Tag: amazon

This Chicks Audio Review: I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

Bodie Kane, a successful film professor and podcaster, has overcome her difficult childhood, including her four years spent at an exclusive boarding school in Vermont, where her roommate was murdered in her senior year. When she gets invited back to the Granby School to teach a course on podcasting, she is overwhelmed by memories and is drawn to the case of her murdered roommate, Thalia Keith. Was this case mishandled? Did the correct person go to jail for her murder? Did her school and that small town botch the investigation? Bodie can’t help but pursue these questions to a brand new conclusion.

I loved this story! It brought back all of the feelings I had when I was listening to the podcast Serial about Adnan Syed’s case and whether he murdered his girlfriend 20 years ago. The fact that he was let out of jail not too long ago for being falsely accused helped build my interest in this fictional tale. I also love the narrator, Julie Whelan, who is super talented and whose voice always draws me in to the story she is narrating. I should also give credit to JD Jackson, who narrates Omar’s character over a phone from jail. It was so realistic and added to the very real vibe set by the story. Last, I give full credit to the author, Rebecca Makkai for creating a story and characters who drew me in and held me captive through 12 hours of an audio book. It’s a good thing I listened to this book over a weekend because I didn’t do anything else besides work puzzles on my Ipad while listening to this awesome story.

I mentioned above how listening to this book drew me back to my enjoyment of the podcast, Serial, but in this instance, because it was a fictional story, the reader got a point of view from someone who lived at that time, with the person who was murdered. As Bodie narrates her story from both current time and flashbacks, we learn who she is as a character, messed up and flawed as she was, but also as an adult who can look back and see through those flaws and it’s riveting to be along for the ride as she pieces things together. Bodie’s is not the only character in the story however, this is a fully fleshed out novel with schoolmates, best friends, and disappointed teenage angst. All of it very well written with a depth that captivated my interest. This novel deserves all the accolades and is on my “Best of” list for books I’ve read so far this year. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* I Have Some Questions For You

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (4/17/23)

The weather is gorgeous, we can now see what plants have died over the winter and need replanting, and flowers are starting to bud. YET I’m still finding time to read. I should just start every one of these posts with “Life is moving forward and yes, I am still reading”. Truly! I will always find the time to read at some point in a week so no new surprises there. What might surprise you was that I found one of the books I read below in a New York Times article on romance novels and agree with that writer. This was a surprising book!

JUST FINISHED

Have I mentioned how much I dislike the male chest romance covers? I know there are people who love them but typically I stay away from those books. However, I saw this book mentioned in an article about good romance novels and since it was a Kindle Unlimited novel I borrowed it. I was surprised by this one folks! The characters were great, the love story had depth, and I learned a ton about raising chickens. Who’d a thunk it? If you have KU you should check this one out. It was good!

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Since I literally just finished the previous novel I’m not quite certain what I will start, however after the last success I may read ‘On the Hustle’ which was also mentioned as a great romance novel in that same list. It looks cute!

If you’d like to start a conversation about your own list of books, or a novel you particularly liked, please comment below. 🙂

Have a happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

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This Chick Read: Throwback by Maurene Goo

High schooler Samantha Kang is coasting through life. Her high school is culturally diverse and she enjoys the anonymity of her high school scene, although being the girlfriend of a popular guy does put her a little more in the limelight than she’d like. Her mother wants her to care more about her prospects for college and thinks her boyfriend is holding her back, so needless to say their relationship is strife with conflict. A pattern that she see’s repeated between her mom and her grandmother. When Sam and her mom have a big blow-up, leaving Same stranded at the mall she calls for a rideshare service to get her to school in time for her first class. What she doesn’t expect is to be dumped back to the 90’s where she comes face to face with an whited out version of her mother whom she befriends. Her mom, Priscilla, has just been nominated for homecoming queen, something that Sam knows she didn’t win. She thinks that by helping her mother win, she will find her way back to the future.

Whereas Sam and her mom Priscilla don’t swap places, I did get a Freaky Friday vibe from Throwback. What sets this novel apart from those other time travel novels is that Sam’s time is spent working towards the goals of someone else instead of securing her own future. Although working for Priscilla will ultimately get her back to her own time so it’s a twofer. Another thing that sets her apart is that there is someone else in this time who is from the future, someone who helps her see her own life back in 2015 clearly, and when she goes back she knows the person she wants to be.

I really enjoyed all of the 90’s references since I was in school during that time and Maurene Goo was spot on with how life was as a teen during that era. Totally clueless when it came to cultural diversity, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, etc. Life was lived with blinders on regarding impropriety and Sam’s reactions were both funny and poignant. She was a cultural sounding board but no one was listening.

Throwback was a fun read that hid the seriousness of relationship struggles with her mom through humor and some emotional scenes. I really enjoyed her characters emotional growth and especially loved the ending of the book. This novel gets a solid 4.0 rating from me!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Throwback

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

Mystery, danger, and love collide in this historical novel set in 1934 on a cruise ship sailing from New York to Havana Cuba. Recently engaged heiress Catherine Dohan is traveling with her fiancé and young daughter when someone tries to kill her by pushing her over the railing of the ship. Elena Palacio is traveling in disguise back to her homeland after surviving an attempt on her own life back in New York. Wanting revenge on the man responsible these two women join forces in order to change both of their destinies.

