Mandi
Dear Rachel,
It's been a long time since I've read one of your books. I got too busy to read! And it's a damn shame, since I've never read a book of yours that I didn't fall in love with. I discovered you through the Soul Screamers and Shifter series. And I even got to meet you back in 2012 at BEA! But sometime in there, I just fell away from reading. Other things got in the way. But then I saw 100 Hours.
I was intrigued that this book wasn't urban fantasy/paranormal like the rest of your books. And I had no idea what to expect.
And to be honest, at first I was disappointed. I'd grown so accustomed to jumping into something that is “other” right from the get go (like Faythe's introduction in Stray), that watching the spring break of a few spoiled teenagers felt anti-climactic.
But then.
You made me feel for those teenagers. You made me care about those teenagers who ended up kidnapped in the jungle. I don't know how you do it, but you managed to take the shallow, vapid Genesis and make her my favorite character, when I expected it to be Maddie.
I became emotionally invested in what was happening, and I couldn't stop listening (because I have the audio book). I would get home and sit in the driveway because I couldn't turn it off yet. I would get to work and sit in the parking deck for a few extra minutes just to hear more.
And I never saw that ending coming.
My only complaint is that the audio book for the follow up 99 Lies isn't available yet!
Dear Gillian Flynn,
My introduction to you was 2012's Gone Girl; I was hooked from the get go and could NOT put it down. I have to say – it set the bar really high for your books.
Unfortunately, this one did not meet that bar.
You'd clearly grown as a writer by the time Gone Girl came out, but this one just fell flat. I bumped up my rating by half a star since it was your debut – but in reality, it was very meh.
I figured out who the killer was by chapter 8. It read more like a whiny diary about Camille's life than a crime thriller. I wanted to be kept on the edge of my seat and kept guessing who the killer was, but that's not what I got.
All in all, I was disappointed. I wasn't fully engaged, and the only reason I kept reading was in the hopes that I was wrong about who the killer obviously was. Spoiler: I wasn't.
I'll keep reading your books, but I'll definitely be a bit more choosier in the future.
Dear Ms. Mallery,
A few years back, I discovered your Fool's Gold series and absolutely devoured it. I read nothing else for weeks! It was pretty glorious, since one of my favorite things an author can do is continue to tell new stories in the same world.
When We Found Home isn't part of that series, but my head canon is that it's still the same world – just different characters in a different town. And oh what characters they are!
At first I had a bit of trouble with the frequent narrative changes, but once I had a handle on each character's voice it was easy to distinguish between them. Of course, my favorite was 12 year old Keira. That child stole my heart right from the start. Watching these strangers become family was almost as if I, too, was becoming part of the family. And generally speaking, that's the exact kind of thing I go to a story for.
I want to come out of it full of warm fuzzies, wearing a huge smile, and bursting with joy.
Your book gave that to me, and I really couldn't have asked for much more than that.
Shadow of Night is easily my favorite book in the All Souls Trilogy. Deborah Harkness doesn't just transport us to Elizabethan England—she makes it breathe. From the bustling streets of London to the quieter corners of the countryside, every scene is dripping with detail. You can almost smell the ink on parchment, hear the whispers of spies in shadowed alleys, and feel the chill of Matthew's world closing in around Diana.
Picking up right where A Discovery of Witches left off, Diana and Matthew dive headfirst into 1590 on their hunt for Ashmole 782, but this isn't just a treasure hunt. It's a deep dive into Matthew's past and a crash course in Diana's future as a witch. The stakes are higher, the danger more immediate, and the emotional punches? They hit harder.
One of the best things about this book is the growing cast of characters. Gallowglass, Matthew's nephew, steals the show with his larger-than-life presence and fierce loyalty—he's the kind of guy you'd want in your corner during a bar fight (or a witch hunt). Then there's Jack, an orphan who tugs at your heartstrings and adds a softer, more tender note to the story. And let's not forget the School of Night. Christopher Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh, and other historical heavyweights bring a sharp edge to the plot, reminding us just how dangerous this time and Matthew's past can be.
Diana's journey is just as captivating. Watching her wrestle with her powers and learn under the guidance of a formidable ancestor is like seeing a phoenix rise—messy, fiery, and absolutely worth it. Her struggles to fit into Elizabethan society lead to moments that are both hilarious (corsets, anyone?) and deeply reflective.
What makes Shadow of Night so special is how seamlessly Harkness weaves it all together. It's not just a historical fantasy, or a romance, or a mystery—it's all of those things at once. The historical details are so rich they ground the story, making even the most magical moments feel like they could be real. And the romance? Diana and Matthew's bond only deepens, balancing tenderness with tension as they face new challenges.
