nicolem_young's reviews
169 reviews

 Book/Story: ⭐️⭐⭐
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐

Trigger Warning(s): Gaslighting
Manipulation
Sexual Assault/Rape

Grooming

Loss Of Parent(s)
Infidelity
POV: Dual, First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
First In Series: N/A
Trope(s): None
Spice: None
Genre: Thriller
Burn: Fast
Safe or Dark: Safeish
Release Date: April 11, 2025

Overview  

When Frances Minetti gets pregnant, the pregnancy causes her to develop hyperemesis gravidarum. She very quickly realizes that she can’t do all the day-to-day things she normally could; that includes taking care of her three-year-old daughter Olivia. Her mother-in-law sets her up with a live-in nanny; Jasmine is her sister-in-law's best friend’s daughter. She’s also young, beautiful, and ambitious. Frankie isn’t as taken with her as her husband, Russell, and the rest of his family are, but once she sees how great Jasmine is with her daughter, she relents and agrees to give her a one-week trial.

The young woman quickly moves into the Minetti’s home, and the seven-day trial goes smoothly. Jasmine is helpful and attentive, not only to Olivia but to Frankie as well. Life with the live-in nanny is wonderful, until it isn’t. As Frankie watches Jasmine interact with Olivia and Russ, something starts to feel off. Is this twenty-something-year-old trying to take Frankie’s place within the family?

One day Frankie suddenly takes a tumble down the stairs that lands her in the hospital. The one thing she remembers before her fall is interacting with Jasmine. Did she accidentally fall or was she pushed? As Frankie’s suspicions build, she becomes certain that Jasmine wants her gone. Frankie turns to the one person who should believe her, Russ, except he doesn’t. Despite the gaslighting and manipulation running rampant, Frankie knows one thing for sure...

Jasmine isn’t who she claims to be, and she will kill to take over Frankie's life.

Pace/Writing Style  

I appreciated two things about the book right away. The fact that things kick off and suck you in right away, and the short chapters.

The prologue starts somewhere in the middle of the story, and it made me all the more curious to see how things played out. Chapter one doesn’t disappoint either. We are taken back six months prior to the events that occurred in the prologue, and we get right into the heart of things. We very quickly understand Frankie’s family dynamic with her in-laws and the predicament she’s in. It’s definitely a fast-burn type of book. There is no filler prior to getting to the heart of things. I enjoyed that.

The chapters in this book are nice and short. Lunn’s writing style flows nicely but gives the readers a lot of information without being confusing. It makes it easy to read a lot in one sitting and fly through this book. While the chapters don’t always end on cliffhangers, they do end in such a way that makes you want to keep on finding out what happens next. Reading one more chapter very quickly turned into ten.

This was a roller coaster of a ride from start to finish, and I enjoyed being on it. There were times when I thought I knew exactly how things were going to play out just to turn around and find out that I didn’t. This rage-inducing story really threw me for a loop again and again. That was very fun.

Lunn does play on the predictability of the plot a bit before pulling the rug out from under you.

As mentioned above, this book made me RAGE. So, be prepared for that when diving into this.


Characters 

I have to be honest; I didn’t like a single character in this book. I thought they were all awful. I just happened to dislike some more than others.

Frances “Frankie” Minetti - Despite being our FMC, I just couldn’t get behind Frankie. She was horribly vain, constantly talking about how her figure was ruined after having kids and commenting about her pre- and post-baby weight. She gave off serious woe is me vibes. I often found her to be very whiny and weak-sounding. Frankie definitely was not a strong female (and not just due to her hyperemesis gravidarum). She tried to come off as working to have everything under control but was often a pushover. She would give in just for the sake of giving in and avoiding an argument. She was often suspicious of Jasmine before even having any reason to be. She questioned Jasmine's and Russ's relationship more than once for no reason. She created problems where there weren't any. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t like Frankie at all. The book is told entirely from her perspective, and that was difficult for me, but since I enjoyed the story in general, I just sucked it up.

Russell “Russ” Minetti - Frankie's husband sort of stood on the outskirts of things. He was a very busy surgeon, so he seemed to be absent from the home more often than not. He was an attentive father but seemed to undermine a lot of the decisions Frankie made within the marriage. Most of the time Russ would side with his family, who clearly didn’t care for his wife and got joy out of watching her squirm, just to make everyone (other than Frankie) happy and keep the peace. If I’m being honest, I disliked Frankie’s character more than Russ’s. Even though he made a lot of crappy choices and had the gaslighting skills of a champion.

