Contemporary Archives - Page 15 of 24

Book Review:: What Happens in Amsterdam | Rachel Lynn Solomon

Sometimes you have to go to the other side of the world to figure yourself out.

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon Book Cover

Dani’s life is in a bit of a shambles – she’s left with no boyfriend and no job and decides to apply to something exciting across the world in Amsterdam, a place she’s dreamed of ever since her family hosted an exchange student from there when she was in high school. She gets it, and she stumbles into him almost immediately after arriving. Did I mention they were more than friends back in the day? And that he broke her heart? This is the story of their second chance.

This book is awesome. From the cover to the characters to the interesting steamy scenes the type of which I’ve never encountered…I won’t be forgetting this one anytime soon.

Turns out running away from your problems doesn’t actually solve anything, and her first few weeks in Amsterdam are not as idyllic as she’d hoped. She needs a new place to live and a new job if she wants to stay, and lucky for her, Wouter has a whole building he’s caring for and helps her out with the first of those things.

If you don’t love Amsterdam already before reading this book, you’ll probably fall in love with it just as much as the characters. Dani’s journey navigating her new life full of new friends and experiences is the kind of escapism we need in this timeline!

I bought in full stop with the connection between Wouter and Dani. There is big chemistry there, and though their past leads to some uncomfortable awkwardness at the start, when they loosen up, there is a great basis for friendship there that develops right alongside everything else.

This book got really close to five stars for me, but I couldn’t go all the way there. In this case it feels like mentioning some of the tropes is introducing spoilers, so I will just say that there’s one here that is usually really hard to pull off, but in this book, it mostly works. For me there is some level of cheesy about it though that is just never gonna wash off. The only other thing that sticks out as a strike is Wouter’s reasoning for breaking things off the way he did when they were younger. It didn’t cut it for me, but he’s an honest guy, so it doesn’t feel like he’s lying either…it just felt like a weak point in the backstory.

Would I recommend this book to other romance aficionados? Absolutely. This is one of the 2025 spring/summer romance releases I think you won’t want to miss!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: What Happens in Amsterdam
Author:: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 384 pages
Audio Length:: 11h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Published:: May 6th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4.5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

This Summer Will Be Different | Carley Fortune
The Paradise Problem | Christina Lauren
The Tourist Attraction | Sarah Morgenthaler
The Slowest Burn | Sarah Chamberlain

Book Review:: Colton Gentry’s Third Act | Jeff Zentner

I haven’t read many (or any?) romance novels based on the male’s point-of-view. Colton Gentry may be the first! For awhile it seemed like everywhere I turned there was another glowing review of this book until finally I was too curious to resist.

Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner Book Cover

Colton Gentry shot down his own country music career with a gun control speech after his best friend was killed in a music festival shooting. His audience doesn’t care (apparently). His label doesn’t care. His wife doesn’t even care. Or, maybe she did, but she was already sleeping with someone else, so if she did care, it was about the wrong things. Now Colton is alone. Broke. Grieving. And trying not to soothe the immense discomfort at the bottom of a bottle.

There’s nowhere he can go but home.

After high school Colt left Kentucky in pursuit of his musical dreams. His high school sweetheart left to pursue hers in architecture. But fate has landed them both back home. Though he broke her heart once upon a time, Luann extends a much-needed sympathetic hand to help him get back on his feet.

This book is chock full of great themes. Friendship, forgiveness, redemption, resilience, courage, sobriety, second chances, and holding firm when you know something’s right or wrong. Colton’s journey isn’t an easy one, but if you’re looking for a book that is ultimately uplifting, you’ve found it here.

Zentner is clearly a talented writer. I was quite impressed several times as I read. However, I was missing a little x-factor spark that would have pushed this book into five star territory. With a goodreads rating of over 4 stars, clearly I’m in the minority there.

Details

Title:: Colton Gentry’s Third Act
Author:: Jeff Zentner
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 1m
Audiobook Narrator:: Charlie Thurston
Audiobook Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Published:: April 30th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Summertime Punchline | Betty Corrello
Wild Love | Elsie Silver
Funny Story | Emily Henry

Book Review:: Promise Me Sunshine | Cara Bastone

One does not simply move on when their best friend dies. The friend who has been by their side through every important milestone in their life. The friend who is the other half of who they are. When the one left behind doesn’t even know who they are without the other. So when Lou dies, Lenny is not okay.

