Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:

Finlay Donovan is―once again―struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she's dealt with lately is that of her daughter's pet goldfish.

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like.

Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it...

My Review:

So my review of the first book was only a three star too, but I said I liked the series premise and then I would read the second book, so here I am.  I still don’t care for Finley Donovan herself, she’s really whiny and pathetic for a lead character to me. So any of the parts that talk about what a mess her life is drive me up the wall. But once you get to the actual mystery part it’s good. I also really like Vero.

I really started to enjoy this book at about 50%…then things got rolling and Finn focused on solving the mystery rather than her life. I did not see FedUp being who they were, bit it was a fun twist at the end.  I’m also going to end up reading the next one because she left it on a cliff hanger…sigh…I just hope it focuses more on the mystery and less on Finn’s life choices.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

Castles in their Bones (Castles in their Bones #1) by Laura Sebastian (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:
New trilogy from the NYT Bestselling author of Ash Princess
The plot: overthrow a kingdom. The goal: world domination. The plan: marriage.
Trained for from birth in espionage and seduction, the triplet princesses of Bessemia must travel to three distant lands to marry three princes and enact their Queen mother's plan to rule from sea to sea. But when they arrive, each sister discovers her task is not so simple, and their mother's motives may not be what they seem.

My Review:

I loved and hated the sisters.  I loved Sophronia, Beatriz I went back and forth on, and Daphne I hated more than I liked.  I admit I sometimes have a little bit of a problem keeping where everybody was straight, but I think that was more me and my frazzled mom brain than the book. I loved how twisty and devious the sisters and the storyline was.  I found my self becoming really attached to each sister, even Daphne.  I will not give spoilers, but the ending left me shocked and so so sad. I am praying for a plot twist at the beginning of the book too like there’s no tomorrow, the ending could not be the ending. And I cannot wait to read the next one in the series. At first I was going to give this 4 stars, but then I kept waking up in the night to think about the ending, and I had to change it to a 5 star read.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

The One Hundred Years of Lenin and Margot (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:
Life is short - no one knows that better than 17 year-old Lenni Petterssen. On the Terminal ward, the nurses are offering their condolences already, but Lenni still has plenty of living to do.

For a start, she has questions about her fate she needs answers to, and stories yet to uncover.

When she meets 83-year-old Margot, a fellow patient in purple pyjamas offering new friendship and enviable artistic skills, Lenni's life begins to soar in ways she'd never imagined.

As their bond deepens, a world of stories opens up: of wartime love and loss, of misunderstanding and reconciliation, of courage, kindness and joy.

Stories that have led them to the end of their days.

My Review:

I started off trying to do this as a buddy read, but I didn’t finish it in time for the discussion. This was a really good book, but it’s heavy. Even though I knew the ending, I still cried the entire last three chapters. It makes you feel all the feels, and you really come to love the characters and wish for a miracle. But I think that’s part of the magic of this book, is the expected outcome happens but you love the characters anyways.

The New Spring by Robert Jordan (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time. .

From America's premier fantasy writer---#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Crossroads of Twilight ---comes New Spring: The Novel For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a Foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, is born an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before the forces of the Shadow have an opportunity to kill him. Moiraine Damodred, a young Accepted soon to be raised to Aes Sedai, and Lan Mandragoran, a soldier fighting in the battle, are set on paths that will bind their lives together. But those paths are filled with complications and dangers, for Moiraine, of the Royal House of Cairhien, whose king has just died, and Lan, considered the uncrowned king of a nation long dead, find their lives threatened by the plots of those seeking power. "New Spring," the novella first published in Legends, related some of these events, in compressed form; New Spring: The Novel tells the whole story.

My Review:

This was a re-read for me, except I listened to it instead of reading it. This is a prequel from the series, and it really gets you attached to Moraine and Lan. Also because it was written after some the other books, it really lessen the groundwork for the plot twists that are later in the story.  I feel like it was solid Jordan raining, and the characters are ones I already knew and loved. I did lay a little bit of world building, but that may have also been because I already had the world built from the other books.