snugglesandpages's reviews
243 reviews

First off, Lucinda Berry, AJ Cook (aka JJ from Criminal Minds) and Tessa Albertson absolutely knocked this audio out of the park. It is such an immersive experience that I actually felt the tension release from my body once or was over. 

As a mother to both a young daughter and a teenage boy, this story really got under my skin. Tapping into one of a parent's greatest fears, I couldn't stop thinking about it... What would I do if... 😱 I won't speak too much about it because I don't want to post spoilers but you can swipe for the synopsis if you're interested and once you have listened to this, feel free to message me to debrief.

📚 If you've read Lucinda's other books - you need to listen to this book.

🧠 If you are a fan of criminal minds - drop everything and to listen to this book.

🤔 If you've never listened to an audiobook before and you want to dip your toe into something that will literally have you in a chokehold, then absolutely listen to this book.

⚠️ Warning: This is a 'devour in a single sitting' type of audio. So make sure you clear your schedule before you hit play because once you start you will not be able to hit pause.

Please also check TW before listening 🎧 

“𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙-𝘼-𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩.”

Ok, I think I've found my new favourite Elsie Silver couple! 

The banter and chemistry between our MC's Rosie and Ford was what made WILD LOVE a top read for me, and my, oh my, I was not prepared for the level of spice!! 🥵

Aside from our MC's, I loved all our supporting characters too, and I'm so keen to read their stories, with WILD EYES releasing in September!!

If you loved Elsie's Chestnut Springs series, you'll be thrilled to know this new series plays out in the neighbouring small town of Rose Hill. There is also a cameo from one of our beloved chestnut FMC's. But I won't give anything else away 🤐

If you want a book that gives you all of the feels of a grumpy x sunshine, brother best friend and found family romance with a bit of spice, PLUS the edge of your seat thrill of a stalker & a BAU agent in hiding from a serial 🔪, then buckle up baby, because Fragile Sanctuary is that book!

I have been seeing this book all across my feed for a week now. I've never read anything by Catherine before but when a friend told me the MC was basically a Hotch from Criminal Minds, I knew I had to read it. I enjoy Romance and I love Thrillers and Suspense, so why the hell have I never read Romantic Suspense before??? Well, I think I have found my new happy medium now! And I need more books like this!

Rho (Rhodes) and Anson are kindred spirits, pulled together by their recognition of grief and loss from unimaginable circumstances. The undeniable chemistry between the two of them gave me all the feels, as did their furry sidekick, biscuit 🐶. 

I want to know everything about this complex group of supporting characters. They each have their own scars from a childhood trauma that landed them in the system, but now grown and bonded closer than any biological family thanks to the nurturing care of Nora and Lolli (who is an absolute firecracker of a grandmother, with her 🍆 diamond art 🤣). Fans of the found family trope will fall in love with this lot. 

Shep and his white knight complex have me aching for the next instalment, and without looking into any information about the other books forthcoming in the series, I am already anticipating a Fallon and Kye, and hoping for a Hockey romance with Cope.

FRAGILE SANCTUARY is available on Kindle Unlimited now, however, I actually listened to it on audio over two sessions and thought it was superbly narrated, so highly recommend either format. 

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔? 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐𝒐."

📖 One year ago, 18 month old Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night and Isabell has been plagued by insomnia ever since. When true crime podcaster, Waylan offers Isabell an opportunity tell her story, she agrees with the hope it will unearth a new lead that will bring Mason home. When all the probing questions trigger fractured memories from her childhood to resurface, Isabelle starts to doubt everything she thought she knew, and soon realises that confronting her past could be the key to unlocking the truth about what happened to Mason.

💬 Thoughts: Willingham expertly spins a web of half-truths and uncertainties, which mirrors the fractured memories of our narrator. As the story unfolded, I was reminded of two of my favourite psychological thrillers which utilise this style and trope, Insomnia and Awake. While there were similarities, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS stands tall on its own with its gripping slow-burn mystery and captivatingly flawed characters.

I devoured this on audiobook over two sittings, and I was taken by how well the narration enhanced Stacy's immersive writing style. She is very good at creating a strong sense of place that pulls you into this multifaceted story. The 'then' chapters lend an overwhelming sense of foreboding to the events that occurred in the more recent past. All the clues swirl just out of reach, ensuring you don't make a connection too soon, all the while pondering if Isabelle's desperate search for answers to what happened to her son is hinged by obsession or madness. 

The first major reveal blew my mind, I hadn't anticipated it at all, and from there everything else started to click into place, piece by piece with gut wrenching satisfaction before taking a turn that totally blindsided me. 👏🏼

Once I take a beat to recover from this one, I'll be jumping into Stacy's most recent release, ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this one, but I think it's my least favourite of the series. 

Stella is a great character. I liked that she had passion and drive to be something other than what her family expected of her and that she also had the balls to stand up for herself.

Christian is a bit meh... He is a bit of a creeper? 🫣 I'm not sure I'd find him attractive in reality. I get morally grey being hit, but Christian is more morally black? 😆

Some phrases felt repetitive within the book as well,  but also plot points that had been done already in another book in the twists series. 

I liked that we got cameos of the other couples in this one too, it was nice to hear from them again as this series came to a close.

Phoebe is solo travelling the Western Australia coast, documenting her adventures on social media when she suddenly disappears without a trace. A year later, Katy is fed up with the lack of interest in her sister's case, so armed with a camper of her own and Phoebe's Instagram to guide her, she sets off to follow her sister's itinerary in search of answers. When Katy comes across Beth, a woman left stranded and running from her own trauma, Katy can't help but see the parallels between Beth's circumstances and what she knows of her sister's case. Together the pair travel Phobe's route and combe through her Instagram looking for clues, and as they get closer to finding out the truth, their worlds collide in the most unlikely ways. 

I am really liking the direction the crime and thriller genre is taking of late. Stepping away from the gore and tropes we have become accustomed to and delving into more complex characters and the ripple effect of trauma. This is something Anna has done well with Red River Road.

The novel is packed with atmospheric yet eerie settings, and as Katy and Beth journey along the vast WA coral coast, there are moments of spine-tingling tension. But how much of it is the reader's projection of fear? That's what makes this book so captivating.

I found it interesting the way Anna touches on the stigma attached to female solo travellers and how the narrative that has been built up by society and the media that all but demands we must be afraid for our lives. 

The way the plot unfolds is incredibly clever, and even if you follow the breadcrumbs, you won't anticipate the direction it takes in the final chapters. It's both uncomfortable and confronting, but it leaves you with a sense of hope.

Red River Road is an addictive and pulse racing roadtrip thriller that you won't be able to put down. I highly recommend you read this one if you crave characters you will become invested in and plotlines that carry substance beyond the thrills.

Of all the books in this series, this one was my least favourite. This is based purely on  personal preference though, as the age gap trope is a bit of a hit or miss for me. 

Our FMC is 22 and MMC is 35, to me this is just a bit too ick for me when mixed with the V card trope as well. Again, personal preference.  Again, totally personal preference and I'm not trying to yuk your yum if it's your thing at all  

For eg, Reckless is my favourite in the series and also has the age gap trope with the exact same age difference between our MCs of 13 years, however, it is 25 and 38. A few years changes a lot when it comes to female maturity and Bailey just felt so young to me as well 🤷🏼‍♀️

Elsie's writing is still amazing, I will still read anything she writes. I loved the appearances of the Eaton family and wish there was one more book with Harvey's story!