thriller – Page 2 – Mithah Reads

ARC, contemporary, mystery, thriller, ya

First Impression Friday!

February 21, 2020February 21, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Another week done! I am super excited for this weekend. We are going to a zoo about an hour and a half away and there will also be a renaissance faire that day! My child, husband, and I all have costumes. My son will love seeing all the animals and I’ll love seeing all the faire!

So today we are going to talk about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.

“The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

A debut YA crime thriller as addictive as Serial and as page-turning as One of Us Is Lying.“
– Goodreads

Okay, see that last, bolded part? As addictive as Serial. I LOVE THAT PODCAST! I am a true crime freak. I’ve been reading Ann Rule forever and have recently gotten very into true crime audios. I also love true crime podcasts. I started with Culpable (a must listen. It happened about an hour away from where I live!), next was Serial, and I’ve just gone down the rabbit hole since. I saw that and knew I had to get this book. I am so lucky to have received an arc! Thanks Netgalley and Electric Monkey!

I read the first chapter pretty quickly. It is Pippa, or Pip, saying why she chose to delve into this murder that was “solved” five years ago. She is researching it as her capstone project for school – kind of like a senior research paper. I definitely got Serial vibes so far. Basically, Andrea, or Andi, left her home about 1030 pm. She didn’t pick her parents up at 1254am like she was supposed to. She was never seen again. They all think Sal, her boyfriend, did it. This sounds like the first season of Serial – which I devoured.

After a little intro, we then see the first part of Pip’s capstone project. We see her interview with a missing person specialist. She writes why she chose this topic and what she hopes to accomplish.

There are rave reviews about this one. I think I will be added to the bunch. The first chapter was so enthralling. I 100% feel this will be a five star read!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder came out on February 4. Add it to your Goodreads TBR here. Order a copy from Amazon here!

What do you think of my first impression? Have you read this novel? Was it on point? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, mystery, three star book, thriller

The Girls Weekend ARC Review

February 12, 2020February 11, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Title: The Girls Weekend
Author: Jody Gehrman
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publish Date: June 9, 2020
Pages: 311
Book Form: E-ARC
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Dates Read: Feb 5 – Feb 11
Rating: ★★★

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane books for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

Their reunion just became a crime scene . . .
June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie–and her husband, June’s former crush–but agrees to go.
The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone’s a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie’s husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.
A Celtic knot of suspense and surprise, this brooding, atmospheric novel will keep you guessing as each twist reveals a new possibility. It will remind you of friendships hidden in the depths of your own past, and make you wonder how well you really know the people you’ve loved the longest.
– Goodreads

What to say about The Girls Weekend? It was a solid three star. Nothing bad, but nothing grand either. It was a typical mystery/thriller.

June gets talked into going to a girls weekend with her four best friends from college. She only talks to one of them nowadays. Once there, she starts having fun, until the second night. Everyone wakes up with no memory of what happened and one of their friends is missing.

I never guess who did it. Ever. I am the literal worst. But I guessed it in this book! About 30ish percent in I was like, yeah, this one did it. I don’t know how I feel about guessing it. I’m kind of like, yay, I actually got one! But then I wonder how good it actually was if I could guess the killer. Of course there were clues to lead you astray, red herrings, all that sort of thing. But I found it pretty obvious.

June and the other cast of characters were all good. I liked who I was supposed to and disliked who I was supposed to. My favorite was Kimi, though. She seemed super fun! I want to hang out with her.

What brought it to a three star for me was the ending. I felt like it could have ended a chapter or two earlier. It was basically just what happened in the aftermath, but it wasn’t anything interesting! I was pretty disappointed.

If you’re a thriller fan, you’ll probably like this one. I will definitely recommend it to my thriller reading friends!

What do you think about The Girls Weekend? Is it going on your tbr?

Until next time…

adult, ARC, mystery, thriller

First Impression Friday!

February 7, 2020February 5, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Another week and another first impression. This week I am tacking a thriller arc:

“June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie–and her husband, June’s former crush–but agrees to go.

The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone’s a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie’s husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.

A Celtic knot of suspense and surprise, this brooding, atmospheric novel will keep you guessing as each twist reveals a new possibility. It will remind you of friendships hidden in the depths of your own past, and make you wonder how well you really know the people you’ve loved the longest.”

