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Book Review: The Last Housewife
Hi readers! 💜 I’m here today with a book review for The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead. I was a pretty big fan of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by the same author so I was really excited to check this book out, especially after seeing it all over my bookish social circles.
- Genre: suspense, thriller, contemporary
- My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️
- CW warnings: Check the content warnings at the beginning of the book. There are A LOT in this one. If sexual violence is a big trigger for you, you’ll want to skip this one.
QUICK PLOT: Shay is living as a housewife far away from her college town where she and her friends became entranced by a cruel and seductive man during their time at university. Shay and her friend Laurel are the only ones who survived the experience, but now Laurel is dead and Shay has questions. Partnering up with her childhood friend turned true crime podcaster, Shay will need to lead herself back into the belly of the beast if she’s going to solve the mystery of her friends’ deaths.
I LIKED: Generally speaking, I like this set-up for a thriller- where there are two timelines coming together and the protagonist has to straddle both the past and present to get answers. I liked the first 20% of this book. Winstead’s writing is engaging and very readable so it’s easy to keep turning the pages.
I DIDN’T LIKE: This book has a lot of my bookish pet peeves which is why I could only give it a two star rating. I have a big problem with repetitive writing and this book is nothing if not repetitive. Shay goes to some weird sex cult party, almost gets hurt/witnesses others getting hurt, and then goes back to the hotel to record a podcast episode with her friend Jamie.
That happens from like the 30% to 80% mark in the book… over and over again. It got to the point where I was like, let me guess, another weird cult party and then a new podcast episode? Cool! ✅ It’s super boring and I’m not sure how you can write essentially the same couple scenes repeatedly without noticing lol.
Also not a fan of how unrealistic the book is. I’m just not buying this whole ‘operation undetected infiltration’ thing. I guessed the “twist” super early on in the book which isn’t ideal for a mystery and the only character I actually felt like we knew was Shay. There are other characters, but they’re so one dimensional and they essentially just exist to revolve around Shay’s character.
SUMMARY: Obviously this one wasn’t for me. 😂 I wanted to love this so much more than I did because I had a good experience with Winstead’s previous thriller earlier this year. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was a buddy read for me and we were going to buddy read this one together too. My friend ended up getting a late start on it and I told her I would probably not bothering with reading it because I don’t think it’s something she would like either. That being said, a lot of my other bookish friends seemed to enjoy this one so if you don’t mind a lot of trigger warnings, if you enjoy the ‘true crime podcaster’ thriller trope, and if you don’t mind a somewhat slow build up through similar scenes you may want to check this one out! ♥️
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Top Ten Tuesday || Favorite ‘Aww’ Book Moments
Happy Tuesday, readers! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and features a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Favorite “Aww” Moments In Books. Consider me challenged on this one! The books I read typically lean toward the dark side and when I read this topic my face went… 😳
But I’m a trooper! So let’s try to think of some ‘aww’ moments. I think for this one I don’t have specific examples, but I can think of scenarios or tropes that happen in books and make me feel warm and fuzzy. 💖🤗
Let’s jump in!
- Outcast realizes they’re not alone. I love when a character is an outcast or an underdog in some way and they get an unexpected ally. That moment when they realize someone is on their side is so AWW.
- Supportive found family. When a character doesn’t have family, but they go on an adventure and find a new family along the way that’s better than their blood family was anyway.
- Confidence/Power. When a character who doesn’t believe in themself finds courage/confidence and realizes that they’re powerful now. It happens a lot in fantasy books.
- Grumpy x Sunshine. I love the grumpy x sunshine trope when the grumpy character finally admits that they love the sunshine character. 🤣
- The Pet Sidekick. I see this a lot in cozy mysteries, but I love the pet sidekick who helps the main character sleuth the case!
- Commitment-phobe commits. I love when they the person who is terrified of commitment realizes they’re in too deep and finally admits that they’re already committed lol.