Well, I liked him more than Frankie for the first 75% of the book. After that I HATED him.

Jasmine – The live-in nanny is a sweet, young lady; in fact, she’s almost too sweet. She’s almost too helpful. She’s almost too kind. She’s almost too much of everything. Jasmine enjoyed challenging Frankie. She had a game to play, and she played it very well. Jasmine knew what she wanted, and by God, she was going to do anything in her power to get it. She was always cool, calm, and collected even in the most uncomfortable of situations. I didn’t care for her at all. Not one bit.

 

Well, I didn’t care for her for the first 75% of the book. After that I LOVED her.

Petunia Minetti – She is horrid. I hated her. If she were my mother-in-law, I just might go to jail for murder.

Other Thoughts

In the synopsis, it is said that when Frankie meets Jasmine, she can’t help but feel like she has met her before. However, when they do finally meet, nothing in Frankie’s dialogue or inner thoughts mentions any of that to the readers. She doesn’t even hint at having a weird familiarity with the young woman. 

I didn’t particularly care for the underlying “women aren’t attractive after having children” undertones in the story. It was mentioned more than once how Frankie was much more desirable before carrying two babies. 

One afternoon while both Jasmine and Russ are out of the house, Frankie decides to snoop in Jasmine’s room. She finds a dress on her bed and very quickly realizes that it’s one of hers. Frankie has no idea how it got there. She didn’t know if Jasmine had taken it from her closet or if Russ had given it to her. The author made sure to point out that detail, and it’s never brought up again. We don’t hear about it anymore after that. Why even bother having it in the story?

Early on in the book, it is mentioned that Jasmine’s mom, Helen, and Russ’s sister, Amanda, are lovers disguising themselves as best friends. They use their friendship as an excuse to spend time together and explain their closeness to one another. The whole family knows there is something more going on but doesn’t bother to mention it. This dynamic doesn’t have any effect on the plot. At all. It has nothing to do with how anything plays out. What was the big deal? What was the point of making sure the readers knew about that? There wasn’t a reason for the detail to be shared. 

TLDR: AN ENTERTAINING THRILLER WITH A FUN TWIST!  

As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great. 😊

I would like to thank Bookoture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

This is my voluntary, unbiased, and honest review.
 

RTBook/Story:  ⭐️⭐⭐
Book Cover:   ⭐️⭐️⭐

Trigger Warning(s): 
Murder
Animal Death
Body Shaming/Fatphobia
Infidelity
POV: First Person 
Series/Standalone: Standalone (Interconnected Series) 
First In Series: Yes
Trope(s): None
Spice: Closed Door 
Genre: Mystery  
Burn: Medium 
Safe or Dark: Safe 
Release Date: April 15, 1982

I read this book many years ago in my late teens/early twenties. However, I remember absolutely nothing about it, so it was like I was experiencing it for the first time again.

If you like Lifetime movies, chances are you will like this book.

This isn’t a cozy mystery per se, but it’s also not one with high tension either. It falls somewhere in the middle.

Our FMC, Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone, is so fun. She was sassy, stubborn, smart, and down-to-earth. She didn’t sugarcoat anything (to the point of coming off as crass sometimes). Although she was a pretty good time, I didn’t particularly care for her. Nothing about her stood out to me. I’m hoping that Millhone's character develops more as the alphabet goes on. I do think she has a lot of potential to become an enjoyable protagonist. However, she doesn’t like dogs, so I don’t know how many more points I can give her in the loveable department.

Her constant swearing didn’t bother me, but that could just be because I have the mouth of a sailor myself. It’s something I’m trying to work on.

Even though Kinsey was a strong character, she did at times make stupid mistakes. Things that someone who is knowledgeable in her field of work wouldn’t do. Or at least I think they wouldn’t.

Example:

Millhone drives to Las Vegas to follow a lead and find a person pertinent to the case she’s working on. She wants to keep it low-key and doesn’t want to be tied back to the possible suspect she’s interviewing. Yet, she uses a credit card to pay for her hotel room instead of giving them cash to lessen the chances of leaving a paper trail. Doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t even try to give the hotel manager an alibi. She checks into the room under her legal name. It doesn’t make sense.

