Book Review: Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

I picked this book after seeing so many positive reviews about the plot twist, and I was having a hard time finding a good thriller. In this book, we get to read the mystery behind people disappearing. First, Shelby Tebow went missing, and not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanished without any trace. Now, after 11 years, Delilah returns shockingly, and now everyone wants to know what happened, but nobody is ready for it.

Let’s start with the plot, and to be honest, it’s heartbreaking and really sad at the beginning, but as we move on with the story, the thriller aspect emerges. The writer did an incredible job of confusing the reader about who the culprit might be, as she introduced numerous characters and their connections to the victim. Because of this, I was not able to guess what the plot twist was. The story is different and fast-paced. I liked that it was not at all confusing, and everything ultimately made sense.

Now talking about the plot twist, I won’t lie, it was jaw-dropping, but not thrilling. The writer has added numerous characters and their plot lines, which would have made more sense; however, the plot twist was so random that I couldn’t digest it within the context of the book’s story. The plot twist definitely needs to be unexpected; however, in this book, I felt that it didn’t fit, it was so random that it made me dumbfounded. It was out of the box because there was not at all a hint about what the plot twist was from the beginning; it came out of nowhere. It was like another chapter, and boom, we got to know what exactly happened. I just felt that how the story started and the suspense the author added in the book didn’t tie up with the plot twist; it just didn’t fit. There could be more interesting plot twists that could have happened given the characters the author has created.

There are many characters in the book, and I have so many suspects; however, as I said, there is no hint about the plot twist, so it did shock me. There are many characters, and it doesn’t really focus on one, like we have the past story from Meredith’s point of view and the present story from her neighbour, Kate and her son, Leo.

I just wish the writer had used one of the other characters that she introduced in the book as the main part of the story, rather than such a random one.

The book is fast-paced and really easy to read, so I recommend it.

Rating: 3/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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June 18, 2025 2

Book Review: None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

I came straight after reading the book to write my review because I felt insane about what I just read minutes ago. This book is insane, and my head is spinning at a high rate. The book follows the story of Alix Summer, a famous podcaster and a woman named Josie Fair whose past is full of pain. Josie and Alix share the same birthday, and Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcast and comes up with a plan that she might be a good subject for Alix’s podcast.

Let’s start with the character of Alix. I can’t believe she is a famous podcaster who interviews so many people and can’t even tell how a person is. I found Alix’s character to be so unrealistic that I hated her; she was the reason why things turned out that way in the end. She is such a famous podcaster and has a family, and she is so okay with inviting a random lady she met by accident just a few days ago to her house and letting her stay as well. I wanted to throw the book at her because she meets so many people and can’t tell a person’s nature, that’s impossible. Definitely the dumb character in the thriller I hate, and guess what, she is also the main character. She is to blame for everything, by the way.

Josie, what a character! She is someone who will gaslight and manipulate people so easily, but only a naive person like Alix, the famous podcaster, will believe it. The author has not exactly gone into her mind, but very simply, through her talks, we get to know her character. Then, too, her character was intense to read. The end was unexpected, actually, that’s more like the plot twist. We might think Josie is the main character, but no, it’s Alix as she gets tangled in her own mess she created, and she can’t even clean that up ever.

The plot is excellent. I won’t say there are any plot twists because it’s very clear what is happening. I think it’s more frustrating to see Alix’s character and realise how dumb she could be given her profession. The book is very fast-paced, and I read it in less than 24 hours. The second half of the book was pretty intense and thrilling.

The book is more like a warning than a thriller about how we should never trust a stranger and not bring them home if we have a family, because we never know what that stranger can do, and it can lead to a forever loss like what happened to Alix.

There are no plot twists, everything is clear as water; however, the last ending, OMG, is what made my mind go spinning because wow. It was definitely unexpected, and in a thriller, we never trust any person, no matter what, and that’s what the ending says.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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June 4, 2025 0

Book Review: The Hypnotist’s Love Story By Liane Moriarty

I will start by saying that this book is deceitful. It was one of the few books that gave me such a headache that I wanted to beat my head against the wall. I just seriously wanted this book to be finished as quickly as possible, and I wished I had DNF this book, but as I was early in my reading journey, I thought I needed to finish every book I picked up. The book follows the story of Ellen O’Farrel, a hypnotherapist who works out of the strange beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. Her professional life is going well, but she can’t say the same about her personal life. Until she meets a young man named Patrick, who is handsome and single. But Patrick has a stalker, his ex-girlfriend, Sasha, who won’t leave him alone, and now Ellen wants to meet Sasha.

Honestly, when I read the blurb, I thought it would be a thriller; however, the whole book, I was waiting to read a plot twist, and legit nothing happened. What was this book? I think I was definitely getting hypnotised because of how long this book was, and I was going in circles. The same thing was getting repetitive, and I was over it. The character of Ellen was written really well. She was someone who got really intrigued by things that normal people would want to stay away from. Sasha is a stalker of Ellen’s boyfriend, and Ellen wants to know everything about Sasha rather than her boyfriend.

Then we have the perspective of Sasha, again, the writer did an incredible job portraying her character. Her actions were kind of nutty, however, as a reader, I did get sympathetic towards her as I got to see in depth what happened to her and her situation. Patrick was kind of an illogical character as he didn’t do much about the situation with Sasha. If he handled the situation well, maybe it would be better for everyone else.

I have to say the writer’s writing was really hypnotising. The book and the story are very unique, but I wish there was more depth to the plot. As the book was super long, it got me frustrated to just continue reading it without seeing any dramatic structure to the plot, as the blurb says it will. The plotline would be excellent if there were plot twists and more drama in the book.

The blurb is deceitful; that’s all I am going to say.

Rating: 2/5

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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May 21, 2025 0

Book Review: Keep It in the Family by John Marrs

Another thriller book by John Marrs, and just like the previous book, it is one of the weirdest books I have read, where I figured out every plot twist and wondered what I was reading. The story follows a couple named Mia and Finn who are busy turning a derelict house into their dream house. As their dream house gets ready, Mia discovers a chilling message: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue, the couple discovers that their dream house was once a house of horrors.

I picked this book up because the blurb looked freaking interesting however, the book was not. I probably went into it thinking something totally different, so maybe that is the reason I didn’t like it. Every character in this book is weird and predictable because the twist is just out there. The characters, even though they were predictable, were all so unrealistic, and I cannot picture them as humans at all, especially Mia and Finn’s baby.

The plot was kind of questionable because what was even that? It was so clear who the culprit was and what the plot twists and I think that is what shocked me. The plot was so unrealistic, and the plot twists made no sense, as everything was hard to believe in what was happening in the book.

It was like a horror movie where we know something is going to come out of the dark, and we are going to scream. But this book didn’t make me scream, but it made me so frustrated that I had to pause and think about my book and life choices.

You probably won’t be missing much if you don’t read this book.

Rating: 2/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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May 7, 2025 0

Book Review: The Right Move (Windy City Series #2) by Liz Tomforde

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest.” – Ryan Shay.

I disliked the first book so much, but I heard that it would get better from so many reviews, so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I can’t believe there is so much difference between protagonists written by the same author. Ryan Shay is the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA Team, and the last thing he wants is a distraction like Indy Ivers, his sister’s best friend. Indy has nowhere to go, and her best friend has the craziest idea to let her stay at her brother’s place. Ryan and Indy are polar opposites, but there is a spark…

Ryan Shay healed this series for me. I liked him so much because of the way he was. I liked that whatever happened to him, he didn’t turn worse, but handled it really well. What happened to him was so out of the box, I was not expecting it, but it shows he was the green flag from the start. He is caring and lovable, a male lead hard to find. He is a standard book boyfriend who knows what his girls want; he is a perfect act of service to exist.

Indy Ivers’ character was amazing. I found her amusing, and her thoughts always made me laugh. I liked that she was so understanding about living with Ryan rather than being arrogant about it. I liked that I did not see any arrogance in this book. She is beautiful inside and outside, I liked how confident she is in herself.

The chemistry is really great too. The bickering and the tension, and I liked that there was nothing forced between them, but it came naturally. His care for her was enduring, and her understanding of him is what we call an understanding couple.

Just like the first book, there is nothing about basketball in the book, which was disappointing. The last part was okay, so basically, both talked about each other’s flaws, and still, they had a misunderstanding about the same. I hated it to the core. The ending, to be honest, I had enough with this book. At the 75% mark, I had enough because that would be the perfect ending, but no, the remaining 25% was just a misunderstanding of things that they had already talked about. I think the biggest complaint of mine from this series is that it is too long, and I get bored.

In the end, I found the book all over the place, and my interest went below zero. The plot was nice and definitely out of the box. But I don’t know why stars need to take instructions about how to live their personal life from the team that didn’t sit right with me. According to me, it was really good in the beginning, but again, in the end, I wanted to get over it quickly. Because I got bored, there is nothing that I remember and would highly recommend. My biggest pet peeve is long chapters and long books, especially in romance. Maybe that is the reason I liked it, but just not much.

Give it a try if you want. Will say Ryan Shay is the ultimate book boyfriend.

“His quiet love. It’s always the loudest.” – Indy Ivers.

Rating: 3/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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April 23, 2025 0

Book Review: Mile High (Windy City Series #1) by Liz Tomforde

Okay, every single thing that I have heard about this book screams for me to not read it at all. However, I thought how bad it could be and trust me when I say it was…(no words). I never thought I could ever dislike any book the way I dislike this one. The book follows the story of Stevie, a flight attendant who gets a new job working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL. She meets the hockey player, Zander, who is a huge playboy and a narcissist. Both hate each other, but can’t say the same about the attraction between them.

