The Book Recommendations Thread # 1 - Page 5

Okay, so for anyone into mafia stories with 'actual' mafia stuff going on with brutal and badass protagonists with awesome chemistry between them, try Ruthless People series by J J McAvoy. It's so awesome, sometimes you will feel like killing the leads but nonetheless, it's worth a try

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Psychology

Plot: Still Alice follows 50-year-old Alice Howland, a Harvard professor, as she confronts early onset Alzheimer's disease. Struggling to retain her identity and independence, the novel explores the emotional turmoil of memory loss and the impact on her family and life.

Review: Where do I start? I am completely speechless.

This book completely altered the way I had perceived Alzheimer's disease, and I will never look at it the same way EVER again.

The writer's style beautifully captured the essence of the disease and its inevitable progression on Alice. It really made you deeply connected with her, literally, on a personal level.

Every chapter went by, it was heart-breaking to witness her decline, stripped of her identity. Identity that made her unique. Identity that made her HER.

This book was such a page-turner for me that it was hard to put it down. Really, very well deserved!

Share quotes from the book if you have any:

“But just because I’ll forget it some tomorrow doesn’t mean that I didn’t live every second of it today. I will forget today, but that doesn’t mean that today didn’t matter.”

“Just because butterflies' lives were short didn't mean they were tragic... See, they have a beautiful life.”

Your personal Star rating out of 5: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trigger warnings: Suicidal thoughts

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Have you tried Catharine Cowles for Rom-suspense? She writes small town mostly and they're good, they tend to get formulaic after a while but still - decent reads.

Crime thrillers: I would recommend Jennifer Hillier. I've read The Butcher, Jar of Hearts and Wonderland by her and they were all good. Don't know if you're okay with thrillers that make you queasy though - hers definitely do!

Rock, paper, scissors by Alice Feeney

Kill for me, Kill for you by Steve Cavanaugh (I'll recommend this every time!)

Perfect Strangers by J.T. Geissenger was sooo twisty.

Adding to this list for any soul who might stalk IF for recommendations :P

His and Hers by Alice Feeney

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Thirteen -- Steve Cavanaugh

Blue Mumbai series ( two books) by Damyanti Biswas were really good too!

Originally posted by: missFiesty_69

Adding to this list for any soul who might stalk IF for recommendations :P

His and Hers by Alice Feeney

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Thirteen -- Steve Cavanaugh

Blue Mumbai series ( two books) by Damyanti Biswas were really good too!

Have yet to read any others by Steve Cavanaugh but I was soooo impressed by KFM, KFY

I also have Jacob Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures on my reading shelf

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

I’m reading His and Hers right now. I second Then she was gone, though I liked None of this is true slightly better.

Have yet to read any others by Steve Cavanaugh but I was soooo impressed by KFM, KFY

I also have Jacob Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures on my reading shelf

Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson is also in my TBR for this month. Shibani recommended this one, said it was really good because more than supernatural horror, this one has all real life horrors like bullying, racism & abuse.

I was going through some of the books I've read and figured I'd compile a list of recommendations!

1.

Book Title and Author: You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

Genre: Contemporary, YA Romance

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

This book is about Julie, whose life is upended when her boyfriend Sam dies, and this entire book is just her dealing with her grief because before he died, they had a big fight. Julie is so consumed with her grief that she impulsively dials Sam's number... and then he picks up. (This was the last phrase of the official synopsis: What would you do if you had a second chance at goodbye?)

This hurt me a lot more than I thought it would. When I first picked it up I was like “okay, this sounds kinda sad, but I’ll be fine” and you know what, I was WRONG. I finished it all in one night and somehow powered through all the crying that I did. I honestly think this book brought up a lot of my own repressed grief, and that was something that I absolutely was not ready and willing to deal with at three in the morning, so I was personally affected by this book in a way that I absolutely did not expect.

Okay, time for me to shut up about my own shit and actually talk about the writing - I will be billing Dustin Thao for my therapy. Having the prologue be this sort of warm, beautiful montage of Julie and Sam’s relationship and then immediately hard cut to Sam’s death as if to remind the readers that he is, in fact, gone (NOT A SPOILER) was a fantastic way to start the book; it really set the tone for the rest of the story. It was rude as hell, but I loved it.