The Cuban Heiress was an enjoyable thriller set in the 1930’s when men had all of the power and women were commodities used for their looks and/or their wealth. The author didn’t take long to enmesh the reader in the stories of these two women whom at first didn’t seem to have that much in common but as the book moved forward we saw that their circumstances forged that connection. The setting of the cruise ship, as well as the destination of Havana certainly added to the Noir-esque vibe of the story and the opening chapter started quickly and the story never lost its pace.

Each woman’s story arc gave the reader more reasons to root for them and the feeling of danger escalated so that I was turning the pages rapidly wanting to reach that final outcome with no delay. This historical thriller was a fun, glamorous excursion into the dark waters of the Atlantic. I wasn’t sure how it would end, but wasn’t disappointed in the least. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Cuban Heiress

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (4/10/23)

It was a busy week leading up to a holiday weekend, so there wasn’t a lot of time for reading, but I did manage to squeeze in a few minutes. I mean, come on, there’s always time to read, right?

JUST FINISHED

Four ex-stars of a teen tv show are roped back into a reunion show after 13 years apart. An unexpected meltdown led to a cancellation of their popular show, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Although not my typical choice, I thought it was an interesting story and a quick read. Made me glad that I wasn’t a child star, that’s for sure!

JUST STARTED

A re-release of a book that came out in 2018, Pretend You’re Mine is a small town romance with quite a bit of heat between our two main characters! I’m half way through the story and see glimpses of what has made Lucy Score such a popular writer. Her characters are funny, relatable, and have real life problems, making them very easy to relate to. A fun weekend of reading!

Happy belated Easter everyone! Have a great Monday and happy reading!

Deb

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This Chick Read: It Starts With Us (It Ends With Us #2) by Colleen Hoover

Co-parenting with her ex Ryle is finally moving along smoothly and although he still holds out hope for getting back together Lily is ready to move forward in her life. When she accidentally bumps into Atlas on the street it seems like fate is pushing them together. It’s something she wants but introducing him back into her life will make waves with her volatile ex and she has her little girl’s future to take into account.

It Ends With Us is the conclusion to the best-selling It Starts With Us and I’ll admit I was eager to give Lily her happily ever after, so why do I feel a little let down? Atlas was everything he needed to be. He had her back, was emotionally available, stable, and an all around likable character. Lily and her baby certainly needed that after her rocky first marriage. Colleen Hoover even gave Atlas a sweet story arc that gave her readers a reason to care for him besides his love for Lily. I did really like him, but didn’t love this story. It felt a little bland after the volatility and emotional impact in the first novel.

What did I like about this book? I really liked how Lily had such a great support group, including Ryle’s own family who took her side against his actions. They were there for her and continued to be there for her and truthfully if this were a real life situation, they were the only reason why Ryle didn’t continue with his horrible behavior. They stood by her and made him face the consequences for his actions. I loved that!

If there was a reason to write this novel it was to give fans of It Starts With Us the happy ending that they felt like Lily and Atlas deserved. This novel does that for these characters. It’s well written, but a little safe and steady. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if it was a stand alone novel where I needed only the words on these pages to identify with these characters I wouldn’t be giving this as good a rating as I did.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* It Starts With Us

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls (TNO), a comedy show that airs every Saturday night. With several broken relationships behind her Sally has given up on love, which is reflected in the scenes she writes. When her average looking male co-worker at TNO falls for a famous actress guest and asks her to marry him, Sally writes a sketch called the Danny Horst Rule about how beautiful accomplished women will date/marry average men but gorgeous accomplished men don’t date/marry average women. That weeks host and musical artist is musician, Noah Brewster. Sally and Noah work on several sketch’s together and it feels like they have a connection, but do they really?

This novel was brilliantly written. The backstage relationships of the cast and crew of TNO were interwoven with a sense of realism that I wondered if Curtis Sittenfeld hadn’t wandered backstage at SNL. It certainly seemed like a few of the characters in this novel were based on some of those famous faces we’ve seen on TV. So that immediately grabbed my interest. The way the week progressed on the show gave the story a sense of urgency that progressed to that climactic Saturday night show. I loved, loved, loved this portion of the novel.

When Sally and Noah first interact, in her office when he asks for her help in writing a sketch that he’s written you feel that immediate connection between the two of them. What I loved about it was that it was their intellect that connected. Yes, Noah was a hot musical artist, but what they had in common was how writing a sketch and writing a song were kind of similar and his appreciation for her art form was genuine. As the week goes on her curiosity over this amazing looking man and whether he could have any interest in her hooked me right in. But this was just the beginning of the book and there was more to their story, right? You bet!