Let’s start with the character of Stevie. Did I hate her? No, but did I love her? No. In the beginning, I thought she would be a strong character with a curvy body and bold personality, but I was so wrong. She would have been such a great female lead, but she gave in so fast, and the reason for it is that I can’t even write it here because it was so embarrassing when I read it. I wanted to see her passion and her bold personality, but I was so disappointed. I liked that the author did a great job of portraying her insecurities with her body, but there is nothing else about her that I would call interesting.

Now, let’s talk about Zander. Sigh. What a character! I disliked him the second he was introduced. He thought Stevie wanted his autograph, which was not the case and got offended. Hello??? I hate male leads who try to be over-smart and absolutely annoying for no reason. In the first half of the book, he was giving me pick-me energy (side eye). The way he talked about his previous partners, I was not having it, and then his back story came, and that made me want to bang my head against the wall because apparently, it was a PR stunt?!?!

Then the storyline, what was it? I never knew I would ever read a book with this kind of storyline. The first shocking thing was that there was no mention of hockey at all. Where is the part about competition???? I couldn’t vibe with the storyline at all. I found a lot of potholes. Also, the storyline was kind of muh! Especially the PR stunt from Zander’s agent. Their interaction felt so forced. I hated their first interaction because I felt that the author kind of forced them to interact.

Another thing is that a contemporary romance being 600 pages blows my mind because there would definitely be a third-act break-up that I despise. In this book, there was and at 28%, a lot happened so I knew it would bore me to death and then I DNFed it.

Even though I have DNFed this book, I have heard that the series gets too good, so I am definitely going to give this author and this series another chance.

Rating: …

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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April 9, 2025 0

Book Review: Grave Matter by Karina Halle

Seriously, it is one of the most underrated books I have read. The book Grave Matter by Karina Halle is a gothic fiction, psychological thriller, and science fiction and OMG, what a book it was. I just recently finished it, and I know I need to write about it ASAP. So this book follows an aspiring mycologist, Sydney Denik, who is getting a second chance at life. When a dream opportunity came in the form of working in a prestigious foundation, how could Sydney deny it? However, the prestigious foundation is not what one can imagine; it is isolated, with no outside connection, and everyone around her is hiding secrets. How is Sydney going to survive in the middle of nowhere with people hiding secrets and finding herself falling for one of the residents of the foundation?

Let’s start with the character of Sydney Denik. Just like every horror book, she is very dumb. Seriously, there is no single cell left in her brain. I thought she would be smart at first, but boy, I was so wrong. The entire book is in her POV, and I felt that I was in her brain. I wouldn’t say she was a complex character, but what was happening to her was definitely creepy. The book is more focused on the plot rather than the character, so there is nothing more to say about Sydney.

Then we have Wes, the MMC, and as I said, the book is in Sydney’s POV there was nothing much about his character. However, through her POV, we get to know how obsessive he was. Through him, we only get to see the love he had for Sydney; the boy did everything for Sydney. They have great chemistry, and the instant connection they felt was definitely a spoiler.

Now, the main thing that kept me hooked to the book was the PLOT. There was not a single moment in the book where I was bored because Karina Halle’s writing was so intriguing and fast-paced. The plot was outstanding, and even though there were technical terms as it is science fiction however everything was written so easily that I understood it so well. I understood what was happening pretty much early in the book but still, the end plot twist I didn’t see it coming at all.

I truly enjoyed the vibe of the book and the ending as well. The plot is complex, but the writing isn’t, so I think that was the reason I vibed with the book. There was so much creepiness, and at one point, I was truly confused if Sydney would ever make it alive or not. The book was perfectly balanced with mystery, romance, sci-fi, and horror, which made the storyline interesting.

If you would like to read a mixture of horror romance and science fiction, I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4/5 (Please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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March 26, 2025 0

Book Review: The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

I randomly picked this book very early in my reading journey, and it’s been a long time since I read it. Guess what? I have not forgotten it at all. Because I hated no wait, despised the ending of this book. The book follows the story of two sisters, Lori and Erin. Lori books a holiday for herself and her sister to Fiji, but a night before the flight, both sisters have a fight. So Lori ended up boarding the flight alone while Erin never boarded the flight. But here is the twist, Lori never reached Fiji and Erin can’t get hold of her, so as a reporter she is trying to find out what happened to her sister.

The book was so good from the start, full of thrilling, however, the end ruined it for me. It’s a long book with many characters in two different places and timelines. Throughout the book, I was so intrigued because apart from sisters, there were other characters as well, which were pretty intense. The book goes back in past with Lori’s point of view and in present it moves with Erin’s point of view.

