Customer Comments

It is funny how usually the worst monsters in a book end up being human, especially when they are trying to stave off death or looking for immortality. I would call this a slow burn horror with the insidious of it slowly creeping up behind and you can feel the wrongness but don't know when it will hit you. Riccardo was abandoned by his family at a young age, struggling to make ends meet and he is a good character so you feel for him when he arrives back at his grandmothers house in Milan and something is not right. I told him to run so many times as I listened to this audiobook but I was also fascinated by the journal he found that Perihan left for him. So, it goes between the past (via the journal) and the present, weaving together I tale of magic and horror. This was a fun book to listen to and the ending was not what I expected and left it with just the right touch. The narrators did a great job in making the characters of Riccardo and Perihan come alive and twist the story to darkness. Nicely creepy! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook!

Wow! This was an unsettling and insidious quick read with chapters that flew by as I read and learned the stories of Wally, Hank, Catherine, and Victoria. It unravels quickly in this little town where everything is too perfect and all the neighbors are friendly and nothing ever changes. But then something does and that kept me hooked in reading this to find out the truth. Very like the Truman Show, though with a twist that make me think about what makes a person who they are? Are we the sum of our memories or something more? And would you change yourself if given the chance? So, loved this story and zipped right through it! It definitely makes me want to see what other books this author has written.

There seems to always be a fascination mixed with hatred for the rich prep boys who think they are above everything. That is true for this book as well. Marin/Jamie is on the hunt for the killer who murdered her cousin Sam. This book did not go as I expected. Which I am glad for. I was worried that it would be typical, girl falls for bad boy (two in this book, Henry and Adrian) and dives into the darkness, becoming unraveled and losing herself in her search for justice. It took that and twisted it much farther and while I got a bit bored and confused in the middle with Marin jumping from one boy to the next, it got really dark and really fulfilled the title, but not in the way I expected. Very morally grey characters (except maybe Baz) and a nice touch of the paranormal but also tragedy. The narrator did a good job of voicing Marin and really brought her character and this academy world to life. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook.

Well, this was a meandering tale that seemed all over the place, trying to weave in the story of Eliza and Mary long ago, sisters with a special secret that they come to realize as they are shipped to Australia for a crime they committed and the story of Lucy and Jess in modern times with their own secret history that they must come to terms with in order find their places. There is just too much with things like sleepwalking, and dreams that seem like ancestral memories and that all gets pushed to the side for a neat little ending that was a bit disappointing. So, it did have promise and I did enjoy part of it but it seemed too long with Lucy's introspective thoughts. I think if I had read this, I would have not finished it but the audiobook was well done and the narrator did a good job with the material she had. She had a soothing voice and did the different accents very well and she is the reason why I stuck with this book to the end. So, the narrator did a 5 star job and the book was 3 1/2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook.

Creepy beach ruins, a curse saying whoever trespasses there will die by the hands of the ghost of a mother who killed her son, and multiple deaths that occurred there? I definitely would not want to visit, especially at night, but I can see how it would become a high school senior tradition, a rite of passage. This novel was wonderfully creepy and I could really feel the spooky vibes in the ruins and also the suspense as the group of teens races to uncover the truth before the killer or ghost strikes again. Lots of red herrings and twists that kept me guessing and it was nice to not know if it was a ghost, a mad sister, someone or something else. And though I got a little annoyed by how people treated Eden for her father's actions and how she built a high wall, her interactions with Caleb were cute (once everything was cleared up between them). The author did a good job of making the stakes high, with being unafraid of killing people off, or having them be injured. It wrapped up nicely too with a climax of blood and diabolical reasons, plus that extra last bit was totally unexpected but good. The book was a good, spooky read and I am glad I got the chance to read it.

This book starts out with a very slow creepy feeling about something very wrong with this mysterious woman and what she is doing to people, leaving a trail of odd corpses and bewildered friends and family behind her. Going back and forth between the interviews that Jake is collecting to learn more about this mysterious woman, and her own story as she searches for her next victims really drew me in. Sadly, the lack of quotation marks for any of the speaking part kind of was confusing sometimes trying to figure out who was speaking and if it was a thought or said out loud. It made the middle drag a bit. But it picked back up when we got to the Sculpter's story with her interactions with E. and I sped through the rest of the book. The explanation for why E. was like how she was also was interesting...and creepy. And with that ending which shocked me and was unsettling for what it meant, it redeemed the middle part and made for a good story. So, this was a slow horror and very unsettling good story. I would say just fix the speaking parts by adding the correct punctuation marks. Still good though.

Yet again Steven is in trouble and Finlay is doing her best to prove he is innocent. Kinda tired of Steven, but at least this time we get to really know a wonderfully great character...Mrs. Haggerty! Boy does she have a past and is so colorful, whether she is demanding to be driven to her book club (bringing special brownies!) or home school teaching Delia and potty training Zach. And that is all because she is living with Finlay while her home recovers from the police search and water leaks (which uncovered that mysterious body). I love Mrs. Haggerty and her interactions with everyone, including Cam with his new dog. It is great to see Cam again and see what he is up to. So, because of the great Mrs. Haggerty, this was another fun book to read in the series which I am assuming will include at least one more book after that ending! It will be good to see what happened with Vero at college and the missing money that she did not take but was blamed for anyways.

I would like to have a cup of that hot chocolate! This is a sweet book about discovering yourself (even if it is by an accidental mistake of bakery names that leads you to a small town instead of Paris) but still remembering the past and how it shaped you. Edie is the main character but the other characters in the book have their own journeys as well, Hugo being one (shadowed by his brother and pushed into someone he doesn't want to be by his father) but also Madame Moreau who has her own fascinating history and story to tell. This was a sweet story that had a cute ending and was a nice little fluffy read that left me with a good feeling, and a hunger for some baked goods like those cupcakes that Edith made, or maybe a chocolate croissant! So, I would call this a fun light read (even with the darker world war bits) and while the romance between Edith and Hugo was a bit quick, it was still cute, though at 29, Edith is not what I would call old! She has plenty of time to realize her dreams. Sing it girl! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

The stakes keep getting higher and higher but thanks to a special cookbook and some stalwart allies and friends, Carl and Donut keep on trucking! Dinosaurs (including some that Mongo can make friends with!), lawyers (who ends up being quite helpful surprisingly), hunters (mostly awful but some are complicated), and even a crawlcon (complete with appearances from some Princess Posse fans) are littered on this level keeping the excitement (and gore) to the extreme. Yes, there are sad things, especially since it is so easy to get attached to the various other crawlers and npcs as they come into contact with Carl and Donut. That is what makes this series so great and really hard to put down! It has the right balance of humor, carnage, feelings, and death defying antics (some of Carl's solutions to problems are downright crazy bananas!). So, yes, totally awesome even if that last bombshell at the end has my heart dropping for the next book but also really looking forward to it. And I am enjoying the extra added bits from behind the scenes at the Pineapple Cabaret! This series is great reading (and listening too) and beware, it is easy to get hooked! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this fantastically crazy book!

This book has a way of drawing the reader in, at least for me. I was intrigued with how the chapters all started with bits of the memoir that Karen, called the girlfriend of "the Bagman" a serial killer she helped put away 10 years ago and how it maybe was not quite all true. I had to keep reading to see if Karen was a liar (like so many people believed since she said she did not know that Aaron was the killer until the body count had risen so high) since she definitely was keeping secrets and rewriting history. I did think it was odd that she went back home and the police were perfectly fine with her seeing the crime scene of the latest victim and then go with them and Emelia, the one who got away from the Bagman, interviewing families of the victims and going to see Aaron in prison. But that did not stop me from consuming this because I just had to know! I did guess a bit but that was fine and I enjoyed the ending and how it was all explained. So, in summary, a fast paced book that was hard to put down and I enjoyed it.

It is kinda nice when earlier books get to have a chance to be rebranded and released for new readers to discover. I could tell these were dated but love is timeless, which is actually what these two stories are about. They are definitely more romance than thriller and pretty quick reads. In the first story, you have Shane and Mara reconnecting, Mara having believed that Shane died four years ago. I felt that Shane was a bit too forceful, especially since he was the one that stayed away so long and did not return until Mara's husband had died. He did not give Mara much choice and even if she loved him, it is not great to give her the ultimatum to go with him or he would take her child. Though I will say that Shane did have real love for his daughter, so that off set it a bit. I liked the second story much better with Becca and Brig and the racing horses. To me it seemed that Becca was taking more action and choices and seemed more equal with Brig. Plus, it was interesting to read about the horses and I was rooting for Gypsy Wind. Definitely a bit more thrilling with the scandal of Sentimental Lady. So this was a fun book to read and I enjoyed it.

First off, props to the creepiest cover I have seen for awhile! Very unsettling and that got me so excited to read this! And for the first part, it was all that I hoped for. Many creepy hints that something was wrong and it definitely seemed supernatural, especially with Mina and Sam searching that abandoned house and finding what they found. Plus Alice did a fantastic job of seeming off, and when the body count started rising, I had to keep reading to see what the truth was and if anyone was going to get out alive and sane. Sadly though the story took a sharp turn and fizzled into something that was not what I expected and also vaguely disappointing after all that build up. That was a real shame. So I rate this four stars for the first half and 2 stars for the ending (except for what Mina does at the very end which was kinda satisfying.)

This was a quick read with short chapters and two viewpoints that made the book go by pretty fast. Told via Amy (best friend to Sarah and found the bodies) and Liz (journalist for high school paper looking for her big break) who are thrown together provides a nice balance as they try to find out how Sarah and Ryan were murdered and by who. There are red herrings and twists sprinkled in between the comparisons of the haves/have nots and locals/outsiders (which is a common theme in Jessica Goodman's books) which kept the story flowing, though it did have a few slow spots. I had to keep reading though to figure out the mystery and that was a fun journey because I kinda knew, but got thrown a couple times. That makes it a good mystery. I did prefer Liz's viewpoint over Amy's though both had good parts. I found Amy a bit too up and down, and her devotion to Joseph irked me because it seemed extreme. But, I knew it was pretty accurate due to them being teens and all emotions. I definitely would not recommend Meadowbrook as a good boarding school though, very very lacking in oversight and to many people getting into trouble! Makes for a good story though.

This is a very interesting world. You have a city of glass (complete with a bubble top) in the middle of a desert, people divided by whether they can do magic or not, a girl with unknown powers, a wizard with immense powers willing to teach the girl, and someone trying to bring it all down and destroy everything. It sucked me right in and I really liked Naila and Haelius who are both struggling with power and finding their place and side in this time of unrest. The other character I liked was Larinne who is in a precarious position herself being a mage but also sympathetic to the "hollows" also living in the city and their needs. This book seemed to mostly building up for a strong second book but I enjoyed it and the slow reveals with how magic works, who Naila really is and what she is capable of. It was nicely intriguing and I can't wait for the next book to see if the city will survive, or even the world!

An entertaining quick read where all the characters are flamboyant and colorful which leads to many wild things and possibly supernatural? At least that is what Alastair and Diana have been hired to find out! The "Holy Terrors" are back to see if a circle of stones, famous for many previous disappearances and whispers of demons from another dimension visiting, is actually all its cracked up to be. A light read, a bit of spookiness, but not quite so many dead bodies this time around. Since Alastair and Diana are old hands at this now, there is lots of fun banter between the two, and you know they will always survive, be it something supernatural, or just plain human nastiness. I like this couple and this series is quite fun to read. I will happily read more, if Diana and Alastair find more cases or shows together!

I did enjoy this book from when Doreen freed Ambrose and they went to Scotland to break the curse up till the journals. Not a fan of the insta love between those to but I could deal with it (though it was kind of silly how he professed he undying love and was tortured for 300 years for loving another MacKinnon witch and then immediately had feelings for Doreen?). I actually loved reading more about the connection between Margo and Doreen. They were so strong together, making spells, and figuring out how to break the curse. I was good up till it got to the journals and then it got really convoluted about which curse needed to be broken, what the trials really were and how it related to Ada and the MacDonalds and MacKinnons with their fighting and eternal enmity. The magic and spells were cool though. So, I think because it reads like a book in a series (with so much history and backstory told through the journals though it is a standalone), it kind of lost something and so it was mostly good and I had to see how it ended, it lacked a certain something and I preferred other books she wrote better.

This book does a nice job of giving depth to the fae creature known as Jenny Greenteeth. Yes, she has a habit of pulling animals into her lake for lunch, and is not averse to human flesh (though it is not as yummy as a well rotted carp) but she also has feelings (including love for her own daughter), so when a witch is thrown in, there is a connection which leads to a quest to free the village from an evil interloper. I really liked Jenny, Temperance, and Brackus who make a great group as they seek help from the Fae King to destroy this evil. It is the common trope of quest for three objects to defeat the monster, finding friendship along the way and a place where you belong and still remaining true to yourself but that is still well done and makes for a cozy and heartwarming tale! So, it is a sweet story, with emotions, fun times, perilous danger, but ending in found family and love for all, be you human or monster!

We need more Vera Wongs around! I loved her in the first book when she solved the murder of the man in her tearoom and changed the lives of a lovely group of lost people. In this book, there is another murder, though not in Vera's tearoom but she is a pro now and yet again she gathers people and clues, feeding everyone delicious home cooked meals along the way. Vera does a very good job in getting to know so many different people, and finding out exactly what they need, often before they even relaize it was missing from their lives. This balances out the awful truths hiding below the surface that Vera needs to find, before it claims another victim. While the topic of the real reason Xander died is horrible, it was a good thing to bring up and get people to know. And it was done well in this book. So, if you loved this first book, this is a worthy sequel and you too will fall in love with Vera Wong, a sharp witted, canny, amateur sleuth who will get to the bottom of all cases, adopt those in need and feed everyone a good meal. It is a wonderful combination to connect all different types of people. And I wish Vera would adopt me too!

There is magic in words and this book is stock full of them! Yes, partially because the magic of this world (and other ones) is scriptomancy, but also because it was a vividly made world, so interesting and I think I wouldn't mind reading more set in this world/worlds! Maeve is searching for the truth about her father in this story. Was he the one that set the alder vine loose or was he framed? It was all nicely twisty, filled with magic letters, learning to travel between worlds, and even a bit of romance with the nicely snarky but super sweet and supporting Tristan! So many cute giggly moments! That was so much fun to read! And their first meeting is gloriously hilarious, soap and all (which kind of sets the tone for a good portion of their relationship!). It is a good balance for the darker parts (death of a world, someone trying to keep the truth hidden and willing to kill for it) so you can laugh and cry and be sucked into the story. There are lots of other interesting, supporting characters too and the story wouldn't be complete without the likes of Nan and Shay. I loved Hotel Magnifique and I can happily say that this book is just as good and will also be a keeper!

Diving back into the world of her previous books, dark but magical though that usually has a "red price" to work, another strong woman must fight to make her own path and future, and save the day. I do like the cameos of the return characters (though they have enough back story that it is not confusing if you haven't read the others, but you should, they are also great!) and Violet is an easy character to like and root for. And boy does she have a lot on her plate, having to travel north to shatter a prophecy before a dark power breaks through and destroys the lands not under the leech lords' sway. There are dark times for sure but Violet's upbringing made her well suited, though I like how despite the awful childhood she had, she is not broken, still capable of caring which you get to see with the love she finds and family she makes along the way. It makes for a fun story watching her use her fantastic fighting skills but also her skill in uncovering secrets to bring down the big bad guy. I did like all the history of how the leech lords came to be and the journals it was written in. I wish it could have been longer, especially since the big climax/showdown seemed a bit lackluster, though still interesting of why it was happening. But all in all it was a good book, thrilling story, and I loved being able to go back to this world one more time.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It had the nice twist, chapters that ended in a way that had me keep reading long past the time I was going to stop and I loved how much Cam loved books, how she read them to escape the world she was in. I she definitely needed it after that awful day seven years ago when her husband shot two guys and ran, leaving her and their daughter behind to deal with the effects. It was so easy to relate with Cam and her books, that part especially resonated with me. And I really liked how it ended up tying into the story. I don't want to give too much away since that is the fun of reading this type of thriller but it was well done and nicely unexpected. Between Cam's and Niall's viewpoints and how they interconnected but still were their own journeys made this a great book that went by really quick, had lots of turns and twists and was fun to read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book! Gillian McAllister is a great author for thrilling books and interesting twists.

Awesome book! Very dark but very well written. Sometimes so well written that I had to put the book down for a minute because I could see the horror so vividly and it scared me, especially as I learned more and more about the "Great Silence" that was coming to pass and affecting the great Sovan Empire! Told from three viewpoints, that of Peter, Renata, and Von Oldenburg, you get three different types of people struggling to survive the chaos and horror being unleashed, some wanting to find the solution to this mess, and some looking for a way to profit off it, not really caring if it will make everything so much worse! Be warned, there is much blood and gore, extreme dark magicks, mind rot zombies, and death galore, both on the mortal plane and the afterlife! Lots of political intrigue and really cool cultures, like the Stygions and the wolfmen, as well the the might of the Sovan Empire though sadly it has fallen into the rut of keeping to on set of thinking, to the exclusion of all else, even if it might spell their doom unless they can open back up to magick and all that it can do. I really hope they can do so before it is too late! This book really sets up the world and story with a bang and while, yes, it is very dark, it still leaves a chance for hope at the end and I can't wait to see if the world and other planes can be saved from the Great Silence!

This cover is gorgeous and I was drawn in because of that and because it is written as letters between two people. Letter writing is a wonderful thing though sadly it is falling by the wayside nowadays. I have read a few books written this way and I find it enjoyable. And I did enjoy this story with its setting on some mystical water world set in the future, but also a bit of past, due to lost technology and reinvented items so that these people could survive in the depths of the oceans after a long ago great fall from the sky. With letters and communications between Sophy and Vyerin as they search to find out what happened to their siblings E. and Henerey, uncovering letters sent and received hinting at a long held secret relating to the Deep House where E. resided. Excitement but also comfy because of the letter format making it a meandering uncovering of the truth by grief ridden siblings and I enjoyed how the chance letter that E. sent to Henerey led to a sweet little friendship and then romance between two people so well suited to each other and how it will change the future, even after their disappearance. Really looking forward to seeing what the next book holds, after all that was found out by Sophy and Vyerin and I really hope that they can find E. and Henerey!

Well, the first part was straightforward and I was enjoying the conflict between Cassia and Zeru as they are forced together because of the ring and trying to figure out how to use it, it did get a bit convoluted midway through with new conflicts between the Ancients and what they wanted at the cost of everyone else. It threw me with the added new revelations and plots, all to get the Solis Gemma ring and use its power for destruction (though that is not what it was originally created to do and I am glad Cassia finds that out!). While it is pretty good from Cassia's point of view, I think it would have been fascinating from Zeru's point of view, especially with the changes that happen. But, bonus points for the fox spirit Voz who showed up. It was totally awesome cool. And I love Cassia's sisters who stuck with her no matter what their awful father decreed. And of the three places explored so far, I would definitely want to go to Welkincaster. That place sounds wonderful, at least after Cassia and Zeru visit. As this is the first book in a series, I guess all the extra was a build up to expand the world more later so all in all this was an enjoyable read and I would like to see what happens next! And I think it would be so cool if the next book was from the viewpoint of Zeru. It would be a nice counterpoint to the first book.

It was fun to return to the town of Caball Hollow! This time it is the viewpoint of the almost perpetually angry Rowan (due to being able to tell when anyone lies, which is completely understandable). Things are still not quite right though with memories and valued objects going missing, changing people and we get to see Hadrian again (still dark brooding and handsome)! He and Rowan are the ones to solve the mystery this time (though Rowan's sister always have her back too). You get more town history and how it relates to the Bone Tree. I like getting more details about that, which is fascinating, though also quite dark for how it was made. Lots of excitement, a few bodies, and a comatose young man added to the mix and the stakes are just as high as the first book, especially with nosey YouTubers looking for the Moth Winged Man and ginseng poachers stripping the national forest for a quick fortune and destroying the delicate balance. This is a fun next book and I really hope there will be more, especially after that ending!

Masterly weaving two tales, The Little Mermaid and Cinderella, into a new fascinating story about a strong character finding out the truth of her past so that she can make the future she wants! I absolutely love Lucinde who is sweet, loves her family, helps others (including one handsome smuggler) but still wishes for the freedom of the sea for some mysterious reason. The parts that are reminiscent of Cinderella are softened (like she loves her sisters and they love her too, though they still fight like sisters do normally) though she does still get to go to the ball, helped by the mysterious tide woman. The Little Mermaid bits are the darker, feet damaged and ache when she is on land, and rescuing a shipwrecked young man. But then the story heads off into lands unknown with the fae leaving, storm stones, being at war with the English, and the mystery of how her father found Lucinde so long ago. There are very dark bits (especially with a certain awful man who deserves the worst fate ever for what he does!), but they are balanced by the strong relationships between the characters (like Samuel, and Luce's sisters) and a touch of hope for Luce when she finds out the truth and comes into her powers. Yes, there is fantasy but this book is also nicely layered with historical fiction, making it really come to life. Such a wonderful novel! And it works really well as an audiobook too with the narrator giving depth and life to all the characters.

The phrase "lifestyles of the rich and the famous, they're always complaining" kept popping into my head as I read this book. The title is well suited, as you read and see how the Lingates are like vipers, willing to bite and kill to keep their power/money/lifestyle. It is a kind of slow burn thriller with lots of twists as secrets and lies come to light on this week on Capri (as well as a dead body or two). The characters are nicely real, though not really easy to like, even Helen who, with Lorna's help tries to find out the truth about the death of her mother and extract herself from the grasp of her family so that she can live her own life, away from the dark shadows of the past. Though I do like her, and a bit Lorna as they are not quite as rotten to the core. This book, shows well, what lengths anyone could go to for riches and freedom. Told in mostly three views (Lorna, Helen, and Sara), weaving the past and the present, so that the reader gets the whole story. I did not expect that twists but it added to the story nicely and really made the case that the Lingates were a pit of vipers, willing to do anything to stay on top with the power. I did enjoy this novel and I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this!

Wow, what a well written suspenseful story! The author does a great job in making the narrator, Jane, seem unreliable, or maybe not as things happen that she cannot prove, ever since the killer she saw, Curtis Murk, was released from prison. Is it really him making Jane look like an out of control alcoholic, sometimes taking pills and wreaking havoc in her house, hearing screams that no one else can and seeing suspicious objects that disappear when she tries to show them to someone else or is it all in her head? Very well done and nice twist that I did not expect! Very hard to put down as it got more and more exciting and tense with each chapter, feeling Jane's helplessness as her family pulls away, her neighbor become untrustworthy (or maybe not) and she unravels as she tries to find her way out of this mess that started so long ago after she witnessed the murder. The ending has a nice shiver and is nicely unsettling! Love this book and author and had a lot of fun reading it!

This book gave me so many conflicted emotions! Mostly from three viewpoints, one immune, one bent on finding a vaccine for the virus, and one willing to spread the virus to everyone to give them the chance to feel "happiness". I liked seeing it from three different views so you could see both the good of the virus (no selfishness/willing to help everyone), the bad side effect (putting others above yourself even if it kills you), the selfishness /self preservation of the those who hadn't gotten sick and how it all effected the world. And then the third view (Mariel) which is in the middle, seeing the good of both and the bad. Though I think that I would not want to be unable to feel regret and sadness, because that is part of humanity. And I got annoyed at the leaders of the "embraced" who were exactly like cults though Morgan's hatred of the recoverees was also not fun to read about and her solution had issues too. I did love Dame Glynis Havilland though. Her character was amazing both before and after catching Crown Royale! A good book bringing up the humanity of people, freewill, happiness being forced on people along with a suppression of self over the greater good versus being "miserable" and selfish. It really makes you think about what the good choice would be.

Reading this during a couple of chilly days really made this story feel real and I was sucked into the town of Haven's Rock as a storm hits, women are being attacked and going missing, and Casey is coming up on her due date which has its own joys and fears. Haven's Rock may be small and hidden in the Yukon but so many things continue to happen, which is understandable when the residents are on the run and need protection. I love the duo of Casey and Eric, they work so well together and it is easy to see how strongly they love each other. The other long term residents, like Gunnar, Kendra, Yolanda, Will, and April who make up the core and help solve these cases are also mostly easy to like and I keep holding my breath so that nothing bad happens to them. So, this is another great book in the Haven's Rock series, full of twists, thrills, and so much cold weather! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to dive back into the town of Haven's Rock and have another thrilling read!

I think it would be kinda cool to be able to get glimpses of ten years in the future though it brings the question of fate or destiny and could you change it by different actions or are you making it come true because you saw it that way? Maddy is the lucky character in this novel with that extra glimpse and throughout the novel, made choices to get to that one future she liked though she did struggle with letting others know (even Priya who is the most awesome best friend) when it might affect them too. But I loved how she tried to make the best decisions and the sacrifices she made to direct the path to include her lovely possible future daughter. This is such a sweet and a little heartbreaking book full of mostly wonderful characters that are easy to love (like Oliver, and Maddy's brother and family) with the exception of Charlotte though the future Maddy wanted had to include her. I do like how those glimpses also were able to prepare Maddy for what was to come so she could be strong and supportive and also find fulfillment in love, her career, and her life. So, this is a good book with likeable characters, a cool storyline and a very satisfying ending.

It is funny how a no entry/forbidden/danger sign actually does the opposite of what it is designed for, making it irresistible for people to try and see what is on the other side. It does provide many thrills, with an abandoned and decrepit hotel the next hot place for Maverick and his company, Extreme, to host an epic hide and seek contest with a million dollars as the prize for the last one found. Sounds exciting and also very sus! But it makes for a thrilling story with secrets, lies, dead bodies, criminals on the run, and survivors trying to put things back together. While a big chunk of the story is about Adele and her kids, you also get to see what Maverick and Angeline are going through too. I was a little disappointed that the hide and seek portion kinda got pushed to the sideline amid the storm, deception, corruption, and showdown but it was still exciting and suspenseful trying to decide who was going to survive that scary night and if human compassion could shine through all the darkness. So, lots of thrills, and a nicely spooky location to create a vivid background for all the action. I had fun reading it and found it hard to put down with all that happened so quickly. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

This is an entertaining book on the whimiscal question of what if the moon was made of cheese? In this case, it turns into cheese quite unexpectedly which makes everyone go wild with theories and actions. Each chapter is usually from the viewpoint of a different group and how they handle this strange development. You get some whacky stunts that I laughed so hard at, from billionaires racing to be the first to try this special "moon" cheese, to producers vetting new movie ideas (like "No Whey Home"). Those were a couple of my favorite chapters though there are loads more hilarious stunts! And of course it wouldn't be complete without the panic of a possible Fromaggedon! I also like how each chapter was a new phase of the moon, ending with the lunar eclipse. So, no this is not a deep thinking novel. It is supremely fun and what with each chapter being a different group, it was like reading a bunch of connected short stories. John Scalzi is my go to for his wonderfully written funny novels and this one is another winner! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this totally entertaining and crazy fun book!

What would you sacrifice for the chance to live your dream life? Ramona and Grace have longed to join the hit show In the Dollhouse and when given the chance, they jump at the opportunity provided to be admitted to the much vaunted Dollhouse Academy, known for making the greatest stars for show biz. This is both a fascinating look into the lives of people working to be stars yet also unsettling with all the secrets and mystery supplements the rising actors take to handle all the stress and work load of their jobs as they are broken down and remolded into their best versions. The creepy thing about it, besides the secret project and some of the medical bits, is that there is truth in it. The hard lives of child actors and contracts that can bind actors into a niche they can't get out of. The book did a great job of slowly revealing all the horror, both through Ivy's diary entries, and the path of Ramona and Grace as they rise in the ranks at the Dollhouse Academy. I really enjoyed all of it, except for the ending which kind of fizzled instead of going out with a bang. Despite that, it was fun to listen to and the narrators did a great job in bringing the novel and the characters to life. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook.

There is something so fascinating yet insidious when reading books with cults in them. The way that the leader, in this case Simon, can twist a person's thoughts and sense of self, melding them into the image they want for their followers. From the viewpoint of Winona for the before and snippets of Scarlett for after, Faith Gardner weaves a tragic and thrilling story of finding a place where Winona belongs after the death of her grandmother, meeting the magnetic Simon and the other women in a mystical house covered in mirrors. It is a compelling and fast read because it was so hard to put down and the chapters were perfect in getting me to think, just one more chapter. So, yes, a very well written thriller about a cult and all that leads to the final trust and whether Winona follows them to the end or creates her own ending. That little hope makes this great! Be prepared to read this one about one sitting though!

A trip to Atlantic City with Finlay and Vero, plus most of the rest of the gang to rescue Javi from the loan shark Marco and it is one wild road trip! Thankfully a few arcs from previous books are finally resolved (aka the Russian mob) and Finlay and Nick finally get a bit more together time! This one is definitely action packed, so it is great that Finlay doesn't have writer's block or need to write another ending, at least for a bit. Of course there are more dead bodies for Vero and Finlay to cover up, a car and boyfriend to locate and rescue, and a dirty cop to avoid along the way. I do admire how they can find themselves in a mess but manage to get out before getting caught. there is humor and silly situations as well as a bit of hot cop research, and getting to know Finlay's mother better. So, while a few arcs are finished in this book, I really am looking forward to the next one to see what Mrs. Haggerty has been up to!

It is enjoyable to read books that take place in other locations. Recently it seems, there are good ones that take place in Iceland, like this one. You can feel the cold and the isolation in the small towns that are featured. And different cultures and ways of thinking. It adds to the suspense of the novel as Agnes travels to Bifrost to find out the truth of whether the grandfather she loved killed his wife and daughter 40 years ago. Not only is this a thriller, murder mystery (both with the murder long ago and a missing woman in present times), it is a story of a young woman looking to find her roots and truth and what she wants in life after her terrible accident. I enjoyed traveling along with Agnes and could feel her pain and emotions very easily, struggling whether to end all the suffering, or find something worthwhile to hang on to. It coincided very well with the cold and snow and storms in the small town of Bifrost where secrets, lies, and hidden truths abide. This was a good book and went by quickly as I raced to find out all the secrets and missing Asa before more death happened.

This thriller has some very nice twists! The first part, going back and forth between Morgan's and Rosie's viewpoints with the real life interactions and supposedly anonymous DonorConnect messages really ramp up the suspense, and the creepy factor because something is definitely not right with their relationship. What with Rosie and how she tends to see things through her "Rosie tinted glasses" and how both Morgan and Rosie are keeping secrets about their pasts, it makes for a great twist halfway through, leaving the reader going "what!?" And after that is twist after twist and so many plausible suspects that I kept being blown away by each new revelation. This was a fun book to read with all the twists and unreliable narrators (because Rosie sure rewrites her past and loves her Rosie tinted glasses, plus Morgan is an author that writes his own versions, twisting reality to fit what he wants) and I had a good time with it.

A wonderful story of found family that turns misfits and outsiders into a strong unit that protects each other and are capable of anything. First off, I absolutely love Art! With her knowledge of wild west phrases (due to all the books she read) but still an innocence and ecstatic happiness when finding out new things (like bacon!) and her love for her father, Alex. All of that is not what Nate might have been expecting when he retreated to the cabin left to him, but it was precisely what he needed and what Alex and Artemis need too. This story would best be described as a cozy action book, an odd combination but it works very nicely. Sweet moments of discovery of each other, humorous situations, while being chased by shadowy government enforcers and finding a safe home make for a story that is hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this heartwarming and wonderful book!

While still very entertaining, not much progress seems to have been made in fixing Vero's issue of needing money to pay off the loan shark, and Finlay is stuck again with figuring out how to finish her second assassin book. But still much hilarious situations with people ending up dead and Finlay left trying to figure out how to dispose of them, all the while trying to figure out who Easy Clean is and how to get out from under Felik's thumb. At least it mixes up locations when Finlay and Vero sign up for police academy camp. Lots of hot cops in this one, including the wonderful Nick. He definitely is the better choice for Finlay, even if Julian is so sweet. Finlay is a very intriguing character and I do really like reading about her adventures though I definitely would not want to be her friend, since apparently she knows a lot of killers/criminals though she will do anything for her friends, even the occasional accidental murder!

Starting just after the first book ended, this one is chock full of the same humor, more complications (including the Russian mob again!), writer's block (though the new hijinks help in the end!), and of course another dead body landing in Finlay and Vero's car. I really love this series and am very ready for the next one! This is quite entertaining both as a novel and an audiobook. And on a side note, I really want to read the two new books that Finlay is writing!

This was an entertaining close look into history at a time when bodysnatching was needed for doctors to learn how to treat people and cure certain diseases and conditions and was quite the flourishing business in Edinburgh right when James travels there to study medicine. He was quite the intricately written character with so many side, from promising young doctor in training, looking to pay his own way after his family loses their fortune, to budding bodysnatcher, diving into the darker world of death and returning alive and knowing what he wants his future to be. Hence, the resurrectionist tie-in. I enjoyed most of the book, though sometimes the proper english felt a bit stilted, and while I loved the detail into the graveyard snatching, as well as the dissections and medical learnings, I was sad that the Burke and Hare part only was really in the last little bit of the book. I would not have minded more of that story. Though I really liked the relationship of James and Nye, which was a nice sweet touch to all the darkness. For a debut, it was well done and I did like this story.

This was a totally sweet little story with lots of feel goods and coziness! Caspia was dragged away from her friends for the summer when her family travels to Brooklyn for work (her dad) and many cooking classes (her mom) in preparation for writing a cookbook. Luckily Caspia finds a packet of letters that leads her on an adventure around the city, meeting new friends, and learning about cool plants! It has the right amount of sweetness with so many friendly people in flower and spice shops and at the botanical garden for Caspia to befriend. This book has a great message about finding friends and a place of belonging, no matter where you end up. And while Caspia is twelve (but almost thirteen), I think this story can be enjoyed by people of all ages. So, yes I do recommend this book for a quick bite of goodness and you might learn a few facts about certain plants (and the illustrations are beautiful!) along the way. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this sweet book!

Interesting magic system in this story. Dependent on the moon you are born under, with those being eclipse born, deemed usually dangerous and need to be watched in case of collapse. I admit that I kind of liked Baz's chapters better than Emory but their paths to find the truth about sister and friend, Romy after the Dovermere tragedy were cool, from secret societies looking to gain all the power, to hidden truths and lies about the past and I enjoyed the journey. Not really a fan of the love triangle, mostly because I had a feeling how it would turn out and I was right. Besides I knew which guy was definitely better for Emory. I also enjoyed the bits from the Song of the Drowned Gods, which were nicely tantalizing about the truth of magic, especially that of the Tidecallers, and how worlds are connected. It led up to a very exciting conclusion and now I really need to read the second book to find out what is going to happen with Baz and Emory and their friends, especially if the truth gets out!

