To all my readers who celebrate New Years Day, January 1st, I wish you a magical and happy, healthy new year with family, food, and fun.
Killing Me Softly: A Novel by Sandie Jones #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog
Book Blurb:
What do you do when love turns deadly?
THE PERFECT COUPLE
Charlie and Freya used to be the picture-perfect couple. Happy and in love, Freya enjoyed a rewarding job heading up a charity’s fundraising efforts, and Charlie was fast becoming one-to-watch on the London culinary scene—if you couldn’t be them, you wanted to be with them.
A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY
They had it all . . . until one night a devastating accident tears their lives apart, and they’re awoken by police at their door, asking whether they are aware that their car had been involved in a hit and run.
A BITTER FEUD
Torn apart by accusations and guilt, the trust that Freya and Charlie once shared is shattered as they turn on each other, looking for someone to blame for the fallout. Told from both Freya and Charlie’s perspectives, a cat and mouse game ensues, both of them desperate to have someone to point the finger at. But is it more important to be right, or to win? Can Freya stay one step ahead of the man who knows her best? Or will Charlie’s stoic conviction to get what he wants be the death of her?
Sandie Jones’s next addictive novel is a wickedly twisty tale of obsession, and the deadly consequences of loving someone too much.
My Review:
Can you say, “unreliable narrator?”
Many threaded, POV flips back and forth between Charlie and Freya, neither of which are truly engaging characters and I flat didn’t like Freya. Actually, I found few characters in which I could engage and I’m still scratching my head over Nina.
A fragile marriage between two damaged individuals treading water. With what happens following a row at Charlie’s boss’s house, any life jackets holding them up begin to take on water. Neither is particularly trusting of the other and with good reason. Charlie has his secrets and Freya a chilling history.
I struggled with a good portion of the book, slow pace and chaotic. Flipping between POVs kept me trying to catch up and I’m no longer interested in going back to find the linking thread. The characters are toxic and the drama is over the top. It’s confusing and the big reveal is just overkill and eye-rolling. “It’s what?” “She’s what?” No. Just–no.
I know this author has a fan base and I appreciate that they may find this one of interest. My first experience, however, and I’m not sure I’ll be looking for another with this author very soon.
I received an invitation to read the Uncorrected Digital Galley from Angelica at Minotaur Books. Many thanks to her and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Rating: Three Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Domestic Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250910080
ASIN: B0F5PDVKLN
Print Length: 320
Publication Date: March 31, 2026
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Welcome to my Amazon Author Page which I’m guessing you’ve stumbled upon in the search for your next thrilling read, and I hope you find something here that whets your appetite. My debut novel, The Other Woman, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and a New York Times Bestseller. But I’ve got five other titles to choose from; each of them offering something a little different from the other – though with one thing in common; they’ll all have you questioning who you should trust and who’s taking you for a ride! From husbands to sisters, and work colleagues to mother-in-laws – you could be forgiven for thinking that they’re all perfectly ordinary people…..until something extra-ordinary happens!
My next novel, I Would Die For You, is a dual timeline suspense novel alternating between the present day in California and 1986 in London, back when I was a 16 year old, obsessed with Duran Duran. I truly believed Simon Le Bon was going to see me in the front row of a concert and instantly fall in love. Sadly it didn’t happen for me, but it does for Nicole, when the lead singer of Secret Oktober spots her and they embark on a clandestine affair. But where there’s cloak and daggers, there’ll invariably be blood – but whose will it be?
Pre-order now for delivery on publication day and click the ‘follow’ button for special deals. Catch me on Instagram @sandiejones_author and Facebook @realsandiejones for updates, recommendations and author chat.
©2025 V Williams
Twelve Favorite Books of 2025 – #Favoritebooks #eBooks #Audiobooks
I’m still trying to find a way to streamline the process of picking out a favorite book of the year. It hasn’t worked this year either. This exercise takes just as long and is as exhausting as previous years.
The CE has relaxed a bit on his reading but he still had several that hit the top of the list. I listened to more audiobooks while struggling to get the ebooks read from a wide variety of genres from #cozyanimalmysteries to #historicalfiction. Still struggling with challenges, I managed only two of four this year. My December Recap will have details on the Challenges as well as Goodreads stats.
Links on titles are to my review, which will include source and purchase information.
Jan –All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee – The writing style is gripping. There are twists. There are themes of the futility of war, the physiological and psychological damage to those involved and the resulting damage to the family unit as well as the community.
Feb – Guardian of the Crossroads by Melanie Forde – The author is a powerful storyteller. This is one of those stories that is laid out carefully, quietly, and then bestows a “wow” mystical factor at the end. Whether or not you believe in paranormal abilities, the narrative will leave you satisfied.
Mar – Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – Yes, it’s frankly honest, can be cruel and disturbing. But the tale it tells is mesmerizing, page-turning, and tension-filled right up until the rewarding denouement.
Apr – Watchers by Dean Koontz – Yes, there is a lab dog but I don’t mean Labrador—I mean laboratory and Travis realizes this is not a dog he can return. Unfortunately, the same lab that spawned him also spawned his opposite.
May – Nightshade by Michael Connelly – The story has many twists and turns as everyone seems innocent but someone must have tried to destroy evidence. The author shares many interesting detective techniques and the storyline is intriguing and entertaining. (A CE review)
Jun –How to Hotwire an Airplane by Henry Rausch – The novel carries themes of compassion, courage, and redemption. A unique and emotional tale of liberation more than political commentary. The action-packed climax is satisfying and provides closure as well as food for thought.
Jul – Bits and Pieces by Whoopi Goldberg – Whether or not you’ve been a fan of Whoopi (nee Caryn Johnson), reading this book may enhance your respect or create a new fan.
Aug – Endurance by Alfred Lansing – Amazingly creative in discovering ways and means for their survival and one you shouldn’t miss. I particularly recommend the audiobook beautifully performed by the narrator.
Sept – The Tenth Trail Mark by Joe Looby – The 10th Mountain Division was instrumental in winning the war in Europe. This book is an excellent review of the hardships faced and overcome by a very special group of American soldiers. (A CE review)
Oct – The Night Fire by Michael Connelly – Always complex, each installment brings a fresh storyline and keeps a strong pace that doesn’t lag in the middle. Strong characters are not above slightly bending rules when the case warrants, whether or not they’ll face consequences.
Nov – A Walk Among Heroes by James McDevitt – James McDevitt provides a very clear picture of the brotherhood of men in arms. It is a testament to those who have served and watched the sacrifice of someone who saves the life of a fellow soldier. (A CE review)
Dec – See Rosepoint Reviews – December Recap which will be posted on New Years Day to see the December winner!
Summary
I loved Water for Elephants and Whoopi’s memoir. The CE tends to generous star reviews and I provided three here, noting how glued he was to these selections, two of which are historical fiction. The third is a Michael Connelly novel and I listed one of his books as well, obviously a favorite author for us both. But for sheer edge-of-your-seat page-turning excitement, you’d be hard pressed to find one more so than Endurance. 
It left me breathless with a strong case of Book Hangover. I’m not sure what that says of my choice, as my favorite novel of 2024 was The Wager by David Grann, a remarkably similar historical sailing account, albeit a story taking place a couple centuries apart.
Favorite novel of 2025 – Endurance by Alfred Lansing, narrated by Simon Prebble. Born 1942 in Croydon, UK, Prebble is a British-American narrator. He received an Audie in 2010.
Invitation
I’m sure you read at least one of the above books, perhaps more? I’d love to see which of your 2025 books became your favorite of the year! Please send me your title and link by January 20 and I’ll create a post including your pick.
©2025 V Williams
How to Age Disgracefully: A Novel by Clare Pooley #AudiobookReview #FlashbackFriday
Book Blurb:
A senior citizens’ center and a daycare collide with hilarious results in the new ensemble comedy from New York Times-bestselling author Clare Pooley
When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.
The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.
When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door—as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog—to save the building. Together, this group’s unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.
My Review:
I caught the title from a buddy bookblogger and had to check it out! Literally—from my local library. That pink cover might be off-putting, but it has a dog on it. How bad can it be?
Oh my goodness. Where does this Yankee start? Is there much difference between aging in the UK or the US if both are well seasoned and busy trying to find what mischief to get into next? I think not.
