Image of the book cover for "The Ministry of Time" by Kaline Bradley, featuring colorful, 3D-style text against a black starry background.

The Ministry of Time, Kaline Bradley

Time travel fiction, 3★

EXCELLENT writing, characters, history, research, concept… just not my jam. If I were a discerning reader, I’d give it a 5.

A book review graphic for 'Everyone is Lying to You' by Jo Piazza. The image features a woman in a pink polka dot dress holding a pie with a knife. The title of the book is written in yellow across the image.

Everyone is Lying to You, Thriller, Jo Piazza

Thriller, 4 ★

Tradwife influencer core and all the salacious secrets within kept the pages turning more than the murder mystery, but that part was fun, too.

Book cover titled 'Blobs: A Love Story' by Maggie Su with a yellow background and a close-up image of an ice cube with the word 'BLOB' written on it. The cover features a white booklet titled 'One Sentence Book Review' with the review suggesting the book is odd, squishy, and compelling.

Blob, Maggie Su

Fiction Satire, 3.9★

Odd, squishy and … compelling?

Book review of 'The Ghostwriter' by Julie Clark, featuring the book cover with flames and flames inside a skull, on a light blue background.

Ghostwriter, Julie Clark

Domestic Thriller, 3★

A little slow to start with all the pieces dangling, but the writer compelled enough trust that I knew it’d come together, and it did with not a whimper or a thud but maybe a plop.

A digital book review of 'Mean Moms' by Emma Rosenblum, featuring an illustration of a woman with bright red lips holding her finger to her lips, and the book cover showing the title in large yellow letters.

Mean Moms, Emma Rosenblum

Women’s Mystery, 4★

Voyeuristic peek into the rich Manhattan moms and all the ways they betray one another in a deliciously steady stair step of rising action.

Image of a book review for "What Kind of Paradise" by Janelle Brown, featuring the book cover of "What Kind of Paradise" by Janelle Brown with a landscape background, several colored sections, and some navigation options including "Read more" and a website URL.

What Kind of Paradise, Janelle Brown

Psychological Fiction, 5 ★

Demon Copperhead, but make it Silicon Valley – like the cover, the overall story is brighter than the bleak upbringing the MC had.

Book cover for "They Never Learn" by Layne Fargo features a black wrought iron gate against a pinkish-orange sky, with a silhouette of a church tower in the background. The title is visible through the gate in large white letters, with the author's name below. The cover also includes a quote from Samantha Downing.

They Never Learn, Layne Fargo

Domestic Thriller, 3★

Revenge! But make the setting literary and a little gory.

Cover of the book 'All We Ever Wanted' by Emily Giffin, featuring a blue background with white and gold confetti-like dots.

All We Ever Wanted, Emily Giffin

Contemporary Fiction, 3.5 ★

Although slightly distracted by the continuous sprinkling of italics and the frustratingly pleasing Lyla, I suppose the ending mimics life, and I am still thinking about it. 

Book cover for 'The Tenant' by Freida McFadden, featuring a hand with painted nails holding open a pink door with blood splatter.

The Tenant, Freida McFadden

Domestic Thriller, 4★

If you love Frieda, you’ll love this!

Book cover for 'The Crash' by Freida Mcadden, featuring a snow-covered winter road with car headlights in the distance, dark trees, and a red sky.

The Crash, Freida McFadden

Domestic Thriller, 2.5 ★

If you love Frieda, you might not love this!

Book cover for 'The Hotel Never Stays' by Michelle Frances with a swimmer in a pool and a blue circle indicating an original series coming soon on Prime.

The Girlfriend, Michelle Frances

Psychological Thriller, 4★

Intrigued by the “Soon to be a Prime Original Series,” I downloaded – London setting, unreliable narrator, tit for tat malicious behavior, what happens if your son falls for a secret psycho??

Book cover for 'Run for the Hills' by Kevin D. Wilson. The cover shows a red car with four passengers driving across a landscape with hills, a chicken, and a grassy foreground.

Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson

Literary Fiction, 3 ★

Billed as humorous, but read darker – clever, original, and odd, but not quite Nothing to See Here status.

