ARCs provided by the publishers for review
Chances are books haven’t been the first thing on your mind in the last couple of weeks. But as we roll toward the holidays, you may be looking for some book recs for the people in your life. I’ll be rolling out short reviews over the next couple weeks and reminding you of some solid picks that came out earlier this year. Featured in today’s quick hit reviews: White Ivy by Susie Yang and A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins.
Ivy Lin is messy. She’s calculating. She’s a liar and a thief. White Ivy is a compelling coming-of-age immigrant story and psychological thriller with a main character who’s playing an impressive long game.
As teens, Ivy had a big crush on Gideon Speyer, not just on the boy himself, but who he is and what his wealth stands for. Years later, a chance meeting with Gideon’s sister puts Ivy in Gideon’s path one again. They end up dating. Even as Ivy tries to mold herself into someone kind and generous like Gideon, she can’t resist her opportunist urges. Then someone from the past threatens to tear it all down.
White Ivy is a dark, unapologetic page turner with a twist you won’t see coming. It’s a commentary on the American Dream and the Model Minority Myth. It’s a character study in flawed, unlikeable, sometimes even reprehensible people, and it’s a killer debut.
4 stars
Get White Ivy from Bookshop.org | IndieBound| Amazon | Apple Books
British period-piece murder mystery reminiscent of Masterpiece Mystery with a romance shoe-horned in.
Lady Katherine Bascomb and Inspector Andrew Eversham are set up to be enemies-to-lovers (she owns a newspaper and co-writes a crime column; he’s a cop), and he’s initially investigating the Commandments Killer case. But even as the story takes these two from London, out to a house party in the country, I never really bought the supposed chemistry between them, despite both characters commenting on the attraction.
It has strong feminist themes and a solid mystery that unfolds like a game of Clue. A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem will likely be a better fit for mystery/cozy mystery readers than romance.
3 stars
Get A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem from The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org | IndieBound | Amazon | Apple Books
Looking for more books?
7 Romance Novellas to Read in November
3 new totally not twee Christmas romances
If thrillers are more your speed, check out:
Layne Fargo’s revenge thriller, They Never Learn