I love that things kick off right away from page one. The ball gets rolling right away.

The mystery developed slow and steady (the first half of the story being much slower than the second half), and we had a lot of suspects to work with. Which was nicely done, although at times, I had to flip back to piece together how each suspect fit into everything. Outside of the “murder mystery,” Millhone is also trying to solve a case of insurance fraud. Luckily, I didn’t feel like those two cases got lost within the other. It wasn’t confusing trying to keep both of these things apart.

The romance aspect was a bit off. The start of Kinsey’s relationship with her new lover was interesting and, well, different, for lack of a better word. It just didn’t work.

The sex also wasn’t very sexy. Although, again, this book was published in 1982, and that was a different time for smut in books. It has definitely evolved over the years.

Our FMC meets Charlie Scorsoni twice in a professional capacity before agreeing to go on a date with him. At the end of the date, the two are in the car on their way back to Millhone’s house. The air is full of sexual tension. Out of nowhere Charlie grabs Kinsey’s hand and puts it right on his wang and says something along the lines of, “Guess what we’re doing tonight?” This super tough private investigator is instantly turned on by this and makes a noise, letting Charlie know that his tactic worked. I’m sorry, but if a man did that to me, I just might start swinging on him and get out of the car right on the spot. Do NOT pass go, do NOT collect $200. Sir, that is more or less sexual assault!

I don't care what year this book was written, 1962, 1972, 1982, or 2002. That is NEVER okay for any time period.

Approximately halfway through the plot, there is <b>A LOT of filler.</b> There was a ton of fluff that wasn’t needed and dragged things out. We do a lot of detail about things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Mainly every single building that Millhone sees. SO MANY DETAILS ABOUT BUILDINGS!

That wasn’t a big deal for me since it does happen in a bunch of books. Especially the first book in a series. I suppose I would rather have too much detail than not enough.

Despite at times being wordy and packed with details, Grafton’s writing is light and easy to follow. The prose isn’t bogged down or confusing in any way.

I wish the mystery was a bit harder to figure out. I had the whodunit nailed fairly early on in the book. However, I do wonder if this wasn’t supposed to be the type of book where the murder was difficult to solve. Maybe it was one where we as the readers were supposed to be able to piece things together fairly easily. I don’t know.

The ending of this one was also BANANAS, and not in a good way. Everything ended in a rather silly manner. I didn’t care for it.

Since this book was published in 1982, there are some toxic aspects when it comes to body image and fat shaming. Unfortunately, that was part of the times. If this was a book that was published now in 2025, I’m sure it would have been different. Although I believe the entire series is set in the 1980s (even the ones written more recently), so who knows?

I plan on continuing with the series despite it finishing on the letter Y. Sue Grafton unfortunately died before she could publish a book for the letter Z.

I’m ready to dive into B is for Burglar.

Based on some of these reviews, I’m thinking I might also need to check out the V. I. Warshawski series.

TLDR: A FUN START TO A WELL-LOVED SERIES! YOU MIGHT NOT LOVE IT BUT YOU WILL LIKE IT!

As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great. 😊

DNF'D at 20%

There was nothing wrong with this book. At the end of the day it just wasn't for me. Although, I can see others enjoying it.

Book/Story: ⭐️⭐⭐⭐
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐

Trigger Warning(s): Murder
Binge Drinking (mentioned)
Loss Of Spouse
Kidnapping
Loss Of Child
POV: First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone (Interconnected Series)
First In Series: No
Trope(s): None
Spice: None
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Burn: Fast
Safe or Dark: Safe
Release Date: March 25, 2025

I was beyond excited when I was able to get my hands on this ARC! I have to admit that I haven’t read many Harlan Coben books during my adult life, but members of my family have been fans for years. Needless to say, I was so ready to dive into this one!

I have not read this first book in the Detective Sami Kierce series, Fool Me Once, but have been told that this book reads more like a standalone, and you don’t need to have prior knowledge of events that occurred in the first story in order to enjoy this one, and I found that to be true.

I’m so upset that I haven’t bothered to check out more of Harlan Coben’s catalog in the past because just like the one or two other books I have read by him before, this one was an absolute home run!

