Does anyone else feel like life is non-stop lately?

Both September and October have been an absolute whirlwind and with the holidays fast approaching, I’m not sure I’ll have time to catch my breath.

But that’s clearly not stopping me from picking up a book… I read 12 books over the course of September and October:

• The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
• The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden
• The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen
• The Spite House by Johnny Compton
• The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart
• Bride by Ali Hazelwood
• Nobody Wants Your Sh*t by Messie Condo
• Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White
• The Unraveling by Vi Keeland
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

As you can see, fiction has my attention lately, and I’ve been continuing quite a few series.

Let’s get into the reviews!

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

This book was so well-written, you find yourself just as confused and frustrated as the main character!

Emily falls in love with a seemingly perfect man, Adam. But there’s one problem… his mother, Pamela. Pamela seems nice on the surface and clearly loves her sons, but the way she treats Emily is just off. It’s so subtle at first, you’re not sure if it’s even real. Soon, Emily and Pamela find themselves battling for Adam’s attention. Can Emily and Adam overcome his mother’s influence? Lots of drama follows.

This one was hard to put down. I needed to know what Emily and Pamela were each going to do next.

Rating: 8/10

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This was unbelievable, but fun! If you were ever a fan of shows like Criminal Minds, you’d probably enjoy this.

17-year-old Cassie gets recruited by the FBI to be in the “Naturals program” to help solve crimes. It’s basically a group of teenagers who have a natural ability to profile others, read emotions, and so on. Cassie agrees to join in hopes of getting to the bottom of her own mother’s disappearance and presumed murder. When she arrives, she finds a chaotic group of teens who have problems of their own. But the group must work together as they soon find themselves in danger.

I think this is considered a YA novel, but honestly, it doesn’t really feel like one, aside from the love-triangle storyline.

Rating: 8/10

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This is the second book in The Naturals series, so it may contain spoilers for the first book (above). Proceed with caution.

In case it’s not obvious, I enjoyed the first book so much, I hurried to grab the second one!

Cassie and the other ‘naturals’ are trying to let the dust settle after the events of the first book and focus mainly on cold cases to keep them out of danger. But when bodies begin turning up that seem to resemble a very familiar serial killer’s M.O., the group can’t leave it alone. Despite the danger, the naturals keep digging until they uncover the truth.

I can’t wait to see what happens next! I immediately put a hold on the third book at the library after finishing this one.

Rating: 8/10

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

This is the third book in the Housemaid series, so it may contain spoilers for the first two books. Proceed with caution.

I’ve loved the Housemaid series and highly enjoy reading Freida McFadden’s books, but this one wasn’t my favorite. It almost felt like the main character, Millie, wasn’t herself.

In this installment, we’ve fast-forwarded a few years, where Millie and Enzo have just bought their first house and moved in with their two young kids. Millie has seemingly left her old ways in the past and now the biggest drama is the neighbors. Millie can’t shake the feeling that Suzette is up to no good. The truth gets messy.

Rating: 7/10

The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen

This is the second book in the Bridge Kingdom series, so it may contain spoilers for the first book. Proceed with caution.

Following the events of the first book, Lara has been labeled a traitor and has been essentially exiled from her new kingdom. But she’s unwilling to leave. Her father has taken her husband, Aren, captive and as a trained assassin who knows the evil her father is capable of, Lara believes she’s the only person who can save him. Drama, battles, and more ensue!

So, much like the first book (my review of The Bridge Kingdom is here), there is a lot of worldbuilding and politics going on between the kingdoms, which isn’t my favorite. However, the ending was definitely exciting, stressful, and vivid! I can still picture some of the scenes in my mind.

Rating: 7/10

The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Eric and his two daughters are on the run and just trying to blend in. But money is tight, so when Eric spots an odd job in a Texas newspaper with a promising payout, he can’t say no. Plus, it sounds easy enough. All he has to do is live in a supposedly haunted house and prove that is, in fact, haunted.

Once they move in, things are immediately off. Voices, strange figures, and other occurrences leave them all feeling unsettled, especially the way that the house seems particularly interested in his youngest daughter.

