Hello, hello and welcome back to Part 2 of the Eldritch Author feature series!!! I am so excited to bring you our second author of this series, Kish Knight!! I don’t know about you, but this week has been insane already and it’s only Wednesday. So happy to be able to pause and take a breather while sharing this amazing feature.
I want to give a big thank you to Luna and the Authors for connecting with me for this feature series. I’m so excited to be able to share their amazing work with you. Now let’s find out all about Kish!! 😍
Love that Kish is a spooky lover, as many of you know so am I! Also, 8 dogs?? Now that’s a dream. If you want to learn more about Kish, give her a follow on any (or all) of the social media links below.
Now who’s ready to check out Kish’s newest book that released Yesterday, A Drop of Ink and Obsidian. Wow, I absolutely love that title and can’t wait to dive in.
Well this book sounds absolutely fantastic!! Banned magic, the only female king, and trials…. Say no more that’s an auto-buy for me. Can’t wait to share my review down the road. I hope this book also speaks to many of you, and if you have Kindle Unlimited it is available through there!!
Thank you all for stopping by and taking the time to read this feature. I hope you’re enjoying this series so far! Please drop a like, comment, and follow if you find yourself coming back. It means the world to a book dragon like me. 🥰🫶🏻
I’ll see you next week for our third Eldritch Author feature, DL Howard!!
Hello, hello my fellow bookish friends! I am so excited to announce that Today is the first day of seven for a Bookish Feature Series I am doing in partnership with the amazing Eldritch Authors!! For those who follow me over on Instagram (@booksnbites13) you know I am all about supporting Authors, especially Indie & Self-Published Authors. So to be able share this feature series of Rockstar Authors is such an honor. Let’s kick it off!!
Our first Author featured in the Eldritch Author series is Jessica Cage!!
If you’re interested in learning more about a Jessica you can follow her here!
Doesn’t that book sound amazing? I love a fantasy story with mythical creatures!! This sounds like the perfect summertime fantasty story, and I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you so much for swinging by and checking out the first of the 7 features for the Eldritch Author Series!! I’ll see you back next Tuesday for our second Author feature.
Goodbye June, Hello July….5th! Holy Moly time is flying by and I have no idea how to slow it down just a little. I’m shocked that June went by in a blink, and that it was my best reading month this year. Can’t wait to share what I read!
Is this real life? Haha. I read a total of 32 books, a mix of physical/ebook/audiobook, in June 2023. That is by far my best reading month ever!! Not sure I can top it for July, but I’m going to try my darnedest.
I always get asked, “What books did you love?” Or “What did you think of this book?”, so here are my star ratings in order of 5 star and down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
Mastodon by Steve Stred
Crave by Tracy Wolff (reread)
Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
The Return by Rachel Harrison
The Serpent & The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
The Cherished by Patricia Ward
The Foreboding by M.J. Foley
This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham
The Inmate by Freida McFadden
Survive the Night by Riley Sager
The Unblessed Witch by Miranda Lyn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Chaperone by M. Hendrix
Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella
Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor
Brother by Ania Ahlborn
Cicadas Sing of Summer Graves by Quinn Connor
Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke
Bound & Barbed by Samantha R Goode
The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards
My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham
A Love Catastrophe by Helena Hunting
The Archive Undying by Emma Meiko Candon
An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo
The Suffering by MJ Mars
Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Augustina Bazterrica
⭐️⭐️ & less (listed in descending order)
Woven in Darkness by Lucy Holden
Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi
The Night it Ended by Katie Garner
So there ya have it folks! the new authors I have added to my auto-buy/auto-read list are Steve Stred (Horror), Ania Ahlborn (Horror), Freida McFadden (Thriller), Riley Sager (Thriller with horror elements), M.J. Foley (Scifi Fantasy), Carissa Broadbent (Adult Fantasy Romance), Kayla Cottingham (Sapphic YA Horror). I will recommend them to all, if it’s a preferred genre, and if it’s not I’m sure I have other authors to recommend!
Let me know if you’ve read any of these books, or if they’re on your radar! Also, let me know what you read and loved in June. I’m always looking to add to my never ending TBR.
“Disarmingly sensory, with plot twists that are sure to give readers whiplash, Garner has done a phenomenal job of giving us just enough information to think we know where the story is going, only to pull the rug out from under us—over and over again. A nail-bitingly spectacular debut!” —Amanda Jayatissa, author of You’re Invited
Finding the truth seems impossible when her own dark past has her seeing lies everywhere she looks…
From the outside, criminal psychiatrist Dr. Madeline Pine’s life appears picture-perfect–she has a beautiful family, a successful mental health practice and a growing reputation as an expert in female violence. But when she’s called to help investigate a mysterious death at a boarding school for troubled girls, Madeline hesitates. She’s been through tragic cases before, and the one she was entangled in last year nearly destroyed her…
Yet she can’t turn away when she hears about Charley Ridley. After the girl was found shoeless and in pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine on campus, the police ruled it a tragic accident. But the private investigator hired by her mother has his doubts. And if it were Madeline’s daughter who died, she’d want to know why.
Arriving at the secluded campus in upstate New York, Madeline’s met by an unhelpful skeleton staff and the four other students still on campus during winter break. Each seems to hold a piece of the puzzle. And everyone has secrets–Madeline included. But who would kill to protect them?
Intertwining the narrative with the transcript of an anonymous interview, this stunning suspense debut from Katie Garner will take you on a twisting path where nothing–and no one–is what it seems.
Author Bio:
Katie Garner was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. She has a degree in Art History from Ramapo College and is certified to teach high school Art. She hoards paperbacks, coffee mugs, and dog toys and can be seen holding at least one of those things most of the time.
Katie lives in a New Jersey river town with her husband, baby boy, and shih-poo where she writes books about women and their dark, secret selves. The Night It Ended is her debut novel.
I’m so excited to share an excerpt of the book with you. Hope you enjoy!
Friday, December 16
I’m speeding home when the phone rings, persistent and angry, demanding to be heard. I know I should answer it, even though I want nothing more than to throw it out the window. I could let the call slide into voice mail, delete it, never hear the voice on the other side.
But I can’t.
I jerk to the side of the icy road to a chorus of blaring horns, dig the phone out from the cavernous tote bag resting on the passenger seat beside me. The phone is sleek and black, brand-new—opposite of the cracked, chunky white one I’m used to shoving in my back pocket.
A sweet little chime and the ringing ends.
1 new voice mail.
Quickly, I glance in the side mirror. Car exhaust melts away into the morning winter sky. Nothing is behind me, nothing but air. I exhale a deep sigh of relief, press the phone to my ear.
“H-hi, this message is for Dr. Madeline Pine—”
A siren wails in the distance. The phone slips through my fingers, lands mutely in my lap. A knot swells in my throat. I glance in the side mirror again, feel my heart pound, each breath shrinking to tiny gasps. The sirens near. An emergency vehicle speeds past.
It’s only an ambulance.
My body wilts. I take a deep breath. In. Out. The knot in my throat loosens.
I hate the person I’ve become. I’ve never been this nervous, this afraid, anxiety and fear clinging to my every move. I wish I could escape—step into someone else’s life, if only for a moment.
Just twelve short months ago everything was different. I was different. Any other December, I would’ve been home, prepping for the holidays, shopping online for last-minute deals on things none of us needed. My husband, Dave, would be staying too late at work, his dinner wrapped in a blanket of aluminum foil, kept warm on the stove. My teenage daughter, Izzi, would be upstairs in her room, scrolling noiselessly through her phone, feet kicked up on the bed behind her.
The house would’ve hummed with the steady softness of disjointed home life, but instead here I am, lurched to the side of the road, the air frigid in the tiny cabin of my car, listening to a voice mail I never thought I’d hear.