I love the way Dustin Thao uses transitions in this book. I think transitions are such an underused form of storytelling in books and they just worked so well for this book. A great example of this would be this section from one of the flashbacks: “The sheets fall over me, covering my face, and then rise again in the air before they shift and fall into flakes of snow as the scene changes around me.” Like, are you kidding me?! And that’s the thing about Dustin’s writing. While the language he uses seems very simplistic, there is a certain vulnerability to his writing that I found to be rather heart-touching.

So, if you want to read some gorgeous writing and maybe, I don't know, cry - this is the book for you!

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trigger warnings (if any): themes of grief and subtle racism

2. The Fractured Fables duology by Alix E. Harrow

Book #1: A Spindle Splintered

Genre: LGBTQIA+ Fantasy

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

This was my first ever Alix E. Harrow book, and I’ve always heard such amazing things about her, and rightfully so, because this book exceeded every single one of my unrealistically high expectations. First of all, yes, I was aware that this is, in fact, a novella. Was I still shocked to see how tiny it was when I picked it up from the library? Absolutely, I would read 500 pages of this, and some part of me still wishes that it was not a novella, but I’ll get over it, I swear. (This was my PSA to people who don't like short books/novellas! However, I swear it's worth it, especially since it's a duology and together the two novellas absolutely make up one book.)

She just has such a way with words that I really truly have not been able to experience in a very long time and if I had even an iota of her abilities I would actually be able to explain myself, but I don’t, so just take my word for it that this book is funny and thought-provoking and emotional in a ‘laugh as you cry’ kinda way. (I’m also 4000% sure that I’ve heard an English prof reference this book in class, so do with that information what you will.)

A couple of things I wanted to point out that no one but me cares about, but I’m gonna mention them anyway.

• There were many moments where I related to Zinnia more than I expected to. I love when characters have the same nerdy interests as me like ‘yes, I too hold a rather impractical degree and wrote my final paper about a hyperfixation and related it to past trauma’.
• Page 55 as a whole really struck me because I understand that feeling of being betrayed by something that you’ve cherished so deeply since you were a child and that being tainted by the reality behind it. And then you go on to feel so awful and childish about it because (in most cases at least) it’s just a work of fiction, but you’re allowed to be upset about it and if you can’t criticize the things that you love, it just makes it that much harder for you to form objective opinions about certain topics. I’m so sorry, rant done.
• I also loved the subtle references from that same chapter. The ones I can remember off the top of my head were Rapunzel and Beauty & the Beast.

This book reinvigorated my love for retellings and specifically fairytale retellings. I've said this before, but Sleep Beauty retellings (or at least the two that I've read) are always a hit. (Honestly, skip the Cinderella ones.)

Share quotes from the book if you have any:

• “sorry babe. got spider-verse-ed into a fairy tale” is hands-down one of the best lines that I have ever had the pleasure of reading, the cackle that I let out, I had to put the book down for five minutes to recover. I need everyone to read this book for that line alone. The way this book caters to my humour… respectfully, please get out of my head.
• “i thought you grew out of trying to save me” - I loved Zinnia and Charm’s friendship so much, and I think I threw the book when I saw this line. I just came here to have a good time, not cry 70 pages in.
• “Well, Harold,” I say gently. “They’re lesbians.” - The way that this line was written for me specifically. (There's a strong possibility that this line only stuck out to me because of an inside joke between friends.)

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5.75 Stars!)

Trigger warnings (if any): I personally can't think of any, but check StoryGraph!

Book #2: A Mirror Mended

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

I want to preface this by saying that I loved this book… but it didn’t wow me the way that the first one did. The writing is still just as great, and I truly had a great time with it; I just didn’t connect to this story the way I connected to the previous one.

(Also, this time we're focusing on Snow White, and despite everything I just said, it's still objectively good and I did really enjoy it.)

Things that stuck out to me:

• Page 7 has a better explanation of the multiverse than anything the MCU could ever come up with.
• The queen (Eva) being disgusted by the “angelic” vibes of Snow White’s coffin is so funny to me. Also, Zinnia and Eva diving for the mirror at the same time was absolutely giving romcom energy. (pg. 40)
• Devil Cannibal Snow White was so out of pocket.