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone Book Cover

She can’t go home. She can’t answer the phone. She can’t feed herself properly or take any kind of care of herself. She’s in full denial. But she does take a short-term nannying job one weekend to help out a single mother, and caring for someone else? That’s what she’s used to. That, she can handle.

It’s where she meets Miles, the uncle of the kid she was hired to care for. Though they get off on the wrong foot (who can blame the guy, when she looks like a hollowed-out shell of a healthy woman and he didn’t know her from Eve), Miles sees right through Lenny. He recognizes her pain, because he’s felt it too – a grief so profound it fundamentally rearranges you. They strike up a deal that she’ll call him when she’s in the thickest throes of her pain, if she’ll help him connect better with his niece, who Lenny is so good with. This is the beginning of a stunning and glorious friendship.

This is not your typical romance novel. This book is dripping with sadness and loss and the kind of hopeless feeling you can’t just shrug off or accept. It’s the kind of feeling that leaves you falling asleep on perpetually running ferries at night or showing up to nightclubs with all-night dance parties – anything to stay out of the apartment you can’t stand to exist in alone. It’s the kind of sadness that leaves you gasping for air through tears and sobs and the most minute of memories. But death happens every day, and when you find someone who understands, when you find someone who sees you and isn’t afraid of the grip grief has on you…that person is worth everything.

I can’t seem to get into the details of this one, can I? I keep harping on the vibes, but man, this book is excellent. Lenny is hurting, but she’s a free-spirit fun-loving bubbly girl by default, which plays in beautiful contrast with Miles’ buttoned-up and reserved sort of stiff-man quiet-guy thing he’s got going. They’re an unlikely pair, maybe, but sometimes all you need is someone who understands to just be with you. Sit with you. Sleep next to you…so you’re not alone.

I don’t really have any notes for this one. It’s a little long, and I can think of a few scenes I would personally have shortened, but really, it all works, and if it was shorter I’d have wanted more, surely. I’ve listened to a few of Cara Bastone’s Audible Originals stories, and I have to say she has a knack for creating characters with real depth, even in the shorter format. Of course a full-length novel was going to crush it in character work.

This is the type of story that lingers. Lenny and Miles have been in my thoughts many times in the days since I experienced their story. If you’re looking for a novel to emotionally wreck you that is ultimately uplifting and hopeful, this is your official recommendation for Promise Me Sunshine.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Promise Me Sunshine
Author:: Cara Bastone
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: The Dial Press
Length:: 416 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 11m
Audiobook Narrator:: Alex Finke
Audiobook Publisher:: Random House Audio
Published:: March 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3 (open door but…classy? not vulgar)

If you liked this book, check out these other books about grief…

PS I Hate You | Lauren Connolly
The Last Love Note | Emma Grey
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife | Anna Johnston

Book Review:: Ambush | Colleen Coble

Paradise Alden is ready to confront the demons of her past. She takes a job as the vet at a big animal rescue in the hometown her parents were murdered in, hoping to find out more about what exactly happened that horrible night.

The animal refuge is run by the family she was closest to after her parents died, but they’re also the reason she was bounced back into the foster system, when she was in a bad situation. Trouble is, sometimes bad can turn worse, and unfortunately that’s what happened to Paradise.

In this first book of a new series by Colleen Coble, Paradise is searching for answers, but does she want justice? Or will she be able to find forgiveness in her heart for past transgressions?

The action gets started as soon as Paradise steps into her new role, and it doesn’t let up. With large animals (especially the large predators) in their sanctuary, careful execution of strict procedures are paramount to safety, and when locks are left open, animals not where they’re meant to be, and traps set for the unwitting, accidents are inevitable.

For me, the pacing was a little unhinged. It is one hurdle after another after another with barely room to adjust before the next big event happens. More incidents doesn’t necessarily mean more danger, and I think this book could have done with some trimming of the excessive dangerous episodes.

I found the relationship between Paradise and the son of the Sanctuary owner, Blake, very well done. They were once teenaged sweethearts, but after fifteen years of hard lifetime apart, will they be able to forgive one another and develop a friendship anywhere near the level of trust they once did? There are a lot of complicated emotions there, and the dynamics of Paradise and his family is a beautiful thing.

One of the main themes of the book is forgiveness and finding faith. When Paradise confronts one of her greatest fears, she has a moment of transcendence, but for me her realizations felt too in-your-face and repetitive through the rest of the book. If they had been a little more inter-woven into the story and subtle in the language, I think it would have been more immersive.

Overall it was quite a unique setting for a story which was very interesting to read. The characters are good, and I’m curious to know where the series is headed next!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Ambush (Sanctuary #1)
Author:: Colleen Coble
Genre:: Thriller
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 55m
Audiobook Narrator:: Karen Peakes
Published:: March 5th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

I Think I Was Murdered | Colleen Coble & Rick Acker
Before We Were Us | Denise Hunter
Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Book Review:: Intermezzo | Sally Rooney

I am perpetually entranced by the writing of Sally Rooney. Her prose is simple and sad, poetic and deeply honest. Each of her novels feels like a gift: an intimate experience of authentic humanity that almost feel as if they could be occurring within your own mind.

I read Beautiful World, Where Are You? three times back-to-back and cover-to-cover. I read Normal People in one sitting and am unsure if I’ll ever be brave enough to read it again. I have yet to experience Conversations with Friends, but I trust it will be moving and insightful and devastating in a way I could never anticipate.

Intermezzo (in chess):: An unexpected move that is played in the middle of a combination. Causes severe threat and forces an immediate response, designed to frustrate the opponent.
(at least this is what the ol’ google tells me)

In the case of the narrative, the Intermezzo is the death of Peter and Ivan’s father, before the story begins. Peter is a human rights lawyer in his thirties and Ivan, a young twenties chess savant who peaked early and is on the decline in the Ireland chess circuit. The novel delves into the sometimes-volatile relationship between the two of them as well as the romantic connections they become entangled in all while they’re processing the grief of their father’s death.

But describing the plot isn’t going to convince you to read this book. What happens in a Sally Rooney book is the least important thing about it, in my opinion. It is the writing itself that is valuable. The unique perspective she pulls you into – forcing you deep inside the head of the character, understanding what is happening, and at the same time examining every line of thought that occurs to them in real time. She takes her time in some moments, luxuriating in her careful command of language, and in others skims over the things that don’t matter, pulling out only a word or two here and there to convey the passage of time, or events occurring. It is the most fascinating thing, and it reminds me of my favorite writer of all time: Hemingway.

Intermezzo is a masterpiece.

Read it. Savor it. Adore.

Details

Title:: Intermezzo
Author:: Sally Rooney
Genre:: Literary Fiction
Publisher:: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Length:: 454 pages
Audio Length:: 16h 29m
Audiobook Narrator:: Eanna Hardwicke
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: September 24, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Amazing Grace Adams | Fran Littlewood
The Most Fun We Ever Had | Claire Lombardo

Book Review:: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave | Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan’s relentless adventure continues in her fifth book, Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave. Not only is it my favorite title of the series, it might be my favorite installment of the series, period.

If you’re new to the Finlay Donovan world, welcome! You’re in for a wild and exciting ride, but you’re going to want to start it at the beginning. To avoid any spoilers for you, start with my review of Finlay Donovan is Killing It and I’ll see you back here in a few books! If you’re wondering if this series is worth the investment of time – my answer is emphatically yes.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano Book Cover

Just when we thought she might be out of the woods, the dead body in Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard turns out to have a connection to Steven, and as we learned in book two, Finlay may have her qualms with the man, but she isn’t about to let him go down…especially when she believes he’s being framed. Steven’s ill-renowned womanizing ways are catching up with him (again), and Finlay is the only one who seems to think the woman claiming an affair with him is lying. When two crime podcasters catch wind of the connection, Finlay and Vero have to step back into action with their own investigation to find out what really happened before Steven gets pinned with the murder.

