This was my luckiest reading month yet. Two five star reads in the same volume. One book I donated the second I finished it. And a Freida McFadden read where not a single character is likeable and somehow that made it impossible to put down.

Volume 5 is ranked from least to most recommended so you know exactly where to start and exactly what to skip.

Starting at the bottom: Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah at 3 stars. Devastating premise. Disappointing execution. I donated it after finishing and would not recommend it based on my experience.

Working up: The Divorce by Freida McFadden at 4 stars. Unhinged characters, chaos from start to finish, and a Freida twist that delivers. Nobody in this book is likeable and that is exactly why it works.

Then: Ward D by Freida McFadden at 4.5 stars. A psych ward, a power outage, a narrator you cannot trust, and a premise that deserves a screen adaptation immediately.

And your two five star reads at the top: The Only One Left by Riley Sager and Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney. Both earned it. Both will stay with you.

New episodes every Tuesday. The Unfiltered Bookshelf drops the first Tuesday of every month on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and everywhere you listen.

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