Book Review: Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Writing Mr. Wrong
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: June 24, 2025
Print length: 333 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Purchased

From a New York Times bestselling author, a second-chance rom-com about an author who goes viral when readers discover her book’s hero was inspired by a beloved pro hockey player—and her high school crush.

Debut author Gemma Stanton knows romance readers love a bad boy—and she has the perfect prototype for her novel: Mason Moretti. High school hockey god-turned-pro player, Mason was Gemma’s first crush, but she couldn’t forget the sting of his very public rejection. So, she casts him as a hot-headed Highlander in her spicy new historical romance.

She never expected readers would find out on live TV when a morning show host invites Mason for a surprise on-air reunion . . .

As an aging hockey player with a rep for being ruthless on the ice—and roguish off of it—Mason has an image problem. So, when his meet-cute with Gemma goes viral, Mason proposes they build on the momentum with a few fake dates to boost her book sales—and his sagging profile.

But when the fictional flirting gets a little too real, Mason realizes Gemma actually makes him want to become a better man—someone worthy of her trust and her love.

I adore pretty much everything I’ve read by Kelley Armstrong, but I’ll admit I was surprised when she published her first contemporary romance last year, Finding Mr. Write. Quite a departure from her thrillers, ghost stories, and timeslip adventures! And yet, I shouldn’t have been surprised that the book was terrific. She’s such a gifted writer — there’s no doubt that whatever she writes, in whatever genre, will be well worth reading.

And now, Armstrong is back with a follow-up romance: Writing Mr. Wrong. Once again focused on a romance writer, this book connects with the previous in that the main character is the sister of the other book’s love interest. That said, it’s absolutely not necessary to read these in a particular order. (Just grab whichever you can find!)

In Writing Mr. Wrong, the main character is Gemma Stanton, a debut author in her mid-thirties who has returned to her true passion — writing — after a bitter divorce and too many years of stifling her dreams. When she’s invited on a local talk show to celebrate her book’s release, the host — a former high school classmate — blindsides her by including Mason Moretti, a huge hockey star for the Vancouver Growlers, and Gemma’s high school crush.

The first romance Gemma had written featured the kind of guy she liked—sweet and considerate. When it hadn’t sold, her writing group had talked her into penning what the market seemed to want. An alpha hero. A self-absorbed, egotistical, inconsiderate, talks-with-his-fists asshole. So she’d dipped into her past and pulled up the perfect guy for the role.

To anyone who knows Mason the similarity between him and Gemma’s fictional hero (and asshole) Laird Argyle is glaringly obvious. Gemma is mortified, but Mason does his best to save the situation and spare her embarrassment.

As they talk afterward, Mason is kind, but Gemma is wary. He hurt her badly back in high school, and it’s been almost twenty years since then with no contact. Mason has a suggestion: Why not pretend to date for a bit, with support from their publicists? It’s sure to boost her book sales, capitalize on the gossip from the talk show, and will also help with his own PR, which has taken a hit recently.

With hesitation, Gemma agrees, and Mason promises her a perfect date — which he then plans without consulting her in the slightest. It’s a disaster, to say the least. But when they go off-script for a more spontaneous outing, sparks fly, and some of their easy connection from their teen years starts to come back.

Gemma and Mason clearly have unfinished business and unresolved feelings, and could potentially be great together — but Mason is (as Gemma’s mother describes him) careless. He’s not intentionally or knowingly an asshole, but he makes assumptions and fails to see how his good intentions might backfire if he’s not considering the other person involved. Mason gets a rude awakening when he finally reads Gemma’s book and realizes that he should NOT be flattered by being the inspiration for Laird Argyle — the guy is awful, and Mason is forced to consider how much truth there is in his fictional portrayal.

The latter part of the book focuses on Mason requesting anti-asshole lessons from Gemma — he’ll whisk them away to wherever she wants, to her specifications, where she can work on her next book, he’ll do all the meals and organizing, and in return, she’ll explain to him why his choices don’t always work, and where he could do better. Of course, things don’t always go as planned, but there’s quite a bit of fun to be had in seeing the two of them navigate travel mishaps, bad decisions, and readjustment of expectations.

Gemma and Mason clearly have chemistry, and both are portrayed sympathetically. For all that Mason screws up, he’s not a bad guy — not at all — and needs to learn to overcome the avoidance patterns drilled into him from childhood. His intentions and heart are generally lovely; it’s in the execution that he fails. Meanwhile, Gemma has lots of baggage from both her teen years with Mason and the years with her terrible ex-husband. She too has work to do, in terms of overcoming fears, learning to trust, and making sure not to lose herself for the sake of making someone else love her.

I really enjoyed both characters and their story arcs, and the book overall is a treat. There’s terrific banter, plenty of chemistry, and some lovely set pieces and funny mishaps.

I did wonder about Gemma’s book — to me, it sounds pretty unappealing, but I suppose there are readers who would enjoy such a story. (And it’s heartening to see that as Gemma gets her confidence back, she’s able to stand up for herself with her publisher and transform her second novel into the story that she truly wants to tell.)

Writing Mr. Wrong is a delight — clever, funny, serious when it needs to be, and totally entertaining. I’m not sure when exactly Kelley Armstrong sleeps: Writing Mr. Wrong is one of four novels novels she’s releasing in 2025. All I can say is that I’m grateful that it’ll be a very long time before I run out of her books to read!

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

7Aug2025

Book Review: The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Mystery Writer
Author: Sulari Gentill
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: March 1, 2024
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Library
Rating:

A literary thriller about an aspiring writer who meets and falls in love with her literary idol—only to find him murdered the day after she gave him her manuscript to read.

There’s nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory—until it turns out to be true

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother’s doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer?

What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die.

The Mystery Writer was my book group’s pick for July, and as with many of our group reads, it’s unlikely that I would have picked this one up on my own. Unfortunately, while many of our book group books end up being surprise hits for me, this one just didn’t quite work, despite some clever hooks and unusual story beats.

