snugglesandpages's reviews
250 reviews

I can definitely see The Agathas becoming the YA mystery series that ignites a love of the Chrisite classics in a new generation of readers.

From the very beginning, I was entranced by the fast-paced narrative filled with teenage drama, shady characters and heightened tension. There are so many red herrings that sprout along the way, you won't know who to trust.

The balance between a suspenseful plot-driven story and authentic character development is appeasingly conveyed via a dual POV narrative. I really got a sense of who Alice and Iris are beneath the high school clicks, and I think my teenage self could identify with both of the girls in some ways.

I loved all the nuanced nods to Agatha Christie throughout the book, from our MC's channelling Agathas's fictional sleuths for encouragement, to the curation of quotes from Christie's mysteries at the beginning of chapters.

Thank you to @harperkidsau and @tandemcollective global for my #gifted copy and yet another fun readalong. This may have been my favourite one yet!

If you enjoy getting lost in the worlds of Veronica Mars or Riverdale or reading YA thrillers like the Karen M Mcmanus' One of Us series, then you'll love The Agathas.

I can't wait to see what is next for the Castle Cove sleuths.

The House in the Cerulean Sea was such an unexpected delight. I laughed, I cried, and for the last 30 odd pages, I downright bawled 🤧

I went in completely blind, having picked up the book without actually reading the blurb, so I didn't even know it was a contemporary (romance adjacent) fantasy novel until I began reading 🤣
... and here I am giving it all of the stars 😱

The writing is simply beautiful. It's heartwarming, charming and quirky, yet there are still many themes in this book that hit you in unexpected ways, such as marginalisation, oppression, stereotypes, acceptance, love and family.

Klune has created such a unique and enchanting cast of characters. I absolutely adored all of the children. Their pure innocence and willingness to see the good in people despite their past trauma and the prejudice they are faced with. I have a soft spot for Chauncey, and an unidentified marine green blob whose only dream in life is to be a bellhop. I mean.. 🥺. I pictured him as a sort of talking flubber (do you remember that movie!), only with tentacles and a cute little bellhop hat. But I especially loved Lucy and his macabre sense of humour which had me laughing out loud so many times.

For a portion of the book, I checked out the audio from my library so I could listen while I was cooking and cleaning and ohh my goodness, the narration made me fall in love with this book so much more. I highly recommend you check it out.

Friends, this is such a hilarious and cute read. 💛

In A New York Minute ticks all the boxes for a lighthearted romcom you could easily binge in a day.

Meet-cute
Opposites attract 
Grumpy to sunshine
Closed-door romance

I laughed so much during this read. In today's age of social media, I could absolutely see an awkward and innocent meeting being turned into a viral contrived love story. #SubwayQts 

I loved the sarcastic banter between Franny and Hayes, and Kate's ability to create chemistry that leaps off the page, especially between the best friend trio that is Franny, Lola, and Cleo.

Franny's side plot of finding herself by exporling her family roots was heartwarming and gave reliability and depth to her character. 

If you enjoy a slow burn romance with lots of laughs like, give this a read. 

A young Lindsay pulls an unconscious teen from the wreckage of a stolen car. When she comes to, the girl has no ID or memory of who she. Suffering from amnesia, Lindsay and her Police Chief father take the girl under their wing and help her cultivate a new life for herself as Hope Miller.

15 years later, Hope decides it's time to branch out on her own in a town that doesn't just see her as the girl with amnesia and moves to East Hampton. But when Hope suddenly disappears, Linsday, now a successful defence attorney, can't help but think something has happened to her best friend.

Has Hope's past finally caught up with her?
What was she really running from the night of the accident all those years ago?

💭 Thoughts:
The Girl She Was is a fast paced and twisty thriller that had me quickly invested in uncovering the truth behind Hope's past and her current disappearance.

I found the concept of a traumatic accident causing permanent amnesia very interesting. How would one be able to go about their life with no formal identification? And how this impacts so many aspects of one's life and their sense of identity.

When I first picked this up, I didn't realise it tied in with the Authors ’Detective Ellie Hatcher’ series. Thankfully, The Girl She Was (alt title: Find Me) also reads well as a standalone as Ellie plays more of a side role in the book, but I liked it enough that I may check out the earlier books in the series to get a better understanding of Ellie's backstory.

If you're looking for a fast suspenseful read with an interesting plotline, give this one a go.

Shiver is a locked-room mystery that will have you questioning everyone's intentions. Filled with plenty of twists, thrills & chills, plus a few subplots to keep things interesting, I could almost feel the frostbite on my fingers as I devoured the pages over 2 days.

Allie’s background as a former pro freestyle snowboarder provides a notable element of depth and authenticity to the story. While there is a lot of technical lingo which initially went over my head, a quick google and a few minutes watching tricks on YouTube were all it took before I felt like I was right there in the thick of it.

The short, snappy chapters and alternating timeline work cohesively to create a sense of unnerving tension and intrigue. Through the past tense chapters set in the winter season 10 years prior, we come to really get a sense of who each of the characters are, and uncover the catalyst for the group's present day predicament.

