Peeking Between the Pages

Age of Vice is an epic novel. Once I got into it I was so engrossed in the story and characters that I could not stop listening. The amount of detail that the author put into everything from what a character was like to the descriptions of the places we visit in the novel are amazing. This is a story of money, power, and betrayals. It’s about family and how a corrupt one can destroy lives. Its about a man who struggles his whole life to he accepted by his father yet never seems to achieve the acceptance he wants. At its core there is family, friendship, love and the power for it all to be destroyed in the name of revenge. I had the pleasure of listening to this audio which is quite long at over nineteen hours but I never noticed it as the hours flew by. The narrator is Vidish Athavale and he does an incredible job of portraying all the intricate parts of this story. I really enjoyed this book and I would say it’ll make my favourites for the year. Highly recommended!

Summary from Penguin Random House

ABOUT AGE OF VICE

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

“Dazzling…Finally free from the book’s grip, now all I want to do is get others hooked.”— The Washington Post

“Cinematic…A luxe thriller…As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural.”— The New York Times

“Sensationally good — huge, epic, immersive and absorbing … certain to be a book of the year.” —Lee Child

This is the age of vice, where money, pleasure, and power are everything,
and the family ties that bind can also kill.

New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the curb and in the blink of an eye, five people are dead. It’s a rich man’s car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, just a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain the strange series of events that led to this crime. Nor can he foresee the dark drama that is about to unfold.

Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family — loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all.

In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family’s ranks. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire. Against a sweeping plot fueled by loss, pleasure, greed, yearning, violence and revenge, will these characters’ connections become a path to escape, or a trigger of further destruction?

Equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi, Age of Vice is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption. It is binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.

Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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I love horror whether it be books or movies so when I saw this book I thought it sounded right up my alley and I wasn’t wrong. What an awesome audio! Isabella Star LaBlanc narrates the story for us and is fantastic. I was hooked from the time I started listening, quite often on the edge of my seat wondering what might happen next. To set the scene – you’re babysitting six-year-old twins right before Halloween. The house is full of strange noises that are starting to get to you and it seems the twins know what they are. To top that off you learn what happened in the very house you’re babysitting in eleven years ago and realization dawns on you that you are far from alone in the house. You are terrified and it’s up to you to fight for your life and protect the twins. Hang on if you’re listening (available only on audio) to this one. It’s a wild ride! I loved it!

Library copy. All opinions are my own.

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The Nitty Gritty…

Pineapple Street was pure escapism for me and I loved it for that! It was a quick listen for me and narrated by Marin Ireland who I adore listening to. She is fantastic! This novel is very much how the other half (the rich) live and I can’t tell you how many times I found myself shaking my head and laughing at how entitled they could be. Yet at the same time money can’t buy everything. It can’t always make you happy or protect you from heartbreak. I loved the characters and their stories and how when they had to they all came together to form a strong family bond. This was the book I needed right now to take me out of my own life for a while and it definitely did that. If you’re looking for a heartwarming and often funny novel I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Pineapple Street!

Summary from Penguin Random House

ABOUT PINEAPPLE STREET

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Time, Vogue, Elle, Southern Living, Bustle, and more

“A vibrant and hilarious debut…Pineapple Street is riveting, timely, hugely entertaining and brimming with truth.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest

“A delicious new Gilded Age family drama… a guilty pleasure that also feels like a sociological text.” —Vogue

A deliciously funny, sharply observed debut of family, love, and class, this zeitgeisty novel follows three women in one wealthy Brooklyn clan

Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected old money Stockton family, followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood but giving up far too much in the process; Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, has married into the Brooklyn Heights family, and finds herself cast as the arriviste outsider; and Georgiana, the baby of the family, has fallen in love with someone she can’t have, and must decide what kind of person she wants to be.

Rife with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one-percenters, Pineapple Street is a smart, escapist novel that sparkles with wit. Full of recognizable, loveable—if fallible—characters, it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots, and the insanity of first love—all wrapped in a story that is a sheer delight.

Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Our Share of Night is one of those novels that pulls you in from the very first word to the very last. It seems crazy to just say wow but that’s how I felt when I finished this epic novel. It’s a long one with the audio being a little over twenty-seven hours but I’ll tell you I didn’t even notice it as the hours flew by for me. It’s narrated by Frankie Corzo who I haven’t had the pleasure of listening to before but she certainly brought this story alive for me as it played out in my mind. Our Share of Night is a dark story with a secret cult called The Order and people who will stop at nothing to keep their power while destroying anything in their path. There are supernatural elements and horror filled scenes and just so much to like about this novel. I was completely entranced by it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a story with horror and supernatural elements as I do!