I replay the message:
“H-hi, this message is for Dr. Madeline Pine. If you get this, I’m Matthew Reyes, a private investigator working on behalf of a family. Listen, I was hoping you could please call me back at this number, I—I’d really appreciate it. We have a sixteen-year-old female who died on school property. The police believe it’s an accident, but the mother hired me to be sure. The girl was found at the bottom of a hill. No witnesses. I thought you might be able to help—given your expertise. Please call me back. Thanks.”
I repeat his words in my head. The girl was found at the bottom of a hill—I can picture it, picture her. She’s there, fallen sideways, her body splashed across the woodland floor. Moss and stones, skin and blood, leaves and twigs. I don’t know her, but I don’t have to. I already feel as if she were mine.
The man who left the voice mail, Matthew Reyes, has a voice both gravelly and weary, and I know what he wants the moment he mentions the school. Police often believe they can demand anything they want and get it immediately—even psychological evaluations—but it takes time to gain trust from strangers, and even more time to tease out the truth. Especially from teenage girls.
I start weighing my options. I’m not sure I’m capable of this, of anything. Especially after last year…especially after what just happened in that too-hot office during this morning’s disastrous therapy session.
My face flushes at the memory of the woman who’d been sitting cross-legged in front of me. Her beautiful face. Her pink silk shirt blurring out of focus. Her condescending tone—as though the therapy sessions weren’t all for her benefit to begin with.
That’s what I have to remind myself. That’s what I have to hold on to. They’re for her. Not me. I’m the one who’s fine. I should be taking comfort in that, taking comfort in the fact that I never have to see her beautiful face again, never have to be reminded of—
It’s over. I didn’t have a choice before. Now I do. I have lots of choices. An avalanche of choices. My life before today was preprogrammed for me. Not anymore. I fixed it.
Tears slip down my cheeks. I bite them back, strangle the phone in my lap, squeeze it so tight I wonder how it fails to snap in two. Choices. Possibilities.
My mind whirls as I punch the gas, merge into traffic, race home. I run inside, slam the door, bolt the lock. Gazing around my gloom-infested house, I shrivel back as wind blows branches of a nearby tree, scraping the side of the house like fingernails.
Peering at the bulging paper bag of prescriptions on the kitchen island, my eyes prick with tears. My glasses fog. I take them off, rub the lenses clean on my turtleneck.
After so many months, the pills should be working. I should stop taking them altogether. Just throw them all in the toilet, flush them down, watch them whirl around the porcelain bowl.
I think of words my daughter, Izzi, said to me: Mom, please just stop.
Stop.
I don’t know the person I’ve become, too empty, too full, all at once. I need to change. I want to be different. Every day, I think of ways I can be. It can still happen. I’m free now. I have choices now, possibilities. Maybe it’s never too late to change everything. Maybe I just need to escape.
Besides, wiggle room is all it takes for a snake to get out of its skin.
The phone rings again. I snuff the urge to hurl it across the room before glancing at the screen. It’s the same number as before. The same number as the voice mail. I hold my breath and answer.
“Hello?”
“Hello—is this Dr. Madeline Pine?”
“Um—yes. It is.” My heart thuds. “Who’s this?”
A sigh of relief, deep and heavy, into the phone. “This is private investigator Matthew Reyes. Thank you so much for answering, Dr. Pine. I—I know it’s a chaotic time of year and you’re probably busy with family but…would you be able to make a trip up to Iron Hill?”
“I—I don’t know where that is.”
“It’s about two hours north of Poughkeepsie. Upstate New York.”
“Right, okay.” Far. Very far. Too far for my ailing car to make it. I know I should just buy a new one, but I can’t. My husband Dave always said the color perfectly matched my eyes. Now I can’t even remember the last time we looked at each other.
“So, are you busy this weekend?” Reyes asks, then pauses. “I mean, you’re sure you don’t mind ditching your family right before the holidays?”
