Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Goodreads blurb: From the beloved, New York Times bestselling author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves, a novel about a family living alone on a remote island, when a mysterious woman washes up on shore. A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, eighteen and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, seventeen, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; nine-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can’t stop turning back toward the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place. Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, can they trust each other enough to protect one another—and the precious seeds in their care? And can they finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together? A novel of heart-stopping twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending.
my take: 5 out of 5 This was a very hard book to read but one that I highly recommend. Its dark and stormy in all the right ways and the ending leaves you breathless. Like literally breathless, I gasped and might have had a few tears in my eyes. Its hard to define what genre this is because its a family drama, but also a mystery, but not really a mystery, just a life is a bit fucked up category? Also every character in this book is flawed yet you love all of them by the end. Also the shore, or the island, is a character on to itself. The descriptions of the locale are beautiful and its a mystery to imagine it in your mind.
Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle
Goodreads blurb: What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief. Konstantin Duhovny is a haunted man. His father died when he was ten, and ghosts have been hovering around Kostya ever since. Kostya can’t exactly see the ghosts, but he can taste their favorite foods. Flavors of meals he’s never eaten will flood his mouth, a sign that a spirit is present. Kostya has kept these aftertastes a secret for most of his life, but one night, he decides to act on what he’s tasting. And everything changes. Kostya discovers that he can reunite people with their deceased loved ones—at least for the length of time it takes for them to eat a dish that he’s prepared. He thinks his life’s purpose might be to offer closure to grieving strangers, and sets out to learn all he can by entering a particularly fiery ring of Hell: the New York culinary scene. But as his kitchen skills catch up with his ambitions, Kostya is too blind to see the catastrophe looming in the Afterlife. And the one person who knows Kostya must be stopped also happens to be falling in love with him. Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, Aftertaste is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss, and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction. Lavelle’s debut is a multi-course tasting menu of a book that will sate, delight, excite, comfort, and inspire even the pickiest of readers.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 4.5 out of 5. This book is a trip, a little Ghostbusters meets Michelin restaurants. The premise is absolutely bizarre but somehow really appetizing? This book is weird and should not have worked but it absolutely does. You end this book not really sure what ride you just went on but willing to go on it again whenever Lavelle publishes another book. As a foodie, I really appreciated the food descriptions, and how intricate the recipes and the food memories were, i think i needed a sampler whilst reading. Definitely go in knowing its going to be wild and you’ll have a great time.
The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner
Goodreads blurb: Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse… Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work? As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever… Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.
My take: 3.25 out of 5. A beautiful setting of a story, and one with a lot of potential. For me sadly there were just too many stories and intertwined storylines that instead of increasing my interest just made things muddy and the investment less intense. Also there were things that just did not make sense. period. I did like the ending and that redeemed the book a bit.
Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane
Goodreads blurb: The unputdownable, brilliant new novel from the Queen of Romcom. Bel’s joined the Manchester office of a big national paper from her award-winning podcast. There’s only three of them – Bel, her relentlessly ambitious colleague Aaron, and the new intern. And when the intern turns out to be a thirty-something man called Connor, she gets off on totally the wrong foot. She’s patronising, he’s hostile. It’s a terrible start. Then Bel gets a sniff at a really big story, Connor gets caught in the crossfire, and before they know it, they have to convince people they’re a couple – and a couple in love at that. If they mess up, Bel’s cover is blown and the biggest story she’ll ever land will disappear, along with justice for its sources But as time goes on, who’s double crossing whom – and which feelings are real? It’s Mr & Mrs Smith meets The Hating Game – and sparks will fly …
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 3.25 out of 5. This was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand it does have a sweet romance with some great characters, that are complex and funny. Connor is amazing. On the other hand you have a bonkers premise and an absurd setting. I laughed but it does take the fake dating/working i don’t even know how to categorize this trope a bit to the crazy side. The writing is stellar though.
Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver
Goodreads blurb: A plucky medium, her fame-chasing ex, and an infuriatingly handsome skeptic reporter make for a complicated love triangle—and that’s before the ghosts get involved. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December comes the first novel in a ghost-hunting series full of romance and humor.
In the leafy, charming town of Chapelwick, the Bittersweet family has been a fixture on High Street for as long as anyone can remember. Their rambling black-and-white building houses all three generations of ghost-sensitive Bittersweet women and their business, Blithe Spirits.
On her twenty-seventh birthday, Melody Bittersweet converts the disused back storeroom into her office and opens her own business. Unlike the rest of her family, she’s not taking down messages from ghosts—she’s taking them out.
Soon, the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency takes on its first a grand old house that won’t sell because a trio of incumbent ghost brothers raise merry hell whenever prospective owners arrive to view it.
It soon becomes clear that there’s a whole heap of unfinished business between the Scarborough brothers—including murder—and Melody isn’t the only one trying to unravel the mystery. Leo Dark, her rakish ex and business rival, is also on the case, along with the TV crew that trails him.
To make matters worse, the sarcastic and skeptical (and annoyingly good-looking) local reporter Fletcher Gunn has his nose in the story as well. Sniffing out a way to publicly discredit the Bittersweets is his favorite assignment—and has absolutely nothing to do with his inability to resist Melody.
With her business on the line, it’s up to Melody to work out the brothers’ issues, but can she protect her own very susceptible heart from Fletcher’s charm? Does she even want to?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 2.75 out of 5. This is Scooby doo for adults, it should be Hallmark Mystery Movie, I love those but it should just be 1 hour and a half and not a whole book length. Whilst I enjoyed the mistery of it all are we really expected to believe a killer that lived in the house 50 years after thy committed a murder would keep his murder weapon all this time and diaries saying where everything was? He would have set fire to everything. for sure! Melody is a sweet character and I actually will read the next installment as her and her tension with Fletcher made me want some more, and maybe the next mystery has less technical flaws?
Fearless by Lauren Roberts
Goodreads blurb: Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya…
And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate – and the fate of those around her – forever.
In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?
My take: 3.5 out of 5. This was an apt culmination of the series, even though it gave me more stress than I needed. Like you know its probably going to be ok for at least some of the characters, but mane way to make you go through the wringer here. Also there was no need for it to have been three books, it totally could have happened in 2, and I would have enjoyed it even more, but alas I get that the authors need to eat so we will consume 3 books. All in, the series is great and a must if you like romantasy.
Stuck Up and Stupid by Angourie Rice, Kate Rice
Goodreads blurb: An ordinary girl. A Hollywood star. A love story that could change everything. Pride and Prejudice gets a modern twist from two debut authors who know their material—and deliver it with heart and hilarity. Lily has the whole summer stretched out before her—endless days of sunshine and friends at beautiful Pippi Beach. Then superstar Dorian Khan arrives, with his party of Hollywood types. While most of the locals, including Lily’s glamor-obsessed mum, are thrilled to be so close to the A-listers, Lily can’t help but see them as superficial and arrogant, especially Dorian, the most famous of them all. But as Lily’s and Dorian’s paths continue to cross, she begins to wonder if she’s got him all wrong. Playwright Kate Rice and her daughter, Hollywood actor Angourie Rice, team up to write a teen romance novel from those who know firsthand what the international film industry is really like. Inspired by the ever-popular Austen fandom, Stuck Up and Stupid is for a generation of teens who are definitely NOT looking for love.
my take: 2 out of 5 How did this get made? and worse of all how is it recommended by Reese? I get a famous author but this just did not do it for me. I was about to DNF but I did audibook and was driving so I kept going for science’ sake and to tell you to just not read it. This pride and prejudice retelling is exactly how not to adapt the wonderful Austen for YA. I love Austen and I am very upset when it gets done wrong. If you want to go to a good YA adaptation of Austen, Clueless is your leading example. The main issue that I have here is that all the ages with this story is just so problematic. And cringey. What are the adults doing?? The people in the 18th century were teenagers getting married because sadly that is what is done. Having teenagers in the exact situations without modification just makes it weird. You need to age up or modify the story more. Not a fan at all.
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
Goodreads blurb: What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End. Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists. When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.
my take: 3.5 out of 5. All the good Ali banter is here, and how can you not love an Italian summer setting. Just for that it is a great beach read. I wanted to be in the island. However, and weird for me to point out in ali, there were some problems for me that actually is not the aforementioned problematic relationship. I had no problem with the age gap, unlike some other people that I have read mention that. For me it was just the power dynamic of the relationship, it felt a bit off. But also my main question for this is: If you are getting married, why are you not traveling with the dress? It feels like a very unrealistic drama moment.
Tati's Tidbits 