Book cover for 'All the Other Mothers Hate Me' by Sarah Harman, featuring a woman with long wavy hair wearing large sunglasses, a green feathered coat, black shorts, and red high heels, against a blue background with yellow balloons.

All the Other Mothers Hate Me, Sarah Harman

Mystery/Thriller, 5★

Sass, sarcasm, self-deprecation, underdog, fallen pop star, mama bear, mystery, and a twist while subtly and perpetually taking digs at fancy UK moms? Take me, I’m yours.

Book cover of "The Favourites" by Layne Fargo, showing a woman in a provocative pose with a dark background and orange bokeh lights. The title is in large yellow text, and it is labeled a national bestseller.

The Favorites, Layne Fargo

Sports Romance, 4.5 ★

I couldn’t help but be of an impressionable age when Harding/Kerrigan was viral, and though this is about ice dancing and the dynamics therein, it scratched an itch and lifted the curtain on Olympic-level training/dynamics.

Book cover of 'You Killed Me First' by John Marrs, featuring a house in flames with a silhouette of a person looking out the window at sunset or sunrise.

You Killed Me First, John Marrs

Thriller, 4★

Light supernatural elements that might benefit from a flowchart, but read like mental illness, revolting characters that you love anyway, with a gorgeous twist.

Book cover of 'Francine's Spectacular Crash & Burn' by Renee Swindle. The cover features a green background with yellow and blue text. An illustration of a girl in a pink dress is falling, reaching toward a large disco ball, with a stylized spark trail behind it.

Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn, Renee Swindle

Fiction, 4★

A flawed but self-aware narrator who makes infuriating choices but is good to her core, you keep reading until she realizes it  - she navigates this via an autistic foster child. Is “former bully-turned-lover” a trope? That and other surprises keep this delightfully original.

Book cover for 'Just By Looking At Him' by Ryan O'Connell, featuring a man in swim trunks on a pool deck with poolside chairs, and the title in large yellow and white text.

Just by Looking at Him, Ryan O’Connell

Fiction, 3★

A gay man’s shockingly honest mid-life crisis by way of his relationships, vivid sexual exploits, and reflections on his disability - his growth is *chef’s kiss*.

A woman with curly hair wearing sunglasses and a jacket, standing outdoors with a blue sky background. The book cover features the title "Atmosphere" in large red letters and the author's name, Taylor Jenkins Reid, in purple and blue text.

Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reed

Contemorary Fiction, 5★

I wish there were a song that captured the unexpected essence of a shy ’70s feminist astronaut as she navigates her physical, spiritual, and relational way from Earth to space, because this book made music in my soul.

Book cover for 'Dark Avenue' by Renée Ahdieh, featuring an abstract and colorful background with paint splashes and patterns, and a woman sitting with a partially visible face.

Park Avenue, Renee Ahdieh

Contemporary Fiction, 5★

So heavy on Birkin lore at the beginning that I almost put it down, but after the breathless twist at the end, it would have been my most profound loss.

Book cover of "The Summer Pact" by Emily Giffin featuring an outdoor summer scene with three people seated at a round table on a terrace, overlooking a blue water body with rocks and pink and purple flowers.

The Summer Pact, Emily Giffin

Contemporary Fiction, 3★

I’m left with questions, but most didn’t linger too long for this Vibe Reader (except one that even the Goodreads reviews I combed for validation didn’t cover, the SA brush over??), the enjoyable trio of characters changed locations enough that I was immersed, and the ending, though abrupt, was suitable to the rest of the book.

ONE SENTENCE BOOK REVIEW

ONE SENTENCE BOOK REVIEW

A Note:

Aren’t ratings all subjective anyway? It’s a struggle for me to give an accurate score from 1-5, but when I try, it’s based solely on my rate of enjoyment, which is based on my mood, which is based on my sleep, and/or the most recent comment someone made to me. Please take the rating with that grain of ambiguous salt. That said, I give 5* sparingly.

If you happen to be the author of one of the books below, know that it’s not you, it’s most definitely me.

TW Warning:

Warning, no warnings. You won’t find TWs here, so do be sure to look them up, because there will be plenty. One of my many character flaws is that I beg to be triggered. Fight or flight? I’ll take the former, please. In books and in life.

*Grammar may suffer for the sake of the one-sentence goal.