Erin’s character was my favourite, even though she was messed up, she did everything to find her sister. Lori was my favourite until the end. There are other characters with their own story, and we can’t trust anyone, so that was pretty intense for Lori as well as for me. The plot was actually quite fast and it kept me engaged. Since it is more mystery than thriller, I was quite eager to see what actually happened to Lori, so I read it really fast. The plot was messed up, but in a good way, because we have different characters’ involvement and so much was happening, so I can’t even guess what actually happened.

The ending was not good at all. I read so much just to see this ending, I can’t believe it was so unfair for Erin. I didn’t appreciate Lori for the decision she made in the end. It would have made more sense if the ending was different because this ending made no sense. I just found out that it was adapted into a TV series.

Would I recommend? Maybe…

Rating: 3/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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March 12, 2025 2

Book Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.” – Achilles about Patroclus.

I had to do a research paper on mythology and literature, so I picked The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I would say this was my first proper historical fiction and I loved every single word of it. The book is a retelling of the Trojan War set during the Greek Heroic Age and is told from the perspective of Patroclus.

The character of Achilles is so complex, seeing him as a leader with no fear and strong passion truly made me addicted to this book. I loved how he was not afraid of anything, the royal blood made him so ready for the obstacles that would come in front of him. I liked his communication skills, just talk how much you need to. I think being a good leader comes with the quality of observing and finding out what one feels rather than talking much, which Achilles nailed. The way the writer has written Achilles’s fighting skills was incredible.

Talking about my favourite character, Patroclus, oh how much I wanted to give him comfort and love. Seeing how relatable he was because of his anxiety and how much his own parents criticised him for being not a good prince broke my heart. I think Achilles’s biggest motivation as well as weakness was Patroclus and people knew that, so we can say how this awkward prince has power in his heart. Till the last this boy fought through everything for his tribe and Achilles because he never wanted people to be against Achilles. He deserves so much and the saying is so true that goodness always leads to one’s destruction.

The characters of Achilles and Patroclus are moulded in a way that shows every aspect of the relationship. The chemistry, the intensity, the friendship, and the understanding of everything about them is so beautiful and heart-wrenching. They both were two peas in a pot, and both couldn’t live without each other. Achilles, the strongest man, gave his weakness to only Patroclus while Patroclus, the awkward prince found solace in the strong-headed Achilles.

The story is so beautiful and heart-wrenching. There is something so surreal about reading about mythologies of centuries and seeing how that has incorporated the world today. Greek mythology is beautiful but shattering at the same time. The end was so emotional and heartbreaking, that it still gives me goosebumps when I think about it.

If you are someone who likes reading about mythologies then I highly recommend this because it might hurt your head seeing so much going on altogether.

Rating: 3.5/5

“He is half of my soul, as the poets say.”

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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February 26, 2025 0

Book Review: What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

Clearly, we can see that I am in my thriller era and my next pick was What Lies Between Us by John Marrs, it was my first book by this author. The book follows the story of a mother and a daughter, Maggie and Nina. However, their relationship is very different from that of a typical mother-daughter relationship. Every night Nina helps Maggie after dinner to go to the attic and ties her with heavy chains that keep her there. Because Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she has done to her. Also, there are many secrets that Maggie has kept that Nina doesn’t know and she will keep it that way no matter what.

I don’t really know what I felt while reading this because it is more than a thriller, there are thrilling vibes however it is not exactly like a thriller book but more a horror story between a daughter and a mother. Nina’s character is one of the most dangerous characters I have ever read in a thriller. The way she was from the start showed and gave me all the hints of the plot twist. I was actually traumatized by Nina, her point of view was so aggressive and just out there, it’s crazy.

Maggie’s character shows a lot to the readers. I can understand she loved Nina a lot and would do anything for her but I felt like if she asked for help a lot of people would be alive. But a mother can go to any extent to save her daughter. I was so shocked reading how Maggie, the mother, did anything possible to save her daughter, Nina.

The storyline is very traumatizing and very deep. The book gave me a headache because there are shocking revelations throughout, and all of them are deeply disturbing. The plot twists were not shocking at all because I guessed almost all right, and that is what makes it not a thriller for me but more of a horror story about a daughter and a mother. Because as the revelations are made, the story turns crazier.

The vibe is so creepy and I was shocked by what I was reading. Nina is a very complex character and reading her different phases of life gave me creeps and I can never forget her character. The book gave me a headache in what I was reading, however, I felt it was more horror than a thriller. And the book was kind of slow so that did not fit right with me. The setting is very disturbing as well as the characters of Maggie and Nina.

I wouldn’t put out there to recommend this book but if you want to read please check the trigger warnings.

Rating: 3/5 (Please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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February 12, 2025 0