Matthew makes a good husband.

Titus: the ideal child.

Charlie: the ideal deception.

Rachel: the ideal stranger.

She was not invited to the book club by Charlie. Matthew refused to listen.

As Rachel dials 999 while holding the bloody knife in her hand, Charlie finds himself slouched next to his husband's body and his son seated at the dinner table in silence.

My Review

In other words, finish your meal before your stomach begins to twist violently. If you were easily agitated, you might not have eaten dinner otherwise!

Since Charlie is married to the victim, Matthew, the story is told from his point of view. The other guests were Rachel, a girl they had recently met, and Titus, Matthew's fifteen-year-old adopted son.

The Dinner Guest is a slow-burning domestic thriller that will have you wondering right up to the very end! The narrative shifts between multiple time periods and varying narrators as it recounts the incidents leading up to the murder.

It's disconcerting and unnerving to read about a stranger invading your private life without your knowledge, even though it's partially predictable. The way the narrative is told ensures that it never gives away too much, even though you may already be aware of some of the answers, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

The prose was incredibly flowing and straightforward. It has a complicated plot that moves along really nicely and has unexpected turns. The plot is tense and taut, with a sense of impending doom and waves of discomfort. When will all the turbulence and shifting connections manifest, you wonder.

If any of the characters possessed even the tiniest sliver of decency, the novel would not function as it was intended. Simply said, the characters are all bad. There isn't a single good quality I can think of in any one of them. As we learn more about the four major protagonists, we peel back another layer of this mystery.

Overall, the mystery's premise is smart and has a lot of appeal.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.

Eleven years later, Delilah suddenly makes a comeback. Nobody is ready for what they'll discover, but everyone wants to know what happened to her.

My Review

One of those works where talking about the plot without giving anything away is difficult. Simply put, you can't put this book down. You'll have to read this one for yourself to find out more.

Although I haven't read anything by this author before, I'm excited to do so. The twist at the end was something I had already seen, so I have to admit that this wasn't the most surprising thriller. Nevertheless, I'm still interested in learning more.

The story in this novel jumps around in time, yet surprisingly it works and is easy to follow. The timeline shifts to an occurrence that took place eleven years before the women go missing. There are four different points of view. One is Delilah, who spent eleven years in prison before eventually escaping. Delilah's neighbor Kate, Leo, Meredith, and Leo, Delilah's brother, are all represented.

The characters are well-developed, and I could tell that some of them really worried me. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that very few of them are precisely as they seemed to be, and that everyone has hidden motivations and wants that shape their decisions.

It occasionally progressed a little slowly, especially in the beginning and midway. But as the race drew closer, they picked up speed. The events that took place begin to make more sense.

The mystery itself was nicely written and engaging. By detailing the pain of her captivity and her purposeful escape, Delilah, the lost girl, provides a strong opening to the story. It just didn't feel right to finish after such a strong buildup.

The narrative did sag toward the conclusion. The revelation and finish don't fit in with the story in the same way that the rest of it doesn't seem to. It feels so different from everything that happens leading up to the book's finale. I did want to keep reading some of the characters because I cared about them, despite the odd parts of the novel.

Even if the ending seemed a little hasty and unrealistic, I still enjoyed reading the book.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.

After years of serving as the obedient son in Wales, Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family's ties to the community they built and to start over. He quickly discovers that going up against Gwyn has cost him more than he bargained for when he starts up his own store, Penhallow's, directly across the street from Something Wicked.

Wells and Gwyn are both determined to avoid one other after a highly intimate and passionate kiss results from their professional rivalry since they believe the kiss was an accident of magic. Gwyn's magic, however, starts to fade when a strange new coven of witches moves into the area. Gwyn and Wells must work together to determine what these new witches want and how to revive Gwyn's magic before it's too late.

My Review

Although I wasn't a huge fan of The Ex Hex, I found this one to be considerably sweeter, funnier, and more pleasant. It is a solid follow-up to The Ex Hex, and I might even prefer it over the original one.

Thank god Gwyn's humorous, feisty, brilliant cousin was such a lovable supporting character and that her own book had such a sweet, romantic enemies-to-lovers premise since I really struggled to connect with the main characters in the first book of the series.

Gwyn is outspoken and knows exactly what she wants in life. I appreciate her sassy, and she is tremendously committed to the people she loves. While she runs the family business, Rhys' older brother Wells moves to the area and begins a similar store across the street. Because of her intense loathing for Wells, she is enraged by his choice.

Due to their intense chemistry and competitive attitudes, Gywn and Wells were a treat to read about. And I loved how they turned to one another when they were in trouble. Overall, it had the perfect amount of romance and adventure.

