Dead Money by Jakob Kerr
Goodreads blurb: Don’t call me a fixer. This isn’t HBO.
In her job as unofficial “problem solver” for Silicon Valley’s most ruthless venture capitalist, Mackenzie Clyde’s gotten used to playing for high stakes. Even if none of those tech-bro millions she’s so good at wrangling ever make it into her pockets.
But this time, she’s in way over her head—or so it seems.
The lightning-rod CEO of tech’s hottest startup has just been murdered, leaving behind billions in “dead money” frozen in his will. As the company’s chief investor, Mackenzie’s boss has a fortune on the line—and with the police treading water, it’s up to Mackenzie to step up and resolve things, fast.
Mackenzie’s a lawyer, not a detective. Cracking this fiendishly clever killing, with its list of suspects that reads like a who’s-who of Valley power players, should be way out of her league.
Except that Mackenzie’s used to being underestimated. In fact, she’s counting on it.
Because the way she sees it, this isn’t an investigation. It’s an opportunity. And she’ll do anything it takes to seize it.
Anything at all.
Featuring jaw-dropping twists and a wily, outsider heroine you can’t help rooting for, Dead Money is a brilliant sleight-of-hand mystery. Written by a longtime insider, it is also a dead-on snapshot of the Valley’s rich and famous—and a glimpse at the darkness lurking behind the tech world’s cheery facade.
my take: 4.75 out of 5. –This was a wonderful finance influenced thriller that had me gasping at the end. I did not expect any of the turns and twists here, it really makes you question the entire book at the end. I did love how the end happened and it helped you understand where all the breadcrumbs where. McKenzie is a fabulous character and I kind of need a TV series based on her.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight
Goodreads blurb: A witty, atmospheric, and brilliantly told novel that offers compelling portraits of womanhood, motherhood and female friendship, along with the irresistible intrigue surrounding an extraordinary British family
Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she’ll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father’s—now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox—lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox’s centuries-old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents’ secret, just as she’s falling in love for the first time . . .
As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life. A rich and rewarding novel of campus life, of sexual awakening, and ultimately, of the many ways women can become mothers in this world, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus asks to what extent we need to look back in order to move forward.
My take: 3.5 out of 5 – This book has worst title ever. It also has a terrible title for a quite enjoyable book. But I will behoove you to get past the absurd title and terrible cover and read this book. What it really is about: college students figuring out family, life and love. It is sweet and so real in humans coming of age. I found it heartwarming and worth the read.
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton
Goodreads blurb: A mysterious book with a legacy spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day unites three women—and their secrets—in this unforgettable novel from New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton.
London, 2024: American expat Margo Reynolds is renowned for her talent at sourcing rare antiques for her clients, but she’s never had a request quite like this one. She’s been hired to find a mysterious book published over a century ago. With a single copy left in existence, it has a storied past shrouded in secrecy—and her client isn’t the only person determined to procure it at any cost.
Havana, 1966: Librarian Pilar Castillo has devoted her life to books, and in the chaotic days following her husband’s unjust imprisonment by Fidel Castro, reading is her only source of solace. So when a neighbor fleeing Cuba asks her to return a valuable book to its rightful owner, Pilar will risk everything to protect the literary work entrusted to her care. It’s a dangerous mission that reveals to her the power of one book to change a life.
Boston, 1900: For Cuban school teacher and aspiring author Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to study for the summer is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a whirlwind adventure that leaves her little time to write, but a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. The story that pours out of her is one of forbidden love, secrets, and lies… and though Eva cannot yet see it, the book will be a danger and salvation for the lives it touches.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 4 out of 5 – Chanel Cleeton is back in full force with this book. A great multigenerational historical fiction. It is three different timelines that join in a lovely and beautiful way. I did not really understand how the premise would make a worthy story, but it turned out to be lovely love story to the printed word and the effect it could have. Given that, one of my favorite quotes was of course book related:
” There was something about books that brought people together, a passion, a devotion that created an intimate bond and understanding. After all, books spoke to the deepest parts of the soul an so they linked readers in unforgettable ways. Sharing a favorite book was like creating a shared history between people who had navigated the life and world that existed within the novels pages”
Count My Lies by Sophie Stava
Goodreads blurb: A read-in-one-night suspense thriller narrated by a compulsive liar whose little white lies allow her to enter into the life and comfort of a wealthy married couple who are harboring much darker secrets themselves. For the millions of us still chasing those gone girls, this is perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Lucy Foley, and Laura Dave.
Sloane Caraway is a liar.
Harmless lies, mostly, to make her self-proclaimed sad, little life a bit more interesting.
So when Sloane sees a young girl in tears at a park one afternoon, she can’t help herself—she tells the girl’s (very attractive) dad she’s a nurse and helps him pull a bee stinger from the girl’s foot.
With this lie, and chance encounter, Sloane becomes the nanny for the wealthy, and privileged Jay and Violet Lockhart. The perfect New York couple, with a brownstone, a daughter in private school, and summers on Block Island.
But maybe Sloane isn’t the only one lying, and all that’s picture-perfect harbors a much more dangerous truth. To say anything more is to spoil the most exciting, twisty, and bitingly smart suspense novel to come out in years.
The thing about lies is that they add up, form their own truth and a twisted prison of a world. And in Count My Lies, Sophie Stava spins a breakneck, unputdownable thriller about the secrets we keep, and the terrifying dangers that lurk just under the images we spend so much time trying to maintain.
Careful what you lie for.
my take: 3 out of 5 There was so much promise in this book, but I was disappointed. It takes quite a while for the story make you want to get into it. I was about to DNF as I was annoyed by the first 50% but the ending made it worth me sticking around. However does a good ending justify a mediocre road? Do the end justify the means in book terms? It is a mixed bag that should have and could have been better, or maybe it should have been a movie script so the anticipation is only 1 hour of movie and not 3 hours of book.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Goodreads blurb: To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.
An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice
She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.
As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary. But she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.
Inspired by the powerful love and hate that fuel Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, The Favorites is an exhilarating dance between passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win.
my take: 4.25 out of 5 .The way this book is written is brilliant, kind of like a transcript of a documentary meets a diary, it also has drama for days. I dont even know what genre to put this in, its a bit romance, a bit literary fiction a little bit of a thriller all rolled into one. What it was was very addicting and I couldn’t wait to know what happened. You feel like it is all pre determined as you are seeing both glimpses of the past and the current timeline, but the book still manages to surprise you and not all is as it seems. This would make the most amazing series, please can someone buy these rights and put it in my TV? Because all the angst with the actual ice skating routines would be amazing
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