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Liar's Beach #2
Hemlock House: A Liar's Beach Novel
Set in the aspirational world of the Ivy-League, this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Liar’s Beach sees the return of iconic detective Holiday Proctor and her childhood friend Linden, as they work to uncover a mysterious murder on campus.They did some bad things.More than a year after childhood friends Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot solved a headline-making murder on Martha’s Vineyard, Lindenis ready to start over as a freshman at Harvard—and, he hopes, to reunite with his old girlfriend, Greer. But just as things start to heat up between them, a friend is found dead in Greer’s dorm, Hemlock House.The police believe the death is the result of an overdose, but Linden suspects there’s more to the story. The victim was wearing Greer’s clothes and sleeping in Greer’s bed when she died . . . and Greer has a long list of enemies. It makes Linden Was this a case of mistaken identity? Was someone trying to kill Greer? Is she in danger? Is he?Nearly everyone on campus has something to hide—and some mysteries are better left buried. . . .
240 pages, Hardcover
First published August 13, 2024
About the author
Katie Cotugno
19 books2,312 followersKatie Cotugno is the New York Times bestselling author of seven messy, complicated feminist YA love stories, as well as the adult novel Birds of California (Harper Perennial, 2022). She is also the co-author, with Candace Bushnell, of Rules for Being a Girl. Her books have been honored by the Junior Library Guild, the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee, and the Kentucky Association of School Librarians, among others, and translated into more than fifteen languages. Katie is a Pushcart Prize nominee whose work has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Mississippi Review, and Argestes, as well as many other literary magazines. She studied Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College and received her MFA in Fiction at Lesley University. She lives in Boston with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 28, 2024
Okay I hate Linden so much Holiday is way too good for his wishy washy ass but by the end I did care a little bit about the crime and their relationship. Once I caught myself thinking “okayyyyy I’ll probably read another book in this series” I decided to round up. The narrator is great and I like his girl voice. But I must reiterate, I really wish holiday would find a really hot dude who reads books and only loves her and is actually part of the brain possessing community. But I am a slut for a romance so here I am anyway! (I hate myself.)
I really wish the book was from Holiday’s perspective bc there’s nothing in Lindens personality that has me convinced he’s worth any time so I’d at least like to see her reasoning!
To be fair, Linden is like 19 or something so he is canonically Dumb™ but I’ve read YA mysteries with better MCs. I do believe however, he just wasn’t the best narrator and made decisions people of ALL ages would find suss.
Spoilers: Also both books ended with the criminals kinda just turning themselves in which was anticlimactic? Also why did the bracelet end up in his underwear drawer like who planted that and why ??
⭐️⭐️.5/5
I received an ALC free audiobook from PRH Audio. All opinions are honest and my own.
I really wish the book was from Holiday’s perspective bc there’s nothing in Lindens personality that has me convinced he’s worth any time so I’d at least like to see her reasoning!
To be fair, Linden is like 19 or something so he is canonically Dumb™ but I’ve read YA mysteries with better MCs. I do believe however, he just wasn’t the best narrator and made decisions people of ALL ages would find suss.
Spoilers: Also both books ended with the criminals kinda just turning themselves in which was anticlimactic? Also why did the bracelet end up in his underwear drawer like who planted that and why ??
⭐️⭐️.5/5
I received an ALC free audiobook from PRH Audio. All opinions are honest and my own.
August 30, 2024
A follow up to last summer's Liar's beach, this latest sees the return of Michael and Holiday as they get caught up in a campus murder of Michael's girlfriend's roommate. What initially appeared to be an overdose turns out to possibly have been a mistaken case of identity murder meant for Greer. Another amateur detective story featuring teens that was good on audio and perfect for fans of the Good girl's guide to murder series. This book can be read as a standalone but for better context would best be read after Liar's beach.
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August 25, 2024i had a good time reading this!! SO many boston/cambridge references and even though i am not a big fall person, dare i say that hemlock house made me miss fall in boston… also i will NOT take this andala slander… a coffee shop in central with mismatched mugs and crappy couches? those couches are lovely!!
i complain about obvious love triangles and while this one wasn’t super obvious i was still pissed because linden is a dumbass. i would’ve liked for him to reflect and process more… for him to be in his folklore era if you know what i mean… wait is this book betty james august coded??
i complain about obvious love triangles and while this one wasn’t super obvious i was still pissed because linden is a dumbass. i would’ve liked for him to reflect and process more… for him to be in his folklore era if you know what i mean… wait is this book betty james august coded??
