Mini Thoughts

Hello, all!

Pub Date: 1-18-22
Adult - Contemporary

Cream and Punishment- Susannah Nix: Tanner King hates working for his family's ice cream company. When his sales aren't up to his father's standards, Tanner is demoted and saved from wearing the Sheriff Scoopy mascot uniform by his sister. She offers him a job in the marketing department, and Tanner jumps at the chance. The only problem is his new co-worker happens to be the woman who broke his heart. Lucy Dillard has a lot on her plate. If she's not taking care of her family and making sure the house doesn't fall apart around their ears, she's juggling too many responsibilities at work hoping they'll eventually lead to a well-deserved promotion. The last thing Lucy needs is to sit across from her ex-boyfriend while he shoots daggers at her. For the sake of their work environment, the pair decide to strike a tenuous truce, but it's not long before old feelings start bubbling back to the surface.

Do you want to know my biggest issue with this book? It's that Tanner King isn't real. How dare Susannah Nix write a man who is so perfect?! A sweet, handsome cinnamon roll of a person who also quotes Jane Austen? I can't. I also really liked his relationship with Lucy. They had this past fling that didn't end well, but they both go on this journey of personal growth to not only better themselves but their relationship, and it was so lovely. There were moments I thought Lucy was being exceptionally stubborn, but as you learn more about her relationship with her mother, you start to understand why she goes about things the way she does. Overall, I thought this was the perfect mix of sweet and steamy, and I'm excited for the next book in the series.

Rating: 4/5

Pub Date: 7-25-17
Adult - Urban Fantasy

Strange Practice- Vivian Shaw: Greta Helsing has followed in her father's footsteps by becoming a doctor and taking over their family practice. But Greta's practice specializes in a unique clientele: monsters. Be it banshees, mummies, vampires, or ghouls, Greta treats them all. Although her practice barely makes ends meet, Greta couldn't imagine a different life for herself. When a string of murders pops up around London targeting both humans and monsters alike, Greta finds herself right in the center of it. Greta must team up with her supernatural friends to uncover the murderer before they become its next target.

This has been on my TBR for so long, and I was excited to pick it up, but while I did like it, it wasn't necessarily what I'd expected. I thought the premise was solid, and I liked the idea of this doctor for monsters, but my main issue was the execution. The pacing was just too slow for my taste. I felt it took a while for anything to happen. Also, the mystery aspect of these monks murdering people at the behest of some malevolent spirit in a lightbulb didn't do it for me. However, I did enjoy the characters themselves and the dry, sarcastic humor of Shaw's writing. I'm still interested enough to keep going with the series, but it just won't be a priority.

Rating: 3/5

Pub Date: 2-22-22
Adult - Thriller

The Paris Apartment- Lucy Foley: Jess has no job, no home, and no money, so she decides to visit her half-brother in Paris, hoping for a place to crash while she gets back on her feet. Ben doesn't seem thrilled to have Jess come to stay but knows he can't turn his sister away when she needs him the most. When Jess arrives in Paris, she finds an expensive-looking apartment but no Ben. As the day's tick by with no sign of Ben, Jess starts to sense that something isn't quite right about the apartment building. The neighbors are unfriendly and seem to get twitchy at the mention of Ben's name. Jess's investigation will lead her to uncover a dark secret that ties together the building and its occupants, a secret that could've potentially gotten her brother killed. Can Jess get to the bottom of what happened before she meets the same fate?

I haven't read anything by Foley before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I ended up enjoying this. My favorite part was the setting. The grand apartment building was eerie and made for a great backdrop, which lent well to the overall atmosphere. I thought the characters were good and that Foley did a nice job at making you distrust everyone. There wasn't one person that I wasn't suspicious of. We get a lot of POVs in this, but it never felt overwhelming or confusing. The only thing that did throw me off a bit was the timeline of events. We get little snippets of things that have happened in the past, but it wasn't always noted as such, so there were times I found it hard to follow. My other issue was the plot. I didn't feel like much of anything happens, and I was able to guess some of the twists, which made the ending feel a little anticlimactic. Even so, I thought it was a quick, fun thriller and would recommend it, especially if you're fans of Lock Every Door, as it has the same vibe.

Rating: 3.5/5