March Reading Wrap-Ups and Mini-Reviews

1) MURDER CROSSED HER MIND BY STEPHEN SPOTSWOOD (Adult Historical Mystery) (384 pages) (5⭐️)

This is the fourth installment in the Pentecost and Parker series about two women private detectives – Willojean ‘Will’ Parker and Lillian Pentecost. In this book, an elderly shut-in with an exceptional memory goes missing. This is my favorite book in the series yet! Compared to book three, the mystery in this book gripped me a lot more. I continue to adore these characters. I can definitely think of a certain male thriller author who could learn from Spotswood about how to write women characters.

FULL REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8394493608

2) GRACELESS HEART BY ISABEL IBAÑEZ (Adult Historical Fantasy) (469 pages) (4.5⭐️)

Ravenna Maffei is a sculptress who enters a competition hosted by an immortal family in order to win a boon to free her captive brother. She is then taken captive by the family. The novel takes place in late 1400s Italy, taking place on the cusp of war between Florence and Rome. I have absolutely no interest in Italian history. However, I have been Ibañez’s loyal reader from her authorial debut in 2020. So, I couldn’t not pick up her adult debut (she previously wrote YA). Compared to her past historical fantasy, she did a much better job of melding the two genres this time around. Ibañez really does her research for her historical novels, and her passion for these stories shines through her work. The romance between Ravenna and the immortal Saturnino reminded me a little of Bella and Edward from Twilight (I’m not comparing Ibañez and Meyer’s writing talents here, just noting it gave me a weird sense of nostalgia while reading).

FULL REVIEW: https://www.haleysbookhaven.com/post/isabel-iba%C3%B1ez-s-adult-debut-gave-me-twilight-nostaliga-graceless-heart-book-review

3) DEAD IN THE FRAME BY STEPHEN SPOTSWOOD (Adult Historical Mystery) (367 pages) (5⭐️)

This is the fifth and most recent installment in the Pentecost & Parker series. I’m so sad I’m up to date on this series now. I hope that there will be future installments as it has become a comfort series for me. This one has the highest stakes of any of the books in the series yet as this time it’s Lillian who is the murder suspect! The final reveal left me gobsmacked – I never could have seen it coming! I definitely recommend this series if you are looking for a good cozy mystery series – book 1 is Fortune Favors the Dead.

FULL REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8435724146

4) THE HOUSEMAID BY FREIDA MCFADDEN (Adult Thriller) (336 pages) (2⭐️)

Millie becomes a housemaid for a wealthy family consisting of housewife Nina, businessman husband Andrew, and their spoiled daughter Cecelia. Nina proves to be a boss with unpredictable mood swings, and Millie develops a crush on Andrew. I read this because McFadden is so popular and hyped up within the genre and curiosity finally won out. I had to see for myself if all that popularity was warranted. You can probably tell from my rating that I wasn’t impressed. The characters are unlikable and not particularly well written. I can’t see the plot twist surprising anyone who has read more than a few thrillers.

FULL REVIEW: Coming soon to the blog!

5) HE STARTED IT BY SAMANTHA DOWNING (Adult Thriller) (383 pages) (2.25⭐️)

Three estranged siblings – Beth, Eddie, and Portia must go on a road trip together following the same trajectory as the one from their youth they took with their granddad if they hope to inherit his millions. I have had ups and downs with Downing, but it had been a few years since I last read her. Despite being a homebody, I enjoy a good road trip book and I love a family drama story. All of the characters are horrible people in a way that you wouldn’t want to meet someone like them but that works for a thriller. The writing is kind of clunky, though, and the plot starts to drag after a while. There were moments that shocked me, but the ending was ridiculous.

FULL REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8457452746

DNFs

1) HOW TO END A LOVE STORY BY YULIN KUANG (Ault Romance) (Read 69 pages/18%)

This book follows two writers, Helen Zhang and Grant Shepard, a YA author and a screenwriter who are bound together by a tragic accident in their past. They reunite in a TV writers' room and so begins an enemies to lovers romance. I didn’t DNF this book because it was bad or poorly written. The subject matter was just too heavy for me given where my mental health is at right now. That’s no fault of the author – I knew exactly what I was signing up for going in. I just overestimated my ability to handle reading something of this nature right now. I hope to pick this book up again sometime and start it over.

TOTAL BOOKS READ (JAN-MAR): 18

DNFs: 3

TOTAL PAGES READ (JAN-MAR): 7,101

AVG. BOOK LENGTH (JAN-MAR): 394.5 Pages

AVG. RATING (JAN-MAR): 3.94⭐️