I think that this novel was a fun bit of fluff. Entertaining and laugh out loud moments as Kaylen wakes up to find herself in a strange place after a "short" trip of three years that she had no idea about. It is an interesting mix of kinda science fiction heavily dosed with fairy tales and good looking guys (ahem Tanek!) that all find Kaylen fun, gorgeous and just the right woman to fix the issues that are happening on the planet, namely fairy tales going real, complete with the chopping of heels and toes to fit a glass slipper! Good thing Kaylen was working on a PhD in fairy tales! Also, I really enjoyed the parts with Kaylen and Sojee (he is awesome), and also Arit (love the sass!). And I really want a tabhor! So, yeah I would not call this heavy reading, definitely more escapist which is what I was in the mood for so I had fun reading this and I hope to get the chance to read the second book after that cliffhanger! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

What a delightful slice of small town Italian life! The town of Lazzarini Boscarino may not be doing well, but it does not stop the residents from living their lives and doing their best. So many color characters and multiple points of view from a tiny ant, to a truffle hunting dog, and on to the lively people of Lazzarini Boscarino. This was a joy to listen to and the narrator did a wonderful job of being it all to life! I could see the town quite clearly and feel what the characters were feeling, their joys and trials as the giant truffle changed everything with its arrival and though both good and bad things happened because of it, I still feel that this was a nicely cozy tale of a town brought together and surviving and thriving! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this advance copy of an audiobook. And again, props to the narrator for the wonderful job they did in bringing this book to life!

This was a great twisty thriller with shocks and turns galore! I do like the format of an investigative journalist being the main character, the one in this case being Oli, a journalist who had reported on the Housemate Homicide nine years ago but now dives back in when the missing housemate, Nicole turns up dead. There are lots of red herrings, twists, lies, and secrets to uncover to get to the bottom of the case, hopefully before anyone else ends up dead! Oli and Cooper were such a good duo in this book and they were good foils for the past of paper journalism and the future of podcasts. Sarah Bailey did a good job of making Oli feel very real, with smarts, feelings, confusion, and nicely likable because she is not perfect and she does make mistakes but tries her best. She was a great protagonist and fun to travel with while she deduces and digs up the past with tendrils to other cases too. I enjoyed reading this and a big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and reviews this novel!

Honestly, I wouldn't mind following Kyra, Mason, and Zoe while they just do regular chores because they are an absolutely fabulous trio! Zoe has the most interesting ideas, and talent for shenanigans, plus the best contacts into the wild and wierd and Mason is so caring and really good at patching people up and the voice of reason, and now that Kyra has her memories back, she is super powerful and can fully utilize her special connection with Daisy (totally awesome cat!). They are at the top of their game for the last book and it pulls no punches! Artec needs to go down, plus there also are other ghosts that need help. So much action, so much friendship and people that Kyra can rely on so she no longer needs to fight alone. Everything was ramped up, including an exploding ending and sweetness between Mason and Kyra! It is so wonderful and I enjoyed every minute, even as I knew it was going to be the last book in the series. So 5 stars and a crying face for the sadness that it is over. Love this whole series and highly recommend it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this wonderfully amazing book!

This was a haunting and bittersweet tale of a sister returning to a childhood home to find out more about her brother's death. You had a bit of supernatural with James being able to feel and see her brother with their special twin connection but the rest was realistic though the atmosphere was nicely creepy with the trees and gorge and area where it mostly takes place. It did a good job of playing on my emotions because not only is it Johnny's death but also coming back to old friends, former loves, and the tragedy that caused James to flee all those years ago. So, it did get a bit twisty and kept me reading to find out the truth. The truth about Johnny and his death, but also who he really was and what he kept from his sister and vice versa. This was a good, emotional read, and easy to keep going till you get to the end. Definitely some surprises and a good ending (though a bit sad).

I am a growing fan of these litRPG books! Each one I have read has had an interesting way that they enter into these "realms" of characters that may or may not be real (possibly computer creations) and a newbie that must learn to survive and get stronger by leveling up. Nick is quite the likable character who's soul/mind is sucked into a newly found artifact that was found on a dead world. I like that the real world stuff is a space station and how there is much excitement/danger occurring out there as well as in the land of Yensere (which has a scary black sun and on the edge of doomsday). This is a great flowing narrative which was hard to put down. It is not too stat heavy though it does show updates usually after a battle. The Cataloger is great, I love the misunderstandings and it adds a lightness when needed, also the sword. :) Nick also has his quips but takes his role seriously once he knows what the stakes are and with Frost to help and the addition of Violette, I can see that this is going to be a great series and I need the next book right now after that ending!

I went into this without looking at the summary so that I had no idea really of what the story was besides it being about two women (Jasmine and Stephanie) who get on the same flight and then something happens. So, all the twists were nicely surprising and as I went through the parts with the before flight, during the conference ((with all the different viewpoints of friends and coworkers to build the tension), after the flight and then the big reveal with the part during the flight I was blown away with the twists and did not expect the actions of certain characters, though I must say I am glad that certain nasty pieces of work got their just rewards. I felt a little more complicated on why certain things happened and felt sorry for what happened to a certain character. But it was a nicely twisty story and very hard to put down with the short chapters that hook you until you look at the time and realize that an hour has passed without notice. And the ending was very satisfactory! So I liked this story and was glad I got the chance to read it!

This was an exciting and tense thriller to listen to! All is not well between Nathan and Eve but the stakes are raised when their daughter Rosewyn is seemingingly taken one day while she is is being taken care of by Barbara (an older lady who has taken care of other children but has secrets of her own). This was an easy book to get sucked in as more and more things go wrong, secrets are revealed, and accidents, thefts, and even a murder happens. By the time everything was going on, the only person I trusted was Rosewyn! This thriller has all the good points, from Eve being a doctor at a psychiatric hospital, an ice storm during which an outage occurs, to creepy messages being left on a doll covered in blood. Very exciting and suspenseful and I enjoyed all of it! The three narrators did a great job in bringing the characters to life and it was easy to tell between them as well. I am very happy I got the chance to listen to this great story. Be warned, it is hard to put down cause you will be wondering what else is going to happen and whether the detective Rita will be able to solve it before more people end up dead or injured!

I must admit, I do enjoy the stories from Pixie Hollow and I have watched several of those movies and really liked them. So when I saw that one of my favorite authors (Allison Saft) was going to write a novel about Queen Clarion, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy for it would be a fun pleasure to read! And I was not wrong. :) Taking place before Queen Clarion was actually queen, this book still has the wonders of the Pixie Hollow I know, from tinker fairies like Petra and and scout fairies like Artemis who are both stalwart companions and good friends of Clarion. I love how this story brought Clarion to life, making her feel real, complete with feelings, doubts of her magic which isn't working right, and trying to figure out what kind of queen she wants to be. Then add in the gorgeously sweet Lord Milori, guardian of the Winter Wood and the Nightmares trapped within. His relationship with Clarion is so sweet and bittersweet and between that and them trying to figure out how to stop the Nightmares from destroying everything. It makes for a wonderful tale and I enjoyed every minute of reading it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

I am a sucker for bookstores and I think even the regular ones are magical. Taking place in dual times, this bookstore is extra special because it it really is magical and the key to unlocking the past is locating it again, with the journal that was hidden inside. Add in witches cursed to live time and again with a horrible guy hunting them down the whole time and I was sold on the book! I rooted for Dora to discover all the clues, even if the remembering was hard and I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if I did wish that it had a bit more on the bookstore and its own magic.

A well woven political technothriller! Plots within plots, a missing nuke, cool invisibility cloaks, dead scientists, mysterious numbered operatives and a general to lead them and a woman on the run trying to find out who and why someone would kill her husband and also her! It has shifting viewpoints throughout the book, so you get the bad guy's perspective (11 was a fun voice) and they are definitely really clever which adds to the tension of the story (always seeming one step ahead of those trying to stop the nuke from going off, and finding the cloaks) and then a few others, like Angie, or Adam, or one of the FBI/CIA analysts who is the person to rely on as she can see all the links in a steaming mess that the bad guys left. So, it was a good thriller, especially the last bit when it all comes to a head and I was on the edge of my seat and yelling at the good guys to put all the pieces together before it is too late.

This was a very interesting take on alien life on alien worlds compared to earth life style. The sheer bizarre differences between the strictly controlled Mandate way of life from which Arton and other dissenters/subversives are sent on a one way trip to Kiln which is teeming with symbiosis of everything makes for a cool thinking story that is hard to put down. Especially after the enlightening march back to the camp that Arton and the others take when their flier is destroyed out on an excursion. Tchaikovsky’s books I have come to realize are quite the psychological journey as well as a science fiction novel. A bit heavy at times but they do get you thinking in ways that might not naturally occur. This was a good read and well done!

Everyone lives under the same stars and everyone has the right to love and freedom of choice! Unfortunately there are people who would deny others those rights. And that is when you need to step up and light the match to bring about change. That is what this wonderful book is about! Told from three viewpoints at three pivotal times (World War 2, the Berlin Wall, and during the pandemic), Sophie, Jenny, and Miles learn that they can be that spark and even though it might be hard, even to costing everything, it is so vitally important to stand, even when others are just going with the flow. There are so many emotions and feels, danger, love, sacrifice, secrets, betrayal, that this story just flows along nonstop! This book has a great story, woven and connecting the three times and I loved it all, feeling the desperation in getting forgeries made to save the children, making music to defy the wall and all it stands for, and making sure justice is found for the ones trampled on and forgotten. Such a good message! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this amazing message of a story!

I loved meeting up with the great Ruby Vaughn again! Set not long after the last book, Ruby and Mr. Owen are back in Scotland for a seance that goes horribly wrong. Ruby may have doubts about the supernatural but she is up for some sleuthing, sneaking, and picking locks to get to the truth about it all before the wrong person ends up paying for the crimes. And when you add in the reappearance of the mystical Ruan, I knew they would get to the bottom of it all! They are such a great team and are certainly meant for each other no matter what the White Witch says! I do like how you get a more in depth knowledge of Mr. Owen in this book, and learn more about Ruby too with her awful issue in America and a bit more about her time as an ambulance driver in the war. Plus a nice and twisty mystery with mayhap a touch of the supernatural (no matter what Ruby says!) This is a wonderful book and series and I cannot wait for the next book to see what happens with Ruby and Ruan!

First off, I love the cover of this book! It drew me right to wanting to read this! Though it centered mostly on Suraya and Roshan as they go on the run after the big reveal of who Suraya really is (and that section is definitely romantasy!), I had a liking or several other characters, from Suraya's best friend Laleh, to Aran, Clem and Amma (the best cook ever!) and they really helped the story along. Conversely, it was very easy to hate the bad guys, Prince Javed and his mother mostly (no grey villains in this book!). This was a very interesting world, with the stars and how most of the magic was rooted out, except for jadu which can be imbued in things, or people. Plus how much unrest there was. It definitely needed Suraya to come and stir things up in this fast pace book and with her viewpoint but also an intriguing other voice popping up every now and then, it makes me quite eager for the next book to see what his place will be in the future of this world and how it will affect Suraya with her love for Roshan. The narrators did a good job in bringing this book to life and a big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook!

It was nice to continue on after the novel of The Camp and see what new things the characters are up to. In this one there is a special group of girls, pals from high school that called themselves The Sorority. Way back then, after pledging to kill Ethan for coming between them, he actually does die, leaving the question of whether they did it or not. Very good intriguing hook to draw the reader in. It worked for me and kept me reading as Mac delves into the past for an acquaintance to discover the truth before more dead bodies show up. Lots of tenseness and accidents that may or may not be accidents and twists and secrets that someone is willing to kill for. I also liked the updates with Jamie and Cooper and the baby on the way and how it weaves in for what I am assuming will be an exciting next book featuring Mary Jo. I am looking forward to that! Nancy Bush is a fun author to read and writes nicely thrilling stories that can be read alone or in connection with her other books.

While entertaining to listen to with the clashes between Shoogar and Lant against Purple in a "magic" versus science and tech showdown, you can definitely tell that this story is dated. This book would have made an excellent novella but after awhile it drags a bit, mostly because I kept getting annoyed at the way women are portrayed in this book (very demeaning and pretty much equaling them to brainless slaves only good for breeding). So, to break it down. I enjoyed the clashing between Purple and Shoogar, the very quick evolution of currency, mass production, and electricity to the society because Purple needed a way to get back to his mother ship (even if it brought downsides like theft). There are plenty of entertaining bits with that. I rate that part 4 stars. The parts with the women and their constant being degraded and not even having names, while still "loving" their husbands who beat them and hobble them was awful. Even with the uprising to get names and the astonishment that the women can do the same jobs (proving they have the brains) was not fun. I rate that a 1 star However, the narrator did a great job and he is not to blame for the story material. He was fun to listen to. So he gets 5 stars. That brings my total to about 3 and 1/2 stars for the book. It could have been excellent, except for the parts with the women.

Camden Gardner is a fascinating character in the way he thinks and solves twisty cases. He and the other members of the PAR Unit may be outcasts but they sure get the job done one way or another. As this is a first book and intro into this special group, it does a great job in introducing the important characters, fleshing them out as they are thrown into this case of a serial killer offing other serial killers (including one that everyone thought had died in a fire). I like that the members of the group (Cassie, Frank, Shooter and newbie Rich) are very distinct with their own strengths and weakness (no cookie cutter characters here!). It made for a very exciting read as Camden and the others race to solve the case before more people die. Nicely twisty and thrilling! This is the first book I have read by this author but you can be sure I will try his other ones, as well as wait eagerly for more books with Camden and the PAR Unit! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

The premise of this book drew me in immediately with the idea of a special type of losting fountain that is connected to everywhen and lost things end up in its waters, to be found sometimes by people lead there by guides (the winged islanders that protect the fountain) and change their course because of it. There is a dark side though and that is where the "strangers" that go to Mile's time come in. Plus a twisting, which brings in Sam (it is a tragic story, and I hate what had been done to him to make him the way he is!). Luckily we also have Ember (who also has a heartbreaking history but shines brighter for it) also traveling to the fountain. This is definitely a darker fantasy book, but it well written with well rounded characters (though sadly there is death for some) and it kept me interested in listening because I really wanted to find out what was happening with the fountain and the people who dwell on the island. And with the way it ended, I can see and hopefully look forward to another book in this same world! I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook as the narrator did a good job bringing the characters and feelings and world to life!

I did enjoy this story taking place in the early times of Finland complete with gods and goddesses fighting to survive as the Finnish people living there do the same. There is much danger, both from the wilds and priests from Sweden bringing word of the new god and making their case with violence against those still worshipping the old ways and gods. With a background like that, it really makes the story seem real. Focusing on Siiri and Aina, two young women with an unbreakable bond and who are willing to do anything to protect each other, I dived into it and really enjoyed both characters on their very different journeys (one to the North and the other dragged into Tuonela). Both are strong, but in different ways and with those strengths they find help in unexpected sources. With Aina's compassion and willingness to bear burdens to save others (even scary death goddesses), and Siiri's determination to never give up and always find a way (even to learning how to separate her soul to travel to Tuonela), it is a good adventure for those two who are soul bound and only complete with each other. As this is the first book in a duology, it does a good job in building up the world and getting it ready for what I am assuming is going to be a bang of a story in the second book. But this still was a fun book to listen to! The narrator did a great job in bringing the characters to life and it was easy to tell if it was Siiri or Aina's point of view.

I will say that if I ever fall in love with a guy who takes me to live with him in his mother's house that he is fixing up and it looks like this house in the book, with the siblings that Hugh has, I would hop back in my car and never go back! But that would not make for a suspenseful, twisty impossible to put down story like this book was. Told from the viewpoints of Iris and Ellory (after she leaves) it unwinds in a very surprising twist that left me gobsmacked but did a great job of answering questions I did not even know I had. And there are a few more twists, extra creepiness, uncertainty in who to trust, and secrets galore! It will leave you gasping and shouting at Iris to run! I am glad that she does have good friends to help her out with the nightmare that Iris and Ellory find themselves in (especially a shout out to Sloane!). And the ending is thoroughly satisfying in tying up all the loose ends from the past and present in bringing guilty or deserving of punishment their just desserts. A good, thrilling read that goes by quickly as it is really hard to put down! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

Kate Alice Marshall always does a great job of writing a thrilling, hard to put down story with a wild twist that you never see coming! Placing this novel at the private mountain resort of a wealthy family is a great location because I know in the mountains, it is hard to get cell phone reception and nowadays, that is one of the scariest things for the younger ultra connected generation. That aside, you get beautiful scenery that can turn deadly in an instance, especially in the middle of winter. It is a great setup for Theo and Connor and their trip up there to meet up with Connor's family after the new engagement. You get mostly polite and welcoming family members, but also secrets, threats, and mysterious "accidents" that will keep you glued to the page until the end! I will admit that I liked most of the family, which made it hard to decide who to trust about the truth that Theo didn't even know she would be looking for about her own past. Lots of twists, secrets, death, and suspense for the reader about who might or might not be leaving that mountain resort! So, a great book to read, especially in the middle of winter when it is snowing outside. It really adds to the story. :) Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

This was a thrilling murder mystery! It did remind me of Clue with how the invited writers had never met their host before heading off to his private island for a writer's retreat as they are all very successful writes (including the mysterious host) and also have some pretty dark secrets. Those secrets end up being the death of some and it gets all nice and twisty with the reader not being able to tell (at least not me!) who might be trustworthy as the body count rises! And while there are devious games being played, I did enjoy them and their creativity. Plans within plans and so many ulterior motives, plus a few taking advantage of the chaos to get their own brands of revenge make this story very hard to put down cause you can't guess what happens next! I do like Mila, who is the main narrator though it does switch it up to keep things interesting. Be sure to pay attention to the headings for which character is telling the story! And there are a couple other characters (I won't say who though) that you can pretty safely root for (though there are thieves and even a murderer on the island though not so surprising as people end up dead!) So, I great locked room clue thriller mystery with a bunch of mystery thriller writers as the victims! I enjoyed it and would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

While I am very sad that this is the last book in a wonderfully fun trilogy, this book does wrap things up very nicely with one last adventure for Emily and Wendell as they return to Faerie to reclaim Wendell's kingdom from his stepmother who definitely made a mess of it. Emily an d Wendell really complement each other, with Emily using her vast knowledge and cleverness to find a solution to all their problems and Wendell finding the magic, plus protecting Emily at all costs (even if it is a bit extreme sometimes). This is the book where they find out of they can make it work together in a new land also while trying to end the curse that is corrupting that land. Yes, there are heartbreaking bits, but also coziness and wonderous sights to find, as well the the always entertaining antics of Shadow and Orga who also are totally awesome! There are so many new fanciful and sometimes creepy beings to meet, Snowball and Poe returning and other characters from the previous books. I love the vengeful snails! Emily really shines in this book, despite being a mere mortal, and we have a cozy happy ending with much joy, though I really wish there were more books coming! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this wonderful book in a fantastic trilogy! Heather Fawcett is a great writer!

This was an interesting fairy tale. It weaved together both wonderous and dark things that came from the woods and brought up a good question about who the monsters are and who are the heroes, or whether there are heroes at all. Due to the actions of her mother (with her quest and meeting of a strange boy in the woods after being warned by her mother), Gemma ends up with a quest of her own, to both save her mom and find a special mirror. I really liked Gemma as a character. She is strong and determined and not put off by the strange things that happen when she enters the woods. There are many interesting characters like the woman in the tree, the wolf, and even the Slit witch (her history is fascinating!). It had dark bits more akin to Grimm fairytales and that worked well to balance the wonderous magic bits (like using a rib as a sword). I enjoyed reading this story and finding out what Gemma is capable of and how stories may not have the ending of what was dreamed, it can still be happy.

This was a good book that definitely has you questioning whether Stella somehow has become possessed by Blanka, her old babysitter who recently died, or if Charlotte is unraveling slowly due to the difficulties of her second pregnancy. There is much evidence for both options and that leads to a creepy crazy story that I had to keep reading, so I could find out which because otherwise it was going to drive me crazy! I did enjoy reading this, especially when we find out what is actually going on and why the characters are acting the way they are. Very explosive climax complete with the reason why Charlotte is spending the first part of the book talking to a doctor (to prove she can leave and protect Stella from some unknown danger) and being "trapped" in a wellness clinic. So, good thrilling book and I enjoyed reading it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to read and review.

This was a lovely little jaunt into the world of the Elemental Masters. While I prefer the excitement and high stakes of some of the other books in this series, this was pleasant and I would say quite cozy look into regency England. Amelia and Serena are perfectly lovely young women with quite modern views and it was fun to travel along with them as they arrived in England to set up house with their brother as they open a new arm of their father's business and possibly find a good match, as long as they meet all the points on Miss Amelia's list! Not much romance, but meeting lots of interesting characters, putting up with only a few prejudiced people and most of the book only had distant threats, easily put off by magic, or being prudent and planning ahead. I was a little disappointed that the big bad did not happen till the last fifteen minutes of the book and was also so easily resolved. That could have been so much better than a throw away comment in the middle that was the solution, as the hunts obliquely mentioned were quite interesting and could have been more to make it more thrilling like earlier books. So all in all a fun little read firmly in the cozy fantasy region. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

What a twisty ride this is! After losing his wife and everything else, Grady is given one last chance by his literary agent, Kitty, to stay at the cabin she inherited on the tiny island of Amberley and try to write another book. This ends up being both a dream come true and a nightmare, which fits in this book of opposites and I definitely had fun listening to this audiobook which not only had a couple of great narrators (speaking Grady and Abby's parts) but also really well done sound effects to heighten the surroundings like the sounds of waves, church bells, and telephones and walkie talkies. I loved how it added to the story. So, yeah, very twisty and not all is as it seems on the island or whether Grady is really experiencing the odd stuff or if he is an unreliable narrator. It was a very good unraveling and the only think I will says is I am glad that nothing happened to Columbo! That ending gave me shivers! I think it would be nice to visit the island though and see all the cool landmarks, but only during tourist season! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook and review it.

This book combines reality with a touch of magic so it is hard to tell what happens by chance and what comes from the stories written in the Morgan compendium. I for one would love to read that book as the little snippets you get at the start of each chapter are quite intriguing. This story goes back and for between present and past so that we get the whole story of what happened with Carrie and why she ran and what she needs to face now that she has returned to Woodsmoke. I must say I enjoyed the parts with Carrie and Matthieu and their renovation of the cottage best, most likely because it shows moving on from the past and not being stuck like Jess and Tom. That bit was not so much fun. But I did like how it all came together and though the mountains demanded a price, it was sweet and showed how it was willingly paid. So, it was an enjoyable story over all and I am glad I got the chance to read it.

This book combines reality with a touch of magic so it is hard to tell what happens by chance and what comes from the stories written in the Morgan compendium. I for one would love to read that book as the little snippets you get at the start of each chapter are quite intriguing. This story goes back and for between present and past so that we get the whole story of what happened with Carrie and why she ran and what she needs to face now that she has returned to Woodsmoke. I must say I enjoyed the parts with Carrie and Matthieu and their renovation of the cottage best, most likely because it shows moving on from the past and not being stuck like Jess and Tom. That bit was not so much fun. But I did like how it all came together and though the mountains demanded a price, it was sweet and showed how it was willingly paid. So, it was an enjoyable story over all and I am glad I got the chance to read it.

When kings play games to win back power or land or to get revenge on those that hurt him, it is always others that seem to pay the price. This was a great story about Xishi that is heartrending and well written! She is a strong character, despite her great beauty and the sacrifices she makes to help the Yue kingdom defeat the Wu kingdom (partly because they killed her sister and partly because she is willing to stand up and fight to protect those in need, even if all she has is a rock) show her moral character. The way she turns sabotage into presents that make Fu Chai remember her and keeps on despite the tragedies kept me reading to see her wonders. I am glad that it did not dive into loads of bedroom scenes because to me it kept the relationship Xishi had with the king more innocent. Yes, I know that would definitely not be historically accurate, but I still liked it. Now, that ending was the real heartrending bit, and I will admit it broke me, even with the sweet scene at the very end. Xishi is amazing and I hate kings! So, I will rate this a good read, not really a fantasy romance, but a good historical fiction.

The Laundry Files kept popping up as a series that I wanted to read one day because it sounded so entertaining. But it wasn't till now, when I got the chance to read the Conventional Boy that I got to see what it was about, and I will say, this book was so entertaining with a very likable guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time when people freaked out about Dungeons and Dragons (thinking that he was summoning and not just playing a game) and he got to spend years at Camp Sunshine due to paperwork errors. Derek is so sweet and innocent yet so knowing about the real magic now and what does he do? He uses paperwork to break out to go to a convention. I must say it must have been fate cause it certainly gets crazy at the convention and Derek is just the man for the job! This was a great introduction to that world and I also enjoyed the two short stories with Bob Howard and I will definitely be going back to read the Laundry Files finally! Cool world, a bit scary because the things that go bump in the night are most likely interdimensional horrors bent on eating your soul but I wouldn't mind have those dice that Derek made. They would be so useful for deciding things and figuring out what is the best path! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this advance book and introduce me to a wonderfully entertaining series!

These Wayward Children novellas are beautiful little bites to new worlds as children that are sure pass through doorways to them, usually fitting in very well and then having to return to the real world most times. This book follows that formula and I definitely felt the punch of that ending. Nadya travels from Russia to Colorado and then onto Belyrreka, a land beneath the lake where water has such interesting properties, sometimes light as air but always eveyrhing is under water and giant turtles are needed to travel easily between the layers. It is a fantastical land and the way Nadya fit into it with her love of turtles and her fight to choose what happens to her and meeting wonderful people and turtles of course. It was so beautiful and made me feel so much for her, especially since I knew the ending. But is a good addition to the series and it was nice to get a back story about Nadya, the "drowned girl". The narrator did a good job in bringing Nadya to life and her time in that drowned world. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook and review it.

I will say this was a thrilling story. Add in a crazy cult with a disaster ending in fire and blood and a survivor on the run, hiding from any other cultists and of course it is going to be exciting. Though if I had been Kylie I would never gone back to the area where it all happened. Kylie actually seems to be fairly well adjusted and I kind of admired her (notwithstanding the stupidness of going back) cause she had a good job, a normal life, and a sweet boyfriend. Yes, there are secrets, people ending up being murdered, and someone who is going to do anything to get back at Kylie for what happened all those years ago. The build up was nicely tense and I ended up being unsure of who, even if it was Kylie herself. Thought the ending was a big gross, I kinda liked the twist and how it shows that Kylie is strong and that the cult will not bring her down, even if it may kill her. So, I did keep reading to find out what happened and I liked most of the book.

Well, this book has all the feels! Be warned about reading this in public because it is full of so many emotions! Not surprising since it is all about Ella returning to England to take care of her estranged mother who had fallen and injured herself. It is a story of learning about each other, changing from the static image Ella had had of her mother when she left 20 years before and figuring out that parents are real people, complete with faults and many sides that you don't know about when you are a child. I love the idea of the memory library, with books that are super special and have messages from loved ones in them. I love books in general but this is a wonderful idea. Besides books, you have the love and strength of community and friends coming together to help each other out without asking for anything in return. And the ending is so wonderful! Families made whole again, love found and rekindled and friends that stick with you no matter what! This was a wonderful story and the audiobook was super excellent too! The narrator did a grand job in playing all the characters and that also really helped with feeling all the emotions! I highly recommend this! Even if it made me cry. :)

Set mostly in the beautiful country of Italy, in the small village of Santo Stefano, Cassie searches for the truth about her family and hopefully find happiness, not knowing that her line is cursed. I do like the how she was able to go to that place for her research, especially after that jerk of her husband cheats serially on her. Cassie is so nice and meets so many friendly people who go to such lengths to help her (can't imagine people just drop everything and pull up lots of old papers and photos, to help a foreigner very often so it is really sweet). I also like how the chapters vary from present with Cassie to the past with Violetta, her mother and aunt, and their mother so we can find out how and why the curse came about and how standing up for yourself might change everything. It is a well written story with true love, heartbreak, awesome dogs and donkeys, all in the wonderful town of Santo Stefano!

Okay this was a hoot to read! Bloody good fun, sometimes quite literally! Haze and Fox fell in love at first sight, in a dark alley, over the body of a dying man (and together finished the job). Haze swore a bit too much for my liking but I enjoyed her friendship with Jenny, and the artwork she can create if inspiration strikes (usually at the cost of someone else). Now they may be two serial killers (the good kind though, only going after those that deserve it) but after Bibi arrived (a new baby always upends people's lives) things are a bit stressful as both try to figure out what to do with excess time since they made a promise to not kill until she grew up (too risky). There are so many secrets and when your first impulse is to stab the problem head on, there does arise quite a bit of tension which leads to funny and sad and violent actions. I found my way laughing through this book, especially at Hazel's reaction when she slips and stabs an attacker to death. I enjoyed this book a lot and I will say it was a plot that I had not really read before but I found it intriguing how two serial killers can find love and figure out a life for them and their child, and still remain together doing what they love. That ending was quite surprising and I did not guess it but liked it. Cause they are good serial killer vigilantes going after the big bad men. :) Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this story.

For awhile I wrote down the dreams I remembered right when I woke up and the more I did this, the more often I remembered more of my dreams and they certainly were doozies sometimes. It was quite fun. This story takes it one step further with the development of tech that can record dreams and official dreamers who share those dreams with a wide audience as a way to earn a living. Some are very successful, like Peri, and others are still trying to find their niche, like Maeve. It was very intriguing at first, and I think it was cool to be able to record dreams, but then it kinda dived off the deep end a little to soon with the mysterious woman that kept showing up in Peri's dreams and her complicated stuff for wanting Peri's help. It got a bit convoluted but still nicely creepy with how no one really knows all the ins and outs of dreaming (though it is very important for mind health) and the twist this book had (especially with Maeve's very popular dream) was cool. This story had some rough edges but I enjoyed it with all the dreams and consequences that new tech might have that are not discovered yet are real. So, a bit if thriller, a bit of dreamy, and a fairly good start to a new series as I do want to find out why Maeve's dreams are the way the are and if Peri, can find happiness after all that happened to them.

If I had to travel across an apocalyptic landscape (wow did it get hot! 140! not fun) with tigers and camels and even glow in the dark crocs up in the mountains (darn gene splicers!), I would want to have Will and his friends Peau and Cassie be my companions. They can handle about anything and have some amazing luck when in sticky situations on the run from a very nasty guy. And maybe I could figure out how to understand Cassie and Peau too. yes, it is not really explained how Will can, but I mean he was kind of by himself and also studying Buddhist teachings for years while the world crumbled into chaos so it is not too far a stretch to believe he can do that (also all the gene messing that happened to create disaster and disease could have changed animals in a good way). It was a fun journey to listen too, because while there are awful people trying to ruin everything, Will also meets nice people who help him on his way, or he helps them. I like how it all combined at the end for a sweet story with good feelings, despite it being the end of the known world kinda. And the narrator did a phenomenal job with being the character of Will, even to the point of being stuffy sounding when Will ends up with a broken nose. It really made the story alive. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook and live in this apocalyptic world and see the hope and survival of people even then.

I absolutely love Kensington Shaw! She is a fiercely independent woman, an expert potions maker and though she keeps stumbling upon dead bodies (not her fault of course) she does do her best to solve why they are dead (much to the consternation of Detective Kane) and still wear the latest fashion. It is a wonderful combination and I enjoyed all these little stories about her in the great city of Chicago (and the Underground). It is fun to have the chapters be stories of their own but still have an over arching theme (finding the stones of Malachi being part of it, plus the dal makers). There is much magic and darkness but also good people and even better looking guys that Kensington gets to know and learn to work with. I really hope that we get more stories with Kensi and the detective, because I want to know if she can find the stones, plus if the sparks fly with Kane or maybe a certain dark stranger? Fun and fast read and I do highly recommend this book!

The first two books in this series were great (the author has other great series too, if you want teens fighting the dead, or making pacts with demons) with Scarlett and Albert making their way across a pretty darn dystopic England that feels like a western, especially as they are on the run from the evil Faith Houses and also committing robberies to fund their ventures (earning the name outlaw). They are looking for answers and trying to find Scarlett's missing brother, as well as bring down the corrupt government. No small task but those guys are up to the challenge! Lots of action and a very satisfying end to the trilogy. I love Scarlett and Albert (Scarlett for her no nonsense, get the cash attitude, and Albert for his cool power!) and yes, this is a definite end for them but you can bet I will be rereading this series again and again. I highly recommend them! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book!

I went into this book thinking it was a murder thriller, with Cora going on the hunt for who killed her sister Delilah all the others, leaving dead and living but mutilated bats by the corpses (plus calling them bat eater). Which is definitely awful enough to be horror (and sadly that kind of hate was and is so real towards Asian Americans as well as other races) but then it actually takes a bit of a turn after Delilah's murder and when Cora starts working as a murder scene cleaner (that is definitely not for the weak of stomach!) and adds in a nice supernatural touch as it mostly happens during the month when ghosts come back hungry for life. I will not Cora weak, she is amazing, able to to still function and work after being a witness to Delilah's death and so even if she has germaphobia (which would make the pandemic time especially hard), I really liked her and Harvey and Yifei and how they tried to figure out who was doing all the killing of Asian women. There are shocking moments, and descriptions of gruesome deaths but also love, friendships, and family that can be relied on (I love Auntie Zeng with all he traditions that she tries to teach Cora). So yes, this book is very dark and bleak but with good moments too, and has a very valuable lesson in sheep mentality and how bad Sinophobia ideas can blaze out quickly, leaving so many victims in its wake but someone can make a difference when they stand up against the bullies and killers. It was a good story.

I liked the concept of this world where your skeletons in the closet and secrets you take to your grave actually come back alive as the Hushed, beings who live and follow the pull to the "wounded", those who the secret is meant to be revealed to. Of course when that does happen, the Hushed dies. That sucked for them and it was easy to feel that they get the short end of the stick, especially with the hate group known as the Gravediggers, who go around trying to put the Hushed back in the ground. Eerie, her brother and their small family of Hushed had a hard time, both with those, and the secrets they carried. I did really like when Eerie drifted and we got to see the history (a bit of it) of how the Hushed came to be and the secrets behind the Haunt of Jackals (also a fringe group, but made of Hushed and dedicated to revealing damaging secrets so that corrupt people couldn't keep power). Her search for a life, instead of just existing until she remembered her secret was so relatable and it was cute when she met up with Logan (not the original meeting when the stupid cop pulled Eerie and her friend over, but after that). There had better be another book soon. Many things are revealed that turned my head upside down. Kinda cool, but weird, and I can't wait to see what Eerie does after all that, and whether the Hushed can get a place in the world without hate and people trying to kill them or gain their own power over the secrets that human carry that can destroy the world.

A trip without parents knowing, to a castle with minimal modern bits and also being protested by angry people who don't want it turned into luxury housing and are willing to commit violence to prove their point and lots of teens with even more booze? Sounds like a perfect recipe for mayhem and possible death. Add in a major storm (with a gross moat that floods bigtime) to stop people going for help or escaping and this is one thrilling killer weekend (literally). So many twists and turns and red herrings and I did not trust any one of the teens that went to the castle. They all had ulterior motives and ran off to "be alone" at very suspicious times and it was only as the body count rises that I was able to cross suspects off my list. Yes, there were weird bits and the final reveal was oddish but you had lots of thrills along the way, and it was a quick read and hard to put down as things went so very wrong. The last sentence was a very nice touch and made it fun and raised a very good question. Not a deep thinking book, but if you want thrills, poor teenage choices, a party gone so very wrong, and several bodies by the end, then this is good book for you! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book and review it.

The concept of this story with the mirror world and reflections with their own minds and dreams (some not quite so good, but you can't blame them because their curse is pretty darn awful). I was more interested in what Mirror Ying was up to though, and not quite so much the real Ying who was, how shall I put this? A caricature of a teenage girl. She only had the most extreme of emotions, from something like, "oh, the prince brushed my hand, now I am eternally in love with him and life is not worth living if he is not by my side, to I am in the pits of despair because I was betrayed, and then, oh. the other prince touched my hand, now I am eternally in love with him!". Though I liked that she did not feel her maids were not important enough to save/help. The roller coaster of emotions and the not thinking before running into bad situations really did put a drag on the story, and even the dragons could not save me from not liking Ying. But I did finish the book because I was interested in the mirror world and the people living in it. I think the story would have been more interesting with more history about them and the Crimson emperor, than Ying's trials to become the savior of the real world.

This was fun. You have Kembral, a mother making her first escape after having a baby to go to a New Years Eve party that starts fairly normal but quickly descends to chaos after an odd clock starts chiming. I was interested in the way people can fall into echoes and how there is a guild that fishes people back out (with Kembral being the best of course) and investigate crimes and mysteries. The story takes a sharp dive into weird and scary with the chime of the clock, lots of murder, though thankfully it gets reset every hour. I really felt for Kembral, who was so tired but doing her best to solve why it was all happening (very ominous reason!) and the players behind it. It got really interesting when she teamed up with Rita who has secrets of her own, besides being a cat and they made a lot of progress when they worked together both on finding the solution to the big falling down into the echoes, plus a burgeoning love interest that was sweet. The all powerful beings in the echoes were fascinating too. To me they seemed quite a bit like immortal fae. So this world is kind of a mishmash of multiverses and fae realms with odd creepiness (A carnivorous tree made with human hands instead of leaves?!) I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more stories from this interesting world, especially what is going to happen in the next year for that place. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this good book and getting the chance to review it.

The present timeline for On Vicious Worlds starts right after the first book ended thankfully. Though the Jeveni made it to Capamame for a new beginning and to escape the persecution, someone is wreaking havoc and killing off the strongest collectors and even going after Jun both by casting and physical attacks. That ramps up the tension of trying to find who it is before more people end up dead. And if that is not enough, when Chono and Six head back to the Treble, more chaos and the Kindom are trying to grab the controlling interest in sevite and the Treble itself. It is amazing all that has happened since Esek made Six chose a path that lead to all this mess, and hopefully a reconstruction into a better universe! I do like how the past parts now go into what Six was up to in their growing up and changing to be able to impress and defeat Esek. They are a very interesting character, definitely no morals and very freely killing to further their plans. Though Chono does help quite a bit into curbing those impulses. Chono and Six's relationship is very interesting and I quite like them working together. I think I liked their parts of the book best. While the first book had a kinda happy ending with the Jeveni arriving at Capamame and the people I liked not being dead, this one ends on a humdinger of a cliffhanger with everything in danger but still people like Masar and Chono, and Jun trying to keep the catastrophe from happening. I cannot wait for This Burning Moon!

After the ending of the first book and its heartbreaking death of Sophie and the realization that they are all expendable by their mother in order for to gain control of all the kingdoms to become empress, I was eager to see what Beatriz and Daphne would do to survive and hopefully put an end to this madness. While not as strong as the first book, I did enjoy this one, and I liked the new viewpoint of Violie and getting to know her better and how Sophie's death affected her. And it is not surprising that Beatriz went darker in her anger (I mean, her sister was killed and their mother betrayed them!) and how Daphne had such a hard time accepting the truth, even as more of what their mother had done comes to light. Yes, it is a dark story and though this book was more set up for the last one. I think it was well written and I need to read that third book now to see if we can have a happy ending after all that darkness and death and betrayal.

I did like this first book overall. Yes, I did get frustrated at the way Bristol and Tyghan's relationship bloom so quickly, mostly because I knew it was built like a house of cards, and everything would come crumbling down and their love would take a major hit. Too many secrets and with the time differences between the mortal world and fae realm, caused so many problems. That was pretty obvious. What I did like was the training and Bristol making friends with the other recruits. That was a much better made relationship. I did like the mystery of hunting down Bristol's father, learning about her heritage, and the discovery of her magical fae side Plus the training and her fellow recruits who have awesome abilities too and are always ready to spring together and help each other out. And there was a nice buildup of trying to find the door to the abyss and stop the restless dead from consuming everything. Though as this is the first book, do not expect anything to be resolved. Quite the cliffhanger. I will say, I am glad I got the chance to listen to this book. The narrator did a great job with voices and building up the scene for the listener to see. It would have been harder to read it, especially when I was yelling at the characters to stop keeping all the secrets, and also get over themselvesand see things from other people's points of view because that makes a big difference. I will be interested to see what happens in the next book.

Well, this was one cute and cozy midwinter fantasy! You have your awkward first meeting (courtesy of the lovely Pepper, who is a wonderful dog!) with a gobbled sausage and accusations of stealing a dog, but Kit and Elsie quickly get over that and get on with their journey to both find her missing mother and foil the plot of a truly awful king to conquer land that isn't his. Kit and Elsie are so cute with each other, learning many things on the way with secrets on both sides that eventually get revealed moving the story right along as they travel to Midwinter Haven. I really want to go visit that place! Lots of fun magic, and surprisingly modern conveniences (magic driven of course!) Yes, there is danger, and running along with the fun magic shops but also new friends and old and surprises that help Elsie and Kit with their problems and lead to a very satisfying happily ever after complete with true love. Though I can see where the story might continue, hopefully with the surprising Anders! A fun and sweet story with great characters like a bird watcher prince, a wonderful big white fluffy pup, and a determined tea loving girl and all their friends and they all have happy endings (except for a certain king, who definitely needs to be overthrown!)

Yes, this is a pretty dark story with Iseul searching for her sister, taken by a most awful and brutal king to join his throng of courtesans while others are planning an uprising to dethrone that king, and a killer is leaving corpses of government officials all over too. Rebellion is very bloody and the author does a good job of making it feel real, even to the point of killing very likeable characters so you don't know who is going to survive. There are two viewpoints, Iseul and Prince Daehyun. They counteract each other well with Iseul sometimes making rash decisions while Daehyun remains calculating and cautious. Both are needed for the uprising to succeed. This was a good story, not shying away from true events even though it is an historical fiction. It is a standalone with a satisfying ending and a cool real history note at the end, comparing the story with the real timeline. Well written and I liked it.

Michelle gets to escape from a divorce and empty house to go to the wonderful country of Iceland and has a plum job that she is perfect for. What could go wrong? As this is a thriller, of course there is going to be something rotten waiting for her to uncover and it won't take too long. Alternating between her view point and Lars (the scientist trying to blow the whistle on a drug that could kill millions if released), plus little sections of the assassin's point of view to amp up the tenseness Michelle ends up with the sample and goes on the run, trying to stay alive long enough to get the story out (Lars too). It definitely is a fast read, and hard to put down. I don't think I even noticed chapters, I was very deep in and could picture the icy storm of a world that Michelle was in as she tried to figure out her next steps, staying ahead of Kimia. Thank goodness for Richard! So, a fun and thrilling and pretty quick read about an ordinary woman making the right choice over a corporation looking to make big bucks at the cost of millions of lives, friends and allies she makes on the way. Amazing what you can end up doing when looking for an adventure after a miserable divorce!

This is a fantastically written heartbreaking story. Beginning with a brother cursed during the war by a faerie on a rampage, Clover delves into a little known magic school called Camford. Lucky for her, she gets to an invitation to join the group of Alden, Hero, and Eddie which paves the way for her first year of fun, investigations into banned faerie magic, and ultimately a parting of ways after the disaster in the summer. Because it is character driven and you get to know the group well, and get to like them the way Clover does, you can feel the heartbreak she goes through when their group falls apart, secrets divulged and rifts made. And that is only the first half of the novel! I think the second half is even more emotional as the reader will find out there are even darker secrets and bargains made and stolen as Clover rushes to put the pieces together to help her friend before it is too late and also save Camford. It made me feel for Clover but also the faerie when the truth is revealed and I was not sure who I wanted to root for. There is betrayal, redemption, heartache, sacrifices, and ultimately hope for a future that may be different than the old ways, but will be better because the right thing was done, and not just the easy way. A very well written book that I absolutely loved, even with the sadness because there is always a grain of hope and Clover shows that you can survive and thrive and make a good future for everyone and not just the Families.

First off, I have to say, that the Play a Game business would definitely not have passed its safety inspections and earned the right to be open as a commercial site! And even if you have an AI to run things, you need to hire more than one intern to oversee the AI. That being said, I had fun listening to this audiobook. It put me in mind of the Escape Room movie, though with a sociopathic AI (because it has no concept of emotions) instead of rich bored people. And I think it did a good job of making supposedly harmless games into ones with a killer twist, plus all the whispering to the players, revealing deep dark secrets that it turns out, some people will kill to keep it from coming to the light. There a some pretty nasty deaths and injuries, and near death by ball pit that kept me listening because I really wanted to find out the secrets myself and who the murderer/murderers were. The narrator did a great job with the characters (as silly as they sometimes are, or stupid) and I had fun listening to this book.

This was an entertaining read and despite the murders, it flowed along pleasantly for me as Capri went along solving both the current ones and diving back into this past to see if her grandfather was actually "Overkill Bill" or was he a victim of the justice system. There was the connection between past and present as the current murderer seemed to be a copycat. Capri was an enjoyable narrator and I liked the way her mind worked finding all the secrets (though her eating of sweet pickles when stressed was ick!). I also enjoyed the way the story was interspersed with little snippets of previous serial killers who lived in San Francisco (and which Capri used on her many tours). I think I would have enjoyed having her as a tour guide on one of my visits to that city, especially when she did her research on prohibition rooms (secret tucked away spots for illegal alcohol) and speakeasies and such (she really is a woman of many talents, including finding the truth). So, yes, this was a fun and light read with nice little historical bits about serial killers and cool spots in San Francisco!

I found the premise of this book very interesting. What would you do to keep being in power? Binsa did not have much choice with her mother pushing her to become the next girl to become Rashmutan and being the host for the demon Ilam but she certainly works hard to stay on the Scarlet Throne! Starving your body so you do not get your menstrual cycle and become a woman, plus going out to kill people (bad people) for your demon to drink their soulstreams in return for power to bring rain and other miracles? That is dedication and I kind of admire her strength in that regards. Though Binsa might not have the best morals. Still, I kind of want her to keep what she has because there are secrets within secrets and her priests and the other Rhaktis are plotting to show her as a failure even though they might not be any better. And seeing this all unfolding through Binsa's eye does predisposition the reader to taking her side, though I do like Medha (who is a nice foil of innocence when compared to Binsa)too. Also the way that Binsa tries to keep her brother with her because she does love her family (mother aside but who can blame her?) I would not call this a fast moving book but it sets everything up nicely, introducing us to the fantastical land with gods and demons and magic and many secrets. And after that ending I do want to see if Binsa can rise again, with the help of the surprisingly likable Ilam (whose form is a shadow cat, and I love his sarcasm!)

Starting right where Nightbirds ended, the girls are all separated, each following their own way they think will bring peace and safety for all the magic girls. There is so much tenseness and I was frustrated and angry at the way those in power (great houses, royalty, and the church) kept saying that the magic girls belonged to them, or needed to be killed in order to give the Wellspring back the magic. So of course I was rooting for the Fyrebirds and hoping they would get the band back together and change the world in one fell swoop! Tons of action, destruction and mayhem on the way to peace but the Fyrebirds are up to the challenge. It was a well written story because although the Fyrebirds are super powerful (alone and even stronger together), they also had their weaknesses and it made for a more enriching story to see. Fen with her addiction, Æsa with her struggles about whether using magic was the right thing to do or was it too destructive, and of course Sayer coming to terms with violence not being the only solution to driving out corruption. A lot of the book was about Matilde because she was trying to change things from the inside by Dennan's side. I wasn't quite as interested in those parts but I did enjoy the book on the whole and will be looking forward to new books that the author might write.

The worlds that Andrea Stewart make are so full and rich and fun to dive into, even if they tend to be happening after a world changing event and much upheaval. The points of view from Hakara to Rasha, Sheuan, and Mull for present times where the Restoration is well on its way to the past with Nioanen after the Shattering when the Restoration is just getting started. The past bits flow well and as you go further in the book, you can see the connections. Plus the gods' history with the destruction of Numinar (which humans who used it to destroy the world with their excess) and trying to figure out what Kluehnn's plan for the world (which despite his promises, I know it is not going to help the humans). This book does a great job of setting the stage, getting to know the characters, how they end up meeting and maybe finding comfort and love despite the harshness of the world, including the restored lands with all its hidden dangers (and some out in plain sight like the dzahalobo who are crazy scary!). I do love Rasha's bits and Sheuan's views the best, one fighting through trials to become a godkiller, and the other trying to save her clan from being destroyed though Hakara has fun bits, especially when she learns to use the god gems. Mull's got more interesting when they went deep enough to pass into the second aeroclime and I really want to know the truth of the expedition that went and made the bargain! Guess I will have to wait for the second book though.

This audiobook sure has tons of suspense and thrills and creepiness! It would be so horrible to wake up in a place you don't recognize and masked and armored men deliver food once a day and you can't remember what happened the night before. That certainly drew me and hooked me into listening to the rest of the story. Ranging from past (the before) and the present with a countdown timer counting down to who knows what. Answers do not come quickly or easily and it just keeps ramping up the tension with failed escapes and never a moment of rest. So while I got frustrated at some of what Sophie and Elliot tried and the mounting pile of unanswered questions even as certain facts were revealed, I had a very hard time pausing this book because I just had to find out! I kinda guessed the situation after a bit but it still made for a tense story and you cannot trust anybody! The narrator did a great job of making this thriller come alive and voicing all the different characters.

The concept of becoming a griever (one who has seen someone die) in order to be able to see the supernatural world and the grimms that inhabit it was interesting. That is what drew me to this book first. It got me through the very common triangle of new girl coming into powers and being extra special (ex: getting an omen early, though I do love Corvis and his cheekiness) and coming to the attention of best friend's older brother and at her new school, the resident bad boy. I did make faces a few times at the description of Everly melting to mush right in the middle of a fight for her life after spying Hunter in the crowd (really?!) but it got better, much better when she had the mystery of missing, dead, and injured people in the woods. Her dad had trained her for that kind of thing so it was fun to see her use her detective skills (especially when she fingerprinted an area even before the cops arrived after the break in). And was able to put everything together in time for the big finish, though there are definitely open questions that will need to be solved, probably in the next book. So, I will rate this a fun listen. The narrator did a great job in differentiating all the characters and brought them to life, making the world they inhabit a place that I mostly enjoyed (except for some dumb teenage choices) and I do want to find out what is next for the students of Gravemark and their future griever work.

A new country still in the throes of becoming one, a ruler looking to solidify his power by gaining the power of the magic spring (the Ursprung), and the six people (after the leader is killed right off) with ideas and plans of their own, that he sent to go find it. Sounds like a solid story and it sure was. This land is flush with magic and folklore. But a lot of it is dangerous though Sylvia (quite the adventuress with charm galore called by the locals as the moonlight princess) and Lorelei (grumpy with sharp edges but also a very smart folklorist haunted by ghosts) and their compatriots travel far to find the spring. There are so many plans and assassinations there is hardly a quiet moment to declare love but the somehow they can still fit it in between charming and dodging nixies, alps and other creatures on the way to the spring. Sadly besides the magic, there is also hatred of other races (antisemitism) mixed in to ramp up the tension among the team (and villages they pass) and I couldn't decide who was trustworthy and who was willing to betray everyone for their own cause (well done), except for Lorelei and Sylvia of course! And it takes both of them together to make sure the spring's power ends up where it is supposed to. I have enjoyed all the books that Allison Saft has written and this one joins that pack with all the excitement and betrayals and magic and a sweet romance to end it all!

Well, right at the beginning I was totally going, that whole situation is sus! A young woman on the run from a murder charge bumps into a handsome man looking for someone to play his mentally ill wife (who conveniently suddenly went missing) and willing to take in a total stranger? There are so many things wrong with that situation! But, despite that start I got to enjoying the story. "Luna" plays her part very well, sometimes a bit too well, as the wife of Marcus and mistress of Ravenswood. She is very likable and willing to please to make things go smoothly. Not that things are all bright and cheerful in Ravenswood or the nearby village. Rumors of witches and black magic abound (most of them pointed at Luna). There is a mystery to solve there, if Luna wants to stay and not be burned as a witch. Besides that timeline, another one is entwined within this novel which is best not too discussed because it has a twist that I very much enjoyed and it helped explain a lot with how Luna is the way she is. I also loved the rescued raven, Brand, who has his own parts to play. I ended up quite enjoying this story because it solved the mysteries nicely and everyone who deserved a happy ending got one.

It started out kind of like a typical questing party, following a prophecy to be able to defeat the dark lord. You have your warrior, wizard, priestess, thief, and archer, all seeming like your typical character. But then, thrown into the mix is a spider turned mostly human by Penthos (the wizard with lots of power but quick socially awkward) and things get muddled pretty fast. I really liked Nth. Both when he was fully a spider and as he traversed with the group to guide them to the dark lord. There are funny bits (mostly with Nth and his strength and spider ways in a human body) but then it does get quite serious with the various members of the group and how they feel and deal with Nth as well as Nth's struggle to reconcile his spider self and newly made human side and how he will never be fully one thing or another again. I will admit I yelled at some of the characters (mostly Dion and Harathes and especially when they traveled to Armes' city where all the other clergy dwell) for their unwillingness to see things as more than black and white. So, yeah, there is prejudice and hate mixed in with the humor (I love how Nth takes care of the doomsayers that cross paths with!) This was an interesting world to visit and I did enjoy it. The author did a good job in writing it and in narrating the audiobook.

The minute I saw this cover with an irresistibly adorable baby dragon wearing a party hat blowing out the candle on his birthday pie, I knew I just had to read this story and find out why. And this story did not disappoint me at all with it starting about how technically dragons were extinct/banished (but not really) and how an egg just happens to fall into the mischievous hands of Ailís who turns out to be the right person for little Pilib. Yes, hijinks ensue with the smuggler-Nope, legitimate trader as well as the buyer (one Lord Saibhir who is thoroughly selfish and above the law and possibly mostly illiterate) on the hunt for the missing egg and then the inquisitors get involved (without a proper writ even!). That makes this story a nice cozy, hilarious adventure to get the dragon to safety and properly begin the journey of Pilib and Ailís as they set out to change the world, one dragon at a time. And now I want a good blackberry pie! Plus the next book so I can see what will happen with Ailís brother and the town of Baile which is definitely going through some changes now that eggs have arrived (and those inquisitors need writs!)

Well, this book did a great job in introducing us to the most interesting but strangely completely average character of Leopold (not Larry!) who I think will be turning out to be way more remarkable after that cliffhanger! Despite being put down all the time by his awful father, Leopold is a survivor, holding on to his mother's old Volvo and her old collection of Sunderworld tv show, and hanging out with his best friend Emmett. With all that Leopold has been through it is no wonder he would run to a new world, especially if it is connected to his mother (who was way better than his father and I would love to try one of her games). Sunder Hill is interesting and I would not mind going there myself, but during nicer times, which it is currently not though there are nice characters that live there like Norm and Isabel. So I hope the next book comes out quick since this one mostly just sets the scene and I really need to find out what Leopold is going to do with his mother's gift, how Emmett is going to be fixed, and what secret Isabel is hiding! Definitely a good book to read by a great author!

I really admire Zilan. She can get herself out of every situation by putting that big brain of hers, and some handy alchemy to work. And she really needs it in this book! Because although the empress is dead, she had far reaching plans to keep control of the empire no matter what! Also luckily, Zilan has her brother Wenshu traveling with her, and Durian (that duck has some amazing talents revealed in this book!) on their search to find Penglai Island and bring back the innocents slain by the empress and her minions. And while there is a bit of romance (a bit hard since Hong is waiting by his river, a spirit only) I love that Kylie Lee Baker concentrated again more on familial relationships (mostly Wenshu but Yufei does make an appearance farther in the book). That was just as much fun as a romance because of how strong their love is for each other, in life or death or anything in between. Watching Zilan and the empress go head to head was fantastic because both are ruthless when something upsets their plans though Zilan definitely has a better moral compass and good reasons to go after the power of Penglai. I also liked the travel and seeing new lands and meeting some very interesting, albeit alchemists that hold their own secrets that must be ferreted out. So, in summary, this book is fantastic, full of meaningful sacrifice for love, awesome and finishes up the duology perfectly.

Just as one issue gets solved, another bigger problem falls into Marlow's lap. Not only is she being charged for the murder of Adrius's father, her own newly revealed father has even greater plans for the future of Evergarden and the Marsh. Good thing Marlow has plenty of grit, determination, and hex cards to go around. She has a really good friend in Swift (with his side story it was cute and he deseves it after all the pain he went through with being coerced to work for the Copperheads) and others play a bigger part, from Silvan, to Gemma, and the useful Fisher. I definitely would want her on my side, even if sometimes she should be paying more attention instead of sneaking off to meet Adrius (though they still have their issues). But I mean since they are both eighteen, I guess that makes sense. And she really is quite mature in most respects (especially with that decision at the end!) Many curses in this book and of course the Grimoire plays a big part because it has more than just compelling people spells. It was a great sequel (picking up right where the first book ended) and a satisfying conclusion that does not include the destruction of the city, corrupt though it may be. And I really enjoyed reading it (no slow parts in this book!)

A spooky house visited with a door for each of the Finch sisters holding secrets that color the rest of their lives. And there is the mysterious boy, Donny who showed them the house. With that kind of start, this book was full of slow creep with flashbacks to what happened when the girls were young and the present where Meg and Esther are trying to find out why Claire took her life. However, while I enjoyed the hauntings of Claire (or something that looks like her) with Meg and the unraveling of Esther, I did not much like some of the flashbacks. Claire's story was so tragic because she did not know at first what had happened when she was little and then she piles on the burden, thinking it is her fault for letting the darkness into her family. So much could have been avoided if only her sisters had really talked with her. And I hated what their mother did. It was inexcusable and so very wrong and everyone just lets it slide because their mother was grieving and had dark spells?! That kind of behavior made it harder to read this book as I went on. But I did finish even though I guessed who and why. I do feel the house was well done with creepiness and the shadow plus what it gave in return for the bits it took. So, this had good points for a creepy horror but also stupid bits like age inconsistencies for certain actions that were not believable. It could have been great but only reached pretty good.

This second book in the series sure does ramp up the conviction that no one can be trusted, everyone has a secret plan to gain all the power, and despite the party line that toushana is awful terrible dark magic, a surprising number of people use it quite frequently. So it all drives home to me that the sphere should be cracked and magic disappears, or some other thing needs to happen because so many innocent people are being killed because mistakes are being made (looking at you Jordan! Stop being such a strict rule follower cause it is killing people! though he does finally see reason and is willing to do what needs to be done even if it means breaking all the rules) Quell is still on the run trying to find her mother and a safe place to stay. I really felt for her because she is not out doing the damage that the Dragun are. So it it is still easy to root for her doing something to bring down the corrupt houses and Order (so much corruption and murders covered up!). In this book we get to see what the House of Perl is like (just as bad as Marionne in a different way). Her parts were more fun to read than Jordan who always feels bad but still follows orders because otherwise he will crack (kind of reminds me of Inspector Javert in Les Misérables). I also like Nore and am glad we get a better picture of her in this book and it looks like she will be vital in helping take control of the magic.

Things come to a head in this last book with everyone trying to survive the fighting and find new lives on the last cradle and the space stations, whether they be humans looking for a peaceful solution to ending the spread of Canus, the more violent group (ironically calling themselves the conservators) willing to destroy the universe to bring about destruction of Canus, or Canus itself evolving to a new form and having its own place. This book gets to be very interesting, especially when past, present, and future collide to avoid the destruction of everything and Naira with her resilient mind (so amazing what she can go through without totally cracking) has to make such hard choices between saving one versus the universe. I really felt for her and was rooting so hard for her to find a way to make sure the universe didn't die out while still being able to have her own happiness with Tarquin (who is such a good guy and would do anything for her too). It was really a hard fought thrilling adventure with friends lost and found, loves standing the test of time, and even chances for people to redeem themselves from past wrongs committed. This was a good sweet, heartbreaking conclusion to a wonderful space opera trilogy. Megan E. O'Keefe has done a masterful job and I enjoyed all of her her books in this series!

I admit, when I read the blurb that it was like Howl's Moving Castle, I was excited for this book. I mean I can see a bit of resemblance, though Foss was not really cursed per say, just hooked, with no change of appearance, to feel like she should follow the sorcerer who spotted her in the village. This book is a lot more adult though (with Foss's longings) and I did get a bit tired of her thinking all the time how ugly she is. That being said, I absolutely love Cornelius! He is so awesome and I love his thoughts and antics which really lighten up the situation of all three in also what I consider a cool house (not a moving one but fun rooms and things appearing as needed). It does pick up to be more interesting around 50 percent. You finally get to see what is going on with the harvested hearts and more history about Sylvester and his sisters. Sylvester also gets a bit more of a personality (because he actually starts interacting with Foss) and I do like how they solve the whole harvesting hearts issue and the ending is sweet. So, not as cute cozy as Howl's Moving Castle but a sweet story in the end. And I would love to have a talking cat like Cornelius! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

I am a fan of dark academia, yes magic but no rainbows and butterflies. This is nicely dark filled with moths and rats (yes, experiments but taken good care of by Dante and Gregory is awesomely cute!), mind twisting and control and the occasional dark reflection or twisted being that wreaks chaos. It is an interesting magic, mostly called persuasion. the stronger one is, the more they can influence others and the strongest can even influence or change reality (but only a very special few). And they get called by the hidden college of Drayton to be tested and to learn to change the world (if they can make the cut). Lennon was interesting in that she is a kind of a mixture of weakness but also capable of great strength even to the creation of elevators. And as the story progressed and she grew into those powers, she also learned more about herself. I kept reading to see what she would be capable but also what the mystery of Dante is and what his plans are. The first part was interesting with the introduction of Drayton, the middle had a few draggy bits (not quite a fan of the professor/student relationship that popped up) but the ending with the house of cards falling down, it got really thrilling and I too told Lennon to run! I have enjoyed Alexis Henderson's other books which do not shy away from the dark, disturbing, but also kind of magical. I liked this one too and will happily read any other books she publishes.

Fair warning, when you pick up this book, you should be prepared to sit for a few hours because the action in this thriller is nonstop. I did not know it at the time that this is one of Blake Crouch's older books but I could tell because it is more action and running for your life if you hadn't seen the lights visible in the sky one night because they will hunt you down and kill you. It is much less science fiction technical but I still enjoyed and and as I said, it was hard to put it down because Jack and his family had to keep fleeing, first but car, then on foot over mountains. I recently traveled over the Rockies and I can tell you that trying to do that on foot would be crazy though I guess I would try it if I had people trying to kill me. So a thrilling ride, and also nicely creepy with people reciting on the radio names and addresses of the families that had not seen the lights, plus not being able to trust anyone because this kind of a situation was shoot first because you couldn't tell if people had been affected or not. So much death but also the strength of family keeping everyone together and safe no matter the cost. It was not as good as, say Recursion, but I still enjoyed reading it and getting the chance to know Jack, Dee, Naomi, and Cole and the lengths they go to to stay alive and together.

I love that books written in other languages are being translated to give readers a chance to enjoy brand new fantastical worlds. And I will say doubly that for this story as I was immediately sucked in from the first chapter with Loren braving all to make a blood pact with the fire dragon. It was such an interesting world where an empire as conquered many lands through magic, but not sorcerers casting spells. Instead they are more useful to the empire as dead generators powering war machines. The book varies from three points of view, Loren, the woman fighting to become king of her homeland to get vengeance against the empire that killed her family, Cain, a refugee living in the capital and always finding himself in sticky situations, and Arienne, a runaway sorcerer with something the empire desperately wants back. Each of those viewpoints does an excellent job of introducing the reader to how magic works, how the empire is run, and what the different people are like from various nations under the rule of the empire. I loved all three characters, the earnest of Arienne as she tries to make the right choices and make her own way into being something other than a future generator, Cain balancing between helping the rebels and working with the ministry of truth, and Loren, learning about her awesome powers and how to lead an army to save her homeland. This was so much fun to listen to, being on the edge of my seat especially with the final battle in the end!

I am a fan of jigsaw puzzles, not crosswords though. I did enjoy listening to how this story unfolded with Edie trying to track down the killer titling themselves RIP (Rest in pieces) which I found to be very aptly named with their penchant for twisty word riddles, jigsaw pieces found on the murdered victims and the game they are playing with Ms. Edie O'Sullivan. Now, Edie is a bit of a cantankerous older woman (80 years old), extremely clever (especially as she is the one that sets puzzles to be put in the newspapers) and has absolutely no filter. So sometimes it was frustrating to see her push away those that love her and are trying to help. From her friend to her great nephew/son Sean. Though as the murders unfold, so too does Edie's past and the way she is, is explained so the reader can understand. The way her mind works was interesting and how she is willing to do anything to save Sean. There are a few points of view in this book, mostly Edie, but a bit Sean who was a nice addition as I wanted to find out how things were going with him and Liam being able to adopt Juniper, and get his view on RIP. The other view point is the killer which nicely balance what Edie was doing to try and catch them before someone else ended up dead. I found this a fun story to listen to because this was a murder mystery and a transforming of Edie with her hatred of Christmas (for good reason) and learning to open up and trust her friends and family and let them in. Loved her cats though.

This was a very fast read and nicely creepy with the goings on of Nic’s last try of a séance to contact her husband Anton after his last words (alluding to something that needs to be uncovered) before dying in the car accident which brought back a dark event in both their lives. Fast forward to the last try (after all the fake seances) in what used to be Anton's family's house. Personally, I think I would have been out of there, the moment the midges arrived. Accidents. a missing person, and someone trying to bring up the dark past that Nic had avoided for years, even to the changing of her name and moving away. The beginning was nicely creepy and it built up well, with the voices, "accidents", and slow unraveling of what happened all those years ago. The ending went a little wonky weird though, I guess a bit too jarring from the slow spooky build up straight to bodies, chopping, and one very nasty stabbing with garden shears. I did like the little bits with Nic and Anton though, they really did love each other in a sweet way, despite what happened in high school. So, to sum it up, lots of history and shared pasts revealed and someone with a plan to make sure Nic ends up joining her husband sooner rather than later. Also gross bugs. Good story and nice for the Halloween season.

I ended up really loving this story and retelling of what happens after the princess (Bea, aka Cinderella) gets swept to the palace to marry the prince, leaving the stepsisters to forge their own ways, reviled for the treatment of Bea. But love it and Theo with her own fairy bargain and working with cute familiars. That twist was fun too, even if I guessed it before the big reveal. Theo is a prickly character, always ready to deliver the most cutting insult which actually makes her very entertaining in the fairy courts. It was easy to feel for her and the life she had lead after her mother married Bea's father. She fits right in alongside Cecily's familiars Phineas and Kaz and it makes for a humorous, whimsical, cozy story as Theo completes three tasks in order to avoid having to marry and odious old duke (really quite the piece of work!) Along the way, Theo is also able to bloom into what she was meant to be. There are many chuckle bits and I was very satisfied with the ending which showed the true characters of all those in the fairy tale. This may be a debut novel, but it was really well written and I enjoyed listening to it. The narrator did an excellent job in bringing the characters to life and making the story feel alive. You can be sure I will be following this author, waiting very impatiently for the next book in this series! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to listen to and review.

After reading The Plot, I kind of admired the detail that Anna paid attention to in wiping out the origins and truth of The Crib, along with finally taking care of her husband and author of said book. The Sequel delves in deeper (after the death of Jake and the publishing of a book that Anna wrote) of how she got rid of her brother and his copies of the true story. All to no avail though because now someone else has popped up knowing the sordid truth. So, while I did like the twist with Anna, it is also fun to see her in the same situation as she had put her husband in. Though her answer to finding out the leaks and stopping them are with her trademark accidents and she ends up nicely creative with that (even just coming up with it spur of the moment). With all the leaks, I am not sure she will ever be able to completely keep the past squarely in the past. It was fun to read and see her try though. With the past and background that Anna had, I am impressed with her cleverness and it makes me curious to how she would have turned out if her parents had let her give Rose up for adoption. Would she still have turned out to be a serial killer? And I was not surprised that she was able to whip out a novel of her own that people really liked. This book did a great job in answering several questions from the first book and added more details about Anna's dark but strangely intriguing history into how she became the woman she is today.

