Under The Radar Books.

Category: The Reviews.

  • Good Girl Complex

    Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

    Synopsis.

    She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

    Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

    Mac’s had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

    Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.

    The Review

    I gave myself a week to read GOOD GIRL COMPLEX By Elle Kennedy

    I finished in three days.

    You should’ve seen me, someone who does NOT like cleaning anything coming up with stuff to do around the house while listening to this audiobook.

    I cooked, I cleaned, I organized, I washed and rewashed dishes. Mostly desperate to keep my hands busy, I found myself extending my one-hour-a-day cleaning routine to include extra dusting and copious amounts of deep cleaning. I even mopped!!!

    Anything to stay in Avalon Bay with Cooper, a sentimental “townie”, who reads inspiring biographies and self-made millionaire, people-pleaser, and good girl-Mac.

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, easy!

    Whatcha got next, Elle?

    I’m in love

    Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced listening copy!

    Out 2.1.22

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  • The Good Wife of Bath

    The Good Wife of Bath By Karen Brooks

    Synopsis.

    A provocative, immersive medieval novel starring one of literature’s most unforgettable characters in her own words–Chaucer’s bold and libidinous Wife of Bath.

    In the middle ages, a famous poet told a story that mocked a strong woman. It became a literary classic. But what if the woman in question had a chance to tell her own version?

    England, 1364: When married off at aged twelve to an elderly farmer, brazen redheaded Eleanor quickly realizes it won’t matter what she says or does, God is not on her side–or any poor woman’s for that matter. But then again, Eleanor was born under the joint signs of Venus and Mars, making her both a lover and a fighter.

    Aided by a head for business (and a surprisingly kind husband), Eleanor manages to turn her first marriage into success, and she rises through society from a cast-off farm girl to a woman of fortune who becomes a trusted friend of the social-climbing poet Geoffrey Chaucer. But more marriages follow–some happy, some not–several pilgrimages, many lovers, murder, mayhem, and many turns of fortune’s wheel as Eleanor pursues the one thing that all women want: control of their own lives.

    The Review

    Even as it constitutes a woman’s entire life, it is still far too long.

    On page 157 I thought of DNF ing. I set it down at the end of a chapter and no part of me wanted to pick it up again. I thought of setting it aside, but I had to be honest with myself, I was going to like it now or never.

    Then on page 161, in a heated conversation, the author starts repeating information and concepts from earlier in the book. It was completely unnecessary to repeat these concepts as we were all spending the last 50 or so pages seeing the evidence.

    This could have been a short story rebuttal.

    The beginning was very interesting. The writing is solid, (I imagine my gripe is more in editing)I loved the language and Eleanor’s plight.

    There were even parts of the book where I thought of Matrix by Lauren Groff.

    Somewhere between husband number 1 and husband number 2, you lost me. And I couldn’t imagine doing (reading) the same thing over again with different husbands and lovers.

    I will say perhaps if you’ve read Chaucer and are looking for exploratory reading related to that, this book will do that for you.

    That is not me…

    DNF on page 161 for being quite boring, rehashing those boring concepts, and dragging this out to over 500 pages.

    Thank you to William and Morrow Books for this advanced copy!

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  • The Overnight Guest

    The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

    Synopsis.

    A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf

    She thought she was alone…

    True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.

    As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.

    The Review

    THE OVERNIGHT GUEST

    by Heather Gudenkauf

    Out next week!

    This one is super creepy, has two disturbing and anxiety-infused winter settings and dual povs.

    This is my first book by this author but I know I’ll be heading back for more of her cozy, classic, structure.

    This is the book you reach for if you’re looking to be transported by a frozen and chilling-atmospheric read.

    Similar to Shiver, which I read late last year, the author does a great job with tension and pacing, and as I already mentioned it’s structured like a classic thriller novel.

    A great read for this time of year!

    Four Stars!

    ⭐️ Atmospheric

    ⭐️ Two chilling settings

    ⭐️ Classic structure

    ⭐️ Great pacing

    Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced copy!

    Make sure to check his one out next week,

    1.25.22

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