Say Everything by Ione Skye

A pretty deep look into a life many people may believe they already know. There's more introspection in this book than we get in some celebrity memoirs as well as all of the juicy details of her personal life, including the people she's slept with. 

I didn't realize how many things I had watched with Ione Skye in them and that helped draw me in. She definitely had an interesting upbringing and, through some skill, and quite a bit of luck, seems to have avoided the fate of many of the "nepo babies" who she grew up with.

Four stars

This book came out March 4, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty with Aoife McMahon, Andrew Wincott

Abigail is known for her fun murder mystery parties that are thrown on New Year's Eve. A group of friends get together, dress up, and then celebrate her brother's birthday the next day. But this year is different. This year, Benjamin is dead. And the famous detective Bell has been called in to solve the mystery. 

This is very much like a Golden Age mystery but rather than an homage like "Miss Winter's Library", it's a play on the classics, more like a twist on the classics like "Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone."

Three stars

This book came out April 20, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my down

Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver, Samantha Brentmoor, Robert Hatchet

Harper Starling is just trying to live her life. Sure, she's trying to cover up the crimes her elderly landlord committed. And she's trying to stop him from committing any more as he is battling dementia and forgetting which secrets he needs to keep. But she can help him keep them just fine. She just adds them onto her own. Like what she does to ensure her picturesque seaside town stays safe, even from tourists. 

Nolan Rhodes has been searching for Harper Starling, saving her for last. But what is a serial killer to do when he realizes he might be in love with his intended victim? Because she sure isn't acting how he would think she should when he leaves a dead body in her back yard. Well, part of a dead body anyway. 

I hadn't read this author before and didn't realize that the spice level on this one was pretty high. If I had read this as an ebook or hard copy, it probably woulnd't have hit as hard, but listening to it was a little too much for me. Not sure why the gore didn't hit the same way, but an overall fun read. 

Four stars

Seasons of Carnage #1

This book came out September 23, 2025

Followed by Harvest Season

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery

Julie Parker is looking forward to a chill Christmas. Her grown children are doing their own thing so she's just going to spend the day with her boyfriend. Her twelve-years-younger than her boyfriend. The one her children don't... technically... know about. Then, plans change. And change again. And change again. Julie, her children, her boyfriend, and their partners all have to be flexible. 

Mainly told from Julie's third person point of view, this is a holiday story like most, there's a lot going on so nothing is really developed.

Three stars

This book came out October 1, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts

Closing out the trilogy, Sonya and her friends defeat the evil ghost of Hester who was disappointed in love and took it out on generations of Pooles (Sonya being the latest in line.) We get to visit some of the brides on whom Hester inflicted her revenge when Sonya walks through mirrors to view the past. There is also a lot of time devoted to Sonya turning the grand manor she inherited from her uncle into her own. This is done with the help of several helpful ghosts as well.

This was a fine story and has many hallmarks of Roberts writing but would have better been served as a duology. The second book felt like so much filler and the third book retread a lot of what the second laid out. They are a little dated at this point but the Key books felt similar in tone but served as a better example of how a trilogy should move a story in every book. 

Three stars

Lost Bride Trilogy #3

This book came out November 18, 2025

Follows The Mirror

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Grumpiest Billionaire by Pippa Grant

Oliver is trying to run away from his life. He's a billionaire so it should all be sunshine and roses, but he's tired of the responsibility, of the weight of bringing his family's company back from the brink of disaster. He wants to live like a normal person. Unfortunately, he has a stowaway in the back of his car. 

Daphne knows how Olivere feels. She rejected her own family's wealth and has figured out a way to live her life without being under their thumb. But it took her a long time to figure out how to do that. So she's been exactly where Oliver was, not really understanding how the real world works (he gets confused every time someone tests the hundred dollar bills he's throwing around.) Daphne was just trying to make sure he wasn't getting back with her sister, but now she's got a new mission; help Oliver learn how to make it through life on on his own. 

Three and a half stars

Small Town Sisterhood #1

This book came out January 8, 2026

Follows The Spite Date

Followed by Faking Cinderella

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

The Spite Date by Pippa Grant

After their parents died in a fire, Bea raised her three brothers. It wasn't easy since teenage boys are  going to teenage boy. But she's gotten the last one launched and would be focusing on her own dream (well, her father's) if her ex-boyfriend hadn't stolen it from her. And to make things worse, his brother has just arrested her because of a prank. And not even a prank she pulled! One that was pulled on her. Someone ordered a LOT of fish from her food truck (which is usually hamburgers), and then invited her to Simon Lockwood's house. Yes, the super-famous Simon Lockwood who wrote and acted on the television series about weed.

Simon is despairing. He's not sure what to do with his twin teen boys. He grew up with absent, disapproving parents and doesn't want to do the same with his kids. Their mother and he never got married but they are great co-parents. 

It's a convoluted and over-the-top story which is what Grant does best. 

Four stars

Small Town Sisterhood #1

This book came out September 4, 2025

Followed by The Grumpiest Billionaire

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own