- The Wallflower. I absolutely love wallflower type characters. The ones who kind of just sit back observing. They’re quiet, but when they do talk it’s some sort of profound observation that only the would notice and it’s super cute and endearing.
- The unattainable becomes attainable. I like books with this trope where two characters are interested in each other but come from totally different social classes or situations. When the ‘inferior’ character realizes that the ‘superior’ character has chosen them out of everyone that’s definitely an Aww moment.
- Character comes to terms with who they are. This happens a lot in literary fiction or coming-of-age books. I love when the main character starts to accept themselves for who they are, especially if it’s related to sexuality because that journey is so difficult. The first happy moment they just being comfortable in their own skin is AWWWW.
- Reluctant hero becomes heroic. This is such a played out trope, but it still gives me good feels. I love when the protagonist wants nothing to do with being the protagonist, but is forced into the situation due to some type of conflict and ends up becoming an epic hero.
Do we share any common ‘Awww’ book moments? Be sure to share your post in the comments too if you have one!
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Sunday Post || Sunday Salon – Book Blog Nov 12
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. The Sunday Salon is hosted by Readerbuzz and also gives readers and non-readers a chance to catch up with each other on their week!
Happy Sunday once again! I’m feeling the holiday spirit this weekend because we got our first snow of the season. Decided to do a winter vibe manicure and start a new holiday read! How are we feeling about these nails? ❄️ 💙
This has been a super slow week in my blog + reading in general for me. I’m helping with elder care for a family member and it’s very, very difficult. I don’t think most people my age are involved with the elder care process because usually their parents are doing that, but my mom is the only person in her family to take care of her aging parent and she needs help. I’m trying to do as much as I can with the decision making and transition process for my grandfather who is very dear to me. I’m an analyst by day so I built out some budgets with nice graphs for us all to look through together. Didn’t love the results, but it at least gave us a clear picture for what we need to do next.
This week’s books/movies/shows:
- Watched No Exit last night which is based on a suspense/thriller novel. I haven’t read the book yet, but the movie was okay.
- Almost finished watching the new Chucky series. I think we might have one more episode. The show has been okay so far, but nothing I would really highly recommend.
- Finished The Last Housewife. I’m ready to review that one as soon as I find the time.
- Finished Missing Dead Girls which was a NetGalley ARC. I’m going to wait closer to the release of the book to review that in my blog.
- Got denied for two other NetGalley requests. I’ve now been denied for 4 and approved for only two. 😱 I think I’m probably requesting books that are too popular or too close to release date. Otherwise, I’m not sure what’s causing the denials because I have my profile filled out with all my socials + stats (which are pretty high, especially with my bookstagram account).
- Started listening to The Holiday Trap which has a similar concept to the movie The Holiday (with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, & Jack Black) except the book is a queer rom com. I’m really enjoying it so far. The characters are witty, sarcastic, and putting me in the spirit of the season already!
For anyone who may have missed them, here are my blog posts for the week. There weren’t many due to the aforementioned life situation.
Upcoming this week in my blog I’ll have:
- The usual book memes (goodreads Monday, top ten Tuesday, www Wednesday, etc) as much as I can anyway
- Review of The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
Question of the day: Do you have any favorite holiday books or movies?
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week and you’ve got another ahead. Please feel free to reach out, comment, connect with my on other bookish socials any time! 💜
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WWW Wednesday | Nov 9 #bookblog
Happy WWW Wednesday. This weekly prompt is hosted by Taking on a World of Words. Each week we’ll answer three reading questions. Feel free to leave your answer in the comments, or a link to your own WWW Wednesday post if you have one! 😊
The three questions are:
• What are you currently reading?
• What have you finished reading?
• What will you read next?Currently Reading
Here is my hopefuls list for November. I’m actually sticking pretty closely to it this month somehow.
I’m currently about 60% of the way through Missing Dead Girls which is a sapphic thriller so that’s kind of cool. It’s about a girl who moves to a new town and is immediately entranced by a local girl. Then the local girl goes missing and all eyes shift to the new girl. This one is honestly super slow-paced so far. Like I said, I’m 60% through and the local girl hasn’t even disappeared yet, lol.
I’m also still listening to The Handmaid’s Tale. I kind of set it aside for a couple days to finish a different book, but I’m ready to jump back into it now.
Finished Reading
Finally finished The Last Housewife this week so there will be a review of that up in my blog later this week- either Thursday or Friday. But spoiler alert: I’m super disappointed in it and it’s going to be more of a rant than a straightforward review.
Reading Next
That leaves three more books on my TBR list for the month. I have a copy of The Family Game and a copy of Dark Room Etiquette, so either of those are viable options. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail comes out later this month and my arc request hasn’t been approved, making that not even an option for my next read. 😂
Feel free to leave your links in the comments ♥️
Have you read any of my WWW books? What did you think?
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Top Ten Tuesday || Series I’d Like to Start/Catch up on/Finish
Happy Tuesday, readers! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and features a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is series I’d like to start/catch up on/finish. This should be an easy topic for me because I have so many series on my TBR list and several that I’m in the process of reading too.
If you’re in the US, it’s voting day!! Please make sure you get out there and cast your ballot. I went bright and early this morning. I was in and out in less than ten minutes. It’s so important that you exercise your right to vote. 💜 💜
Moving on to Top Ten Tuesday, let’s jump into the series!
- The Folk of the Air. I’ve read the first 2 books in this series and I enjoyed both of them a lot. I took a break before reading the third just because I don’t like to rush through a series I’m enjoying. It gives me something to look forward to.
- A Court of Thorn and Roses. I started and then abandoned the first book in this series because I was reading too many other books at the time. I was enjoying what I had read of it and it seemed like it was just about to pick up before I set it aside so I’m looking forward to getting back into it.
- A Song of Ice and Fire. This is a series I’ve wanted to read for so long, but with it being unfinished I’ve not been motivated enough to actually start.
- Shatter Me. This would totally be a ‘social media made me do it’ read for me. I don’t know how much interest I actually have in it, but I just see posts about it so much that I’d like to read it and be in the know!
- Outlander. This isn’t my usual genre, but I’ve heard so many good things about this series that I have it on my maybe list.
- Goosebumps. Does this count??? I want to reread a lot of the goosebumps/fear street books that I read as a kid. It’s one of my goals for 2023 because I’ve been collecting them for a long time. I have about 50 Fear Street books that I haven’t read in probably since the late 90s.
- The Lord of the Rings. Would you believe I’ve never read or seen any of these? I definitely need to get on it!
- All For the Game. I’ve been hearing some good things about The Foxhole Court, but looking at reviews they’re very very mixed. Lots of five star ratings, but lots of one star ratings too so we’ll see.
- Six of Crows. I started the first book in this duology a couple years ago. It’s another that I was enjoying for the most part, but I just ended up setting aside for other things on my current reads list and I never went back to it. I want to give it another try soon though.
- Shades of Magic. I’ve been wanting to check out V.E. Schwab’s books for a while now. The concept of multiple universe Londons it’s super cool as long as it’s clearly written so I’m hoping to read the first in this series at some point.
Do we share any common characters on our lists? Be sure to share your post in the comments too if you have one!
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Sunday Post || Sunday Salon – Book Blog Nov 6
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. The Sunday Salon is hosted by Readerbuzz and also gives readers and non-readers a chance to catch up with each other on their week!
Happy Sunday, friends! How are we feeling about this week’s manicure? It’s a summer-y vibe, but I must not be ready to commit to cold weather vibes yet! 😂 Although yesterday my partner and I went out for a sugar cookie almond milk latte from Starbucks, so we’re definitely getting in the mood soon. It was actually 80 degrees here one day this week. In November! That’s wild. It’s supposed drastically cool off in the next couple weeks though so I won’t complain about the warmth.
