#bookreview – Tackling TBR

Posted on May 12, 2026 by tacklingtbr

Of Plots and Tropes

by Stephanie Sawyer

Review and blog tour courtesy of the author and Twisted Chaos PR!

Thanks so much to the author and Twisted Chaos PR for the gifted advanced galley of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts, as well as participation in the author’s Street Team for release. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner }
My reviews and content can also be found on Goodreads, StoryGraph, on Instagram @Tackling_TBR, and on TikTok @TacklingTBR.

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

Genre: fantasy, romantasy, new adult, comedic

Tropes: the chosen one, dragons, found family, heir trials, prophecy questline, old wizard mentor, breaking the fourth wall

Page Count: 507 pages

Book Blurb:

Eighteen-year-old Em Smith has spent her life preparing to become the Main Character in a fantasy novel written by one of the Great Authors.

Except, when her big break comes, it’s a disaster of clichés. She’s declared a “Chosen One” by an ancient elf prophecy and sent out on a mediocre questline to overthrow a dark lord in a tower–– with two hot guys, an impish sidekick, and an old wizard mentor in tow, of course. Caught in love-triangles, heir trials, and every trope possible, it feels like her story aligns with every plotline she swore off.

Worse, if she doesn’t complete her designated prophecy, it will kill her. Determined to rewrite her destiny before this book ruins her reputation, Em sets out to hunt down the author dictating her life before losing her last shot at true main-character glory.

OF PLOTS AND TROPES is an New Adult Comedic Fantasy about self-discovery, adventure, and every fantasy trope a reader could hope for.

Review:

At the time of publishing, I am still mid-adventure in the world of Of Plots and Tropes!

My full thoughts will be added here as soon as I have finished reading.

About the Author:

Stephanie Sawyer wasted her teenaged years covered in paint thinking she’d be an animator for an unnamed movie studio with a cool theme park she’s obsessed with, all while handwriting stories about her imaginary friends and dreams. After attaining her BFA in Art Education in the armpit of the United States, she eventually found free time in her busy life as high school teacher to fall in love with writing again. She’s currently studying for her MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design while raising a zoo of cats and freshwater fish tanks. Of Plots and Tropes is her debut.

Connect with Stephanie on Instagram!

Purchase on Bookshop.org to support your local independent bookstore!

Posted on May 11, 2026 by tacklingtbr

First and Forever

by Lynn Painter

Thanks so much to the author and Berkley Publishing for the gifted advanced galley of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner }
My reviews and content can also be found on Goodreads, StoryGraph, on Instagram @Tackling_TBR, and on TikTok @TacklingTBR.

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

Genre: romance, sports romance, contemporary romance

Tropes: fake dating, dual POV, sports romance, he falls first, forced proximity

Page Count: 320 pages

Book Blurb:

A football star and a diehard fan entangled in a PR stunt—that only one side knows is fake—might be the right play in this new romantic comedy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter.

Duffy Distefano loves three things: her dad, the family cat, and Minneapolis Coyotes football. So when she gets booed out of a game and becomes the internet’s villain, she is distraught—and disgruntled. All she did was shove Coyote Carl away when he made a move on her, but everyone else just saw a woman attacking their team’s beloved mascot. Eager to clear the air, Duffy agrees to an interview on a hit morning show. She doesn’t expect a co-guest to join her—especially not the Coyotes’ star tight end.

When MVP Connor Cunningham gets tasked with damage control to help his team out of their PR nightmare, he thought that meant saying a few words on the team’s behalf. Instead, he finds himself in a highly amusing verbal sparring match with a recently wronged fan on live TV. Duffy pelts him with fiery jabs but is also clearly diehard about the Coyotes—color him intrigued…and attracted.

The interview instantly goes viral, and the public is obsessed with them. A strong push from the Coyotes’ PR team to ride the wave results in Connor asking Duffy out. Despite his distaste for PR stunts, he’s surprised to discover being with Duffy is much easier than he thought, and somehow it doesn’t feel fake to him. Harboring this secret can only blow up, but all he knows is that if he messes things up with Duffy, it’ll be the greatest fumble of his life.

