She would figure it out. Because it was impossible that there was no solution. People had babies all the time and somehow managed it.

When a book is described as "wholly original," I admit it makes me a little bit hesitant. What does that mean? Is it original because it contains the sort of fun heretofore unseen, or is it original because no one was crazy enough to have put such ideas to paper before? Then you throw in a premise that includes OnlyFans and pro wrestling, and well really, what the heck are we even talking about here?

But I've been in a reading slump for months now and needed something to shake me out. So I reached for Margo's Got Money Troubles not expecting much, and boy oh boy, did it deliver in every single way.

Right off the bat, I was captivated. The first thing I noticed was the writing, how sharp and persuasive and just gosh darn funny it was. I'm trying to think of the last book that made me chuckle so hard, and I'm coming up empty. All that humor in here was the perfect medium through which more serious topics could be tackled and explored without coming across preachy or righteous.

And this book did not shy away from serious topics—teenage motherhood, love affair with a teacher, pornography, selling one's body, addiction, and of course, how to make money and a life for yourself and your baby when you have no viable skills. But everything was done with such a subtle hand and delightful tone that you hardly realize you're reading something profound when you're having so much fun.

The characters in here were sketched with such acute clarity, it's hard to not take them for real. Margo is exactly the sort of sweet, smart, and spirited character I can love and cheer for. Yes, bad things happened to her, but she doesn't let that get her down. In fact, every side character in here is their own version of loveable, and it makes reading this story even more of a delight from beginning to end.

Honestly, this was such an exuberant and feelgood story, one I didn't even know I needed. Looking back on it, I'm still not sure I could properly describe it or put it in a box, just because I've never read anything quite like it before. But I do know it was a hell of an entertaining and insightful read. If you're like me and have been hesitating on this book, just go pick it up.

P.S. How is it I've never heard of Rufi Thorpe until now? All her books are going straight onto my TBR.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

I can't resist fairy tale retellings. All those beautiful princesses, all their tragic misfortunes, and of course all the furry creature companions. What's not to like? And since Snow White is at the top of my list, there's no way I was going to pass this up.

And right away, I thought we were off to an auspicious start. We meet Healer Anja—your typical smart, independent, poison drinker. Her research has saved quite a few folks from certain death, and she would like to continue to do so in peace and quiet. But the king arrives at her door with a unusual request, and soon she's swept away on a secret mission to save his daughter Snow.

The premise sounds fascinating, so I settled in and eagerly awaited the moment when we would get past the setup and the tale would really take off. And I waited. And then I waited some more. You can see where I'm going with this. It wasn't until a hundred pages in that Anja even arrives at the palace to start her investigations.

So herein lies my biggest issue with this story. The pace was so sluggish and leisurely, it was hard to keep my attention. There was a lot of filler, including tons of details about every animal god and the history of every poison/antidote known to this world. But it's all made up and completely irrelevant to the storyline, so who cares?

Anja also started to grate on my nerves. She is both a fretter and a foot-in-the-mouther, and let me tell you, the combination was not pleasant. We are privy to her every thought—however middling, hesitant, and bumbling it may be—as well as her entire trial and error process in figuring out Snow's problem. I'm sorry, but I just don't need that level of detail.

And yet, even after all that thinking out loud, Anja was still somehow really slow on the uptake. Everything had to be completely spelled out in order for her to understand what was going on. I mean, I don't expect every main character to be super clever, but I also can't be hundreds of pages ahead of them.

And the real kicker is, even after all that, I didn't really understand what happened at the very end. Everything had been wrapped up, and then the story tosses in one final twist. It wasn't a very good one since I had seen coming from two hundred pages prior, but no matter, I can look past that. What I cannot look past was the explanation that accompanied it, for it made absolutely no sense.

Served in the tale's typical hemming and hawing style, every additional hesitating statement moved me further and further from clarity, until I had no idea what was going on anymore. It was like the author had completely forgotten the story she had written and all the rules she had made up for the universe, and just served up some random tidbits because they sounded good.

Not gonna lie, this was kind of a disappointment. I've heard nothing but great things about T. Kingfisher, and this being my first by the author, I thought it would serve as the gateway to a whole feast of fantasies heretofore unexplored. Instead, I'm left wondering if maybe this author isn't really for me.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Cheering on a killer has never been this much fun!

Lottie Jones wants to give up the serial killer life. In fact, she's already retired and her days of murder and mayhem are decidedly behind her. But when a journalist arrives at her doorstep and starts poking around, what choice does she have? But soon enough, her life is spinning out of control, and this might just be the thing that finally gets her caught.

Yep, you read that correctly. We're following the story of a serial killer, and she is as formidable as she is elderly. In addition to all the worries of growing old and feeble and trying to figure out how to live her sunset years, Lottie must also contend with her murderous past being dredged up. That should be enough to put anyone into a tizzy, but not Lottie. She remains as cool as a cucumber, just taking care of her business.

I have to say, I was pretty much instantly taken with Lottie. She's interesting and appealing though a bit prickly, and if not for her odd predilections, she could easily pass for a favorite aunt or grandma. I felt compelled to cheer for her, even as she is forced to commit ever more heinous acts to cover for her original ones. I wanted her to succeed, to come out on top, no matter how many people she had to maim to get there, and I definitely give kudos to the author for having achieved such a compelling narrative.

The jaunty vibes in here helped offset what could've been a fairly dark read. Rather than being overly horrific and gritty, this tale had all the hallmarks of a fun and compulsive one. The fact that Lottie is a septuagenarian certainly adds to her appeal, and I appreciated all the carefully added details about what it means to grow old and frail.

Morally gray characters—never mind serial killers—can be a bit hit or miss. It's a fine line to walk between acknowledging the character's reprehensible behavior while also making the reader sympathetic to them and their plight. And when you factor in all the other usual components that go into making a story, it can start to feel like quite the balancing act. But no worries here, because this book somehow got it all just right.

It's been a while since I've read anything by Samantha Downing, but I remember antihero main characters being her signature. In the past, her books have been a bit of a mixed result for me, mainly due to my inability to connect with the main characters. But with this one, I finally feel like every component of the story and all that Downing was trying to accomplish have come to fruition, and it was a resounding success from beginning to end.

My brain is screaming at me to stop this nonsense and retire for good. And I’m trying. I swear I am.

I don't think I've ever read another quite like this gem of a tale, and I don't think you have either. It's definitely worth a gander if you're in a murderous mood and are wanting something unique to satisfy the craving.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

There was a time back in the day when I couldn't get enough of space adventures. I remember being in college, going to the library with every intention of studying for a final, then promptly picking up a Mars exploration/first contact novel sitting right there in my line of sight. Needless to say, I got not a lick of studying done that day, but I did have a wildly entertaining time.

So picking up The Last Astronaut was a no-brainer for me. Here comes an unusual object, heading directly our way. Is it an asteroid? A comet? But no, lo and behold, it's alien technology. Our only course of action is to send up some astronauts to meet and greet this object and hopefully convince the aliens not to annihilate us.

This has all the bones of a rip-roaring space adventure. The premise is fascinating, the action nonstop, and the stakes could not be higher. David Wellington's plot-driven writing style pairs well with this sort of tale, and before long, I'm sucked into the narrative.

I loved all the developments in here, especially when it came to the aliens. Even being quite familiar with this genre going in, I still feel like there were a lot of surprises in store for me. Everything came together seamlessly and with so much satisfaction, I have to give kudos to the author for having thought it all up.

But story's pacing was quite uneven, and it almost did me in a few times. Yes, there were many exciting moments, but they were often sandwiched between many excruciatingly slow and plodding ones. Each of the "excursions," in particular, felt like thousands of pages long. There were moments when I thought I'd read a hundred pages, only for the page count to tell me it was more like ten.

