Thriller Reviews: DAISY DARKER & STAY AWAKE
Hey everyone! I know I’m late for Thriller Thursday and that I’m not Sharon, but it would appear that I have finally started to get back to my pre-pandemic eclectic reading preferences so I actually have thriller reviews to share with you this week. I’m still romance heavy of course, but I am glad that I’m finally at a point where I no longer feel like shying away from some darker reads. These are good ones too. If you’re looking for some new thrillers to add to your spooky season TBR, be sure to check these out.
Daisy Darker Goodreads Author: Alice Feeney
Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Publisher: Flatiron Books
FTC Disclosure: None needed. I purchased my own copy of this book.
I love a good locked door mystery and Alice Feeney really delivers with her latest novel Daisy Darker. As the synopsis hints, Daisy Darker is a nod to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and I was 100% here for revisiting my favorite Agatha Christie thriller.
Daisy Darker was born with a heart problem and told she would not live very long. By the time she was 13, Daisy had already died and been resuscitated several times. Because of her delicate health, Daisy was not allowed to go to school and therefore grew up very lonely. The only time Daisy ever had any freedom was in the summer when she would visit her Nana. Daisy and her Nana have a wonderful relationship and are very close, so Daisy loves coming to spend time with her at Seaglass, the Gothic mansion Nana calls home. It is at Seaglass where the bulk of this story unfolds.
Daisy’s family has spent many years avoiding one another but when Nana is about to turn 80, she summons the entire family out to Seaglass for a reunion of sorts. Seaglass, which is now crumbling and rundown, is situated on a small island and is only accessible at low tide so once the tide comes in, no one can leave until the next low tide eight hours later. As each member of the family arrives, it becomes pretty clear that they are all uncomfortable to be there and they all also appear to be keeping secrets. It’s a very awkward situation that becomes even more awkward when Nana decides to share the contents of her will. Events take a deadly turn when the clock strikes midnight, Nana is found dead, and a strange and super creepy poem about the members of the family is found written on the wall in what appears to be Nana’s handwriting. Are Daisy and the rest of the Darker family trapped on the island with a murderer in their midst? Oh boy, it’s going to be a long eight hours!
I don’t want to say anything else about the plot because of spoilers and if you’re familiar with And Then There Were None, you should have a basic idea of how the story will play out. But, that said, boy does Alice Feeney take her readers on a wild ride of intricate plot twists. She kept me guessing every step of the way, had me flying through the pages to see what would happen next, and even had me shedding a few tears at one point. I loved the atmospheric quality of her writing, particularly the whole Gothic vibe of the mansion and the creepy, foreboding, and downright taunting vibe of the graffitied poem. I did not see the ending coming at all, and for me, that’s the mark of a well crafted mystery. Daisy Darker is my new favorite book from Alice Feeney, and I can’t wait to read more from her. 4.5 STARS
Stay Awake Goodreads
Author: Megan Goldin
Publication Date: August 9, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Wow, what a wild ride this book was! Megan Goldin is fast becoming one of my favorite authors when it comes to thrillers. Her books are always an adrenaline rush and just an overall mind-blowing experience and her latest novel Stay Awake may be her best yet!
The story follows a young woman named Liv Reese, who has just woken up in the back of a cab, with no memory of how she got there or where she was heading. Disoriented, Liv heads to the apartment in Brooklyn that she shares with her best friend Amy, only to get there and learn that there are two strangers living there instead. Liv is even more confused when the woman who now lives there yells at Liv and tells her that she needs to stop showing up at their place. Apparently, she has done this before. Liv then reaches into her pocket for her cell phone to try to find help, and, instead of her phone, she finds a bloody knife and notices that her hands are covered in black ink, scribbled messages everywhere telling her to STAY AWAKE. Liv has no idea what is going on, but she knows she needs to figure it out.
In addition to following Liv, the story also follows Detective Darcy Halliday. Darcy and her partner Jack Lavelle are called to the scene of a homicide. When they arrive on the scene and begin to investigate, it’s clear that the killer has not left behind many clues for them. The biggest and most unusual clue is that the message STAY AWAKE has been written in the victim’s blood backwards on the windows so that it can be read by anyone standing outside the building. Undeterred by the lack of evidence, Darcy and Jack set out to catch a killer. When they release key information about the murder, including the STAY AWAKE message, to the public, Liv sees it and realizes that she is somehow connected to this murder even though she remembers nothing about it.