Review: 4 stars

TW: illness in elderly parents, loss of parents (off page, prior to events)

Y’all, is there any more delicious combination than Fake Dating and He Falls First? I’m really not sure that there is.
I mean, come on, the banter possibilities with that combo are endless – and First and Forever did not disappoint on that front!

This was such a fun, light, and easy read. I finished it in just a couple of days because I truly did not want to put it down – simply because it was making me smile!

Duffy, the FMC, is direct and sarcastic and pretty sure she knows better and more than anyone else in the room. Meanwhile Connor, the MMC, is basically the human equivalent of the heart-eyes emoji. In my humble opinion, it’s a match made in heaven.

I will say, I wish we had gotten a little bit more from Duffy’s best friend, Ellie. She seemed like such a fun character, and aside from a few choice “I’m your best friend and I’m going to knock some sense into you” moments with Duffy, we didn’t get much more from her than her interest in fashion as it related to Duffy’s storyline. I totally get that that isn’t uncommon for the female lead’s best friend in a romcom, so I’m not holding it against the book too harshly – I just feel like she is someone I really could have fallen in love with if there was a little bit more time dedicated to letting me do so. Who knows – maybe I’ll get my wish in a future book!

That being said, I think that overall this book was the perfect length. I didn’t find myself getting to the 3/4 point and constantly looking at my kindle’s progress bar to see where I was at in the book. It was just the right amount – and maybe could have even taken the tiniest bit more time at the end, which I almost never say, so you know I mean it.

All that to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be running to pick up any other books in this world, should we get them in the future (I’m looking at you, Lynn!).

Don’t go into this expecting to get a brand-new masterpiece of a story that you’ve never seen anything like before. This is a pretty standard, pretty predictable sports romcom.
But if you like Hallmark movies and sassy characters with a lot of chemistry, then I think this just might be the book for you!

Purchase on Bookshop.org and support your local independant bookstore!

Posted on May 11, 2026 by tacklingtbr

Both Can Be True

by Jessica Guerrieri

Thanks so much to BookSparks, the author, and Harper Muse for the gifted advanced copy of this book in in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this book tour. Thanks also to Harper Muse for the gifted audio copy via Libro.fm. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner }
My reviews and content can also be found on Goodreads, StoryGraph, on Instagram @Tackling_TBR, and on TikTok @TacklingTBR.

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

Genre: fiction, contemporary, mystery, women’s fiction

Themes: motherhood, found family, recovery from substance abuse

Page Count: 352 pages

Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 29 minutes

Audiobook Narrators: Helen Laser, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Rebecca Lowman, Jessica Guerrieri

Book Blurb:

Two sisters reconnect on a long-overdue girls’ trip to Mexico—just as a woman from their small town back home goes missing, setting off a chain of revelations that forces them to confront old traumas, fractured marriages, and the fragile threads holding their lives together.

Told in alternating perspectives, Both Can Be True follows Mare and Frankie—two sisters in their late thirties navigating motherhood, marriage, and identity in a post-pandemic world. Mare is the hyper-responsible older sister, mother of a neurodivergent preschooler, and married to a husband who’s long since checked out. Frankie is a charismatic, sober bookstore owner raising two teenage daughters and struggling to maintain boundaries between her sobriety, motherhood, and the messy realities of womanhood.

Together with three friends, they embark on a girls’ trip to Mexico to celebrate Frankie’s ten-year sobriety milestone. But back home, their husbands go camping and stumble upon what they believe might be the body of Brie Hoover—a woman from their town and Frankie’s AA circle. What follows is a slow unraveling of secrets and shifting loyalties, set against the backdrop of a deeply rooted female friendship.

As the sisters reckon with the emotional weight of caregiving, trauma, and who they’ve become outside their roles as mothers and wives, Both Can Be True Can we be good mothers and still want more? Can we love our partners and still feel trapped? And what happens when the support systems we’ve so carefully constructed start to crack?

Review: 4.25 stars

TW: death, substance abuse (alcohol and drugs), sexual assault

Wow.

It isn’t too often then days that I pick up a general women’s fiction read, since I’m so often distracted by my love of many other genres of fiction. While this book is categorized as a mystery, I would say that it fell (at least for me) much more under the larger umbrella of women’s fiction. Either way, I loved every minute of it and I am so thrilled that I got a chance to read it.