Share quotes from the book if you have any: “I can and have travelled between dimensions with nothing but a bent bobby pin and force of will.” - This is how you write a main character! (The writing still slaps, there’s just something missing.)

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75 Stars!)

Trigger warnings (if any): I personally can't think of any, but check StoryGraph!

3.

Book Title and Author: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Genre: LGBTQIA+ YA Thriller

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

This book is about Chiamaka and Devon, the only two black students at an elite private school, who have never interacted before, but in their senior year, they are being targeted by someone named "Aces," which forces them to team up.

This was one of my most anticipated reads, and it did not disappoint! I kept seeing this book everywhere; it was on every bookstore and library display, and someone always seemed to be reading it, according to my Goodreads homepage. The only reason that I waited such a long time to read it was because there was such a long waiting list for it at the library, and luckily, when I did eventually manage to get my hands on it, I was in the mood for a thriller.

Despite how often I’d see this book around, I tried to go into it as blindly as possible. I actually didn’t know that one of the biggest selling points was that it’s like “Gossip Girl meets Get Out” until after I’d read the book. I’d argue that’s more along the lines of “What if PLL’s A was Gossip Girl… meets Get Out,” but that’s neither here nor there. I think when the book shifted to more of the Get Out aspect of it is when I got really invested in the story. The first half of the book was definitely a lot slower than I expected, like, Part One took a couple of days for me to get through, and Part Two was quite slow as well… until you get to that last chapter! From then on, the pacing was so good that I basically finished the last half of the book in one sitting.

I think that Faridah is such a talented thriller author; she made this book equal parts tense and disturbing, and I was on the edge of my seat for Ch. 27 and onwards. I do think it’s interesting how different her writing felt when I initially started the book because we hadn’t really gotten to the thriller aspects of it just yet, so it really felt like a 2010s YA novel (the writing definitely reminded me a little of the Gossip Girl and PLL books).

I’d actually highly recommend reading an annotated chapter Faridah has at the end of the book in the paperback editions because the way she speaks about her process and the themes surrounding the book is just so engaging. (Obviously, after you finish the book, just to avoid spoilers.) And it was for Ch. 27, which is one of my favourite chapters because it was such a wild turning point both storywise and for me as a reader. I’d started coming up with some theories as I read the book, and what we learned in this chapter was actually something that, in theory, I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn.

There's a lot more I want to say, but I don't want to spoil the book. This is an excellent debut novel, and I heard her most recent one is even better!

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75 Stars!)

Trigger warnings (if any): racism, homophobia, bullying, hate crime/hate speech

4.

Book Title and Author: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

12-year-old boy discovers that he is a demigod and the son of Poseidon, which, of course, means that every monster in existence wants to kill him.

I read this book nearly 15 years ago, and I remember really liking it. I simply did not continue the series because 10-year-old me thought boys were disgusting and did not want to read another book from a boy's POV. But I’ve always wanted to finish the series, and with the new show, I figured there's no better time to read it.

I don’t think this is groundbreaking information in the slightest, but I love Rick Riordan’s writing. I think it’s really cool because his writing is so fun, in terms of both creativity and humour, but when you add the themes he explores and the messages that he wants readers to take away from the book, it just makes for good storytelling and not just for the target demographic. There are definitely middle-grade books that I’ve found that I don’t enjoy as much as an adult, but in my opinion, Percy Jackson is not one of those series. I truly believe that this book and this series can be enjoyed at any age. (But if you really just can't connect to middle-grade books, then I wouldn't recommend it.)

Coming back to the actual content of the book, here are some of my favourite aspects of it:

• If we’re talking messaging, then Rick Riordan will always have all my love for taking disabilities with so much stigma around them and turning them into heroic traits so that readers can see them in a positive light, whether or not this is something they’re dealing with themselves.
• Rick Riordan's characterization is so distinct from the get-go, like, Percy's snark/humour is very different from Grover's (for example). Or if we look at the scene with the Minotaur. Percy seeing the Minotaur and immediately trying to play matador was honestly such a great way to establish his character.
• I also love the characterization of the gods and their powers. For example, when you think of Dionysus, you remember him as the god of wine and pleasure. But as highlighted here, he's also the god of vegetation, hence the strawberry farm (excellent choice of income, strawberries cost an arm and a leg and then some). Another would be the emphasis on Athena being the goddess of both wisdom and war, and the way that's shown through her children, particularly Annabeth, who thirsts for a quest and constantly thinks of battle strategies, always 20 steps ahead of everyone else. My favourite has to be Ares being a douche and a gun nut... and also an idiot in everyone’s eyes because none of them believed for even a second that he had the brain cells to mastermind this operation.
• My favourite pieces of writing characterizing Zeus: "Like a kindergartener over a toy." - pg. 130 (in reference to the master bolt) // "... trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?" - pg. 137.
  The other gods all treat/think of Zeus as a child, and I could not have written him better myself. Something about a powerful leader ruling with an iron fist and throwing a temper tantrum every time he doesn't get his way feels oddly familiar. (Maybe Rick’s the one with the gift of prophecy, not Apollo.)
• Something I didn’t expect to love as much as I did was Sally Jackson and her presence throughout the book. I knew going in that Sally Jackson is a well-loved character, and now that I’ve read the book, I get it. The way Rick has written Percy to love her makes me love her as though she were my own mother. You love her a little bit more every time Percy mentions her, or when you get just a little bit of backstory. She's the book equivalent of a TV dad. (There are many reasons why I hated the Percy Jackson movie, but never delving deep into Sally Jackson's role in the book was an insane choice, specifically her reasoning for staying with Smelly Gabe - that could've been easily added into the movie the same way they had done it in the book.)
• I did have to look up what Pinochle is... perfect choice in card game considering the characters involved and the main themes of the book: lies, deception and most importantly, betrayal.

This book is also incredibly funny in just the most unserious way.

• ‘peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich’ - Nancy should be put on a watchlist
• Smelly Gabe’s last name being Ugliano is objectively hilarious.
• “I’m a goat from the waist down.” - it’s the indignation for me (valid tho)
• “The usual nonsense: ‘Mother Rhea always like you best,’ ‘Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,’ et cetera.” - oh I just know that behind all this 'respect the gods' bullshit, Chiron is so sick and tired of their shit
• “But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.”
• Great, I thought. We just blowtorched a national monument.
• Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike. - Honestly, that kinda tracks.
• “Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I’ve had to open?” - Hades is just a girl.
• Olympus being in the Empire State Building vs the entrance to the Underworld being in Los Angeles - choose your fighter.
• Rick Riordan's insane re-writing of history. That's it.

Other Quotes and My Random Thoughts That No One Asked For:

• How come only middle-grade books get fun chapter titles? - My very first observation. No but like I'm actually kind of mad that middle grade and children's books get to have fun chapter titles and YA/NA books don't. (At least from what I've seen.)
• “I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.” - oh buddy, you wish
• “My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.” // “My mom is Sally Jackson.” - Sally Jackson, you are so loved by me.
• “Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.” - Am I crazy, or have I heard this somewhere else?
• Percy and I absolutely share a brain cell because if your ego is gonna be bruised if you don't get a cabin Artemis and Hera, despite having no children, at least offer to house some of the unclaimed, like Hermes does. Like, imagine Hermes showing you up as a decent person. Why have a bunch of empty cabins for gods without claimed children when we can just have the unclaimed live there??
• I need to know if Rick had someone particular in mind as Thalia's mother... I don't have any theories, and I don't know if this is a big thing, but most of this series has already been spoiled for me, so maybe just one surprise would be nice to have.
• Fun fact from yours truly about the story Annabeth recounted on pg. 157 on why Athens was named after Athena; they used that same myth in the first Goddess Girls book, and I just thought it was a funny coincidence.
• Percy is truly his own worst enemy cuz why you gotta antagonize the Echidna?!
• Okay, but lowkey, why is it kinda cute that Ares and Aphrodite still go on dates and in the tunnel of love of all places?
• I loved that detail of them taking care of the captured animals because at their core, they’re just good kids.
• The scene with Cerberus was our first glimpse at Percabeth being soulmates.

My one gripe with the book, and why this wasn’t a 5-star for me, is the way Medusa's myth was depicted, but that's really nothing new. Her being reduced to Poseidon's ex-girlfriend was absolutely foul to me. (They did rectify this in the new show!)

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5 Stars!)