I really enjoyed the way the author has the story unfold. We alternate between Liv’s perspective and Darcy’s so we get clues about how Liv has ended up in the predicament she is in, and then we start to get clues about the murder as Darcy and Jack start to piece together what has happened. I liked that I felt like I was piecing everything together right alongside the characters.
Liv’s whole situation fascinated me because it is such an original use of the amnesia trope. Earlier on in the book, it becomes clear that every time Liv falls asleep, she forgets all her memories going back two years, including several tragic events that probably led to her amnesia in the first place. Every day Liv is stuck in the worst kind of Groundhog’s Day imaginable, and it makes her incredibly vulnerable, especially since she has no idea how she is connected to this murder. She has no idea who she can trust, if anyone, and because of the amnesia, she also has no idea that the real murderer is out there looking for her too. It becomes a game of cat and mouse where every time the mouse falls asleep, she forgets about the cat. It makes for a wild and twisty ride and I was afraid for Liv every time I turned the page and praying the detectives would figure out who the killer was in time to save Liv.
Stay Awake is an intense thriller filled with tension and suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I kept trying to guess who the murderer was and I was wrong every time. I love it when a thriller is so well plotted and unpredictable that it keeps me guessing until the reveal, and Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake was a winner for me. 4 STARS
Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books I Loved So Much I Had to Get a Copy for My Personal Library
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is 10 Books I Loved So Much I Had to Get a Copy for My Personal Library. Even though I read a lot of ebooks, including ARCS and listen to a lot of audiobooks these days, I’m still a collector of physical books at heart. If I love a book, I want to display it on my shelves. Below are just a few of the many books that I originally either listened to or read some kind of e-version and decided I just had to have a physical copy after falling in love with the story.
10 Books I Loved So Much I Had to Get a Copy for My Personal Library
1. LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus
2. IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover
3. THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by T.J. Klune
5. THE SIMPLE WILD Series by K.A. Tucker
6. THE PRACTICAL MAGIC Series by Alice Hoffman
7. RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston
8. THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL by Abbi Waxman
9. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood
* * * * * *
Question: Have you read any of these?
Reviews: SOPHIE GO’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB & DO YOU TAKE THIS MAN
Happy Monday to all and Happy Labor Day to those who are celebrating today! I have today off but don’t really have any special plans for the day, mainly just hoping to get caught up on reviews I need to write and to get some reading done. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on two fun reads. The Denise Williams book was one of my most anticipated romance reads of the year, and the Roselle Lim book is one I was really looking forward to after enjoying her last book so much. Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is already out in the world, and Do You Take This Man is available starting tomorrow, 9/6.
Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club Goodreads Author: Roselle Lim
Publication Date: August 16, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is a whimsical and heartwarming story about overcoming loneliness and finding your place in this world. While it does contain a bit of romance, it is secondary to the main character’s journey to become who she was meant to be.
Sophie is a Chinese Canadian woman who has recently returned home to Toronto after studying to become a matchmaker in Shanghai. She is trying to establish herself as a professional matchmaker in her community but is carrying around a secret – due to circumstances beyond her control, she didn’t actually graduate from the matchmaker program. When Sophie attends a community event in hope of introducing herself and handing out her card to drum up business, her mother of all people outs Sophie as a fraud and seriously impairs her ability to secure clients. Sophie fears that all hope of becoming a matchmaker is lost until she stumbles upon a secret group called the Old Ducks. This group of elderly gentlemen has all but given up on love and have formed this group so they won’t be alone. After talking to Sophie, the Old Ducks agree to be her first clients.
Sophie’s growing bond with these Old Ducks are what really made this book a special read for me. One of the author’s biggest strengths is her ability to write vibrant and realistic characters and that strength really shines through in this book with Sophie and with the Old Ducks. As she gets to know each one of them, she becomes so invested in finding them a perfect match. I loved Sophie for her big heart and was touched by how much she wanted these men to find love again. On the flip side, I also adored the old men for the same reason because as they each got to know her, they began to treat her like family and became invested in her success and in her happiness. I loved this for Sophie, especially since her own family was not only lacking in support but her mother actually bordered on being verbally abusive.