This complex book explores many overarching themes relating to motherhood, womanhood, and sisterhood (both born- and found-family).
And when I first read the description of this book I was both very excited to read it and also a little bit nervous.

As a woman in today’s society, and as someone who became a new mom within the last year, I am no stranger to the idea of disappearing in plain sight.
Making yourself smaller to fit into society or avoid drawing attention to yourself.
Losing the woman that you were completely behind your new role of “mom.”
The constant mom guilt.
The shame that the world puts on us for being an imperfect person while also being a woman.

It can feel so lonely and isolating. What I loved most about this book was the raw look at these emotions and explored the relationships between a group of women learning to feel them and push through them all together.
This book felt like it was both permission to feel those things as well as permission to let go of them entirely, while encouraging you to find your way back to your own personhood and who you are outside of the influence of those other things.

I decided to tackle this book with immersive reading, so I read it while also listening to the audio. The group of women that narrate the audiobook (including the author) do such a phenomenal job with their performances, and it really made the book and characters come alive for me. I would highly recommend this style of reading, or would generally recommend the audiobook if you’re not looking to take on both.

I would absolutely recommend this book. Truly, I finished it on audio while I was in the car yesterday and was worried that other drivers would be concerned about the crazy lady crying in the car next to them.

I am so thrilled to have a copy that I can come back to again in the future – I’m sure when I reach a new phase of life and motherhood I’ll find another new thing in it.

Purchase on Bookshop.org to support your local indie bookstore!

Posted on March 5, 2026March 18, 2026 by tacklingtbr

The Bitterness of Venom

by M.T. Morgan

Thanks so much to the author and Hambright PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner }
My reviews and content can also be found on Goodreads, StoryGraph, on Instagram @Tackling_TBR, and on TikTok @TacklingTBR.

Publication Date: November 11, 2024

Genre: romance, dark romance

Tropes: dark romance, enemies to lovers, bully romance, childhood best friends, kidnapping, good girl, hockey

Page Count: 224 pages

Book Blurb

Blaise
He was once my hero, but that was a long time ago… before I left him.
I never expected him to show up in my life again. Especially as my new roommate.
The boy I once loved is now a brutal hockey player with a taste for revenge and reckless abandon.
I’m indebted to him, and he expects me to pay in the form of blood, tears and humiliation.
But once the games begin, I find myself falling into old habits I thought were buried.
Out of all the bad ideas I’ve had in my life, Desmond Rickman has always been my favorite.

Desmond
I had a heart once… until she smashed it, leaving nothing but a hollow spot in my chest.
I never expected to see her again. Especially not in my turf, in my apartment, as my new roommate.
She may have held my heart once upon a time, but now I hold all the cards.
She’s indebted to me, and I’ll make her pay for ruining my life.
Old emotions are like scars, slowly fading and never disappearing. And she’s bringing them all to the surface.
If there is a God, he designed Blaise Sheffield to bring me to my knees.

Review: 3 stars

TW: dub-con, non-con, violence, murder, light BDSM, mention of drugs, bullying, humiliation kink, burn play, somnophilia, blood play, kidnapping

When your former, childhood best friend, quite literally from the opposite side of the tracks, disappears from your life only to pop back up years later as your new college roommate – you get a truly dark and twisted bully romance. Right? Sure, why not.

I will go into this saying that bully romances aren’t really my thing – as a queer woman, if I have to watch one more gay/bi character end up in a forever relationship with the person who used to bully them for being gay, I just might throw something.
Obviously that’s not the storyline here, but I mention this to say – take this rating and review with the grain of salt that comes with reading a book where the primary trope is one that I’m predisposed to not loving and wasn’t expecting when I picked up the book.

That being said, I did enjoy the rest of the book well enough.

Blaise is a really fun FMC. A girl with a difficult childhood and dark secrets, working to better herself and her situation, and building a future career based around helping others do the same – all with a lot of sass and cute cotton candy pink hair. Love that for her.

The book itself is a pretty quick read, with fairly short chapters and a quick paced plot that jumps in with both feet right from the word go.