I’m sorry I haven’t been as present in everyone’s blogs this week. I’ve been sick, but planning to catch up on everyone’s week today! 💜
This week’s books/movies/shows:
- Finished watching Dahmer yesterday. I didn’t enjoy it much, to be honest, though I thought Evan Peters did an excellent job. I won’t be watching a Gacy series if they do that next.
- Started watching the new Chucky series last night. Episode one held my attention well so I’m hoping that I’ll mesh well with the show!
- Currently finishing up The Last Housewife. I’ve only got probably 30-45 more minutes of reading on it.
- Also started Missing Dead Girls which is an ARC from NetGalley. I’m 25% through now and it’s pretty good so far. Not stellar writing, but fun enough for a thriller.
- Listening to The Handmaid’s Tale on audiobook. It’s slower than I thought it would be, but still interested in seeing where it goes.
For anyone who may have missed them, here are my blog posts for the week. I did a little better this week than the previous week. I think 4 blog posts is a good balance for me because I’m usually a little too busy for all 7 days.
- Goodreads Monday – Oct 31
- Top Ten Tuesday || Unlikeable Characters
- WWW Wednesday | Nov 2 #bookblog
- Stacking the Shelves – Nov 5
Upcoming this week in my blog I’ll have:
- The usual book memes (goodreads Monday, top ten Tuesday, www Wednesday, etc). Hoping to keep up better this week!
- Review of The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
Question of the day: Have you seen any of the series I’ve watched this week or read any of the books? Are any of them on your to-watch or to-read list?
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week and you’ve got another ahead. Please feel free to reach out, comment, connect with my on other bookish socials any time! 💜
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Stacking the Shelves – Nov 5
Happy Saturday, reading friends! 💜 Stacking The Shelves is a weekly prompt hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality where we share the books we’re adding to our shelves, whether they’re physical or virtual. I heavily utilize my local library, so the books I showcase here may be either newly borrowed or newly owned. 😊
I think I’ve somehow managed to pick up a bug. I’ve been dealing with muscle aches, headache, and nausea since yesterday. It’s a rainy, dreary day here so I’m planning on relaxing and reading as much as possible! ♥️
Let’s check out what’s new to my shelf this week. Only two books! One is a library borrow and the other is a NetGalley ARC.
- Missing Dead Girls by Sara Walters. This is only the second ARC I’ve been approved for on NetGalley. I’m 25% through and it’s going pretty well so far. It’s described as a sapphic thriller about a girl who moves to a new town to escape her traumatic past. There she meets a fellow high schooler and the two hit it off right away- then one of them goes missing and the other is the accused.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I’m around 15% into this one so I have a lot more to read. It’s pretty good so far, but slower than I was anticipating. I do think the slow burn has its own merit. The casualness in which the dystopian world is presented is unsettling and effective.
Have you read either of these yet or do you have any interest in reading them?
Have a great weekend! I’ll see you in your blogs. ❤
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WWW Wednesday | Nov 2 #bookblog
Happy WWW Wednesday. This weekly prompt is hosted by Taking on a World of Words. Each week we’ll answer three reading questions. Feel free to leave your answer in the comments, or a link to your own WWW Wednesday post if you have one! 😊
The three questions are:
• What are you currently reading?
• What have you finished reading?
• What will you read next?Currently Reading
I’m still working on finishing up one book from October, but I’ve already picked The Handmaid’s Tale as my first new read of November and I’m 10% of the way through it now!
I’m over halfway through The Last Housewife now. It is good so far, but I’m reading it pretty slowly because the content is heavy/disturbing so it’s not something I’m finding myself wanting to reach for as much at the moment. With midterm elections coming up, I thought it would be a good time to read The Handmaid’s Tale. I’ve heard really good things about the show, but I want to read the book first because I know I’lll never read the book if I see the series beforehand.
I guess both of my current reads are pretty heavy now that I’m thinking about it. The casual, almost mundane way Atwood wrote about daily life for Offred and the others in Gilead is so unsettling and impactful I think.
Finished Reading
I most recently finished Song for the Unraveling of the World which is a speculative fiction/horror short story collection that I started at the beginning of October. It was really good but like a disturbing fever dream. I also finished my first NetGalley ARC and reviewed that last week: Book Review: The Naughty Or Nice Clause
Reading Next
I’m honestly not great about sticking with my monthly TBR lists, but I enjoy making them anyway. It at least gets me somewhat organized on what I’d like to read so that if I find myself struggling to figure out what to read next during the middle of the month, I can just go back to my TBR from the beginning of the month.
Feel free to leave your links in the comments ♥️
Have you read any of my WWW books? What did you think?
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Top Ten Tuesday || Unlikeable Characters
Happy Tuesday, readers! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and features a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is unlikeable characters you can’t help but love. I’ve realized that making a top ten list is difficult for me usually because trying to think of 10 different books or 10 different characters off the top of my head is a lot. So I’m making this one a top 5 as I’ve done occasionally in the past.
Above is a picture of the book I was reading on Halloween yesterday. 🎃 👻 I really wanted to read The Black Phone short story because I watched the movie a couple months ago. It’s really creepy/sad.
Moving on to Top
TenFive Tuesday, let’s jump into the unlikeable characters that I can’t help but like.- Holden from The Catcher in the Rye. Yes, I get it- he’s a whiny, judgmental teen. I don’t care! I related a lot to this character in my own angst-filled teen years. Reading the book as an adult, I can see that Holden is a kid who is going through a lot of mental health issues and trauma, which I think is missed in the whole “but he’s whiny” debate.
- Cardan from The Folk of the Air series. He’s just the worst and the best and the worst. He’s cruel and pompous, but there is something intriguing about his character that makes readers fall in love with him which I find fascinating and really difficult for an author to pull off. Jude could also easily have a separate spot on this list!
- Amy from Gone Girl. I think I fell in love with Amy during the Cool Girl monologue in this book. She’s an extremely flawed in many ways, but I can’t help but to like her.
- Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ugh this prideful, narcissistic character who is also so tortured and internally tormented… I do love/hate Dorian!
- Ingrid from White Oleander. Ingrid is just truly awful in every way. So manipulative, self-absorbed, and toxic. She ruins so many lives, and yet she has that whole otherworldly beautiful poet thing going on that makes it more of a love to hate thing.
Do we share any common characters on our lists? Be sure to share your post in the comments too if you have one!
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Goodreads Monday – Oct 31
Happy Halloween, readers! Taken over from Lauren’s Page Turners, Budget Tales Book Blog is now hosting Goodreads Monday. It’s a chance to share what’s on your Goodreads “TBR” list and progress on your current reads.
Firstly, if you have a Goodreads account, let’s be friends! I’m also bookbabenails there. 😊
I finished my first ARC from NetGalley over the weekend. I’m planning to wait to post my reviews until next week because it will be closer to the release date of the book. But I’m ready to start requesting more books so I’m excited!
I made decent progress on The Last Housewife last night because I was having trouble sleeping. It’s good so far, but definitely warrants all of those trigger warnings at the beginning of the book! I’m at the 30% mark and the book is starting to pick up more. I’m invested in finding out what happened!
The Family Game is next up on my TBR, but I own it now so it may get pushed back if I feel like I’ve gotten my fill of the thriller/horror genre from all of my October reads. I’m feeling more of a romance/holiday mood coming on and this book doesn’t sound so cozy!
Just received Dark Room Etiquette today. Not sure when I’ll actually read it because it’s nearly 500 pages and undoubtedly heartwrenching if I know Robin Roe at all. Roe’s book A List of Cages still stands as one of my favorite books in the young adult genre in the past decade. I felt so connected to the characters and I’m hoping to have the same experience with this book.
⁉️ Have you read any of my new current reads? If not, do any of them pique your interest?
BookBabeNails 