I feel like Cosimano has gotten back to the roots of Finlay’s story in this book. It’s not quite the same ‘caught in a web of consequences I could have never anticipated’ magic as Killing It has, but it felt far more simplified and organic than the last few, which were becoming so tangled and convoluted it was hard to keep track of all the moving pieces. They were still good (my reviews are linked at the end of this post if you need a refresher), but they were almost break-neck in their pacing. This one still has a lot going on, but it felt much more manageable.

More than any other in this series so far, this book is about girl power: female friendship, companionship, and trust. One might say it’s the main theme in the series, and the embodiment in this book was exactly what you might expect from a Finlay story while still being mysterious and surprising as hell. Sometimes we are all each other has, and we shan’t be underestimated 😉

It’s almost stupid how easy it is to pull me in with a little bit of romance…after Finlay’s confessions to Nick in the last book, I couldn’t wait to see the state of their affair afterwards. It’s no secret I’m a fan of that man, and I giggled in delight at the developments between these pages. Speaking of love, Vero and Javi are working some kinks out of their whirlwind relationship behind the scenes, and I can’t wait to see where that leads. That woman deserves a little bit of romance – soak it in, girl!

And did I forget to mention the Hollywood exec thirsting for movie rights to Finlay’s books? Some of his conditions are problematic, and sure to stir up more trouble down the road…

This series is pure, hilarious gold, and I’m so happy to see there are at least two more books lined up in this series. I’m happy to proclaim my love from the rooftops, because more readers mean more books, and that is always welcome news to me. If there’s an author I trust to pull off a long series based on accidental crime and complicated hijinks, at this point, I think Cosimano has proven she’s it.

Details

Title:: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan #5)
Author:: Elle Cosimano
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Minotaur Books
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 18m
Audiobook Narrator:: Angela Dawe
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: March 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four

How to Solve Your Own Murder | Kristen Perrin

Book Review:: Wild Dark Shore | Charlotte McConaghy

A few years ago I was in a phase of absolutely inhaling books for a minute there. Most of what I read then is now a blur, but one book among them stands out. I still think of it often: Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy. When I saw she has a new release, I jumped at the chance to read it early, and I’m so grateful to have received an early copy through the publisher and netgalley. If there is one thing I know to be true about her works, it’s that you can count on her for an interesting, intelligent work that includes fascinating scientific facts that are woven into the story so well they become unforgettable. Oh yeah, and the stories are compelling as hell, too.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy Book Cover

In Wild Dark Shore the body of a woman washes up on a tiny island called Shearwater far off the southern coast of Australia – closest to Antartica. There she is rescued by the only living souls on the island: a father and his three children. The only other occupants of the island are an abandoned research facility, and a seed bank the rising seas are threatening to drown.

This novel is shrouded in secrecy. The family has secrets, the woman has secrets, and the eerie island itself has secrets. As the woman, Rowan, gets to know the family, the lines of secrecy start to blur, and everything she thought she knew, even the deepest truths of her own character, turn out to be malleable.

I think the closest description I can come up with to describe the genre of this book is a literary thriller. It is moody and dark and mysterious and there is always a sense of impending doom. The island itself is out to get them in a way, between the freezing temperatures, the violent seas, the frequent storms, and the rocky terrain, anything at all could happen. And it has. The island is known for its ghosts, and Rowan is there to find one of them.

The characterization of this novel is wonderful. Each of them is interesting in their own right, and whatever it is that makes them most unique adds something to the story. Things happen the way they do because of the personalities on the island. I like that we have a middle-aged woman who’s been tossed around by the world a little bit, alone, but strong, as the focus of the narrative. It’s an important perspective and I feel like I don’t see it enough.

The writing, too, is gorgeous. Bleak and beautiful. It was something that stood out to me about Migrations as well, her style is very world-weary, but there is always that little spark of hope to keep you going.

The version I read was the audiobook, and the voice actors did a wonderful job. There were multiple voices for the multiple POVs, and each of them seemed to match the characters very well.

Like Migrations, I think Wild Dark Shore is a book that is going to stick with me for a long time. It is haunting and lovely and sometimes disturbing but ultimately about survival and the lengths we’ll go to accomplish it for ourselves and the ones we love.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Wild Dark Shore
Author:: Charlotte McConaghy
Genre:: Literary Thriller
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 35m
Audiobook Narrator:: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, Steve West
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: March 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

A Sea of Unspoken Things | Adrienne Young
Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
The Heiress | Rach e l Hawkins

Book Review:: When We Grow Up | Angelica Baker

Looking for a book that hits on every hyper-zennial political and culture topic there is without actually giving any substance to any of it?

Man, I hate writing negative reviews, but this one was just.not.it.
I will give the two major trigger warnings for the book here so you don’t have to read through the rest: miscarriage & extra-marital affairs.

When We Grow Up by Angelica Baker Book Cover

The premise of When We Grow Up is a group of friends from childhood go on a vacation together just before turning thirty.

I was expecting it to be an exploration of deep humanity and how we grow and change and how things in our lives that seemed so foundational just don’t make sense anymore. Instead we have a whiny narrator, Clare, who has major self-esteem issues and a group of friends who don’t even like each other all that much (past or present).

Clare is floundering. She doesn’t seem confident in any of the choices she’s made in her life. She also doesn’t seem close to any of these friends. It’s a paradox that they know one another more deeply than anyone because of how much shame and humiliation they witnessed in each other growing up (inevitable in middle school), but they also know hardly anything about each other as an adult. They claim they’re so close, but they almost never talk about anything personal. Everything is so damn surface level. Then when they finally do, it’s like they could be talking about literally anyone.

I only know Clare by the choices she makes in the novel, and how self-critical she is. I don’t really know a damn thing about her character. That’s a problem.

I didn’t like Jessie, the only other girl in the group (why are there so many girls on the cover?), and the boys didn’t have enough personality to even tell who is who until far too late in the novel. There was a black one and a gay one, and I thought they were the same person for most of the book. We knew who Liam was because Clare is having an affair with him, which also irks me because she didn’t seem to even know why, beginning, middle, or end. (I’m not even counting this as a spoiler since it is alluded to in the blurb).

The biggest problem was I didn’t care. There was nothing interesting about the book except the first chapter. Their vacation in Hawai’i happens to coincide with the false missile alert that went out to everyone on-island in 2018. That happens on page one, and kind of explains the whole book. The characters are completely apathetic, even when they’re warned they’re about to die. This absolutely should have been a short story. It actually would have been an excellent short story.

I wanted to like a book like this. As I read I was hoping that things would shift and the insights would start bringing everything together in some profound way. Nope. Never happened. The only insight here is that Clare is unhappy and kind of judgy. In some ways it kind of felt disparaging toward the whole generation, which, for context, I am the same age as these characters. In 2018 I was turning 30.

(spoiler)
Near the end, Jessie kind of confronts Clare by telling her being a boy’s girl is essentially a fucked-up thing to be.

Ahem.

Like I said, this book was not for me.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: When We Grow Up
Author:: Angelica Baker
Genre:: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 288 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 53m
Audiobook Narrator:: Imani Jade Powers
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: February 25th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 2-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

The Most Fun We Ever Had | Claire Lombardo
It’s All Relative | Rachel Magee
The Summer Pact | Emily Giffin

Book Review:: The Perfect Rom-Com | Melissa Ferguson

I am happy to report another 5-star romance to blissfully indulge in with a title that isn’t shy about what it is: The Perfect Rom Com.

The Perfect Rom Com by Melissa Ferguson Book Cover

Bryony Page is a passionate ESL teacher with a dream of becoming an author and using her earnings to bolster the perpetually under-funded school she works at. She’s written a profound literary masterpiece that is twice the length of a typical debut novel and is frantically trying to find a publisher who will give it a chance. Jack Sterling, literary agent to the stars, is her last chance…but when their short meeting begins to tank, she surprises him with her quick wit and sharp analysis skills, and he realizes she might be the answer he’s been searching for for another project. If she agrees to ghostwrite one of the biggest names in the biz, he’ll work with her to get her passion project greenlit.