I’d say that if bully romances are your thing, definitely pick this one up – I think it’s probably a pretty good one. But if you’re just going in expecting the dark romance without the side of bullying, maybe be wary.

Link to purchase on Amazon:

Posted on February 24, 2026March 18, 2026 by tacklingtbr

Then You Happened

by J.S. Wood

Publication Date: February 24, 2026

Genre: romance, contemporary romance

Tropes: friends to lovers, single parent, slow burn, he falls first, friend zoned, found family, golden retriever MC

Page Count: 312 pages

Book Blurb

After finding out his friends find his nonstop quest for love to be a little excessive. Derek has decided to put a stop to dating altogether.

Now, he’s stuck in a no-go zone just in time for someone new to enter the friend group.

Elizabeth is a single mom who has been out of the dating pool for a long time, but when she meets Derek, the sweet and caring friend of a friend, she thinks things are about to change.

When things don’t go quite as she expects, she accepts his friendship and begins a journey to help him reinvent his father’s failing hardware store to keep the legacy alive.

Spending hours together working, they begin to see that their feelings are not so easily brushed aside and when push comes to shove, their friendship blossoms into a romance they’ll never forget.

But when things get hard for the hardware store, and real life starts to butt in to their relationship, they have to decide if they can weather the storm, or if things will end for good.

Review: 2.5 stars

TW: discussion of loss of parent (off page, prior to events)

There were a lot of things to really love about this book.

I really liked Elizabeth as our FMC – I mean, a sweet single mom who goes to the mat for her friends and family? What’s not to love?

I thought it was SO SWEET that Derek turned out to have a connection to Elizabeth’s past. Truly is there anything sweeter than a second chance romance or a childhood crush coming back into your life?

I also really loved reading the parts about Elizabeth helping Derek to turn things around for his hardware store.
A storyline about two characters bringing their different expertise or passions together for a good cause or small business (think: the handsome local contractor helping rebuild the old inn that she just inherited from a distant relative) will almost always be an automatic win for me.

But all of that being said, there were also some things that made this a somewhat challenging read for me.

Among the tropes that I have a hard time with, or that I can only take in small doses before it starts to get to me a bit, are a miscommunication trope, a third act breakup (when it doesn’t feel like it makes sense within the plot), and an extended friend zone. And this book had all three in spades.

While the concept of a friend zone in real life immediately annoys me (but that’s a soap box for another day), I understand its place as a trope in romance books and media. It’s an easy way to build up the tension of a slow burn and to explain away why a romance might be a bit slow to start without making a reader want to yell.

But everything in moderation. By the time these two characters finally talked to each other (hello, miscommunication trope) enough to take each other out of their mutual friend zoning my kindle told me that I was literally 46% of the way through the book. And this isn’t exactly a short read, sitting at 312 pages.
It was just entirely too long for me, and by the time it was resolved with a single, simple conversation, I just sort of found myself rolling my eyes at the whole ordeal.

The other thing that made this a tough one for me has to do with the way Derek, our MMC, seemed to be made to act like an asshole (through some almost toxic masculinity-leaning remarks and actions) in order to manufacture a third act breakup that felt a bit forced for the sake of the trope rather than feeling necessary or natural in the storyline that had been built up until that point. I’m not saying that there’s no way a third act breakup could have worked here if that’s what the author wanted, but I personally felt that the way that it did didn’t really feel like it fit with the vision of Derek that the whole book had given me up to that point.

All of those are very personal things that I could very well be the only one bothered by. And any one of them on their own wouldn’t have caused any real issues for me. But the combination of all three just left large portions of this book feeling long and drawn out for me, and like I was just reading in order to get through until the next, sweeter parts.

Overall I didn’t love or hate this book, it just ended up being okay for me. I wouldn’t have any trouble recommending it to friends or fellow readers if I knew that it fit tropes or a style that they were looking for, but I would probably first make brief mention of the issues that I had with it to make sure they wouldn’t have the same struggles that I did.

Link to purchase on Amazon:

Posted on February 17, 2026March 18, 2026 by tacklingtbr

A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage

by M.K. Oliver

Atria Books

Thanks so much to the author and Atria Books for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book via Edelweiss+ in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner }
My reviews and content can also be found on Goodreads, StoryGraph, on Instagram @Tackling_TBR, and on TikTok @TacklingTBR.

