madeline's reviews
747 reviews

The Duchess Takes a Husband, by Harper St. George

4.0

A really lovely conclusion to this series - very gentle and kind towards a character who has had not a lot of either of those in the last three books. I'm eager to read more by St. George!

Thank you Berkley and Edelweiss for the ARC!

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal, by Adriana Herrera

3.0

I love Adriana's work and have been on the edge of my seat for each book in this series basically since she announced it. It was such a delight to return to the Leonas and to learn more about the pieces of history that those in power have chosen to try and overlook. Adriana's incredibly successful about building out a super immersive world and cast of secondary characters.

The primary storyline here just felt a little underdeveloped to me. There's a few plot tools/character traits that I think could have been more fleshed out, and a lot of the mid-relationship growth between Cora and Manuela seems to take place off-page.

This is still an incredible read, though, tender and swoony, and I cannot wait to read Aurora and Darnick's book - and hopefully, more historicals from Adriana! I've particularly enjoyed her entries in the Like to F... series and would love to see characters from those pieces revisited.

Thank you Canary Street and Edelweiss for the ARC!

We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America, by Roxanna Asgarian

4.0

A horrifying look at the repeated failures and intrinsic racism of the American foster care system that lead to the deaths of six children. 

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide, by Rupert Holmes

4.0

Overall an incredibly fun read, particularly on audio - it's set up as a "how to" guide for the general public from a secret professional murder school with entries from one student's journal mixed in, plus the stories of two other students. Very unique and so engrossing. I 100% could have done without the discussions of people """getting in shape""" and

Spoiler

the fact that one death was set up to look like a man had been murdered by a cross dressing man he'd unknowingly picked up and tried to have sex with, and then the murderer is like "oh how sHaMeFuL!!"

. Still, overall a thrilling read, and I would absolutely read more from the McMasters deletion universe.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and LibroFM for the ALC!

Check & Mate, by Ali Hazelwood

5.0

Ali Hazelwood wrote 350+ pages about chess, a sport I have loudly claimed to be entirely uninterested in, and I ate it up.

This book has a lot of classic Ali Hazelwood fingerprints - a girl who's carrying a lot of weight on her shoulders, a boy who isn't quite sure to ask for the love he'd like to receive, sweet friends, and great banter, all scaled a bit back for a younger reader. I had a great time, and loved seeing Ali in a new genre playing with some new elements, too;

Spoiler

Mallory is bisexual on the page in a way that Hannah didn't have the space to be in BELOW ZERO which I really loved, and although Mallory feels a real need to help provide for her family since her father has died and her mother is chronically ill, she has a strong familial support network.

I loved this so much - as always, I cannot wait to see what Ali writes next!

Thank you Putnam and Edelweiss for the ARC!

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, by KJ Charles

4.5

Delightfully tender and cozy - you're immediately rooting for sweet, precious Gareth and gruff but tender Joss. I don't love the "threatening to out you" element, but I could have spent another 50 pages with Gareth and Joss and been quite happy. I'm so excited to see Luke get his HEA in the next book!

Thank you Sourcebooks for the ARC!

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, by Benjamin Stevenson

5.0

An incredible murder mystery with a super unique approach - thrilling and engrossing from the first page. I cannot wait to read many more novels about Ern!

Thank you Mariner and LibroFM for the ARC!

CW:

Spoiler

graphic descriptions of murders and death, death of a child remembered, child endangerment remembered, graphic description of an injury, addiction

Against the Currant, by Olivia Matthews

2.5

A really fun and interesting premise is let down by mediocre writing and overdescription - like, I think we knew everything anyone was wearing at any given point. Still, I enjoyed the cast of characters and will give the second a try!

Thank you St. Martins and LibroFM for the ARC.

The Golden Spoon, by Jessa Maxwell

3.0

Knives Out x GBBO

A fairly run of the mill mystery, somewhere beyond cozy. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I'd read it instead of listening to it, since I found some of the narrators annoying. Did make me want to bake a bunch of pies, though!

Thank you Atria and LibroFM for the ALC.

Lone Women, by Victor LaValle

4.0

ethereal, haunting, unputdownable

thank you random house and librofm for the arc