This book had some very surprising twists! But it is also quite complex. Honestly, I’m not sure I completely understood what happened in the end, but it kept my interest.

Rating: 7/10

(Note: I listened to this as an audiobook, but I’d recommend reading it instead. I think that would have helped with some of the more complex pieces of the story.)

The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart

This is the second book in the Dr. Wren Muller series, so it may contain spoilers for the first book. Proceed with caution.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is recovering after facing down serial killer Jeremy Rose, who is presumed dead. But Wren can’t shake the feeling he’s still out there and that they have unfinished business. When bodies begin surfacing again, this time in Massachusetts, Wren feels called there. She needs to stop Jeremy for good.

This book wasn’t perfect, but I liked this significantly more than the first book (my review of The Butcher and the Wren is here), which is honestly unusual for sequels. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Rating: 7/10

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

This was a bit different than Ali Hazelwood’s other books- paranormal rather than scientists- but it still had her usual romance theme and fun, witty banter.

Misery is a vampire who has lived her whole life feeling like an outcast. When her father arranges a deal to help soothe rising tensions between vampires and werewolves, Misery reluctantly agrees to go along with his plan. But it entails marrying an alpha werewolf who seemingly finds her disgusting. Misery, though, has her own reasons for agreeing to go into enemy territory: To find her missing friend. A mystery and love story unfold.

Rating: 7/10

(Note: Like Ali Hazelwood’s other books, this is not PG… so just keep that in mind.)

Nobody Wants Your Sh*t by Messie Condo

If you need a stern lecture to motivate you to declutter your home, this is an easy, short listen!

The book is loosely framed around the idea of Swedish death cleaning, where you declutter you home now, so your loved ones won’t have to later. If you read a lot of decluttering related books, there isn’t necessarily anything new here, but I always find it helpful to hear the same messages over and over again when it comes to getting rid of stuff.

Obviously, given the title, this book contains a fair amount of swearing, so if that’s not your thing, I would steer clear.

Rating: 7/10

Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White

While I enjoyed listening to Nobody Wants Your Sh*t, this book resonated more with me when it comes to the actual decluttering process.

A self-proclaimed (former) slob, Dana White breaks down decluttering in an approachable way. Rather than having a giant marathon session where you bring out every single object and potentially make a big mess, Dana tends to tackle decluttering in small chunks, starting with visible areas first.

I really loved her explanation of the container concept. Your home is a container. Your closet is a container. The self for your shoes in the closet is a container. If it doesn’t fit, it’s time to cut down.

Rating: 10/10

The Unraveling by Vi Keeland

The title of this book couldn’t be more perfect.

Following the death of her husband, Meredith is truly unraveling. Her husband was killed in a car crash that also killed two other people. So, when Meredith spots the man who lost his family, she can’t help but to be curious. How does he seem so normal and happy, while she’s still a mess? She decides to follow him for a bit, but she can’t figure him out. That’s when he turns up at her office for her therapy. Even though it goes against everything she stands for as a psychiatrist, Meredith can’t resist learning more, even at the expense of everything.

Just know, you’ll be screaming at Meredith to get it together, but she’ll continue to make the worst possible choices.

Rating: 8/10

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

I’m the kind of person that doesn’t particularly enjoy watching movie trailers or reading book blurbs…. so, this is entirely my own fault and I realize that. But when I picked up this book, from the title, I expected something related to optimistic, positive thinking and an exciting year of adventure. What it actually is, is a book about grief.

Joan Didion writes about the year following the death of her husband and the struggles she faces to trying to accept that he’s gone, while also dealing with her daughter’s health issues. It’s heavy and thought-provoking. It wasn’t personally my favorite thing to read, but it does get you thinking about life (and death). If you want to get a better sense of what it’s about, I highly recommend going and reading the 5-star reviews on Goodreads. Some readers connect with this book very deeply.

Rating: 7/10

Want more reviews? Check out what I read in August 2024!

Of course, I want to hear from you! Let me know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments below.