Publication Date: February 17, 2026

Genre: mystery, thriller, fiction, dark humor, contemporary, crime, adult

Page Count: 384 pages

Book Blurb

A whip-smart and darkly funny crime novel—perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Maid—that follows a wife and mother with a deadly secret that she must suppress if she wants to maintain her picture-perfect façade.

Meet Lalla Rook. Lalla has a lot on her plate: She needs to guarantee her husband makes partner, secure her dream house in Hampstead, and get her daughter into a prestigious prep school. And on the afternoon she stabs a stranger seven times after he breaks into her living room, she has a four-year-old’s birthday party to host.

With an unambitious partner, two demanding children, and a barely adequate large house in a nice (if not quite fashionable) part of town, Lalla’s life isn’t quite perfect yet. And she can’t pretend she hasn’t missed the adrenaline rush that comes with transgressing. Besides, as a wife and mother, she’s already an expert multi-tasker. So, disposing of a body, framing a friend, and being the world’s best mother can easily be managed alongside the usual domestic minutiae.

It’s just that her husband Stephen seems distracted, her daughter’s drowning of the class hamster is affecting her academic future, and then there is the unexpected intruder. Who is this man and what does he want from her? Because Lalla has a past she’d rather keep hidden—and the sudden appearance of the police means that avoiding them will be yet another task to cross off her to-do list.

Funny, calculating, hypercompetent, and ambitious, Lalla is your next favorite antiheroine. Just don’t mention it to her mother-in-law.

Review: 3 stars

TW: murder/death, violence, dub-con/non-con in marriage, domestic violence, stalking, blackmail

Lalla Rook certainly isn’t a woman that I’d like to get on the bad side of.
As far as main characters go she isn’t exactly the most easily relatable, but I think that that’s part of what made her so much fun to read. She is quick, calculating, and cold – not exactly the ride-or-die lady that I need in my life – but for better or for worse she certainly knows how to get shit done. And, despite her many MANY moral shortcomings, I still felt myself rooting for her to get her happy ending.

I will say that overall the book wasn’t a perfect read for me.
While I definitely appreciated the short chapters (there’s something so satisfying about being able to tell yourself that you read a few chapters, even if in reality it was only about 20-30 pages), the book still felt a bit too long at times.
I loved the moments of dark humor that were sprinkled throughout the book, but I do wish that there had been just a little bit more of that and really leaned into that side of the story and character. I think that it would have helped a bit, at least for me personally, in those handful of times that it felt a bit like it was dragging.

I think that, in the end, this read was squarely middle of the road for me. I did definitely enjoy it, and would recommend it to friends – but it probably won’t be making my top reads of the year.
And while I look forward to watching the upcoming adaptation whenever it releases, I don’t know that I’ll be picking the book back up for a reread any time soon.

Link to purchase on Amazon:

Posted on March 4, 2025March 16, 2026 by tacklingtbr

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave

Minotaur Books: 5 stars

Thanks so much to the author, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

Publication Date: March 4, 2025

Genre: MYSTERY, THRILLER, CONTMPORARY, ADULT, HUMOR, SUSPENSE

Page Count: 309 pages

TW: murder/death, violence

Y’all, Mrs. Haggerty is an icon.

I loved (to hate to love) her from the very beginning, and she truly gets to shine in this book.

Okay, now on to the rest of the review.

I’ve said it before, but I truly believe that (with the exception of the first, because you can’t beat the original) this series only gets better and more fun as it goes along. It really has become my favorite series of books that is currently being released, and I find myself looking forward to getting to the end of one year/beginning of the next when I get to read the next installment.

Sounds dramatic, but here we are. These books are a familiar favorite sweater, in my opinion, and I want to stand outside of Finlay Donovan’s window with a boombox or a “To me, you are perfect” sign. She would probably hate it, and Vero would mercilessly mock it, but I would do it all the same.

