The Briar U Series by Elle Kennedy
I got all 4 books in this series in my book advent calendar in 2024, which my amazing fiancée put together for me. I have really got into romance books over the past year, and I love a hockey romance particularly, so this series was right up my street. I actually really enjoyed them, rating them all either a 4 or 4.5 stars. They're your typical college romance reads, a bit of smut here and there, some deeper topics and so on. Just a fun lil 4-book series, and I'm definitely planning to read more Elle Kennedy in 2025.
The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden
I listened to this as an audiobook and honestly, I didn't enjoy it. I gave it 3 stars - I found the story jarring and all of the characters very odd. I did like the diary flashbacks, but overall the vibe just felt very off. I do have a love/hate relationship with Freida McFadden; her books are super easy to get through if you're looking for a quick read, but they're not massively well written - though some are definitely better than others!
The Head Teacher by H M Lynn
This was another 3 star read for me; it's a psychological thriller but it's just okay. Another easy read for sure, but the story was underwhelming and I couldn't connect with any of the characters. The twist and the whole premise underpinning the plot was far fetched and a bit odd, but overall it was an alright read.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This was our January book club pick, and when I read the first chapter I thought what the hell have I got myself into here. But honestly I ended up LOVING this book - I gave it a 4.5 which I think is totally fair, there were some little niggles around the ending (which felt kind of rushed) but overall it's a beautiful story about loss, family, connections and more. I would definitely recommend!
Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley
After reading Alexandra Kiley's previous book, Kilt Trip, I was soooooo excited for this one - and when I got an ARC on Netgalley it went straight to the top of my TBR. And honestly it was incredible - an easy 5 star read for me. It's a forced proximity second chance romance set in Scotland, so agonisingly beautiful and romantic with this stunning backdrop of Skye, and all this heartache being set free. Please read this book, it's honestly amazing.
The Surf House by Lucy Clarke
Back to thrillers - this was another Netgalley ARC, and I really enjoyed it. I gave this one 4.5 stars; it's set in Morocco which I loved, it's peppered with surfing lingo and just feels very real. The characters were all really multidimensional, and I did not see the twist coming at all. Very brutal and overall just a brilliant thriller that I completely flew through.
The Perfect Guest by Casey Kellehere
I did not like this one at all - another Netgalley ARC (can you tell I've been trying to get through my shelf this month?!) and honestly, it felt completely unedited. It was also just very boring, especially for a psychological thriller, and I guessed the twist pretty much straight away. About 98% of the book takes place inside one house, which felt claustrophobic to the max and not in a good way. Meh - I gave this 2 stars.
The Liar by Louise Jensen
Another ARC, another thriller. I gave this 3 stars - I wasn't overly impressed with the plot (which I found confusing, as the multiple POVs didn't flow well at all) and the twist was very underwhelming. It was okay with pretty creepy vibes but I definitely wouldn't rave over it.
Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben
I was over the moon to get an ARC for Harlan Coben's upcoming release, and it didn't disappoint - while I thought the story was quite gentle, for lack of a better word, in comparison to some of his others, it was still utterly brilliant writing and really gripping. I read it in one evening, so that will tell you a bit about how good it was! I love his ability to craft these characters and this narrative that just draw you into their world so wholly. A stunning read - 4.5 stars!
A really mixed bag of books and star ratings for January - let me know if you've read any of these or if you're excited for any of these ARCs to be released. Also if anyone's on Goodreads I'd love to be friends!
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