Audiobook – Feed The Bookworm

Book Review: The Book of Murder by Matt Murphy

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

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The Book of Murder by Matt Murphy is a must-read for all true crime junkies out there. Law and forensic investigation have always fascinated me, and Murphy’s extensive experience with high-profile cases makes this book an absolute page-turner. You might recognize his name—Murphy was the prosecutor who put Dirty John behind bars, as well as Skylar Deleon and Rodney Alcala. Others may know him as a frequent guest on 20/20 or Good Morning America.

This book is part autobiography, part dos and don’ts of being a prosecutor, and part history of the horrific cases Murphy has worked on. He’s brutally honest about the toll his work took on his mental health, personal life, and relationships. His vulnerability and the regrets that came with throwing his entire life into his career add a raw and personal element to the story. Murphy gives readers an inside look at the emotional and mental strain of relentlessly fighting for justice.

I hesitate to call this an “enjoyable” read because the nature of the crimes Murphy prosecuted is so horrific but once I started reading, I was hooked—totally invested and unable to stop. His ability to bring criminals to justice is riveting, and his strong, clear voice makes him a master storyteller. If you’re a diehard true crime fan, you do not want to pass this one up. Even if true crime isn’t your usual go-to, this book is still worth diving into.

Murphy also shows a great deal of respect for his colleagues, even those on the other side of the courtroom. Often, you hear about bad blood between prosecutors and defense attorneys, but he seems to have genuine admiration for everyone involved in the process—from judges to fellow prosecutors and even defense attorneys.

I found myself constantly Googling the names, trying to put faces to the victims, heroes, and perpetrators alike. It felt like being in a twilight zone—totally invested and impossible to deter. This book offers an intense, all-consuming read, providing a gripping and insightful view into the life of a prosecutor who dedicated himself to seeking justice. Highly recommend!

As always, I encourage you to read this one for yourself and formulate your own opinion. Thank you to the author Matt Murphy, the publisher Hyperion Ave and NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book!

On sale now, you can click here for the book, or HERE for the author narrated audio book (highly recommend!)

🎧 Audio book Review: The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

It’s safe to say that I added this book to my TBR as soon as I saw it was published. I practically grew up with Gilmore Girls—Rory and I are only a year apart in the show, and as a fellow bookworm, I strongly identified with her. (Not so much watching the show as an adult, but that’s another story/rant.) Having already devoured Lauren Graham’s book a few years ago, I was excited to see a side of the show from the perspective of the iconic Emily Gilmore. To say I didn’t fully appreciate who Kelly Bishop was and what she meant to the world of theater and performing arts is an understatement. Also, how did I forget she was Baby’s mom?! I thought it was pretty cool that she was actually supposed to have a small role in Dirty Dancing, but when she got there, the actress they hired to play Marjorie Houseman was let go and she was offered the role.

When you’re attached to a character, especially one from a show or movie that has been so defining in your life, it’s hard to see them as anything else. I was particularly eager to get to the part of the book where Kelly discusses Gilmore Girls. However, I soon realized that she had lived an incredibly rich and fascinating life long before the show, which was just as compelling to read about. Kelly is upfront and brutally honest, admitting to mistakes and experiences that Emily would never have dreamed of.

When we finally reached the portion of the book dedicated to Gilmore Girls—what I consider to be the “meaty” part—it was heartwarming to hear how she talks about Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham. It’s clear that although they were a TV family, they remain a real family to her. Her description of the kindness shown to her by Ed Herman’s wife in his final days brought tears to my eyes. I was also delighted to find out that some of my favorite Emily Gilmore scenes, such as when she tears down Shira Huntsberger and has a meltdown over Trix’s funeral arrangements, are also Kelly’s favorites.

This book is a must-read for all Gilmore Girls fans. I’m truly blown away by the life this amazing woman has lived. I grappled with whether to get the audio book or a hard copy and ended up choosing the audio book. It felt like Emily Gilmore was reading to me the entire time, and it was incredibly relaxing to listen to. I will eventually get a physical copy as a shelf trophy—it’s just too good not to. Kelly Bishop is an incredible lady, and I’m so glad she decided to share her life with us. Some of the things Kelly did in her life are so un-Emily-like that I couldn’t help but laugh, imagining how Emily would react if she knew just how scandalous the actress playing her really was!

On sale now, you can grab your physical copy here or the digital copy here!

Something Bad Wrong By: Eryk Pruitt

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/3.5

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When I read the description for Eryk Pruitt’s new book Blood Red Summer on NetGalley and saw it was read now, I instantly hit ‘add to shelf’, even though I’m supposed to be on a requesting ban. C’est la vie. I realized it was the second book in a series so in true fashion I knew I had to read the first one before I could dive into this one. In a twist of luck, I already had the audiobook of Something Bad Wrong in my library. I do love a good police procedural.

I’m giving Something Bad Wrong 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed it. I thought that the premise was intriguing and it was well written. I really enjoyed the multiple points of views and the jumps between the past and present. I’ll get into what I didn’t like shortly as it contains a spoiler and I want to give you ample time to read this and then keep scrolling should you choose.

Something Bad Wrong tells 2 stories- in present day we have Jess, a J school drop out, divorced “mommy blogger” who is set to break into the world of true crime podcasting. Her small town was the scene of an unsolved double murder years ago and her grandfather just happened to be the primary investigator on the case. The case remained unsolved, and her grandfather’s police career met an early end. She brings in disgraced reporter Dan Decker to help her gain credibility and traction and the two embark on a path neither can predict. The ending had a great twist ending for our villain. If you enjoy police procedurals and true crime style storytelling, you’ll really enjoy this book.

Scroll down to hear why I knocked off some stars, but be warned, spoilers.

🛑 ✋ SPOILERS. SPOILERS. SPOILERS. ✋ 🛑

SPOILERS AHEAD!! STOP NOW.

Are you still here?

Great! OK, here it goes. This book started off with what seems to be a budding romance between Jess and Dan. Sure Dan has been accused of something untoward. And Jess had a moment with her ex husband, but it seems like the two are on a collision course. Then. He. Dies. WTF. Maybe I’ve been reading too much romance lately, or maybe I mistook this for a romantic thriller, but I’m sorry, killing off one of the main characters is just a no for me. And it was like out of the blue. All of a sudden he and Jess have different visions for the podcast and boom, they’re separated. I was expecting them to reconcile and make a good podcast. We also get no closure on what happened to Dan to cause his fall from grace. He hints that he was wrongly accused, but he’s never vindicated. Nothing is ever explained.

Also, there is a scene between Ballard (Jess’s grandfather) and his daughter Samantha (Jess’s mom) that really bothered me. I feel like it was put in there simply to push Ballard to the breaking point. But there could have been other ways that could have been accomplished.

OK, rant over. On to the next book.

One sale now, you can grab your copy here.

A Tasty Dish by Kelly Cain

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

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The story of the Everheart Brothers of Texas continues in the second installment of Kelly Cain’s three-part series, “A Tasty Dish.” Kasi, an ambitious movie producer is striving to create a name for herself in an industry where her father’s reputation looms large. Much like Declan and his siblings, Casey finds herself overshadowed by her film producer father, who has blackballed her latest project in an effort to force her back into the family business.

Determined to make her movie her way, Kasi teams up with Declan, and together they navigate a path filled with obstacles, twists, turns and the ever-present Flynn Everheart. As they face their share of trials and tribulations, their relationship deepens, and the heat between them intensifies. Kasi is all work and some play, and really isn’t looking for anything serious. Meanwhile, Declan is all in with all the feels. In contrast to the first book, the author has turned up the spiciness in “A Tasty Dish,” adding a full pepper to the mix. This book is full of family drama, fun BFF’s, laughs and spice. Both Kasi and Declan have major daddy issues. Kasi’s kind of cause her to be a jerk at times. She tends to speak first and think later. It happens more than once. She also has gut reactions that aren’t always mature (who blocks their business partner for a week??) and get her into trouble. This wouldn’t be such an issue if she had some redeeming qualities, but I found her almost unlikeable at the beginning and only towards the end did I kind of feel like she could be a good person.

One notable improvement in this sequel is the relocation of the food recipes to the end of the book, allowing readers to enjoy them without interruption from the main story. While the pacing of this book picked up considerable compared to the first book, there are still mini cliffhangers, which drive me bananas. Once again, the absence of the male protagonist’s point of view is once again felt, leaving readers longing for more insights into Declan’s thoughts and feelings. I would have really liked it, particularly in this book. Declan’s relationship with Flynn is so complicated and important to who he is, it would have been beneficial to his character to have a bigger voice.

All in all, A Tasty Dish is a delectable blend of romance and ambition and I cannot wait to read what’s in store for Weston in Book Three. I gave it a 3.5 star overall rating, bumped up to a 4 because there are no 1/2 star emojis.

Read my review of An Acquired Taste, Book One in The Everheart Brothers of Texas Series.

Click herefor your copy of A Tasty Dish and herefor your copy of An Acquired Taste.

Tropes hit: Relationship Vs Fling, Friends with Benefits, Workplace Romance

Thank you to NetGalley, Kelly Cain and Dreamscape Media for the ALC copy of this audiobook.