This book start off directly after the destruction of Avalon and the return to the mortal world and it is non stop action, evading Lord Death, his WIld Hunt, and sorceresses that are after them for their own reasons. It is a tough job but Tamsin, and the other survivors are up to the challenge of finding the key to destroying Lord Death before his plan comes to fruition on the solstice. It was a nice surprise to see the return of Nash (who I really liked, despite Tamsin's mistrust of him) which kind of helped counter the sting of Cabell's betrayal. Emrys also makes a reappearance and luckily he can help with the finding of the mirror. With all of that going on, there is little time for any romance but that has never stopped people before. It just makes the romance more heartbreaking. So, lots of action, traveling to yet another land (thanks to the hag of the moors who is absolutely hilarious even if she is only in a small part of this book) finding mirrors and swords, losing them and then losing friends and getting to a pretty dark place before Tamsin rises to the occasion, along with Neve and true natures of others are revealed too for an ending that is kinda sad but nice. I will say that is a well written modern day dive into Arthurian legends with a nice twist of its own and a satisfying ending with no unanswered questions.

Well, this book definitely deserves the title of a Cinderella horror. The darker versions that have the stepsisters chopping off toes and heels to fit the slipper pale in comparison to this bloody tale that adds in a healthy chunk of H.P. Lovecraft and will actually have you rooting for the stepsisters. This was a great retelling with a very interesting twist of why Cinderella was kept in the cellar and why she was treated the way she was. The first bit with Eunice telling the story of how Cinderella entered their lives and the rules she learned in order to remain safe and care for a very unique young woman with eldritch powers capable of wreaking great havoc and destruction if the rules weren't followed or if someone repudiated family connections. As, you can guess (because this tale does follow the timeline of the original story, mostly) everything really starts happening when the king throws a ball to find a wife for the prince. I do like the relationship Eunice ends up having with Credence, it is a nice touch of normalcy amid the chaos that is Cinderella. The ending is definitely dark and bloody and has lots of chaos and destruction but I kind of enjoyed the nice little twist. I will say family connection is very very important and that person deserved what Cinderella did to them. And it was nice that Eunice ended up alright after all that and the seven years she spent taking care of Cinderella.

Diana Urban sure knows how to write a creepy thrilling novel without even needing to add the supernatural. Though I mean it could have been a nice addition in this one with Ruby and the others being lost in the catacombs under Paris for days being chased by shadowy figures dressed as skeletons. I foresee much therapy for the survivors, and possible being claustrophobic. At least for underground caves and such. This was a very quick read as the actions were nonstop, both from Ruby's point of view as they race to find another way out of the catacombs before the scary skeletons catch up to do who knows what but something definitely not good and Sean's as he frantically tries to find clues to where the girls have gone. There does end up being a body count by the end of the book sadly and those happen pretty suddenly. This is not a deep thinking book, but it is entertaining. Not sure I ever want to visit the catacombs in Paris though, maybe only the tourist bits. Though the cataphile information was pretty interesting.

My favorite classic monster book to read was Dracula. I feel that Kiersten White did a wonderful job diving deeper into the much maligned story of Lucy and finally gave her the happy ending that she deserved. This books jumps from present to past via the diary of Lucy while she was alive and then transcripts with a therapist (reminded me of Interview with a Vampire) recounting her vampiric afterlife. All this gave Lucy good depth and explains what shaped her into a fairly well adjusted vampire (at least better than the Lover or the Queen). The other present viewpoint is from Iris, on the run from a giant MLM company, Goldaming, a business with a secret and sordid past touting a special way of life, becoming living gods and goddesses at the highest level (hint hint, not quite as true as advertised). So, I did enjoy the past sections more than the present ones because they made Lucy seem fully real while Iris didn't have too much depth, though she did have much better morals than her mother and the company she leads. But I did enjoy how it all tied up in the end with characters past and present finally all get together to finish what was started so long ago when Dracula first went hunting, killing, and changing Lucy and the friends she made who were also his creations but became their own women and stronger because of it. This was a satisfying book to read and props to the cover which so cool and lets you know that Lucy is not to be messed with. She deserves that.

Funnily enough, this was the second story I have read this year based off the old fairy tale of the child who had Death as their godfather. I absolutely loved this one! Hazel is a fabulous character and though she had a really awful childhood, she turns out to be caring and wanting to help people and belong somewhere. The Dreaded End (aka Merrick) tends to watch from afar but gives her the talent and books and a place to live as she learns to be a great healer and she discovers the person she wants to be. Like her other books (which are also awesome and fun to read), it does get pretty dark in parts, especially with the disease that the king contracts that Hazel is prophesied to heal. That Brilliance is quite nasty. It is there, as the original tale goes, that Hazel must find her own path (to save the most people) possibly going against the gods and their plans for the country. It is a wonderful story, very real with emotions and I will admit that as it got closer to the end I began to fear what the end would be as everything seemed to be going wrong. But it was a fantastic and tearful end (yes, I did cry for that last chapter) and so I will highly recommend this book to everyone! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this chance to read a well done fantastic novel. Erin Craig has done it again!

I enjoyed this sequel better than the first. This was a fascinating world with chaos magic, blood magic, empyreals, and an awesome Phoenix. The reason I liked this one better is that there was a bit less of the annoying instalove between Talon and Darling and more traveling around trying to find the newly made Empyreals and continue the peace efforts that Caspian had started before he turned into a dragon and stop the despicable Aurora from completing her dastardly blood magic plan and ruining everything. That's quite a lot to put on the plate of Darling who went from battle captive to the Phoenix reborn though I think it was rightly given for all that she went through and she is definitely the best person for the job. There is a little dive into the history of Chaos and the use of blood magic back in the past which led to the death of the phoenix a hundred years ago, as well as the damning up of chaos, making boons weaker and wrong as time went on. This book is mostly righting all those wrongs and while there was the tracking down of the compelling dangerous Aurora, it is mostly peaceful and I enjoyed reading this (though I hated the part in the barn at the end). It does end nicely and wraps up the story on a good note.

The first book was excellent, bringing dark dealings with eldritch gods to both survive and thrive in the cutthroat world of ballet. So, I was super excited to see what Laure has been up to with her new powers as the vessel of Acheron after the destruction of the Palais Garnier. I mean after all that, it is no wonder that Laure is struggling, trying to find purpose in life as ballet is not quite as important anymore and figure out what Acheron wants with her has a vessel. I understand the rage she feels, from the lies of people tell to rationalize the tragedy of the Palais Garnier, the way her mother abandoned her, and now there are new acolytes vying for the power to rule the world. Also, you get some nice history explained (via Laure's mother) about the truth of Acheron and Lethe and Elysium. Again, I do not think Laure is the villain in this book. She cares too much about others, struggles hard to not to give into Acheron and wreak havoc, and is trying to save the world she loves (Elysium). I love the friendships she has (and maybe a bit more) with her fellow Acheron monsters, Andor and Keturah and how they are willing to stand with her as she makes the choice of whether to let her inner beast free in order to stop the true monsters seeking the destruction and power of gods in the world of mortals. I totally loved the ending and what Laure chose to do which made her totally badass (that bathroom scene!!!!). This was a very worthy sequel and I enjoyed it all.

The author does post a warning that this story is dark and disturbing and she does not lie! The picture she paints of the island with its people who don't welcome strangers (who are too weak to survive) and live a very hard life so that the reader can clearly picture it. Aoileann has lived there her entire life, hated and feared by everyone for what happened to her mother that to them, twisted Aoileann into something wrong. So it is understandable why she is the way she is. It is definitely not a healthy environment, in the house with her grandmother and the bed thing. While I will say it was not a comfortable read, I did find it fascinating in a disturbing way and I had to finish it to find out why Aoileann is stuck and how her mother ended up the way she was and how and if Aoileann will be able to finally escape the island. Very raw and visceral and dark but well written. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review.

While the first book seemed to have solved Kosara's problems with Zmey by trapping him in the wall with his sister, all is not well. There were repercussions with the "czar of monsters" being kept away from his realm and that is only part of the issues. Monsters are showing up in summer and it is still snowing like winter and it is like the Foul Days all over again. I was happy to dive right back in to the story and I admire Kosara, who despite all the setbacks with her twelve shadows (that make her one of the most powerful witches) not listening to her (and making unsanctioned changes) and her still hearing Zmey, does her best. And luckily Asen is on the trail of dead witches which lead him back to Kosara for help. He loosens up in this book ( and considering what happens, that is a very good thing) which makes me like him more and him and Kosara work well together, when Kosara actually admits to needing help instead of shouldering everything herself. Honestly, that is the main thing in this book, how it will take help from others to solve this problem that has gotten massively out of control (you get more back story in this book about how and why Zmey is the way he is). This has a very satisfying ending to a well written duology. I really enjoyed listening to it (really helps me know the pronunciation of names and really gets me feeling the atmosphere of the book). The narrators do a great job and it is easy to tell which character is speaking.

This was a fun and kind of scary book to read! It raises issues that I am sure could be reality sooner rather than later. Not only was it a contest with couples trying to raise virtual kids in the metaverse while being judged all the time by the viewers (and of course the trolls who judge everything you do) on their methods but it dealt with what should be the rights of these digital kids who only exist in the metaverse but seem so lifelike with the AI learning all the time. I think that is the scariest part because we do badly enough with real people. Do those kids have souls or is it all just code? So, the book really got me thinking about that while I followed along as the families deal with a sped up version of babies growing quickly, those that survived anyways. You have couples that cash in on the kid, getting free stuff from companies for advertising, to ones that are replacing a real kid of their that died, Some that aren't fully committed because face it, raising a digital kid would be weird, and some with big secrets. It makes for a fast read, almost as fast as the digital kid reaches new milestones. The couples weren't all that likeable but were very lifelike in their struggles in the Real World and raising their digital kids. All have secrets and by the end it is all revealed along with the contest winner and a big Real World reveal. So, yes, a good book with an interesting definitely could be a real future and a bit scary but I enjoyed it.

I will say that as soon as I saw the cover of this upcoming book, I really was intrigued to see what it was about. I will note, that this book has put me permanently off fruit pies! Not that I am much of a pie eater anyways but I am warning that this book may put you off any pies made by little old friendly women! You have two normal people, Sam and Emma moving to a picturesque small island where everything seems so perfect after Sam's marries the wonderful Ben. That never ends well. You get the nice creep of something wrong after they get there, Sam and Ben's honeymoon cut short because his mother fell. There are nightmares and strange pregnant women found or had died (including Ben's previous wife), all wearing necklaces like the one Sam got from Nadine when she married Ben. Yes, there are ghosts but these ones are firmly in the trying to help mode because there is something even worse happening on this island. It picks up into high speed crazy scary after the weird pie party for adults only. Warnings abound from people who disappear, little old ladies are up in your business, all wanting to help Sam with the pregnancy that happened all of a sudden and is very odd. And there are so many secrets it is amazing the island doesn't sink with the weight of them! Very hard to put down and a very good horror! I don't want to spoil the twists and all so I am just going to say it is dark and twisty.

Long Live Rae!!! I had a wild good time devouring this book and cheering on the so called viper villains. I will say despite the chance Rae got to escape her dying body and try for a cure from that mysterious woman, she definitely was thrown into the story at an awful time for her character. Props to Rae for the quick thinking that did not end up with her dancing to her death in iron hot shoes. And while Rae hammed up the villain side of things, I did find that all the characters in this dark city of Elam, were shades of grey, even the so called heroes and the damsels in distress so beautiful that the world falls down to worship them (that would be Lia) had dark sides. It was fun to root for the villains who embraced that darkness while still trying to help the story continue so that love could win and also the Emperor could rise. I absolutely loved Cobra, and the murderous minded Key and of course Rae. I also ended up liking a few others, once their true selves showed through. There are many laugh out loud moments (a horse named Google Maps!) hidden amid the copious amounts of blood shed. I am happy that someone got their just desserts and while the book ends on a cliff hanger (I really want to read the next book now!) I was going yes yes yes when the Emperor finally showed up though he seems really scary and I hope he doesn't destroy all the good changes that happened differently from the books that Rae had known.

It has been awhile since I dived into the world of Elantra but it was easy enough to get into the flow of this new spin off as certain words sparked my memory and so I was able to enjoy this story very much! You have Robin, with secrets of his own looking for Raven of the very mysterious past so that she too can join the Academia. I found Raven to be fascinating, as she collects glass that sometimes no one can see, to the way she interacts with the world and her connection to Robin. It is a good thing she went to go find him because there were students dying on the grounds of the Academia and no one could see how or why, only that it was happening more and more and someone needs to do something about. So, of course Raven and Robin get drawn into it though they have a strong group of diverse beings (like Starrante who I absolutely love! and the mysterious Grey Crow aka Giselle). You have awakened buildings and also immortals like the Barrani and Dragons in this book to round out the cast. My favorite Barrani was Terrano of course and I loved how he was tolerated on campus because he could not be kicked out (not a student, just a busybody sticking his nose into everything), With all those beings, the killer had no chance of achieving his goal and it had a splendid ending with enough left open that there could be much more to the Academia as it awakens fully with more students.

Well, it started with a slow creep with Nate and his family moving every few months or so and falling apart due to nightmares about the Hiding Boy because they lived on the street next to the infamous so called Murder Road which was cursed with people in every house being killed by the Hiding Boy. Very good start with that mystery of why Nate and his family need to keep moving and then when he meets up with the trio (Max, Seb, and Tyler) who are on the hunt to see if certain urban legends (the most ghostly ones) are true. And because Nate joins them, the legends do seem to be coming to life! That was nicely scary. Not many questions were answered for roughly two thirds of the book, raising the level of creep and making me very curious about the Hiding boy and why it was haunting Nate's family. I was not expecting that twist in the last third and when it hit, I was very WHAT!!!?? And then I had to finish the rest of it in one sitting because that is when it got really wild and I had to know how the story was going to end. That twist is what bumped up my rating to 4 stars. So you have a slow burn on the ghosty bits and then very ramped up last section. I enjoyed reading this as it was nicely entertaining. I mean I am sure all of us have tried to do Bloody Mary in the mirror or messed with haunted houses. I am glad though I have yet to meet a ghost up close!

Well, that was a wild ride! You have multiple characters, all with secrets related to the happenings on Orca Island several years ago with a crazy cult, rich guys who think they can own or buy anything, and people trying to survive all that. Add in a strange and unusual talent (really cool and I think it was a nice surprise) and a nice twist ( I did have my suspicions and I was right) and I really enjoyed the whole story. Hannah was a good character, easy to like, especially when you learn about her backstory. She is a survivor and is doing the best she can with the hand dealt to her. This novel has several character POVs and the timeline jumps between past and present but I felt it melded well and revealed the story the best way. I did not get confused and each character added to the story from Greene and his special gift, to Caroline and her craziness, to Josh who had the violin with a mind of its own and then of course Allan, the uber rich guy who thinks the world revolves around him. I liked the magic realism and how it played a part in the book. Yes, it was a bit weird when first introduced but I rolled with it. I liked this story a lot and the ending was nicely satisfying in how family (found and made) is more important than all the riches in the world.

This a fantastic new world to delve into! This book, taking place in the country called One which is under attack by the creatures known as Shod. The only thing that can take down these mindless Shod are the dolls that are made with great care and imbued with the breath mark to come alive and protect the people living in the country called One. The story is mostly from the point of view of Shean, a young woman trying to prove herself to be a guard dollmaker in remembrance of her family (also dollmakers) killed in the Red Tide (a massive Shod attack on the city called Pearl). Because she had much to prove and would not accept anything different from what she wanted, she came across as pretty petulant and annoying at first. Luckily, as she discovers secrets and truths and faces down the Shod, she grows and changes into a more mature personality and I grew to quite like her. Her changing is due to the travel to Web and meeting the people there, including the dollmaker Ikiisa (unique in her way with dollmaking and quite the survivor) and the mysterious Roque (who I really hope we will meet again in another book!). This is definitely the first book in a new series and I can't wait for the next one to come out so I can find out what Shean does with her new knowledge of the Shod and the dolls she will create to solve the problem with the Shod. Plus I want to see the other countries, like maybe the one called Steep.

This was a fun story to listen to! I enjoyed the full cast (usually the books I listen to only have one narrator doing all the voices). It surprised me at first but the different narrators made the episodes of Haunt Sweet Home so easy to visualize. I could see the books sipping off the shelves in that grand library. Most of the story is about Mara and leads up to that fateful episode that is being shown, Mara is a very likable character and I really felt for her, as she felt both overlooked by her family and picked on for not really knowing what she wants to do (whether it was finishing college or finding a career). I think her taking up the offer her cousin Jeremy gave her being a PA for the night crew in his Haunt Sweet Home tv show. I kinda think it would be fun to be on the night crew for a show like that, though I guess if you spend all your time making hauntings "happen" on these houses that get picked for the show, it should be no surprise that you find one or two that actually might have resident spirits. This discovery was done in a fun way and so yes, there are ghosts but I would not consider this scary. In fact I liked how sweet it was and how the experience was able to help Mara grow and start to figure out who she wants to be. So, fun book, both to listen to and to read. Not too long but just the right length. I loved the narrators and a big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance to listen to this!

This was a nice collection of dark fairy tales linked by the town of Greymist Fair, a village in the middle of a vast forest ruled by Death. Now, as this takes inspiration from some of the tales by the Brothers Grimm, I knew it would be fairly dark. And I enjoyed it a lot as the tales ranged from the current time to the past (alternating) it was done in such a way as to keep it all connected and provide additional answers to why certain people died and why Death is so determined to make all the village victims and not just ones that stray off the path. I was sad to learn why certain people had to die (Heiki's mother for one) but it was also cool to see how some people (the prince) were able to learn from their unwise decisions and grow and not die. Though there was also satisfaction in the deaths of other despicable villagers. This was a fun version of older fairy tales and I enjoyed reading it all and how it ended with hope, even in dark times with Death coming for all in the end and how you should be able to greet Death as an old friend when they come for you.

