Your TBR is a mile long, you say? Who cares! Better move this one to the top of your list!

Kill for Me, Kill for You has been getting so much buzz, and rightly so. It takes inspiration from Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, where the title characters propose swapping murders so neither will get caught. And this story takes that premise and just goes to town on it.

Sometimes you know from the very first page if a thriller is going to thrill you, and that's what happened here. I opened the book, and I was immediately riveted. It grabbed me so hard. When I was reading it, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. And when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it and itching to get back to it.

This was such a fascinating, twisty, crazy story, it makes me wonder how Steve Cavanagh ever came up with it. And it reminds me never to get on the bad side of authors because wow, can they come up with some ingenious ways of killing people and have no one be the wiser.

I think part of the reason this story works so well is that not only is it brilliantly plotted, but it's also constructed in such a way as to squeeze every last drop of suspense and enjoyment out of it. There's a lot of different ways to tell the same story, some more effective than others, and I feel like Cavanagh came up with the absolute best way to tell this story here and that's why it's so unputdownable.

When it comes to thrillers, everyone always wants to know if the reveals are so amazing they'll knock your socks off. But I don't like to make too big a deal of them. It's hard to say if what surprises one reader will work for another. There were moments in this book I saw coming, ones I didn't see coming, and also ones that were a bit too out there for me. But all told, they delivered on the goods and kept me thoroughly entertained.

Whether you should add this book to your mile-long TBR is an easy call. If you're a thriller fan, this is a must-read.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

She was safe for another moment, one more moment, and all of life was only moments, after all.

No matter how many books I've read, coming across that perfect story never gets old. And this one's about as amazing and magical as they come.

Spinning Silver is a tale of brave maidens and fearsome villains set against the cold, harsh, brutal winters of the kingdom of Lithvas. I'm not sure what I was expecting going in, but it certainly wasn't this. It felt like I was a kid again, reading a fairy tale of good versus evil and being swept away in all that magic.

Nothing makes me love a book more than a strong female character, and this book has three! Our heroines are clever, courageous, and spirited. Each has been dealt a crappy hand in life, but they don't let that get them down. Instead of waiting for a man to save them, they use ingenuity and hard work to turn their circumstances around, saving themselves and everyone around them. You guys, I swooned!

From the very first page, this book grabbed me and didn't let go. I was riveted. Not only was the story charming and mesmerizing, but the writing was too. There was an exquisiteness to it that perfectly suited this rich tapestry of a tale.

Nowadays, it feels like no one does standalone fantasies anymore. Every fantasy must be a series, and the more books the better. But there's something to be said about a whole tale and a whole universe encompassed entirely in just one book. The worldbuilding is tighter, the pacing brisk, and the fluff trimmed to nonexistent. There's a sense of urgency here that propels the story forward, and the reader along with it.

Because it feels a bit trimmed down, not every scene is spelled out in excruciating detail when it's already clear what's going on. And I love that. Just like the fairy tales of old, it's up to the reader's imagination to fill in between the lines and behind the scenes. It harkens back to my youth when imagination was such a big part of my life. And it leaves me wanting more instead of hoping for less.

Usually it's better to go into a book blind, but in this case, the one thing you should know is that while this story is told in first person, the actual narrator switches between several different characters and it's unmarked. If you're aware of that, it's fairly easy to catch on to the change. The first time I read this, I wasn't, and it made for a bit of brief confusion.

When I think of the ideal fantasy, what I want is for it to be epic and accessible at the same time. And that's this story. The scale feels immense and stunning, but you also fall into the story easily. And the end result is a thoroughly fun and exhilarating experience, one which I adored every moment of.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.

'It's sometimes easy to feel left behind at my age, as if the world has a future and you have no place in it... but I hope to discover that there is meaning and adventure still to be found.'

I have a huge soft spot for stories of growing old and finding joy and purpose, so it's no surprise that I adored Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame.

Jenny Quinn is 77 years old and looking forward to celebrating her diamond anniversary with her beloved husband Bernard of 60 years. They both agree that at their age, it's best to just take it easy. But when the opportunity presents to compete on Britain Bakes, Jenny knows she can't pass it up. After so long, here finally is her chance to prove herself and show what she's capable of.

