Book Review - Killing Sadie by Rachel Peterson

 

 

Killing Sadie by Rachel Peterson is about a young girl, Sadie Cooper, who is killed at a barn party.

Seventeen-year-old Sadie Cooper is excited to attend a party at the McClain family farm. The parties are known for being epic, alcohol-fueled ragers. However, something goes horribly wrong, and by the end of the night, two bodies are found in the barn.

Sadie is found murdered by her classmate, Mason Vreeland, who was a loner. The murder is witnessed by Sadie’s twin sister, Jayne, and Sadie dies in her arms. Mason is then killed by Sadie’s boyfriend, Ben, in an attempt to save Sadie and in self-defense. The police determine that it should be an open-and-shut case. However, someone is not telling the truth. As the little details stop adding up, will the police be able to uncover the truth before it’s too late?

The book is split into three acts, with the first two narrated by Ben, Jayne, and Sadie’s best friend, Liz. Each character recounts the events before and after the tragic incident. In the final act, we finally get Sadie’s point of view.

The book was well written with a lot of twists and turns. I was surprised by the ending. I was able to guess who the culprit was, but I was on the fence about their motive because I felt like we didn’t really get to know the different characters well enough. While the ending does provide some clarity, I would have liked to see more consequences for the guilty parties. I really thought we were going to get all the answers, with everything wrapped up in a nice bow, especially after the local police were taken off the case.

I did enjoy the book, and I would be open to reading more books by the author. If you enjoy young adult murder mysteries, I think this is an entertaining read.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and were not influenced by the publisher or author. 

 

July 2026 Empties!

 

Since the weather has been slowly melting me alive, I have not had the energy or willpower to do anything. I did manage to finish a few things, though.

 I finished the Umm Body Butter. The body butter had a pleasant sandalwood and jasmine scent. It smelled more like sandalwood than jasmine though. The body butter was very thick and creamy. It does leave a bit of a heavy residue on my skin even when I used a tiny bit. 

The Nue Skin Filter Serum was meh. It had a watery consistency and left a bit of a tacky residue. It had no scent and it didn't leave any sensitivities on my skin. However, I didn't notice a difference while using it.  I felt the same way with the OFIR drops. They leave a tacky feeling on my hands and face that I could have done without.

 

 

 

Book Review – Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

 

 Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake is about two women, Iris and Stefania, who decide to enter into a fake relationship.

Everyone Iris knows is in love and coupled up with their perfect partners. Even her siblings and parents are blissfully married. Iris is happy for her friends and family, but she doesn’t want to settle down. She’d rather have commitment-free hookups. All her loved ones want to see her settled down and find someone, somehow, no matter how insistent Iris is about not dating, even though she is a romance writer. Iris might have to cave since she is facing writer’s block, her second book is almost due, and she has no idea what to write.

Iris decides she needs a break and goes to a bar with her friend, looking to blow off steam and meet someone for a one-night stand. There she meets Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into one of the worst one-night stands Iris ever had.

To get her mind off things, she decides to change tactics and join a local play, a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. Iris ends up meeting Stefania’s friends, who goes by Stevie. Stevie’s friends do not know that Iris and Stevie’s one-night together ended disastrously, and Stevie asks Iris to pretend to be her girlfriend until the end of the play. Iris consents to Stevie’s plan, as she realizes she might get some much-needed inspiration and romantic content for her book. As the duo play their roles, lines start to blur and feelings are at stake. Will Iris and Stevie find what they are looking for?

The novel is the third book in the series. However, I was able to read the book as a standalone. The two previous books were about Iris’s friends, so there were character relationships and nuances I might have missed.

I thought the book was an okay read. It didn’t have any unexpected twists and turns. The book did have a lot of side characters, and it was hard to keep track of how they related to their main characters and their side stories. The book did have some steamy moments for readers who are looking for a steamy sapphic read.

 

Book Review – Brace for Impact (Zara Sheridan #1) by Anthony J. Tata

 

  

Brace for Impact (Zara Sheridan #1) by Anthony J. Tata is about a shadow organization attempting to hijack a plane carrying top-secret military intelligence.

Zara Sheridan has recently been appointed as an air marshal and is about to embark on her very first assignment. A former military police NCO, Zara misses the excitement of her previous career but appreciates the stability of her new role. However, her first flight quickly turns into anything but routine.

The hijackers are among the last passengers to board the plane. The three men are in their twenties, have close-cropped military haircuts, carry small duffel bags, and appear to be wearing tactical gear. Another passenger also catches Zara's attention, a sharply dressed Chinese businessman who seems just as suspicious as the others.

As Zara scrambles to identify the suspicious passengers, she tries to contact her regional office but instead receives a disturbing alert. An experimental fighter jet, the Hyperion X, has crashed just a few miles from her home. As she pieces together the identities of those onboard the flight, Zara realizes that several passengers are connected in ways that can't possibly be a coincidence.

This is the first book in the series, and I thought it was an okay read. The novel uses a lot of technical military terminology, and I found myself glazing over some of those sections because I wasn't familiar with the jargon. The plot was straightforward and didn't have many unexpected twists.

I was also confused by a few aspects of the story, particularly how a teenage boy was able to outsmart highly trained tactical soldiers and how an experienced operative repeatedly ignored obvious warning signs and trusted complete strangers. The pacing dragged in a few places, and at times it felt like the story had too many things happening at once. If you enjoy military or espionage thrillers, you may appreciate this book more than I did.

 

Book Review – If a Poem Could Live and Breathe by Mary Calvi

 

If a Poem Could Live and Breathe by Mary Calvi is about young Theodore Roosevelt’s first love, Alice Lee, and their love story. 

In 1878, during the Gilded Age, Alice Lee, in Cambridge, is determined to break the norms of her mother’s generation. Women are fighting for educational opportunities and personal freedom. When Alice hears that Harvard might open an annex for women, she is determined to get in.

Teddy Roosevelt is a Harvard student and a native New Yorker. He is on his own journey of self-discovery. He takes a trip to visit a classmate and is introduced to Alice Lee. Little does he know that their meeting will change the trajectory of both of their lives.

The novel is based on love letters between Teddy and Alice. I was very excited to read the book because I was familiar with their relationship but had limited knowledge of it. I was curious to see how his relationship with Alice shaped him into the man he became.

The book started off interesting, but it eventually got boring and repetitive. I felt like nothing really happened, and it was so dry and one-dimensional. I did not feel connected to the characters at all. I really wish that, while the author was inspired by the personal letters, she had added her own spins to the characters to make their love story feel epic instead of lackluster, as it felt to me.