Theo Benton, approximately 20 year old, drops out of law school in Australia to show up at her older brother Gus’s home in Kansas. Gus and Theo were both left trust funds by their American grandfather, requiring them to become lawyers in order to inherit. Gus did, and is a partner in a local practice. Theo, however, has realized that she doe not want to become a lawyer; instead, she wants to write. Gus agrees that she can stay with him while she pursues her writing goals.

As she starts writing at the cafe where she’ll soon become a regular, she encounters another writer — an older man whom Theo eventually identifies as successful author Dan Murdoch. Theo and Dan form a friendship, and he takes an interest in her writing, offering her tips and encouragement. Finally, when Theo finishes her manuscript, she gives it to Dan to read. He’s enthusiastic, but declines her request to send it to his high-powered literary agent. And the very next day, Theo discovers that Dan has been murdered.

Theo and Gus become entangled in the unfolding mystery as more murders occur — and the two of them appear to be the connection between all the dead bodies. With the police focusing on them and their lives in danger, Theo takes a drastic step to keep them safe.

That’s about enough plot summary to get the general gist without getting into spoiler territory. The plot revolves around convoluted conspiracy theories, and hinges on Theo making some truly ridiculous decisions. So many elements require a complete suspension of disbelief that it becomes harder and harder as the book progresses to take it seriously in the slightest.

Survivalists and preppers, Australian hippies (“ferals”), crazed fans, sinister secrets of the publishing world… there’s a lot going on, and yet, not much of it makes any sense. Theo’s ability to sit down and pound out a potential bestseller over the course of a few months doesn’t feel credible, and neither is her connection to the writer whom she just happened to stumble across. Her gullibility in dealing with the agency felt like a breaking point for me (as was her brainless decision to give someone the address of the secure location where she was hiding out). If not for the book group commitment, I likely would have quit somewhere in the middle.

Still, I finished the book. The story itself moves quickly and it’s a fast read, so I was able to get through it without too much effort. At some point, I felt invested enough to want to see it through and see how it all wrapped up.

I can’t say that I actually recommend The Mystery Writer. There are some interesting facets to the story, but overall, it’s simply not believable and strains much too hard to make it at all convincing. I just didn’t buy it.

PS — Why did the publisher stick this cover on the book? There are no typewriters involved in this story! Feels like a lazy way to say “hey, this book is about a writer!”

Given my lukewarm to not-so-great reaction to this book, it may seem like a contradiction to say that I’d still like to read more by this author! Having read some interviews and other materials on the writing process for this book, I get what she was trying to do, even if I didn’t especially love it. I’d be willing to try again with another of her books, possibly her upcoming new release, to see if a change of topic works better for me.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

3Jul2024

Book Review: Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Finding Mr. Write
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: June 25, 2024
Print length: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Purchased

A fun romantic comedy about a woman writing under a male pseudonym and the man she hires to play the role in public.

Daphne McFadden is tired of rejection. After submitting her manuscript to dozens of agents, she’s gotten rejection after rejection, and now it’s time for something drastic. And so, Daphne submits her manuscript again… under a man’s name.

Imagine her surprise when it sells for big money at an auction and soon becomes a publicity darling. Only she needs a man to play her super macho alter ego Zane Remington. Enter Chris Stanton, who absolutely looks the part of a survivalist and has a talent for pressing her piss‑me‑off‑I‑dare‑you buttons while somehow being endearing at the same time. But Chris has a few secrets of his own, including the fact that he’s really an accountant who has no idea how to chop wood or paddle a canoe. When Daphne’s book becomes a bestselling sensation and they’re forced to go on tour together, Daphne finds herself wondering if this city‑boy geek is exactly what she needs to push her to claim her dreams.

Author Kelley Armstrong writes books I’ve recently become practically obsessed with, including two amazing timeslip series: A Stitch in Time (romantic timeslip with supernatural elements) and A Rip Through Time (timeslip focused on Victorian police procedurals — with a smidge of romance too). Finding Mr. Write is quite a departure — this is the author’s first rom-com… but have no fear! In the hands of this talented author, it’s fun and sassy and just a wee bit outside the norm for the genre.

In Finding Mr. Write, Daphne is a trained architect with the heart of a novelist. She’s been writing stories all her life, but is beyond frustrated. Her novel gets rejection after rejection, leading her to declare to her best friend, in one of the more memorable opening lines of the year:

After reading about a woman author who got five times the response when she submitted her manuscript with a man’s name, Daphne tweaks her book synopsis (“more survivalism, more zombies, less romance”), sticks on a fake man’s name (Zane Remington… hilarious), and sends it off. Lo and behold, she (Zane) gets a book deal, and a big one at that.

The problem is, the publisher wants an author bio and photo. Daphne enlists her best friend Nia (conveniently, a lawyer) to help her find an actor to play Zane, and to ensure that the legal documents are on the up-and-up in terms of her pseudonym. Nia finds a seemingly perfect guy for the role of the swaggering, outdoorsy author — Chris is gorgeous, hard-bodied, and has plenty of game and attitude.

He’s also a fake. Yes, he did a bit of acting way back when, but he’s actually an accountant who’s a client of Nia’s, and nothing warms his heart more than a well-structured spreadsheet. He sprouted from nerdy mathlete to hottie over the years thanks to determination and gym hours, but in his heart of hearts, he’s no more a Zane than Daphne herself is.

All goes well, until Daphne’s book is released (complete with sexy Zane photo on the back cover). When it becomes an instant bestseller, the publisher insists on TV interviews and a full tour schedule, not something Daphne and Chris planned for. A camera crew is scheduled to profile Zane at his Yukon home (i.e., Daphne’s Yukon home), and the unlikely duo have to do a crash-course on learning about each other… and teaching Chris some basics like paddling a canoe, splitting firewood (just don’t!), and what to do when confronted by a grizzly.