The quieter, domestic moments really stuck with me, too. Whether it's Diana navigating Matthew's complicated family dynamics or their little makeshift family growing with Jack and Gallowglass, these relationships give the story so much heart.
If you're a fan of intelligent fantasy with a hefty dose of history, Shadow of Night will absolutely knock your socks off. It's the kind of book you want to savor—but let's be honest, you'll probably devour it and then wish you could read it again for the first time.
I will never not read something Mary Ann Rivers writes. And I have never been disappointed.
While it's hard to pick a favorite character or story (who am I kidding - it's Hefin!), this one definitely ranks at the top.
It was different than the others. The writing is deeper - the story touches heavier topics.
And it was phenomenal.
OH MY GOSH GUYS.
So when I agreed to review this book, it was because it sounded sort of interesting and I hadn't done a blog tour stop in a very very long time. I didn't have high expectations for the book. I was prepared to come out of it firmly feeling “meh”. Since 50 Shades, there have been so many books about kink – and most of them aren't done well at all.
But then I couldn't put it down.
I stayed up until 1am when I was already exhausted because I simply couldn't stop reading this book. This is the kind of book that gets under your skin and in your heart.
There are a few things that irritated me – which bumped it down to 4 stars instead of 5 (but oh my gosh guys – it's so good). First, Moira went from a broken woman to Dominatrix extraordinaire way too quickly. That process should have likely taken months – or at the very least weeks. In the book, it happened in days. Second, I had a hard time believing that someone who went through what Moira did would so easily be able to step into this lifestyle. It was handled well in the narrative, but I just couldn't suspend my disbelief at the beginning.
But truthfully, those things are easily overlooked in the grand scheme of things. This book. THIS BOOK. This book gave me everything I was hoping for (a decent romance) and then SO MUCH MORE.
Cat Montmorency understands kink. She understands the difference between being Dominant and being abusive.
The primary rule of a Dominant/submissive relationship is to hurt, not harm.
Since this was my first novel by Jennifer McMahon, I really had no idea what to expect when I picked it on Netgalley. It sounded rather intriguing, and I like dark mysteries - especially when ther's a hint of the supernatural.
And I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it. There was nothing predictable about this book - and it's rare that I don't figure out what's going to happen at the end quite early on. The Night Sister was written from the various perspectives of several characters, so we never got quite the whole story. Instead, we got snippets from each person's experience. Looking back, it's clear to see how the ending was foreshadowed but while reading I was totally wrong (when I wasn't in the dark). I loved how McMahon seamlessly took us between three different timelines. It would be easy to get confused with that kind of complexity, but I always knew what was happening and when it was happening.
I ended up closing the book (or rather, turning off my iPad) before I went to bed because I was worried about reading about blood and monsters just before falling asleep. That's silly because it really wasn't that scary - but it was so suspenseful that I stayed on the edge of my seat. Who killed Amy? What happened to Sylvie? Is Rose really crazy? Are there really ghosts? And what is the 29th room?
Luckily, every single one of my questions was answered in the end. I hate it when books don't answer all of the questions they raise - but in this case, I got very satisfying closure.
The book I keep thinking of as comparison is Gone Girl - but that's not quite right. There's not a twist of that magnitude, and the plot has virtually no similarities... but I can't shake the comparison. I think it's because it's dark, it does involve murder, and there's a mystery that you're trying to solve before you get to the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed Night Sister, and you will too if you're a fan of suspenseful mystery. This may have been my first novel by McMahon, but it certainly won't be my last.
I think this is going to be a difficult book for me to review.
I hated parts of it. I loved parts of it.
Pia Giovanni drove me absolutely nuts.
Part of me wonders if I would have appreciated the book more had I read it, instead of listening to the audio book. One minute Pia was a whiny pushover who I wanted to smack around and the next she was tossing the gryphons on their asses. Would I have been as irritated if I didn't have to listen to the whininess? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Other irritants: this book is the very definition of insta-love. And it's rarely (if ever) questioned. It's just a completely natural thing for Pia and Dragos to become a couple as soon as he shows up to punish her for stealing from him. Yes, he's intending to kill her but instead they end up together. A couple.
And the entire book is made up of obstacles that seem dire but are tidily wrapped up with no difficulty whatsover as soon as the dragon shows up. Seriously - the climax of the book is Spoilerwhen Pia is about to be attacked by the dark fae King and Dragos shows up and instantly rips him into pieces. Literally. The main antagonist is dead in less than 5 seconds without a fight. That trope happened several other times too - Dragos is just too damn powerful, I guess?