I’ve read a number of novels who have tried to write the pandemic into the story and sometimes they hit the right note and other times they miss the mark entirely. Romantic Comedy was in the former category and used the pandemic to move the plot forward. It also introduced us to examples of Sally’s amazing wit and writing style, and gave Noah a chance to show his own skills in interacting with kind of awkward individuals. Sally was a two steps forward one step back kind of woman. I LOVED this section of the novel.

Needless to say, this was a romance novel, so the ending wasn’t a huge surprise but how this author took the readers on a journey through the landmines of Sally and Noah’s budding relationship was extraordinary. A truly funny, emotional, and wonderful story to read. I enjoyed this one tremendously. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Romantic Comedy

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate-if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (4/3/23)

Do you know that feeling you get when you have just finished a great book? Maybe you can’t stop thinking about the intricacies of the plot, the quirkiness of the characters, or that sweet hea. I just had that perfect book moment, finishing the novel right before bedtime and then dreaming of these characters all night long. (sigh) Wonderful! I hope you’re having happy book moments as well!

JUST FINISHED

A debut novel by Sarah Adler that will charm you. The perfect grumpy guy-quirky girl, road trip romance. Millicent is an ex-child star who’s ninety-ish best friend dies and gives her the task of reconnecting a small portion of her ashes with the woman she fell in love with during WWII. This was a story that stayed with me for a long while, in a good way!

JUST STARTED

I have picked The Daydreams up quite a few times, but haven’t yet been in the mood. I’m hoping this will be my next book, but it’s possible I’ll get diverted by another title again. A cast of ex child tv stars have all gone their separate ways when they are approached to do a reunion show that might open them up to old wounds. Sounds pretty good, right?

Have a great Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Audio Review: Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries #2) by Penny Reid

Marriage and Murder, while the second book in this series, falls after book #4.5 in the Winston Bros. series. Cletus is a Winston and Jenn is his baked good champion fianceé who have spinned off their own mystery series set in the same world and in the same timeline as these other Winston and Folk Tales series. In Marriage and Murder we are a little closer to their upcoming nuptials and in fact the heart of the story revolves around their engagement party and the murder of a family member. If you’ve read Beard in Hiding you will already be familiar with this tale, but from Diane Bonner’s point of view (Jenn’s mom). This story is more of a murder mystery with Jenn and Cletus using all of their devious (Cletus) and naive (Jenn) skills to find out who, what, and why. There are many perils, pitfalls, and reveals revolving around this whodunnit that was surprisingly emotional and super sinful.

I listened to this book and was again skillfully led along by narrators Joy Nash and Chris Brinkley. Both of whom are very talented and have their characters Tennessee accents voiced spot on. Despite the talent of these narrators, I was a little let down by the repetitiveness of this story with Diane Bonner’s own version in Beard in Hiding. Other than some romantic moments between Cletus and Jenn and a few other added scenes leading up to their marriage I got a little bored. Oh, I know that I said that I was disappointed in Beard In Hiding’s ending because of all the unanswered questions, and those questions were definitely answered in this book, but there were too many repeated scenes leading up to those answers. Maybe if I had been reading the book it would’ve been easier to skim and skip, but in listening to the book I was held hostage by the slower moving audio. Admittedly, this did hamper my enjoyment of this novel so that I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first in this series.

What did I like about this novel? Well, Jenn is a fabulous heroine and while she lays on the sweet a little too much, she also has a sassy side that comes out when she’s around Cletus. Cletus also is devious and brilliantly written. This novel just didn’t have enough original content until about 2/3’s of the way through the book to hold my interest. It’s only because of my love for all things Penny Reid that I listened to this novel all the way through. This story felt pretty wrapped up so I’m unsure if there will be another book in the series, but despite my lukewarm feelings over this one I will most likely tune in to a third. Although, I think I may read the next novel instead of investing my hours in listening. ❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Marriage and Murder

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Magic Tides (Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years #1) by Ilona Andrews

Kate, Curran, and their young son Connor have moved away from Atlanta to start fresh in Wilmington, NC. Their aim is to build their home and live a quiet life, with a low profile, and stay out of trouble. When one of their contractor’s family members is kidnapped that quiet life gets upended when Kate decides to involve herself and make sure his young nephew is returned to his family safe and sound. Needless to say, her low profile is blown. Magic, sea monsters, and gods, OH MY!

This short novella was a great fix for fans of the Kate Daniels series, but dare I say it? It was not long enough! Kate Daniels is one of my all-time favorite heroines and reading a brand new story with her bad-@$$ attitude? Needless to say, I was all in and launched into my 6th re-read of her series to prepare myself for this four hour re-immersion. It was so wonderful (sigh).

What starts off as your basic recovery of a small child turns into an epic Kate adventure. We travel from the dregs of Wilmington, to the local vampire base, and Kate tries to stay undercover. In the meantime, Curran is waiting at home for all those she’s pissed off. Fun! Sorry, this is a totally biased review, but I’m a huge fan of this author duo and will read and re-read everything they release. Speaking of which, I read on the authors website that Wilmington #2 will be out in June so you don’t have to wait too long to get your next fix, and these two books will be released as audiobooks together. This year is going to fly by with so much to look forward to. 🙂 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Magic Tides

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads