Audiobook Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
Pen Pal
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Narrators:
Tara Langella
Troy Duran
Published: August 16, 2022
Audiobook: 8 hours 12 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 18-22, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Audiobook Description:
The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence:
I’ll wait forever if I have to.
It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.
Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?
You.
I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.
We went back and forth, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late: Dante was at my doorstep.
And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.
Jessica’s Review:
I have to say that going in that this book is way outside of my genre of choice and I knew that going in. I have two friends who have read it and loved it (That’s you Suleika and April!) and I knew there is a huge twist that I was curious about. There are trigger warnings that a reader should to be prepared for with this book which are on the author’s website, and I will share here:
Explicit language
Graphic sex/Power Play dynamics
Detailed descriptions of death and grief
Miscarriage
Domestic Violence
Mental Illness
Another thing I want to share is that the book is extremely different from the provided book description. The letter writing is a tiny portion of the book, there is a love story that is the main focus.
As I have said in the past, I like ‘sweet romances’ and Pen Pal is extremely far from that. There is definitely graphic sex and power play dynamics here! Honestly, it became too much for me and I found myself skipping through the sex scenes. I really wanted to know what this ‘huge twist’ was. Was the read worth it in the end for me? YES! OMG, that twist! And then the Epilogue! If the sex hadn’t been that intense and the books description more on track to what the novel actually is, then this would have been a 5-star read for me! This is saying a lot from a non-smut reader!
Both narrators did a great job with their portrayals.
I would have never picked this one up on my own but it was free on my Audible, so I grabbed it. Will I read anymore books by Geissinger? No, as she is outside of my genre. If you are a smart reader and take head with the trigger warnings and are prepared for a different book than the impression of what the book descriptions says, you might just enjoy this one!
Book Review: The Mindf*ck Series: Paint it All Red by S.T. Abby
Paint it All Red
Series: Mindf*ck #5
Author: ST Abby
Published: December 26, 2016
177 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 2-6, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Hush, little baby, don’t say a word…
Will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?
It’s time to fuck with their minds.
It’s time to finish it all.
It’s time to paint it all red…
Monsters don’t usually wish for happily-ever-afters.
Jessica’s Review:
This series…. It is far from realistic, but it was a fun read! I’m not a fan of Logan and that opinion never changed through all five books, but I adored Lana and this final book ended the series in a great way! It was far from perfect, but it gives readers what they wanted!
Action, action, action! It was an intense read and I got 40% read on a Sunday afternoon. I had no idea what was going to happen to the town and what did happen, Dang! We got answers to questions and **Spoiler** the bad guys all got it! Some were unexpectedly easier than others to be ended. **End Spoiler** I was not sure who the original killer was and that answer and what happened. Oh dang! ST Abby really went dark when she wrote this series.
And the ending, I am happy with it! I loved every part of it! I also liked how Hadley’s role became greater over the course of the series. Would I read this series again? Yes! I think I will order the paperback copy at some point. I love that cover so much more than the e-books.
I am really saddened that the author has passed away, so we cannot get anything else dark like this series! Her other two pen names are not my genre of choice. It seems that this series is getting more attention in the past few months. I did a buddy read with several friends and they all liked it. Some were in it for the smut, but this series isn’t about that. It’s a thriller with some sex scenes sprinkled in there.
If you like thrillers and a book that deals with a badass female serial killer, then read this series! I adore Lana and she is the perfect main character for those who like ‘villains’ who really aren’t a ‘bad guy. Lana is the woman who takes a stand for those who can’t.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Buy the series in paperback with the better cover:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: The Mindf*ck Series: All the Lies by S.T. Abby
All the Lies
Series: Mindf*ck #4
Author: ST Abby
Published: December 20, 2016
141 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: March 26-31, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
To understand the monsters in the world, you have to get inside their heads. It’s a dangerous place to be, especially when you start to empathize and lose your own sense of morality.
But that’s never happened to me…
I’ve never felt conflicted on any case. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It’s simple. Black and white. There’s no such thing as a gray area.
But fuck this case. I don’t even know what side I’m on anymore. I don’t understand how this town can continue to function without breaking under the weight of all the lies they’ve spun and lived.
Every time I find a shard of truth, my gut twists, my heart beats faster, and I hate this place a little more. Every time I think I’ve heard the worst, another truth is dug up from the ashes of more burning lies.
Worst of all, I don’t even know who to trust anymore. My head is all messed up.
I pride myself on being impossible to fool.
I’m an expert at knowing when someone is lying to me.
I never believed in being blinded by love…until Lana.
**BE WARNED: Some flashbacks can get intense to readers with a sensitive trigger.
Jessica’s Review:
This series is really good! It also helps that the books are novellas, so you can get through them quickly. I got through 50% of All the Lies on a Sunday! That is saying something for me as I’m not the fastest reader, but it’s hard to put down once you get going.
ST Abby finally tells us what happened to Lana, and this first chapter is not an easy read! We had some hints throughout, but what these men/boys did. They deserved everything that Lana did to them. There we go, I’m rooting for a female serial killer! But I tend to like villains! And Lana isn’t really a villain. She’s just awesome with a somewhat bad taste in men.
All the Lies is the climax of the series with lots going on. And that town just needs to burn to the ground. And the sheriff and his minions. OMG. Conveniently, the team goes to the town close to Halloween and we get quite the scenes inside a haunted house. This definitely brought out the thriller/horror reader in me: I LOVED IT!
The ending, as a reader you know it’s coming and I’m just not a fan of Logan, but dang! I am looking forward to seeing what this final book in the series brings us and how it ends! I really have no idea on how it will end! I mean Logan is terrible at his job and people figuring things out before him when HE is supposed to be the profiler? He’s just thinking with ‘little logan’ a bit much that he can’t figure out the obvious!
I had one issue with this book: A lack of editing. Did she not have an editor for this one? I usually don’t notice editing mistakes, but this one was a big one for me:
<<He’s short, has a touch of oriental in his bloodline, given the shape of his eyes and cheeks.>>
It’s Asian: Oriental is a rug! That sentence just really bothered me. There were a few other things I noticed as I was reading, but this was a big one for me.
Anyway, bring on the final book: Paint it All Red!!! And it’s the longest of the series: 177 pages!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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