The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties was a completely unnecessary addition to this series, and somehow even more unrealistic than the first two books. TThe Good, the Bad, and the Aunties was a completely unnecessary addition to this series, and somehow even more unrealistic than the first two books. This third installment follows Meddy and her husband Nathan, who decide to join the Aunties, and Meddy's extended family in Jarkarta for Chinese New Year, after their European honeymoon. And of course, all hell breaks loose. I was hoping for character development and a plot line that was different from the first 2 books, and I got neither. It really felt like Sutanto was just dragging the story for the sake of making this series a trilogy. And just like in the first 2 books, the entire "problem" is solved within the last 2 chapters, which made it feel really rushed.
I know I said this last time, but I am officially done with Jesse Q. Sutanto's books. I am clearly not the audience they are meant for and I gave her books 4 shots... that is enough.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-arc of The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties, in exchange for an honest review.
"We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives." Pg. 6
The Fury by Alex Michaelides is a unique and suspenseful thriller, that undoubtedly lives
"We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives." Pg. 6
The Fury by Alex Michaelides is a unique and suspenseful thriller, that undoubtedly lives up to the hype of Michaelides's first novel, The Silent Patient. It takes place on a small private island in Greece, called Aura, owned by a reclusive movie star Lana Farrar. The book follows Lana and her rich friends over the course of a spontaneous weekend trip to the island and a murder takes place. It is narrated by one of Lana's friends Elliot Chase, in an extremely conversational style, and the story unfolds in 5 acts as a play would. It was well-paced, had an interesting cast of characters, and had multiple twists and turns throughout the story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I've yet to be disappointed by an Alex Michaelides's novel, it is fair to say that he is one of my favourite authors, especially when it comes to thrillers. I think that fans of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio and The Guest List by Lucy Foley Would really enjoy this book!
Thank you Netgalley and Caledon Books for an advanced reader copy of this book! And thank you to Caledon Books for mailing me a 'The Fury' themed Playbill with a code for the audiobook as well - that was some super cool promo to receive!...more
i am so happy i read the mindf*ck series, it was so entertaining. please don't let the ugly covers detour you if your considering reading th3.5 stars!
i am so happy i read the mindf*ck series, it was so entertaining. please don't let the ugly covers detour you if your considering reading them! i really enjoyed this final book, the pacing was a bit off at the beginning, but i really enjoyed the end. i wasn't the biggest logan lover throughout the series but he got a bit of redemption in this book especially when he killed the og serial killer. im obsessed with hadley and jake, so happy they got a happy ending ...more
my favourite in the series so far! i really enjoy delaney grove as the setting, and i am very happy kyle finally got what he deserved. this one is defmy favourite in the series so far! i really enjoy delaney grove as the setting, and i am very happy kyle finally got what he deserved. this one is definitely the most graphic one out of the series, especially with that haunted house scene ...more
this is getting really interesting - i am dying to know the whole story! im loving lana and jake as a team, but im still not super into lana and loganthis is getting really interesting - i am dying to know the whole story! im loving lana and jake as a team, but im still not super into lana and logan as a couple. the other aspects of the story interest me way more than the romace. the whole scene where the fbi was following jake thinking he was super suspicious was so funny, idk how him and lana have thought about everything, like even him not scratching his legs cause of his (pretend) disability. i also really love hadley and the friendship developing between her and lana. i really hope she doesn't turn on her. onto book 4! ...more
reading this series feels like watching criminal minds! i didn't love this one as much as the risk, the beginning felt a bit slow but once it picked ureading this series feels like watching criminal minds! i didn't love this one as much as the risk, the beginning felt a bit slow but once it picked up halfway through i was super into it! lindy, laurel, and hadley all deserve the world, im so happy about what lana did for them. but i do think it was very risky of her.
i don't really know how i feel about lana and logan, i love lana (obviously) but logan is super meh to me. but omg that cliffhanger! im starting book #3 immediately. ...more
i had no idea what this series was about despite it being all over my goodreads for the past year and omg, i was missing out! honestly, the original ci had no idea what this series was about despite it being all over my goodreads for the past year and omg, i was missing out! honestly, the original covers are really bad and that just turned me away from them, so imagine my surprise when i started reading this today and it actually had a super interesting and unique plot and concept! ...more
Bright Young Women is a historical fiction thriller following the case of a notorious serial killer, who is only referred to as ‘The Defendant’ througBright Young Women is a historical fiction thriller following the case of a notorious serial killer, who is only referred to as ‘The Defendant’ throughout the novel. One POV follows Pamela, who is the sole witness of ‘The Defendant’ the night he broke into her Florida sorority house, brutally beat two of her sisters, and murdered two of other her sisters. The other POV follows Ruth, a previous victim of the same serial killer during his atrocities committed at Lake Sammamish in Washington. The stories intersect when a woman named Tina, who was a close friend of Ruth at the time of her murder, comes to Pamela, convinced their friends were murdered by the same man.
This book was a page-turner, even though I knew how this tragedy ultimately wrapped up, that didn’t take away from my interest in the book. My only complaint is that the names of some of the victims were changed, but the names of others were their actual names, which I found a bit confusing since there did not seem like any rhyme or reason for doing this. I think it should have remained consistent throughout with all of the names being changed since this is a fictional story based on true events.