“When you put it that way, it sounds horrible.” Awkward laugh. “But, um, my husband and daughter aren’t home now, anyway—they’ve gone away to visit my in-laws.”
“You have no idea how grateful I’d be if you could make it,” he says, sounding hopeful. I don’t know what he looks like, but I can imagine him smiling. “I mean, I’ve been calling around to different psychologists all day, and—well, it should only be for a couple of days. You’d definitely be back by Christmas, the latest.”
I wince, feel a surge of sorrow. I’m too embarrassed to admit that Dave and Izzi have no intention of spending the holidays with me this year. It’s what I deserve after what I did.
“I’m sorry,” I say, “please refresh my memory. Have we ever met? You said you’re a private investigator hired by the victim’s—er, the deceased’s—family?”
“Yes, I mean, we haven’t met, but I read about the work you did on the Strum case last year. I believe one of the victims was around the same age as our current victim. And I pulled up your book online—Dark Side: A Psychological Portrait of the Criminal Female Mind. You specialize in women. Just so happens the case is at an all-girls boarding school.”
My stomach clenches. Focus. Deep breath. I shift my gaze to the calendar hanging in the kitchen. I don’t even know why I bother to keep one anymore. I have the same schedule now, week in, week out. Before, the month of December would’ve been filled with holiday office parties, Izzi’s end-of-year school activities, Dave’s plans for winter break, which I’d always beg him to change.
I glance up. Friday, December 16. This morning’s therapy session slashes across my mind again. I see her face. Blank, empty. Her lips begin to curl around a word. I see myself in the reflection of her eyes. I’m close. Closer. I swallow hard.
“The, um, the students don’t go home for the holidays?” I ask, slumping down to the floor.
“Winter break is Saturday, the tenth to New Year’s. A few students stayed behind.” Reyes pauses. “The students who either couldn’t travel for various reasons or chose not to go home.”
I lean the back of my head against the wall.
Reyes continues. “The school is asking me to wrap up my investigation before students and staff return January 2.”
“Okay…”
He senses my discomfort, keeps talking. “Please. Please say yes. You mentioned you have a daughter. How would you feel if it were her?” he asks. “If she was found dead, you’d want closure, right? To be sure everything was done by the book and no stone was left unturned.”
My stomach flips. “Of course I would.”
“So, please. Please say you’ll help.”
I think of my daughter, Izzi, the lengths I’d go to if she was found at the bottom of a hill. Even if it was an accident, I’d want to know why. I’d want to know how she got there.
If she was alone. Afraid. Or if someone else was responsible. I’d want to know. I’d find them, I’d—
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I confess.
I shut my eyes, see her face again, legs crossed, sitting prim in that too-hot office, the heat blasting, the furniture too big for the tiny space. I tug at the neck of my sweater, suddenly tight, see my reflection in her eyes—close, so close.
No. Stop. I suck up a big breath, blow it all out.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but after that case last year—” My voice cracks.
“The Strum case?” A note of curiosity in Reyes’s question.
“Yeah. Since then, things have been difficult. I ended up taking some time off—”
“I—I wasn’t aware. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It just—it makes cases like this difficult.”
“Oh—”
“But before I say yes or no, can you give me an overview? What, exactly, I’ll be doing when I get there? I want to be sure I know what I’m stepping into.”
Reyes lets out a breath. “Yeah—yes, of course,” he says, a hint of desperation in his voice. “Well, it happened at a private, all-girls boarding school called Shadow Hunt Hall. They have a very small student body on a very large campus. It’s densely wooded and incredibly isolated. It’s one of those ‘back-to-nature, no technology on campus’ sort of places. The girls are mostly… I guess the best word for it is—troubled?”
“Isn’t that the best kind of girl?”
“Uh, here,” he says, ignoring my attempt at a joke. “I’ll send you some info.”
I glance at the screen, see he’s texted a link to the school’s website. I tap it open, swipe down the page. The school is ancient. Giant and stone, with iron gates and actual turrets, like a possessed fairy-tale castle. The curriculum looks interesting.
Definitely nontraditional. It’s all music and arts and dance. I skim the mission statement:
We believe in a holistic, individual approach to learning and rehabilitation, focusing on a curriculum centered on nature, group trust, and a healthy mind-body connection.
Code words for no junk food or internet.
Reyes waits patiently on the other end as I peruse the site. I click on the Tuition & Financial Aid page and flinch. A single term is more than twice the down payment we put on the house.
“You there? Dr. Pine?”
I lick my lips. “I’m here.”
He pauses. “I’m having trouble getting any of the students to even talk to me,” he admits. “That’s why I need you.”
I think of Izzi, chewing on her fingernails, avoiding eye contact when I ask how her day went. Ever since she started high school it’s been all one-word answers—good, fine—before she’d bound upstairs, not to be seen again until dinner.
So I can’t imagine how the girls at this boarding school would react to a male private investigator showing up out of nowhere, prodding them with questions right after their classmate died. No doubt they’d recoil, want nothing to do with him.
Thank you so much for hanging out for my tour stop! I hope I’ve helped you find your next great read. Let me know if you do end up reading, and enjoying, The Night It Ended by Katie Garner.
Happy Wednesday, friends! Another week is flying by, and soon June will be over. Hard to imagine we’re halfway through 2023 already! I can’t believe how quickly time goes as of late, but then again I have my nose stuck in a book so much I rarely know what day it is. Speaking of books, I am swinging by to share one of my recent reads.
Title : The Cherished
Author: Patricia Ward
Genre: YA Horror/YA Dark Fantasy/YA Thriller
Publication Date: April 18, 2023 – Available Now!!
Synopsis (from Amazon)-
For fans of White Smoke, The Hazel Wood, and Wilder Girls comes an original, hypnotizing horror thriller in the vein of Midsommar, as one girl inherits a mysterious house from her estranged grandmother—and a letter with sinister instructions.
Jo never expected to be placed in her absent grandmother’s will—let alone be left her house, her land, and a letter with mysterious demands.
Upon arriving at the inherited property, things are even more strange.
The tenants mentioned in the letter are odd, just slightly…off. Jo feels something dark and decrepit in the old shack behind the house. And the things that her father used to talk about, his delusions… Why is Jo starting to believe they might be real?
But what Jo fears most is the letter from her grandmother. Because if it’s true, then Jo belongs here, in this strange place. And she has no choice but to stay.
My Review – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Be very quiet, don’t make any noise, and definitely do not go into the old house! This was an amazing and creepy dark fantasy/horror YA story. With vibes from The Hazel Wood, Wilder Girls, and White Smoke it’s sure to keep you flipping pages until the end.
One day Jo ends up receiving notice that her paternal grandmother has passed away, and left her house to Jo. Jo’s mom and step-dad are set on doing what they think is best, ignoring Jo’s wishes, and she and her mom make a trip to “get the estate in order” for sale. Little does she know, her grandmother’s cryptic instructions in the will are soon going to make more sense than she ever imagined.
This was an atmospheric, spooky read that is perfect for fans of thrilling dark fantasy or ya horror. I can’t wait to grab a physical copy for my shelves, and for a reread during Spooky Season!
Thanks for taking the time to read this review! A big thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher, Harperteen, for an ebook arc to read and review prior to release. My words and opinions are all my own
Happy Tuesday, friends!! Tuesday’s are exciting days because of all the new books that release, and Today happens to be the release day for The Chaperone by M. Hendrix. I finished this book yesterday and am so excited to share it with you. As always, a big thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis-
Like every young woman in New America, Stella knows the rules:
Deflect attention.
Abstain from sin.
Navigate the world with care.
Give obedience.
Embrace purity.
Respect your chaperone.
Stella can’t go out by herself, or spend time with boys except at Visitations. Girls in New America must have chaperones at all times until they marry, so Stella’s lucky that Sister Helen is like a friend to her. When Sister Helen dies suddenly, she’s devastated, especially when the Constables assign Stella a new chaperone just days later.
