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Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross Publisher:  Wednesday Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Fantasy / Romance Read This If You Love:  Fourth Wing / Iron Flame "No God--No Creature--NoWar--Can Come Between Them" Divine Rivals  by Rebecca Ross tells the story of two young journalists determined to tell the truth about the war among the gods that is tearing apart their world. Roman Kitt comes from an influential family. Iris Winnow has a brother fighting in the war and she is determined to hold together what little her family has left. These two are rivals in the newsroom, but soon find common ground…some in very unexpected and magical ways. Can they survive the war and find love? Will the dark forces at work tear them apart? This is a young adult novel that has taken over a lot of best of lists and I know many an adult woman who has read and enjoyed this book. It is a touching story of young love, life during a war, and the power of family and truth. Divine Rivals is a s

The Collective by Alison Gaylin Publisher:  William Morrow Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Thriller / Suspense Read This If You Love:  Samantha Downing / Tarryn Fisher "I want him dead...for real." The Collective  by Alison Gaylin is a dark tale of revenge and deep grief. What happens when justice isn't upheld or it just isn't enough to dent the pain of loss? What if that grief is left to fester until it eats up the humanity of a collective group? Things can turn gruesome, deadly, and dark very fast.  When Camille's daughter died, the circumstances surrounding the death were gut-wrenching. Try as she might to move on, the grief she feels consumes her, and when she is approached by a mysterious woman with means of support, she jumps on the bandwagon. But, it's not for real, right? This is just venting and being able to say all the dark thoughts you can't in society. Right? What unravels is a twisted plot that will leave you questioning what is rig

Diva by Daisy Goodwin Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️.5 Genre:  Literature / Historical Fiction Read This If You Love:  Maria Callas “…but in the end, we all fall silent.” Diva is an historical fiction novel about the story of real-life opera singer Maria Callas. Callas is said to have one of the most beautiful voices ever, but her life off the stage was an opera fit for a diva as well. From her dramatic childhood during the war and her complex relationships with her mother and sister, to her long-running relationship with Aristotle Onassis, Callas led a fascinating life. Unfortunately, Diva  somehow falls short in entertaining the reader, IMHO. The book reads more like a biography than a fiction novel that uses a real-life person and events to center around a larger plot. For instance, The Rose Code  was set against Bletchley Circle and had many characters who existed in our world. However, there was a central event that The Rose Code  addressed. Because D

The Fury by Alex Michaelides Publisher:  Celadon Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Mystery / Thriller  Read This If You Love: Piranesi / Greek mythology/tragedies/mysteries / Classic mysteries with a modern twist “This is a tale of murder.” A reclusive movie star is on an isolated Greek island with her husband, best friends, son, and servants. What could possibly go wrong? Told across acts,  The Fury  explodes onto the page and you won’t consume it fast enough. You know when you pick up a Michaelides book that you are in for a frightful ride. He does creepy as hell soooo well. Not to mention that his mysteries also have an unmatched and elevated intellectual approach. He is one of my favorite modern writers of mystery and horror. While most readers (and BookTok) are obsessed with The Silent Patient , I found The Maidens to be even better and didn’t think he would top that book for me. I was wrong. The Fury  was SO GOOD. It hit all of my favorite notes in a book that I d

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham Publisher:  Minotaur Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Mystery / Psychological Thriller  Read This If You Love: A Flicker in the Dark / All the Dangerous Things “If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?” When Margot heads into her second year of college, she is still struggling to start a new chapter of her life. She desperately needs a new beginning that helps her cope with the death of her best friend. When mesmerizing and mysterious Lucy befriends her, it sets off a series of events that no one anticipated. Well, maybe almost no one? We all have multiple sides to us…some just happen to be deadlier than others.  This, imho, is the best of Willingham’s books. It kept me completely enthralled and fit into the murder, mayhem, and mystery box. It’s a great binge read for a stormy or dark night. Willingham (via Margot) describes in the following quote what a good book can do, and it definitely applies to Only If Yo

One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall Publisher: Gillian Flynn Books, an imprint of Zando Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Mystery / Thriller / Suspense Read This If You Love: Dark Objects “Because people have always wanted horror stories. The power of fear is so potent.” One of the Good Guys  is a compelling novel. Cole has recently uprooted his life to live in a vacant sea-side landscape when he meets Lenora, who has also recently rented a nearby cottage. As they are getting to know one another, two women who are participating in a charity walk to raise awareness of violence against women go missing. What follows next is an exploration of the depths of the way women feel, live with, and process fear on a daily basis and the fragility of men who don’t (or can’t) comprehend it. Or worse, they cause it in the first place.  This is not your typical mystery novel and, for me, that was a good thing. It made me think about the genre and the real-life implications of our fascination

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense / Horror / Gothic Read This If You Love: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil “There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever.” The McTavish family is a wealthy bunch who own and run the town of Tavistock from their palatial Ashby House. When Ruby is kidnapped and returned as a child, it’s just the beginning of the tragedies that befall the family. The bodies and secrets start to pile as high as their beloved North Carolina mountains.  Rachel Hawkins strikes again and IMHO,  The Heiress  is her best book yet. The McTavish family is packed full of characters who are deplorable and you just love to hate them. You simply won’t be able to put this book down until you have devoured the entire thing. It’s so perfect for fans of gothic novels.  I was a bit on the fence about The Wife Upstairs  and all the comparisons to Jane Ey

One of my favorite things that I did in 2023 was keeping a reading journal. It’s a great way to keep track of what you read and how you felt about each book and to use your creative side through the journal pages. So, as I set out to plan for my 2024 journal, I fell better equipped to try out some different types of supplies and thought I’d share some with you. The Journal My favorite journal is the A5 Dot Grid Notebook from Archer & Olive . It boasts no ghosting or bleeding on the pages and that is true! It is a lovely crisp white and thick paper. I loved it so much that I requested the exact same journal again for 2024. As you can see in the photo, it has a spot for your pen, a lovely linen cover, a pocket in the back, two bookmark ribbons to keep your places, and a wrap closure.  Stickers and Washi Tape Let the fun begin!!! My favorite part of planning my journal is finding embellishments—stickers and washi tape are chief among them. In my opinion, Etsy is the place for the best