5. The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Book #1: The Naturals

Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

This series is about 17-year-old Cassie, who gets recruited by the FBI as a Profiler for their Naturals program, where teenagers with exceptional skills solve cold cases. (Also, they used her mother's unsolved death to recruit her. Not a spoiler, but avoid reading all summaries of the books in this series at all costs!)

I'm going to try my best to keep spoilers out of this! I really thought people were kidding when they said this was better than the Inheritance Games because JLB wrote that series after this one, so logically you'd just expect someone's more recent work to be better because they've had time to grow as a writer... HOWEVER, I was so wrong, this was so much better! (I will say, the first Inheritance Games book is trash to me, but I like all the other ones, but I also wouldn't go out of my way to recommend that series to anyone.)

I’m not gonna lie, some of the descriptions absolutely gave 2010s YA, but the overall writing, combined with the narration (because I listened to the audiobook), definitely made up for it. I thought that the thriller/mystery elements were really good because not only did JLB do an excellent job at ensuring that the mood of the book was tense all the way through, but I feel like with this series, it was harder to figure things out compared to something like AGGTM. She really kept me on my toes until the very last moment because I suspected everyone.

I also think that having a short chapter from the serial killer's perspective every few chapters was such an interesting choice narratively; I personally don't read a lot of thrillers, so I don't know if this is something that's unique to JLB, but that added narration from Amber Faith really helped to elevate it, especially the ending of Part II. (Honestly, the last time I got genuine chills from a narrator like this was when I listened to The Weight of Blood.) My personal favourite narration moment from her was when Cassie was telling Dean about finding her mother’s body. It stayed with me throughout the book, and I think it will always haunt me in the best of ways.

Although… If I had a nickel for every time an audiobook narrator tried to do an Italian accent, only for it to come out Transalvaynian, I would have two nickels. (Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.) Not everyone’s perfect, but Amber Faith came close.

The number of times I said ‘Cassie, get a grip, you’re not here to crush on boys’ out loud would be the type of drinking game that would cause alcohol poisoning. She’s not my favourite YA protagonist by any means, but I will always defend her. Like every YA protagonist before her, her first instinct is to always put herself in danger because you can’t be the main character if you have even a shred of self-preservation inside of you. She’s stubborn and brilliant, and even her most impulsive actions feel controlled. Despite being rather frustrating at times, I really like Cassie as a character and am looking forward to seeing how she grows as both a person and a Profiler.

(There are other things I want to talk about, but I won't because I don't want to give out spoilers. But if you read this book, I will start yapping.)

Share quotes from the book if you have any:

• Michael smiled. “You should see her when she’s had caffeine,” he told me, nodding at Sloane.
  “Michael,” Sloane said darkly, “hides the coffee.”
  “Trust me,” Michael drawled. “It’s a kindness to us all.”
• “Dean has a temper,” Michael told me, leaning back against the workout bench.
  Lia snorted. “Michael, if Dean had a temper, you’d be dead.”
• Three questions, three honest answers. Just because he’d offered to show me his scars didn’t mean I had to tear them open.
• “Don’t you have any more cheerful statistics?”
  Sloane frowned in contemplation. “Are balloon animals cheerful?”
  Oh. Dear. Lord.
  “Balloonists are more likely than other circus performers to suffer from subconjunctival hemorrhages.”
  “Sloane, subconjunctival hemorrhages are not cheerful.”

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trigger warnings (if any): (sorry if any of these are SPOILERS, but I think these are necessary) murder (it's a book about serial killers), references to child abuse, death of a parent

Book #2: Killer Instinct

Why you liked it & why you're recommending it:

So, while Cassie is the main character of the series overall, each book focuses on one of the other kids in the program; in this book, we delved into the backstory of Dean Redding.

The found family vibes are at such a high with this one that I wish there were zero romantic plots. I know that's what most people are here for, but I really think this series would've been better off if they just kept sibling vibes between all of the Core 5. I actually think one of my favourite scenes was when Dean was lecturing the rest of them (well, minus Sloane) because it was absolutely giving eldest child who is sick and tired of his younger siblings’ shit. (The best part was Cassie throwing Lia under the bus, as she f*cking should.) But there were other scenes that I think helped establish that the five of them are like a family unit, like when they were dancing or when they played strip poker with Oreos. Not only do I think that those brief moments of joy are needed for both the characters and the readers, but I think it just further emphasizes how, at the end of the day, the five of them are just kids.