I enjoyed seeing how the two main storylines intertwined, and although the timeline seemed jumpy at the beginning, it really ended up coming together in the end. It was haunting to read about how dismissive the police were to these women, which I know was the situation in real life for this case, but as I mentioned before, 'The Defendant' remaining nameless (even though it is clear what case this book is about) helped to reclaim these women's experiences and shed no more unwarranted light on the despicable man who did this. I appreciated how Knoll did not sensationalize the story but rather positioned the women and victims as heroes seeking justice, and as the title suggests, bright young women.
as good as dead was the perfect, suspenseful third book in the good girls guide to murder trilogy! i was on the edge of my seat right up until the epias good as dead was the perfect, suspenseful third book in the good girls guide to murder trilogy! i was on the edge of my seat right up until the epilogue!! holly jackson did an incredible job of giving us a new main plotline, while simultaneously tying it into the previous 2 books. i couldn't guess the next thing that happened to save my life... if you saw my updates while reading this you'd know i was STRESSED, it was absolutely insane.
i loved seeing even more of both pippa and ravi, im really going to miss reading about them and all the other fairview characters!! it was tough to read about the trauma pippa had, especially from the events at the end of the second book, but i liked how they actually showed what she was going through, rather than brushing over it as a lot of YA books do.
omg toward the end, THE HEADPHONES. i was screaming!!! and then the pip/ravi thing at the end... i was so sad until i saw that "Sarge" text message, thank god she included that, i would have rioted without closure.
overall, it was a great ending to the trilogy. i can't say enough good things about this series, it is suspenseful, fun, quick and just a really really good read. if you haven't already picked it up, add it to your tbr! ...more
Unfortunately, I can officially say that Jesse Q. Sutanto's books are not for me. I honestly don't know what I was thinking picking this up, I gave boUnfortunately, I can officially say that Jesse Q. Sutanto's books are not for me. I honestly don't know what I was thinking picking this up, I gave both Dial A for Aunties and Four Aunties and a Wedding 2 stars... but this cover was so cute, I had to give her one last chance.
This is a very character-driven story. Vera, the main character, who is a 60-year-old widow and tea shop owner, turned amateur detective, was very witty, however, her "I'm just an old lady I can do whatever I want" pushiness got old fast. The supporting characters were interesting enough, however, the plot was so weak that the characters didn't make up for it. I was waiting the entire time to figure out who had murdered Marshall in Vera's tea shop and it was underwhelming to say the least. It was "solved" in the last 2 chapters, and they briefly mentioned a trial but gave no real closure. There was way too many pop culture references, especially TikTok, which really wrecks the longevity of the book in my opinion.
I think one of the fundamental problems with Sutanto's books is that they are marketed wrong. For example, the blurb about Jesse at the back of this book described Dial a for Aunties as "women's fiction" and that is (in my opinion) entirely wrong. all 3 of her books have also been described as thrillers which couldn't be further from the truth. I really think they should all be labeled as young adult/humour. It is safe to say I will not be picking up her next book, however, I do think there is an audience out there for Sutanto's books, it is just not me.
add good girl, bad blood to the list of actually good sequels!! this was such a good follow up to a good girl's guide to murder, and it was perfect t add good girl, bad blood to the list of actually good sequels!! this was such a good follow up to a good girl's guide to murder, and it was perfect to read soon after the novella kill joy, which introduced jamie in a bigger capacity. the plot was fast-paced and i enjoyed the setting of fairview for another book!
i really enjoyed reading about all of the characters in this series again too! pippa and ravi are so cute, and i love how they balance each other out. i really liked seeing more of pippa and cara's friendship, but oh my gosh ant and lauren were so annoying! i liked seeing where tons of the characters from the first book were after pippa kind of turned the town upside down, and i especially appreciated how holly jackson tied up loose ends, like following max hastings trial.
overall, it was a really strong sequel, and i've heard even better things about the third book. i am very excited to see how the series wraps up!...more
this was fun but i also kind of found it so incredibly pointless. i wish it would have been a real mystery! especially with them leading onto somethinthis was fun but i also kind of found it so incredibly pointless. i wish it would have been a real mystery! especially with them leading onto something new and mysterious at the end of every chapter, i really didn't expect it to go nowhere.
maybe i will like it more after reading book 2 and 3?...more
this was a really intriguing and witty short story! i adored gone girl by gillian flynn so when i saw this at the library this afternoon, especially wthis was a really intriguing and witty short story! i adored gone girl by gillian flynn so when i saw this at the library this afternoon, especially with how short it is, i knew it would be the perfect sunday night read. the main character was a great narrator, her comments in brackets were making me laugh.
it kind of reminded me of the women in the window meets mexican gothic in a sense, and is definitely going to be a common short story recommendation from me going forward! im really looking forward to reading more from ms. flynn!...more
this was super fun and engaging! it is the end of the semester so school has been really busy, and i really needed a quick YA read, and this deliveredthis was super fun and engaging! it is the end of the semester so school has been really busy, and i really needed a quick YA read, and this delivered.
a good girl's guide to murder follows pippa as she investigates the 5 year old murder andie bell for her capstone project. she teams up with ravi, the brother of the accused murderer to try and clear his brother sal's name and figure out what really happened to andie bell 5 years ago. pippa was a really great main character, and i loved seeing her and ravi's friendship develop throughout the book. the capstone project log and interviews were also a really good addition throughout the book and made it a quick read. i was satisfied with the ending! i guessed one of the twists but i didn't guess what happened to andie bell which made me really engaged until the end!
if youre looking for a YA mystery/end of high school book, or if you liked i kissed shara wheeler, i would highly recommend this one! i can't wait to get my holds on the second and third books to finish the series:)...more
Emma Griffioen
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