Daphne and Chris start with playful banter via text and email. At first, he fully embraces the Zane persona (no, he hasn’t read her book and no, he doesn’t actually read books), but bit by bit, he lets the real Chris come out (who does, in fact, read — and loved her book). They develop a lovely chemistry, but Chris is clear that a fling isn’t what he’s looking for, and Daphne is wary of relationships. Not to mention, he lives and works in Vancouver and she’s loving her solitary life in the Yukon — any sort of lasting connection seems highly unlikely.

Without going much further into the plot, it’s clear that there are two central conflicts looming: First, can Daphne and Chris work through their differences and allow themselves to explore their feelings and mutual attraction? And second, what will happen when, inevitably, the truth about Zane/Chris/Daphne and the authorship of Daphne’s book gets exposed?

Both elements are handled extraordinarily well. We get plenty of goofy scenes of Chris learning to get along in Daphne’s world, and get to see both of them learn that their first impressions and surface-level expectations aren’t the true picture of who they each are underneath. Their time together is flirty, sexy, steamy (some explicit scenes await), and sensitive.

The publishing drama feels realistic, although I had a bit of a hard time buying into the initial setup. Daphne’s book is about a teen girl surviving in the wilderness after a zombie apocalypse. She knows in her heart that it’s YA, and she thinks lovingly of all the YA books she read growing up that inspired her to become a writer. Yet with Zane’s name on the cover, it’s branded as a survival/zombie/action story and placed on the general fiction shelves — but no one seems to question too deeply how this “man’s man” author managed to create such a compelling teen girl protagonist. I’d think someone would have twigged to this anomaly along the way.

In any case, Daphne and Chris have woven a complicated web that starts to unravel once fans start trying to track down Zane’s true identity, and then the race is on: Can Daphne reveal the truth before she’s outed, and how can she step forward without destroying her own reputation and losing all credibility?

One thing I really loved is that the point of view bounces back and forth throughout, with “Chris” and “Daphne” sections alternating frequently, even within the same chapter. When Chris jumps in to try to fix things for Daphne, we understand why he does what he does, and pretty much immediately also get Daphne’s take, letting us know just how badly he’s misinterpreted what she needs. It’s fun and smart — and very clear that despite her public shyness, Daphne is capable of making her own decisions and speaking up when it’s right for her, without needing to be pushed or rescued.

Finding Mr. Write is a total treat. The writing is spirited and clever, the romance zings, but there’s real content here too about women’s treatment in the publishing industry and beyond. Daphne and Chris are both great characters, and I loved seeing how they challenge and complement one another.

Also, kudos to Finding Mr. Write for a totally awesome use of a PowerPoint presentation — something I never expected to mention in a review of a rom-com!

PS – Can someone please explain to me what’s going on with the name Daphne? This is the 3rd book I’ve read within the space of a month — no exaggeration!! — with a Daphne as the lead character. Is Daphne the new Jennifer/Brittany/Emily/insert-whichever-decade’s-hottest-name-here?

21Jun2024

Book Review: One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: One-Star Romance
Author: Laura Hankin
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: June 18, 2024
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.

Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.

Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.

When the reception ends, these two opposites hope they’ll never meet again. But, as they slip from their twenties into their thirties, they’re forced together whenever their fast-track best friends celebrate another milestone. Through housewarmings and christenings, life-changing triumphs and failures, Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.

After all, even the truest love stories sometimes need a bit of rewriting.

With a title like One-Star Romance, the review practically writes itself. Here goes:

One-Star Romance is strictly a three-star reading experience.

While One-Star Romance has some fun, engaging elements, there are far too many points in this book that left me shaking my head, and it doesn’t help that the only reason we know that the main characters have chemistry is that we’re told that they do.

Okay, let’s dive in. Natalie and Gabby have been best friends since their freshman year of college. Even after college, they share a teeny little apartment and love each other more than anything… except Gabby’s boyfriend Angus is around a LOT and annoys the heck out of Natalie. And when Angus and Gabby get engaged, Natalie has to face the harsh fact that she’ll never be Gabby’s #1 again.

Fast-forward a year and a half to Gabby and Angus’s wedding. Natalie is maid of honor, and is doing an amazing job at it, even though she still feels that Angus isn’t good enough for her best friend and that this entire marriage is happening too quickly. On the bright side, Natalie’s first novel has just been published, and she’s feeling pretty good about the positive reviews on Goodreads — until her great rating score suddenly dips thanks to a one-star review. Natalie is absolutely spun out over this, and ultimately figures out that the one-star review was posted by Angus’s best friend/best man Rob, a Ph.D. candidate who comes off as a bit uptight and judgmental (although, as expected, he’s hot). Any potential sizzle between Natalie and Rob is immediately dowsed by the blow-up that ensues.

As the book progresses, we follow milestones in Gabby and Angus’s lives — from wedding to new job celebration to christening to housewarming — each event requiring now-sworn-enemies Natalie and Rob to once again be in close proximity for the sake of their friends. And at each event, they learn more about each other and start to break down walls, only for new offenses to crop up again.

On the one hand, One-Star Romance is fine — the structure of the book is built around the different milestone events, and the chapters for each move quickly and keep the momentum high. The book has a slightly higher page count than we typically see in a contemporary romance, but it’s fast-paced enough that it doesn’t bog down at all. As a whole, the story is entertaining and engaging.

Yet on the other hand… there is just so much in this book that felt false to me, as well as places where Natalie is insufferable, and the lead characters simply lack any sort of tangible spark.

Natalie blames her first novel’s lack of success on that one-star review, and honestly, one one-star review is not going to tank an otherwise great book! The fact that she constantly checks the Goodreads page for updates and obsesses over who this particular user might have been who gave her the one-star review… well, as is discussed again and again and again in the book blogosphere and beyond, this is very bad author behavior! Don’t read the reviews! And if you must, don’t focus on the individual reviewers! We’ve all heard too many stories about authors destroying their own reputations by coming after people who’ve written negative reviews. It’s impossible to feel any sympathy for Natalie here, and that’s even more true after we learn why Rob did what he did. Sorry, Natalie — Rob has a point, besides which, he’s entitled to leave whatever review he wants.

