Kill Joy

I was so excited to get lost in Pip's world again, so I read this entire novella the day it came out.

I've had a few gripes about the series, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. My main issue being the elaborate confessions to freaking high school kids. But in Kill Joy we actually get to see these kids just being kids. It takes place in a single evening, an evening filled with mystery and murder. Well, in their game anyway.

Conner invited everyone over for a murder mystery party, think Clue but in real life. It's 1920's themed and on a private island, oh and everyone must come in their character's costume. Everyone takes their places at the table and the game begins. Reginald Remy is killed on his 74th birthday and now everyone at his party is considered a suspect.

In typical Pip fashion, she quickly starts taking in everything around her. The secrets begin unfolding before their very eyes and accusations begin flying. But Pip thinks she has it figured out. She quite literally has a mic drop moment at the table and everyone is stunned.

It was just such a fun read.

We got to read Pip's character clues and cues and kind of play along with the rest of them.

It starts as a kind of prequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Think of it as Pip's first clue into solving Andi Bell's murder.

Looking for the rest of the series?

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (AGGGTM #1)

Good Girl, Bad Blood (AGGGTM #2)

As Good as Dead (AGGGTM #3)

Such Pretty Flowers

Ugh, the spooky southern vibes!

And by ugh I actually mean I'm obsessed.

Savannah, Georgia, is cloaked in mystery.

The twisting trees, the Spanish moss, the elaborate city squares.

It adds to the illusion that something sinister is always lurking.

K.L. Cerra took that spooky feel and added such pretty flowers to it.

Such Pretty Flowers starts with a grieving family. Holly just lost to brother, Dane. But he sent her an eerie text the night of his apparent suicide.....

 

"So Maura wants to play this weird-ass game with me and I figured I'd let you know in case anything happened." 

 

Something did happen, Dane tried to disembowel himself with a knife.

Holly wants answers for her family. Something about that night just isn't sitting right with her. Sure, Dane had been slowly deteriorating, but no one expected that. So she starts at the source, his girlfriend Maura. Maura seems to be a local botanist, and even supplies her closest friends with tinctures and cures. Holly quickly agrees to move in and do some snooping around Maura and Dane's townhouse. Starting in the bedrooms seems too easy, but eventually she finds her way to the greenhouse....and that's where Holly sees the blood.

 

This was book a slooooooow burn with a very unexpected twist.

I loved every single second of it.

I Know What's Best for You

I was in Atlanta with my sister shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

We stumbled around Ponce City Market and found Posman Books. I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I kept going back to this book. I kept picking it up. I had finished reading You're the Only One I've Told by Dr. Meera Shah just a few weeks earlier. Finally, one of the employees said she was currently reading this book. I told her about Meera's book and finally decided to buy a copy.

I Know What's Best for You was written during the height of the pandemic. Shelly Oria reached out to people all over to hear their reproduction stories...the good, the bad, and the ugly. This book includes 29 different stories of reproductive freedom or lack thereof. No two stories are the same. It has a mix of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, plays, a comic, and even a photography collection.

I don't have to tell you guys what it means to be a woman in today's society. I have no doubt in my mind that my choices will be different from every single one of you. That's what this book is about. It's about how each of us have a different story to tell. Each of us have different life experiences that may influence our choices. But it's okay.

I would love a follow up collection now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.

Looking for other books on reproductive freedom?

You're The Only One I've Told

Waco

As of this month, it will have been 30 years since the start of the Waco Siege. A siege that went on for 51 days and resulted in 86 casualties, many of which were children.

 

The events that took place at the Branch Davidian Compound at Mount Carmel were extreme to say the least. Starting with the Davidian beliefs, the stockpiling of weapons, and the polygamy involving girls as young as 14. It seems as though Vernon Howell, better known as David Koresh was leading his followers on their journey to The End Times. The focus was on the Seven Seals. Koresh taught that the Bible was not only referencing Biblical time, but that most of the events could be translated into the modern world as well. David Koresh had such unthinkable control over his followers, all because they truly believed him to be The Lamb of God.

CPS, ATF, and FBI all got involved with cases surrounding the Branch Davidian's around the same time. CPS was called in to investigate after reports of child abuse within the compound, however their case was closed shortly after their initial visits. ATF was alerted that men living at Mount Carmel may be illegally converting semiautomatic firearms to fully automatic firearms without the correct legal documentation to do so. FBI got involved shortly after the initial siege on February 28, 1993.

The tactics used by ATF were infuriating. The PA system, the constant lights, the thinly veiled threats, the tanks, the tear gas.....there's no way they expected that to end peacefully when bringing in such extreme reinforcements. The lack of accountability within the leadership at Waco and at Ruby Ridge blows my mind. Not to mention the trial of the 9 individuals who survived. Did you guys know they were all acquitted of murder charges but the judge decided not to follow the jury's decision and sentenced them to 40 years instead?

There's just so much about the Waco Siege makes me angry.

The siege may have lasted 51 days, but everything went up in flames in a matter of minutes. 

For what?

Looking for other books that mention Waco?

The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge

Stalling for Time

After the Fire

Really Good, Actually

Did I cry throughout this entire book? Yes, yes I did.

 

This book is so sad, and funny, and relatable.

 

So much of this book made me look back on my past relationships and realize this shit could literally happen to anyone. It honestly validated so many of the emotions I've been dealing with for the last 6 months.

Maggie and Jon just ended their 9 year relationship because somewhere along the way their marriage crumbled. It left Maggie feeling down, destroyed, and down right shitty. Her nights became filled with the overwhelming urge to cry. Her husband was gone, her cat went with him, and her life all but fell apart. But she decided to put herself back out there. She needed a new hobby, career, or even a new love interest. Literally anything to keep her from dealing with her own thoughts.

 

God, even writing this review has me crying.

 

Just trust me when I say this book is great.

Love, Pamela

I read Pamela's book in less than 24 hours.

I've seen a lot of mixed emotions regarding her writing her own story but it's one that I absolutely wanted to read. Years ago I read Tommy Lee's book, Tommyland. I was mystified that he managed to snag Pamela freaking Anderson and that she was throwing him literally the coolest birthday party I'd ever heard of.

I think that's when my fascination started.

Or maybe it was when she guest starred in all my favorite shows from the early 2000s.

But it's probably when the kitchen timer went off in Friends and Joey and Chandler introduced me to Baywatch.

Either way, Pamela was writing her story and I knew I needed it.

I'll admit, I watched Pam & Tommy on Hulu before hearing how much that hurt her. So much of her life has been pure exploitation. Being a blonde bombshell, a pin up girl, and a Playboy Bunny, doesn't mean she isn't entitled to privacy and human decency. Besides, there's so much more to her than that. First and foremost, she's a mom. But she's also an activist, working with organizations all over the world. Her activism spans all walks of life, orphanages, animal rescue, even the rain forests.

 

I dare say she's a modern day Marilyn Monroe.

So much of their stories feel familiar to me.

They were both thrown into fame and stardom at such a young age.

The both wholeheartedly followed their hearts without a second glance.

I think there's something in their stories that we can all learn from.

Looking for other books featuring Pamela Anderson?

Tommyland