So I read the first chapter of this book. Again, it had a great first line. I’m hitting the jackpot with these lately!

“Like most clusterfucks these days, it starts with a group text.”

I mean, I laughed out loud. It was great. You then see June talking to her best friend about this girl’s weekend with her old college friends. You can tell she doesn’t want to go, but won’t really get into why. I am already intrigued about what happened and why she has distanced herself from three of her four closest friends. There’s not really much in the first chapter except the text and phone call.

I feel like this will be maybe a three star book? I think it will be good, but as you can see, the first chapter is really just a phone call and didn’t give me a lot to go on. I think the ending will probably surprise me, I won’t figure out the bad guy. But I hope I like it!

Have you read this yet? What are your thoughts?

Until next time…

adult, Four Star Book, review, thriller

The Wives Review!

February 3, 2020February 1, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Title: The Wives
Author: Tarryn Fisher
Publisher: Graydon House
Publish Date: Dec 30, 2019
Pages: 256
Book Form: E-Book
Genre: Thriller
Dates Read: Jan 17 – Jan 31
Rating: ★★★★

Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.
But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.
What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you’ll ever read.
– Goodreads

Please don’t let my dates read throw you off from this book. I promise that was ALL ME! I saw this was a book about a polygamist couple and I was SOLD! I loved tv shows about polygamy. However, I started this when my reading slump started. I wanted to read this so bad, I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t know why. I finally picked it back up toward the end of the month and I am so glad I did.

This novel hit me like a semi-truck. I didn’t see any of it coming! First you think Thursday is getting the help she needs, then she gets different help, then she gets betrayed, then it gets crazy! This was my first Tarryn Fisher book, but I know it will not be my last.

The actions of Thursday gave me whiplash in the best way. I was rooting for her. I was wary of her. I was scared of her? So many emotions. And I loved them all. She was such a complex, interesting character. And she was a nurse, so I immediately liked her. Guess it doesn’t take much, does it?

Monday and Tuesday, the other wives, weren’t as interesting as Thursday, but I was ok with that. You learned more about them throughout the novel. I wanted to know more about Seth’s relationship with both of them and I loved learning through Thursday’s eyes.

Seth. Where do I start with Seth. Was he a loving husband? Was he a murderer? You don’t really know until the end. I kept going back and forth and just couldn’t figure him out.

Like I said, the twists and turns in this were amazing. I didn’t see the ending coming but I LOVED IT! I was rooting for Thursday the whole way through and was very happy with her ending.

If you love unreliable narrators, twists and turns and whiplash, this book is for you!

Have you read The Wives? What did you think? What is your favorite Tarryn Fisher book? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, contemporary, Erotica, fantasy, Historical Fiction, retelling, Romance, Sci-Fi, thriller, ya

February 2020 TBR

February 1, 2020January 30, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

It is FINALLY February! I don’t know about you guys, but January seemed to drag on FOREVER! Especially this last week. But it’s a new month, and I’m going to try to hit it hard with my reading!

Below I’ll show you the 15 books I have on my TBR and the criteria I’m using them for! Book Battle stars anew today, and I’m hoping to lead my team to victory! Come join in the competitive reading fun here!

Book by an Author Named Jane – Harmony by Addison Jane
House on the Cover – The Girl’s Weekend by Jody Gehrman
Book Set in England – We are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo
Retelling – Second Star by JM Sullivan
Set in the Past – Chasing Starlight by Teri Bailey Black
Club Read 1 – A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Club Read 2 – A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
Criteria Choice 1 – Book by Tricia Levenseller – The Shadows Between Us
Criteria Choice 2 – Book With a Dress on the Cover – Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Female Author – A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Book That Has Been on Your TBR for Over a Year – Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Book About Love – Together We Caught Fire by Eva V. Fibson
Book You Keep Hearing About – Blood Countess by Lana Popovic
Standalone – Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power
Black MC – The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis

So, eleven of my books are ARCs. I’d love to put a dent in my ARC pile! The club reads are sequels – we can read any books in the series! I received a lovely finished copy of Blood Countess so I’m excited to check that one out as well!