Natalie really doesn’t improve in terms of likability as the book progresses. She’s unrealistic and selfish when it comes to Gabby, always resenting that Gabby has a husband and later a child to get in the way of their friendship. It’s really off-putting.

It felt like eons since Natalie and Gabby had been able to have an uninterrupted conversation, since they’d truly been able to pay attention to each other.

That, in case you’re wondering, is Natalie whining to herself about Gabby being distracted — while Gabby is trying to get her newborn baby to latch on and breastfeed. How dare Gabby not pay more attention to Natalie!

The author doesn’t seem to have a positive view of stable relationships, either. At one point in the book, Rob is in a committed, loving relationship that’s working for him and his partner, and yet here’s how it’s described:

It was all too easy when he and Zuri were together to sink into quiet contentment, sitting side by side as they did their research or a crossword. Arms linked, the two of them had fast-forwarded straight into a comfortable middle age, despite only being thirty.

All of this doesn’t even scratch the surface of how many ridiculous set pieces there are — most egregious of which is Gabby and Angus’s wedding. (Note: I’m about to spoil a scene from the book, so look away if you don’t want to know!) For… reasons… Angus decides to zipline to the altar, and (of course) the zipline gets jammed and he falls off (because of course he’s not wearing a harness) into an algae-filled pond. The groomsmen rush in to retrieve him, so he and they are all soaked and algae covered as Gabby starts down the aisle. Natalie expects Gabby to freak out and maybe make a run for it (which Natalie would totally approve of) — but instead, Gabby sees her dripping, slimy groom… and jumps in the lake herself. Just… no. What bride on earth would do this? It isn’t cute, it isn’t funny, and it just doesn’t work.

Later in the book, One-Star Romance seems about to turn into the movie Beaches (if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean). Fortunately, there’s still a happy ending, but this section of the plot feels manipulative, not touching.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, there’s just no chemistry between Natalie and Rob, except that this is an enemies-to-lovers story, so of course they have to secretly be in love with one another despite seeming like they hate each other. I didn’t buy it. Other than some physical attraction, there’s nothing between them, and they never become more believable as a couple. In real life, maybe they would have flirted a bit at the wedding before their big fight, and never would have given each other another thought — and when forced together by Gabby and Angus’s events, would have kept miles of distance between them. The core concept of the novel may sound cute, but it just doesn’t work.

Okay, it clearly sounds like I didn’t like this book very much. I didn’t hate it… but I didn’t love it. I got a decent amount of entertainment while reading One-Star Romance, and I was never bored. It’s not a bad way to pass the time, but three-stars is as high as I’ll go… and even that feels a tad generous.

14Jun2024

Book Review: Middletide by Sarah Crouch

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Middletide
Author: Sarah Crouch
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication date: June 11, 2024
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

In this gripping and intensely atmospheric debut, disquiet descends on a small town after the suspicious death of a beautiful young doctor, with all clues pointing to the reclusive young man who abandoned the community in chase of big city dreams but returned for the first love he left behind. Perfect for fans of All Good People Here and Where the Crawdads Sing

One peaceful morning, in the small, Puget Sound town of Point Orchards, the lifeless body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of prodigal son and failed writer, Elijah Leith. Sheriff Jim Godbout’s initial investigation points to an obvious suicide, but upon closer inspection, there seem to be clues of foul play when he discovers that the circumstances of the beautiful doctor’s death were ripped straight from the pages of Elijah Leith’s own novel.

Out of money and motivation, thirty-three-year-old Elijah returns to his empty childhood home to lick the wounds of his futile writing career. Hungry for purpose, he throws himself into restoring the ramshackle cabin his father left behind and rekindling his relationship with Nakita, the extraordinary girl from the nearby reservation whom he betrayed but was never able to forget.

As the town of Point Orchards turns against him, Elijah must fight for his innocence against an unexpected foe who is close and cunning enough to flawlessly frame him for murder in this scintillating literary thriller that seeks to uncover a case of love, loss, and revenge.

In this new mystery, a man returns to the small town he left behind long ago, to hide out from the world after the failure of the novel he spent ten years writing. Elijah’s family cabin in Point Orchards has been slowly deteriorating since his father’s death years earlier. Bit by bit, Elijah brings the cabin and its land back to life, eventually taking pride in managing to live off the land — raising chickens, growing and canning his own vegetables, even learning to bake bread.

But the one element of his former life that he can’t face is the girl he left behind. When he left for college, he promised to return to Nakita, but never did, lured instead by the shiny promise of a book deal. Now both in their mid-thirties, Elijah and Nakita have faced more in their lives than they’d ever imagined, and the question is, can they find a way to forgive past wrongs and reconnect, possibly even fall in love once again?

The framing of the story is a suspicious death: The town doctor, the beautiful, tragic Erin Landry, is found hanged on Elijah’s property. It looks like a suicide, but circumstances just don’t add up. As the local sheriff investigates, signs start to point to Elijah himself as the perpetrator, especially once it’s discovered that his novel lays out a very similar death, in which a murder is set up to appear to be a suicide.

Chapters in Middletide alternate between the investigation into Erin’s death and the earlier years of Elijah’s return to Point Orchards and his attempts to start fresh and rebuild his life. Eventually, the two timelines merge into one, as the book culminates in a courtroom drama.

I probably could have saved myself some earlier false theories if I’d read the synopsis above, which makes it clear that Elijah is, in fact, innocent. (There’s room to doubt that at some points in the story.) But really, the answer to the murder mystery is about as obvious as it gets — I guessed the overall solution pretty early on, and was correct in just about every way.

To put it bluntly, this is not a great story. Elijah comes off as arrogant in some key scenes, even when we’re meant to like and understand him. His shallow emotional responses undercut our investment in him and make it harder to root for him to find happiness with Nakita.

“You have no clue what it feels like to have your entire future drop out from beneath your feet without warning. You can’t possibly imagine how devastating that is.”

