Recently Read in March

Reading Rec:

• Taking the Cake by Natalia Williams
• Follow Natalia on Instagram @nw.writes

Books discussed in this episode:

• Never Lie by Freida McFadden
• Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
• That First Moment by Stefanie K. Steck
• One by One by Freida McFadden
• Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon
• The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
• Begin Again by Emma Lord
• Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
• The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
• The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list. 

For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above. 

For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.

Transcript

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Romance Author Event Panel Recap

Kristen Bahls 0:06

Welcome back . I'm Kristen Bahls and you're listening to Where I Left Off A Bookish podcast , and today on the podcast I'm sharing what I've been reading recently , and today's episode actually has a mix of thrillers , romance and a little bit of why I thrown in there , so you do get a variety . This time . It's not all romance , I promise , okay . But speaking of romance , I guarantee that I'm going to talk about this on multiple episodes and , of course , me and Paige , the next one that we record together , will talk about this as well . But I just had to fill you in and I'm going to talk about it multiple times because it was just so exciting .

Kristen Bahls 0:44

So I went to an author event that I saw on I think Katherine Center's Instagram is how I found out about it . It was a panel and I went to Austin and I did this whole panel and got to hear Katherine Center , Ali Hazelwood and Julia London all together in one place talking about romance and it was awesome . So they did the whole panel at first and then they did a book signing after and this was like my first bookish event , because you know , I just really started my podcast in December , so I haven't really done like a lot of well any bookish events . So this was the first one that I went to and I was not disappointed . It was amazing , as if I already did not love Katherine Center , I love her even more now . She is hilarious , absolutely hilarious . Like anything she said was just pure gold . She is just absolutely hilarious . And then Ali Hazelwood is also absolutely hilarious , and then Julia London was also hilarious . So it really worked . They may or may not really know each other , but you would have guessed that they were just best friends . By the way they talked . Like the flow is just great and the moderator , who was from Lark and Owl Bookstore , which is in Austin , and I'll link their website below she knew all the authors really well , so it helped that , like , the moderator knew them and knew a lot about them and their books and so she was able to kind of like ask questions and go deeper and it was just a really great panel man . I I loved it was just a really great panel man . I loved it . I just absolutely adored it . It was hilarious . There are so many funny moments and Katherine , Ali and Julia all talked about their WIPs or work in progresses .

Kristen Bahls 2:36

They talked about what they're working on now and what Allie's working on now is her book that's coming out Not In Love , that we already knew about and that's coming out in June . She's finishing up like Not In Love , that we already knew about and that's coming out in June . She's finishing up like the final edits on that one . And she said that , like in her writing process she'll like write something and then she'll go back and be like oh , I don't like that , and then go back and fix a bunch of stuff and she said , and then ask her editor for extensions . But that's how she does it . And then Katherine has a whole process and Katherine actually said that she writes from January to May , I think , and then the other couple months she's kind of like brainstorming , taking a break , and then she goes back because Ali is contracted to write two novels a year , holy moly and then Katherine writes one novel a year . So that's how she kind of gets a little bit of a break .

Kristen Bahls 3:26

And I don't think that Julia said specifically how many she writes a year , but Julia's had like 68 books . Julia has had a lot of like Regency type romances , almost like historical romances , but she does have a couple contemporary romance , rom-coms , romances , and that's what I got signed was her . It started with a dog and you lucky dog series , so that is really cool that I was able to get both of those . I'm really excited for that . So , anyway , Julia's working on a book . She , like I , said she had the historical romances and then she just did some contemporary or not just did , but her more recent are contemporary romances , even though she's known for historical . And the book that she's working on right now is about two 50 year olds who are falling in love . So that will be an interesting story .

Kristen Bahls 4:14

And then Katherine is working on a book about a documentary filmmaker and I think she said the documentary filmmaker is filming like I'm pretty sure Rescuers , almost like Coast Guard is what I kind of got from that I'm pretty sure . I may be not 100% correct , but if I remember that's what she said she was working on . But anyway , it was really cool to hear from them . And then I actually got to talk to Katherine , um , and Ali and Julia whenever they were signing my books and they were just so nice and Ali doodled a little bat and bride because you were able to bring multiple books . So I did get them to sign multiple books and Allie was so hilarious . It was really funny because , Ali , you know if you've read her novels she does tend to veer on the spicier side of things , and so she said never get on Goodreads because she was just appalled that she only had like two and a half chili peppers on one . So that was kind of hilarious to talk to her a little bit about that and then about Bride , and she was so nice , she was like I hope you could let you liked it . Because I was saying how me and Paige recorded a whole episode and I was like oh yeah , yeah . Well , I don't want to spoil it and say what star rating we gave it , but I probably already kind of just did by saying that we really liked it but we did so . Anyway , I got to talk to her about bride a little bit and she signed all of her other books and what I thought was actually kind of interesting .