You might want to take some Dramamine before getting into this story, because it is packed with twists and turns.

This is a fun, fast-paced, riveting plot. The prologue kicks things off, and we are pulled directly into our main character's life twenty years prior to when this book takes place. I was engaged from start to finish. In fact, I’m sure I would have finished this a lot quicker than I did if I didn’t have to worry about doing adult things, like having a healthy sleep schedule and going to work.

In true Coben fashion, there is a lot packed into this book. There are many different pieces of a puzzle going on at the same time. However, also in true Coben fashion, he makes it all work. Nothing gets confusing or jumbled together. Each storyline plays off one another nicely to form a bigger picture and move towards an explosive ending. I found myself becoming fully invested in both mysteries taking place here.

I adored our main character, disgraced detective Sami Kierce; it was so fun being inside his head. I loved the fact that Coben “broke the fourth wall” with this character, as many times Kierce was talking directly to the readers. I also really enjoyed meeting the “Pink Panthers “, and other members of his criminology class. We get a chance to peek at each of their fun personalities as well. Golfer Gary stole my heart and who could help falling in love with the quirky yet friendly Raymond? Getting to know Kierce’s friends, lovely wife Molly, and infant son, Henry, was wonderful as well. No matter how many mistakes he made or how royally he messed his life up, they all still loved and supported him. That was so refreshing!

I loved the idea of Sami’s criminology class in general. That’s definitely something I would have paid to attend. There was a lot of respect shared between teacher and pupils. You could tell they held Kierce in high regard. They were a loving bunch.

Kierce is easy to relate to since, like many of us, he is handed a string of bad luck (some a result of mistakes he’s made) and just tries his best to push on and be happy with the good things that happen in life. No matter how few and far between they are. He isn’t perfect and has many flaws. I think that is what makes him so likeable to us readers. He walks through life much like I do, with a smart mouth and humor that is used to cover up deep emotions and trauma. Also like myself, Kierce is headstrong and stubborn, never stopping until he finds out the truth of the case he's working on. He doesn't drop things quite as easily as he should.

The references to Hercule Poirot and Detective Columbo were amazing. I especially enjoyed them since Agatha Christie is one of my favorite mystery authors, and Columbo is my favorite, doofy television detective.

Fun fact: My dog’s middle name is Columbo. Why he has a middle name I couldn’t tell you, but my cute little Shih Tzu does.

The final plot twist and ending were phenomenal. I didn’t see them coming at all. Bravo, Mr. Coben. Those are going to be living rent-free in my head for months, and possibly years, to come.  You, sir, get two thumbs up for that one.

However, I will never understand what I’ve done to deserve that cliffhanger regarding Sami Pierce’s personal story arc! THAT DAMN CLIFFHANGER!

Now, I’m forced to wait for the next book in the series to be published to see how that one plays out! It’s going to be torture!

I can see why Harlan Coben’s books have been a staple in many of my family members reading collections for many years. He really is in a class of his own when it comes to writing mysteries and thrillers.

I can’t wait to keep going through his catalog. Perhaps I will start doing that now.

TLDR : A FAST-PACED BOOK WITH PLENTY OF TWISTS AND TURNS! ENTERTAINING FROM START TO FINISH!
As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great. 😊 

I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book. 
 
This is my voluntary, unbiased, and honest review. 

 

 Book/Story: ⭐️⭐⭐
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐

Trigger Warning(s): Child Abuse (Physical, Emotional, Sexual)
Religion
Loss Of Spouse
Loss Of Child (mentioned)
Alcoholism (mentioned)
Pedophilia (mentioned)
POV: First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
First In Series: N/A
Trope(s): None
Spice: ️None
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Burn: Slow
Safe or Dark: Dark
Release Date: April 15, 2025

Please note that this book touches on some very sensitive subjects. I strongly recommend checking the trigger warning before diving into this. 

If you enjoyed Netflix’s docuseries, The Keepers, I think you will definitely enjoy this book. Both these stories give off similar vibes. If you are a true crime junkie, I think you will enjoy this book since it’s based on the true stories of St. Joseph's Orphanage. 

Pros

- Bailey Seybold’s writing is lovely. It has an easy flow and is very engaging. It’s entertaining without being over the top. The author perfectly sets the scene of the story, being descriptive without being overwordy. You felt like you were battling the cold with Alex Kelley (FMC) at the Coram House next to the lake. You will definitely get sucked into the eerie theme.

