Recent Reads

 Ladykiller by Katherine Wood (2024)

When her best friend Gia doesn't show up to a planned trip, Abby travels to Greece to look for the heiress and newlywed.  She finds a manuscript written by Gia detailing her new marriage and some guests that had been staying at the house, but it also contains some disturbing secrets - could this explain Gia's disappearance?  I have mixed feelings about this one - I loved the setting, I felt like I could feel the hot sun, sandy beaches, and cool water.  I liked that Abby was still looking out for Gia even though they'd had some problems in their friendship.  I didn't understand why Gia's manuscript was given so much priority - it would have more sense if it had been called a diary?  The story was a bit predictable, although it was more open-ended than I was expecting.  It did feel a bit unsettling realizing that we may never really know what happened or what to believe!  3.5 stars

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson (2024)

Key travels to Scotland to meet her estranged family after her father's death.  There, she meets Lachlan, who has some major secrets of his own.  Even though he thinks he should stay away from Key, Lachlan can't help trusting in her and hoping she can help lift his curse.  I loved that this was a paranormal romance that strayed from the typical vampires or werewolves.  Here, we delve into the mystery of the Loch Ness monster, and Ferguson crafts a backstory that feels plausible for this world.  I enjoyed the intense feelings between Key and Lachlan, even if they were a bit childish in the beginning.  My issues are that, yes, this is a paranormal book, but why did Key have to have magic powers, especially ones that only seemed to manifest for the first time when she was in Scotland?  I understand the history, but it just felt so... convenient? But not necessary?  Like, we had a real-life Loch Ness monster, isn't that enough?  Also, Lachlan was predisposed to dislike Key, but no one thought to use a little creative thinking when it came to the curse?  I don't know, the solution seemed pretty obvious to me.  Maybe I missed something.  As always with Ferguson, you can expect lots of spicy scenes, which I'm not complaining about, but also, I was a little weirded out when Lachlan is worried about hurting Key and her response is basically, I don't care!!!  Like, maybe we can care a little bit.  3 stars

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