rachelnwilbanks's reviews
228 reviews

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I'm so glad I gave Emily Henry another chance because I ate this up

“Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand. Beware the bird, for it will betray you. And from that, there’s no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point to your murder.”
In 1965, at age 17, Frances Adams receives this prediction about her future from a psychic and it sticks with her throughout the rest of her life. She lives her life paranoid about everyone around her and trying to figure out who will eventually murder her. Cut to present day where we meet Annie Adams, an aspiring mystery author and the great niece of Frances. Annie receives a letter in the mail asking her to come meet her great-aunt Frances for the first time as she has been named in her will. When she arrives however, Frances has been murdered. At the reading of her will, it is revealed that there will be a competition between Annie and others close to Frances to solve the murder. Whoever solves the murder will become the sole benefactor of the will. Annie sets off on a thrilling venture to solve Frances’ murder and gets lost in her great-aunt’s old diary that will lead her to the killer.
This book was wonderful. I truly enjoyed every minute of reading it and I would love to read more by this author. The pacing was great, the characters were lovable, and the story was fascinating. I have not read a book like this in such a long time. It was fun in a way that did not diminish the fact that a murder had taken place. It deals with the loss of someone that Annie truly didn’t know and wished she had gotten the chance to. I also really loved the way that the diary chapters were included in the book as a bit of an alternating timeline. Annie was a compelling character that I really loved and the rest of the cast of characters were intriguing and I loved getting to know their stories. I truly do not have a bad thing to say about this book. 
Thank you to Penguin Group, Dutton and NetGalley for providing access to this ARC in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Mayor of Maxwell Street was an entertaining book about a black debutant, Nelly Sawyer, who is an aspiring journalist. Nelly, on the hunt for a good story gets involved with gangs and Jay Shorey who is not who he seems. This book was a  enjoyable read and I really did like the main characters s lot. The pacing though was a little off for me. The description of this book also calls it an "epic love story" and I don't think that's a great description as this book was more of a mystery book than anything. I still did enjoy this book and I would recommend it to others.

This book was very fast paced and super thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it I just desperately wanted to know what was going to happen. The ending however fell a little flat for me. 

Sidney Taylor, after being placed on furlough, goes back to her small hometown in North Carolina after receiving a letter asking her to find a secret artifact. She goes on a National Treasure-esque pursuit to search out the hidden artifact, falling into a secret society of witches and racing to stop a Virtual Reality takeover. This book was really fun and entertaining and I flew through it. The writing was captivating and kept me hooked. Sidney was charming and relatable and I enjoyed her inner thoughts and seeing her interact with the side characters around her. The secret society of witches was incredibly enchanting and I was truly immersed in the world. A few things I did not enjoy though were the pacing at the beginning, not learning enough background about the main character, and the way that the book tells the reader instead of showing them certain things that are happening. The very first chapter starts with the main character being placed on furlough and getting the letter that invites her back to her hometown. I would have liked to see a little more background leading up to the furlough, in particular, her relationship with Dr. Philippi so that the main character’s motivations and relationship with with her boss made more sense. This also leads into not getting to know the main character enough at the beginning and the telling of things that have happened rather than showing them. I feel that if there had been maybe just one chapter preceding the first chapter to show the reader what Sidney’s life was like before she was placed on furlough, it really would have helped to give a good representation of what being placed on the furlough meant for her. Overall though I really did enjoy this book and I would gladly read the next book once it comes out as I was truly delighted by the main character and loved the atmosphere of the secret society. 

 

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for providing access to this ARC. All opinions are my own.