- I think the main character being a true crime writer investigating events that have occurred at an orphanage was an interesting concept. 

- I enjoyed how the story was told in different formats. Audio transcripts of police interviews (I wish there were more of them) from children from Coram House (now adults) giving their testimony of things that had happened to and around them while at the orphanage, and the day-to-day perspective and investigating of the main character. 

- Flashbacks were sprinkled in nicely without disrupting the flow of the book. We were taken back in time at just the right moments. It was very nicely done. 

- I found MOST of the characters to be enjoyable and interesting.

-I didn’t see the end twist coming. As I think back, all the clues were there; I just didn’t piece things together. That was very well done. I ended up giving this book an additional half star solely based on that.

Cons

- One of my only qualms with Seybold's writing was that at times it did get rather repetitive. Alex was constantly going over the facts of the case, which we as the readers didn’t need to hear about. There were some scenes that didn’t do anything to progress the story; they were just sort of there. This unfortunately did slow things down a bit. There’s a lot to unpack with this case, sometimes too much.

Sidenote : This particular sentence both disgusted and humored me. “The air is damp and stale, like walking into a cloud of someone else’s breath.”- I’m sorry, WHAT!? 

- The story builds slowly (and I do mean SLOWLY), so if you are looking for a fast burn, this is not the book for you. This is not a fast-paced thriller by any means. I wouldn’t even classify it as a thriller; more like a mystery. 

- If you are also a fan of short chapters, this is not the book for you. Most of the chapters in the first part of this book are LONG. That, paired with the pace of the plot, made this very hard for me to get through. 

- This just felt very drawn out and could have honestly been at least fifty pages shorter. The point of the book still would have gotten across, and we wouldn’t be missing out on anything. 

- The romance storyline didn’t mesh with the rest of the plot. It felt very forced and didn’t unfold organically. It just wasn’t believable. I also wasn’t aware that it was something that would be happening, as it wasn’t even hinted at in the synopsis. Honestly, it should have/could have been left out entirely. It just wasn’t needed. Seybolt was trying to add something to the story that was unnecessary.

- I just couldn’t get behind Alex as a main character. Something about her drove me crazy; perhaps I found her to be a bit pretentious, or maybe it’s because I found her to be rather flat. She was just sharing the story with us rather than living it. Was she too nosy? Was she just too bland? Did she come off as a know-it-all? I don’t know. There was just something about her I didn’t like. 

With that being said, I really enjoyed the fact that Alex was someone who had real-life problems that she was dealing with but was still level-headed and relatively responsible. Despite not being able to get behind her, I did find her to be reliable and, in certain ways, easy to relate to. More often than not in thriller books, FMCs are unreliable, confused, and easily manipulated. This was a great change of pace. I do wish all of the characters had more development and background information given to us. 

I wasn’t 100% sure whether to put this in the pros or cons sections, so I just shoved it here. 

- The last 25% moved way too fast. The entire book built so slowly until about 75%, and then we just hit the ground running. I wasn’t a big fan of the ending of this one. It wasn’t terrible per se, but I didn’t leave the story feeling completely satisfied. 

Overall, this was a good debut novel. I believe Bailey Seybold has a lot of potential and a promising future as an author.

P.S I wouldn’t bill this as a thriller but more of a mystery. There wasn’t anything really thrilling about it.

TLDR: AN INTERESTING SLOW BURN MYSTERY BASED OFF TRUE BUT SAD EVENTS! 

As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great. 😊 

I would like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

This is my voluntary, unbiased, and honest review. 

 Book/Story: ⭐️⭐⭐️⭐
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐.5

Trigger Warning(s): Cult Activity
Domestic Abuse
Misogyny
Emotional Abuse
Religion
POV: First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
First In Series: N/A
Trope(s): None
Spice: ️None
Genre: Memoir
Burn: Medium
Safe or Dark: Safe
Release Date: October 22, 2024

I haven't watched One Tree Hill, so I'm not familiar with this actress or the character she portrays on the show. However, I am very into stories about cults/people who were involved in them. Bethany Joy Lenz's story sounded fascinating based on the synopsis, so when Book of the Month offered this as one of their selections, I snatched it. I'm happy to announce that the synopsis didn’t lie this time.