Kristen Bahls 5:37

I'm sorry I'm going like back and forth between like talking to them personally and then going to the panel , but , um , allie had said that after she did that first romance , the love hypothesis , she was actually contracted out for two more stem romances . Like her publisher said , they had to be stem romances , which I'm glad because we got love on the brain and love theoretically after that . But she was contracted to do that , so that's why she kind of wanted to do something different for bride . And then , of course , this one . It was hilarious because this book that's coming out that's called not in love , she was like just get it from the library and don't read it , because she said she was super insecure about this book just because it's coming from a little bit of like a sad , hostile place because it is involving a hostile takeover and it's just going to be like different than her other books . So we'll , we'll see .

Kristen Bahls 6:23

It sounds like , based on her retelling , that it's also going to be spicier . So I don't know , I'm probably gonna read it at this point , because now she just has my curiosity peaked , but I I don't know if I'm gonna like it as much as some of the others . I mean , I'm sure I will enjoy it because it's always going to be funny , but yeah , we'll , we'll see . And then Katherine sounds really interesting . I like , of course , the film angle to anything and yeah , that's really interesting . So I think I'll definitely pick up that . And then Julia London's book sounds interesting too and like a , not a totally different plane , but just a totally different plane from what she's done already . So I'm excited on that too , and it was just really nice getting to talk to her .

Kristen Bahls 7:02

They were all so down to earth and Catherine complimented my hair and she was wearing the cutest little heart earrings and I like , if you don't know , catherine Center will respond back to you on Instagram . If you like , message her or talk to her and , honestly , julia London has also responded to almost everything on Instagram as well , like she'll like it or heart it or see it or talk to you or whatever . So she will also . She's pretty responsive . But , yeah , I just thank Catherine for always responding back on Instagram and she said the sweetest thing . She was like , yeah , I used to try to find my readers on Instagram and so now the fact that they find me , she said I never take it for granted and I'm always so excited to interact with readers , which I thought was great because a lot of the bigger authors , and especially with Catherine having two Netflix adaptations , you know it . Just yeah , you just think like , oh , they're too big to answer any DMs or look at what they're tagged in , but no , she really does go through everything and they're all pretty responsive on social media , which is nice . So if you're not following any of them , of course , I will link it down below . I would highly recommend it . They are awesome people . It's always nice like because you know , you hear , don't meet your heroes , but it's nice to know that they actually are fantastic people . They're so smart , they're so talented , they're so incredibly kind and they're just great people . So I feel even better and even more excited to buy their books , because I would love to support them .

Kristen Bahls 8:31

And now I have a bunch of signed copies , because all of them signed my multiple copies that I brought . I had an armful , and I will say that Paige did influence me . She influenced me to buy a physical copy of Love on the Braid , because that is her favorite Allie Hazelwood , and I have not . Yeah , I haven't . I gave away my copy whenever I read it , like whenever it first came out . I can't even remember how many years that is now , maybe like a year or two ago .

Kristen Bahls 9:00

Whenever it first came out , I got rid of it because I was not in the keeping and rereading book stage , but Paige convinced me that I needed it again and when I saw it there on the table I just had to grab it . And , of course , I bought Julia London's other book because I had one , but I didn't have the . Yeah , I didn't have the first book . I bought the second one . So she was able to sign both of those for me and she was so nice . So , again , able to sign both of those for me and she was so nice . So again , I starstruck , amazed , happy . It was great . And I met even other bookish people , bookish friends , bookish community , a bookish community , I guess , I don't know , while I was sitting and waiting , and that was fantastic and everyone was just so incredibly nice and we were all there for the same thing . And romance people are just the nicest people is what I think I'm just coming to learn .

Kristen Bahls 9:50

So I would highly recommend , if there's ever an author event in your area , just go . It is totally worth it and meeting your favorite authors is awesome and chances are they're actually just as excited as you were and it'll turn into a great event . So , yeah , go there , gush on their book , read their book , buy their book , all of it and just enjoy and have fun . So that was a fantastic experience and I am already doing it again . Whenever I meet , I'm trying not to squeal into the microphone Sarah Adams and Alexa Martin . I'm already so excited . I cannot wait to meet them . I'm already so excited . I cannot wait to meet them . I'm just so excited . Anyway , I'll tell you all about that . When I go through that I get to gush over their books just all my favorite authors I'm meeting this year . I can't believe it .

Kristen Bahls 10:37

So I have not been reading books lately for my favorite authors . But maybe that is a tactic that I should be using to get myself out of the reading slump that I have somehow found myself in or I say somehow found myself in . I know how I found myself in this reading slump . I read X's and O's by Amy Lee and then I read Bride by Allie Hazelwood directly after and they were both really good reads and they completely put me in a slump .

Kristen Bahls 11:06

And now I feel like half of the books that I'm talking about today have a little bit lower of a star rating than I normally would , because I don't know . I just feel like I'm not impressed with anything right now , and it could be because I'm in a slump . So you may love some of these books and go okay , you're just in a reading slump , you just need to get out of that . So I'm not saying , don't take my rating seriously , but I'm just saying that I feel like I've I don't know graded them harsher after you've hit some really good books in a row . So I just wanted to point that out , that a lot of these books do have lower stars .

Kristen Bahls 11:40

But I am talking about why , because half the time , whenever I see a lower rating or someone's talking about a reason why they weren't in love with something , it's actually a reason why I do like it and it is for me . And so you may find the perfect book that I rated three stars and it fits exactly what you're looking for or the tropes you're looking for or any of that , and it's just maybe not my specific preference . So that's why I still talk about it . If there is anything that I like , didn't finish or really truly did not enjoy , or planning on rating like one or two stars , I would not talk about it on the podcast . So everything that I am rating three to five stars , I have read in its entirety and these are my opinions and I would recommend it enough to give it a shot .

Kristen Bahls 12:30

Just really pay attention to the plot , synopsis and all the things I'm pointing out so you can see if it would definitely be something that you like or something that you dislike . Because you may kind of notice , like there are some people that I even follow on Instagram , that I know that I'm actually the complete opposite and that's why I follow them , because I know that if they hate a book I'm going to love it , and I know if they love a book it's not going to be my thing . So there are some people that I genuinely follow just for that reason . But if your reading preferences do tend to sway towards mine , then you know you may just like have it on your tbr , check it out from the library . So I'm not saying do not read any of these books . I'm just simply saying that some of them just weren't for me and it honestly could have just been the time , the day .

Kristen Bahls 13:14

Like I said , work has been intense , um , and my brain is so tired that sometimes I think , whenever I read lately , I'm almost missing some of those quintessential details . So then my brain does get stuck on like some little plot point or something because of that . So just keep that in mind as I go through all of this , not to diminish any of my ratings , but just to let you know , it's okay if we don't like the same books . You may like or dislike things that I do or don't , so that's why I try to tell you everything . I mean even same with like spice and romance . You may want all the spice or none of the spice , so I read it all so I can give you ratings and tell you what to expect . So you just go in and you don't feel blindsided . That's the main thing . So actually , oh my gosh , I've talked for a while already . Okay , so , before I specifically get into all the books , and do not forget , I always have chapter markers . So if you want to skip to a specific book , if you don't like romance , if you don't like thrillers and you want to skip to the specific books that you want to hear about , you can always do that . But of course , I love when you listen to the whole thing . So you know , either way , whatever works for you .

Kristen Bahls 14:26

But we have another reading wreck today . So , if you missed it on any of the last episodes , I

Reading Rec: Taking the Cake by Natalia Williams

Kristen Bahls 14:31

was introducing and kind of starting this reading wreck segment and this is where readers or authors alike can send in voice memos recommending books to you , the listener , and this can be any genre , author or reader , and so the last episode we've heard about the holiday star from melissa diamond , which is now on my tbr well , to be honest , it was actually already on my tbr , but now it's moving up higher on my tbr and I'm really excited for her upcoming novel which releases this summer , and it's called Paging Dr Heart , so I will keep you updated on that . I can't wait to read that one . And this recommendation is from another author . Her name is Natalia Williams and she is awesome , and here is her reading rec Hi , my name is Natalia Williams and my book is called Taking the Cake .

Natalia 15:25

Taking the Cake is a strangers to friends , to lovers steamy contemporary romance about a wedding cake baker who meets , unknowingly , the groomsman of her ex . As a friendship develops , they end up going on all these little adventures around their beach town and falling for each other . They end up going on all these little adventures around their beach town and falling for each other . At its core , the story is really about self-worth and the difficult aftermath of a long relationship . There are complicated family dynamics and healing . There's a great friend group , a coffee shop meet , cute wedding , crashing , rooftop dancing and so much cake and , of course , a happily ever after .

Kristen Bahls 16:00

And it's on Kindle Unlimited . Okay , I have already added this to my TBR . Well , again , let me rephrase it was already on my TBR before she sent in a reading rec because I saw the cover . Okay , you know those books that you just you look at the cover , you read the plot synopsis or the tropes that they have on Instagram and you just know that it's going to be your kind of book . And really , with both Natalia and Melissa's books , I just knew and I already had screenshots of them on my phone , which is my true TBR and I knew that they were already going to be added before I ever got their recommendation submissions . And so now they're just moving higher up on my TBR and hopefully I'll be able to get to them soon because they both look really good and I cannot wait to read them . So , if you want to follow Natalia or Melissa on Instagram , go ahead and check the show notes . I will have links to their sites , social media , pre-orders , books , anything like that that you would need . I will have it in the show notes for you and if you would like to send in a reading rec , please see the link in the show notes for you and if you would like to send in a reading rec . Please see the link in my show notes and or you can always check on my Instagram . I always have the link as well in my bio and you can feel free to DM me with any questions if you have any trouble , if you just want to email it to me , whatever you need , I answer all my DMs , so you can always DM me on Instagram if you have any questions .

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Kristen Bahls 17:22

Getting into the actual books now , so I'm starting you off with a thriller , and this thriller is called Never Lie by Freda McFadden , and I gave it three stars . Like I said , I'm in a slight reading slump and I did listen to this on audiobook and it has this kind of like wintry atmosphere . So it feels like it would be perfect because I just love winter . So even if it starts getting a little bit warm , I'm still going to be trying to hold on and listen to books that take place in colder weather . So this is the plot synopsis that I wrote up for the book .

Kristen Bahls 17:59

Adrienne Hale is a renowned therapist who's famous for her books that she writes about patients , which ultimately appeal to the masses . They're kind of like therapy books , but a little bit juicier to appeal to the masses and she actually goes missing and was presumed murdered by her boyfriend . And then Trisha and her husband decide to go on house tours because they are trying to find their perfect home and they end up on their house hunting journey at Adrienne Hale's old house . But the snowstorm traps them inside so they are locked in this house and Trisha is convinced that someone is in the house with them and she finds the secret room with all of Dr Hale's therapy recordings and she starts trying to unravel the mystery of Dr Hale's appearance , while also watching her back and trying to convince her husband that there is an intruder in the house . And can Trisha solve Adrian Hale's disappearance and make it out of the snowstorm to ever find her dream house ? You will have to read to find out .

Kristen Bahls 19:05

So the beginning of this had me hooked again . I listened to it on audiobook . The beginning had me hooked . I was into it . It was creepy . It sounded like it was gonna get good . I really wanted to know what was going on .

Kristen Bahls 19:16

But then I got really bored in the middle . This is really why I gave it three stars . I got so bored in the middle . This is really why I gave it three stars . I got so bored in the middle . There's just a lot of minutiae and I don't want to ruin it for you , but yeah , it just hit , really started to kind of plateau in the middle for me . But the end is very twisty and there are several plot twists which I didn't see coming . So that was nice , because I love when I cannot guess the plot twist and I did not guess all of them . I guessed like a couple of the plot twists , but there are multiple and I did not guess them all . So basically , I just kind of got really bored in the middle and I ended up actually speeding up the audiobook to get through it faster . I upped that speed a lot . And the other thing that is slightly annoying in this book , which it's a thriller again , you're not supposed to like all the characters in a thriller . So there is a point to this . I totally understand why McFadden did this , but the husband thinks that Trisha is crazy and keeps making up just the lamest excuses as to why there is not someone in the house , like maybe it was just the air , maybe it was the wind , maybe it was , and he basically just utterly , absolutely gaslights her to where I just wanted to punch him in the face and he was driving me crazy .

