Mini Reviews: The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley and Good Girls Don't Die

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh

Publication Date: June 13th 2023 by Thomas Nelson

Pages: 358

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 2min

Narrator: Jorjeana Marie

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

At thirty, Isadora’s life is bland and far from happy. So when she spies a magazine article proclaiming “31 Ways to Be Happy (Today!)”, as an academic researcher she feels she can debunk this ridiculousness. However, as she starts trying out the suggestions in the name of science, it forces her to open up to others and she finds her life changing. Isadora was hurt badly in the past which ultimately led to her being guarded, her life stagnant, so I was thrilled seeing her start to embrace life and happiness, making friends, and finding love along the way! Isadora’s journey was of self-discovery and healing. This was such an uplifting story with a sweet romance as icing on the cake! 

The audio was excellent! Jorjeana Marie's performance breathed life into the characters and definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed. 

4.5 Stars

Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry

Publication Date: November 14th 2023 by Berkley & Penguin Audio

Pages: 320

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 31min

Narrator: Lisa Flanagan

Source: Publisher & Library lend audio

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

There are three stories, with three different women: Celia wakes up as a wife, mother, and restaurant owner, but doesn’t remember any of it.  

Allie is supposed to get away with her two besties to celebrate her birthday, but plans change when one of the boyfriends (total jerk!) hijacks the trip and takes them to a secluded cabin out in the woods.

Maggie wakes up with several other women forced to participate in deadly competitions.

All three stories connect by the end.

Good Girls Don’t Die had a kind of Twilight Zone vibe. Wished there was a little more to the ending other than that abrupt one, but I was happy with how it turned out for the most part. 

Lisa Flannagan's audio performance was excellent. Sort of reminded me of Lorelei King, one of my favs! I listened at 1.5x normal speed.

3.5 Stars

Review: The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

Publication Date: September 8th 2020 by Berkley Books

Pages: 426

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★½ 

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The Ghost Tree a creepy story with some magical elements, but I think this was more a coming of age story than a scary one. It felt like a Brothers Grimm sort of scary fairy tale with a curse, witches, and several gory murders. The town of Smiths Hollow doesn’t seem to register these murders for longer than a day or two.

The story is told from several points of view: Lauren an almost fifteen-year-old whose father was murdered less than a year back; a grisly murder with his heart cut out in the woods bordering the town. Yet, Lauren isn’t afraid in these woods and still longs for the days when her and her best friend Madison would meet and play at the Old Ghost Tree. Lauren and her friend Madison on in the between stage of adult and young teen, and with that transition these two best friends are growing apart. Madison’s focus is boys, hair and makeup, a pretty unlikeable, selfish character as she spent most of the book annoyed with Lauren for not going along with her plans. Lauren for her part has had enough of Madison’s bossiness.

However, Lauren’s growing concern over her relationship with her best friend takes a back seat when two girls are found murdered, an event that has magical repercussions for Lauren and her little brother David.

I liked Lauren’s burgeoning romance with Jake and her relationship with her little brother, David. Lauren’s mother also had a POV and she was unlikeable until the very end IMO. There’s a few more POVs, one I didn’t really care for: Mrs. Schneider a hateful bigot of an old lady, and then one I did like a lot: Officer Alex Lopez, a newer resident to Smiths Hollow, there with his family for a better life away from the city. He’s not as affected by the curse as the old-time residents of Smiths Hollow and therefore latches onto the mystery of the murdered girls. 

I loved Christina Henry’s The Girl in Red and so I was excited to pick up The Ghost Tree. The Ghost Tree was an entirely different kind of story. It gave me a Stranger Things kind of vibe, maybe because that series is very centered on teenagers in the ’80 (same here) with weird things going on. It was an entertaining read, but I didn’t love it as much as TGiR. The story dragged for me in a few places, and I was wondering a few times where the story was going. Still, I enjoyed the story overall, and I think it would make a good creepy read for the coming Fall/Halloween season. 

3.5 Suns

Goodreads blurb:

When people go missing in the sleepy town of Smith's Hollow, the only clue to their fate comes when a teenager starts having terrifying visions, in a chilling horror novel from national bestselling author Christina Henry.

When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smiths Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won't find the killer. After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.

So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

Mini Reviews: The Girl in Red & Marriage for One

I read The Girl in Red by Christina Henry and Marriage for One by Ella Maise after reading fellow blogger's reviews,. Visiting other blogs is one of the prime reasons why my TBR is an ever expanding, out of control list, lol! But I'm grateful for the recommends, because it prompts me to read books not just because they're offered by ARC and also tempts me to try independent authors I probably wouldn't have taken a second glance at otherwise.

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
Publication Date: June 18th 2019 by Berkley
Pages: 302 Audio Length: 8 hrs 21 min
Source: Kindle Purchase/Library Lend Audio book
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

My Thoughts:

While I found parts unbelievable (like an axe being that sharp, and why in the world would a woman wear a red hoodie when she's trying to evade notice?! other things too), but still, unputdownable! I switched from audio to e-book, listening when I wasn't able to sit and read. If you're a fan of end-of-the-world-scenarios The Girl in Red is a fun and riveting read.

There is no romance, but if Christina Henry decided to write a sequel, there's a certain someone I can totally see her with: (Highlight for Spoiler) Sirois!. I've looked on Ms. Henry's website she says there's no plan right now for a sequel, but there's a lot of potential for a sequel here! I'd totally be on board for that! (Highlight for Spoiler)It's kind of an abrupt ending, happy for now, but even if she doesn't write a sequel, I'm fine with how everything left off.

January LaVoy did an excellent job with narration. I listened at my standard 1.25x-1.5x normal listening speed.

*I reserved a copy a my library after reading the lovely Lark's review, which is far more eloquent than mine above, lol. Thanks for the recommend!

4 Suns

Marriage for One by Ella Maise

Publication Date: May 8th 2019 by Ella Maise

Pages: 520 Audio Length: 15 hrs 48 min

Source: Kindle Unlimited e-copy/Audio book

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible

My Thoughts:

This started out a bit slow, but once it got going, I really enjoyed Marriage for One! It was on the longer side, over 500 pages, but I still managed to finish in two days by alternately listening and reading, because I wanted to see how it all turned out.

Jack was a broody, stern guy at first, hardly talking, but his actions spoke volumes about his feelings for Rose. There's a mystery behind his marriage proposal, and I enjoyed getting to the bottom of it.

My first Ella Maise and I'd like to read more by her. Her writing sort of reminds me of Mariana Zapata. Her hero did, at any rate.

Loved Stella Bloom and Lance Greenfield's narration, although, I still wish that the male and female narrators would perform all their parts throughout the book, instead of just the character's designated chapters, but each did a good job with narrating all voices. Listened at my usual 1.25x-1.5x normal speed.

*I downloaded Marriage for One after reading Genesis' fab review, which is far better than mine above! 

4 Suns