Melody's Reading Corner: June 2023

Melody

Quercus | 11 April 2023 | 352 pgs

Source: Library

Ten years ago, two vans crashed into a ravine killing two teachers and several high school students. Nine students survived the crash. All of them weren't really friends but the tragedy has kind of bonded them together. Then a year later, one of them, Clara, committed suicide and thereafter the remaining eight survivors decided to meet annually at a beach house called "The Shallows" to commemorate the anniversary of the accident as well as a promise to look out for one another and make sure that what really happened that fateful night isn't disclose to anyone.

Cassidy, our narrator in this book, decides to move on from that tragedy after a decade and has gradually removed their contacts until she receives a text from an unknown number informing her that Ian, another of the survivor, died. Cassidy has no choice but to join the reunion since she wants to know what happened to him, considering he was the closest friend among the others. But the reunion feels a little off as if someone was watching them, and then another disappeared. Cassidy begins to fear that something darker than survivors' guilt has bound them together and wonder if there's someone outside who wants the truth. Could there be more secrets among the remaining survivors and could she trust any of them?

The story alternates between the present and the past, featuring Cassidy's POV in the present and varying voices from the past. I enjoyed reading the past more partly because it was more intense and action-packed, while Cassidy's narrative was a bit erratic due to her emotions and her reactions towards various circumstances. The pace of the story moved slowly and nothing much happened and it only speed up towards the end as the past unravel. While the story has a foreboding atmosphere and there's even a twist towards the end, I felt the setup was far too long for the revelation which I find a bit disappointing. That said, I liked the way how the author created the claustrophobic setting within The Shallows and the group’s dynamic so I'll still be interested to check out her future releases.

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Labels: 3.5 stars, Book Review, Psychological Suspense 8 comments |

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Horton

Melody

Penguin | 20 April 2023 | 368 pgs

Source: Library

This is the third book of India Holton's Dangerous Damsels series and each book can be read as a standalone.

Alice Dearlove, known as Agent A, is one of the top operative agents in the Agency of Undercover Note Takers (A.U.N.T.) Alice has worked in many secret assignments in all sorts of roles and so far nothing has fazed her until her latest assignment.

Daniel Bixby, known as Agent B, is another top agent of A.U.N.T. Like Alice, Bixby is competent and he's also most admired by many of his female peers in the Agency. His latest assignment is to infiltrate a pirate house party and to foil their assassination attempt on the Queen. But he's not working alone and A.U.N.T. has come up with a better plan - Agent A and Agent B will pretend as a married couple for this important assignment.

As much as Alice views Bixby as her greatest rival, she has no choice but to grit her teeth and to take the job. Bixby, on the other hand, has always been working solo and he's equally fazed after learning that he has to work with someone who share the same rank and popularity as him. But they are professionals, as Alice often say, so they'll adjust to their role no matter what happens and see that their mission is accomplished towards the end. But as the days go on, they soon find that fighting off the attraction towards each other may prove harder than the mission itself.

Well, I've to say this is the best romcom I've read thus far this year. Hilarious and swoony, the plot never get bored with these two agents' banter, the adventures they went through and the mission they carried out as a team. I don't think I'd ever laughed so much reading a book (and a historical romcom for that) and loved the characters so much like this twosome. The secondary characters are equally interesting and on top of it, there's some fantastical elements like flying houses, magical tools and gadgets that would either make you wonder or cringe with the agents (oh, they malfunctioned at times, ha). So all in all, I loved this book so much that I've made a note to read the other two books at some point. And not to mention that India Holton has now become one of my favourite fantasy romcom authors.

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Fantasy, Historical Romance 8 comments |

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

Melody

Forever | 19 January 2023 | 336 pgs

Source: Purchased

Love finds its way through a mixture of tradition and modernity in this debut romcom by Lauren Kung Jessen.

Olivia Huang Christenson, a mixed-race Chinese American, is elated to take over her grandmother's matchmaking business known as Lunar Love. Through Chinese zodiac, they make thoughtful and personalised matches based on their clients' compatible animal sign traits. Because of Olivia's grandmother's legacy and the successful rates over decades, Olivia has high expectations of herself and she'd see that the matchmaking business would continue to strive under her lead.

But with today's information technology and various social platforms, it didn't take long for someone like Bennett O'Brien to take matchmaking business to another whole new level - a dating app with the traditional Chinese zodiac approach. When Olivia finds out that ZodiaCupid is making the headlines and views as a threat to their family business, she is ready to meet head-on in a deal with Bennett. The rule is simple: they'll find a match for each other and whoever falls in love loses. But it seems like fate has already found these two people despite their differences and their zodiac incompatibility for they'd already met each other way before learning their real identity.

This enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my favourite setups for a romcom and mixes with the Old meets New concept (traditional matchmaking vs online dating), I know it'd make a fun read. I also loved the diverse cast of characters and read more about the Chinese American living lifestyle, the Chinese culture/traditions and even their foods. Olivia and Bennett are both interesting characters and it was always fun to read their banter and see how they fall for each other eventually. The story was sweet and predictable, but it also made a good escapism so different from the other books I usually read. Last but not least, I want to thank Lark for putting this book on our buddy read list. Now go check out her review here and see what she thought of this book.

Labels: 3.5 stars, Book Review, Buddy Read, Contemporary Romance 12 comments |

The Patient's Secret by Loreth Anne White

Melody

Montlake | 8 March 2022 | 383 pgs

Source: Purchased

I may have only read three books (4 including this) by Loreth Anne White thus far, but I find her writing and her storytelling are excellent and this is no exception.

The story begins when a female jogger is found dead beneath the cliffs of an idyllic coastal community where many of the wealthy families live. Lily Bradley is one of them. She's a respected psychotherapist and is married to a distinguished professor. In everyone's eyes, they're a perfect family with two lovely children, Phoebe and Matthew. Lily thinks she has everything in order, until the day she found her husband, Tom, behaving suspiciously and thereafter with the police arriving, stating that he's a person of interest relating to the female jogger's case, never mind that he'd found her first and tried to resuscitate her.

After the initial investigation, it turns out that the dead female jogger is Arwen Harper, who moved into their neighbourhood together with her 16-year-old son, Joe, not too long ago. The neighbours have a deep impression on this pair of mother and son, especially Arwen who worked in the bar and many men (usually patrons) are acquainted with her. Tom and a few of the husbands frequent that bar regularly, and the wives don't often have a good impression on Arwen and think she's too friendly towards their men.

Detective Rue Duval is assigned to the case and being a person of colour and one who works in a male dominated field, she's adamant to prove herself capable in solving the case. As much as Rue is capable of digging information, she's also an expert in keeping secrets, and she has a few of her own.

The story was told by multiple narratives between the present and the past and one would think it'll be confusing but this is where the author's writing skill shines. The chapters are not hard to follow and in fact read very quickly. I was sucked into this multilayered psychological thriller/police procedural from the beginning till the end. The characterisations are great and almost everyone of them read like a case study. Alongside the suspense, the story also portrays the human nature and what one would do in order to save himself and to survive. Recommended.