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Review: The Rest is Silence by Yves Donlon

‘When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions…’

Hamlet and Ophelia are back in this return to the world of SMILE AND BE A VILLAIN, a magical retelling of one of literature’s most heart-wrenching tragedies.

In Denmark’s capital, quiet streets hide the unrest of the people. War has impoverished them; magic is sickening them, though they may not know it. A new king reigns. But as battle drums are replaced by wedding bells, there are many in the city with reason to be displeased…

Prince Hamlet licks his wounds. Ophelia lies in wait. And all around them the city, rotten to its stately heart, is beginning to crumble.

While Hamlet grapples with what it will take to seek vengeance against his uncle for his crimes, Ophelia must fight to remain true to herself in the battle against corrupted magic.

The only way they will be powerful enough to heal the damage done to Denmark is if they work together. But as their hearts rot in time with the city itself, it seems it will take more than the providence in the fall of a sparrow to heal their love – and their city.

True love is sweet, but could revenge be sweeter?

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Review: I Could Give You the Moon by Ann Liang

Everyone loves Chanel Cao—except Ares Yin.

While Chanel has spent her entire life curating a picture-perfect social media personality—from her body to her hair to her camera-ready smile—Ares has spent his trying to hide in the shadows. But Ares’s brother is missing, and Chanel’s parents have secretly separated, and their only hope is each other.

Ares is willing to do whatever it takes to find his brother, and Chanel will do anything to keep her parents’ secret. When the two meet and share a vision of the future—where Ares’s brother appears, as Chanel’s house burns to the ground—they are determined to use each other. Ares believes Chanel is the key to finding his brother, but Chanel is convinced if she gets Ares to fall in love with her, she’ll save her family house—and her parents’ crumbling marriage.

But Ares isn’t interested in the fake personality that Chanel has used her entire life to get affection and adoration. If she’s going to save her reputation, she’s going to have to let Ares get to know the real her—and risk real feelings.

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Review: What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally

A vacation in paradise turns deadly when four teens’ sailing charter hits stormy seas in this propulsive new thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Megan Lally!

Hannah is having an incredible spring break. A week at a resort in Mexico with her best friend Emmy and her family is perfect for de-stressing from senior year, even if it’s awkward being around Emmy’s older brother, Jackson, who she’s had a crush on for as long as she can remember.

Still, the beach is gorgeous. So is the guy they meet in the surf. Except Hannah is now the third wheel in Emmy’s vacation romance.

Eager to impress Emmy, her wealthy new boyfriend charters a private sailboat to make the most of their last day in paradise, and Hannah and Jackson are invited along. As the clouds roll in and the skies darken, their boat is the only one leaving the marina. And the further they get into open water, the more unsettled Hannah becomes. A storm is brewing onboard that’s as deadly as the one racing toward them. Forget surviving graduation. Who will make it back to land alive?

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Mini Reviews: Winterween Wrap Up

We all know I love a readathon and one of my favorites to participate in every year is Winterween hosted by GabbyReads! This year, Winterween was from January 9th – 15th and as always, I had a great time participating! Last month I posted my Winterween TBR, so of course, we’re doing a Winterween wrap up to see if I ended up reading all of the books I said I was going to read!

Grab yourself a cozy beverage of your choice, get comfy and let’s chat about the books that I read for Winterween!

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Review: Death and Dinuguan by Mia P. Manansala

Love is in the air for the citizens of Shady Palms, but Cupid’s arrow isn’t the only thing striking the town—not with another killer on the loose.

Things are looking up for the Brew-ha Cafe, and Lila Macapagal can’t think of anything that could break the spell, especially with Valentine’s Day coming up—she can’t wait to celebrate with her boyfriend, Jae Park. Adding to the lovey-dovey atmosphere is Hana Lee, Shady Palms’s newest resident. She’s also Jae’s beloved cousin and chocolatier at Choco Noir, the latest addition to the town’s culinary offerings. Everything is coming into place for Hana, who left her old life in Minnesota behind to work at Choco Noir, owned by her best friend.

Unfortunately, beneath the sweet surface of Shady Palms runs a bitter undercurrent, as a series of attacks against women-owned businesses in the area escalates from petty theft to assault and murder when Hana is found knocked unconscious inside Choco Noir, and the chocolate shop owner is put out of business—for good.

With Hana left in a coma, a murderer hiding amongst them, and the safety of the women entrepreneurs of Shady Palms at risk, the Park brothers team up with the Brew-ha crew to put a stop to the villain before they strike again.

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Review: Hot Wax by M.L. Rio

Summer, 1989: ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father’s forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills’ wild ride to glory. But fame has sharper fangs than anybody realized, and as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning—one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come.

The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next twenty-nine years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband Rob. But when her father’s sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers. Hitching her fate and Gil’s beloved car to two vagabonds who call an old Airstream trailer home, she finds everything she thought she’d lost forever: desire, adventure, and the woman she once wanted to be. But Rob refuses to let her go. Determined to bring her back where she belongs, he chases her across the country—and drives her to a desperation all her own.

Drenched in knock-down drag-out rock and roll, Hot Wax is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back—where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.

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Mini Reviews: Reading Only Mystery/Thriller Books for a Week

We all know I love a good reading challenge, so I thought that with my first week of vacation time I would challenge myself to only read two genres. Since they’re my favorites, I obviously went with the mystery and thriller genres; especially since I have multiple unread mystery and thrillers on my physical tbr.

Over the course of the week I ended up finished 5 books and started a 6th! Now let’s get into the reviews!

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Mini Reviews: Summerween Wrap Up

And just like that another Summerween has come and gone. I wasn’t able to be as involved with Summerween as I wanted to this year, but I was still able to participate and complete the prompts, which I’m very happy about!

As always, with the end of Summerween comes my wrap up and mini reviews, so let’s get to it!

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Review: Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.

Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.

Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder.

She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.

Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.

She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:

Jet is going to solve her own murder.

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Mini Reviews: 30 Plays in 30 Days Readathon

Towards the end of May I thought “You know, it would be fun to read all of the Tony nominated plays this year!” which then turned into “I’m gonna read a play for every day in June” and suddenly my 30 plays in 30 days readathon was born!

For someone who lives and breathes theatre, I actually don’t read plays as often as one would think (excluding Shakespeare); plays aren’t as accessible as musicals are, but I do buy a lot of plays, especially whenever I’m in New York since it’s not a NYC trip if I don’t go to the Drama Book Shop multiple times. Because of this, a lot of unread plays have gathered on my shelves, and that was another incentive to me deciding to do this reading challenge. I knew that in doing so I’d get through all of the unread plays on my shelves which meant that I actually had to buy some new plays (I know, I had to, it was a real sacrifice) to make it to 30! I mean, I could’ve read 3 other Oscar Wilde plays, but I wanted to limit it to one unread play per author, so I decided against that.

Anyway, I finished my 30 plays in 30 days readathon on June 29th, and I’m honestly so proud of myself for actually completing the readathon! Yes, plays are typically short, but reading 30 in 30 days, especially during the busiest time of my work year, is quite an accomplishment. It was also so much fun! I got to read a lot of plays that I’ve been wanting to read for years, discovered some new ones and found some new favorites! 

Since I read all of these, I figured I just had to make a post of mini reviews for them, so get comfy and cozy and let’s chat about the 30 plays I read in June!

(Please note that some of the plays I talk about include mentions of death, murder and rape)

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