Alice in Black

“Alice in Black” by Bebe Duncan
Published by Pettygrove Press

To be completely honest, when I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to just be a typical YA novel about teenagers.  It’s anything but typical in my opinion.  Granted, I don’t read a lot of YA so my experience is limited, however, I really enjoyed this one.  It’s the author’s debut novel, but it doesn’t show.  She is definitely a talented writer.

This is the story of Alice, a junior in high school who lost her mom in a car accident a couple years prior, followed by her dad leaving her with her maternal grandmother to go play guitar.  What teenager wouldn’t have issues after such losses?  Truly, Alice just needs to learn to love herself and realize that she is deserving of being loved by others as well, whether romantically or through friendships.  The relationships and bonds built and sometimes broken throughout this book all have meaning and are significant in Alice’s growth as a person.

Because it is YA, I feel the need to include some trigger warnings that I normally wouldn’t include in a review.  If you are considering this for your teen, please know that there are drugs, self-harm, sex, and assault within this story.  There is plenty of good to outweigh the bad though, so I do recommend it but as a mom of girls (now women) I feel the need to throw that out there.

Thank you to Blackberry Book Tours and Pettygrove Press for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this honest review are completely my own.

Finished 1/29/26 – 4/5 stars

#aliceinblack #bebeduncan #pettygrovepress #blackberrybooktours

 

Let Us Descend

 
“Let Us Descend” by Jesmyn Ward
Published by Scribner Books
 
I know many people loved this book but it just wasn’t for me.  The story just dragged and there is a lot of ghost/spirit interaction with the main character, which I never really enjoy.  The premise of the storyline is good and could have been something to keep my interest, but every time the spirit arrived (which was often), I found myself speedreading. And yet, it took me a week to read it.   
 
Finished 1/25/26 – 2.5/5 stars
 
#letusdescend #jesmynward #scribnerbooks #botm

The Mystery Guest

“The Mystery Guest” by Nita Prose
Published by Ballantine Books
 
Molly the Maid continues to be one of my favorite characters.  I just love everything about her.  She is inferred to be a high functioning autistic woman that tends to find herself in precarious situations while working as a hotel maid.  In this book, a renowned mystery author dies in the hotel tearoom during a press conference and Molly takes it upon herself to assist in the police investigation to find out who did it.  Her attention to details proves quite useful to the detective in charge. 
 
This is the 2^nd in a series, and I do highly suggest you read “The Maid” first.  You don’t have to but why miss out.  These aren’t action packed, suspenseful mysteries but they are fun, warmhearted, quick reads that I recommend.  They make for a great “palate cleanser” after a tough read or a book to get you out of a slump.
 
Finished 1/18/26 – 4/5 stars
 
#themysteryguest #nitaprose #ballantinebooks #botm

 

Skylark

 
“Skylark” by Paula McLain
Published by Atria Books
 
This is one of those instances where I enjoyed it and recommend it, but……. I didn’t love it. This is a dual timeline novel with two very different stories. And honestly, it could have been two separate novels instead because the only thing truly tying them together was the setting of Paris and the tunnels underground.  I enjoyed each story, but the alternating sections felt more like interruptions rather than additional pieces to a puzzle tying them together.   I also felt like the 1600s storyline was perfectly closed yet the 1900s storyline felt open ended and needed more to it.  Overall, I enjoyed the stories but wish they were separate books and that there was a little more to the 1900s storyline.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this honest review are completely my own.
 
Finished 1/15/26 – 3.5/5 stars
 
#skylark #paulamclain #atriabooks #netgalley

Wildwood

 
“Wildwood” by Amy Pease
Published by Atria (Simon & Schuster)
 
Almost exactly 2 years ago, I read and reviewed the author’s debut novel and first in this series, “Northwoods”.  I enjoyed it and gave it 3 stars.  With “Wildwood”, I found her writing improved and thus enjoyed this one even more.  Not quite a 4-star read, but close.  It’s a “small town, big crimes” thriller.  Not an edge of your seat thriller, but one with danger and action throughout.  And it has the same 3 main characters from the first book – a cop who is a former soldier with PTSD as well as a recovering alcoholic; his mother who is the town sheriff; and an FBI officer based out of Chicago.  Their personalities are all quite different, but they work well together.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this honest review are completely my own.
 
Finished 1/5/25 – 3.5/5 stars
 
#wildwood #amypease #atria #netgalley