I feel like this was a case where the story, in its effort to immerse the reader and convince us that everything was indeed real, spent too much time on every minutiae of detail and not enough time on the truly revelatory moments. As a result, the exciting bits passed by in the blink of an eye, while the tedious ones (of walking, climbing, crawling, running) seemed to go on and on.

With regards to the characters, I'll say this — if Earth were really under attack from aliens, I'm not sure this group of astronauts and government officials would be the ones I'd want to save us all. They were not the brightest bulbs in the shed, and a lot of the issues that arose came directly from their collective poor planning and inability to communicate.

Still, I can't deny that this story had its moments of fun and excitement. I would recommend it, but maybe only to a select audience. If you're an avid fan of first contact stories, this is well worth a spot on your TBR. If not, then you can probably safely skip this.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Well, boo. This was not at all the story I thought I was signing up to read.

Looking at the blurb, it'd have you thinking this was some sort of romantic suspense. Here comes newlyweds Sam and Annie, moving to the suburbs, where Sam opens his own therapy practice with an almost exclusively female clientele. When one such patient turns out to want more than just doctor/patient privileges, that's when things start to go awry.

I'm all for a fun and sexy time, so I settled in and got ready to sink my teeth into this titillating tale. And initially, it was exactly what I wanted. Sam and Annie were both dynamic characters who leaped off the pages, and there were even some femme fatale vibes that added to the whole delicious atmosphere.

But then we reach a turning point early in the story, and it kind of went downhill from there. Without giving anything away, I'll say what started as one story quickly morphed into something completely different, and that different was exactly the sort of thing I don't enjoy. All the fun and all the sexy were sucked out of the story, and all that was left was the uncomfortable.

I pick up thrillers because I want to have a good time. Yes, I know there is murder and mayhem within, but I want to be entertained while reading whatever crazy shenanigans is going on. But if the story chooses to focus too much on the gore or the grit or the trauma, then it can become too unpleasant to still be enjoyable. And that's what happened here.

My other big issue is that all the reveals happened fairly early on. Then we are forced to sit through the entire latter half the book while it spells out in long form essentially what is already obvious to the reader. By that point, the story can only go one way, and I read through the last 150 pages just to be sure that indeed, it went that way.

Those two things put together made the second half of the book a complete snoozefest for me. My attention kept wandering, partly because I know nothing interesting will happen and partly because what's on the pages was just unpleasant to read.

I feel like this was such a bait and switch. I was promised fun and sexy, and instead I cringed my way through so much of it. I'm puzzled by all the love for this book, but it just goes to show that two readers can read the exact same thing and come away with completely different experiences. So don't let me dissuade you from giving it a try.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

I'll say this—I never have cause to complain about the mystery components in Holly Jackson's stories. It's the other parts that has me feeling more iffy.

But first things first, I just can't get over the cleverness of this premise. Jet is attacked and left for dead, but she miraculously survives though she only has seven days left before her resulting brain aneurysm will rupture and kill her. She wants to use her last days to figure out who killed her. Along with her childhood best friend and sidekick, Billy, they go around sticking their noses where they don't belong, trying to suss out her killer before it's too late.

Holly Jackson's mysteries always feel a little retro à la Nancy Drew, and Not Quite Dead Yet falls right into that camp. There are clues, secrets, red herrings, and surprises galore, and of course I gobbled it all up. At a time when other authors of the genre can't be bothered to put any real clues into their mysteries and rely more on wacky twists to drive their stories along, reading Holly Jackson's is a breath of fresh air.

It was so much fun to armchair detect, mulling over all the clues, spotting the red herrings, and seeing what I could figure out all on my own. And Jet's childhood best friend/sidekick Billy makes for the perfect Bess/George to Jet's Nancy, and their smidgen of romance was minor enough so as to not distract. Of course if you're a mystery enthusiast, you'll probably see most of it coming from a mile away, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

But what does make it less enjoyable is the writing style. This is Jackson's adult debut (after a few YA books, including the famous A Good Girl's Guide to Murder), and well, it doesn't really feel any more adult than her previous books. Jet is supposedly 27 years old, yet if you took ten years off her age, you could conceivably have the exact same story. She and every single character in here reads either like a sullen teenager or is sketched through the eyes of one.