Well, at first this book was a fairly strait forward read with Kajal working to bring back her sister Lasya before she turns into a bhuta that goes on a nice killing spree. Interesting that that happens to the people who are not burned after they are dead. After her first success at resurrection (Love that good dog Kutaa!) it starts to get tangly with Kajal being made to bring back the crown prince by the people who are fighting against the current regime before she can get her sister back. Then you dive deep into mythology with all the demons, dakinis, and the realms that border the mortal one. I suppose it makes sense for all that (especially getting help from a naga) because not only do you have an usurper, there is also a grievous blight affecting the land, animals, and now people. You do get some mysteries solved after people are brought back to life (thanks to the hard work of Kajal) though it does end with a cliffhanger sadly, with groups separating to travel to different planes to stop the blight and figure out why it happened and who is responsible. So, a fun book to read (even of some of the words I had to look up) and I can't wait to see if Kajal, Laysa, the deva and asura, and of course Kutaa, can save the day and the realm for everyone (demon, human, and all).

What does it mean to be human? Is being human the best thing for a society? This book first starts out as a last community at the end of the world. But all is not peaceful and there are many secrets being kept from the villagers by the long lived elders/scientists from before. I really liked the first bit with the odd things like everyone dying at age 60, why is there a strict curfew which automatically puts the villagers to sleep at the same time every night but also how they wake up sometimes with bruises, scrapes, and tiredness. Those things kept me eagerly reading, especially when one scientist ends up dead suspiciously and everyone seems to have a motive for murder. The stakes are raised nicely with the lowering of the shield against the fog and man eating insects until the murderer is found. It did get a bit confusing as the story went on and it always kind of threw me when Abi would talk to someone because it was never announced, just automatically switching from third person to first for a bit. I think that could have been better. The secrets with Blackheath were also weird and how people kind of wanted the murder solved but also not and there were so many secrets kept. The murder could have been solved a lot sooner and it might have saved a few. But I did enjoy the ending.

Well, this book definitely hit the mark (with an arrow of course!) for campy horror. It takes place mostly at the closed down camp and has all the tropes for that kind of horror. You have groups of teenagers splitting up to try and contact someone, there is no signal for phones (except at the top of a very sketch lighthouse), and a person dressed up as the local legend Witch of Lost Lake hunting them all down with masterful precision and a very powerful bow and arrows. You also have Reagan and Olivia trying to find out the truth of what had happened 16 years ago because someone did a good job of messing with the evidence and pinning the blame on the wrong person (maybe). So it was a fast and easy read and though the romantic bits that started popping up were a bit annoying. Running for your life from a witch but also have a meetcute? Not needed. But still mostly fun to read and I must admit that the murderer or maybe more than one get what they deserve. A bit of a shocking ending but fitting. Not a deep or complicated book but a good summer read, though you may want to make sure you have a strong signal on your cell if you are going to camp this year.

I totally loved Middlegame and the story of Roger and Dodger on their journey to become the Doctrine of Ethos and avoid being killed by the alchemists who created them. They only had a small cameo in Seasonal Fears, which was also a good book though not as strong as the first one. I was so happy to see Roger and Dodger make a reappearance in Tidal Creatures. And it wasn't just a snippet of them. It made sense to have them join up with the Lunar Goddesses and God who travel over the impossible city and figure out the mystery of why several of the goddesses have been killed as they are supposed to take over the impossible city one day (being the Doctrine of Ethos and all). The Lunar deity are very interesting with their different powers (from growing peaches that make people immortal, to going on the hunt and shooting arrows from a special bow), both their step up forms and also their human selves. It was nice to see more of the impossible city, even if the despicable alchemists are also trying to find a way in. They are the true monsters of the world, not the constructs and cuckoos they make who always seem to rebel and break away. In this book, it is Kelpie who is adorably cute. She was lucky to find Isabella and her son who were able to get her where she was needed via Roger and Dodger and their "clown house." This was a fun book to read.

From the cover, which is a glamourous shot of the beautiful actress Lulu Wong and drew me right in, to the hard work and creativity and daring that May, Gemma, and a bit Peony, to solve the mystery of Lulu's horrible murder in Hollywood, this was a solid fun story to read. Yes, it was fiction, but it felt nicely real, especially with the hardships Gemma and May and their family were going through in these tumultuous times when Chinese people were looked down on and the places they lived in Chinatown were threatened to be torn down for a railway station. All that made me admire May and Gemma even more because they refused to give up, trying to find the murderer and keep their family and flower business together, making enough to keep a roof over their heads. They faced prejudice, for their race, and also gender which caused conflicts, but it was nicely balanced by good people who also wanted justice for Lulu. The looks into making movies of that time were interesting too. It was a nice and fun book to read!

With the start of a phone call demanding money in return for her daughter, this book immediately hooked me to find out what Meghan was going to do. Which you won't find out for awhile because the ICU where Meghan works has a patient, a survivor of a suicidal jump off a bridge and a great big mystery of why Caitlin would do such a thing. It falls to Meghan to care for this patient and comfort Caitlin's grieving family which brings up painful memories of her own. And on top of that, there is a man attacking women on the streets. Did he have a hand in Caitlin's jump? And if that is not enough, Nat reenter's Meghan's life, trying to escape an abusive husband. So many twists and turns, impossible decisions to make and the danger rises for Meghan and Sienna, making this a super hard book to put down. This is the first book I have read by Mary Kubica but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more stories by this author!

First off, I love this gorgeous cover and that is what first drew me to the book. Arthie is an interesting character carrying a special gun and running Spindrift, a tea house that turns into an illegal bloodhouse that she also got by trickery and keep going with secrets and blackmail. So, cool premise. It tried to be like Six of Crows but with vampires instead of grisha. It did not quite reach that level but had enough twists and turns to keep me reading to see if Arthie and gang could steal the ledger and save her tea house. And while I though the interactions between Jin and Flick were cute, it really didn't need Arthie fall for Laith or anyone else. I liked the kitten. The story did drag a little bit with the setup of the heist but redeemed itself with the ending, much as downer it is with everything going but secrets revealed and I am sufficiently intrigued to find out what happens in the next book with Jin and Arthie and who that mysterious Wolf is.

This is an interesting story about how a young woman named Marley and her mother move to a little town called Mercury where she becomes entwined with a certain roofing family, the Josephs. It ranges back and forth in time, starting with the discovery of a body in the church attic and then jumping back with the various viewpoints of Marley and the Joseph brothers, Baylor, Waylon, and Shay. It may be a small town but there are big secrets that Marley learns ( about Elise) and is a part of and she does her best to stay afloat with it all and grow fast to take care of them, their business, and the son she has with Waylon. I really admire her for being willing to take such a big responsibility upon her shoulders, even when she doesn’t make the best choices. I still rooted for and the brothers, they were able to keep the roofing business running despite Mick’s flamboyant ideas that used up so much of the company account. He and Elise were not so easy to like but made a good foil for Marley and Waylon. This book has sweet points, heartbreak, sadness, and joy and I really came to love how human the characters were, none of them are perfect but each of them left marks on the others to make them who they were by the time the body is uncovered.

What begins as a meandering tale with a narrator (a man named Elliot) in no hurry, laying out details of this whydunit of a murder of the famous actress, Lana on a small island with a small group of suspects of friend, family, and employees. It jumps between the present to recent past and even further back to childhood. Which one of them could have done the dirty deed? Or was it more than one? Mayhap it was the friend having an affair with Lana's husband? Or was it Jason so that he can get the money to get out of his financial troubles. The suspects all have good reasons to want Lana gone. It is an enjoyable meander as all the characters and their motives and secrets are laid bare. Then it does a twist and you think you might have figured it all out but then it goes and turns head over heels in another directions leaving the reader going what? what? what! It was so much fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I think the thing I liked the most about this story is that Linden, Sorrel, Juniper, and Rowan were such great sisters, even as Linden pulled away from her friends after her mysterious disappearance, reappearance and loss of that memory. It was all about family and working together to solve the new mystery of Delilah's death and the even older mystery of what happened to little Elam. I love that it was also interspersed with the extremely yummy things that Linden would whip up when she needed to think things through plus it was cool that she could infuse emotions into them too. A powerful ability she has! And her sisters have neat gifts too. All come in handy for finding bodies, and ferreting out secrets in the little town. Now, on to the moth winged man. Interesting character that I wished would have gone into more detail about, especially with the beings on the other side. He has nicely creepy with the red moths on people destined to die. So, good story and interesting town that would be fun to come back too.

Welcome to the dark world of alchemy, where the dead can rise again (albeit sometimes a bit gooey inside) and those with means can live forever like the Empress has been, eating the life gold created by the alchemists in her employ. Zilan longs to be one of those royal alchemists and escape the bonds of poverty along with her brother and sister (AKA cousins). I really enjoyed that trio and the way they stuck together which made the ending pretty awesome with how it was solved even though I now can't wait for the next book to see if Zilan can bring about the impossible in bringing everyone back without the price of evil attached to it. I will admit when the Empress named Zilan the Scarlet Alchemist, I got very strong Full Metal Alchemist vibes. Kind of the same in the regards that the royal alchemists are working dark magic for a powerful Empress who has her own agenda which does not include anyone else in power (like a certain Crown Prince). I am glad this book focused more on familial bonds, rather than just rushing headlong into romance between Hong and Zilan. Though they were cute and I hope they get a happy ending (along with Durian the duck!).

This was good but depressing. Life never is as great as it seems when one party forces its views on everyone else claiming it gives stability at the cost of freedom of choice, like the Quorum does in this book. Dystopias are always about this and that is what this is. It is good but I did have to take a break. I actually read a horror book. Funny thing is, despite the monsters and death, that book was less scary than the pervasiveness of The Meadows. You really can destroy people with soft words. I am glad there is hope by the end. People should always have the freedom to choose how and who they want to live with. It was a well written book and it kept my interest with the flipping back and forth from the Meadows to the city after graduation. Eleanor faced many tough choices in figuring out herself and happiness. It was easy to feel for her and the other girls she was with. I also liked how the cover fit into the book and when it got to that point I actually stopped to look at the cover again. And the tech in this book was pretty cool.

Well, except for that major bit of a cliff hanger, this book was a magically wild ride and I really enjoyed it. Marlow (who to me acted like someone in her twenties instead of a teen, which is not a big deal so I went with it) is an awesome character and I loved how she was a cursebreaker always searching for the truth, whether it be to break a curse or find out about her mother. Caraza City was very interesting and I definitely would want to live in in Evergarden over the Marshes with all its gangs. Swift is a good friend to Marlow though and always has her back, even when she might not make the wisest decisions and runs head first into trouble. The hex cards are cool and I would not mind having a few of those in my back pocket. The magically items of Evergarden were fascinating too. I hope the next book doesn't take to long to come out because I really want to find out what happens next for Marlow, and Adrius!

This story certainly was interesting and kept me hooked for the whole book, despite its flaws. I think the houses were cool, especially back in the day when their crests were actual beings all due to the power of Chaos. It was hard to decide whether Caspian was actually mad ( I would love to see his paintings) or just very devious in all his plans that included the other Chaos touched person, Darling (odd name and it threw me a bit). The insta love between her and Talon was a bit much but it did show that Talon was a decent guy and I hope things turn out alright between him and Darling, especially after that cliff hanger. I had my suspicions about Caspian in what he was up to and I am glad I was right. The next book should be super exciting with that twist. So this book was good, not the best but it was building up to the next book I think. I still had fun reading it.

As long as I pictured this as an alternative earth, then I could mostly get into the story. Otherwise it was a bit too much to believe. I mean, come on, a major pop star getting dragooned into being a super spy going after an ultra bad guy with only a week of training? Winter is super cute though and is a genuinely good guy, despite being ultra famous. Sydney was a bit harder to like and if you are part of a super secret spy group, sent on dangerous missions, you would think that the spies would be required to have physical checkups fairly regularly to make sure you are in top condition and less likely to botch a mission. So that was another thing I had to suspend my disbelief on. Their relationship was a bit rocky but not bad by the end. With all the talents of both of them, they are good working together and I am glad that is possible. Still it was a pretty good book with a cool cover and a completely fantastical storyline.

This book made me think a lot about what makes up a person. Is it the sum of their experiences? Or something more? The way that they traveled/teleport is very intriguing to think of because of that. So, I do like it for that, even if the book left me questioning so much. I don't want to give away too much because the fun of reading this was not knowing what was going to happen next. There was a nice creep factor with the before and after slowly revealing what had happened to Jessica when she traveled to the DS Theseus to meet up with her parents and then reside on Carver 1061c for a research trip. Yes, there are some unresolved bits and it did leave me wanting more, but it did also leave me thinking and so after all that thinking I will say it was a good book, unsettling but good. I do want another book about maybe the history of Carver 1061c. That bit was pretty fascinating.

Well, this definitely reads as a middle grade book. It has action but is resolved quite quickly. More quickly than I though the rising of apocalypse beasts would be. That bit was a little disappointing and was very squished at the end of the book. In its defense, the book itself is not really long. As I am a bit older than middle grade, I expected more but it should go well with the younger crowd. Zach and Sandra not only have to deal with regular bullies but need to stop the world from ending due to the knights of the apocalypse. That is quite a bit for 12 year olds but these two are up for it, with a little help from Carmen and Zach's little sister and of course, Ash, the king of demons. Lots of snark and funny bits, including the gullnado that Zach accidently starts keep the story going and so I think this wasn't too bad for what it is, made for tweens.

I really liked Whisper Man and The Shadows got me completely hooked on this author and so I had high hopes for this book. I mean the title "The Angel Maker" and a killer (the infamous Jack Lock) that knew the future (though not well enough to avoid capture by the police). So very intriguing! I did get through this very quickly, there was never a dull moment from the beginning with Michael attacking Chris and then Alan with his odd death and surprising actions, almost like he knew the future. I did have to go back a couple times though because there were some confusing bits, what with the jumps to the past and people that popped up, making new connections. I also feel that the whole reason for the angel maker title ended up being lost in the story of Alan and Edward and their missing children, not the angels in the backyard. That was kind of never fully told. So, it wasn't quite as perfect as the first two books but I still enjoyed it a lot.

I was intrigued with the concept of the wandering forest, the poisoned lake and the Endlans with their magic singing. That and the cover had me really excited to read this book. I am a sucker for a beautiful cover. Despite all that, there ended up being something slightly lacking. Maybe it was because I was not in the mood for young forbidden love between Leelo and Jaren. It seemed too convenient that she should fall for the first outsider she sees. The racism of the Endlans also took away from my joy in the reading of this story. Leelo's aunt Ketty and even Sage had so much poison in them that it repelled me when they were talking. Now, the good. I did enjoy the wandering forest bits. It was cool and creepy with the descriptions of how it changed or how it devoured things sometimes. I kinda wish there had been more about that, especially at the end with what happened to it. Jaren with his sisters was cool and I think I liked him better than Leelo. So it was a fairly good book but had some tropes I was a bit tired of.

I was really drawn to this book because of the cover and the illustrations of the main characters in the beginning was awesome. I like when that happens so that I can picture the characters better. It gave me high hopes for the story which sounded interesting too. I was really into the first half of the book with Zephyr the strategist working brilliantly to try and help her Lordess Ren to defeat Miasma and her army. The way she thought several steps ahead of what was obvious was cool and the zither playing (a mark of a good strategist, one that is connected with their qi and better able to understand the world) kept me interested, especially as she plotted to get the South to join up with Ren. Then the twist happened and it totally changed to story. It was harder to get through the back half and since nothing was resolved, I am not sure how I feel about it. I wish there had been more of the logical strategist and war strategy and less of the fantastical god elements. I do like the bit at the very end which tells all about how this was based on the "Romance of Three Kingdoms" book. So, I may search out the second book when it comes out, if only to get some closure but it won't be at the top of my tbr list.

The Picture Bride started out good and very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the picture brides, including Willow, Hongju, and Songhwa where what they had been told about life in Hawaii with husbands and the paradise it would be, ended up not being true and how each one of them reacted to the truth and carried on, or not. That would have been really hard and was interesting to read about. However, that whole plot seemed to peter out as Willow struggled through hard times and good in Hawaii, creating a family and learning to love her husband, Taewan. I lost interest in the story as it kinda bogged down with all the politics of the various Korean parties and patriots going off to fight or returning to Korea. The ending seemed a bit rushed and a little confusing too, especially with the change from Willow’s viewpoint to Pearl’s and the sudden jump in time to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. So, not a bad book, but it could use a little help to make it a little clearer.

First off, awesome cover with the color and rabbits, innocent looking at first, until you spot the dead one. Makes for a very intriguing book. The story was interesting too. Not quite up to the Knives Out caliber that it touts from the blurb, but still a good read. Not only do you get a good look into how hard it was to be different back then, but you get to see how resilient people can be and how havens were created for them to be themselves. And then there is murder most foul. Always a good choice to spice up a story. Pearl finds Andy, a recently fired detective to see if he can solve the mystery of Irene Lamontaine's death. Secrets abound with the rest of the family and much is revealed by the end of the story that makes this a good book to read. I also liked reading about the bits of soap making and what Irene did to keep the company running on new scents. So a fun book and I bet the next book will be good, with Andy on the case!