And thus begins the most romantic of romances.

Bryony’s character is very well developed. She has dreams and passions and history, and as far as her work is concerned, she knows exactly what she wants, and she’s determined to get it. Jack’s character is maybe not as visible in the story, but he doesn’t feel flat. He’s incredibly good at his high stress job, and though that makes it hard to distinguish his true feelings from Bryony’s perspective, since she’s his client and he’ll do anything to appease his clients, I feel like the integrity of his character is plain as day.

The romance is so deliciously crafted. They can’t really indulge in a usual romance because of their unique situation, but the friendship that develops between them is so genuine and endearing it fuels the craving and yearning for more. Everyone seems to see the potential between them before Bryony, and I was SO on board for every succulent sentence of it.

The story’s development didn’t lack either. There are real, serious conflicts that Bryony and Jack are contending with that don’t have easy answers, but in perfect rom com fashion, everything resolves itself in the end, and the characters are done justice in a way that satisfies the built-up tension.

I was seriously so engrossed in this book the way that only great ones can do. I can’t wait to read more from Melissa Ferguson, and I hope you find the time to add this one to your ever-expanding TBR if you’re a romance lover like me!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: The Perfect Rom Com
Author:: Melissa Ferguson
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 10m
Audiobook Narrator:: Karissa Vacker
Published:: February 11th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Business Casual | BK Borison
Funny Story | Emily Henry
Hello Stranger | Katherine Center
The Slowest Burn | Sarah Chamberlain

Book Review:: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice | Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice is the fourth book in a contemporary mystery series starring a romantic suspense writer (and young mother) who has gotten herself into quite a real-life kerfuffle involving crimes she never imagined being wrapped up in. It is a consecutive series, so please click over to my review of book one of the series, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, to avoid any spoilers.
(Links to the other books in this series can be found at the bottom of this post)

So, let’s talk about book four…

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano Book Cover

After seeing Javier abducted by some goons at the garage, Finlay and Vero are off to solve Vero’s financial problems once and for all. The only thing is, they’ve brought the whole kit & caboodle with them. Fin’s mom, her ex-husband Steven, and the kids are all tagging along for the holiday in Atlantic City. Now they just have to find Javier, get Vero’s debtors off her back, and deal with the two dead bodies they stumbled into on their quest. That’s not all – wunderkind-hacker Cam calls for help when he gets himself in way too deep with Feliks, and to top it all off, the usual entourage of police characters show up unexpectedly soon after their arrival. Should be no problem pulling this off without anyone getting suspicious, riiight?

There’s a lot going on in this installment of the Finlay Donovan series! Maybe the most so far in one novel? Though it always seems that way, doesn’t it? There is a lot of overheard intel and one near miss after another as Fin and Vero struggle to solve their problems without being discovered themselves.

I am so impressed with Cosimano’s ability to constantly raise stakes for these characters while keeping everything relevant to so many aspects of what is going on, and still making it somehow plausible that everyone we care about stays out of trouble. It keeps you so far on the edge of your seat thinking again and again – it can’t keep on this way forever, can it!? But somehow it does, and it’s so yummy to read.

In the last book we got some clues into Vero’s relationship with Javier going far deeper than we might have previously expected, and it raises the stakes immediately in this book when he’s in danger and Vero is the one responsible. I’m hoping the best for a happy future between those two.

Finlay and Nick on the other hand…I fear they may be destined to keep a certain distance between them considering the obstacles standing between them. At the beginning of this book he was a superhero – assuring Finlay that she deserves a man who can handle all her imperfects and standing strong there with her to be that man. But Nick has been burned…repeatedly…in this series…and is all the more protective over his heart. I don’t know how the author could pull this off, but I’m hoping somehow Finlay is able to come clean to him before the series is over and he doesn’t have to choose between her and his career.

I’m dying to read the next book in the series, and lucky for me, I got my hands on an arc copy! The review is coming for book 5, Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave, next week!

Details

Title:: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Finlay Donovan #4)
Author:: Elle Cosimano
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Minotaur Books
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 5m
Audiobook Narrator:: Angela Dawe
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: March 5th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3