Sometimes I get tired of perfect protagonists. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Elle Woods, but every now and again I need a John Wick. A good anti-hero that shoots first and asks questions later. As Tay-Tay says, “I should not be left to my own devices. They come with prices and vices.”* Bad guys for the win, y’all. Check these out and let your dark side run free.
Every once in a while, I come across a book that I wish I’d written myself. This is one of those magical unicorns. Basic premise: former American (probably) Davi keeps waking up in an alternate universe, in a pool of tepid water, waiting on the wizard. The first hundred or so tries being the princess, she continually ends up back in the pool. Every time she dies she resets to the pool - kind like a save point in a video game. Finally, Davi reaches the point where she’s sick of being good, so she sets off to become the mythic Dark Lord. Once I figured out how the premise worked, I was so on team Davi. She’s snarky and I think we’d be friends if she wasn’t trying to take over the world. And even then… Supposedly there is a second book coming in this series, but it is not out yet, so you have plenty of time to get caught up with this one. If you are looking for a great anti-hero, this one is for you.
This book was good, but it was not what I was expecting. From the title, I was really hoping that it was a family of international hitmen that had somehow been hired to kill each other, but who are getting together at a remote ski resort for a family reunion. Sounds cool, right? But that is not what this is. Instead, it is focused on Ernest Cunningham (no relation to the Ritchie Cunninghams, unfortunately), who is an Australian crime writer. His father was killed during a robbery gone wrong and his brother also went to prison for manslaughter. He is, indeed, getting together with his family for a reunion at a remote Australian ski resort now that his brother is finally getting out of jail. And then the bodies start appearing. In the end, this turns into more of a murder mystery weekend than an international spy thriller. I really liked this author. Maybe he can still work in the international hitman family in a coming installment of the series. Not since Ray Gun have I so enjoyed something from the land down under (ifkyk).
I have never read anything by this author, but when I saw this book I was intrigued. I thought it was gonna be like Almost Famous meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It turned out to be more The Hunger Games meets The Banger Sisters meets The Running Man. Three vigilante sisters get themselves in some hot water when they get set up on a job they don’t see coming. Plus there’s a serial killer on the loose. If I give you more of the plot, it’ll spoil it for you. Perhaps this one was a bit more intense than I was expecting, but it really pulled me into the story. I kept getting frustrated because I couldn’t just sit and read. I wanted to see what happened. It reminded me of the In Death series by JD Robb or Jason Bourne. It could have had more of the music side of the story, but overall this was a good read. It’s good to expand your reading horizons now and then and this one absolutely does that.
I’m always up for a good romance, and one of my romance sites recommend this one. It’s actually the first book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy. I thought it sounded interesting so I checked it out. Basic premise: Serial killers of serial killers, Sloane and Rowan have a meet cute after a job goes badly for Sloane and she ends up locked in a cage on the Louisiana bayou. Then realizing that they are kindred souls, each year they get together to hunt another bad guy down and take care of business. The book has a very Dexter vibe but I’ll admit that parts of it were right on the edge of too much for me. I loved Sloane and Rowan as characters because I mostly forgot that they were also serial killers. I guess because they only kill other bad guys that makes it less bad? The second book in the series, Leather and Lark, came out this past summer, and I think I’m still game to try it out. Hopefully there won’t be any accidental cannibalism in this one. (I know, right?)
“It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me (I'm the problem, it's me). It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.” See, Taylor gets it. Check these out and you will too. Sometimes it’s ok to go the dark side. They have cake.
Happy bad-guying… (duh)^,
:) Amanda
*These are lyrics from the Taylor Swift song, “Anti-hero”
^ this is a reference to Billie Eilish (again, duh)