It Happened One Summer By: Tessa Bailey

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

I received an ARC copy of the next book in this series, so I figured that I should probably read the first one before diving into the second. I really enjoyed Window Shopping (my first Tessa Bailey book) so I had high hopes for It Happened One Summer. When I read the summary I was expecting Paris Hilton The Simple Life vibes. That was a big womp womp. There are really only a couple of silly heiress moments in this book. Other than that, it was instalove and humping. Lots and lots of humping. Notice the 4 pepper rating.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked the story. It was cute, sexy and a fun read. But I wanted MORE. More of Piper almost burning the house down. More of Brandon helping her navigate her new reality. More bonding with Opal. Her getting an actual job and getting her first paycheck. Learning to really work for a living. The whole premise of the story is that Piper is being punished for taking her party girl ways one step too far. In an effort to teach her a lesson, her step father ships her off to her father’s hometown. Her sister, Hannah, comes along since she bailed Piper out of jail in defiance of her pursestrings holding stepdad. Refurbishing a bar with the money your dad put into a debit account for you after he cancelled your credit cards isn’t really “making it on your own”.

Piper ditches her sister to start boning the hot Capitan of Crab, he helps her fix up her father’s bar, and then in order to win her heart Brandon splurges on a fancy hotel and then says “Baby, I’m taking you shopping,” after which Piper exclaims that she’s learned the value of money because she just tried on a pair of $100 jeans. After getting it on in the dressing room, of course. It really just feels like Piper goes from her stepdad indulging her to Brandon taking over. And that coming from a woman who had earlier in the book considered a $4000 dress a steal. That’s a lot of progress to make in 5 weeks.

Piper does eventually get to a more self aware state. She does really sweet things like bonding with Opal, doing makeup tutorials for the local ladies, and walking a elderly man to his reading spot. And she figures out what she wants out of life, and that’s really nice. But getting there was kind of cringy at times.

Overall a good read if you’re looking for something quick, sexy and funny. I’m about 1/2 way through Hook, Line and Sinker and I already like it a lot more than It Happened One Summer.

The Wedding Crasher By: Mia Sosa

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️/5

🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

The Wedding Crasher is the follow up book to The Worst Best Man (love love loves), and Dean, Max’s best friend, is getting married. Or so he thinks.

Dean was one of my favorite characters from the previous book so I was super excited that he was getting his own story line. Enter Solange, one of Lina’s cousins. She’s roped into helping out on Ethan’s big day, and inadvertently ends up interfering. So much so that she stops the wedding.

But, as fate would have it, Solange and Ethan both find themselves in need of a significant other. Ethan to woo a new partner at his work, Solange to cover for a fib her mom told to a snooty relative.

They’re contending with way too many people who can screw everything up. There’s Peter, a snarky sneaky brown noser from Ethan’s job, who is determined to catch them in a lie. I have to admit, without any spoilers that I was pleasantly surprised how that loop was closed. But if I’m keeping a list of book characters I want to throat punch, he’s on it. Then there’s all the various aunts and cousins who can’t lie to save a life.

(*side note, I just started a list of fictional characters I hate. I have a feeling it’s going to be large)

This book hits some of my favorite romance tropes- fake lovers, enemies to lovers, family interference, food and cultural influence.

This book is delightfully funny, steamy hot, and left me a little hungry and looking for a place that sells some Brazilian food. And not just the meat. I’m going to need some of that stuffed breakfast bread and Pao de Queijo ASAP.

And don’t be fooled by the tame cover, be still my heart this book was smokin. But the heat didn’t interfere with the overall story, and this was a slow burn for sure. A rom-com done really really well.

A special thank you to the author @miasosaromance @netgalley and the publishers @avonbooks and @harpervoyagerus for the advanced copy of this ebook!

The Recovery Agent: By Janet Evanovich

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

JE is one of my all time favorite authors, and Stephanie Plum is one of my favorite characters. Her other series, also phenomenal. So when I got the chance to read an early copy of the first book of her new series, I will admit, I did a fan girl dance around my living room.

This series reacquaints us with Gabriella Rose, who we met in another book already. It also introduces her ex husband Rafer, assistant Marcella, and a wonderful supporting cast of characters. It takes us on a river rapid ride through jungles and cities alike. A quick, funny and satisfying read, I cannot wait to read more from this series.

I will note, it’s hard not to make comparisons. Maybe because we first met Gabs in a Stephanie Plum book, but she’s the exact opposite of Steph. Literally, on every sense of the word. The same can be said for Rafer (still bad ass) but so much more laid back than Ranger, and for Marcella, who seems to be everything Lula is not (competent, organized, dependable). Both women manage to step in 💩 frequently, but luckily Gabs has bullets in her gun and knows how to use it!

Thank you to the author @janetevanovich @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced copy of this book!

One Of Us Is Dead: By Jeneva Rose

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

After a months long binge into romance and going down some crazy rabbit holes (more on that later), I needed a palate cleanser and One Of Us Is Dead was the perfect choice.

“I always belived there was another option on the table- forgive, forget or ****** never let it go.”

The ladies of Buckhead are absolutely ruthless, and they’re in the middle of a power struggle. As someone who can quote Mean Girls on cue, this books is basically Mean Girls meets Desperate Housewives. And I absolutely devoured it. This was a one day binge read for me.

While this book would be considered a thriller, it was wickedly funny and sassy and keeping me on the edge of my seat while laughing at all the snark.

Join the ladies, grab a glass of bubbly and dive in, I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.

Thank you to the author @jenevaroseauthor @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for the advanced copy of both the ebook and audiobook

The Golden Couple: By Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

Oh wow. I needed a minute after finishing this audiobook to process. It’s a roller coaster my friends. Holy cow. This is another one of those books where everyone is lying, and behind every truth there is another slew of lies. Who can you trust? Who’s intentions are good and who’s are nefarious? There are red herrings abound here, reminiscent of classic whodunnit’s.

Avery gives me major Kinsey Millhone vibes. I just love her and I am going to hold out hope for another book featuring her. Or better yet, a series. This was a binge worthy listen, I started it this morning and basically couldn’t put it down.

I was excited to read this book when I heard it was a BOTM pick, and was even more excited to receive an ALC copy. Thank you so much to the authors @greerhendricks & @sarahpekkanen @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy of this book.

Darynda Jones: A Bad Day For Sunshine

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links, which are no cost to you but do give me a small payout if you choose to purchase via the link on the page.

The Rundown: Sunshine Vicram is duped by her meddling parents into becoming the sheriff of her small hometown. Her first day on the job is a doozy and leads to revelations about her abduction 15 years ago.

Written by Darynda Jones, Published April 2020

Oh my gawd, stop what you’re reading right this minute, and go order this book. I’m not kidding. So Oh my gawd, stop what you’re reading right this minute, and go order this book. I’m not kidding. So I’ve had Darynda Jones’ other series on my tbr list for, well, forever. Then I got an ARC copy of the 2nd book in her new series, so of course, I had to go back and read the first one before I read that one. Did that make sense? I hope so.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of Stephanie Plum, you’re going to poop your pants over Sunshine Blaze Vicram. Sunshine and her daughter Auri have just moved back to Sun’s hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico after her parent’s somehow managed to get her elected as the new town Sheriff. Even though she left Del Sol in the rearview mirror years ago. Lucky for her, her best friend Quincy is a Sheriff’s Deputy, so it’s old friends back together again.

Her first day on the job brings a missing teenager who has been predicting her death and abduction since she was six. Sybil St. Aubin had made friends with Sunshine’s daughter, Auri, that summer at the lake, and has left behind a series of clues that don’t seem to add up.
The day also brings Little Miss Sunshine straight back into the orbit of the only man she’s ever loved. The boy she fell in love with as a teen, and the man she could never forget, Levi Ravinder. Levi has taken his family’s “corn whiskey” aka, moonshine, business legit and is doing well for himself. But he seems to have no use for our heroine, although as long lost memories come back, he seems to be at the center of Sun’s abduction and the aftermath. Oh, and a stolen rooster named Puff Daddy, whose owner seems to be causing more problems than necessary. And there are magic muffins that predict a really bad day.

Things don’t get much better when Levi’s nephew Jimmy goes missing as well. Jimmy happens to be the son of Sunshine’s arch nemesis Hailey. Sun is hopeful that the kids are together and it’s all some sort of misunderstanding. With Levi’s tracking skills, it becomes apparent that Jimmy isn’t with Sybil, however, they do make a shocking discovery on the snowy mountain (did you know it snowed in New Mexico?) that brings Sun’s kidnapping back into the forefront.

This book has an amazing cast of characters from Sunshine’s conniving parents, to her crackerjack police team to the Ravinder clan (who may or may not be all that bad), and the various odd inhabitants of Del Sol.

So, that probably wasn’t the most concise summary of a book. The bottom line, I couldn’t put this book down. If you’re looking for a tough, funny, independent, kick-ass heroine, this book is for you. It’s full of wit and sarcasm and made me laugh out loud. Of note: I listened to the audio version, and it is hard not to compare it to the Stephanie Plum series, especially because it’s the same narrator. But I’ll refrain from doing so since I’m desperately holding out hope that by book 28 (I think?) my girl Steph will finally learn to put some bullets in her gun. But I digress.

I can only hope that this series continues because I can’t get enough Sunshine. Stay tuned for my review on A Good Day For Chardonnay, the 2nd book in the Sunshine Vicram series.

This audiobook was listened to on the Scribd app.