I think that if you enjoy a romantic mystery where the characters’ stakes are sky high but it all still feels light and silly, with a ride or die female friendship reminiscent of The First Wives Club (one of my favorite movies, maybe I’m sensing a pattern?), then this is the series for you.

They should definitely be read and enjoyed in series order, however, so if you’re seeing this then go back to Finlay Donovan is Killing It and work your way back – meet me back here when you’re done, I’ll have a bottle of wine at the ready to discuss everything Finlay.

My Reviews for the rest of the Finlay Donovan series:

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

Finlay Donovan Knocks ’em Dead

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

Link to Purchase on Amazon:

Posted on March 5, 2024February 12, 2026 by tacklingtbr · 1 Comment

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

Minotaur Books: 5 Stars

Publication Date: March 5, 2024

Genre: mystery, Thriller, Contmporary, Adult, Humor, Suspense

Page Count: 320 pages

TW: murder/death, violence

Finlay and Vero hit the road – what a fun, carefree adventure I’m sure they’re in for! Well, maybe not. We know what books we’re reading at this point, right? Right.

Let’s be honest, none of us are reading these books for the realistic scenarios – the situations are silly, the stakes are high, and the books are truly just a dang good time. I seriously love the characters so much, and this is a rare series that (aside from the perfection of the first book) I really believe just gets better as it goes on.

If you haven’t seen it mentioned before, I will say that these certainly need to be read and enjoyed in series order. While the murders that need solved (or, well, hidden) are different from book to book, there is enough of a through line with the overarching plot and returning character relationships that you will definitely be missing some of the fun. But with that in mind I will, as always, be recommending this book and series to any of my friends that will listen and haven’t already picked them up.

My Reviews for the rest of the Finlay Donovan series:

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun

Link to Purchase on Amazon:

Posted on November 10, 2023February 9, 2024 by tacklingtbr

Once Upon A Book Club: Adult Box September 2023

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon

I am so excited to have received another box from one of my favorite bookish subscription services, Once Upon a Book Club! This time I received the Adult box for the month of September, with the clue “Murder, She Wrote!”

Take a look below for information on the book and gifts that I received in this box and more – but keep in mind that there will be spoilers on the gifts!

Thanks so much to the folks over at Once Upon a Book Club for gifting me with this box! Check them out for yourself, and use my code TACKLINGTBR at check out for a discount!

About the Box

This Murder, She Wrote box was Once Upon a Book Club’s adult box for the month of September! Each box contained a copy of the book, a bookplate/sticker with the author’s signature, and four wrapped gifts to tie into the book – bringing the book and reading experience to life!

Page 57

“‘Please. Anything in the wine rack is fair game. And we have an entire cellar to dig into if there’s nothing there that appeals.’ Brittany flicked her long hair over her shoulder and plucked a single almond off the board.”

A small serving tray for a charcuterie board made of açaí wood.

Page 100

“‘Actually, I think I’ll beg off too,’ Lydia said, slipping the dog-eared playing card between the pages of her book again and laying it down on the counter. A faded jester’s head peeked out over the top.”

A copy of The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, with a dog-eared bookish playing card joker inside.

Page 342

“My fingers closed around the corkscrew in my pocket, its cool, sleek shape growing less and less reassuring by the moment. I flicked open the twisted strip of metal, pressing the pad of my thumb to the end, testing its sharpness.”

A gold toned corkscrew.

Page 375

“‘So?’ Vanessa tugged off her gigantic sunglasses to fix me with an expectant stare as I slipped into the passenger seat.”

A pair of oversized, black sunglasses with gold accents, with a brown carrying sleeve and lens wipe.

About the Book

Published by: Bantam

Publication Date: September 5, 2023

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Contemporary, Adult

Page Count: 379 pages

Description from Goodreads:

An ambitious screenwriter tries to solve her friend’s disappearance by recreating their fateful final girls’ trip in this riveting locked-room mystery from the author of All Dressed Up.
A remote winery. A missing friend. And a bunch of sour grapes.

It should have been the perfect spring break. Five girlfriends. A remote winery on the Oregon coast. An infinite supply of delicious wine at their manicured fingertips. But then their center—beautiful, magnetic Vanessa Morales—vanished without a trace.