I have yet to meet a literary septuagenarian I'm not fond of, and Jenny continues the trend. Her quest for purpose and meaning past when she thought she'd have the chance makes my heart swell with so much emotion. I can't help but cheer her on through every bake, hoping she'll achieve the dream she's reaching for.

Even though I don't have much of a sweet tooth, I've certainly watched a few seasons of The Great British Bake Off like everyone else out there and enjoyed them immensely. And this book pays such a lovely homage to the show with its own Britain Bakes. We follow Jenny as she competes in each episode, turning out delicious treats while making friends and discovering the joy of doing something for herself, all at the ripe old age of 77.

If you're like me and not an aficionado of baked goods, you might be unsure if your eyes will glaze over from all the baking in this story. But don't worry because while I did have to look up each baked good mentioned just to see what they look like, it was smooth sailing from then on out. And just like The Great British Bake Off, this story does a great job pulling you along and not getting bogged down in the baking weeds. In fact, I found the whole thing quite riveting.

But it's not just the baking that got me. It was also Jenny's journey of self-discovery. We see through her flashbacks how she came to be the person that she is, while also understanding the secret she's keeping from her husband. At where I am in my life, that part of the story really grabbed me. It was both heartbreaking and redemptive, and I definitely had the tissues ready.

What a delightful, heartwarming story this turned out to be. I'm loving the recent trend in books to feature folks of old age realizing their dreams, and I hope it continues.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

How did the promise of a war between gods turn into a middling historical fiction with a lackluster romance and nary a whiff of fantasy? I'm honestly a bit stunned.

I went into Divine Rivals with high expectations. I'd seen the gushing reviews and the deluge of 5-star ratings. And I'd gotten a taste for romantasy and I wanted more. In fact, I was so certain I was going to love this that I saved it for just the right moment when I'd need a little extra zing in my reading repertoire.

So I settled myself in, ready to be swept away in a fantasy of epic proportions, with an enemies-to-lovers romance for the ages. And how can it not be amazing, with gods at war and two rivaling journalists who don't fight with their swords but with their words. Yes! Except no, because this didn't really deliver on any of it.

Instead, what I got was more or less a historical fiction. The fantasy element is so diminutive, I felt like I could blink and miss it. You see, the gods were unhappy with each other, and they're recruiting humans to fight in their war. And that's pretty much it for the fantasy part. Oh, and there's some magic in old houses and typewriters. You can see how that would be disappointing for a reader expecting, well, more than that.

The majority of the story is told from Iris's perspective and she never really gelled into an interesting character for me. At every step, she does what you would expect a character to do, nothing more, nothing less. Her brother is fighting in the war, so she misses him. She sees an opportunity to join the war effort, so she does. There's a cute boy at the office, so she's attracted to him. But there's another nice boy she writes with, so she's attracted to him too. At no point did she surprise me in any way. I found Roman to be the more compelling character, but his perspective is only a little bit here and there.

As for the romance, it was serviceable but ultimately uninspiring. There was no real chemistry, no banter, no spark, nothing that made me swoon or crack a smile. The majority of it played out via Iris and Roman's letters to each other, and they felt distinctly YA. The writing was deep in the way of teenagers, but much ado about nothing for old folks like me. In fact, it reminded me of AOL chat logs from back in the day. I wonder if I were to dig up my own from my teenage days, it would come up similarly bland and overwrought.

That isn't to say I didn't enjoy any of it because I did. But I kept waiting for that moment when the words I'm reading on the page would turn into an immersive experience, and it never did. Every element in here—the war, the fantasy, the characters, their writing, the romance—was pleasant enough to while away a few hours, but in that take it or leave it kind of way.

No one's more disappointed than me. Compared to what I had imagined in my head, this story paled in comparison. But to be fair, part of that was my fault. What I wanted and what I got were complete opposites. I'm a huge fan of romance and fantasy, which this isn't really, and not a fan of wartime historical fiction, which is all this is.

For all my complaints, I did get some enjoyment out of it. And since it's a duology and I already own the second book, I'll go ahead and finish the series. Fingers crossed that the second book has more of the exciting elements I'm looking for.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.