DRB Reviews...The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

My Aunt introduced me to this book from The Seven Sisters Book Series. She lent me the first in the series called The Seven Sisters, and I fell in love with the story. Since then, she bought The Storm Sister for me as a gift and has lent me the rest of the series from her library. I added The Storm Sister to my alphabet challenge as letter S for 2025!

Riley is an incredible historical fiction writer. If you want to get lost in time, full of rich historical depth, this is the series for you. The Storm Sister did not disappoint. It really catered to me personally being that I am a musician. The main character Ally goes on a journey of self discovery, seeking the answers to where she came from. Ally is an extremely talented flutist, and she learns that her roots were once inspired by the very famous Edvard Grieg and his beautiful piece Peer Gynt Suite. 

I was wisked away with this book. The only downside is that it is 485 pages and the size of this book stopped me numerous times to pick up and read it. Finally, I gained the courage to attack it and I was not disappointed. If you love historical fiction, Riley won't disappoint you. Riley has a way of creating a visceral past that you can feel in the present. 

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DRB Reviews...The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

I love a good cold case, and I love solving mysteries...but Clark has something special here. She wrote a gripping story. The Ghostwriter is like a vintage full-bodied wine, that keeps getting better with each year it is allowed to ferment. This story fermented over many years, and when it was time to uncork and reveal, the truth bubbled up to the service ready to breathe.

The Ghostwriter was a captivating story that I was completely lost in. If I were to rate this book out of five stars, I would give it a six. I honestly haven't read a book in a very long time that simply told a good story; The Ghostwriter was an incredible story. 

I chose this book as my Book of the Month selection intrigued by the concept of having a ghostwriter write a book for someone. A ghostwriter really has to understand a person's point of view to write a book on their behalf. They have to understand how they felt, understand the context, the time period and all parties involved, completely immersing themselves. It is a huge undertaking. Clark did not spare any details and made the occupation of a ghostwriter come alive in the pages. It was visceral.

Having read three of my favourite reads of 2025 just in the past month, it is a battle to choose just one favourtie, but I can wholeheartedly say The Ghostwriter has exceeded all my wildest expectations and it is Dawn Rodger's book of the year thus far. Congratulations Julie Clark! 

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DRB Reviews...She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena

I have been waiting to receive this pre-ordered new release all summer! When it arrived, I dropped everything to read it. Any book I was currently reading got shoved to the side. Chores? What were those? Thank goodness I was on vacation and could dedicate the time. 

I read this book in just over twenty-four hours. It was such a straight-forward easy read, but was stuffed with juicy details. I was hooked from the prologue. I love how Lapena always has a way of making me fall head-over-heels in love for her characters, and then as she slowly begins releasing new information about them, everything unravels and I find myself hating characters that at first, were so becoming.

This book was gripping, and had me turning the page faster than my poor eyes could read; I caught myself a few times, realizing I was holding my breath. There is nothing better than a good detective story; especially when the detective uncovers a darkness, a stain or poison that lies underneath the 'perfect' image.

I own every single book written by Lapena. I am proud to have her entire collection in my personal library and to support a Canadian author. She is hands down one of my favourite authors of all time, and "She Didn't See It Coming" is at the top of my list for favourites of 2025! What a delicious read!

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