Kristen Bahls 20:27

Moving on to the next book , so again , that may be your thing . I've heard a lot of people kind of like it . It just hit really plateaued in the middle before the twisty ending . So this wasn't my favorite . It wasn't bad , it just was not , was not my favorite .

Kristen Bahls 20:42

Moving on to romance , though my

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Kristen Bahls 20:44

pick for romance is called business or pleasure , and this is by Rachel Lynn Solomon , and this is in the contemporary romance category . I gave this five stars . This is an open door book and the spice level again , on a scale from Sarah Adams to Allie Hazelwood , I would say that this is a 4.5 to 5 out of5 , so it is a lot closer to Allie . Maybe it's surpassed . It could surpass Allie , I don't . Uh , there are just differences that again not going to go into because I don't want to ruin any plot points , but they kind of both write in different styles , but this book is a lot spicier than most that I would recommend . So just throwing that out there .

Kristen Bahls 21:29

And I did cry at the end of the book . It was just so well written and really there were just points that and I hate to sound like a book snob and say the prose were fantastic . But honestly , the prose were fantastic and there were just certain points that I would just read a line and I would have to reread it and I would just think , dang , that's really good , that's so good . It's just the way that Rachel writes is just incredible and you just can relate to it . Or you feel like you're there , or it's just it encapsulates what she's trying to say so well . It's just done incredibly well . I have been loving reading through her books . If you can't tell , I'm reading multiple books by her at the moment and there are multiple books by her in this episode and I've been enjoying every one .

Kristen Bahls 22:18

And if you don't want an open door book , do not read this . Do not read this . You will not be able to skip it . Because the spice is ultimately intertwined in the plot and I've generally adopted Paige's reasoning . I agree with it that I don't like it when the spice is the plot and I'm trying to describe this without spoiling the book . But the spice here is part of the plot , but it is not the entire plot , if that makes sense . It is tied into a plot point purposefully , but it is not the entire plot of the novel , so I feel like it does kind of narrowly escape where I would put it down a star , because it becomes the plot . It is not , it is just totally intertwined . So you are not going to be able to skip certain scenes . So if you don't want an open door book , just don't . Don't even Don't read this one , find another book .

Kristen Bahls 23:15

But here is my plot synopsis . Chandler is a ghost writer and we begin the novel at this book signing for one of her clients who doesn't even remember her name when she goes to get her book signed and she ends up running into this guy that starts flirting with her and one thing leads to another and they basically have a fling . And this might be a slight spoiler , so I'm going to pause it for a moment . I don't feel like it ruins any plot points , but I'll give you a moment . So that guy that she has a fling with is the guy that she has to write a book about for her next project and he's a famous actor that she didn't recognize named Finn . So they have to balance their working relationship and they develop a friendship on a more personal level . And will their feelings for each other turn into something else and will Chandler be able to realize her dream of writing her own novel . You will just have to read to find out .

Kristen Bahls 24:10

So I listened to this on audiobook as well and it was so well done and the narrator sounds like what I would imagine for Chandler and you . We all know how picky I am on audiobooks , so this is a huge thing . I really appreciated this audiobook and I thought it was really well done Overall . I never got bored . I love this book . I was always ready to press play on the next chapter and I wanted to know what was going to happen . It was just so well done . The plot moves so well . The banter between the characters was great . I just really enjoyed it and it just seemed realistic . It was realistic and I liked how Chandler sometimes would question things and it took her a second before she , kind of like , warmed up to anything . So I would highly recommend this book . I loved it . I gave it five stars . It is spicier than what I tend to recommend , but I still say go for it .

Kristen Bahls 25:02

If you are okay with reading open door books , I would recommend this one . I really really enjoyed it .

That First Moment by Stefanie Steck

Kristen Bahls 25:09

Next in contemporary romance , before I get to another thriller , I'm going staying in romance . So this book , the Ark , was provided to me by Stephanie , so thank you , stephanie . I just want to point that out If an author gives me an Ark or an advanced reader copy , just so , that way you know .

