‘s my March #BookSpin list! Just thinking that it might feel like spring by the time I make my next book list.

I enjoyed this but not quite as much as some of the author‘s other books. What I liked was the unusual reason the two leads meet up — gelato! — and the male MC‘s family and the female MC‘s friendship with her boss. But the whole time just wanted to scream, tell the truth, just tell the truth. I know that would‘ve made for a shorter story, but I didn‘t love that plot device. This was my #BookSpin for February.

#Two4Tuesday

1. Chocolate or jewelry

2. They‘re a little dysfunctional but I would say Rachel and James in the tagged book are a good example.

Thanks @TheSpineView for the tag. I hadn‘t done one of these in a while!

This was a re-read for me, prompted by its inclusion on the #AuldLangSpine list I got from @Amiable. I couldn‘t quite get it finished in January! When I read this the first time, even though I knew what would happen, I found myself hoping things would turn out differently on that Memphis balcony. I felt the same again. This is one of the best nonfiction books I‘ve ever read.⬇️

My #BookSpin picks for this month have a bit of a winter/cold theme. I‘m pretty sure that‘s all these two books have in common. Thanks as always to @TheAromaofBooks for organizing this!

My picks for next month! Some carryover from January, some nonfiction, and books that might be fun.

Now that I‘ve caught up in my January reviews I can share my #BookSpinBingo card. I got one Bingo and finished 10 books, including my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks. It was a great reading month, especially with the #AuldLangSpine picks I got from @Amiable I will be carrying over a few more of her recommendations to February.

I loved The Switch and The No-Show and at first I didn‘t think I was going to enjoy this story. It‘s about two bickering coworkers at a hotel that is on its last legs, and as it went on I grew to like it. I especially liked the quirky hotel setting and the efforts everyone was making to keep it going. O‘Leary writes light fiction that always has a little bit of seriousness added in, and this was the same.

I only finished one nonfiction book in January, which is unusual for me. I really enjoyed listening to NPR reporter/host Ari Shapiro‘s memoir. He shares experiences from his early life and his reporting work, along with his sideline as a singer with Pink Martini. As an avid NPR listener, some of these stories were familiar, and it was nice to get more details and his reflections on them. The audiobook is great, as you might guess.

I‘ve enjoyed all the Mhairi McFarlane books I‘ve read so far. The story was an interesting one — what do you do when your TV writer boyfriend uses secrets you‘ve shared in his show? Roisin was a good MC and I was happy to spend a few hours in her life.

This is a light pick. I mostly read this because it fit a #PopSugar challenge prompt, but I did like the story of the return of the KPop star next door. It took a while for it to really get started, though, and it ended a little abruptly.

This author is also a screenwriter and that comes through in all his books. Last year I read all of his Eve Ronin series, and this one features different characters in the same Malibu setting. I still prefer Eve as an MC, but this one was fun too.

This was a twisty mystery with a resolution I didn‘t expect at all. The story kept me turning pages! A lot of the main characters have secrets or truths that they aren‘t facing, which gave it some layers. I thought the author stretched a little to make the town quirky but those were small annoyances.

This book, which is a fictionalized take on the author‘s family history, was highly recommended last year. I finally got around to reading it, and the story here is even more timely now. There‘s a mystery element to the story that I thought was resolved well. The final lines are haunting.

This was my #DoubleSpin for January

S.A. Cosby is a great writer. I read Razorblade Tears but thought it was a little too violent. It took me longer than usual to finish this one because it was too disturbing to read close to bedtime. I really liked the lead character and his family dynamics. I felt like this had maybe one or two too many things going on but I enjoyed the story overall. This was another pick from my #AuldLangSpine list from @Amiable

Overall I really enjoyed this novel about dysfunctional rich people. It was a lot more in depth than I expected— I thought more of the book would be what the last 1/3 was — so I might have cut a little of it. My main criticism is there was no explanation for why the triplets were so awful to each other. I wanted to toss a couple of them into the sea. I enjoyed this #AuldLangSpine pick from @Amiable

Mary Pat Fennessy has learned two things from her Boston neighborhood— how to hate and how to fight. This compelling novel follows what happens as Mary Pat tries to find her daughter, and the city deals with the aftermath of suspicious death. It‘s very hard to read the explicit racism in this novel, but it was certainly true of the time and place. Lehane really brings her to life and she‘s a character I know I‘ll keep thinking about. ⬇️

Not the prettiest picture but here are a few of the #AuldLangSpine choices I picked from @Amiable (there will be a couple more once my library holds come in). I think I‘ll start with the tagged book since it is due back first. Hellhound on His Trail is my copy, and it was quite an adventure to find it on my disorganized shelves!

Litsy is where 125 books read seems average! I finished a book today just in time to get to this nice number. My total is thanks to #BookSpinBingo, audiobooks, and the lack of TV thanks to the Hollywood strikes! Looking forward to another great year of reading.

Two weeks of vacation made for a great reading month! Finished 15 books and got three bingos. I enjoyed most of these. Standouts were The Rachel Incident, Small Things Like These, and None of This is True. Memory Police, which I read with the #SheSaid group, was outside my comfort zone but I am still thinking about it.