As for the adults, it’s nice to see their backstories get expanded upon as well, especially with the addition of Agent Veronica Sterling. In the first book, it really only seemed like Judd was the only one looking out for these kids, but it’s more complicated than that. Sterling is fiercely protective of all of them, that much is clear. They’re not assets to her, and despite some of Briggs’ actions, they’re not assets to him either. I think this quote from Cassie gives us a pretty solid read on what Briggs is like: “I trusted Briggs less when business was involved.” While it’s a constant struggle for Sterling to not use the Naturals, Briggs doesn’t have that same issue, although he clearly doesn’t want to be putting them in danger, given how he reacted when he found out about what Cassie, Lia and Michael had done.

Sterling brings forth a new set of dynamics given her backstory with Briggs, Judd and Dean, as well as her relationship with the other Naturals. She’s also a f*cking badass! I loved seeing her tell her dad off, and her interrogation scene with (SPOILER) was so good, (The first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of her is this quote, “You're a woman. Use it. Bring every man you meet to his motherf*cking knees,” because no one embodies it like her.)

Random thoughts that no one asked for (because it won't make sense unless you've read the book):

• I don’t think that Lia’s an unlikable character; she’s just so hard to tolerate at times. I don't care how much she cares about Dean, her behaviour towards Cassie is disgusting. (The Thea Calligaris is strong in this one.)
• Cassie and Michael choosing Veronica and Tanner as their fake names at the party just because they’re little shits like that is my favourite brand of teenage nonsense.
• Trina Simms is a nutjob.
• Having two Christophers in the same book was a choice. I was so confused!
• This is not at all a relevant critique, but I had this in my notes and thought it was funny: sparkly green dress on a redhead, how revolutionary.

I want to talk more about the writing, but again, spoilers. I just think that JLB put a lot more thought and care into her writing in this series than in The Inheritance Games. (This was especially apparent after I read the novella that takes place, like, 5-6 years after the final book. The way she uses numbers as a consistent literary device is so fascinating, I'm actually mad that this isn't as popular as The Inheritance Games. I finally get why fans of this series are the way that they are.)

Also, I only docked stars on this one because I personally didn't like the final reveal.

Share quotes from the book if you have any:

• "This was Michael’s trauma, not mine.” - That’s just it though, it’s her trauma too. (Cassie had a panic attack during this scene, and it was so well-written, I just had to mention that.)
• “Any more unethical than an off-the-books FBI program that uses underage prodigies to catch serial killers?” - Lia speaking facts as usual
• “A little boy who’d been born smiling.” - DANIEL REDDING WHEN I CATCH YOU (everyone in this series has parental issues)
• Quite frankly, I thought that tools who lived in tool houses probably shouldn't throw stones. - this was just funny
• “Touch her again, and Dean will be the one pulling me off of you.” - I saw the TikToks with this line before reading, so I thought I'd find it cringey, but surprisingly enough, I didn't.
• How could a person look at their own child and say no thanks? - No comment.

Your personal Star rating out of 5 (if you wish to): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.75 Stars!)

Trigger warnings (if any): (again, sorry if any of these are SPOILERS, but I think the trigger warnings are especially necessary in this one) murder, death, violence, torture, child abuse, mutilation, kidnapping

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

I’m reading His and Hers right now. I second Then she was gone, though I liked None of this is true slightly better.

Have yet to read any others by Steve Cavanaugh but I was soooo impressed by KFM, KFY

I also have Jacob Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures on my reading shelf

Omg im also reading His and Hers! I'm almost finished now!

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Hey,

You guys can post your recs here and also ask for recs.

Mujhe thriller recs chahiye. Gimme all your 5 star reads.

Have you tried reading “The girl with the dragon tattoo” and two other books of same series?

Its fantastic!

Originally posted by: OfTheHeart

Have you tried reading “The girl with the dragon tattoo” and two other books of same series?

Its fantastic!

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

No. I actually saw the movie and found it only okayish so didn't feel like picking up the book . Maybe I should give the book a chance

Book is better… books are always better except for The lord of the rings… that movie gave a competition!