SORRY NOT SORRY by Sophie Ranald

My Goodreads rating: 2 of 5 stars

My Reading Cove rating: 4/10 - Average (C)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Is this all there is? I hadn’t had so much as a sniff of a shag for over a year. I scraped the last dregs of Caramel Chew Chew ice cream out of the bottom of the tub with my finger and licked it. It left a sticky smear on my phone’s screen when I typed into Google, “How to find love, sex and happiness.”

Charlotte has always been a good girl.

She sorts her paper from her plastic. She eats her greens (even Spirulina, whatever that is). Boozy brunches with her best friends on the third Sunday of every month are about as bad as she gets.

But being good is getting boring…

Charlotte’s not just stuck in a rut – she’s buried in it up to her chin. The only company she has in bed is the back catalogue of Netflix and falling in love feels like the stuff of fairy tales. So when she stumbles across a popular podcast, Sorry Not Sorry, which challenges women to embrace their inner bad girl, she jumps at the chance to shake things up.

Old Charlotte would never ask for a stranger’s number, go on a blind date or buy lacy lingerie… But New Charlotte is waving goodbye to her comfort zone (with a side order of margaritas). And it turns out that good things happen to bad girls, as Charlotte finally finds her Mr Right – or so she thinks… Is falling in love too tough a challenge even for Charlotte?

My Thoughts:

This book took way too long for me to read for a "chick-lit" type book. I had personal/work stuff going on so I assumed the reason it was taking so long was because I was distracted but honestly, the book just wasn't grabbing me. I almost stopped reading it at one point but because it was for a Reading Cove book discussion, I was determined to finish. Given this I started to skim and I was about 60% into the book when I finally started to feel like we were getting somewhere and started to enjoy the unwinding.

It has a Bridget Jones feel to it and in the end I didn't fully regret reading it, just how long it took for me to get into it and through it. I think the thing that bothered me about the book most was that Charlotte made herself out to be someone she really wasn't in the beginning - low self esteem maybe? But it was a bit disappointing to learn that she wasn't quite as "regular" as she felt she was. At least with Bridget Jones, she was who she was portraying herself to be.

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CRAZY IN PARADISE by Deborah Brown

My Goodreads rating: 2 of 5 stars
My ReadingCove rating: 3/10 (C-) BELOW AVERAGE

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Madison Westin, the main character, inherits her aunt's beachfront motel in the Florida Keys, or so she thinks. Tarpon Cove is not your typical sleepy beach town: Seduction, drunks, ex-cons and fugitives are not the usual fare for someone looking to start a new chapter in their life. Wrestling control of the property from both the lawyer and the conniving motel manager will be no easy feat. But Madison likes living on the edge so she feels right at home. Bullets fly, a dead body turns up, a kidnapping and blackmail. Madison really has to learn not to leave home without her Glock or it could get her killed.

My Thoughts:

Crazy in Paradise is an apt title for this book. I thought the beginning had promise, I like quirky.

But I started to struggle with the first couple of interactions between Madison and Zach and it made me start to check-out on the story but I kept reading because I was reading this book as a Buddy Read and wanted to give it a chance. Madison to me was way too insecure and cried too much over her insecurities. I get she's been through a lot, and that this is human nature, but I like to see stronger women characters (especially when it comes to relationships) in my books. I was disappointed in the way the case was resolved from a mystery perspective however, the redeemer of this book to me was the ending. I think the ending was a great twist and well written, so it brought up the rating for me.

This is the first book in the series but I do not think will not be reading on, it just missed the mark for me. I was hoping for something more like the Stephanie Plum series characters and it fell a little short.

This was a Reading Cove Buddy Read

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THE TWENTY-THREE by Linwood Barclay

The Twenty-Three by Linwood Barclay
My Goodreads rating: 2 of 5 stars
My Personal rating: 4/10 (C) AVERAGE

Amazon.com Synopsis:
From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes the jaw-dropping finale of the Promise Falls Trilogy.

It’s May 23, and small town Promise Falls finds itself in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe with dozens dead from a flu-like virus. Investigator Cal Weaver quickly zeros in on mass poisoning and a tainted water supply.

Meanwhile, a college student has been murdered, and Detective Barry Duckworth recognizes a killer’s handiwork from the unsolved homicides of two women in town. Suddenly, the strange events from the last month start to add up….Bloody mannequins in car “23” of an abandoned Ferris wheel…a fiery, out-of-control bus with “23” on the back…“23” on the hoodie of a man accused of assault.

The motive for hurting the people of this town points to the number 23—and working out why will bring Duckworth closer to death than ever before.


My Thoughts:

In book 3 of the Promise Falls Series - I was very invested in knowing who the overall killer of the three women were, as well as who was the cause of the "23" labelled incidents that have been a common theme throughout this series. Are these related or is were the timings coincidental?  All the unanswered questions.  I also expected chaos to ensue in the town with other events, as Linwood Barclay has done so well throughout the series.

The opening line, pulled me right in:
"I know I won't be able to get them all. But I hope I'll be able to get enough."

The wrap-up of these two areas listed above, were perfectly done. I would have liked to see more of a wrap-up on the Samantha/David incident at the end, I need a little more closure on that story line. I felt that the middle dragged on a tad long, with the water poisoning - which is why the rating dropped to a C for me.

David Harwood and the others in Promise Falls have become well developed characters over three books in the series, and I've enjoyed the ride.  If more were written, I would continue to read them.

Even though I only rated this book a C, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the story and Barclay has become a new favorite author of mine for sure. I love his writing and I look forward to reading more of his books.  If you have any suggestions, please post them below.

This was a buddy read for the The Reading Cove.


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2020: A Look Forward

Happy New Year Everyone!

I trust you all had a safe and happy holidays, as the New Year has come I am looking forward to my plans for the year.  I have decided to set a goal for 35 books this year and my January reading plans will get me started in the right direction.

Here is my current plan for January:

1. THE TWENTY THREE by Linwood Barclay for a buddy read in The Reading Cove book group.
2. CRAZY IN PARADISE by Deborah Brown a buddy read in The Reading Cove book group.
3. SORRY NOT SORRY by Sophie Ranald for The Reading Cove Group Read
4. THE CHESTNUT MAN by Søren Sveistrup for my work book club (Odessa Book Club)
5. THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena for my neighborhood book club (Pagewalkers Book Club)

and If by chance I have any free reading time:

• BLIND SIDE - a recommendation from a friend 

All this said, I typically read 2 books a month on average so I definitely have some reading to do to keep up with this.

Looking forward to talking books with you this year!