“Actually, I can,” Elijah shot back “I know what it’s like to have to start over from scratch after the life you thought you were meant for doesn’t pan out, remember?”

“Doesn’t pan out? Elijah, my husband was shot in the head and died at thirty-five years old. Where do you get the nerve to compare that to your failed writing career?”

The author includes a note at the beginning stating that Nakita’s tribal affiliation and reservation are fictional inventions, inspired by real indigenous nations. Which, fine, except Nakita’s heritage and the relationship between the town and the reservation don’t actually matter much in Middletide. I excepted this aspect to be more developed, but really, the impact on the plot is minimal and the characters are underdeveloped.

The courtroom scenes feel almost like an afterthought. For anyone who’s ever watched a lawyer show on TV, the trial is not structured as we’d expect. The prosecution calls a few witnesses, then the defense immediately jumps in with a witness, but the prosecution never rests, and as far as I could see, there was no discovery before the trial. Hey, I’m no lawyer… but I’ve seen enough courtroom dramas to know that this didn’t go the way it should. And don’t get me started on Elijah’s lawyer not actually being a lawyer…

Here’s a spoilery bit, so skip this next paragraph if you care about avoiding spoilers:

One key piece of evidence is the diary found at Erin’s house. The entries all start with “Dear Diary” and seriously, do you know of any adult women who actually write in their diaries that way? It’s supposed to be written by a mature professional woman, and she’s writing as if she’s in middle school? Don’t get me started on the non-existent chain of custody for evidence either. Well, okay, in one scene, the deputy hands the diary to Elijah to look at in his jail cell. Excuse me, what? That’s a key piece of evidence, and you’re just handing it to the accused to paw through?

End of spoilers…

On the positive side, Middletide is relatively short (under 300 pages) and goes by quickly, so reading this book isn’t a huge time commitment. It moves quickly, and kept me turning the pages, although by midway through, I was tearing through it mostly to prove myself right rather than out of any real engagement with the characters.

As negatives, though, in addition to the implausibility of the legal case, the convoluted timeline (those chapters set in the past and the present mush together and are annoying to track), and the predictability of the outcome, the writing can be clunky and/or not well considered. For example:

On the day his editor called and read him that horrible review he had flung open his bedroom window in a fit of rage and dropped the orange typewriter to the sidewalk three stories below.

I suppose this is meant to show us a possible violent side of Elijah, but I just had to laugh. The guy was living in San Francisco at the time — no way did he throw his typewriter out a third-floor window in the middle of the city and not end up arrested for killing or injuring a pedestrian.

Also, it’s mentioned that his publishers had high expectations for his book’s success, but apparently this one very bad review absolutely sank it, and the book only sold 48 copies. What? If the book only sold 48 copies, then it wasn’t just one bad review that was responsible. This makes no sense to me.

As I mentioned already, there are scenes where it is very hard to like Elijah. While perhaps that’s meant to create suspicion or doubt, in actuality it just leaves us with a main character whose self-centeredness makes us not particularly want the very likable love interest to subject herself to being with him.

And so on. I could give more examples, but I’ll stop here.

Middletide is a murder mystery with a hollow center. On the one hand, it did keep me interested enough to speed through to the end — but on the other hand, I didn’t buy into the characters, found the mystery utterly predicable, and felt the courtroom drama was rushed and not believable. I expected a much better reading experience.

30May2024

Book Review: The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Rom-Commers
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: June 11. 2024
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

Katherine Center books can be counted on to offer amazing women in the lead role, place them in challenging situations, and then give them a chance to shine — always with a sense of humor and a big heart. Here in The Rom-Commers, Emma is an aspiring screenwriter whose early talent never led to a shining career; instead, she turned down a prestigious Hollywood internship to be her father’s full-time caregiver, and works on screenplays in their apartment while teaching writing classes at the local college.

To be clear, Emma doesn’t regret her choice. She loves her dad (who sounds delightful), and knows what she’s doing is the most important thing she could possibly do. But still, she has dreams, and when her ex-boyfriend-slash-agent calls her with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, there’s no way she can give it up. (Well, there is, but her dad and sister won’t let her.)

Emma idolizes screenwriter Charlie Yates, has studied and annotated his scripts, watched ever interview he’s ever given, and knows his film career backward and forward. One thing Emma knows for sure is that Charlie Yates does not do rom-coms. So why is she being offered the chance to ghost-write a rewrite of his new rom-com script?

It turns out that Charlie has written a remake of It Happened One Night — which just happens to be Emma’s favorite movie ever — and his new version is AWFUL. The fact that she’s been picked to rescue the script is an unexpected break, and she’s all in. Until she gets to Charlie’s mansion, where she’ll be working and living, and discovers that agent Luke has hoodwinked them both. Charlie had no idea Emma was coming, has no interest in writing with her, and says a firm, irrevocable no.

After further arm-twisting by Luke, a deal is reached, and Emma does in fact move into Charlie’s guestroom and sets to work on his terrible screenplay. To get him to cooperate at all, she needs him to understand just why it’s so terrible — and he doesn’t see the problem at all. As it turns out, he fundamentally doesn’t believe in romance or love, which is a problem for someone writing a rom-com.

He clearly wanted to win — and settle this once and for all. “But doesn’t love conquer all? Doesn’t love find a way? Shouldn’t some cartoon woodland animals show up and help you find your happily ever ever?”

My eyes flashed. “Don’t use a romance term against me!”

“You’re the one who taught it to me!”

Emma’s mission, beyond rescuing the screenplay, is to get Charlie to experience some of the key staples of romantic movies (like unexpectedly falling on top of someone, or trying a silly new past-time — yes, there is line dancing involved! — or moving in for the perfect rom-com kiss).

Emma and Charlie end up being quite adorable together, but there are definitely hurdles for them to overcome. Charlie’s grumpiness and lack of emotion aren’t just random personality traits — he’s been hurt very badly in a previous relationship, and it makes sense that his belief in the possibility of love would be damaged (if not completely dead). As for Emma, she’s wracked by guilt over her father’s health, the accident that caused his current condition, and finally giving up the main caregiving role and allowing her younger sister to step in.

This is such a fun book! Sure, there were times when I wanted to bop Charlie over the head and tell him to snap out of it, but this book is so deftly written that even when the characters are annoying, they’re annoying for a reason.

“I don’t want to not be there for you.”

“That’s a heck of a double negative.”

The set pieces are really funny (the line dancing scene is amazing), and best of all, Emma and Charlie’s scenes together just sparkle. Their dialogue is quippy and smart and full of word-play, which is totally my jam.

“Emma,” Charlie said. “Please come here. You’re so drunk.”

“I’m not drunk,” I said. “I just drank too much.”

“That’s the literal definition of being drunk.”

Emma and Charlie also resort to googling the most ridiculous or random questions, among them how long it takes to fall in love, how to know when to take someone to the hospital after a bar fight, symptoms of a heart attack in a woman, and what a jazz box is (it’s a line-dancing move, in case you’re wondering). It’s cute and weird and spot-on for a pair of writers.

The Rom-Commers delivers on its title — a delightful blend of romance and comedy, with pathos and sorrow and day-to-day challenges that keep it grounded and real. Katherine Center once again provides a book with terrific lead characters, great chemistry, a plot that makes you feel all the feelings, and a promise of a happy ending to cheer for. Don’t miss it!

20Aug2023

Book Review: What Would Jane Austen Do? by Linda Corbett

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: What Would Jane Austen Do?
Author: Linda Corbett
Publisher: One More Chapter
Publication date: June 16, 2023
Length: 385 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

It’s a truth often acknowledged that when a journalist and Jane Austen fan girl ends up living next door to a cynical but handsome crime writer, romantic sparks will fly!

When Maddy Shaw is told her Dear Jane column has been cancelled she has no choice but to look outside of London’s rental market. That is until she’s left an idyllic country home by the black sheep of the family, long-not-so-lost Cousin Nigel.

But of course there’s a stipulation… and not only is Maddy made chair of the committee for the annual village literary festival, she also has to put up with bestselling crime author –and romance sceptic – Cameron Massey as her new neighbour.

When Maddy challenges Cameron to write romantic fiction, which he claims is so easy to do, sparks fly both on and off the page…

What Would Jane Austen Do? was a spur-of-the-moment read for me, after seeing positive comments about it by another blogger (and once again, I failed to make a note of where I found the recommendation… sorry). (The $2.99 price tag on the Kindle edition didn’t hurt either…)

This contemporary romance has a sweet, upbeat air as it follows a few well-trodden but well-loved tropes: We have a city girl relocating to a small town, quirky neighbors, and grumpy-sunshine dynamics, to name but a few. Add to that a lovable dog, a ramshackle large house in need of repair, a literary festival to organize, and lots of Jane Austen references, and it’s got all the ingredients needed for this particular type of book.

Main character Maddy is successful in her writing career, writing a “Dear Jane” column for a popular magazine in which she provides “agony aunt” advice by channeling Jane Austen — until she’s let go for suspect reasons and has to figure out next steps. Conveniently, she receives word that the black sheep of the family, cousin Nigel (whom no one has heard from in decades) has passed away and left her his house in the countryside, with the stipulation that she must live in it for at least one year, or forfeit rights to it entirely.

With nothing else pending workwise, Maddy figures she’ll move in, clean the please up, then sell in a year and move back to London. She doesn’t count on the beauty of the old house or the community she’s soon pulled into, nor does she expect to learn that Nigel was totally beloved in this small town where he’d resided (unbeknownst to the family) for over twenty years.

At the same time, Maddy discovers that bestselling crime author Cameron Massey (whose real name is Luke) also lives in the same town, which doesn’t exactly thrill her: They’d had a recent on-air spat when they were guests on a radio show focusing on the romance and crime genres, during which Cameron was gruff and condescending. But Maddy starts to see another side of him when he’s foisted upon her as a lodger while his own home is being renovated. Soon, the two bond over his dog Buster as well as the rest of the shenanigans in their small town.

As if Maddy doesn’t have enough on her plate, she also learns that Nigel had been the chair of a local (unsuccessful) literary festival and she’s expected to step into his shoes, and also stumbles across a decades-old mystery about Nigel’s past and how the family misfit ended up so well-off and well-loved.

What Would Jane Austen Do? is a pleasant, engaging read. There are no major surprises here, but it’s still a fun bit of entertainment. Does Maddy chairing the festival make sense? No. Does the mystery about Nigel — with a connection to a formerly famous rock band as well as one of Luke’s bestsellers — really matter or get resolved in a big, “aha!” sort of way? Nope. Does the Big Misunderstanding of Luke and Maddy’s developing romance feel significant or get explained satisfactorily? No again. But all this is okay — the ups and downs are part of the whole, and overall, Maddy’s experiences adapting to small town life and finding a place to belong are sweet and enjoyable enough to make this a nice escapist read.

A final note: The Jane Austen bits don’t actually make all that much of a difference to the story. There are quotes from Austen’s novels at the start of each chapter (which is really fun), and every once in a while Maddy compares her own experiences to those of Austen characters, but the theme is a bit underplayed and ultimately not very central to the plotlines.

Overall, What Would Jane Austen Do? is a fluffy, light book that I read in a day — a great choice for a lazy summer day when you just want to relax and enjoy a comfort read.

5Aug2021

Book Review: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Plot
Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
Publisher: Celadon Books
Publication date: May 11, 2021
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Library
Rating:

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written–let alone published–anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then… he hears the plot.
Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that–a story that absolutely needs to be told.
In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.
As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?
Hailed as breathtakingly suspenseful, Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a propulsive read about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that The Plot is an unputdownable page-turner. I finished it within 24 hours — I just couldn’t stand waiting to see how it all turned out!

In The Plot, our focus is on Jacob Finch Bonner, a has-been writer who burst onto the literary scene years earlier with a well-reviewed first book, then flamed out on his second book and couldn’t even find a publisher for his third or fourth. He can’t bring himself to write, and supports himself through teaching at a mediocre MFA program that’s open to anyone who wants to write, no competitive admissions process required.

When the super obnoxious Evan Parker shows up for Jake’s class, Evan is dismissive and rude, and asserts that he’s just there to get the initials MFA into his credentials. He insists his plot is amazing, can’t fail, and will make what he writes a huge bestseller and get him a major movie deal. Jake can’t believe Evan’s arrogance, but when he finally coaxes the plot out of Evan, he has to reluctantly agree that Evan has something unique and possibly quite valuable. Of course, it’s insulting that Evan insists that it doesn’t take writing talent to make a great book — all that’s needed is a great plot, and he has one.

Years go by, and Jake supports himself through online teaching and an editing business. But when he hears that Evan has died, he’s curious about the plot of his book. Surely, if someone had published such a story, he would have known. After googling and poking around, Jake becomes certain that Evan never did write his book… and since the plot was never used and never truly left Jake’s mind, well, why not?

Jake’s book is everything that Evan knew his plot would lead to. Crib is a huge bestseller, an Oprah book, and is about to be optioned by Stephen Spielberg. But Jake’s success is disturbed when he receives an email calling him a thief. His anxiety leads him into a deeper look into Evan’s life, and the more he digs, the more he understands about how someone like Evan could have come up with this amazing plot in the first place.

I can’t go into more detail than that, because spoiling this book would be unforgivable! Suffice it to say that Jake’s investigation reveals plenty of weirdness and unexpected twists, and I found it fascinating.

The Plot gives us a lot to think about, both in terms of the book’s storyline and the suspenseful elements, but also in terms of the world and inner life of a writer. As one character points out, ideas can’t be copyrighted. So if someone has a story idea but never uses it, and someone else knows about the idea and does use it, is it stealing? On the surface, yes… maybe? Was it ethical for Jake to write a book based on a plot concept that, as far he knows, was never used and was never even written beyond the draft of a first chapter? If Jake took the story outline he heard from Evan and turned into a compelling novel, was that Jake’s work in reality? How much credit, if any, does he owe to Evan? The questions are fascinating to think about, and my feelings and opinions on these issues continued to change throughout the novel.

I did pretty much nail the biggest plot twist early on, but that doesn’t mean that I truly figured it all out. I may have had a good idea of the “what”, but the “why” and the “how” were surprising and really well put-together, and I loved all the little ups and downs of Jake’s search for the truth.

I will say that the very end was not what I expected, and I’m still struggling with it! Not because it doesn’t work — it absolutely does! But I will say that my sense of fairness feels upset. This is not the ending I wanted for the characters… but it totally works in a very creepy sort of way.

The Plot has lots of disturbing developments, but it’s not graphically violent. As I said, beyond the actual intrigue and action, I also appreciated the thoughts on a writer’s life, the highs and lows of success as an author, and the various questions brought up about who gets to tell whose stories and whether it’s true to say that each person has a story that’s uniquely theirs to tell.

I think one sign that The Plot is really well done is that even though I felt disappointed by some of Jake’s actions and decisions and what these say about his morality or lack thereof, I still rooted for him and cared enough about him to want him to find a way out of the increasingly perilous place he finds himself.

The Plot is one of the buzziest books this summer, and with good reason. It’s a fast, engrossing story that kept me hooked until the very end. Check it out!

**********

Through affiliate programs, I may earn commissions from purchases made when you click through these links, at no cost to you.

Buy now at Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop.org

21May2020

Book Review: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Beach Read
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: May 19, 2020
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They’re polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

Sometimes you pick up a book and it’s exactly what you need in that moment. And for me, Beach Read was it this week — as evidenced by the fact that I read it in about a day and a half, ignoring the real-world obligations nagging for my attention.

Beach Read is sweet and uplifting, but also a little heavier than you might guess from the title and the cover.

Main character January is a young, successful romance writer. She’s known for her swoony love stories and happy ending. However, she’s been thrown for a loop, and isn’t able to summon her inner belief in the power of true love — and her looming book deadline isn’t helping at all.

January’s father recently died, so she’s dealing with the loss of her incredible dad — but on top of that, at his funeral, she met That Woman. It turns out that her father had an on-again, off-again mistress for years, including during her mother’s battle with cancer. January is shattered and angry, and feels like her foundation has been swept out from under her. After all, it was her parent’s shining love story that taught her to believe in love-story-quality love — and if that was all a lie, then what is she supposed to believe? And how can she possibly write a believable love story when she’s not sure her heart will ever be in it again?

January’s father left her a beach-side bungalow in a small-town in Michigan. With her book deadline looming and a serious lack of funds, she decides to spend her summer writing at the cottage, while also cleaning, sorting, and getting it ready for sale. And the fact that this was her father’s place with That Woman is not helping in the slightest.

Also distracting is her next door neightbor, who turns out to be the revered young writer Augustus Everett — whom January knew as Gus back in their college days, when they were fierce competitors, and shared one steamy “almost” at a party.

As January and Gus reconnect, initially with resentment and animosity, they realize they’re in the same boat when it comes to lack of inspiration and dire writer’s block. Gus is battling his own inner demons and past hurts, and he can’t seem to make progress on his next book.

In the book’s central (cute) twist, they challenge each other to write each other’s genres. Gus has always mocked January’s belief in the HEA — now, he needs to find a way to see the possibility of happiness, rather than going for the gloomy conclusion. And January needs to be open to grim reality and the idea that love isn’t always perfect, that messiness and secrets and hard choices are parts of life, and that fairy tales never (rarely) come true.

Beach Read is so much fun, start to finish, but it’s not only sunshine and swooning. (But yes, there is swoon-worthy romance, to be sure.) The author has a lot to say about families and love, how the ideals of childhood can be tarnished by the realities of adulthood, how families can hurt one another but can also save one another in all sorts of different ways… and how true love doesn’t mean no one ever makes a mistakes or hurts the other person, and that sometimes love takes work, compromise, and second chances.