Kristen Bahls 25:27

Okay , so it's called that First Moment by Stephanie Steck and this is an indie contemporary romance , and I rated this book three stars . It is open door and the spice was 2.5 out of five , so I would not say it was super close to Sarah Adams , but I feel like it was kind of maybe solidly in the middle , like not quite Allie Hazelwood by any means , but it definitely was open door . It was not closed door . So my fatal flaw with this book was that I did not read the other two in the series . It is the third book in the series and I started with this one . So if you like the plot and the tropes that I'm mentioning here , just do yourself a favor and just buy all three books at once and read them all in publishing order . That's what I should have done , but I did not do . So I will say that I do think that that has a heavy standing on where I rated it at three stars . But again , on any of these books . Three stars is not bad . It just maybe wasn't totally for me .

Kristen Bahls 26:27

So you can technically read it standalone , which is what I did , but I was just really confused by the absolute barrage of names from previous books . So I would declare this an interconnected series . Just read the other two first . I'm sure I would have loved the interconnectedness , especially in the beginning . Like towards the middle it does peter out to where you don't have so many of the other characters , but they constantly talk to and connect with the other characters in the book and in the other books and I did not know what was going on and there were so many names thrown my way . So had I read them all , I'm sure I would love those cameos , but I just I didn't understand . And there were so many names at the beginning . Like I said , it could have been because I was tired when I was reading it , but that kind of made it hard for me to get into it at first . So it did take me a second to get into it . So again , I would say that this is an interconnected series and you just you need to read the other two books and I think that that would make a huge difference .

Kristen Bahls 27:25

So here is my general plot synopsis of the book . So Jamie is a dental assistant by day and a painter by night , and while Elliot slash , daxon owns an architecture firm and he does more of the business side of things by day . He is not an architect , but he is a musician in a band by night . And so Jamie makes up this guy to her parents named Daxon and needs to find an actual Daxon . When her family invites him on their annual snow ski winter get-together trip for the family and this cues Elliot , whose middle name is actually Daxon he ends up agreeing to be Jamie's date , even though he's already crushing on her at this point and not that she would actually admit it to herself , but she is also crushing on him too at this point in the novel . And they have some adventures in the snow . You have karaoke night , you have Elliot's band performances and Jamie's art show where she decides to enter a painting and it's one of her first big art shows . And will the lines get blurred during their fake dating tenure ? You will just have to read to find out .

Kristen Bahls 28:35

So in this novel there is so much eyebrow wiggling by Elliot and once I noticed this it was hard to not notice . It is his go-to mannerism , I guess you could say and Elliot . Okay . So , like I said , elliot's middle name is Daxon , but because they're fake dating , for most of the novel he goes by Daxon , and so whenever Jamie is like talking or thinking about him , she'll say Elliot , and then whenever the family's talking to him or one of like one of the family members was trying to talk to him and there are a lot of them then they'll call him Daxon , and sometimes Jamie will kind of switch to Daxon , but mainly she says Elliot . So I pretty much had to like constantly remind myself that he was just the man with two names . And again , like I said , I think I was reading this when I was just tired and so the two names I had to go wait , no , daxon is Elliot , elliot is Daxon . They're both the same person . Daxon is just his fake dating name . So that threw me off a little bit , but again , it's really not a big deal . I think if I had read the other books in the series then all of the names just would not have thrown me the way that they did .

Kristen Bahls 29:46

There is one thing that I could not get over , so there is this whole five month ghosting situation . So Jamie and Elliot they meet , they kind of have some chemistry and then she goes to him for five months before they meet again and he agrees to fake date her . And they do constantly explain this in the novel . So it really should not have bugged me the way that it did . But for some reason it just did . And I think that we know from the ghosted episode and from the love theoretically episode that I just tend to hold on to things that bug me , I guess whether they're rational or not , and it for some reason the ghosting just kind of threw me off . I think it's just the five month thing . If it was like two months or three months , but that was a point in the book . Jamie and Elliot end up talking about it . They constantly refer to it . So it's not as if they just said that it was unrealistic and they took it away . Stephanie Steck does talk about it and explain it multiple times and the characters have a conversation . So it is well covered . It's just it seems so unrealistic that it kind of threw me for a loop . So it has a fake dating trope . It takes place in this really picturesque , snowy town and there are

One by One by Freida McFadden

Kristen Bahls 31:00

some really sweet moments between Jamie and Elliot . So that was that first moment .

Kristen Bahls 31:06

And I'm heading back on over to Thriller Town and we have another Frida McFadden book . Again , these are just like widely available on my Hoopla and Libby apps and so I'm just able to get , yeah , a lot of Frida McFadden and I'd wanted to try her because I've heard that a lot of people just love her as a thriller author . So this thriller is called One by One and I gave this one three stars . Again , I did like this better than Never Lie , so I will say that . But I still got bored about halfway through and it just drives me crazy a little bit . But I'll talk about this more .

Kristen Bahls 31:46

Let me go ahead and give you the plot synopsis that I wrote . So the main character she is at odds with her husband as they've grown apart and they're basically just staying together for the kids . They decide to go on this adults-only trip with their friends to a luxury , wilderness , spa , slash lodge kind of combo . And , despite their daughter's uneasy feelings about them going , they embark on this trip and their car breaks down and what they think is only a few miles from the cabin . But the short walk turns deadly as secrets are unearthed and members of the group seem to be picked off one by one . Can they make it out of the woods in one piece ? To find out , you will just have to read it . So this is a dual POV novel and one point of view is the killer and it explains their twisted childhood backstory and they are described as anonymous until they unveil who the character is towards the end . So that's kind of one twist that is in there and I understand that it added another element of like trying to figure out which character is the killer and you're getting their whole backstory the whole time kind of leading up to the crime .

Kristen Bahls 32:54

But I just found that the backstory of the killer was just somewhat boring and I really wasn't a fan of those chapters like it went on too long . I think those chapters were just too long . If you would have shortened the chapters then I think I would have liked it better because you would have gotten kind of a sneak peek into the killer's psyche . But it just seemed like it went on and on and on and on about their childhood and yeah , I know it's overall going to their motive , but those chapters just were not the most interesting . But the main characters chapters were pretty good . She's a little bit of a whiny main character , but again , it's a thriller . You're not going to like all the characters and that is totally fine .

Kristen Bahls 33:33

I feel like I'm reading the wrong Freda McFadden thrillers , am I ? I feel like so many people love her and I just can't figure out what's getting in my way . Like I like the books but I just haven't completely fallen in love . I the books , but I just haven't completely fallen in love . I mean , I want to know what happens at the end and I do listen to them , but it's kind of like the middle just plateaus or bottoms out a little bit for me . And they do have those plot twists that I am not able to guess . And they do have pretty unique storylines for thrillers , but I just haven't gotten into them the way that I want to . And I've heard a lot about the housemaid series . So I think if I do read another Freda McFadden , I'm just going to have to read the Housemaid series , because I've just heard the best reviews about that .

Kristen Bahls 34:13

I've heard very mixed reviews from her latest novel , teacher , and it's a thriller . So I kind of refuse to read it because , yeah , I just don't want to read a thriller about a teacher ? Um , yeah , because I think it's like one of her students blackmails her and that's just so depressing as a former teacher to read again . More power to Frida for being able to write that , but I just know that it's just gonna make me mad um on that . So I'm not going to read a teacher thriller unless the teacher is the main heroine in the novel . And if she's saving a student or something then I would read it . But , moving on , this is a

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Kristen Bahls 34:54

romance , so I'm switching back , switching back to YA romance actually , and this is called Today , tonight and Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon . This is a YA romance and I gave this five stars . Like I said , I just really enjoy Rachel Lynn Solomon's writing style , so I've been very impressed by her novel so far and I gave this five stars .

Kristen Bahls 35:14

It is actually open door , even though it is a young adult novel . I would say the spice on this is about a two of five , so closer to Sarah Adams , but there is . I mean it is open door . It is technically open door . So if you are a parent or if you just don't want to read the open door section in the show notes , I am going to include the page numbers to skip , to bypass the spice , because it is really only one short scene and so , yeah , so it's easily skippable , so I will include the page numbers if you are not comfortable reading it . It's easily skippable , so I will include the page numbers if you are not comfortable reading it .

Kristen Bahls 35:48

So my plot synopsis is that Rowan and Neil have been competing all four years of high school , leading up to the announcement of Salutatorian and Valedictorian during the last day of school assembly . And following the last day of school , the seniors compete in this scavenger hunt around Seattle that is completely filled with all kinds of riddles and it's known as the Howl , and the winner gets a grand prize of $5,000 . Who will be the valedictorian , and will Rowan and Neil end up having to team up to be victorious in the Howl ? I don't know , you'll have to read . Okay , the banter is adorable , it's so well written and it just really encapsulates the mixed emotions that come with the transition from high school to college . Both are currently in Seattle that's where it takes place but one is going to be moving to Boston and the other is moving to New York for college . So they are going away from home and I think that this book just does a really great job .