What’s on your TBR this month? Have any thoughts on mine? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, blog tour, contemporary, Erotica, Five Star Book, Four Star Book, Horror, ownvoices, Romance, three star book, thriller, ya

January 2020 Wrapup

January 31, 2020January 30, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Yall, this was NOT my month. I said I wanted to read 15 books a month. Well. I only got to 9. I was in a super huge slump for a majority of the month and I’m not sure why.

Anyway, I’ll tell you what books I read, my monthly stats, and how my Goodreads goal is looking!

EBOOKS READ

Grey by EL James – 3 stars. Not my favorite. Took me almost a week to read.
The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros – 3.5 stars. Much better than Grey, but not my favorite book of the month.
Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith – 5 stars. Favorite book of the month and maybe top 5 of the year?! Yes, it was THAT GOOD.
Idol Thoughts by JS Lee – 4 stars. Cute, fun reverse harem featuring a K-Pop group. Great slump buster!
The Wives by Tarryn Fisher – 4 stars. Had some great twists. The middle of the book had me so surprised.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

I’m a Therapist and My Patient is Going to be the Next School Shooter by Dr. Harper – 3.5 stars. I thought these were real stories. They were not. Ending got kind of weird.
Call Me God by Jim Clemente – 4 stars. Great book about the DC Sniper and how the FBI profiled them.
Evil Has a Name by Paul Holes – 4 stars. Great follow up to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark about the Golden State Killer.
Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen – 4 Stars. It made me want to take up being an at-home detective! But really, he is doing great work.

Now for some stats!

First off, my Goodreads goal. 9/165. I’m 4 books behind schedule. I already have a plan for next month and I’m hoping to hit it!

I read 1697 pages and did 14 hours, 32 minutes of listening! My average rating was 3.88 stars.
I read three nonfic, two contemporary, two erotica, one horror, and one thriller. There were seven adult books and two YA. I only read one ARC this month. One of my books was #ownvoices!

What does your monthly wrap up look like? Did you read any of these books! Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, contemporary, thriller, ya

Down the TBR Part 9!

January 26, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Wow! Another week! Of me not reading…. What is my deal?! I’m already six books behind my GR goal. I need to get my ass in gear. And like…. read a book. Or six.

Anyway, when last we left our TBR, we were at 1954. We are currently sitting at 1957. I joined a great community of bloggers on twitter, and they’ve been giving me some great books to read! Oh yeah, I started a twitter last week too! Follow me @Mithah_Reads!

So lets jump right in! First look at the covers of these next 10 books, I’m not sure I’ll keep any? Maybe one. Maybe the synopses will change my mind though!

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: Girl has too many drinks and sleeps with bff’s fiance. Now a decision to risk it all for happiness. I think too chick lit
Keep or Delete: Delete

Hush by Kate White

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: A thriller! MC is going through a divorce and the guy she sleeps with ends up dead. Yes, please!
Keep or Delete: Keep!

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: Another thriller! This is about two young girls, an unstable mom and abusive step father. Sign me up!
Keep or Delete: Keep!

Faithful by Kim Cash Tate

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: Chick lit Christian fiction. I think I’ll pass
Keep or Delete: Delete

The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: Chick lit about a group of friends getting together every two years to catch up on life.
Keep or Delete: Delete

The Deed by Keith Blanchard

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: Honestly, it was hard for me to get through this synopsis. I think that means its not for me.
Keep or Delete: Delete

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: This might be cute. A husband writes his wife every week and they both die. Kids find the letters and secrets. I’m just not sure It would keep my interest.
Keep or Delete: Delete

The Shattering by Karen Healey

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: This was the one I thought I’d keep based on the cover, and I was right! It’s YA (yay!) and a thriller!
Keep or Delete: Keep!

Blood Orange by Drusilla Campbell

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: Eek. About a daughter going missing. Since having a kid, I can’t read these books.
Keep or Delete: Delete

In This Way I Was Saved by Brian DeLeeuw

Date Added: June 27, 2015
Thoughts: This sounds like horror/thriller and I think I’m here for it.
Keep or Delete: Keep!

Wow! I kept way more than I thought I would, but there were a lot of thrillers! So that’s pretty exciting!

I am ending at 1951, so I kept four and deleted six. I am so close to being under 1950! Next week FOR SURE! Unless I keep adding to my tbr…

Have you read any of these novels? What did you think? Let me know below!