Sister Laura is… different. She leaves Stella alone and knows how to get into the “Hush Hush” parties where all kinds of forbidden things happen. As Stella spends more time with Sister Laura, she begins to question everything she’s been taught. What if the Constables’ rules don’t actually protect girls? What if they were never meant to keep them safe?
Once Stella glimpses both real freedom and the dark truths behind New America, she has no choice but to fight back against the world she knows. She sets out on a dangerous journey across what was once the United States, risking everything.
My Review – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a thought provoking, deeply emotional, and very realistic coming of age story set in a Dystopian time where “New America” is run by a group called The Minutemen. In this world, women are to be seen and not heard. Once girls hit puberty, they are assigned a Chaperone if their family can afford one, or sent to government school until they graduate and either get married, go to college, or enroll to become a Chaperone. This story will incite many emotions and keep you on the edge of your seat. I would love to see a sequel so we can continue Stella’s journey to expose New America for what it is, but at the same time the ending felt resolved.
I can’t wait to see what else M. Hendrix writes in their author career, as this was truly a beautiful debut!
I hope you take a chance to read this book and enjoy it! Let me know either way. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read another one of my reviews. Hope you all have a great week!
Happy Saturday, friends! It’s a gorgeous day here today, sunny and a perfect breeze. I’m settled on my couch this morning with the fur-babies, coffee, and some books. Before I get lost in fictional worlds I wanted to share my review for a Horror Anthology I recently beta read.
Revelations of the Raven Master : Volume One
Author : Casey Masterson
Publisher: PoeBoy Publishing
My Review : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It took me a few days to make sure I could properly put into words my review for Revelations of the Raven Master : Volume 1 by Casey Masterson ( @mastersonc27 on instagram if you want to give a follow), as I wanted to make sure I did this short story horror anthology the credit it deserves!!
This is Casey’s debut novel, and it is filled chock full of delightfully horrid, creepy, and thought provoking scary stories! You truly get a taste of everything that horror can bring, a little slasher, a little gothic, a bit of cannibalism and a whole lot of unique and cleverly written tales.
What’s even better, is Casey masterfully weaves in nostalgic elements that bring the reader back to Tales of the Crypt Keeper and Creepshow.
This is absolutely one book you’re going to want on your TBR for Spooky Season! 👻👻
Some of my favorite stories were….
🔪 Hayfield Wilder 🌧️ Rain 🔪 Deycation 💜Kali 🔪 The Cult 🪦 Rest in Peace
Thank you so much Casey and Poe Boy Publishing (on instagram as @poeboypubishing ) for the opportunity to beta read this brilliant collection of chilling tales!
This will be available for pre-order very soon, so I’ll come back to update with links once available.
Thank you so much for all who stop by and check out this review, your support is greatly appreciated! 🫶🏻
Happy Saturday, friends! It’s a gorgeous day here today, sunny and a perfect breeze. I’m settled on my couch this morning with the fur-babies, coffee, and some books. Before I get lost in fictional worlds I wanted to share my review for a Horror Anthology I recently beta read.
Revelations of the Raven Master : Volume One
Author : Casey Masterson
Publisher: PoeBoy Publishing
My Review : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It took me a few days to make sure I could properly put into words my review for Revelations of the Raven Master : Volume 1 by Casey Masterson ( @mastersonc27 on instagram if you want to give a follow), as I wanted to make sure I did this short story horror anthology the credit it deserves!!
This is Casey’s debut novel, and it is filled chock full of delightfully horrid, creepy, and thought provoking scary stories! You truly get a taste of everything that horror can bring, a little slasher, a little gothic, a bit of cannibalism and a whole lot of unique and cleverly written tales.
What’s even better, is Casey masterfully weaves in nostalgic elements that bring the reader back to Tales of the Crypt Keeper and Creepshow.
This is absolutely one book you’re going to want on your TBR for Spooky Season! 👻👻
Some of my favorite stories were….
