Review: People Pleaser

People Pleaser by Catriona Stewart

Amazon/Goodreads

When Maggie Lathrop wins reality TV show LoveShack her life becomes a fairy-tale overnight. She’s beautiful, she’s rich and she’s now married to one of America’s most eligible men.

So when she is found murdered in an LA warehouse, her death evokes an outpouring of grief from millions of adoring fans.

Who would want to kill America’s favourite sweetheart?

With the FBI at a loss for leads, Maggie’s sister Emma becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth.

But the closer she gets, the more cracks start to appear in Maggie’s TikTok-perfect veneer.

Someone is hiding a secret, and they’ll do anything to keep it buried.

People Pleaser is an exciting, glamorous mystery that will keep you on your toes. Stewart expertly weaves a world with a cast of secretive, nefarious characters and I was left guessing until the very end. I would heartily recommend this LA adventure. 

Maggie, a star who rose to fame after starring on LoveShack, is found dead in a warehouse and the police are left stumped, declaring it a cold case. Maggie's grieving sister Emma is unsatisfied with this result and takes the investigation into her own hands. She is joined by her roommate, Jill, and the original creator of LoveShack, Amanda, in her detective endeavours. 

Emma, Jill, and Amanda are all wonderful eccentric and vivid central characters. Although they are not always likeable, I was rooting for them throughout the novel. Each character has their own backstory, career aspirations, and motives for cracking the case. Moreover, every few chapters we are treated to flashbacks from Maggie's point of view before her death. This helps both build the suspense in finding Maggie's killer and gives the audience an insider look into the toxic effects the Reality TV lifestyle had reaped upon Maggie. 

As our protagonists' tireless investigations lead them from LA to London, a range of famous LoveShack characters have secrets come to life and the truth slowly unfolds. The novel does not shy away from the misogyny, racism, drug abuse, and sexual assault culture found in Hollywood. People Pleaser shows the ugly underbelly of Reality TV, brand deals, and social media influencers.

Stewart's People Pleaser is a vibrant, clever adventure that is deliciously entertaining while also commenting on the dark side of fame, tv, and social media. This is an exhilarating page-turner that will delight those that wonder about the perverse effects of shows like Love Island and The Bachelor. 

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

Publication Date: May 22nd, 2025

Review: So Thrilled For You

So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne

Amazon/Goodreads 

A terrible heatwave. A very tense baby shower. It will all end in tears...

Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi have been friends since university. Now in their thirties, life is pulling them in different directions - but when Charlotte organises the baby shower of hell for pregnant Nicki, the girls are reunited.

Under a sweltering hot summer day, tensions rise - and by the end of the evening, nothing will ever be the same. Someone started a fire at the house - and everyone's a suspect... Is it Steffi, happily child-free but feeling judged by her friends? Is it Charlotte, desperate to conceive and jealous of those who have? Is it Lauren, who is finding motherhood far, far worse than she imagined? Or is it Nicki herself, who never wanted a baby shower anyway?

So Thrilled For You is a smart, absorbing, and eye-opening depiction of motherhood. I couldn't put this book down and I can definitely foresee this release becoming wildly popular. 

Bourne sets up a captivating 'whodunit' plot by introducing news reports of a devastating fire and sharing snippets of police interviews with suspects throughout the novel. Specifically, four women are suspects for arson and the police are trying to figure out who started the fire — and with what purpose or motive. These fragments set up a wonderful atmosphere of suspense. They are also often quite comical and grant the readers an interesting perspective into the lives of our main characters. 

However, the majority of the novel is told through four first-person perspectives. Nikki, Lauren, Charlotte, and Steffi form a close-knit group of university friends that call themselves the 'Little Women.' However, now that they are in their 30s, their group is falling apart. Lauren is a mother with no time or energy to see her friends, Nikki is pregnant, Charlotte is struggling to conceive, and Steffi is a career woman scorns the ides of kids. 

My one complaint is that I found Nikki's character irredeemable. I don't want to spoil anything, but she makes many self-absorbed choices and she is an awful friend, especially to Steffi. I loved the other three women though, even with their quirks. My heart broke for them and soared for them in different moments. There is also a wonderful emphasis on the importance of female friendship (as well as its difficulties).

The novel intensely scrutinises societal pressure placed on mothers and the judgement endured by women regarding their reproductive choices. So many passages delve into ugly truths about motherhood, jealousy, and loneliness. Bourne expertly crafts a novel that champions the sleep deprived, lonely mothers who are struggling postpartum. 

All in all, So Thrilled For You is an amazing read that I won't stop thinking about for a long time. I can even imagine this making a wonderful movie or tv series. 

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

Publication Date: January 16th, 2025

Review: Grave Matter

Grave Matter by Karina Halle

Amazon/Goodreads

Horror Romance meets science fiction in this dark and delicious gothic psychological thriller by NYT bestseller Karina Halle, perfect for fans of Gothikana, Ninth House, and Mexican Gothic.

Aspiring mycologist Sydney Denik is getting a second chance. When a dream opportunity presents itself with a prestigious foundation doing promising Alzheimer’s research, Sydney leaves the shambles of her old life to join a dozen other grad students at an isolated lodge hidden away in a remote, fog-shrouded inlet on Vancouver Island.

But the Madrona Foundation harbors more than brilliant minds. Everyone around her is hiding a terrible secret—including the resident psychologist she’s falling in love with. A student disappears, and no one but Sydney seems to care. Ghosts walk the halls. Snow falls in the middle of summer. Dead animals move like the living. The more Sydney uncovers about the foundation, the more she begins to question her own sanity. And if Sydney isn’t going mad, then the horrors in the surrounding forest are real, and the Madrona Foundation may be the biggest monster of all.

Grave Matter is the perfect Horror Romance for the spooky season. Halle's story is full of gothic scenes, inventive science, and charismatic characters harbouring unnerving secrets. I finished this book on Halloween, and I was sufficiently terrified and intrigued as I raced to turn the pages.

Vancouver Island is a fitting setting for Halle to set her novel. Sydney flies to Canada after receiving her acceptance for a summer work placement at the Madrona Foundation, where they claim to be working on a cure for Alzheimer's using the discovery of Amanito excandesco. The residents are required give in their phones and cut off all access to technology, and must learn to traverse the vast nature around them on this beautiful but spooky island inlet. 

The novel's biggest strength is its thrilling plot. Halle is the master of pacing, mystery, and plot twists! I found myself truly shocked as the plot unfolded and I was very impressed how Halle dropped little hints along the way. I could also tell that Halle did a lot of prior research to nail the science-fiction aspects of Grave Matter. 

However, the romance didn’t always work for me, especially at the beginning. The relationship between Sydney and her love interest felt quite creepy at times (perhaps fitting for a Horror novel). That said, plot developments further near the end made the romance work a little better for me. 

Furthermore, I really enjoyed Sydney's fellow peers and the friendships she makes on the island. Halle creates a memorable and vivid cast of ambitious, brilliant scientists. Although, the reader must try to discern what characters can be trusted, and which ones are hiding bad intentions. 

Overall, Grave Matter is masterfully plotted, wonderfully atmospheric, and addictive. I truly enjoyed joining Sydney as she discovers the secrets of the Madrona Foundation. 

*I recieved an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

Review: Milk Teeth

Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews

Goodreads/Amazon

From the author of the award-winning Saltwater comes a beautifully told love story set across England, France and Spain.

A girl grows up in the north of England amid scarcity, precarity and the toxic culture of heroin chic, believing that she needs to make herself smaller to claim presence in the world.

Years later, as a young woman with unattainable ideals, she meets someone who calls everything into question, and is forced to confront episodes from her past. Their relationship takes her from London to Barcelona and the precipice of a new life, full of sensuality. Yet she still feels an uneasiness. In the sticky Mediterranean heat, among tropical plants and secluded beaches, she must decide what form her adult life should take and learn how to feel deserving of love and care.

This book was not my cup of tea, but I am glad I read it. Milk Teeth is viscerally vivid, sometimes wonderfully strange, and gives a sharp insight into the trials of an eating disorder. 

First of all, the writing is creative, alive, and unique, but sometimes a little too forced and confusing. Occasionally, Andrews' prose can be overly decorated with non-sensical metaphors in a way that distracts from the central story. Moreover, the beginning and conclusion of the novel are the weakest parts as Andrews struggles to start or end her story coherently. I found the middle section to be the most engaging and thought out. 

The strongest point of the novel is focused on the narrator's disordered eating. Andrews very perceptively crafts the protagonists dangerous relationship with food with particular nuance paid to the pull between desire and self-denial. Her metaphors in the sections about food are more apt and alluring. Moreover, scenes of Barcelona, London, and Paris are very well done. I really felt transported to the different city settings. 

The weakest point of the novel is the romance and the love interest. I believe the novel would be stronger if the protagonist did not end up with her romantic interest in the end. Their relationship is unbelievable and portrayed as an unhealthy co-dependancy. This is where the flowery writing fails Andrews. Moreover, the two parties end up hurting each other more than helping and healing one another. To reiterate my earlier point, the novel would have been improved if the central relationship in the novel was between the protagonist and food. 

The abrupt conclusion and the non-cohesiveness of the structure left me particularly unsatisfied in the end, especially as I was growing more invested in the protagonist's fate and then left wanting. However, I do believe there is something poetic about a book leaving the reader wanting more in a story about the pulls of desire and indulgence. 

Overall, Milk Teeth was a sensory experience. While it struggled in areas, I really did find myself impressed by certain passages and the nuance with which Andrews explores the dangers of disordered eating. 

Review: Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Amazon/Goodreads

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

Daisy Jones & The Six is an enthralling, exciting, and bittersweet look into the complicated lives of rockstars in the 1970s. 

I hate to admit it, but I was only moved to read Daisy Jones & The Six after watching the Amazon Prime series. Even though I have always enjoyed novels by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I was initially put off by the format of the book. The entire work is told retrospectively through an interview format. However, once I began reading I found the format to be a perfect vehicle to tell this multi-layered story. All the characters come alive through their (often conflicting) testimonies, and the identity of the interviewer is an essential part of the novel. 