September 4, 2024
The only likeable character was Holiday - Greer sucked the whole book.
The plot was okay - this book was a book and it was not bad or good for my tastes.
The plot was okay - this book was a book and it was not bad or good for my tastes.
August 6, 2024
2.5⭐- not for me
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the #gifted audiobook copy! 🎧
Length:6 hours and 54 minutes
Narrator: Graham Halstead
I am usually a big fan of YA mysteries and I was interested to see what this was about. The beginning was intriguing for the most part. I did not read "the first book" but did read the blurb and saw most say I did not miss much regarding the characters and their backgrounds.
Early college vibes + immature characters trying to figure out their place in the world (aka school lol). Love, drama, and friendships. But towards the middle, the plot started to loose and annoy me. It did not make sense and was all over the place.... The murderer doesn't make sense. The drama was pointless. And in the end, none of Linden's problems had been resolved, so what was the point? It was just going in circles. And were just going to introduce the murderer only for it to not make sense and clip the ending off as quick as possible.
This was just a tad too teen/young adult for me I think.
Read if you like:
🎒young adult mysteries
🎒dark academia
🎒friendship development
🎒short book
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the #gifted audiobook copy! 🎧
Length:6 hours and 54 minutes
Narrator: Graham Halstead
I am usually a big fan of YA mysteries and I was interested to see what this was about. The beginning was intriguing for the most part. I did not read "the first book" but did read the blurb and saw most say I did not miss much regarding the characters and their backgrounds.
Early college vibes + immature characters trying to figure out their place in the world (aka school lol). Love, drama, and friendships. But towards the middle, the plot started to loose and annoy me. It did not make sense and was all over the place.... The murderer doesn't make sense. The drama was pointless. And in the end, none of Linden's problems had been resolved, so what was the point? It was just going in circles. And were just going to introduce the murderer only for it to not make sense and clip the ending off as quick as possible.
This was just a tad too teen/young adult for me I think.
Read if you like:
🎒young adult mysteries
🎒dark academia
🎒friendship development
🎒short book
April 29, 2024
I started my reading journey with Hemlock House excited. I had read Liar's Beach the year prior and was looking forward to revisiting our two main characters, Linden and Holiday. I thought the book started off promising--you get an introduction to Linden's life at Harvard (though he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, so why on earth would he need to go to Harvard??), see what problems he's dealing with (hazing from frat bros, pining after Greer AGAIN, etc.), and have the murder take place pretty much right off the bat.
However, this book could have been a stand alone not even remotely related to Liar's Beach and you wouldn't even know. You could have changed the names of the characters and it would not have made a difference. Linden is dealing with the exact same insecurities as from the first book: he's ashamed that he's poor, he's kind of obsessed with Greer even though we don't know much about her other than she's rich and average and her parents expect better, he's confused about his feelings for Holiday. But none of those things are unique to Liar's Beach or Hemlock House.
Linden and Holiday jump to conclusions then jump away from those conclusions immediately about the who and the why of the murder, and in the end, Holiday is somehow able to give a monologue about the who and the why exactly as it happened. The murderer doesn't make sense, every character takes the news calmly and in stride, and none of Linden's problems have been resolved by the end of the book either. This was such a disappointment, not to mention a mediocre book in general.
The two stars are for the promising premise at the beginning of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
However, this book could have been a stand alone not even remotely related to Liar's Beach and you wouldn't even know. You could have changed the names of the characters and it would not have made a difference. Linden is dealing with the exact same insecurities as from the first book: he's ashamed that he's poor, he's kind of obsessed with Greer even though we don't know much about her other than she's rich and average and her parents expect better, he's confused about his feelings for Holiday. But none of those things are unique to Liar's Beach or Hemlock House.
Linden and Holiday jump to conclusions then jump away from those conclusions immediately about the who and the why of the murder, and in the end, Holiday is somehow able to give a monologue about the who and the why exactly as it happened. The murderer doesn't make sense, every character takes the news calmly and in stride, and none of Linden's problems have been resolved by the end of the book either. This was such a disappointment, not to mention a mediocre book in general.
The two stars are for the promising premise at the beginning of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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September 24, 20242.5/5
As Michael is trying to reconnect with his high school ex Greer, they find Greer’s roommate dead in their dorm room, and even though the police are trying to declare the case as an obvious overdose, Michael’s gut feels like there’s more to the story. In this twisted sequel, amateur detectives Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot team up again to figure out a murder, this time at Harvard.
Although I didn’t particularly enjoy the first book of the series very much, my love Ivy League thrillers is so extreme that I still wanted to try this, but I sure wish I would have just skipped it.
Once again, the book would have been more interesting and captivating from Holiday’s perspective. Holiday has more personality and excitement in one strand of hair than Michael has in his entire body, and Holiday lights up every scene she’s in. Michael shouldn’t have, and never realistically would have, been accepted into somewhere like Harvard and is as dry and shallow as a character can get.
What was even more incomprehensible was the ending. The murderer doesn’t fully make sense, and the way the murderer is revealed is anticlimactic and had very unrealistic reactions from surrounding characters.
Overall, this was a letdown, and I would recommend readers to pick up something else to get their Halloween/spooky fix.
As Michael is trying to reconnect with his high school ex Greer, they find Greer’s roommate dead in their dorm room, and even though the police are trying to declare the case as an obvious overdose, Michael’s gut feels like there’s more to the story. In this twisted sequel, amateur detectives Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot team up again to figure out a murder, this time at Harvard.
Although I didn’t particularly enjoy the first book of the series very much, my love Ivy League thrillers is so extreme that I still wanted to try this, but I sure wish I would have just skipped it.
Once again, the book would have been more interesting and captivating from Holiday’s perspective. Holiday has more personality and excitement in one strand of hair than Michael has in his entire body, and Holiday lights up every scene she’s in. Michael shouldn’t have, and never realistically would have, been accepted into somewhere like Harvard and is as dry and shallow as a character can get.
What was even more incomprehensible was the ending. The murderer doesn’t fully make sense, and the way the murderer is revealed is anticlimactic and had very unrealistic reactions from surrounding characters.
Overall, this was a letdown, and I would recommend readers to pick up something else to get their Halloween/spooky fix.
September 5, 2024
well, I tried.
I tried to like these books at all. I tried to give the first one a chance by reading the second, in fact.
But when the protagonist is so extraordinarily shallow and led around by his dick, it’s difficult to like him.
He’s shallow. He’s like Adrian Mole, only hornier. He’s a frat boy whose only redeeming quality is that he can quote his mother sometimes.
I loathed every second I spent reading these.
I hated the entitled rich kids and their entitled rich parents. I hated the shallow snobbery and the constant repeat of boring phrases, which - to be fair- is how many adolescents talk, but for the sake of my eyeballs, couldn’t the author have varied the dull, teenage ennui mask even a LITTLE bit?
It was like reliving my freshman year in college, with even meaner hazing games.
The murders were uneventful and pointless.
The characters even more so.
I can’t believe I spent two days reading these books.
I tried to like these books at all. I tried to give the first one a chance by reading the second, in fact.
But when the protagonist is so extraordinarily shallow and led around by his dick, it’s difficult to like him.
He’s shallow. He’s like Adrian Mole, only hornier. He’s a frat boy whose only redeeming quality is that he can quote his mother sometimes.
I loathed every second I spent reading these.
I hated the entitled rich kids and their entitled rich parents. I hated the shallow snobbery and the constant repeat of boring phrases, which - to be fair- is how many adolescents talk, but for the sake of my eyeballs, couldn’t the author have varied the dull, teenage ennui mask even a LITTLE bit?
It was like reliving my freshman year in college, with even meaner hazing games.
The murders were uneventful and pointless.
The characters even more so.
I can’t believe I spent two days reading these books.
August 28, 2024
Read if you're in the mood for: adventurous, mysterious, tense, & medium-pacedPlot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Book Rating 2.5 stars
Well, I didn't enjoy it more than the previous book, and I don't think I'll continue the series. Liden was more present in this book and Holiday took a backseat, and was almost non-existent at points, and the book suffered for it. Liden by himself is kind of a jackass in this book, but he does at least get called out for it.
I didn't see the murderer coming, I was clueless on that front. However, the unlikable cast of characters made it hard to enjoy. Plus an unnecessary romance, which is a pet peeve of mine in mystery thrillers.
Narrator Rating: 3.0 stars
This is a hard one to rate, while he did a good job on the tonal changes, he also made Linden sound like a douchey sports-bro, which I guess he kinda is. It made it harder to enjoy the book.
Content Warnings
Non-Plot-Related spoiler note on a content warning!
September 3, 2024
This book felt like it was written by ChatGPT or the like. It was painful.
August 14, 2024
I know they’re all 18, but the amount of times these “Harvard” students say something is “weird” was painful - much like all of the dialogue in this book.
