booklistqueen's reviews
634 reviews

Having loved Ann Napolitano's last two releases (Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward), it was interesting to take a look back at her debut novel. 

Among the April 2024 book releases is a re-release of Ann Napolitano's debut novel. Within Arm's Reach follows three generations of the McLaughlins, an Irish-American family in New Jersey. Told from the points of view of six different narrators, the story hinges on how an out-of-wedlock pregnancy changes the dynamics of the Catholic family, forcing them to learn to communicate to keep the family together.

You can clearly see that Within Arm's Reach had the bones of a good story. Yet, Napolitano as yet lacked the skill to develop it well. Within Arm's Reach is a sprawling read with too many narrators, making it really hard to engage with any of the storylines. The plot dragged so much that I only made it halfway before admitting defeat and adding it to the DNF pile.

When a body turns up one morning in Olivier's Bistro, Inspector Armand Gamache must return to Three Pines to investigate the case. Who is the murdered man and why was his body dumped in the bistro? With a heated rivalry between Olivier and a new family opening a luxury inn in Three Pines, Olivier has motive and a story full of holes that don't seem to be adding up in the sixth book of Louise Penny's bestselling series.

Now I can see why everyone says to keep reading the series. After several uninspiring books, I found myself once again captivated by Inspector Gamache's mystery. Better yet, Penny proved that the main characters are not untouchable. Instead of the stories feeling like standalone novels, Penny has started to insert foreshadowing into future problems and continuing story arcs through multiple books. Now I'm excited to read book six. 

During a summer heat wave, Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie visit a luxurious inn in the countryside for their customary anniversary visit. This year, a contentious family is also staying at the inn, which Gamache is shocked to learn are Peter Morrow's relatives. After a statue dedicated to their late father is unveiled, one of the family members is murdered and Gamache must use his investigative skills to solve the case, even if one of his friends is a prime suspect.

The fourth entry into the Inspector Gamache series was just okay. I still think Inspector Gamache is a great character and I adore his wife. Moving the story out of Three Pines was a nice change and allowed the novel to focus more deeply on Peter and Clara Morrow. Though the case itself was intriguing, thought the action-packed ending felt a bit rushed. Everyone keeps telling me to hang on until books five and six, so I guess I'll give Penny a few more tries to see if she can reel me back into the series. 

Six years ago, the entire Blackwood family was poisoned by arsenic in their sugar. Even though Constance, who prepared the meal, was acquitted, the villagers shun her and the family. Now Constance hides away with her uncle, disabled from the arsenic, and her younger sister Merricat. When an estranged cousin arrives, he upsets the balance between the sisters and threatens to bring to light hidden secrets.

If you want a trippy Gothic classic, you cannot pass on Shirley Jackson's short novel. Merricat is the perfect unreliable narrator, an odd childlike woman whom Constance coddles. Is Merricat's mental state a cause or a result of events?  The book's ambiguous nature leaves the story wide open for interpretation. You never learn why the Blackwood family was poisoned, so you are left to guess in this thought-provoking read. 

Legendary actor Sir Patrick Stewart tells of his life, from his humbling beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to his rise to fame in Hollywood. Along the way, he shares a portrait of an artist who has become famous for his Shakespearean roles, as Captain Picard in the Star Trek series, and as Professor Xavier in the X-Men series.

Memoirs show you how a person views themself and Patrick Stewart is a Shakespearean actor through and through. Despite the obvious Star Trek reference in the title, Making It So is a play-by-play guide to all the Shakespeare plays Stewart has performed in. Other than a look at his childhood, Stewart's memoir offers little introspection and reads like a resume of his career. He barely mentions his ex-wives (whom he cheated on) and kids. Sadly, the more you learn about his personal life, the less you admire him. 

In a sequel to The Housemaid, Millie lands a new position working for successful tech businessman Douglas Garrick. Cleaning their penthouse and cooking fancy meals for the Garricks is what she was expecting. What she wasn't expecting was never meeting Mrs. Garrick or the blood stains around the neck of the wife's nightgowns. Millie must decide how best to protect Mrs. Garrick without revealing her own secrets.

I was caught off-guard when The Housemaid's Secret was voted the best thriller in the 2023 Goodreads Awards, so I picked both books in the series up at the library. While The Housemaid felt like a mash-up of several popular thrillers, The Housemaid's Secret was much more original than the first book. McFadden successfully plays on your expectations and adds in some clever twists. Although The Housemaid's Secret is plagued by the same poor writing quality, the narrative is fun enough to let it slide since it's a quick read. 

After ten years in prison, Millie can't be picky about the jobs she takes so she feels extremely grateful to land a position as a housemaid to the Winchesters. At first, Nina Winchester seems grateful to have Millie clean up her disastrously messy house. Quickly, Nina's erratic mood changes have Millie on edge. Worse is watching Nina's perfect (and sexy) husband forced to live with such a wife, which has Millie imagining what it would be like to be in Nina's place.

When The Housemaid's Secret won a Goodreads Award in 2023, I realized I had somehow missed the train on McFadden's series. Let's be honest, The Housemaid is not particularly clever, deep, or original. The writing, in particular, left much to be desired. Yet Millie's darkly humorous personality made for a quick fun read. I could have done without the "pining over the married employer" vibe, but the ending took an unexpectedly dark turn that makes it stand out. 

Struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh receives the chance of a lifetime when Jeremy Crawford hires her to complete the bestselling book series written by his wife, Verity. Just months after their daughters' deaths, Verity was left in a catatonic state after a car accident. Going through Verity's study, Lowen stumbles upon an unpublished autobiography full of erotic obsessions and dark confessions. Now Lowen can't stop thinking about how Verity's sexy husband deserves better, debating whether to show him Verity's writings.

Whenever Verity is mentioned (and it seems to be mentioned a lot), readers are either shocked I haven't read it yet or they warn me it's a complete piece of trash. Honestly, I can see both viewpoints. Colleen Hoover expertly blends erotic romance with a dark thriller. Switching between Lowen's perspective and Verity's manuscript added plenty of suspense and stunning revelations to keep you turning pages. Personally, it wasn't really the book for me. The book got uncomfortably dark for me, and, holy hell, there was a lot of sex! However, the memorable narrative and the dark corners of Hoover's mind will make this one pretty hard to forget, and I can understand why it's a favorite. 

I generally enjoy the celebrity book club picks, but I found <em>The Waters</em> so tediously boring I could not force my way through it. From the start, the constant superfluous details and long chapters had me worried, but I kept hoping the narrative might save it once it kicked in. Yet, I ended up disliking all of the characters and found myself dreading picking up the story.&nbsp;I rarely DNF but I just was not into this one at all and decided my time would be better spend elsewhere.

In 1837, Charlotte has escaped her life as a slave only to serve as a housemaid to her white-passing father in Philadelphia. Longing for more freedom but afraid of slave-catchers, Charlotte befriends Nell, an up-and-coming abolitionist from a prominent Black family. When Charlotte's former mistress arrives with her slave Evie in tow, Charlotte and Nell risk losing everything to help Evie gain her freedom.

Ashton Lattimore's promising debut is a solid historical fiction with a great setting and interesting characters. I especially enjoyed the look at racism and classism, especially within the Black community.

However, All We Were Promised was a bit rough around the edges. The slow plot would have easily been improved with heavier editing, cutting the length and needless repetition down. However, my biggest complaint was that the narration always keeps you at a distance; I saw the characters struggles but never truly felt them myself. I do think Lattimore's novels will improve with time and I'm excited to see what she has in store in the future.