Lisa
I liked Piper and Leo and Medea (which felt like a callback to earlier books with the villain trickery)but that was it. This book was far too long for no reason. I did not like how so many chapters opened with a dream sequence, it felt very repetitive. The cliffhanger of Percy being at a different camp and the new trio needing to get to Greece was redeeming, hopefully this means the future books will be better
Loved Justin so much! He was a perfect love interest. I loved his story and reading about his siblings. I liked the setting of this one and the different dates Justin and Emma go on, and even the time spent together just shows a different type of love. The book even refers to everyday love; small things instead of cheesy romantic over-the-top scenarios, which I really appreciated. While it can be read as a stand alone, I really loved seeing Easter eggs of previous books in the series. Some connections really took me by surprise and I'm thankful I could understand their significance. My only negative is some scenes were too drawn out.
This was so unlike what I thought and I liked seeing the three siblings come together after a death in the family. The beginning reminded me of How to Sell a Haunted House. I enjoyed reading from the three perspectives and thought everyone was distinct and I liked the flashback chapters from the mom! I also enjoyed the setting and got through this pretty quick. It surprised me that Michael was the cause of all the problems and the dad was actually dead. Thought for sure it would be Lucas
Most of this book I loved, but funny enough not for the romance descriptions, although that was good too! Miles was so sweet to Daphne and it was obvious how much he cared for her. I loved the descriptions of the town and how Daphne was introduced to many aspects of it through Miles. Daphne's love for reading and her job at the library was so incredible to read, I could really see myself through her. Similarly, her relationship with her mom was beautiful and reminded me so much of my mom I was crying at parts. This book was as much as finding your place and discovering yourself as it was about the romance, and I really loved the character growth and development. Some parts dragged a little in the middle for me, so it's not a perfect read, but the beginning and ending of this were perfect!
Really wanted to like this one. I knew going into it that the action wasn't the main plot point; but I just didn't expect for it to end so soon. The home-invasion part was really good, but then most of the book was an investigation on proving the main character wasn't crazy for witnessing the events. The plot twist of the husband being dead got me, but that was it.I didn't like how none of the characters had names, and were just referred to as Mother, Daughter, Son, Husband, Father-in-Law, etc. A lot of this book was just slow and repetitive and boring. If the stakes were higher and we spent more time in the invasion, I would have liked it much more.
Was so readable. I loved the past and present chapters, and the multiple POVs. This wasn't as thrilling as I thought going in, it was more of a character study on abuse and trauma. Miss Fairchild was cunning in her abuse. Her methods of learning her girls, and then weakening them through punishments was kind of hard to read at times. Really enjoyed the final chapter of how the baby bones got under the house. It adds to the depth of Miss Fairchild and gave some insight on how she came to be.
I really loved the setup and feeling of dread as the group of tourists find their fate. However, this book could use some editing as some parts either went on a little too long or felt repetitive. The body horror was not as intense as I had imagined, but I really enjoyed the setting. This book is very cinematic, and I am excited to see how the film and book differ once I watch it. Overall, this book has a bleak and helpless tone that I haven't really seen anywhere else. I liked how the group each died a different fate, and I found Eric's death of being eaten by the vines inside-out the most interesting. I also felt for Stacey and her choice to end her own life. There was truly no way out of this situation. Also the ending of the Greeks looking for Pedro only about to endure the same tragedies was great!
The charm and real-world settings of the first book decreased with each book in the series. This one had too much going on. Did not like the dream sequences and flashbacks, and just overall felt like too much action and not enough heart was put into the final book of the series. I liked the end and Percy's gift granted of gods recognizing all of their childrenbut until then I just felt myself skimming to the end.
I loved this book so much I rushed out to get the sequel before I was halfway through. I loved the small town of Wakan and how the people of the town felt like a family. Alexis and Daniel were so sweet, Daniel is one of my favorite love interests ever. Everything about this was so charming and cozy, but yet so deep. It tackled real-world issues and really had me feeling for all the characters, even the minor ones.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
3.5 stars: I went into this book thinking it would be much more intense than it was, more like an extreme thriller. The first half feels like a fiction novel, which I actually really liked! I loved reading about Ji-won and her family as they deal with their mother's new boyfriend. Some of the food imagery near the beginning was particularly good. As the story progresses you really feel for the character and side with her in her actions.
The action really picks up in the last third of the book, and it was pretty fun. I especially liked the last little bit and the thoughtfulness behind it. George's death and how Geoffrey was framed for it was a great cinematic moment!
I didn't care for all the dream (well, nightmare) scenes that took place. As we got closer to the end there were more and more, and they kind of took me out of the story and left me a little confused on if it was really happening.
The writing is really good and immersive, I'm excited to read more from this author!
Big thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was my first time reading from this author, and I would pick up more work from her! This was a thriller I didn't expect. The whole first half was excellent, working its way to a 5 star rating. I was surprised at the character development and loved reading about Vienna and Madison's friendship and upbringing and how they formed their band. I also loved the mixed media blog posts and newspaper articles sprinkled in. It's funny, because I enjoyed the past chapters more than the flash-forward chapters the day of the incident at the cabin. Part 2 fizzled out for me, and I feel like the story went on too long. The crime was tied up too quickly for me, and I didn't enjoy reading about the aftermath as much. What happens in part 2 was very predictable to me, and I wish the entire book could have been as perfect as the first half.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an ARC of this in exchange for a review!!!
I did not like this author's previous book, and I don't think I will continue reading from him. His concepts sound so good, but unfortunately the execution just doesn't do it for me. I know I'm in the minority, and it makes me sad. The characters in this book felt very one dimensional and I could not connect with any of them. The plot felt all over the place and certain points were obvious, and others were just out of left field. I liked the LGBTQ+ representation, but some of it felt kind of forced. I liked the idea, setting, and the sprinkled mixed media, but it just didn't work out.
As crazy as this sounds, this book was comforting to me. Maeve was very similar to me in many ways, and I just loved her story. This book was such a fun time. I loved the ties to Halloween, and might even have to reread it during the season, with a playlist of all of Maeve's favorite songs of course! The ties to being a Disneyland cast member were so relatable, and the LA scene was a great visual throughout. Many emotions were felt. Sometimes I was laughing out loud, and other times Maeve would think of something that would have me tearing up, neither I expected. Even the death scenes were fun and fresh. Definitely an all time favorite, I cannot believe this is the author's debut novel. I will read anything she writes.