First and foremost, I would like it to be known that I never judge people who have been part of a cult or an organization with cult-like behaviors. We don’t know what a person was dealing with at a particular time in their life to make them get “sucked” in by the leader of the group or why their certain lifestyle appealed to them. I sympathize with what these people go through and the abuse that they have endured while being misled by all those fake prophets out there.

We all know about the mainstream cults out there, the ones that often have documentaries made about them and discussed on the news.

E.G.: The Peoples Temple, The Manson Family, Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, and NXIVM. Just to name a few.

We don’t often think about all the cults out there that operate on a smaller scale. The ones that fly under the radar and get no public recognition. The ones that can slowly pull a person in without them even realizing it. That’s exactly what happened to Joy Lenz. She was a victim of a cult that the general public didn’t even know about.

This is a story about failure, courage, finding yourself, strength, and taking back your life.

This isn’t a memoir solely about Lenz's time on One Tree Hill but an overall story of her life. So, if you’re a OTH fan who was looking forward to reading about the show, turn back now. However, the story about her time in the cult (The Big House Family) and her time on One Tree Hill do coincide. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, then stick around.

I’m not a huge memoir reader. I have only read a handful. I often find the writing to be dense and, at times, clunky. Not this one; the writing flowed nicely and was easy to follow, albeit at times repetitive. The timeline was nice and cohesive; it didn’t jump around like it does sometimes in other memoirs. You were able to know exactly what Lenz was going through at any given point in the story. The writing was very detailed without being flowery. The picture that’s painted really had me sympathizing with all the people involved.

Don’t get me wrong. The first part of the memoir is a bit slow-moving as everything is getting set up, but once we get to the meat of things, we really get moving. There was no huge moment that occurred to make Lenz join the cult. There was no big bang. (So, again, if you’re looking for something like that, turn back now.) It just happened, and we learn about that through her. I myself am not a religious person, but this memoir made me understand the allure of it and how when religion is followed properly, it can be a beautiful lifeline for some people and how if it’s used as a weapon, it can be devastating and destructive.

Not only do you learn about Joy Lenz's time in her cult and the double life she so desperately tried to balance, but also about the operations of Hollywood. How hard it can be to break onto the scene. How you have hundreds of rejections before someone takes a chance on you. How roles start to slow down for actresses as they start to age and all the double standards that come from growing older in Hollywood (“Actors get older; actresses get old.”). I found that to be fascinating.

Bethany Joy Lenz tells a passionate, infuriating, and at times sweet story. It shows that any of us can fall prey to these kinds of groups no matter how fiercely we believe that we wouldn’t. It shows that you don’t necessarily have to be down on your luck, weak, or in a bad place to fall for propaganda that’s dangled in front of us. Some studies even try to show that fans of sports teams partake in cult-like behavior. Which, when you think about the grand scheme of things, might be true. The fact that what happened to Joy Lenz could happen to any one of us is scary. Just like I’m sure sharing her experience was too.

I love how Lenz found the strength to get out of the cult and move on with her life as well as with her faith. I love how she was able to find the good things that had happened to her and came out of her experience. She’s very resilient.

Despite all the good things I found about this book, it did have its negative moments for me, mainly Joy’s time spent on OTH.

I didn’t like how she interacted with and treated some of her fellow cast members. At times, she almost came off as seeming like she was better than some/most of the people she worked with. She often used her religious beliefs to give off this air of superiority while working on the show.

She would say things about really liking Sophia Bush but being unable to form a friendship with her because of X, Y, & Z (which would end up being some sort of shallow reason).

She pushed back a lot against what the creators/directors/producers of the show wanted her to do, then would turn around and get upset when her manager informed her that she was getting calls about how difficult Joy was to work with. What did she expect?

I found it incredibly unfair that she compared creators of shows/movies to cult leaders. More or less suggesting that they both operate the same way. That really left a sour taste in my mouth.

While I try my best not to judge people in cults, I'm only human. A lot of times Lenz would question something she was going to do based on what people around her were telling her, would admit that she wasn’t sure it was the right choice to make, and did it anyway. So, that took me back a bit. Usually when people are brainwashed to the point of believing anything a leader tells them to, they don’t question it. This led me to believe that Lenz held on to some of her own free will but so badly wanted to belong somewhere that she did things she didn’t want to do anyway, which is sad in its own right.

