What do you get when you combine 1930s New York, Macy’s, a death threat and Santa Claus? A really fun holiday mystery! I received the audiobook ALC (advanced listener copy) of Murder on 34th Street by Mariah Fredericks from Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. First and foremost, thank you so much for sending this my way! Set in 1932, this book takes us behind the scenes at Macy’s, where Grace works to keep the famous department store running smoothly. Just days

I think I just found my favourite book of the year. Now, because I don't do spoilers, all I’ll tell you is this: Imagine driving down a dark, rain-soaked road in the middle of nowhere when a series of mysterious car accidents leaves a group of complete strangers stranded at a dive bar. Sounds safe, right? Not exactly... Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong was so dang good. I was honoured to receive an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest revie

I finished 5 Louise Penny books and somehow haven’t posted any reviews yet. So I decided the best way was to put all my thoughts into one post! Books 5–9 of the Chief Inspector Gamache series were a bit of a rollercoaster. #5 - The Brutal Telling The peace typically found within the Village of Three Pines has been shattered once again, with the discovery of a body in the local bistro. Olivier and Gabri’s bistro. Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are once again brought in t

I gave this WWII historical fiction book 5 STARS, and I was crying by the end. The Barman of the Ritz by Philippe Collin was my first readalong with Tandem Collective, and I had so much fun with the whole experience. But let’s talk about the book. This is set in Paris during the German occupation, and it follows Frank, a Jewish bartender working at the Petit Bar inside the Ritz. And the man is surrounded by German soldiers every single day… while secretly being Jewish himsel

Imagine losing the love of your life, marrying a near stranger, moving completely off-grid… and then having a dead man show up at your door. My rating of Call Off the Dark: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 My thoughts: Call Off the Dark by Hallie Shepherd is definitely a twisty genre-bender. I was lucky enough to receive the audiobook early from William Morrow and Harper Audio in exchange for my honest review, so thank you so much to them for letting me listen ahead of its September 22 publication

Adam and Amelia Wright, a married couple, had their lives going wrong for quite a while—despite what their last name may suggest. The couple wins a weekend getaway in Scotland, but it’s not the romantic getaway they thought it would be. Someone is determined to ruin this entire weekend and change their lives forever. Oh, and just to add some more weirdness to the story, Adam Wright has face blindness, which he has had his entire life, which means he can’t recognize family and

In Stefanie Koens’ Daughters of the Wreckage, a shipwreck, mutiny, survival, and secrets bring together the stories of several women across generations. I received this ALC (advanced listener copy) from Thomas Nelson Fiction Audio and Harper Audio in exchange for my honest review. A big thank you to Stefanie Koens, Thomas Nelson Fiction Audio, Harper Audio and NetGalley for sharing this one with me. This book comes out tomorrow, Sep. 15! My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 My thoughts on Da

I gave this thriller five stars, and apparently I need to defend that decision. So, let’s talk about Little Red Death by Alexandra Benedict... I was given this book as an ARC from Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for my honest review, so thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Alexandra Benedict for writing this story, and NetGalley for facilitating it all. Now, the premise: DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Horrendous crimes are being committed, and they all have a very s

It’s January in the 1800s, and the people of a tiny Canadian town are learning that the forest doesn’t just take what it’s owed… it takes whatever it wants. **For future readers, there’s a potential spoiler in my review video on socials, but it’s also something that is revealed in the first chapter… so, maybe not really? I was given an ARC of Mere Joyce’s As The Snow Gathers by Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for my honest review, so first, thank you to all involved for making

In Lana Harper and Jilly Gagnon’s Cards on the Table, sisters Tori and Cassie Bishop make a little extra money reading tarot cards. When they’re offered a pretty tempting amount of cash to help an elderly woman contact her dead son, the sisters head to her mysterious mansion… because apparently accepting money to enter a creepy house is always a great idea. I was lucky enough to receive this ARC from Bantam in exchange for my honest review. A big thank you to Lana Harper, Jil

Riley Sager, I officially reached the beginning 👀 My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts on Final Girls: I'll be honest: I didn't head-over-heels love this one quite as much as some of Sager's later books. Survive the Night, Home Before Dark, Lock Every Door, and The Only One Left all had me more invested. But there were some moments in this psychological thriller that absolutely worked for me, and the ending? SO GOOD. I genuinely didn't see everything coming, and I love when a thr

In Sophie Hannah’s The Opposite of Murder, what starts as a seemingly straightforward murder investigation quickly becomes something much more complicated, with secrets, twists and plenty of questions about who can actually be trusted. And, as you’d expect from most of the books I read, things are definitely not always what they seem. I had the opportunity to read The Opposite of Murder early as an ARC, so thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the book in exchange for my honest

There’s a lot to appreciate in Bad Intentions. This is clearly a very thoughtfully constructed story, with plenty of twists and surprises along the way. I definitely had a few moments where I thought, okay, I did NOT see that coming! For me, though, it was a very slow start. It took me getting to approx. the 55% mark before I felt like the story really started picking up, and by then I was having a hard time getting fully invested. I also found the timeline jumps a little tri

DID YOU HEAR? They say a girl died here… Anna and her family have just moved to Harper’s Creek, a little nowhere town with a dark history. But that’s all been resolved, so why is Anna feeling trapped? Why is her little sister afraid that she’ll be next? And WHY is Anna’s grandmother spinning out of control with paranoid episodes? I had the opportunity to read They Say A Girl Died Here early through an advanced listener copy (ALC), so first, thank you to Sarah Pinborough for t

“If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.” Well… THAT got my attention. Ruby Cooper is 16 when something horrible happens — something that ultimately tears her family apart. And the further Ruby and her sister Erin travel down their own paths, the more impossible it seems that their family will ever be put back together. And let me tell you… the things some of these characters DO. My jaw literally dropped several times while reading this. The sheer

It's been two years of plot twists, final girls, historical mysteries, and the absolute BEST community on the internet. Today marks exactly 2 years since I started my bookstagram account! To celebrate, I decided to air out some of my bookish confessions. Honestly, I think that launching Books With Brittani was the best decision ever. Finding this little part of the internet filled with people who love creepy atmospheres, unhinged characters, and mysterious historical drama as