{I've Been Reading}

 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke 

I think it's fair to say that the thriller market is full of tradwives. I've read two books called "The Trad Wife" (and also The Trad Wife's Secret) and have another with the same title in my TBR. So of course as soon as I heard about Yesteryear, I wanted to read it. It's taken me this long to get my hands on a copy -- the reserve list at the library is REALLY long. While I was waiting, I made some assumptions about what the book would be like. I was wrong. So, so wrong. Not much of the plot takes place in the past. Instead it's Natalie's story before she became a popular influencer. I kept guessing what was going to happen and I came nowhere close to figuring it out. 

Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella 

A family moves to a remote island with strangely old fashioned ways. It's one of the basic tropes of  folk horror, but this is like nothing I've ever read before. The locals have cutesy names that sound straight out of a children's book. They're preparing for an annual festival and everything is just so adorable it makes your teeth hurt. There's nothing scary or forboding -- and I think that's what makes it so effective when everything changes. Honestly, I wanted to put it down after the first few chapters because I couldn't stand Jessica, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's weird and effective and kind of beyond description. 

And Then There Were Bun by Vivian Chien 

This cozy mystery was a fast paced engaging read that pulled me right in. I'd read the description and forgotten the details before picking the book up to start, so I didn't know what was coming. That's probably my favorite was to read cozies. Lana is an engaging narrator who quickly establishes the details of her life. A couple of references to previous murders and bodies made it clear that this wasn't the first book in the series, but I was suprised when I checked later and found out that it's is the thirteenth book. It was easy to jump right in and enjoy Lana's world and the mystery. Even though I didn't already know her friends and family, I was worried when the investigation seemed like it might turn in that direction.  I'll definitely be reading more of the Noodle Shop mysteries. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. Yesteryear came from the library.