Kristen Bahls 36:48

Talking about that , I mean same with Begin Again by Emma Lord . I would say that if you know someone in your life that is going to college or if you're about to go to college , begin Again by Emma Lord and Today , tonight and Tomorrow just do a really good job of , I feel like , just making you feel heard and seen . And I kind of felt like I was back to being a high school student , almost ready to go to college , after reading , really , both of these novels . And this novel also ties in both of the main characters , faith in their culture , in the Jewish community and , ultimately , the undercurrent of racism that they just face from those in their everyday lives . And , in my opinion , this book reads more adult fiction with a side of romance . But but , that being said , because this is technically a YA or young adult novel , which is technically slotted for ages 12 to 18 , I believe , I feel that I just need to point out that there is explicit language , it is open door and there is a small section with drug use is open door and there is a small section with drug use . Again , none of those things were overwhelming in any way , but I'm just pointing them out . If you are a parent or a teacher and you're trying to decide if your student is mature enough to read it Probably a case-by-case basis , but I did really , really love this book . The subplot was just so great , with the scavenger hunt and then the romance that was there was fantastic and I just fell in love with the characters . And I do have the arc from Simon and Schuster for past , present and future . I always have to remember that past , present and future , which is the next book in the series . So I will be reading that . I'm currently reading it , so I will ultimately be talking about that in a future episode as well .

Kristen Bahls 38:28

Going back on to Thrillerland , we are ending it out on a thriller

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Kristen Bahls 38:32

this time . So this thriller I got from the library and it is the Heiress by Rachel Hawkins . I do like Rachel Hawkins a lot . So this thriller I rated three and a half to four stars . I can't decide . I think I ultimately rated it three and a half , but I really kind of like teetered on three and a half to four stars . So I would say that this is probably one of the better thrillers in the episode , just based on my personal opinion .

Kristen Bahls 39:02

So this is more of a domestic thriller , and here is my short little plot synopsis . So Jules and Camden are a normal suburban couple and they're just trying to make ends meet and with some insistence from Jules , camden agrees to go back to the twisted family that adopted him years ago , and he was closest with Ruby McTavish , who was his adoptive mother and passed away years ago . Ruby McTavish , who was his adoptive mother and passed away years ago . And Ruby is famous for not only being an heiress , but she was also kidnapped when she was younger , to be later returned to her family , and so he's going to settle issues with the house , but he ends up being pulled back into the manipulation and politics of the wealthy family that still remains living in the house today . That still remains living in the house today . I was able to guess some of the plot twist , but not all of them . There are several . Everyone in this book has secrets and they all start to unravel as the book goes along and it's pretty dark and ultimately it's going to shock you , I would say on this one trigger warning for domestic abuse and also suicide .

Kristen Bahls 40:06

I enjoyed the read , but it just wasn't a particularly fast-paced thriller . It is described as a slow burn , which I do believe is very accurate . It's just not my typical pick . I like a cataclysmic event that throws the main characters into some kind of crazy situation . Or a detective is trying to solve the case of someone missing or they're trying to figure out a serial killer's next victim , like those are the kind of thrillers that I do tend towards , and this was just a lot slower because it was more kind of like a domestic slow burn thriller . So it was still really good . It just was not my normal . So I think that's why I just didn't enjoy it , because I don't know that I was the target audience for this kind of thriller .

Kristen Bahls 40:52

Personally , I liked Reckless Girls better , also by Rachel Hawkins , but this book was still good and I would say it's worth a read if it is your kind of thriller . So , as far as Rachel Hawkins novels go , I liked the Wife Upstairs . I loved Reckless Girls . The Villa was not for me , but I did really enjoy this book . But I still think that Reckless Girls wins out for my favorite , rachel Hawkins . So you'll also let me know if you agree with that . And again , all of these books are interesting in their own way . So if you pick any of them up , please let me know . I love it whenever you guys tag me and let me know what books that you've picked up that I've talked about . So thank you , thank you so much for doing that and I really appreciate it . And anyway , that's all I have today on the podcast and that's it for today on when I Left Off a bookish podcast . Tune in next time .