May 22, 2024
I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley and after noticing it was #2 in the series, I picked up Liar’s Beach. I read Liar’s beach and found it exciting and couldn’t wait to get into Hemlock House as a continuation of Linden & Holiday’s investigating. However, this book could have been a standalone with how little it had to do with Liar’s Beach. I mean Linden & Holiday were still in it, and we got to meet the infamous Greer and learn what really happened in Linden’s accident that was alluded to over and over in the first book but never discussed.
I enjoyed the friendship that bloomed more between Holiday & Linden and I liked that we finally got to know how Linden hurt his ankle and what caused the crash but that’s where the redeeming qualities end.
The ending was really unbelievable - that the three suitemates just accepted that Greer killed her roomie and then “okay we’ll talk to the police- the end”???? It didn’t seem like all the things we were building up to and the issues everyone was having were solved but it also didn’t leave me wanting to know more about Linden and Holiday.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed the friendship that bloomed more between Holiday & Linden and I liked that we finally got to know how Linden hurt his ankle and what caused the crash but that’s where the redeeming qualities end.
The ending was really unbelievable - that the three suitemates just accepted that Greer killed her roomie and then “okay we’ll talk to the police- the end”???? It didn’t seem like all the things we were building up to and the issues everyone was having were solved but it also didn’t leave me wanting to know more about Linden and Holiday.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2024
Book Title: Hemlock House; A Liar’s Beach Novel
Series: Liars Beach #2
Author: Katie Cotugno
Publisher: Random House Children’s ~ Delacorte Press
Genre: Teen/YA
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 240
Although I did not read the first in this series, I did check the blurb on it
A fresh new take on Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery The Mysterious Affair at Styles , with iconic detective Hercule Poirot recast as a brilliant, brash teen girl named Holiday, and narrated by her childhood friend Linden, an athlete-scholar who fits right in at his elite New England prep school—all the while hiding some secrets of his own.
This story picks up a year after Holiday Proctor and Michael Linden solved a headline-making murder on Martha’s Vineyard, Linden is ready to start over as a freshman at Harvard—and, Holiday is at Emerson College where she is working on her BFA in musical theater (Emerson is locsted across the river in Boston.)
Linden connects with his high school girlfriend, Greer. But just as things start to heat up between them, a friend is found dead in Greer’s dorm, Hemlock House.
I do enjoy stories set in an academic atmosphere so was sure I would like this. True not a fan of Greer’s f-bombs but teens will be teens.
Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Children’s~ Delacorte Press for this early eGalley!
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 13, 2024
Series: Liars Beach #2
Author: Katie Cotugno
Publisher: Random House Children’s ~ Delacorte Press
Genre: Teen/YA
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 240
Although I did not read the first in this series, I did check the blurb on it
A fresh new take on Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery The Mysterious Affair at Styles , with iconic detective Hercule Poirot recast as a brilliant, brash teen girl named Holiday, and narrated by her childhood friend Linden, an athlete-scholar who fits right in at his elite New England prep school—all the while hiding some secrets of his own.
This story picks up a year after Holiday Proctor and Michael Linden solved a headline-making murder on Martha’s Vineyard, Linden is ready to start over as a freshman at Harvard—and, Holiday is at Emerson College where she is working on her BFA in musical theater (Emerson is locsted across the river in Boston.)
Linden connects with his high school girlfriend, Greer. But just as things start to heat up between them, a friend is found dead in Greer’s dorm, Hemlock House.
I do enjoy stories set in an academic atmosphere so was sure I would like this. True not a fan of Greer’s f-bombs but teens will be teens.
Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Children’s~ Delacorte Press for this early eGalley!
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 13, 2024
August 18, 2024
Again a retelling of an Agatha Christie novel, this time "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" as a smart, YA approach. I loved Liar's Beach, and if anything I liked this book more, because it allowed for a greater exploration of characters. It was a smart, intriguing mystery that had enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning. This book continues to explore Linden's relationships and fills in some missing gaps from the last book, while allowing for an exploration of other ones. And while there's some tension between the protagonists it's written in a way that's authentic not in a "the editors say we need to make this 17% more unrequited"kind of way. It's a thing, but it's not THE thing, and ultimately enhances not detracts from the story. Finally and as an aside, as I read this in mid August, the author's descriptions of Boston in Autumn make me so excited for hoodie, apple cider and crunch leaf season.
August 22, 2024
3.25 stars
Overall kinda cozy and low stakes feel. Can’t remember what happened in LIARS BEACH, so was a bit lost during those references. DO NOT ship Greer and Michael, definitely a Holiday and Michael shipper. Gotta love a childhood friends to strangers to reconnected besties and detectives to maybe something more(?).