I also found it interesting that Lenz just woke up one day, realized this cult and the people in it were bad for her, and decided to just up and leave, despite the years of indoctrination that she suffered.

At the end of the day, I’m glad I picked this one up. I am thankful that Lenz shared her story and is making her voice heard. It brings awareness to a taboo part of life. I hope this memoir helps someone who might be going through the same thing as she did.

TLDR:A RIVETING, PASSIONATE, INFURIATING, AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN MEMOIR! A GREAT READ!  

As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great. 😊 

 Book/Story:⭐️⭐️.5
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning(s): Infidelity (kind of)
Death Of Parent (briefly mentioned)
PTSD (briefly mentioned)
Military Combat (mentioned)
Domestic Abuse (briefly mentioned)
POV: First Person (Third Person?)
Series/Standalone: Interconnected Series
First In Series: Yes
Trope(s):
Male Escort
Surprise Pregnancy
Instalust
Double Life
Workplace Romance
Spice: ️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Burn: Fast
Safe or Dark: Safe
Release Date: September 11, 2018

Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but this is the first romance book I’ve read where one of the characters is a male escort, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wouldn’t call it my new favorite trope or anything, but I did like it.

This book did have my least favorite trope in it, surprise pregnancy, but I did my best not to hold that against the story.

Plot:

The plot was very predictable, so there weren’t really any “Oh my God” moments while reading. I always felt like I sort of knew what was going to happen. It didn’t take away any enjoyment from the story, though.

This was a fast-paced read that gets right into the action from the very first page. We follow Trey and Charlotte’s relationship from the moment they meet. We get a glimpse into how everything between them develops. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

We see how their initial connection starts, learn about all of Trey’s secrets and the inevitable fallout that occurs once they are revealed, and the possibility of the couple moving forward together after.

It was a wild ride, to say the least. It was entertaining, albeit at times over the top and hard to believe.

Writing Style:

Michelle Windsor's writing was very simple and easy to follow. Not overly descriptive and flowery but not lacking either. It did get very repetitive at times, so that was upsetting.

Example: “I think he’s going to kiss me. I blink up at him and hope he’s going to kiss me.”

The constant reminder of how “tiny” and “petite” Charlie was also got old fast. It was so cringy and didn’t need to be mentioned every fifteen or so pages. I swear her size was mentioned as much as possible. Trey just loved Charlie’s “small frame.”.

The point of view often confused me. Sometimes the story is being told in first person before abruptly changing to third person and vice versa. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but it was somewhat jarring.

Even though I was entertained by the book and the flow of the writing, there were some lines that were so bad they made me laugh/cringe:

“Then kiss me again, kiss me like you’ve been in the desert for a month and I’m a glass of water.” - That’s not it, fam. 😂

“She’s like a little pixie but with the heart of a minx.” - WHAT!? 😂

“I grab a clean towel off a shelf in my closet and walk naked back through the living room to the bathroom, my dick bobbing against my stomach the whole time.” - The picture I painted in my head regarding this was comical. 😂

“I do maintain some composure and manage to keep my hands from reaching out and to run over his bumpy abdomen.” - What an odd way to describe a six-pack. Does he have boils or something? 😂

“His lips follow the direction of the material, stopping when he reaches one of my swollen peaks.” - Charlie was talking about her boobs. 😂

“My lips have become so swollen that they aren’t even covered by the fabric anymore.” - Charlie isn’t talking about the lips on her face. 😂

I forgot to grab the quote, but at one time Charlie was giving Trey a handy and mentioned how big his banana is, and he tells her something like, “It’s not big; it’s just because your hands are so small.” Or some icky thing along those lines.

Characters:

Charlotte “Charlie” Harvey: Charlie was just an alright character for me. She wasn’t my favorite main character in a book. I didn’t particularly like her or not like her. She was just sort of there for me. Nothing about her personality stood out. She did seem to slut-shame Gabby at times, and I didn’t care for that.

She was a bit of a pushover. She finds out that Trey lied to her not only about his name but also about the circumstances under which they met. She’s steaming mad (rightfully so) yet turns around and forgives him like it’s nothing. He’s like, “Yeah, sorry about that,” and she’s just like, “You’re hot, and I want to jump your bones, so I forgive you. LOL”. Come on Charlie, grow a backbone!