Emily Fischer was perhaps the last person to see her alive. But now, years later, Emily spots Vanessa’s doppelganger at a local café. At the end of her rope working a lucrative yet mind-numbing gig on a network sitcom, Emily is inspired to finally tell the story that’s been percolating inside her for so long: Vanessa’s story. But first, she needs to know what really happened on that fateful night. So she puts a brilliant scheme into motion.

She gets the girls together for a reunion weekend at the scene of the crime under the guise of reconnecting. There’s Brittany, Vanessa’s cousin and the inheritor of the winery; Paige, a former athlete, bullish yet easily manipulated; and Lydia, the wallflower of the group.

One of them knows the truth. But what have they each been hiding? And how much can Emily trust anything she learns from them… or even her own memories of Vanessa’s last days?

Suspenseful, propulsive, and interspersed with scenes from Emily’s blockbuster screenplay, Scenes of the Crime is an unforgettable mystery that examines culpability, the shiny rearview mirror of Hollywood storytelling, and the pitfalls of female friendship.

Review:

My full review will be added here and on Goodreads at a later date. Feel free to check back later!

About the Author

(Photo and bio taken from the author’s website, at the link below!)

Jilly Gagnon is currently based in Salem, Massachusetts, but is originally from Minnesota, a fact she’ll likely inform you of within minutes of meeting you. She is the author of Love You, Mean It; Scenes of the Crime; All Dressed Up; and #famous (a young adult novel).

She’s represented by Taylor Haggerty of Root Literary (for all fiction writing), nd Uwe Stender & Amelia Appel of Triada Literary (for works co-authored with Mike MacDonald).

You can connect with Jilly on Instagram. She’s an especially good conversation partner if you love amazing cocktails, terrible television, or talking to your cats.

Check out Jilly’s Instagram here!

Check out Jilly’s Website here!

Link to Purchase the Book

Learn more about Once Upon A Book Club, or order your next read, here!

Posted on September 5, 2023September 15, 2023 by tacklingtbr

A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate and Flame #3) by K.A. Tucker

Review and Blog Tour Courtesy of Valentine PR

Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the gifted, advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } My reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

Publication Date: September 5, 2023

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult, Magic, Fiction

Page Count:

Book Description from Goodreads:

From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker comes the third novel in her Fate and Flame series, an adult fantasy novel that should be read in series order.

“You betrayed your brother to steal a broken crown.”

The kingdom stands on the brink of chaos. Atticus’ grip on the realm is faltering, and as threats arise ever closer to home he is driven to increasingly desperate acts to hold onto power.

With Islor’s fate now in the balance, Zander stands to defend the Rift from the oncoming Ybarisan army. With the king’s forces scattered, he must risk unlikely new alliances.

And behind the walls of Ulysede, secrets wait for its new queen. Romeria knows that the paths of the hidden city will lead her to answers. But will they be enough to save the realm – or is their fate already sealed?

Review (5 Stars):

TW: Description of violence/murder/light gore/noncon sex

No surprise here, but I continue to absolutely LOVE and DEVOUR this series!

This book definitely hit the ground running – so I will say that not only do these books need to be read in series order, but also that if it’s been a while since you’ve read the previous books you may want to either consider a re-read or have a quick synopsis/recap handy!
I had a tiny bit of trouble really getting into the groove at the beginning of this book because I was having to remind myself what had been happening, but once I caught back up the pace was running from the word go, and honestly didn’t stop until the final page. And honestly returning to this world and it’s characters truly felt like coming home.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, and have already done so frequently, but only if they are looking for a series! It’s worth saying again that these books absolutely need to be read and enjoyed in series order. I think that the best way to read this book would be curled up under a blanket during a big rain storm, listening to the rain on the windows, and with maybe a bottle of red wine.

Let the countdown to Summer 2024 begin for book 4!

Meet Kathleen:

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.

She is the internationally bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild, Be the Girl, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.

K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto.

Connect with Kathleen

Website: https://www.katuckerbooks.com/

Newsletter Sign up: http://bit.ly/2iYqxMT

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/36Ga0W8

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QPwJZs

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2MYEDhK

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1468548700062461/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katucker_/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katuckerbooks

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2rZkYXP

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorkatucker/