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#SpringSkies Day 16 #SurpriseEnding

I will say, tagged book and The Kind Worth Killing both novels were so good for me.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

⭐️⭐️
I didn‘t like a second of it, but I had to finish it 😂 So it gets the 2 stars since it must have been doing something right to compel me to keep reading.
But if this hadn‘t been a book club read, I wouldn‘t have gone past the first chapter.

Terrible book about terrible people.

Jessica, returning to her alma mater for her 10 year reunion, plans to show her classmates how perfect she's become, but secrets surrounding the murder of her roommate senior year bubble to the surface, revealing that everyone has something to hide. A pick for the intricate plot and building tension, but it's exhausting reading about someone so motivated by what other people think of them that status takes priority over every other consideration

And so my 2023 ends with finishing this mystery that was very twisty and full of interesting characters and dark secrets. Interesting and more than a little depressing.

A new #kindle read on Unlimited.

I need a break half way through NOS 4R2 on re reading it - finding some of it a bit much this time around weirdly.

(An unreliable narrator + really annoying friends)*atmospheric setting that felt like a sepia photograph/ excellent pacing and unpredictable twists= a fun read!

Up next on audio…🎧
My #bookspin for June. I‘ve seen some great reviews of this one on IG. I hope it lives up to the hype!

@TheAromaofBooks
#bookspinbingo

Oh yeah…my favorite! June‘s #bookspin and #doublespin pics! I‘ve been working on Les Mis since April and have about 300ish pages left, and I‘ve been looking forward to my #bookspin (I recently saw it was added to my library‘s Hoopla audiobooks)!

Thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks
My #bookspinbingo card will be posted next! 📚

I thought this book was fun and interesting, with lots of twists and turns. I definitely did not figure out who did it until it was revealed, so good job to the author!

Final #november #bookspinbingo board @TheAromaofBooks

Out of the six books I read, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was probably my favorite. Flew through it, couldn't put it down. Wasn't out of this world but a fantastic read. Overall a good month. Hopefully will keep the momentum into December.

1 star. There‘s no knife in this book.

Finished for #NovelNovember A soft pick. I found the mystery of who killed one of a tight college clique pretty good & the dual timelines & build up of tension worked, but the fact that the main character & her group of friends were either entitled, grasping, self-absorbed or a combination & 10-years later they didn‘t get any better, made me not have much sympathy for any of them, including the murder victim.🤷🏻‍♀️ It did keep me reading though…

@TheAromaofbooks #November #bookspinbingo #11 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Mysterious, dark academia, character development intertwined with the layers of the murder night being peeled away page by page. Multiple perspectives & time lines. Not big on romance but found myself begging for this one. Especially since it didn't take over the story. Wasn't too shocking at the reveal but didn't take away from my enjoyment. Tysm @MaleficentBookDragon #allhallowsread

This book wanted to be the next IWWV & TSH, but it‘s terrible. The writing gave me a lot of 2nd hand embarrassment. I just kept despairing that no actual human being would behave and talk this way. The characters are all unbearable and deserve every bit of misery.

Rating: 0 /5

#mystery #darkacademia #novel #review

Just got home from work and finally got to open this! Tysm @MaleficentBookDragon for everything & hosting another great #allhallowsreadswap. I‘m obsessed with these brain sours especially with my love of Shelley‘s Frankenstein. Intrigued to reading another Quinn novel. Can‘t wait! Happy Halloween/Samhain and reading to everyone 🧡📚 #ahrs

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts Oct 29 #Knife

A great thriller with undependable narrators.

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

🧙🏼‍♀️Both
👻Both but more haunted house, at least during this season
🔪
Thank you @TheSpinView 🧙🏼‍♀️🍁🍂🎃🖤🧡🖤

@Moonwitch94

Wow! I didn‘t expect the twist at the end.
After 10 years of graduation this group of “friends” assisted to a Duquette University reunion. In this reunion they will remember Heather who was brutally murdered. But during this reunion also secrets, betrayals will be revealed. No one is the person who they project to be. They are terrible characters. But what really happened to Heather? 😳Short, direct and intense. 4⭐️

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast paced, page turner that I finished within 48 hours. Jessica is going to her college reunion, 10 years have passed since her roommate was murdered in their dorm. The East House 7 will gave all there secrets exposed in this mind blowing thriller. It has something for everyone.

Book 95

I listened to In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead. When they return to their alma mater for a ten-year reunion, friends face each other and the unsolved murder of their peer, Heather. The story shifts between two timelines as the reader learns everyone has something to hide. None of the characters are likable. It was interesting but not stellar. Three stars

I generally like “dark” academia, but I‘m ambivalent about this one. I had trouble drumming up sympathy or empathy for any of the characters. So many of them were just eaten up with envy. The story, however, was interesting enough that I didn‘t bail on it. I think it would have been better told linearly, as the author handled the time jumps in a relatively clumsy manner. #audiowalk

I replaced Marion Lane and the Midnight Murders with the tagged title as my walking book because I have this one through the library and the other one from ScribD. I don‘t really like the characters that much so far because I can‘t relate to caring so much about fraternities and sororities, but I‘m willing to give it a chance. #audiowalk

This book takes place between 2 different timelines the during college and after college. When Jessica was attending college one of their group friends was brutally murdered. 10 years later and one of their friends is not done trying to figure out who did it. I felt like this was an easy read. I enjoyed the story line. I felt like some of the characters didn‘t really act like they were an adult and more like an annoying young teenager.

On the fence here…I was eager for it to wrap up so I could learn the truth about who did “it”, but at the same time just wanted it to be over…? Felt too long and too twisty, if that‘s a thing. Unlikeable college friends back together at their homecoming reunion and the memories of their time in college help readers understand how a member of their circle was murdered. Who is innocent and who is to blame? The focus shifts constantly.

This is a freakishly good book with snarky mean girls (and boys)! Jessica is invited to her Homecoming reunion which brings back memories of all the secrets, lies, and transgressions that still seem to “rule” their lives. Alternating in time from “then” to “now,” the novel documents everything from silly pranks to murder. Couldn‘t tear my eyes away from this one!😱

Working Gaithersburg Book Festival, I got to attend some panels. I really enjoyed this one with Ashley Winstead and Vera Kurian, author of Never Saw Me Coming. It was great!

So many twists and turns with this one! It was a lot of fun and kept me guessing.

March 29, 2022 Mannn... This book was giving me the chills. It was a page turner for sure. It had me on the edge of my seat. This book was by far 5/5 stars. There are a total of six friends: Jack, Frankie, Mint, Caro, Heather, and Jessica. Among them is a killer. Eric Shelby, Heather's brother, is trying to figure out who killed Heather. Hint: It was one of the six I mentioned. Okay, no more spoliers from me #readit

March 26, 2022 I am starting this new book today. A chiller... A thriller... Bet you didn't know that I like reading these kinds of books but i do. I gave you a sneak peak of it earlier. NOW YOU KNOW

This murder mystery ended up being just ok for me. I‘m starting to think the whole dark academia thing might not be for me. I found these characters to be so unlikable that I honestly didn‘t care who might have killed their friend in college. They were each just so narcissistic and (for most) privileged that I don‘t think THEY even cared who might have killed their friend. Still, I can‘t say that it was bad and I did enjoy the narrator. 🌟🌟🌟

Ugh, I really did not enjoy this book at all. The MOST ANNOYING MC/narrator I‘ve come across in a long time. Jessica Miller, has walked through life with a MASSIVE chip on her shoulder. She‘s excited to return to her 10 year college reunion to show her classmates how successful she‘s become, except Jessica is hiding MANY secrets. The premise was promising but the cast of characters were the most vapid friend group, EVER🙄 #PoP22 #CutleryInTitle

If this wasn‘t for a #pop22 prompt I‘d probably would have bailed by now…it‘s SO VAMPY!!!!! The MOST self absorbed MC I‘ve come across in such a long time 🙄

A very entertaining, unpredictable thriller. I generally don‘t love books full of unlikeable characters and unreliable narration, but this one kept me riveted. A group of college friends return and unlock a ten year mystery. I won‘t say more, but definitely recommend! 4⭐️
#PopSugar - features a party
#roaringwolf - 2nd chance at love
#bookspinbingo - free space
#fabulousfebruary #readathon

Quagmire of insanity but deeply engaging. Makes you want to take a psychology class. Holy cannoli, maybe commuter college was the way to go, after all....lol

Hmm, I can't quite put my finger on why this didn't totally work for me. The concept was ok - a group of college friends reunite at Homecoming, air a lot of dirty laundry, and finally get to the bottom of who murdered one of their own. I kind of wish it were more of a police procedural rather than a "someone in this room did it" amateur sleuth style. The twists were ok (and bonus points for the title) but the execution felt a bit too cheesy ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Took my Tuesday trip to the local library and picked up some new selections for my reading and listening pleasure!! Library day is my favorite day of the week!

A good psychological thriller that kept me guessing. With the college setting and friends group it reminded me a lot of Secret History.

"I'd pretended I was fine, pretended I'd moved on, but the truth was, the past was still open inside of me, like a half-cracked door, because it was a raw, unhealed wound."

Jessica is the main character in this dark novel of six friends who meet in college and goes back in forth with current and passed timelines. They all have secrets and complicated pasts and relationships, it‘s a slow build but a decent psychological thriller. #novelnovember

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every time I picked this up, the rest of the world fell away and I was completely sucked in. There‘s a special magic when a psychological thriller hits all the right notes: interesting writing, layered characters, a compelling plot, sharp insights on human nature, smart twists, and an invitation to self-reflect. It‘s dark academia at its finest; an addictive and eviscerating look at ambition, privilege, social hierarchies, and pain.

Oooo Kindle Deal alert!!! I‘ve been eyeing this for a while. 😀

Another dark academia. Engaging & twisty. Lots of false leads & red herrings. I enjoyed this one quite a bit for a popular thriller. Jessica Miller returns to her alma mater a decade after graduation & a decade after the East House 7 tragically became the East House 6. What really happened that night? Ten years after Heather's death, can a homecoming reunion expose the truth? Totally recommend. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Things explode at a college reunion when dark secrets & friendships unravel until the killer of a classmate is revealed. This one had a LOT going on in it. Every time there was another twist I looked to see how much was left in the book & asked myself, "How's she going to keep this going now that we know this?" But she did! SO many secrets! There's one line early on that let me know who the killer was but she made me doubt myself - a LOT!

This is binge worthy stuff! I think what I enjoyed most about this book is the author's use of characterization. Jessica, in particular is very interesting. I felt like I needed to crack open a DSM to truly understand her. She is beyond damaged and it's really sad. Even though I figured out the culprit before the end, I was still shocked yet resigned by the twist at the end. So excited she has an upcoming book listed on Good Reads. Can't wait! 😃

7 hours read! #2021 Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter #MurderTheyReadathon 70 points @Clwojick 🎃

Reading this one for a Bookstagrammer's book club that I joined. This was the October pick. I've been reading it for close to five hours straight because I can't get enough! Working on getting my points for #MurdertheyReadathon #TeamSlaughter 😄

I can't put my finger on exactly why I loved this book so much. I thought it was written very well. Usually when you read a murder mystery you get a feeling of who it was or wasn't, but I honestly didn't trust any of the characters in this book, I was keeping my eye on all of them. I didn't think it was who it turned out to be, but the extra twist at the end, I kinda rolled my eyes, I thought it was just a bit much. 4.5/5 stars

Unfortunately had to bail on In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. It sounded interesting but I just couldn't get into it.