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Olivia Barry's avatar

March has been a bit of a strange month for me, and I heard I'm not alone. ~ As I'm writing this, I can see that no Tornado landed where you are, thankfully. ~ You know ☺️ how I feel about hurricanes and tornadoes. ~ I read The Boyfriend and The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. Once again, I'm a bit late to the game, but I wanted to figure out for myself what all the hype is about.🩷

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

I hope you will share with me the hype--and its formula!!!

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Olivia Barry's avatar

I wish I could, but I haven't figured it out. 😅 After seeing her books everywhere, I was curious. ~ It was a fast read, but I rather read your books.

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Mary Marraccini's avatar

In Tucson for the Tucson Festival of Books! My favorite, year after year!

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Rachael Dahl's avatar

Oh J.T. you can't seem to catch a break with all of the injuries, family health issues/illnesses, and now weather. I never feared tornadoes until I moved to Texas!! I hope the tornadoes dissipate before they land. We don't have basements here either, and I wish we did. I had no idea about the bike helmets or putting things in the dryer. Great ideas that I'm going to adopt. I agree that prepping for the bad helps with some of the anxiety of it all.

I finished HELL BENT and wanted to let you know that it is dark so you will need to be in the right space to read it, but that being said, I loved it. I'm looking forward to the third book. I'm assuming it might be a lighter read as I figure you can't go to hell and back without it being dark.

As for PARADISE--we finished it and loved it. I was surprised too. Right now we're watching THE PITT and are loving it. It's amazing how they balance the medical stuff with the character stuff.

Stay safe, and I'm praying to hear in your next Friday Reads that the weather was bad, but not tornado or damage bad. Keep safe!!

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Amy Stukenholtz's avatar

Glad you liked HELL BENT. The next book can't come out soon enough!

I've heard good things about THE PITT. I'll have to check it out!

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

Thank you Rachael. It's just spring. I think everyone's been having a rough start to '25. I've seen the ads for The Pitt - I iwll add it in. Always love Noah Wiley.

Thank you for letting me know about HELL BENT. Iy was so dark to start that I really wasn't in the right frame of mind. Knowing it stays dark will help.

Stay safe, I see you're having some big winds!

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Tori Eldridge's avatar

I'm so glad Kaua'i Storm looks lovely in your shelf! I've had it as my lock screen since the cover reveal and smile whenever I see it. 🥰

I highly recommend Remarkably Bright Creatures!

And I just begun watching Paradise after weeks if Hulu glitches and buffering finally stopped. Hooked!!!

Stay safe, calm and healthy. Hoping all will be well. ❤

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

It's such a fun show. And thanks for that recommendation! I have it on my library list...

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Brandee's avatar

Love the cover of Last Seen! It's gorgeous!

Hope everyone stays safe this weekend.

I also enjoyed Paradise but wasn't as shocked as my coworker wanted me to be LOL I guess I have read/watched too much stuff!

This week's list:

The Cabin by Natasha Preston

The Kill Jar: Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit's Most Notorious Serial Killer by J. Reuben Appelman

The Note by Alafair Burke

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Wolf Pack by Edo Van Belkom

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

You sound like Randy, who figured it out immediately and was amused that I was surprised. What can I say? I wasn't expecting things to take the turn they did...

Ooh, how's Alafair's newest? Love her books...

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Rachael Dahl's avatar

I'd like to know your thoughts about Alafair Burke's new one too, please.

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Brandee's avatar

I promise to report back!

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Brandee's avatar

Haven’t finished The Note yet. I really like it. Two of the three main characters I have a hard time telling apart which Mom agreed with. But that is probably a me thing, Not a book thing.

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Amy Stukenholtz's avatar

Growing up in the Midwest we've had our fair share of tornados. We're in a slight risk today. They're projecting worse in Iowa, but we're right by the Missouri river, so Iowa is only 5 miles away.

May be a stupid question, but do you have basements in TN? I don't know if I could handle tornados without having a basement. I LOVE your idea for putting your important stuff in the dryer...genius!

Love the cover for LAST SEEN and pre order is done!

I also pre ordered KANAI STORM by Tori. Can't wait!

THE SPLINTER EFFECT sounds interesting....I'll have to check it out.

I'm still on my LEGENDBORN cycle...I finished my re read of BLOODMARKED and I finally got to start OATHBOUND which has been sitting in my Kindle.

Paradise was amazing! Cant reccomend it enough!!

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

Hi Amy - basements aren't as common here. Some houses do have them, but most are just built with crawlspaces -- that Tennessee limestone bedrock is hard to bust through. Our next door neighbor has an underground area in their garage so we could always go there if it's reall, really bad. Interestingly, our stone porch is a really great barometer. If there's tornadoes coming, it gets soaking wet. Right now, it's dry as a bone, which is heartening.

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Amy Stukenholtz's avatar

I'm glad you have a place to go if it gets super nasty.

A set of my grandkids used to live outside of Jackson, MS. No one there has basements. My daughter in law is a nurse and head injuries were her big concern...so bike helmets for all while sitting in the bathtub with a twin mattress dragged in to put over their heads if needed.

Fingers crossed that the weather settles down for all of us!

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

I wish we had real storm shelters. They make a lot of sense. Yep, helmets and something soft above.

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Nicole Keulen's avatar

Love the cover, can’t wait to read your new book.

After Onyx Storm I’ve been book-binging. Last House on Needless Street, crazy ride, but highly entertaining.

After that I read the first book of a series. The story is nice, but the story plays out in France and Germany and it had a lot of inconsistencies. So I did finish it, but it really annoyed me (mostly because I always get stuck in extensive research because a story needs to be correct).

I really enjoyed Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine and loved, loved, loved Every Moment Since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen.

Just started We solve murders by Richard Osman, I really like his style.

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Rachael Dahl's avatar

I loved all of the STILLHOUSE books by Rachel Caine. They do get darker as you go on though. I was sad to hear she'd passed away, and that there will not be any more books by her.

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

Great list of recommended books, Nicole - thank you! I have Osman's and haven't tried it yet. Agree about Marybeths book - it was superb! And thrilled you like the cover!

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Barb Natividad 🇵🇭🇺🇸's avatar

Paradise on Hulu is EXCELLENT!

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J.T. Ellison's avatar

Agreed!

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