TESSA TALKS BOOKS

Humorous Mystery/Thriller

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

• One-word review: Sure-thing
• Emojis: 😂🫣🤣
• Rating:  5🌟s

My thoughts:

Finlay Donovan’s mix of mom humor and thrilling action sequences never disappoints. The newest book in the series, Finally Donovan Rolls the Dice, kept me in stitches from beginning to end and even worried me for a while.

Like the other books in the series, Rolls the Dice is fast-paced with plenty of action and deception. Finlay is the everywoman who brings a relatability to entirely unrelatable situations. She manages to care for her children and career while taking down bad guys and burying bodies.

I loved that I got to learn more about Vero. Her childhood and love interest are laid bare in this installment. I enjoyed learning about this once-elusive character who encourages Finlay to do crazy things. The character development now aligns with her role in the series.

The romance between Finaly and Nick is very intriguing. Everyone loves the pairing except her ex-husband, and I agree wholeheartedly. Still, as the events unfold in Atlantic City – an edge is added to the relationship that adds an interesting twist that I can’t wait to see play out.

Another excellent installment in the Finaly Donovan series – one that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Paranormal Thriller

Murder Road by Simone St. James

• One-word review: Creepy
• Emojis: 🫥🫣🤫
• Rating: 5 🌟s

My thoughts:

Murder Road by Simone St. James is as creepy as the blurb makes it sound. I stayed up long into the night reading it and loved every minute of the creepiness, tension, and ghostly sitings. Usually, ghosts scare the bejesus out of me, but they add just the right amount of thrills and mystery to this story.

I loved the lore aspect because small-town lore fascinates me, even in fictional towns. The townspeople believe that the Lost Girl (the ghost of someone found dead on the side of Atticus Line – aka. Murder Road – in the 70s) is still haunting the road and murdering hitchhikers that are going to and from a small beach on the lake where free-spirits tend to stay. But the police are trying to find actual corporeal killers. The story is based on discovering who the murderer is and whether or not there is any truth to the lore.

The mystery of who stabbed (and killed) the girl April and Eddie found walking along Atticus Line is so complex, especially when so many unexpected pieces come into play. I loved every minute of trying to figure it out. There are plenty of red herrings and loads of thrills, plus a fun pair of sisters (who reminded me of the Frog brothers but more intelligent and strategic) who bring it all together and offer a townie’s POV.

The atmosphere is perfect, especially when the main characters – April and Eddie – are traveling along the road. It’s described in such a creepy, repressive way that the terror comes naturally to the reader and the characters. It’s just a perfect blend of paranormal and mystery that created a story I couldn’t put down.

Romantasy

Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison

• One-word review: Creative
• Emojis: 😮‍💨🤔😲
• Rating: 4 🌟s

My thoughts:

Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison introduced me to a creative new fantasy world, though my reading experience was mixed. For the first time ever, I found myself tired of reading a particular word. It was said many times on every page, and I’m not sure what it was about this word – because it was essential to the story – but seeing it so many times irritated me. I am still trying to figure out what to make of that, so I won’t say any more.

The magic system, however, and the world both intrigued me. The world is developed very well. I understood the different factions and their ideals. The magic system was more of an enigma. The by-product of magic is something called dross, a word in our own language that means rubbish, and that’s basically what it is – magical rubbish. But there is much more to be learned about this system.

The story is about Petra Grady, a Sweeper of dross whose life is turned upside down when the current magic system of mages and sweepers is blown to pieces. She has to re-identify herself as what she truly is. 

The pacing is fast, and the thrills are non-stop. I sped-read my way through the story with all of its twists and turns. And I loved where it ended with a lovely soft conclusion rather than a cliffhanger.