Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around a double those of suspense with The Coral Bride and The Guest List… With the first I have confirmed that the writing style of the author just isn’t for me, but the second has me wanting to read more of the author now.

Title: The Coral Bride
(Enquêteur Moralès #2)
Author: Roxanne Bouchard
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: June 18th 2020
Publisher: Orenda Books
Finished reading: November 7th 2020
Pages: 355
(Originally written in French: ‘La mariée de corail’)

“The dead leave everything behind them. Especially the living.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***


myrambles1reviewqqq

So… The Coral Bride. I’m still surprised myself this happened, but apparently this series marks the first time an Orenda title somehow didn’t work for me. I struggled considerably with the first book, which was my reason to swap my stop of the blog tour last month to a content post just in case… I’m kind of glad I did, because this sequel has confirmed to me that there is just something about Roxanne Bouchard‘s writing that simply isn’t for me. I did enjoy The Coral Bride slightly better, which might have something to do with less repetitive phrases and different characters in the spotlight. I liked how both detective Moralès and his son make their appearance and are important in the plot here, and I can’t deny the power of the sea and its many descriptions. BUT. Somehow I found the actual plot and development to be a little slow, and the whole cheating element and objectifying of women was a real turn off for me. I enjoyed the detective angle a bit more in The Coral Bride, although I did see part of the ending coming… But overall I’ve decided to just leave this series be in the future, as it clearly shows that Roxanne Bouchard‘s writing style and me don’t see eye to eye.

Title: The Guest List
Author: Lucy Foley
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: February 20th 2020
Publisher: HarperCollins
Finished reading: November 24th 2020
Pages: 400

“In my experience, those who have the greatest respect for the rules also take the most enjoyment in breaking them.”


myrambles1reviewqqq

Between the fact that I love a good locked room mystery and that I’ve been meaning to try this author for quite some time now, I decided to just give in and pick up my copy of The Guest List. And I definitely liked what I found! Engaging and fast writing style, fantastic eerie setting, multiple characters with something to hide… And multiple POVs along the way to keep you on your toes. The small island definitely makes for the perfect ominous backdrop for this story, and it is one of the reasons The Guest List works so well for me. The descriptions really made the setting come alive for me, and the bad weather fits the building up of tension perfectly too. I do have to admit that I guessed some of the twists early on, but I never guessed the full truth about it all so that was still a win for me. I will most definitely be looking forward to read more of Lucy Foley in the future! Starting with The Hunting Party which I’ve failed to get to until now…

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Bloglovin’.