Love Holiday as a character. Would love to get her POV. Much more of a compelling character.
Found Greer to be whiny and kinda made Michael work for her affection for no real reason other than because she can.
Michael seems to be just bumbling and mumbling his way through. Wanted more character growth earlier than when it happened.
Wanted a bigger finale. More drama. More hysterics. Kinda felt like the story fell flat in that aspect. Wasn’t as compelling and intense as I would like from a murder mystery. Honestly thought it was one of the suitemates, just was completely off base about which one it actually was.
Overall kinda cozy and low stakes feel. Can’t remember what happened in LIARS BEACH, so was a bit lost during those references. DO NOT ship Greer and Michael, definitely a Holiday and Michael shipper. Gotta love a childhood friends to strangers to reconnected besties and detectives to maybe something more(?).
Love Holiday as a character. Would love to get her POV. Much more of a compelling character.
Found Greer to be whiny and kinda made Michael work for her affection for no real reason other than because she can.
Michael seems to be just bumbling and mumbling his way through. Wanted more character growth earlier than when it happened.
Wanted a bigger finale. More drama. More hysterics. Kinda felt like the story fell flat in that aspect. Wasn’t as compelling and intense as I would like from a murder mystery. Honestly thought it was one of the suitemates, just was completely off base about which one it actually was.
August 25, 2024
Returning to two characters first introduced in Liar's Beach--childhood friends Michael Linden and Holiday Proctor--this mystery set at prestigious Harvard highlights the lengths some individuals will go to make the grade, often sacrificing the best in themselves and destroying others in the process. The writing is snappy, and some of the characters are untrustworthy, leading readers to point the finger of suspicion for the death of Bri, roommate of Greer, Linden's former and future girlfriend. The author plants subtle clues about what's going on, but they are easy to miss when distracted by other aspects of the story. While this one might not be as pleasing as its predecessor, it still provides a good read as well as contemplative passages about class privilege and fitting in. This one is a fast read too.
February 15, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
Overall, I enjoyed the story! It took me a little bit longer to get into this one than Liar's Beach, and while I enjoyed Liar's Beach more, this was a good sequel. I thought the ending was a little rushed and would have liked to seen it more fleshed out. I didn't feel like the ending made a whole bunch of sense either. I understood the motive and how it happened, but I didn't quite understand the friend group just easily accepting what happened and forgiving Greer pretty much immediately. I also kept thinking that Holiday and Linden were going to get together and am hoping that they do finally get together if there's a third book.
Overall, I enjoyed the story! It took me a little bit longer to get into this one than Liar's Beach, and while I enjoyed Liar's Beach more, this was a good sequel. I thought the ending was a little rushed and would have liked to seen it more fleshed out. I didn't feel like the ending made a whole bunch of sense either. I understood the motive and how it happened, but I didn't quite understand the friend group just easily accepting what happened and forgiving Greer pretty much immediately. I also kept thinking that Holiday and Linden were going to get together and am hoping that they do finally get together if there's a third book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2024
I liked this book a little bit better than Liar’s Beach. The characters got a little bit more fleshed out in this story than they did last time, which I truly appreciated. I still love Holiday. Once again, she comes off as knowing what she wants. I also appreciated her being able to stand up to Michael and call him out on his behaviors. If only other young adults could be so assured to do the same thing when they feel like a friendship is one sided. Overall though the reveal was a bit one noted. I like where this book could go. I just still think I want a bit more from this series.
Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.
Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.
January 7, 2024
As an adult reading this, I found some of the plot obvious. I believe though a teen or tween reading this would be invested and perhaps not figure it out as quickly. The motive was a mystery until the end and I absolutely loved Holiday, she is by far the best character. Michael was okay, but is nota great detective and would be on a heap of trouble without his best friend.
August 31, 2024
⭐⭐⭐
"My trains, In this analogy being you?"
Okaaaay Michael...I see youuu
i fucking hate Greer with my entire fucking heart and im so damn proud to say i've hated this bitch ever since she was mentioned in Liar's Beach.
i ship Michael and Holiday like fucking crazy because they're so fucking cute together but... Michael is honestly a douchebag who doesn't really deserve someone as great as Holiday.
murder mystery was mid, I was more focused on the romance...*ahem* don't judge.
the romance was actually giving me augustine, betty and james vibes, which i wasn't complaining about...Liar's beach is also TLGAD coded so theres that 🤭🤭
"My trains, In this analogy being you?"