It’s Daphne’s 70th birthday, the youngster, and she’s thinking of maybe getting back out into society after lying low for some time. She’s looking at the 70s and feeling a bit lonely. It’s that colorful background, you see.
So she finds a senior social club at the local community center and quietly sets out to get some online dating experience at the same time. I spent some time at the beginning of the book wondering where this thing was going and if it would be worth it. But the writing style? Got me. I kept reading.
I enjoyed the dialogue, the sense of humor, the intelligence, and the life going on with these supposed aging citizens. Okay, maybe retired doesn’t mean dead from either the waist up or down.
Then, a plot begins to manifest, as well as glimpses of Daphne’s life experience and the support characters are beginning to develop into real people. The descriptions paint a picture of seniors as they might see themselves, absent facial lines and thinning hair: vibrant, driven, determined to save their community center.
AH! So at this point, you’re thinking BOORING!…not so! This is written with such heart, emotions. It is pure entertainment.
Is it a mystery? Yes. (well, sorta)
Sassy, snarky? Yes.
Is there a bit of romance? (Don’t groan!) Yes.
Is a dog involved? Yes
It’s sweet and it’s fun. And it hits many topical themes, aging of course, but loneliness, abuse, and teen pregnancy. The characters are memorable and I loved that little zinger at the end.
The narrator does a terrific job of mastering those voices. Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Friendship Fiction, Humorous Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B0CKKNS75X
Listening Length: 8 hrs 11 mins
Narrator: Clare Corbett
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
The Author: Clare Pooley graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising before becoming a full-time writer.
Clare’s memoir – The Sober Diaries – has helped thousands of people worldwide to quit drinking.
Clare’s first novel – The Authenticity Project – was a BBC Radio 2 Bookclub pick, a New York Times Bestseller and the winner of the RNA debut novel award. It has been translated into 30 languages. Her second novel, The People on Platform 5 (titled Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting in the USA) was published in 2022, and How to Age Disgracefully is out in June 2024.
Clare lives in London and Cornwall with her long-suffering husband, three children and two border terriers. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her cooking, at the theatre, walking the South-West cliff path or wild swimming on the North Cornish coast.
©2025 V Williams
Merry Christmas – Happy Holidays!
Whether you celebrate Christmas or the Christian holidays, I wish you health and happiness and know that I’m grateful for your connection. I appreciate each and every one of you.
We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog
A Chilling Psychological Thriller Where Secrets Lead to Deadly Consequences
A North Falls Thriller Book 1
Best Books of the Year 2025
Book Blurb:
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
The first thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent Series.
Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.
Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.
For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.
But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.
Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?
My Review:
Well, okay. More than read the blurb, I really should research my own reviews to see how much I enjoyed (or didn’t) the last book I read by this author, Pretty Girls.
I’ve no doubt Ms. Slaughter has a way with words; she can get downright poetic at times. Unfortunately, this is a book regarding two teens who go missing during fourth of July celebrations. Since I’m not a big fan of plots regarding missing kids and torture, I accept it’s a book I should not have requested nor attempted to read.
Ms. Slaughter has some heavy fingers when it comes to her writing style and length of narratives. This is Book 1 of a new series and introduces Officer Emmy Clifton who has a number of personal issues she’s grappling with. Her issues shut down a teen in trouble looking for a responsible, trustworthy adult. That’s a big mistake and leads to the entire plot while also setting up the development of a new protagonist.
The novel also introduces a number of support characters, some we get to know ad nauseum while others we can’t muster up any kind of engagement. I’m not sure I’m supposed to like the FBI gal—she being family and all—but I found Jude most interesting. Of course, there are the whispers of a romance dancing in and out of scenes.
The hook at the beginning provided initial engagement, but then came the long tedious investigation, often punctuated with interpersonal relationship drama. I thought too long in the tooth on the personal side, too short on the police procedural side, and it sagged for me quite a while before the last twist that may or may not come as a surprise. Well, not one surprise, perhaps a couple.
In the meantime, the graphic descriptions the girls suffered was too much, the chapters too long, the plot undergoes a distracting timeline change, the pacing slows, and it tends to repetition.
This is not a book for me, nor could I recommend.