Sidenote: This woman bites her bottom lip A LOT. I'm surprised there's any skin left on it.

Trey Riley/Maddox Stone: I liked Trey. I thought his character was more complex than we are initially led to believe. He did what he had to in order to survive, and that’s understandable. Did he make mistakes? Sure. But don’t we all? I think he eventually just found himself between a rock and a hard place. He could have been a bit more sympathetic towards Trick and his struggle with PTSD. Since both Trey & Trick were in the Army, PTSD is something that Trey should be more understanding about.

Sidenote: Can someone get this man a glass of water? Because it seems like he is constantly dehydrated.

Gabrielle “Gabby” Reed (Charlie’s best friend): I did not care for Gabby at all. I felt like she was very childish and immature for her age. I know she gets her own story later on in the series, so maybe all that will change.

Patrick “Trick” Connors (Trey’s best friend): I didn’t mind Trick. He was rather stereotypical in his representation of a man, in the sense that he just wanted to sleep around with women and have a good time. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He just seemed very flat. We didn’t get a good look at him as a person/man. However, this is not his story, and he is a side character, so that’s fine.

Karen Perry (Trey’s client turned friend): I LOVED Karen. She is the eighty-something-year-old woman we all strive to be. She was blunt while still being classy. She calls it like she sees it, and that is amazing. Hats off to Karen.

Spice:

The spice was spicing. There was just enough in there to not damage the overall plot of the story. The smut was generous but not overbearing. I was actually surprised since going into this I thought it was a purely smut-based book. I don’t mind that at all if I know that’s what I’m getting myself into; I was just pleasantly surprised with this one. That’s all.

The chemistry between Trey and Charlie was instantaneous and off the charts. It was so hot and fun. Very well done. It was definitely an instalust situation, which I don’t mind since it’s more believable for me than the instalove trope.

Other Thoughts:

I just want to mention that Charlie and Gabby giggle way too often for two grown women in their twenties. They giggle at almost everything they talk about. They also stick their tongues out in a teasing fashion at each other multiple times. Come on, they aren’t seven years old.

Gabby calls her dad “daddy.” Something about an adult female referring to her father as “daddy” just gives me the serious ick.

Trey and Charlie always getting it on and making out at work was so disturbing. Since it’s highly unprofessional. If they got caught, they would both get fired without question. Also, they work in the ER at a hospital, so doing it in the rooms is so unhygienic. Especially on a hospital bed.

They also get it on in the family bathroom at a zoo! I’m no prude, but that’s disgusting. I can’t imagine that the bathroom was very clean. They are both adults; can’t they keep their hands off each other for five minutes!?

Can we please get one female character in a book that actually knows about and likes sports just because they do? Charlie being a New England Patriots fan just because “Tom Brady is hot” nearly killed me. Women who enjoy sports already aren’t taken seriously enough without the author adding to the overall stereotype. Come on, Michelle Windsor, don’t make your fellow females look bad!

After asking Charlie about being a Patriots fan, Trey tells her that he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan. He then proceeds to tell her that their Sundays spent together will be interesting since they will be fighting about their respective teams.

1) The NFL is split into two conferences, the AFC and the NFC. The New England Patriots are in the AFC, and the Philadelphia Eagles are in the NFC.

2) Outside of the yearly Super Bowl, AFC and NFC teams only play each other in the regular season once every four years, with the occasional preseason game sprinkled in. The last time the Patriots played the Eagles was on September 10, 2023, and the time before that was in 2019. So, outside of a Super Bowl matchup, there is no reason for Trey and Charlie’s Sundays to get “scrappy.”.

I’m a Dallas Cowboys fan, and my husband is a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Those teams are not only in the same conference but are in the same division. So, our Sundays can get very interesting, to say the least. Especially since teams in the same division play each other twice during the regular season.

I’m sorry; I know it’s such a stupid detail, but I’m just very passionate about sports.

Overall, this is an alright start to this new series. I might check out the other books but am not 100% sure yet. I guess we will just have to see where this reading year takes me.

TLDR: A DECENT START TO A NEW SERIES! JUST DON’T EXPECT A WHOLE LOT GOING INTO IT!

As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great. 😊