Week 50 Review: Where the Library Hides

From Goodreads:

The stunning conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows. A lush immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other!

1885, Egypt

Inez Olivera is left reeling from her cousin Elvira's murder, and her mother's betrayal, and when Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she's left with only one option to consider.

Marriage to Whitford Hayes.

Former British soldier, her uncle's aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.

My Review:
I loved reading this book! I loved the first, and I'm really glad that this was a series, because the way things ended in the first book, there had to be a sequel! And oh, what a great sequel it was! I loved being back in this world, with these characters!

That her mom betrayed her, and set in motion her cousin getting murdered to recover what her mom stole, yeah, that was difficult. She went through a lot, and I loved seeing how she was dealing with it! She was determined to set things right, and so great to read about! 

Marriage to Hayes? Yeah that was an interesting prospect, given their sniping at one another. And there was that message that he sent his brother-I had to know what they wanted from her. But I was not looking forward to the truth coming out, since they had been growing closer. 

This historical world with a bit of magic, it's really brought to life, and the story was so entertaining and engaging, and I had to keep reading! I had to know the answers to all the questions that had been raised, and I loved how it dealt with them, and how it wrapped up! She definitely went through a lot, struggled with all the lies and secrets, her faith in her judgement, but I loved where things left off!

This was a fantastic read and I loved reading it, and I can't wait to read more by Isabel Ibañez, including a possible spin off with his sister!

Author: Isabel Ibañez
Series: Secrets of the Nile #2
Read: December 23th, 2024 
Source: Library
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a End of Series 2024 Book, Historical Fiction 2024 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Published: November 5th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 51 Review: Nothing More to Tell

From Goodreads:

Be sure to keep your friends close . . . and your secrets closer.

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher's body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she's determined to find out what really happened.

The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex–best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin's murder. They've never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day. Just like he hasn't forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie.

Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and as Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she begins to uncover secrets that might change everything—about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot.

Four years ago someone got away with murder. The most terrifying part is that they never left.

My Review:
Oh, this was another fantastic mystery from Karen M. McManus! The idea of this school with the murder of a teacher, and then one of his students getting a true-crime show interested in the case, and everything that unfolds from there was so great! 

One thing that I loved, was that some of her previous books were mentioned, meaning that they're taking place in the same world! I don't know if there were other mentions before and I just missed them, or if this is the first one, but I did get them in this book, and that was so great! 

We were in Brynn and Tripp's head. She wanted to know what happened, and he knew, and was keeping it a secret, even from us. I loved watching the investigation unfold, learning secrets that slowly came together, as well as watching these two grow closer! 

It seems to be her signature, Karen M. McManus, at least with the stand alone novels, to have endings that don't completely wrap up taking down the bad guy. Maybe it's a side bad guy, or they got away for now, but I loved how it played out in this book! 

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read whatever she writes next! 

Author: Karen M. McManus 
Read: December 19th, 2022
Source: Bought/Library
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded good, and it's a SAC 2022 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: August 30th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars