The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello, hello, We're officially in the last week of 2023! How did this happen so quickly? The same question we ask ourselves as yet another year winds down! Time, it seems, flies irrespective of whether we are having fun or not. It passes. And that is both a consolation and a tragedy.  Anyway, didn't mean to wax poetic about time but maybe this is what happens when you read too much romance? :)  So, without much ado, let's get into our favourite spicy romance reads of the year. And, bonus, most of these can be read free via Kindle Unlimited.  The Royal Elites Series by Rina Kent  This is a series of 7 books based in a posh private school in the UK. Hot rich kids doing hot rich kids stuff but somehow each of these books has a soul. They are all spicy but not taboo and fun. Perfect to binge read if you are having a slow week! :)  The Legacy of Gods Series by Rina Kent  Rina Kent has her own multiverse of madness and two of her series meet in this third (...

 Hello Loves!  Let's kick-off my Yearly Book Favourites.  Yay! And like always, we are starting with the kids.  I read quite a few children's books this year, every time I needed some simple comfort and hope and joy, I turned to kid lit and found exactly what I was looking for.  Here are some of the best of the best.  TOP CHILDREN'S BOOKS of 2023:  1. How the Earth got it's Beauty by Sudha Murty: My first read of the year, I wanted to start the year with something light and warm and sweet. This little picture book delivered on all accounts. So good. And so beautiful.  2. How the Mango Got it's Magic by Sudha Murty: Another picture book about Mangoes and myth and sweetness.  Perfect for little kids and the art is lovely too.  3. The Gopi Diaries Growing Up by Sudha Murty: The third installment of the Gopi Diaries, a book series about a dog and his humans. I love these little books and I love seeing Gopi and his shenanigans. Too cute and...

  Book: Kill for Me, Kill for You Author: Steve Cavanagh  Pages: 368 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~3.5 hours  Plot Summary:  One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you. In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there? Things I Liked: 1. The very inspired-by-Strangers-on-a-Train premise is what got me interested. It is not that I haven't read or watched movies with a similar premise but I do enjoy it when authors add their own take ...

  Book: Murder in the Family Author: Cara Hunter  Pages: 470 Read on: Kindle Read in: ~5 hours  Plot Summary:  IT WAS A CASE THAT GRIPPED THE NATION  LUKE RYDER’S MURDER HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED  In October 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home in London, leaving behind a wealthy older widow and three stepchildren. Nobody saw anything. Now, secrets will be revealed – live on camera.  Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence on Infamous, a true-crime show – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on? Or does the truth lie closer to home? Can you solve the case before they do?  The truth will blow your mind. General Thoughts: If there is only ONE Crime Fiction/ Thriller book you read this year, make it this one! :) Now, on to the review.  Things I Liked:   1. The premise had me at hello! A cold case, a murder of a much younger step-father, no solid leads, promise of a m...

  Book: The Running Grave  Author: Robert Galbraith  Pages: 966 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~7-8 hours  Plot Summary:  Private Detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside. The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the surface, a peaceable organisation that campaigns for a better world. Yet Strike discovers that beneath the surface there are deeply sinister undertones, and unexplained deaths. In order to try to rescue Will, Strike's business partner Robin Ellacott decides to infiltrate the cult and she travels to Norfolk to live incognito amongst them. But in doing so, she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her. General Thoughts: This is the seventh  book in the Cormoran Strike series and we have read and reviewed all six of the previous books on this blog. Click HERE to go find them. This is a good ser...

  Book: The Christmas Guest  Author: Peter Swanson  Pages: 111 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~1 hour  Plot Summary:  When Ashley Smith - a bright-eyed but lonely American studying in London - is invited to spend Christmas with her classmate's family at their Cotswolds manor house, it seems like a perfect country idyll. And for Ashley - who records it all in her diary - there's the added romantic potential of her friend's twin brother, Adam, who she thinks could be her wildest dream come true. But is there something strange about the old house, both stately and rundown? What could the motives of the mysterious Chapman family be? And what holiday horrors might be lying in wait? Things I Liked: 1. The premise of this novella was very interesting. A lonely American girl in London being  invited to a friend's home in the country for Christmas. When she gets there, she finds the family and home strange and even stranger when  she learns that she resembles a...

Book: Bright Young Women  Author: Jessica Knoll  Pages: 384 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:  January 1978. A serial killer has terrorized women across the Pacific Northwest, but his existence couldn’t be further from the minds of the vibrant young women at the top sorority on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee. Tonight is a night of promise, excitement, and desire, but Pamela Schumacher, president of the sorority, makes the unpopular decision to stay home—a decision that unwittingly saves her life. Startled awake at 3 a.m. by a strange sound, she makes the fateful decision to investigate. What she finds behind the door is a scene of implausible violence—two of her sisters dead; two others, maimed. Over the next few days, Pamela is thrust into a terrifying mystery inspired by the crime that’s captivated public interest for more than four decades. On the other side of the country, Tina Cannon has found peace in Seattle after years o...

  Book: Devotion of Suspect X Author: Keigo Higashono  Pages: 448 Read on: Kindle and Paperback  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:  Yasuko Hanaoka accidentally kills her ex-husband, when circumstances rose to an unendurable level of ghastly behaviour from him. What follows is an elongated and witty brain-game between the investigator and her accomplice, Ishigami, who aided Yasuko in covering up the murder.  The Devotion Of Suspect X is the story about an ingenious plotter, and clever Dr Manabu Yukawa, who helps in solving the case. Yasuko Hanaoka works in a restaurant. She is divorced, and is a single mother to Misato. Her ex-husband, Togashi, was an abusive man, stalking and extorting money from her. With similar intentions, he showed up at Yasuko’s home, this time threatening to kill her and her daughter if she refused to lend him money. What started from denial, reached to a heated argument, and within a short span of time, turned to a nasty fight. In the...

  Book: The Last Devil to Die  Author: Richard Osman  Pages: 432 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:  Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club. An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing. As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home. With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die? Things I Liked:  1. It was so good to be reunited with the four octogenarians and their cop friends! The Thursday Murder Club series of books has been an annual favourite and it is always nice to visit with the fun and fearless senior citizens as they poke their noses into police matters to solve a murder or two. Previous books in the series have been reviewed - The Thursday Murder Club , The...

Hello, hello, It is September and all of the Western hemisphere is getting excited for fall/ colder days! Now, for us in India, we have two more hot months to endure before it starts getting cooler but we can already start getting into a cozy state of mind via books!  With that in mind, here are some recommendations of three 'cozy' murder mysteries by Meri Allen.  Book 1: The Rocky Road to Ruin by Meri Allen  Plot Summary:  Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA, makes a bittersweet return to her childhood home of Penniman, Connecticut - land of dairy farms and covered bridges - for a funeral. Despite the circumstances, Riley's trip home is sprinkled with reunions with old friends, visits to her father's cozy bookshop on the town green, and joyful hours behind the counter at the beloved Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. It feels like a time to help her friend Caroline rebuild after her mother's death, and for Riley to do a bit of her own reflecti...

  Book: The Trap  Author: Catherine Ryan Howard  Pages: 306  Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:  Stranded on a dark road in the middle of the night, a young woman accepts a lift from a passing stranger. It's the nightmare scenario that every girl is warned about, and she knows the dangers all too well - but what other choice does she have? As they drive, she alternates between fear and relief - one moment thinking he is just a good man doing a good thing, the next convinced he's a monster. But when he delivers her safely to her destination, she realizes her fears were unfounded. And her heart sinks. Because a monster is what she's looking for. She'll try again tomorrow night. But will the man who took her sister take the bait? Things I Liked:  1. The premise of this book was very interesting- a girl whose sister has been taken by a serial killer sets out every night hoping he'd abduct her as well. A dumb plan but what else would a s...

  Book: None of this is True Author: Lisa Jewell  Pages: 385 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:  Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th.   A few days later, they bump into each other again, this time outside Alix's children's school. Josie says she thinks she would be an interesting subject for Alix's podcast. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life. Alix agrees to a trial interview and indeed, Josie's life appears to be strange and complicated. Aix finds her unsettling but can't quite resist the temptation to keep digging. Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has cajoled her way into Alix's life - and into her home. Soon Alix begins to wonder who is Josie Fair really? And what has she done? Things I Liked:  1. The pre...