Welcome to Litsy!

https://youtu.be/Qwx8JnPNgz8?feature=shared

I just about managed to make an October Wrap-Up video.

This month includes a who-wore-it-best between these two lake-based thrillers.

This was... readable, but a bit bananas.

It will divide opinion, of that I am certain.

By 200 pages in, I was telling everyone I thought I could see where it was going... BOY WAS I WRONG.

And yet, by the end I could feel myself rolling my eyes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A perfect read to close out a perfect month of reading! For the first time since July 2018, I managed to read 31 books in 31 days! I‘ve been a fan of Sager‘s from the start and knew that even on a busy holiday, I would be able to squeeze in time to finish this in a day! While the alcoholic, grieving narrator is hardly new to thrillers, Sager manages to breathe fresh life and new twists to this haunting Vermont lakeside story! I really enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this book for the most part. There were certain elements that were definitely a fresh take on the normal takes that we have gotten from Rear Window. It reminded me a lot of The Girl on the Train, but it definitely took a turn. I like that Sager finds a way to make a story that is familiar unique in his own way. Definitely a slower burn than his normal books, but once it got going, it was hard to put down.

Hmm, I cannot figure out how to fit my whole picture. I read 9 books in January. The 3 not pictured are the next 2 in the Paul Doiron Mike Bowditch Game Warden series and the tagged book. Only one 5 star - The Many Lives of Mama Love. All others were solid 4 stars.

A low pick. I was eating it up, until the main twist. I'm not into that sort of story, so it took me out of it a bit. But I was still interested enough to want to know how it all ended. It was satisfying overall.

Here's my #bookspinbingo for the month of October! The books I need to read for book club AND those already in progress are ALL OVER THE MAP. So much for an easy bingo!

DID NOT EXPECT THAT TWIST!!! Such a good book though. Would gladly read any of Riley‘s other books

This was good but really not what I was expecting

I finished reading aprils books only now, so this is an early June pile

Loved it! Had no idea what was actually going to happen!

3⭐️/5⭐️

January 13, 2023 The book was an "unputdownable page turner" - Alex Michaelides. Could not agree more. Can't say exactly when the climax occured but it was definitely flying fast around the time that Casey was searching the Royce's house to find any incriminating evidence against Tom. So was it Len or Casey who killed Katherine??? You have to read to find out. 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

January 13, 2023 Im shaking and hiding under my bedcovers. The book has made me feel a chill (literally). I have been thinking that the killer is Tom Royce (Katherine's husband) or Boone Conrad (a friend of Katherine Royce) but it was not correct at all. I NOW think that the killer is Len (Casey's husband) who passed away while in the lake and his spirits stayed there causing Katherine to have him "inside of her"

January 13, 2023 Enjoying the book. There are not many characters. One of the things I like about the book is how it is divided by sections of BEFORE and NOW which helps me determine when certain things take place. The separation helps me make out the time changes and I appreciate authors who do that. I am on the part of the book where Casey Fletcher is using binoculars to "watch" the Royces and their marriage is falling into pieces

January 9, 2023 Going to start my fiction book today. Eeeeekkkkk Thrillers have been a go-to for me lately. Something about how they are fast paced and filled with suspense gets to me. Love a thriller book that will keep me going

This book wasnt terrible i just could never get into it. Im sure its a real good book but not wasting my time when i could read another book.

❤️I am going to start in 2023 with setting goals. Im just getting serious about reading. 💜I started a small goal when I got serious of 15 books. Im one book away. 💙Saturday going to a family members house. @Eggs #wonderouswednesday @Cazxxx @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Got one of my many holds at the library. I have lots of reading to do. I checked 3 books out yesterday and this hold was ready today.

I was all in on this book, until the big reveal. The reveal was so far out there that I was completely pulled out of the story and I could never fully recommit.

It took me five months to finish this book but I liked it. The story is sort of a spin on the story from the movie Rear Window. However, there‘s a twist. One that Riley Sager has never done before. It made the story more interesting to me. With his earlier stories sometimes it‘s easy to gauge how the story will end. That is not the case with The House Across The Lake. #thehouseacrossthelake #rileysager

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I really loved the beginning but I‘m indifferent about the twist of this book. Not what I was expecting but not a bad read either.

#TheHouseAcrossTheLake #RileySager

Drunken, completely unreliable narrator (Casey) drinks a lot, sees some things she probably shouldn‘t, drinks a lot more, makes highly questionable choices, flirts with a sexy neighbor, drinks more, embarks on a new hobby of drunken detective work, and drinks some more. Then about 2/3 of the way through, this whole thing goes 🦇💩 crazy.

As is true with every Sager book I‘ve read, I was totally annoyed but could not stop reading.🤷🏻‍♀️

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I always enjoy a Riley Sager and this was no exception. I mean, you've read the story a million times and know what to expect so there's really no surprises. Even the paranormal element. Could have done without it but meh.

#Bookspin pick checked off!

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamSlaughter #TeamGenre #BookspinBingo
@Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Day10 #Crime I love Riley Sagers thrillers(well, most of them anyway)This one was a mind bender, was there a crime or wasn‘t there? #Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter 6pts

This is an interesting twist on your standard thriller. This actually a spooky story perfect for the Halloween. I would recommended this for a fun October read.
#readathon #scareathon

This month's #bookspin and #doublespin

I'm excited about both!

#bookspinbingo #scarathlon2022 #teamslaughter
@Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

Finished this last week for my IRL book club. I think the consensus was that none of us really liked the out-of-left-field twist 3/4 of the way through. If there had been anything to even remotely hint at the direction it would take, it could have been great. It just felt a little lazy, like Sager wrote himself into a corner and had to pull out the modern-day thriller version of deus ex machina to get out of it.

A thriller book with a Taylor Swift lyric quote? Sold.

This is the part where I always believe that I have an idea who the killer is. It‘s so obvious but then again a plot twist can upend everything. #rileysager #thehouseacrossthelake #catsoflitsy

Absolutely better than Survive the Night, but still meh. The plot is a slow burn with some good twists. It had high potential & good bones, but the writing is not his finest. There is a lot of tell vs. show, which stunted the tension & made the characters a bit flat. The ending felt like a bit of a cop out & didn't fit with the trajectory of the plot. High potential, lackluster execution.

150 pages into this story waiting for a plot twist. Riley Sager follows a certain formula when it comes to his stories. It‘s a comfort to me. He‘s written 6 novels so far and it never fails. #rileysager #thehouseacrossthelake

Maybe it‘s me but if I was trying to appear credible… maybe that sip of Bourbon was a bad idea. #Rileysager #thehouseacrossthelake

Sager combines biting commentary on fame‘s dark side with plenty of mystery in this freaky book. MC Casey is a mosaic of flaws—from drinking to obsessing to parental issues. And that just made me like her more. But, oh my goodness, several twists in this story will drop your jaw in a heartbeat. Enjoy the wild ride!

Full review https://www.TheBibliophage.com

My very ambitious #Scarathlon2022 TBR! Plus some #TrappedOnAnIsland books that aren't picked yet.
I dug deep into my audiobooks and I can usually get through one in a day or two at work so this might be doable!
Wanna play? Sure you do! Check out the link and sign up!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScrAKF_4P5QR-kJDU9lrhzW7PQata8xPbqkHpE7...

#TeamSlaughter @Clwojick

I had this checked out on Libby before I swore off thrillers for a bit. I listened to it at a higher speed than normal (2.3x) which helped me get through the repetitiveness at the beginning. Better than a few I‘ve read recently, but feels like this is a mashup of so many other books I‘ve read, I doubt I‘ll remember a thing about it. “Drunk lady thinks she sees a crime” trope but with twists. Spoiler in comments! ⬇️

Another disappointment. I really liked his earlier books, but the past couple have been absolutely ridiculous. This was a mess from the start to the very unrealistic epilouge. I don't know if I'll be reading anymore of his books.

Ok, I don‘t know why I can‘t resist a new Sager book. I understand the appeal, I really do, but it‘s like a cheap cupcake at a birthday party. Am I going to like it? Meh, I‘ll eat it then wish the cupcake had been better and that I hadn‘t wasted the calories on it. Was this better than Survive the Night? Absolutely. Was it a gourmet cupcake? Absolutely not.

3.75 stars I thought I knew exactly where this book was going, and I was wrong. I still predicted some things, but not everything. It was an interesting journey. I thought that the one killer was WAY over the top though. Just comically bad.

Every year I count the days until Riley Sager‘s next book comes out. Every year I wait with anticipation of what crazy twisted adventure I will be taken on and every year I am not disappointed. This book was filled with so many crazy twists and turns - some expected and some definitely not. This book left me wondering can you always believe what you see with your own eyes or what you think you see? Highly recommend!

🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠

Sager‘s take on the drunk unreliable narrator trying to solve a crime trope. This might be my favorite of his since his first couple books. I did figure out part of the mystery, but the part that I didn‘t predict was pretty silly and kind of diminished the effect of the overall reveal. I enjoyed the self-deprecating humor of the MC but the narrator‘s voice was confusing to me - she is supposed to be 36, but sounded like a grizzled 60 something.

My book rec videos are up for the week! 📚 This time I talk about one of my FAVORITE YA titles of the year so far, as well as two of my FAVORITE thrillers of the summer! Please give them a watch and a like! I really appreciate it! 💙

YA Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEj1bwbtbcI&t=16s

Adult Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU1Ol3XbegA&t=5s

😂😂 love it!

#AlphabetGame #LetterH @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Sager is always a must read for me but his latest (tagged) instantly made it into my Top 3 Sager books. Kept me guessing the whole time.

This was a odd read/audiobook to listen to.

3.75/5

Read for:

#LiterallyDeadBookClub2022
#RWDC2022TBRChallenge

Read 11 books this month, my favorite being the tagged book. Dark Matter is a close second.
#julywrapup

Bk9 of July & Bk2 of #20in4 #readathon is done! I was a bit surprised by the ending of this one, from memory of his previous novels it was a bit left field, or am I remembering wrong? I still thoroughly enjoyed it, it was a throw down thriller(quick & no chance of reread)but interesting. The setting was amazing though, I‘d love to visit Vermont! #BookspinBingo #Pageathon #CloakDaggerChal