Last book of 2023! I hadn‘t read Pilcher before and didn‘t realize I started with her final novel. It‘s a bit too long and some of the main characters‘ emotional reactions (particularly to deaths) were a bit unreal to me. And two of the side characters are flawed almost to the point of being villains. But despite these issues, I really enjoyed reading this found family story set in Scotland. The ending was quite lovely.

My first #BookSpin list for 2024. Several of these are from the #AuldLangSpine list I got from @Amiable and others are library books that have come in or books that work for the PopSugar reading challenge prompts. Looking forward to another good year of reading starting tomorrow!

This was a very anticipated book for me because I‘d heard great things. I stayed up really late to finish it in one day, so it definitely lived up to the hype. Rachel deals with complicated relationships during a time of chaos in Ireland, when the economy had crashed and there was a lot of struggle. It‘s funny and dramatic, and I loved it. I think it really captures that sense of desperation and confusion.

This was my #BookSpin for December

At almost the last minute I finished my #Nonfiction2023 bingo card. I really enjoy nonfiction and appreciate this challenge for helping me prioritize it. Thanks @Riveted_Reader_Melissa for putting this together!

This year was full of memoirs! It‘s funny that I read two books called Tell Me Everything in the same year.

I am so ready to exploring the #AuldLangSpine list provided by @Amiable I love narrative nonfiction so I‘m excited to choose a few of those. Book 1 is the only one from her list that I‘ve read but it is one of my all-time favorites so I think I‘ll use this as an excuse to revisit it. 4 and 5 are available at my library so I‘ll choose one of them too. The fiction choices that I‘ll start with are 9, 11, & 12, which have been on my radar.

I really enjoyed Hugh Grant‘s narration of this Christmas classic. I listened to it for the first time last year and decided to do it again this year. I try to read or watch A Christmas Carol in some form every year.

I have watched all the TV shows based on Ann Cleeves‘ detective series but I haven‘t read many of them. With this newer series I‘ve stayed caught up with their releases. I enjoy the recurring characters in this series, especially the main detective. You get a lot of their background and inner thoughts. The setting is also well done, and plays a role in the mystery.

This was my favorite in this series so far. The mystery was fine, but the best parts were the friendships between the main characters, especially as Elizabeth deals with a sad turn of events. Not even a retired super spy can stop time. I know Osman says he‘s taking a break from this series but I hope it‘s not too long.

Another November read that I‘m catching up reviewing.

I‘m catching up on my November reviews. I do not recommend reading this during the festive holiday season.

I‘ve mostly stopped reading true crime but decided to read this one because Polly Klaas‘s case made a lasting impression on Americans of my generation. This books focuses on the investigation and on how mistakes made in this case changed law enforcement procedures. It‘s not easy to read but I thought it was well done.

I‘m excited to do another year of #AuldLangSpine hosted by @monalyisha who does a great job matching readers. And I like seeing other people‘s lists too. It‘s a good way to start my 2024 reading off right.

This is a memoir in essays, so you get glimpse of different parts of her life, including the ups and downs of her Hollywood career. Constance made news a few years ago for seeming ungrateful when her TV show was unexpectedly renewed. Now that she‘s telling her side of the story, that seems more understandable, and is a reflection of how we often see celebs from a distorted lens. This is well written and thoughtful.

Lisa Jewell is almost always a hit for me. This one may be my favorite now. The title really sets you up for a wild ride and the book delivers. The audiobook is the way to go, I think. I‘m not sure how it reads on the page. And I love Nicola Walker, who does the voice of Alex.

This is my #BookSpin #DoubleSpin for December

I read this b/c it was the book club pick for The Stacks podcast. I thought I knew what had happened in the story until I listened to the podcast episode about the book and I started questioning it. One thing that I‘m certain about is that it was weird to read a book written pre -COVID about pandemic life. She imagined some of the real life response very accurately. I‘m going to read this again someday.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction about the future Jacqueline Kennedy‘s time studying abroad in Paris. Though the author does a good job including what is known about this time in Jackie‘s life, it almost didn‘t matter who the main character was because what was most interesting was getting a look at life in post-war Paris.

No one needs me to convince them that Jesmyn Ward is a great writer. I don‘t know that I grasped all the literary references in this one but on a sentence level it is excellent.

I listened to the audiobook and it is narrated by the author. I think she did a great job, and it was a good experience hearing her words in her voice.

This was one of the books I read in November.

I just realized I never posted my #BookSpinBingo card from November! I finished 10 books and got one bingo. I need to do reviews for most of these.

I think I‘ve read all of Sophie Kinsella‘s stand-alone books, and several of the shopaholic series. I enjoyed this one, which has a little depth to go with the rom-com. It would be a fun book to read in January because there‘s a “new year, new you” theme.

This was a good sequel to The Christmas Bookshop. I‘d love to visit this shop in real life it it existed! Some of the conflicts between the MC and others in the book were a little contrived but I still thought it provided the kind of story I was looking for.

My almost last minute #BookSpin list. A lot of seasonal reads and a few others I‘d like to read soon-ish. I can‘t believe we‘re at the end of another year.