🔪 Hayfield Wilder 🌧️ Rain 🔪 Deycation 💜Kali 🔪 The Cult 🪦 Rest in Peace
Thank you so much Casey and Poe Boy Publishing (on instagram as @poeboypubishing ) for the opportunity to beta read this brilliant collection of chilling tales!
This will be available for pre-order very soon, so I’ll come back to update with links once available.
Thank you so much for all who stop by and check out this review, your support is greatly appreciated! 🫶🏻
Happy Friday everyone!! We have fake summer again here in Western, NY. It’s going to be 80 degrees Fahrenheit and I’m not complaining. I love that warmer weather is creeping in, and gives me the opportunity to start visiting my local breweries for a pint with my book!! Or, I just got a new inflatable lounger for some courtyard reading! Check this out….
The set up for it is hilarious! You have to open one of the tunnel ends and run to fill it with air, and repeat for the other side. It’s fairly easy to do, and very comfortable seating! I’m definitely looking forward to enjoying being outside more during the evenings and weekends at my apartment this year!
Ok, I got side tracked, but had to share! So we’re really here for my review of The Twenty by Sam Holland. This is book 2 in the Major Crimes series, which can be read as standalone but you’ll miss some of the background if you read out of order. Book 1 was The Echo Man, which I read and loved last year (2022). Both books are equally as good, if you enjoy a dark crime thriller featuring gritty crime scenes and serial killers!
Here’s the synopsis for The Twenty…
When DCI Adam Bishop arrives at the crime scene in the dead of night, the sight of the body is bad enough—but what Adam notices next chills him to his core. More bodies surface. And the spray-painted numbers daubed above the corpses reveal the horrific truth: the killer is counting down. But to what end?
Adam has no idea—until Dr. Romilly Cole knocks on his door with damning evidence pointing to a series of murders twenty five years earlier—a case she knows intimately from her past. Now, it’s personal—and the next knock on his door could be fatal.
Sounds dark and twisty, right?! Gosh it was just so good. And, if you’re an audiobook listener I highly recommend the story that way!
My Review….
Sam Holland is a rockstar of Psychological Thriller/Crime Fiction. The brutal, horrifying descriptions of the victims and the killer’s motive and technique are gritty and captivating. If it were a movie I’d not be able to look away. The fast paced plot grabs a hold of you, and keeps you locked in to the very end. The Twenty was just as good as The Echo Man, and I am so excited for more books in this series. Auto Buy author for sure!
If you’ve made it this far, then thank you so so much for reading my ramblings and review! I hope I’ve inspired a few of you to give Sam Holland’s books a try. Until my next review, take care!!
Hello Friends, and Happy Wednesday!! Wow I can’t believe it’s May, and the summer book tours are kicking off. I signed up for some books that I’m really excited to read, and I can’t wait to share them with you. So let’s get this party started!!
My first summer tour book is The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead! The Synopsis immediately grabbed me, and it is next up on my tbr. I’ve been into a lot of RomCom, Romance, or Adult Contemporary reads lately as they’ve been a good fit between all my spooky or fantasy reads.
Ashley Winstead 2021 breakout thriller was In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. Her 2022 romance debut, Fool Me Once, was an Amazon Editor’s Best Romance as well as a USA Today, PopSugar, New York Post, and Goodreads best or most anticipated romance of the year. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and optioned for film/TV.
Book Summary:
A laugh-out-loud rom-com about learning to embrace living outside your comfort zone.
As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—she decides she needs to change. And what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?
Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Audacious and filterless, Logan is Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm. In their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.
Alexis is bewildered until suddenly pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. Turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot candidate challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious scandal is poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?
I’d like to give a big thank you to Harlequin Publishing and Ashley Winstead for the chance to feature The Boyfriend Candidate. This will be a perfect story to read in my new yard lounger with a cool drink in the warm sunshine. Stay tuned for my review to come! Until next time friends…
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