The book moves along at a great pace, and I like all the various characters we meet along the way. Without taking away from the book's main plot, the relationship added a lot of flavor.

The fantasy elements there were another element that further added to the experience. The tone was kept lighthearted and fairly simple. the ideal start to your spooky or romantic Halloween or fall readings, with just the right touch of romanticism!

It seemed to end too quickly, so a little bit more time at the end would be great.

If you like fantasy, witches, grumpy characters, and stories with Halloween-inspired themes, give this a try!

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.

"He left it in my car. Surely you are the blonde wearing the red dress? I am the lift driver that previously dropped you two off".

The life of the brunette wearing a t-shirt Maya Maas is completely flipped upside down by these remarks. She had intended to surprise her partner, but instead she wakes up on her birthday alone in a strange city.

Maya seizes the opportunity to get things back on track when the mysterious driver saves her and advises that she cheer up in a neighboring beach resort. She didn't anticipate a customized schedule or the simple company that comes from texting a complete stranger, much less the prospect that it might develop into anything more.

My Review

I thought The Meeting Point was really extremely cute. It took me a little while to get into the story, I'll be honest. But once I did, the novel really started to take off.

I would characterize this novel as adventurous due to its surroundings, which includes beaches, restaurants, and enchanting, meandering alleyways dotted with old homes. All adult rom-coms contain elements of intrigue, mystery, happiness, and a small amount of sorrow. The interactions between the love characters are adorable and intriguing.

There are some lovely friendships that formed in this novel. Even though it wasn't always successful for her, the main character, Maya, comes out as such a wonderful person who gives it her all to try to see the best in others. She created stories about the individuals she saw, which was really beautiful.

also, her two closest pals! Celine could be my favorite character. After reading these few excerpts from her own story, I can't wait to learn more about her. A person who was always so helpful and never had a bad day. I truly hope she continues to act independently because she always placed everyone else's needs before her own.

The characters were quite unique, but the plot and direction were typical of rom-coms; it was sweet but predictable and lacked any interesting changes or twists.

I saw that the situation was becoming worse. In overall, the writing was fairly shoddy, and the hasty conclusion seemed ridiculous. It was not in the least bit romantic, and the speed was so rapid that I genuinely felt like I had been startled back to reality. It ultimately fell short of the standards that had been set, particularly during that essential final conversation between Celine and Maya.

The love interest seemed to be crystal clear from a considerable distance the moment they were stated. Perhaps on purpose, but it took a long time for anything to actually occur, and it didn't even do so till the very end of the novel. It almost seems as though the purpose of the final pages was to divulge everything immediately with no more exploration. I didn't like that, even if it's a creative method to pique readers' interest.

Overall, I continued to enjoy this book.

Still, it was an enjoyable quick read. If you generally enjoy reading this type of fiction or if you're in the mood for a light, fluffy contemporary romance, I would definitely recommend this book.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.

Here comes Jack, the class clown and Pepper's constant nemesis. He works at his family's deli and, when Big League Burger steals his grandma's famous grilled cheese recipe, he'll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time, while he's not trying to avoid his obscenely popular twin's shadow.

All is fair in love and cheese... until Pepper and Jack's argument escalates into a trending Twitter battle. They have no idea that while they're openly sparring over caustic memes and retweet wars, they're also secretly falling for each other using an anonymous messaging app that Jack created.

Even these two enemies can't deny that they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance as their relationship develops and their online antics increase many online are shipping them.

My Review

This novel met my expectations for YA romantic comedies in terms of how adorable it would be. Although I don't read a lot of YA books, this one truly caught my attention.

All of the characters were likable, and I really enjoyed the friendships that were created. They were really cute. Their banter, especially between Jack and Pepper, was hilarious! These two had an amazing chemistry that was palpable whenever they were together.

It was extremely remarkable how well it was written. It's current, interesting, and combines funny conversation with uplifting reality. Despite the book's lack of poetry, it is readable and approachable, which is what I look for in a contemporary novel.

Even if the plot itself seems to be based on coincidences, it was nonetheless extremely wonderful. I also appreciate how much room there is for personal development. This narrative isn't the easiest to describe, mostly because there is so much happening, but it doesn't only focus on one character or the several points of view, instead, it goes into great detail and depth, which helped with the connection.

This romcom's plot also has a little more depth than a few other romcoms. The narrative made extensive use of discussions on family roles and expectations. Oh, I almost missed it. Plus, there was a ton of delectable food here! You should prepare cravings.

Unexpectedly, there's a lot of fun in this debut novel! I'm curious to see what else Emma Lord has in store for us.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.