Until next time…

adult, mystery, thriller

First Impression Friday!

January 17, 2020January 17, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

I loved doing this post last week, so I decided to do it again this week! First Impression Friday is hosted by JW Martin!

Here’s how it goes:

First Impression Friday is a meme where you talk about a book you just started! You can be just a chapter or two in, or a little more.
Based on the start of the book, give a few impressions and predict how you’ll feel about the end!

This week I am featuring The Wives by Tarryn Fisher. This book has been so hyped so I’m excited to start it!

“Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.”
– Goodreads

So I read chapter one of The Wives. The first thing that stuck out to me was the dedication – to Colleen. Tarryn and Colleen Hoover are BFF’s so I thought that was the sweetest thing!

So like I said, this novel has a ton of hype. But what drew me in was the polygamist relationship! I was obsessed with Sister Wives. I love learning about how other people live who are different than me!

The MC of this book is Thursday. That’s the day Seth comes to stay with her. His other wives are Monday and Tuesday. I think it’s interesting we only know them by the days of the week. It left me very curious as to who they actually are. Thursday talks about getting ready for Seth to come home, and how she looks forward to this day every week. I can’t imagine only seeing my husband one day a week! It would drive me crazy! I’m also way too jealous to share.

As of now, she hasn’t met the other wives. I’m not sure if she’ll ever meet Tuesday. I feel like I won’t figure out the twist because I never do. I’m guessing this will be a four star read!

Have you read The Wives? What did you think? Let me know below!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, contemporary, Erotica, fantasy, Memoir, middle grade, Sci-Fi, thriller, ya

January 2020 TBR

January 4, 2020 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Hey guys! Here’s my TBR for January! I have two books off my TBR list, a libby book, some arcs and other ebooks to read!

I said I was going to try to read 15 books a month, so here is what I plan on reading! 11 are for Book Battle criteria, and four will count as freebies – if I read them before the 26th! That’s when Battle ends.

Book Battle Reads

Freebies

So far, I am only 43% into Grey. It’s one of my TBR books and my libby hold came in, so I wasn’t thinking it would be my first book of the year. So far I’m not loving it. Grey makes me aggravated with this thoughts. But I feel like I’m too far in to DNF. So a more thorough review to come when I finally finish it.

I have a blog tour coming up for Cub on Jan 6. Be sure to come back and check it out!

Halfway to the Grave was recommended to me by my friend and fellow Book Battle and Words & Whimsy modmin, Jordan. I’m excited to read it! She always gives the best recs.

My ARCs for this month are: The Weight of a Soul, Every Other Weekend, Cub, Second Star, Lost Boy, Don’t Read the Comments, The Weight of the Stars, Center of the Universe, You Too?, A Beginning at the End and Say Something.

Here are the Goodreads links to the books I plan on reading this month!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, contemporary, fantasy, Five Star Book, Memoir, thriller, ya

My top 5 reads of 2019!

December 31, 2019December 30, 2019 Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

I cannot believe it is the last day of the year! What?! This year has flown by. I’m noticing the years are going faster since I joined book battle and since having Mylzs!

Here I am going to tell you my top reads of 2019. There were some great ones!

Let’s dive right in.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Ninth House was my top read of the year! Yes, Leigh is my most favorite, but man this book was good. It was dark, it was creepy, there was romance. Let me tell ya, I’m ready to go to Hell! In book 2, that is.

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Next up is The Grace Year. Such a powerful read. The ending left me sobbing and hoping for a brighter future.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

So Verity was my first CoHo book and honestly, I’m not sure I want to read her others! I know this wasn’t her normal genre, but it was SO.GOOD. I was thinking about the ending for weeks after.

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Girl power seemed to be a theme with me this year. I think because I have found some amazing friends in Words & Whimsy! This was another powerful tale of what happens when girls stick together.

Over the Top by JVN

Last but certainly not least, is Over the Top. I love JVN. He’s a self care QUEEN. I loved learning from him and learning about him. Still hoping he’ll be my bff one day.

Well guys, there’s my top 5! What were your top 5 reads this year? Did you like any of these? Let me know in the comments below! I would love to discuss!

Until next time…