Summary from Penguin Random House

ABOUT OUR SHARE OF NIGHT

“A masterpiece of supernatural horror.”—The Washington Post
“An enchanting, shattering, once-in-a-lifetime reading experience.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family in the first novel to be translated into English by the International Booker Prize–shortlisted author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed—“the most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time” (Kazuo Ishiguro).

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2023: The New York Times, Oprah Daily, BuzzFeed, Elle, Electric Lit, Book Riot, BookPage, The Rumpus, World Literature Today, Tordotcom, CrimeReads, Lit Hub, Publishers Weekly

“A magnificent accomplishment.”—Alan Moore, author of Watchmen
“A masterpiece of literary horror.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“One of Latin America’s most exciting authors.”—Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America’s most original novelists, “a mesmerizing writer,” says Dave Eggers, “who demands to be read.”

Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Before You Knew My Name is a powerful story that leaves us knowing that every human being has a story whether it seems so or not at first glance. We’ve got two women – Ruby who is alive and Alice who isn’t. What connects them is that Ruby is the one that found Alice by the river. Alice remains unidentified but knows that Ruby is the one who can give her a voice and her name back. For Ruby it was traumatic and she wants it to all go away but she can’t forget what she saw and Ruby feels like it’s her responsibility to learn who she was. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Penelope Rawlins. I have listened to her before and I felt she lent such an authentic voice to Alice. She brought out the emotion in this story and had me feeling those emotions deeply. I found Before You Knew My Name emotional and heartbreaking and so very good. Highly recommended!

Summary from Simon & Schuster

Winner of Crime Debut and Readers’ Choice Awards—Sisters in Crime
Editors’ Choice/Staff Pick by The New York Times Book Review

“A brave and timely novel.” —Clare Mackintosh, internationally bestselling author of Hostage

This is not just another novel about a dead girl. Two women—one alive, one dead—are brought together in the dark underbelly of New York City to solve a tragic murder.

When she arrived in New York on her eighteenth birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice Lee was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city’s latest Jane Doe. She may be dead but that doesn’t mean her story is over.

Meanwhile, Ruby Jones is also trying to reinvent herself. After travelling halfway around the world, she’s lonelier than ever in the Big Apple. Until she stumbles upon a woman’s body by the Hudson River, and suddenly finds herself unbreakably tied to the unknown dead woman.

Alice is sure Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her short life and tragic death. Ruby just wants to forget what she saw…but she can’t seem to stop thinking about the young woman she found. If she keeps looking, can she give this unidentified Jane Doe the ending and closure she deserves?

A “heartbreaking, beautiful, and hugely important novel” (Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author), Before You Knew My Name doesn’t just wonder whodunnit—it also asks who was she? And what did she leave behind?

Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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I read Mirrorland a while back and loved it so I knew as soon as I saw a new one by Carole Johnstone out I needed to listen to it! The Blackhouse has all the elements I love in a book with a gothic, dark atmosphere and what about that cover – it’s amazing! Add to that a remote village with less than welcoming folks and a woman who comes back after leaving the village in a turmoil when she was just a young girl. Needless to say she is unwanted but determined to uncover the mystery of what happened to her all those years ago. The audio is fantastic with narration by Joe McFadden and Eilidh Beaton and I was captivated by them and the story they were telling. There is just so much to uncover in this novel that you really need to listen or read it for yourself. Highly recommended!

Summary from Simon & Schuster

From the author of the “dark and devious…beautifully written” (Stephen King) Mirrorland comes a richly atmospheric thriller set on an isolated Scottish island where nothing is as it seems and shocking twists lie around every corner.

A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth.

Robert Reid moved his family to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in the 1990s, driven by hope, craving safety and community, and hiding a terrible secret. But despite his best efforts to fit in, Robert is always seen as an outsider. And as the legendary and violent Hebridean storms rage around him, he begins to unravel, believing his fate on the remote island of Kilmeray cannot be escaped.

For her entire life, Maggie MacKay has sensed something was wrong with her. When Maggie was five years old, she announced that a man on Kilmeray—a place she’d never visited—had been murdered. Her unfounded claim drew media attention and turned the locals against each other, creating rifts that never mended.

Nearly twenty years later, Maggie is determined to find out what really happened, and what the islanders are hiding. But when she begins to receive ominous threats, Maggie is forced to consider how much she is willing to risk to discover the horrifying truth.

Unnerving, enthralling, and filled with gothic suspense, The Blackhouse is a spectacularly sinister tale readers won’t soon forget.

Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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