Welcome to Litsy!

A decent ending to the series/trilogy, but not how I expected things to end.

The story starts right where Shadow Cabinet ended - not going to spoil the ending of book two here, people who have read it know what happened. From there lots of things are going on that lead to a lot of loose ends to tie up and Dawson used a rather deus ex machina method to achieve this.

Low pick

#SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView
#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Maia returns to the island where she wrote her first book, met & lost a great love, & still holds the secrets of her parents. When her host is found dead, it‘s up to her & the other residents to find out what is happening before the next victim falls.

Quite a ride! Loved all the Greek mythology references, the mystery kept me guessing, & feminine rage bleeds through the whole novel. Maia was a lot bit more relatable than I expected!🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

I‘m trying to finish (or DNF) the many books I‘m in the middle of and this is one of them. I read a few chapters a few weeks ago, decided I liked it but never went back…Picked it up again last night and I am loving it. #arc

This is one of the most beautiful writing I've encountered, ever. Hilje manages to deliver a story filled with longing and lost love between partners, in life and country.

Possibly my favorite book this year!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc

I was on such a good streak reconnecting with Allende‘s writing in recent years, but this story was not a favorite. I felt it dragged on, I didn‘t feel a connection with any of the characters, and just found the overall story underwhelming.

I did not DNF‘d this out of loyalty to Allende, but it did take me almost 3 months to finish it. Overall, I‘m glad I read it, and hoping I have a better experience with her next book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ #arc

For Lara‘s gap year, she decides to get a job aboard a luxury train. The trip across Europe is supposed to give her a clean slate. Instead, there‘s a confrontation w/ an old friend & train cars full of mysterious plants.

Gotta love some plant horror! The creepy factor was really well done, the characters were interesting, & the ending made me gasp out loud. But the flashbacks really killed the momentum, & the romance felt unnecessary. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

I‘m not the right person for this book that takes place in a small Italian town, but I can see others loving it. A teacher goes into the forest after a student commits suicide. I expected a quiet, introspective novel that drew on human connection, emotions, &relationships. While it‘s certainly quiet &a little introspective, there are so many characters (in under 300 pgs), that I feel we didn‘t get the depth, emotion or connection we could have.

I love reading historical fiction, so I was excited to get to read Etiquette for Lovers and Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy. Alas, I was disappointed. I was so happy when I finally finished the book. It was very slow to me. It flipped between Billie McCadie's love life and her trying to solve a murder. It's set in 1964, and I found one thing that didn't match 1964 (could have possibly been more), Healy talked about a characters mustache ⬇️

No idea what I was expecting from this but it's quite fun. From the dude that wrote Holes.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Pub date is 8/5/25
#ARC #Netgalley

Time to start this one…Been putting it off for way too long and I‘m challenging myself to finish reading it by Tuesday (pub date!).

And isn‘t this a gorgeous cover?

#arc