me_alley's reviews
867 reviews

Christmas With a Crank by Courtney Walsh

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I’ve never met a person who had ambivalent feelings towards a Hallmark Christmas movie—- love em or hate em.  Well if you LOVE them, like I do, have I got a book for you! 
It has everything!
🎄a Family Tree Farm in financial trouble
🎄Grumpy/Sunshine
🎄Second Chance Romance
🎄Out of Towner visits the small town
🎄Closed door romance, no swearing, no spicy scenes
🎄Nostalgia 
🎄literally reindeer 

I loved Olive and Liam from the first page.  I loved the stories about how things used to be and the affinity for Christmas.  I loved a good second chance romance. This is definitely a warm Christmas hug of a book.  

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni

challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Unique premise.  I liked reading a story set in Japan and about puzzles.  Quick read which would be good for psychological thrillers like The DaVinci Code.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

challenging funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Right on Cue by Falon Ballard

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A little smutty for me but otherwise I liked it, it was cute

💞forearms
💞great sweatpants
💞 enemies to lovers
💞film industry 
💞third act breakup
💞miscommunication 

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Drop Dead Sisters by Amelia Diane Coombs

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a murdery mystery/comedy of errors/family dramedy/closed room mystery.  Mindy Kaling, you haven’t led me astray yet. 

Remi isn’t close with her sisters, soon-to-be-divorced mother Eliana and bisexual influencer Maeve.  They don’t live in the same city nor do they invest much in their relationship, much to the dismay of their happily married parents.  But when they go on a camping trip with extended family over the Fourth of July, they find that they’d hide a dead body rove without second thought.  Fugitives from justice, a who dunit, quirky family characters and a seemingly unnecessary local boy romantic entanglement round out the narrative elements that keep the pages turning. 

This was a fun, sister centered mystery that you will surely finish in one setting.  You may or may not guess some of the reveal elements, but the pacing and conversations are great.  The characters are all flawed yet likable.  I have already added the second installment in the Finch sister series, to be published October 2025, to my TBR list.  The murder victim is someone we get to know just well enough to intensely dislike.  Not that he deserved to die, but that we aren’t sad he’s gone either.  

Themes of family solidarity, career over family,  and a lot of dark humor.  

Thanks to @netgalley and @brilliancepubishing for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Nothing Serious: A Novel by Emily J Smith

challenging emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Edie at age 35 is insecure and intelligent.  The insecurity is what causes her to be carrying a torch for Peter, her college friend and eternal best friend.  Peter is a giant tool bag, terrible to women, drug abuser and pusher, and generally arrogant privileged jerk.  It is cringy how she pines for him.  Peter is the kind of guy who dates women in their early 20s because women in their mid thirties want to settle down and be in a serious relationship.  Honestly, gross.  

After 4 dates with Anaya, she turns up dead and Peter is the primary suspect.  The rest of the book is Edie trying to figure out what happened and the mystery to solve. 

It kills me that because romantic comedies are the top selling genre in the US, publishers put the wrong cover on it.  If you’re expecting a book of millennial malaise (and why wouldn’t you) you may be disappointed.  Also/ who named this book “Nothing serious”? It’s literally about EVERYTHING serious- addiction and drug abuse, sexual assault, overdose, suicidal ideation, eating disorders.  It is a book that looks like it will deliver a happy ending, which it’s definitely not. 

For a debut author; this is some really strong prose.  The cultural observations are really intriguing and this book is intensely readable.  I read it in one sitting. If you like mysteries with a FMC and feminist themes and are okay with some triggering subject matter, you will enjoy reading this book. 

Thanks to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC.  Book to be published February 18, 2025. 

Changing My Mind: the overlooked value of virtue for faithful ministry by Will Willimon

informative inspiring fast-paced

3.0

The Kids Are All Right: Parenting with Confidence in an Uncertain World by Gabrielle Stanley Blair

informative fast-paced

3.0

I like this short book and found it to be useful. Most of it is kind of commonsensical for me. But page 176 is stellar. 10 out of 10 needs to be framed and hung up on your wall.