I enjoyed everything about this book. I loved that all the characters were kinda sketchy in their own way, but at the same time, I was rooting for a certain pairing. I also learnt so much about snowboarding that I feel totally confident I could slay a 720 🏂. Ignore the fact that I have never even bloody seen snow let alone skied or snowboarded in my life. 🤣 

If this is what a debut novel from Allie looks like, then I am hella eager to start her new novel, The Bay.

If your child told you that they knew the gruesome details of how they had died in their past life, would you believe them?

💭 Thoughts:
This Audible exclusive novella is a psychological thriller with supernatural themes. The concept of reincarnation and past life regression had me utterly fascinated and I'm keen to explore these topics further.

For a fairly short listen, I knew there wasn't going to be a fully fleshed out array of characters but they were likeble and the fast pace and intriguing plot kept me captivated.

It's a little hard to rate because Christian White is one of my all time fav authors, so I went in expecting the ending to be true to his style and leave my mind blown. There were a few good twists, but ultimately the ending fell flat.

Free with an Audible subscription, it's worth a listen of you're looking for something a little different to entertain you while you're going about other tasks.

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚.
𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 . . .

This was a gripping cinematic experience right here. 👏

The Island is everything you want in an action packed survival thriller. Filled will none-stop tension and nail biting suspense, McKinty's style makes this an easy page turner that hooks you from the very first chapter.

If you read one book this month, make it this one! So bloody good. 👏

Our MC, Heather is a force to be reckoned with. I would definitely want her on my side if I was ever stranded somewhere, or in a life threatening situation. Sure, maybe her resilience is a little idealistic, but who wants practical when you're reading escapism! Not me!

I also really enjoyed the family dynamic of the story as well. I think the kids having recently lost their mother created an instant connection and understanding with the reader for their reticence in bonding with Heather. But when all hell breaks loose, Heather is the one that puts the kids lives above all else and I became wholeheartedly invested in their escape.

If you love a tense and gritty survival thriller with a kickass female MC and Gabriel Bergmoser’s "The Hunted" vibes, then The Island is a must!

Thank you to hachetteaus for this #gifted copy.

Tools of Engagement is now my fav in the Hot and Hammered series. 🙌

The evolution of Bethany is the highlight of this book. In the last two of the series, she oozed sophistication and confidence, but deep down, Bethany is just as insecure and vulnerable as the best of us. I applauded her tenacity in fighting for her right to live her dream of heading up her own house flip, even if that meant stepping away from the family business and going it alone. I think that was a real pivotal moment for her in learning to speak up for herself but also in accepting total perfection is unrealistic and that asking for help doesn't make you weak.

And then there is Wes. 7 yrs Bethany's junior yet her perfect match in every way that counts. I didn't mind the age gap trope too much because Wes is written with a bit more maturity. The way he left his life behind to step in and parent his niece at the drop of a cowboy hat added to his charm. The sarcastic banter between Bethany and Wes had me laughing out loud so many times and the spice 🌶 was 🥵 hot!

There were some good Georgie and Travis moments too, for those who loved their arc in Fix Her Up.

But that ending.. 😭🤧
My heart is full and my tissue box is empty!

The Woman in My Home is a well-paced domestic drama about relationships, lies, manipulation and a lesson in how easily we ignore red flags when we want something bad enough.

I really enjoy reading anything written by Kerry Fisher, and her 2017 novel, The Silent Wife is an absolute favourite of mine. I love the way she creates such authentically flawed characters in a way that makes them feel real and relatable.

The story starts a little on the slower side while Fisher lays down the foundation and backstory of our two MC's, but fairly soon suspensions begin to arise, and once they did, I couldn't put it down.

Is Robin really the prince charming he seems to be? Is Rebecca really the godsend single mother she portrays to be?

The Women in my Home is out TODAY and is the perfect domestic thriller for fans of Sally Hepworth or Lisa Jewell

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for this dARC in exchange for an honest review.

There was so much to love about Book Lovers. Nora is strong, level-headed and successful in every aspect of her life except love. Charlie is a charming, broody, no bs kinda guy with a big heart. Quite frankly, they are the perfect pairing and it was refreshing to read a romance involving a couple who communicate on a more mature level. The way that Emily Henry writes authentic and vulnerable connections while also making a conscious play on romance cliches really makes her work stand out in this genre.

The sexual tension and banter are some of the best I have read and I laughed so hard in some parts that I cried. Two words... Bigfoot Erotica 🤣🤣 I mean... 🤯

The relationship between Nora and her sister Libby is such a beautiful dynamic and I also loved the subtle nods to Beach Read, with references to January Andrews, connecting the two worlds. 

But...*possible SPOILERS*
Did anybody feel like there were a lot of plot points that mirrored Beach Read? MCs within the book world, enemies to lovers, small town getaway, running into said rival, grieving the loss of a parent, a bet or a challenge...Maybe it was simply because I had just read Beach Read prior to Book Lovers, but it was hard to overlook all the similarities and this made the story a little less enjoyable for me.

Nevertheless, the ending, while predictable, had me in tears 🤧 so be ready for a few sobs along the way.