While the characters are definitely the highlight of this story, I also loved the touch of magical realism the author gives us with respect to the matchmaking. As a matchmaker, Sophie is able to see red threads attached to people’s hearts. Matchmakers like Sophie read the movement of those threads in order to gauge whether or not her potential matches are meant to be together or not. I just loved this added touch of whimsy.
Lastly, I cannot leave off without mentioning the author’s ability to write the most delicious descriptions of food. Lim’s books always make me so hungry and this book was no exception, especially because Sophie has a major sweet tooth and is always looking for delicious sweet treats to satisfy her cravings.
Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is an all around delight. Highly recommend to fans of women’s fiction, found families, and the healing power of friendship and love. 4 STARS.
Do You Take This Man Goodreads
Author: Denise Williams
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I loved Denise Williams’ first two books, How to Fail at Flirting and The Fastest Way to Fall because Williams writes such smart, vibrant, and relatable characters. She also excels at writing snappy dialogue and at bringing the heat during those steamy scenes when her characters finally connect. I’m thrilled to report that Williams has another winner on her hands with her latest novel, Do You Take This Man.
The story follows RJ, an up and coming divorce attorney who also, oddly enough, officiates weddings in her spare time. When we meet RJ, she is running late for a wedding, and in her haste to get there, she accidentally crashes into a handsome stranger and ends up in a heap on the pavement. What could have been a meet-cute instead becomes a hostile encounter as RJ gives this guy a piece of her mind. Their conversation ends with him telling her she should smile more. Instead of murdering him like she would love to, she hurries to get to her wedding. Things take a turn for the awkward when it turns out this guy, whose name is Lear, is the cousin of the event planner RJ always works with and Lear is filling in for his cousin for the foreseeable future. So RJ finds herself stuck working with this “dude bro”, as she has dubbed him.
I love a good enemies to lovers romance and was totally on board with this story from the moment I knew RJ and Lear were going to have to work together so closely. The tension was pouring off them in those opening scenes so I knew I was in for one heck of a ride!
Burned by her ex, RJ has no interest at all in a romance for herself and instead buries herself in her work. I really loved RJ. She’s smart, independent, headstrong, and she knows what she wants and what she doesn’t. Well, at least she did before Lear came into her life. His presence shakes her up in ways she did not anticipate and really throws her off kilter to the point where she can’t decide what she wants from one moment to the next. It’s frustrating for Lear, but I just loved how realistic and messy RJ was in this situation. I was also tickled that RJ turns out to be the best friend of Britta from The Fastest Way to Fall and it was so much fun to watch RJ go to Britta for advice.
Like RJ, I’ll admit that I wanted to smack Lear upside the head the first couple of times he and RJ interact. He kept interrupting her, overstepping when it came to overseeing the wedding ceremony, and even tried to mansplain her at one point. RJ puts him in his place, and thankfully Lear is a man that learns from his mistakes so I quickly grew to like him, especially as we learn more about him and the heartbreaking circumstances that have led him to leave his life in L.A. and come all the way home to NC.
I very much enjoyed the progression of RJ and Lear’s relationship, both their working one and their personal one. There’s of course lots of cute and flirty banter and some sexy, steamy scenes, but what I especially loved about this relationship is how real it felt. RJ and Lear’s journey to that coveted happily ever after ending is a rocky one. They are both dealing with baggage from previous relationships, and RJ has such a tough outer shell, but it’s clear that underneath, she’s pretty vulnerable as well. It takes a lot of work to break down her walls and really get to know her, as Lear finds out. RJ thinks that she is hard to love, so I was thrilled that Lear seemed determined to try to prove her wrong.
Denise Williams just never disappoints. I love her dynamic characters and their relatable journeys, and Do You Take This Man is no exception. I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys enemies to lovers romances, headstrong female protagonists, witty banter, and sexy, steamy love scenes. 4.5 STARS