Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park
Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction
August 18, 2020 by Avon
ARC
Maybe I read the blurb wrong, but I was kind of expecting an enemies to lovers romantic comedy when I requested this book for review. That is not what this book is, at least not the 25% I read.
I’ll be honest when I tell you that I didn’t like any of these characters. Not a one. The main character, Melody Joo, is a woman working in the gaming industry and excited for the opportunity to break into an industry that is hostile to women. And let me tell you, her workplace is HOSTILE. One of the reasons I finally decided to DNF this book is because I simply could not take reading another racist and/or sexist scene. Almost every single co-worker is a raging asshole and it was too much.
I’m pretty sure Melody was eventually going to be paired with Nolan, the CEO’s nephew who Melody disliked right from the beginning, but I couldn’t tell you for sure because even at 25% there was no chemistry or relationship building in sight.
Not my cup of tea. DNF.
The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea
Rory Moore/Lane Philips #2
Mystery/Thriller
July 28, 2020 by Kensington
ARC
I’ve been on kind of a mystery/suspense kick lately. Whether historical or gothic or just plain old edge of your seat thriller. This is a new to me author and the cover caught my eye. Then the blurb sealed the deal for me.
Blurb:
A chilling murder in a prestigious prep school is at the heart of this riveting new novel from acclaimed author Charlie Donlea, featuring forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore and her psychologist partner, Lane Phillips.
Inside the walls of Indiana’s elite Westmont Preparatory High School, expectations run high and rules are strictly enforced. But in the woods beyond the manicured campus and playing fields sits an abandoned boarding house that is infamous among Westmont’s students as a late-night hangout. Here, only one rule applies: don’t let your candle go out–unless you want the Man in the Mirror to find you. . . .
One year ago, two students were killed there in a grisly slaughter. The case has since become the focus of a hit podcast, The Suicide House. Though a teacher was convicted of the murders, mysteries and questions remain. The most urgent among them is why so many students who survived that horrific night have returned to the boarding house–to kill themselves.
Rory, an expert in reconstructing cold cases, is working on The Suicide House podcast with Lane, recreating the night of the killings in order to find answers that have eluded the school, the town, and the police. But the more they learn about the troubled students, the chillingly stoic culprit, and a dangerous game gone tragically wrong, the more convinced they become that something sinister is still happening. Inside Westmont Prep, the game hasn’t ended. It thrives on secrecy and silence. And for its players, there may be no way to win–or to survive. . . .
Let me just say this, if shifting POVs isn’t your thing, I would skip this book. The POV shifts between 6 or 7 characters, depending on where we are in The are also fluctuations in the time between past and present. It worked for me and even though many of these characters appear in other books by this author, I never felt lost or like I should have picked up those other books first. I think some of the changes in POV and timeframe actually gave this mystery more oompf and kept me engaged.
This was a very well done mystery. A bit gory and very dark, but well done. Lots of twists and turns, but so tightly plotted that I never felt bored or like I wanted to set my Kindle down and stop reading. I especially enjoyed getting to know Rory, a forensic reconstructionist, and Lane, a forensic phycologist and criminal profiler. I would definitely like to visit with them again.
I very much enjoyed my first book by Charlie Donlea and look forward to more suspenseful reads from him in the future.
Final grade- B
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