Many thanks to our local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Rating: Three Stars
Book Details:
Genre: Police Procedurals, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0063336803
ASIN: B0DN6K594T
Print Length: 448 pages
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Source: Local Library
Title Link(s):
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels THE GOOD DAUGHTER, PRETTY GIRLS, and GIRL, FORGOTTEN. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette. The Will Trent Series is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S, and Disney+ internationally). THE GOOD DAUGHTER and FALSE WITNESS are in development for film/tv. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKarinSlaughter/
Instagram http://www.instagram.com/karinslaughterauthor/
Twitter @SlaughterKarin
https://linktr.ee/karinslaughter
©2025 V Williams
Final Approach by Lynette Eason #AudiobookReview #ChristianThriller
Lake City Heroes Book #4
A Christian Suspense Thriller with Mystery and Clean Romance between a FBI Agent and Air Marshal
Book Blurb:
Air Marshal Kristine Duncan is not on duty when a hijacker attempts to seize control of the plane she and her friends are on as they head out on a much-needed vacation. Jumping into action and aided by FBI Special Agent Andrew Ross, Kristine thwarts the attack and the plane lands safely. But as the investigation into the incident gets underway, Kristine and Andrew are confused at every step. Nothing about the investigation goes as it should, and each layer they peel back just reveals another layer of perplexity.
As the two work together to navigate a web of deception, blame, and personal reckoning, they find there’s more to this story than meets the eye—and more to love and admire about each other. They’ll have to put their skills to the test—and their hearts on the line—to unravel the truth and ensure that justice prevails.
USA Today bestselling author Lynette Eason is back with another edge-of-your-seat thrill ride as she brings her popular Lake City Heroes series to a shocking and satisfying close.
My Review:
Note to Self: Read title heading and blurb carefully
Yeah, I was taken by the cover and to a lesser extent the blurb.
Air Marshal Kristine Duncan and some cronies are off on a much-needed vacation when the plane is hijacked. The hijacker, however, isn’t terribly sophisticated or knowledgeable in the art and, indeed, appears he’d rather not do it anyway. Not too difficult to take him down and Kristine does just that.
Also on the plane and involved in the arrest is FBI Special Agent Andrew Ross. Pretty handy, huh? Their investigation also gets hijacked, as the perp appears to have no clear mission and rather than being a diabolical perp bent on mayhem, it appears they attain more sympathy for the man. His situation is critical.
The more they investigate, the more they discover additional feelings for each other. Uh Oh. The narrative is laid out rather simplistically and the characters are not wholly developed despite long dialogues regarding their backgrounds and religious beliefs. She has daddy issues. He seems too good to be true. I kept waiting for that other shoe to drop.
There is a hook at the beginning, but then the plotline begins to slow and the pace with it, sagging in the middle, even with a few twists. The romance is a slow burn, which is okay with me as I don’t generally do romance.
I’m not quite sure where it went off the rails for me, but disbelief gained significant traction and the denouement was a shock. While I thought that’s where it was heading, still a bit disappointed when it did.
Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Christian Thriller & Suspense, Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance, Christian Romance
Publisher: Tantor Media
ASIN: B0DVMNZ1PS
Listening Length: 8 hrs 42 mins
Narrator: Lauren Pedersen
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
The Author: New York Times and award-winning, best-selling author, Lynette Eason writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line and for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Her books have hit the New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won numerous awards such as the prestigious Carol Award, the Selah, the Daphne, the IRCC award and more. Lynette is married, has two children, and lives in South Carolina.
©2025 V Williams
Five Stars– Five Books – My Top Favorite Reads of the Last Five Years
I should have been more attentive to our list of favorite books over the years and, unfortunately, wasn’t.
It seems, however, that you can pretty much track trends like you do poodle skirts or hairdos (or not), so thought I’d take a look back and see how the favorites have evolved.
These books cover a range of genres from contemporary fiction to historical fiction. (Pic link to my reviews.)
So, hmmm, interesting:
Have you noticed a trend in your reading choices? Not sure I see a pattern here, but I’d be willing to bet you read at least one of these! I haven’t looked at how my 2025 year shakes out yet—but that’s coming.
Coming Soon:
»My Reading Challenges for 2025
»Favorite Books of 2025
»Book Review – We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
2025 V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 