The novel's portrayal of the music, party, and drug culture in LA is excellent. Reid masterfully draws readers into the world of rockstars living in an era of excess. In this environment, our cast of characters struggle with addiction, demons from their past, and the pressure of becoming one of America's most popular bands. The atmosphere in this novel is vibrant, gritty, and true to its historical roots. 

The relationships in this novel are complex and heart-rending. The characters aren't always likeable, but somehow they always remain empathetic. The friendships, flings, and marriages in this novel are part of what make the pseudo-biography of this band so compelling. I especially loved the headstrong character of Camila and the development of her story. 

Overall, Daisy Jones & The Six is a must-read. It's written in an intriguing interview format that kept me turning the pages deep into the night. I was immersed into a world of music, big dreams, and larger-than-life characters. This gem satisfied my love of 70s music and tugged at my heartstrings. 

Review: Little Fires Everywhere

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Goodreads/Amazon

Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town – and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .

I have finally, finally read Little Fires Everywhere and I regret ever putting off reading this masterpiece. I finished the novel weeks ago, yet I still regularly deliberate over the multi-layered plot, think about the vibrant characters, and visit Shaker Heights in my mind. Little Fires Everywhere is a complex, electric tour-de-force about family and the ties that bind us. 

The characters in Little Fires Everywhere are so vivid that they feel real. From wild, bohemian artists to repressed, picture-perfect suburban mothers, this novel has it all. Mia and Pearl, two outsiders, are arguably the main protagonists. Their unique mother-daughter relationship is an integral part of the story. While in some ways I disagree with Mia's parenting methods, it is undeniable she is a talented, inspiring woman and a loving mother. Her mysterious past is one of the most fascinating aspects of the plot. 

The Richardsons are also prominent characters who become entangled with Mia and Pearl. The parents and their four children represent the 'ideal,' stable American family yet they are plagued by conflict, discontent, and instability. The four children are all quite different, and in some ways fall victim to the faults of their mother and father. Moody, Trip, Lexie, and Izzy all become enamoured with the new arrivals; Izzy especially is fascinated by Mia's artistry and rebellious tendencies.

Shaker Heights, the novel's setting, is a real city that still exists in the United States. (It is also the home of the fictional Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother, but I digress.) This Ohio town is a large, ambitious experiment or 'planned community' with some of the best public schools in the country and a housing assistance office to keep neighbourhoods uniform and appealing. In a city that so values order and the status-quo, the arrival of Mia and Pearl creates a new kind of chaos. 

At the center of the novel is a complicated court case that divides the town. This case bring up issues of economics, culture, and motherhood. Celeste Ng shows both perspectives in great detail, illustrating the desperation and despair of both the biological and adoptive mother. The case also reveals instances of despicable racism. I will not spoil the results of the case; but I will say the entire ordeal is harrowing, tense, and heart-breaking. 

Little Fires Everywhere is something special. It's beautifully written, richly imagined, and an astute look into the problems of suburban America. All the characters are multi-faceted; they are all flawed in some way, and they are all sympathetic in other ways. I would highly recommend this novel about motherhood, love, and choices. 

Review: Funny Story

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Goodreads/Amazon

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

This is it: my favourite book of the summer. Funny Story is a magnificent summer read by one of my favourite authors. Henry's novel is hilarious, cute, and tender. I found myself laughing out loud several times (sometimes in public) and I would highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for the perfect beach read. 

Essentially, Daphne and Miles have had a horrible few weeks. Their respective exes have left them for... each other. Unbelievably awful, right? Kicked out of her own home, Daphne moves into the only place she knows of that has a recent vacancy; she moves in with Miles. Unsurprisingly, they are both forlorn and grieving after their break-ups. 

However, Daphne and Miles try to make sure that their unfortunate circumstances don't ruin their beautiful Michigan summer. After they drunkenly decide to fake-date one night when they are invited to their exes' wedding, the two begin to spend lots of quality time together exploring Waning Bay and grow to be close friends.

Funny Story is about resilience, hope, and happiness in the face of catastrophe. The characters face tremendous heartbreak but fight for their own happy endings. I really loved the portrayal of Daphne and Mile's relationship. They start out by fake-dating — a wonderfully entertaining trope — and then it is delectably wonderful to see how their relationship continues to develop. 

Their trips and outings around Michigan are some of the best scenes in the novel; from kayaking in Lake Michigan to exploring local food markets, Daphne and Miles begin to cement themselves as part of the local community, which is a new, exciting feeling for Daphne. 

Moreover, I very much enjoyed the family dynamics in this novel. Watching Daphne traverse her relationship with her father was at times heartbreaking, but also profound and real. Similarly, watching Miles traverse his relationship with his sister and parents was tough but rewarding. I also loved the entire cast of side characters, and I appreciated the sustained focus on friendship throughout the story. 

I could not recommend Funny Story more. The romance is delectable, the scenes are funny and colourful, and the story itself is full of heart. If you like children's libraries, fake dating, and fun summer adventures, this novel is for you.