I've seen this happen before. Authors start out writing YA, then as they and their readers mature, they make the jump to adult fiction, with the hope that their fanbase will follow and grow with them. But the problem is that some authors have trouble making this jump. Either they've gotten so used to writing YA style that they don't quite know how to do adult, or they themselves are not yet mature enough to be able to pull off that voice. Either way, it's a clumsy first attempt, and that's what happened here.

The other issue could be the format. The A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series was mixed media, as if you're reading a dossier of an actual investigation, and it was superbly done. This here though is just regular prose, and it felt considerably less successful. Jackson's reliance on dialogues and extremely short paragraphs (sometimes as short as a sentence fragment) makes it chaotic and at times difficult to follow. It took me three separate tries just to get through the initial chapter, in which we are inexplicably introduced to every single character in the book, all in one go.

Back to the mystery for a second. I know I said I have nothing to complain about, but there is one thing that left me unsatisfied. The main mystery wrapped up just fine, but there were multiple side mysteries that popped up along the way (as is oft the case with books of this genre), some of them quite serious in their own right. And though we find out whodunit in each case, there was no real reckoning for the perpetrators of those crimes within the tale. I found the attitude to just shrug and move on decidedly odd.

Okay, one more thing since I'm laying it all out there. I always get a little weirded out if there is disdain towards animals or children in the pages of a book (and not as a way to forward the plot or the characters). And while the pet in this book was treated with reverence, the attitude towards the baby was such obvious scorn while serving no real purpose, I can only imagine it's the author's own leaking onto the pages. Every time this happened, I was jerked out of the story because it was so jarring and unnecessary, and I really wish editing had caught it.

So now I'm at this awkward spot where I'm not sure where I stand with Holly Jackson. I adored the first two books of her A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series and wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone in need of some modern day Nancy Drew. But it seems with her latest books, she's veering in a direction with her style that doesn't really jibe with my preferences. Time will tell, but for now, maybe I just need to contend myself with rereads of her old books rather than venture more into her new ones.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Not that I would've expected any less from Ali Hazelwood, but Check & Mate was absolutely the adorable and delightful romcom I needed.

Mallory used to love playing chess, but she hasn't played a single game in four years. So when she accidentally faces the #1 ranked player in the world and completely annihilates him, she's rightfully shocked. But it's one thing to stumble into a one-time win, it's another thing altogether to actually commit to playing the game. So what if she can't get Nolan out of her head and he wants a rematch? Mallory has disavowed chess, and she has no intention of changing her mind.

What can I say here that I haven't said about Ali Hazelwood a thousand times before? I read her books for the banter, the snark, and the puns, and she delivers every single time. I feel like I always have a permanent smile affixed to my face, just grinning like an idiot, every time I pick up one of her stories. And let me tell you, I'm not above having a good time.

Instead of being the usual STEM representatives, this time our characters are chess players. Now I know next to nothing about the game, but that didn't stop me from fully connecting with the characters and clapping and cheering for their successes. In particular, Mallory was an easy heroine to root for, and I was so there for her.

In terms of conflicts, I was happy to see that Hazelwood didn't rely on her default miscommunication trope like usual. Instead, Mallory was knocking on the doors of martyrdom, and while that did cause my eyes to roll a few times, the story moved along speedily enough that I didn't end up suffering any permanent eye damage.

Since this is YA, my biggest concern going in was whether this would feel too young to me. But that totally ended up being a nonissue. The story reads just like any other Hazelwood, but with the spicy scenes removed. It even contained the obligatory main character who wasn't into sex until they met "the one," a staple of Hazelwood's at this point. But if your concern is coming from the other direction (i.e. should I let my teen read this?), well that's a different conversation altogether.

It's so nice to have an author you can rely on anytime you're slumping and in need of a frothy, fun, but never frivolous read. And so Ali Hazelwood delivers again, just when I need her the most.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars