Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Review: You've Been Summoned

Publisher: Experiment 42
Pages: 376
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A suspicious host. A skeptical guest list. A historical manor. Everyone’s hiding something. It's up to you to solve the mystery in this interactive puzzle.

During a long weekend in March, a group of twentysomethings from Virginia meet for an overnight costume party. For their venue, the host has rented the historical Sophomore a place where the most prestigious socialites of the 1940's and ‘50s partied until the celebrity owners mysteriously went missing.

The event began innocently enough: cocktail toasts, elaborate costumes, and exchanged pleasantries. But at the height of the party, Jane Parks notices her twin has vanished from the scene. It isn’t until Jane finds her sister’s body that the real guessing game begins.

That’s where you come in. It’s up to you, detective, to expose a present-day link between the victim, the guest list, and Sophomore Manor’s unsolved history.


Kritters Thoughts:  A unique story in the way that it is presented - through clues, interviews, files and so on.  The reader is being asked to be a part of the investigative team and review the files to find out why a woman went missing and who is responsible.  

There are actually two mysteries within this book, the current storyline as a journalist Jane is attending a party in this mansion in Virginia that her twin Sillian is hosting and Sillian is the one that goes missing.  The other storyline takes place in the past and a set of sisters move into this same mansion in arranged marriages of sorts and things happen.  While I liked the "Clue" nature of this book and the overt use of putting the reader in control of the story, in the end it didn't work for me.  What I wanted was more of the historical storyline and I wanted more about this beautiful home.  

I am intrigued to read this author's other book to see if same author different format would work better for me. 

Rating:





Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Review: Coming Home to Seashell Harbor by Miranda Liasson

Publisher: Forever
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Hadley Wells swapped her dreams of saving the planet for the glamour of Hollywood. But when a very public breakup reveals cracks in her not-so-perfect life, she returns to her hometown to reassess what it is she truly wants. Unfortunately, Seashell Harbor has some trouble of its own—including the first man to ever break her heart.

A serious injury forced footballer Tony Cammareri into early retirement—now he’s determined to reboot his life with a splashy new restaurant venture. He knows better than to expect a happy reunion with Hadley, but he’s determined to make up for the way things ended between them. Yet when Tony and Hadley end up vying for control of the town’s future, they find themselves once again on opposing sides.

As their rivalry intensifies, they must decide what’s worth fighting for—and what it truly means to be happy.


Kritters Thoughts:  Hadley Wells has been hit with not just a breakup but one that is playing out in the very public eye, so retreating to Seashell Harbor seems like the best way to recover.  Injured footballer Tony Cammareri is in Seashell Harbor also, to literally recover and with the past meeting the present, these two are the main characters of this first book in the series.  

Another romance book where the characters have a past and have to get over old wounds to have a chance at a possible future and these are ones I love.  I find that when the characters have a past it is easier for me to watch them grow into love quicker knowing that they can skip the get to know you - and maybe because I am know enjoying a relationship with someone who has come back from the past! 

My first Miranda Liasson book and most certainly not my last as I for sure want to continue in this series as I both loved the charcters and the setting of this one.  

Rating:



Monday, June 1, 2026



My best reading month in a while, but maybe because a few books were short AND I am trying to sleep train an infant in the dark and my kindle has become my companion!  Hoping for June to be a great reading month with some airplane travel and a few quiet days. 

1. I Love Disney's Magic Kingdom by Danielle Kelly and Ian Wilson
2. Justice by CS Runn
3. What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella
4. You've Been Summoned by Lindsey Lamar
5. This is Me by Hayden Panettiere
6. The Answer is No by Fredrick Backman

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 1,135

Where Have I Been Reading?:
Florida
Utah
England
Virginia




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