January and Gus have a great chemistry together, and I loved the scenes of them writing in their respective cottages, but communicating through notes held up to the window. It’s adorable — so much better than texting!

The small-town setting is charming, and there’s a wonderful bookstore, so that’s a plus! One of the central plot elements of the book is Gus and January’s series of field trips/dates, where each exposes the other to something that feels related to their own writing style and genre. So, line dancing alternates with going to the site of a tragic fire at a cult compound… and all their excursions bring them closer to each other and also give them each different insights into their own process and emotions.

The writing is cheerful and light, but the author doesn’t shy away from harder emotions. January and Gus both have baggage to deal with, and we do see their pain and confusion as they deal with the events in their lives and try to move forward.

Bonus points too for a terrific female friendship, which helps January realize that true love can also be the bond between two lifelong friends who have each other’s backs and love unconditionally.

Falling’s the part that takes your breath away. It’s the part when you can’t believe the person standing in front of you both exists and happened to wander into your path. It’s supposed to make you feel lucky to be alive, exactly when and where you are.

Beach Read is a wonderful depiction of falling in love, but also a moving exploration of the messiness that comes with growing up and facing real life and accepting the fact that parents aren’t always perfect.

As I mentioned at the start, this book came into my hands right when I needed it, and I enjoyed every minute. A great summer reading choice — and also a great way to escape our current isolation through fiction!

14May2020

Book Review: If It Bleeds by Stephen King

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: If It Bleeds
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner
Publication date: April 21, 2020
Length: 447 pages
Genre: Horror
Source: Library
Rating:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author, legendary storyteller, and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new and compelling novellas —Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds— each pulling readers into intriguing and frightening places.
A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to the No. 1 bestseller The Outsider.
News people have a saying: ‘If it bleeds, it leads’. And a bomb at Albert Macready Middle School is guaranteed to lead any bulletin.
Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency is working on the case of a missing dog – and on her own need to be more assertive – when she sees the footage on TV. But when she tunes in again, to the late-night report, she realizes there is something not quite right about the correspondent who was first on the scene. So begins ‘If It Bleeds’ , a stand-alone sequel to the No. 1 bestselling The Outsider featuring the incomparable Holly on her first solo case – and also the riveting title story in Stephen King’s brilliant new collection.
Dancing alongside are three more wonderful long stories from this ‘formidably versatile author’ (The Sunday Times) – ‘Mr Harrigan’s Phone’, ‘The Life of Chuck’ and ‘Rat’ . All four display the richness of King’s storytelling with grace, humor, horror and breathtaking suspense. A fascinating Author’s Note gives us a wonderful insight into the origin of each story and the writer’s unparalleled imagination.
The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career, and many have been made into iconic films, If It Bleeds is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.

Call me crazy, but Stephen King books are my version of comfort food. When I need distraction from the drama of daily life, I know I can sink into a King book and get carried away from everything weighing me down.

So getting a library e-book download of If It Bleeds this week was just perfect timing! Also very surprising, as I’d expected to be on the hold list for months… so thank you, San Francisco Public Library!

I approached If It Bleeds a little hesitantly, as short stories are really not my thing. Still, there was the book, just waiting for me on my Kindle, so how could I resist?

I’m so glad I dove right in! If It Bleeds consists of four novella-length stories, all unrelated, and all very different in content and tone. And each was a treat!

The story that garnered the most pre-publication buzz is the title story, If It Bleeds (which appears 3rd in this collection). If It Bleeds stars Holly Gibney, whom even Stephen King refers to as a favorite character! Holly was first introduced in the Bill Hodges trilogy, and then was a key character in The Outsider (the adaptation of which aired on HBO recently).

Here, Holly is the lead in her own story. She is horrified by news of a terrible mass murder by bombing at an elementary school — and then is hooked by a discrepancy she notices in the appearance of the local newscaster who was first on the scene. Holly is never one to let go of details, and as she investigates, she becomes personally involved in tracking down and stopping a monster.

It’s a good story, very suspenseful, although I’m not sure how much sense it’ll make to someone not familiar with The Outsider. It’s not an exact sequel, but the earlier novel definitely informs the way Holly’s case unfolds and what she knows.

As for the other stories… well, I loved them!

In order of preference, my least favorite would be the final story in the book — although don’t get me wrong, I still really liked it! Rat is the story of a writer who’s never been able to finish a novel, although he has published some highly regarded short stories and is an English professor. When a new story idea appears to him, he’s sure it’s his novel at last, and decides to retreat to his family’s remote backwoods cabin to work on it in isolation before the inspiration disappears.

Rat is an interesting look at creativity, the writing process, a writer’s fear, and the superstitions and bargaining that may accompany a fickle gift. Stephen King does love to feature writers as main characters, and then put them in dangerous, awful situations. Is the writer here really experiencing the disturbing things he thinks are happening, or is he losing his grip on his sanity? Read the story and decide!

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is the first story in the collection, and feels like classic Stephen King. It combines his patented nostalgic look back at childhood with a small-town setting, the loss of loved ones, and a piece of technology that changes everything. It’s a story about growing up and saying good-bye, but also just a good, spooky, odd ghost story. Very cool.

Finally, the 2nd story in the book, which was my favorite of the bunch. The Life of Chuck is weird and wonderful, and I adored it. Told in three sections that move backward chronologically, this story is surprising and captivating, and strangely moving too. I don’t want to give away a single thing about it! Definitely check it out!

All in all, a terrific collection! As I mentioned, I don’t typically seek out story collections, even from my favorite authors, so I’m really grateful that I happened to be able to get this from the library.

And true confession time: I loved it so much that I ended up using an Amazon gift card to treat myself to my very own hard copy!

If It Bleeds is a great addition to Stephen King’s huge body of work. If you thought he might possibly run out of original stories to tell… this book shows that that’s not at all likely to happen. A must-read for King fans!