Okaaaay Michael...I see youuu
i fucking hate Greer with my entire fucking heart and im so damn proud to say i've hated this bitch ever since she was mentioned in Liar's Beach.
i ship Michael and Holiday like fucking crazy because they're so fucking cute together but... Michael is honestly a douchebag who doesn't really deserve someone as great as Holiday.
murder mystery was mid, I was more focused on the romance...*ahem* don't judge.
the romance was actually giving me augustine, betty and james vibes, which i wasn't complaining about...Liar's beach is also TLGAD coded so theres that 🤭🤭
September 24, 2024
The author realllllly likes using similes to remind you that this book is set in Boston, which made me either laugh or roll my eyes every time as a (former) Bostonian myself
I've heard good things about the first book in the Liar's Beach universe so I will definitely go back and read it, I was able to get this audiobook right away for a road trip. The characters were not my favorites so it was difficult to get invested in them, but the story wasn't bad overall. The conclusion did feel very abrupt, though.
I've heard good things about the first book in the Liar's Beach universe so I will definitely go back and read it, I was able to get this audiobook right away for a road trip. The characters were not my favorites so it was difficult to get invested in them, but the story wasn't bad overall. The conclusion did feel very abrupt, though.
December 16, 2023
A fun sequel to the first book we are back with Holiday and Linden in their first year of college. However, between classes and imposter syndrome they are caught up in a murder investigation again as Linden’s High School girlfriend Greer roommate does and they are drawn into the investigation! I do feel like the ending came too fast and ended a bit too cleanly but it barely mattered since the journey to get there was so engaging! Can’t wait to
Bring this into my classroom!
Bring this into my classroom!
May 24, 2024
Definitely will not disappoint. The struggles of colleges, mixed with the fun of college, mixed with the craziness of regular life all bundled nicely together.
Michael seems to be right in the thick of everything, which makes this even more fun. The romance isn’t too heavy, but the litany of problems they encounter is just right.
Only complaint, which would be more of a question, is how did he afford all the things (coffees, dinners, etc) when he didn’t have a job or rich entitlement?
Michael seems to be right in the thick of everything, which makes this even more fun. The romance isn’t too heavy, but the litany of problems they encounter is just right.
Only complaint, which would be more of a question, is how did he afford all the things (coffees, dinners, etc) when he didn’t have a job or rich entitlement?
August 26, 2024
Sequel to my $5 book, is a very $5 book. It isn't bad; a quick murder mystery with a great twist, and a well established ending. This story is told from the perspective of a guy in college, and I fear Katie Cotugno writes that well.
His inner monologue including frat-esque hazing and attraction towards women that makes you hope he doesn't date your daughter, Linden more or less figures it out in the end.
For $5? I'd read a third book.
His inner monologue including frat-esque hazing and attraction towards women that makes you hope he doesn't date your daughter, Linden more or less figures it out in the end.
For $5? I'd read a third book.
December 27, 2023
Holiday and Linden from Liar’s Beach are back and quickly get caught up in trying to solve another crime. Linden is now a student at Harvard, Holiday is at BU. There are some laugh at loud moments in this novel. It is fun to relive some college experiences with this group. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.
May 11, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.
This book certainly kept me entertained and interested to read its predecessor. My only quibble is that the entire book was told from Lincoln's point of view, making him the main character, but it ends up being Holiday who solves the whole thing, so the end of the book felt like a bit of a letdown.
This book certainly kept me entertained and interested to read its predecessor. My only quibble is that the entire book was told from Lincoln's point of view, making him the main character, but it ends up being Holiday who solves the whole thing, so the end of the book felt like a bit of a letdown.
August 21, 2024
I enjoyed The Hemlock House more than its predecessor. The characters, particularly Holiday, were more developed and engaging. Holiday's assertiveness was refreshing, especially in contrast to Linden's self-conscious nature. While the reveal was predictable, the overall plot was enjoyable. I hope to see further character development and a more complex mystery in future installments.
September 24, 2024
Once again, I wish Goodreads would let you give half and 1/4 stars because I would love to give us 3 1/2 stars. It’s a very entertaining young adult thriller for older teens to college kids. I understand it’s part of a series, this one being the second in the series. I thought the reader did an outstanding job on the audio.
December 20, 2023
Another very enjoyable read from Katie Cotugno! Linden is so three-dimensional and fallible, I once again enjoyed my time with him, in his story, even if he makes me shake my head in exasperation at times. The scenes with him and Holiday always pop.
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