But oh my goodness - the sex scenes were damn steamy. I also appreciated how Thea Harrison used anatomically correct language in many places. Yes folks, this romance novel used the word penis. And testicles. It was so very refreshing to read a story that wasn't full of euphemisms that often make me uncomfortable. Oh! And the word clitoris was used. No pussy or cock here (shudder). Thank you for that Ms. Harrison.
In the end, despite the many annoyances and irritations that occurred I found myself invested in these characters. Even the supporting ones. I want to stay in this world a little longer, so I will read the next book in the series. And I do mean read - no audio book moving forward.
Minor spoilers ahead.
Three nights with a rock star simply isn't enough. I want ALL of the nights with Keaton “Lock” Shaw.
swoon
Three Nights with a Rock Star is a teensy bit like 50 Shades of Grey. But this is the book you wished 50 Shades was. Lock is the front man for a rock band. And he keeps contracts in his nightstand (more CDA and less kink allowances). When Hailey shows up at his hotel to ask for his help in finding the man who got her little sister pregnant, the last thing she expected was to end up bent over his couch. But she agreed to stay with him for 3 nights in exchange for his help.
And every hair pull, bite, and spank over those three nights left me wanting to spend more time in my fantasy where I was Hailey and in Lock's bed.
I think that the reason I like this book so much is that it plays out a fantasy that I've had over and over. What would I do if a total stranger – even if (especially if) he's a celebrity – asked me to share his bed? In the fantasy, I'd do exactly what Hailey did. I'd forget who I was for a few days and give myself over to wanton abandon. And then I would get under his skin so much that he'd fall head over heels in love with me.
Who doesn't fantasize about that?
What Shari and Amber did in this book is give us the fantasy we want without falling into the trap of talking down to the reader or devolving into gratuitous sex. And it absolutely left me wanting more.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.
I didn't think it was possible to do so, but Rachel Vincent has created in Menagerie a world that I've never before seen in my reading. While no single aspect of this world is unique, the way that Vincent has expertly woven various mythologies into a single universe left me feeling as if I were stepping into a new universe for the very first time.
While the book takes place in the United States - specifically Oklahoma and Texas - it is not the United States that we know. In this alternate version, every kind of creature you've ever imagined or read about co-exists with humans. Mermaids, minotaurs, fae, sirens, werewolves, skinwalkers, thunderbirds - there are simply too many to name. They have all of the same rights and privileges that humans do. They work with humans, they live next to humans, and they exist peacefully with humans.
Until the reaping.
One night in 1986, millions of human children were systematically murdered by their parents. In every family, a single six year old child remained alive. It was soon discovered that those six year old children were not human; six years prior, some 30,000 children were born but never made it out of the hospital. They were replaced with surrogates.
Because of the reaping, these non-humans - cryptids - were stripped of any and all rights and privileges. Millions lost jobs and homes. They became property. And the world of the Menagerie was created.
Delilah is thrust into this world when she displays some rather unusual characteristics while touring the Menagerie. After twenty-five years of believing she's human, Delilah's world changes in the span of a few seconds.
As I read, I found myself relating to Delilah in ways I didn't expect. I was at once both captivated and disgusted by the Menagerie. Captivated by the mysteries it contained, yet disgusted by the treatment of those in captivity. The monsters weren't the ones locked in the cages.
At it's heart, Menagerie is a story about humanity and whether or not being human is a pre-requisite (spoiler: it isn't). The story that Vincent tells is intense, vibrant, and - at times - heartbreaking. But what I liked most about it is that it wasn't predictable. I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen, how the characters were going to interact, and how the first book of this trilogy was going to end. I was wrong.
I like being wrong when it comes to the predictability of what I'm reading.
I do have some concerns about things being “too tidy” - and perhaps a bit too easy... but thankfully Vincent has more books coming to muddy the waters again.
I'm really very disappointed. The end felt like Oliver just gave up. Like she'd lost the story and just threw something quick and easy together to end it.
When I'm in a world for the long haul - and anyone who reads trilogies or series are - I want to know what happens to the characters. I want to know something about their futures so I can picture a happy ending at least. This ending didn't give me that. What happened to Hana? Did Fred find her and kill her? I can't imagine he would actually stay in the house just because he told her he would. Did Lena get a chance to settle down with her family?
NOT ENOUGH ANSWER. And not enough details to let my imagination wander. Instead, we hit a wall very abruptly (hey, that wall needs to come down).
