Tag Archive for: 3 Stars

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The Last Word

The Last WordTitle: The Last Word
Author(s): Taylor Adams
Genre(s): Thriller
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 337
Length: 9:57
Narrator(s): Carlotta Brentan, Jim Meskimen
Source: Owned
Reason(s): BotM Backlist
Rating:
Spice: 0.5 Flames

My Thoughts

I read THE LAST WORD pretty quickly. The suspense kept me reading, but I figured a lot of it out by the end. The author going crazy because of a 1-star review on Amazon was a fun premise, but I didn’t like the “book within a book” idea. Every time the narrative switched over to horror novel Deek was writing, I just kept waiting for that part to end. I especially hated the ending of his novel and gritted my teeth during his acknowledgments. I wish he had gotten what he deserved. I also disliked the male narrator during those parts.

THE LAST WORD dealt with some pretty heave topics–death of a child, death of a parent, grief, and suicidal ideation. I actually preferred the non-thriller part of the story more than the actual thriller. I liked Emma and Laika a lot. I liked her story with Shawn, and I would’ve much preferred reading a whole story about them.

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The Boyfriend

The BoyfriendTitle: The Boyfriend
Author(s): Freida McFadden
Genre(s): Thriller
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 363
Length: 9h 13m
Narrator(s): Victoria Connolly, Robb Moreira
Source: Owned
Reason(s): Book of the Month
Rating:
Spice: 1.5 Flames

My Thoughts

THE BOYFRIEND is my first Freida McFadden book. While it wasn’t my favorite thriller, it kept me reading and the ending was way different than I was expecting. I’ll definitely give McFadden another go.

The two POVs and timelines were interesting. At first, I didn’t like them because of how McFadden seemed to be setting up one of them. (I mean who writes a book from the killer’s POV from the get-go, right?) Fortunately, I realized there had to be more to what seemed to be happening. I didn’t like the characters very much and I thought one of them was really stupid on more than one occasion. I’m glad I stuck with the story, though, because the twist was a lot of fun because it was so unexpected. For quite a bit of the story, I kept trying to figure out who the killer was. I did figure it out before the big reveal, but only just.

Stuck With You

Stuck With YouTitle: Stuck With You
Author(s): Ali Hazelwood
Series: STEMinist #2
Genre(s): Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 127
Length: 3h 22m
Narrator(s): Meg Sylvan
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice: 3.5 Flames

My Thoughts

STUCK WITH YOU is my least favorite of the STEMinist Novellas. Normally, instalove doesn’t bother me, but I couldn’t get over part of the premise. I liked the idea of them being stuck in the elevator together so they could air out their grievances, but Erik’s thoughts on why Sadie was mad at him was just too much for me.

I did like Sadie and Erik’s chemistry, and I think I might’ve liked this one better had it been a fully fleshed out novel.

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The Soulmate

The SoulmateTitle: The Soulmate
Author(s): Sally Hepworth
Genre(s): Thriller
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 327
Length: 7h 44m
Narrator(s): Barrie Kreinik, Jessica Douglas-Henry
Source: Owned
Reason(s): Book Club, BotM Backlist
Rating:
Spice: 1.5 Flames

My Thoughts

This is the second Hepworth book I’ve read. With both books, I really enjoyed the suspense, but I struggled with the mental health aspects. I feel like Hepworth uses diagnoses like Borderline Personality Disorder or Bipolar Disorder as a crutch to explain why her antagonists are psychotic. Also, the ending in this one wasn’t very satisfying.

Despite THE SOULMATE’S flaws, the story was intriguing. I liked the dual narrators and the back and forth between the then and the now. The suspense kept me reading because I wanted to know the whole story.