Random House Ballantine Archives

Book Review:: Sunburned | Katherine Wood

Actions have consequences, and the law doesn’t care about good intentions. Sunburned is a brand-new novel that will have you glued to the pages as a high-stakes mystery is solved.

Audrey is a discovery agent. She helps dig up facts for court. But she wasn’t always. Once she was just a girl in love with one of the brothers of the family she grew up with, with a mother who had a recent devastating cancer diagnosis, and extraordinary coding skills. What would you do, if you had the means and opportunity to have a chance at saving her?

Now years later, her mother is gone and she is estranged from the two brothers, when her ex-lover calls. Now a billionaire, he wants her to track down who is blackmailing him. It’s not just his own morally brackish decisions coming back to haunt him, the dirt they have on him will bring back to light the events of that summer long ago that has the potential to implicate them all.

What a nail-biter! The narrative jumped back and forth between Audrey’s blackmail investigation in the present and the shared past of the characters long ago. The tone is quite dark, but it never made me so uncomfortable I thought I wouldn’t be able to continue (I’m a pretty sensitive thriller reader). I thought it was very compelling, and I never did quite land on guessing how the whole thing would end.

This is absolutely a great beach read for those who love thrillers. Maybe if you’re going to be scuba diving anytime soon though…pick something else! That scene was absolutely the most intense of the entire thing. I loved this book, and I’m excited to find more from Katherine Wood!

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:: Sunburned
Author:: Katherine Wood
Genre:: Mystery/Thirller
Publisher:: Bantam
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 12h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Published:: July 1st, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

The Villa | Rachel Hawkins
Famous Last Words | Gillian McAllister
Saltwater | Katy Hays

Book Review:: Slow Burn Summer | Josie Silver

Fake it until you make it. Good advice, right? Maybe not always.

Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver Book Cover

Kate Elliot was an actress as a young woman. Now, after a divorce, she reaches out to her old agency in a last-ditch effort to get a job to support herself. Turns out his son has taken over the agency, and he has an idea for her she never could have anticipated: be the face of a book written by another author who doesn’t wish to be connected to the work in any way. She’s not a ghostwriter, she’s just the ghost. It’s odd, but she’s desperate, so she agrees. With the help of her agent, Charlie they begin crafting a whole persona, and when it comes time to launch the book, she’s got tour appearances, radio, and tv interviews to navigate. But it’ll be fine, she’s an actress, after all. And Charlie is there to make sure she’s okay every step of the way. But why does it still feel uncomfortable?

I’m not sure I even understand the premise of this book. It’s explained in full, but does it actually make sense? Why would a publishing house go through all this dang trouble to sell a book they’re sure will sell anyway? It is inherently risky and they’re kind of asking for it to blow up in their face. For me, the dishonesty of it just niggled at me through the whole thing.

That being said, I did enjoy the romance of it. Charlie is a man written by a woman, for sure. He’s protective and sultry and never says the wrong thing. There are a few really swoon-worthy moments. It’s not a straight-forward thing though (it never is). There are plenty of hurdles that stand between them in a way that reminded me a little bit of Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan or The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.

Overall it is an easy entertaining read, but nothing about it really stood out to me as being exceptional. I’m glad I read it, but I probably won’t go back to reread it, so I gave it three stars.

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:: Slow Burn Summer
Author:: Josie Silver
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Random House Ballantine | Dell
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 11h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Published:: June 10th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

The Perfect Rom-Com | Melissa Ferguson
Yin Yang Love Song | Lauren King Jessen
Yours Truly | Abby Jimenez
The Rom-Commers | Katherine Center

Book Review:: A Sea of Unspoken Things | Adrienne Young

We all have secrets. This is the story of a twin trying to discover the secrets her brother was keeping, which may have led to his unexpected and untimely death. But all she has is what was left behind, and it tells a broken story.

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young Book Cover, Pacific Northwest Coastline

Johnny was an odd duck – dark and mysterious, even to his twin sister, James. Between them was some kind of supernatural connection twins tend to have. But James felt something even more than that in times of great distress. Like she was in both bodies at once, somehow. It is how she explains the crystal clear sensation she got of the bullet that killed him hitting her own chest. And she still has that preternatural feeling. It won’t go away, even though he’s gone, and James is certain he’s trying to tell her something from beyond the grave.

As a mystery, this works really well. There’s a clear objective, there are lots of compelling clues, and a cast that supports the story well. I was hooked. But the little *sparkle* I love about every Adrienne Young book I’ve read so far are her complicated romance plotlines, and this one did not disappoint.

Now, in no way is this a romance novel – this is firmly mystery territory. But there’s this guy, right? And despite their messy history, he’s there and ready to help her figure out what the hell happened to Johnny.

It’s a simple story really, but the writing is skillful and compelling. Another mark of an Adrienne Young story is some kind of magical realism element. With June Farrow it was a foundation of the story and integral to the plotline the whole way through, with Spells for Forgetting it was a little more understated, but still foundational, but with Unspoken, it’s in the little details. The twin feeling. Their pet Smoke. Maybe even the forest itself.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m honored I was chosen by the publisher and netgalley to receive a free download of the story in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’m sure this isn’t the only time I’ll be visiting this one!

Details

Title:: A Sea of Unspoken Things
Author:: Adrienne Young
Genre:: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Publisher:: Delacorte Press | Random House Ballantine
Length:: 288 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 16m
Audiobook Narrator:: Christine Lakin
Audiobook Publisher:: Random House Audio
Published:: January 7th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars