Book Review: Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee

My thanks to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and Stacey Lee for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This was such an interesting story. I have a habit of collecting books by authors even if I haven't had the chance to read them yet and Stacey Lee is one of them. I have several hardcovers and digital copies of past releases and have always meant to read them. I just haven't had the opportunity to read them yet. Heiress of Nowhere is the first time I've had the chance to sit down and enjoy a book by Stacey Lee and I'm so glad I read this book. It had solid writing, well-rounded characters and an intriguing plot. I've already pre-ordered an official copy to go on my shelves where I have confirmed I have my other Stacey Lee novels. It will be a 2026 goal to now work my way through the past books that I can happily say I'm grateful I own for myself. It's always good to find a new author and their work to enjoy.

Heiress of Nowhere follows Lucy Nowhere in 1918 on Orcas Island, Washington. She has been working for her employer all her life and has just been accepted to attend a university. But the day she decides to inform her eccentric boss of her plans, she finds his severed head on the beach. Rumors swirl that some kind of monster is responsible for the death, along with a previous victim from some years before and other things that have been happening on the island. The belief is that it is a curse and the people are scared and uncertain of their future. Then Lucy is named heiress of the estate of Nowhere and Lucy realizes that whoever killed her boss will now focus their attention on her. Lucy has to focus on finding who the true culprit is before she becomes the next victim.

I love the opening to this book. It starts with Lucy out in her canoe sketching the "sea wolves", or the orcas that live off the coast of Nowhere. Everything about this scene highlights what the readers should know about Lucy and it is a great introduction to her and to the book. She reflects on what people believe about orcas and then quickly has to get herself back to land when a couple of whales get too close to her canoe. She's scrambling to get back to safety and yet quips about the danger she's in and jokes about herself being not worth the effort of eating. Lucy shows respect for the animals around her, knowing the threat they pose should she fall into the water. She took a risk to work diligently on her drawing which is meant for her employer, who has given her the task of getting sketches of plants and animals around the island for a book he is working on. She's ready to move on to a new life which happens to be pursuing an education at a university which shows that she's ambitious and has a need to travel and learn more about the world.

Once Lucy is back on land and moving back up to the house, I knew I was going to like this girl. I thought she had a clear way of thinking, a healthy respect for the things around her and a clear motivating factor, trying to find somewhere to belong as she is an orphan who was taken in by the Nowhere Estate and its own, Mr. Sanders. Everything about this first chapter was strong, drawing the reader in with the threat of the sea wolves and the girl daring and stubborn enough to do something that could have gotten her killed. I wanted to learn more about this girl and wanted her to find out more about who she is after learning how she was found in a canoe before she was a day old. Nothing revealed felt out of place. It all flowed with an easy rhythm, giving the information readers needed without making it feel like a barrage of facts.

All the characters from that point on were well-developed, showing the readers what they needed to know as the book went on, proving who was an ally for Lucy and who we needed to keep an eye on concerning the central mystery of the book. I liked some characters more than others and the overall cast was diverse and interesting. I enjoyed Lucy's point of view, the way she had to expand her world as the new heiress by tackling new things and learning who she could trust from her new lady's maid and her new secretary, to the people who helped run the businesses she is now in charge of and the people tied to the estate. The way everything unfolded kept me focused on the story and each person in this book had something important to contribute to the plot. It shows that Lee has a deft hand with the writing when the entire cast of a book has something to add and no one feels tacked on or out of place. . I did want to wring the neck of Lucy's "childhood friend" mentioned in the synopsis but fine, they're teenagers, it's expected that they are going to be bull-headed. It shows that Lee is talented if I still want to knock that boy over the head this long (an entire morning) after reading the book.

In terms of the plot, I was hooked on the summary reveal about a head found on the beach. That was only the start of the mystery but it's enough to draw readers in without a doubt. I wanted to know who could do something like that, why these people were targeted. The stories and legends about the orcas added to the mystery, lending a strange twist to the plot of a person who used the fear of the residents against them, to keep them focused on something supernatural so they could hide their actions in plain sight. It helped to show what kind of person the villain was so that when the reveal finally happened, it hit a certain way because of everything already seen. The buildup was worth it and I love when a book manages to make the leadup they've established make sense at the end of the book. It leaves a very satisfied feeling behind for me as reader.

In the end, this was a very respectable read from Stacey Lee. I'm looking forward to when my copy arrives in the mail. I will be reading all of Stacey Lee's past books and paying attention to all future releases from now on. There were a few things that I felt a little miffed on but not enough to really detract from my love for this book. 

Rating on my scale: 9 Stars. As I said, while I mainly loved this book, there were a few things that bugged me about that stubborn kid that I mentioned but I was happy with how Lucy processed everything around her and was impressed with how she ended up handling him. Nothing was drawn out and there was no waffling so it helped cement that I needed to order this book as a new addition for my library. Next, I'll be looking through the Stacey Lee books I have and working out which one to read next for the new year.

Book Review: Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Elle Cosimano for the SAMPLE of the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Let's just get this out of the way, first things first and all that jazz: I LOVE the Finlay Donovan series. I own all of Cosimano's books and was immediately a fan of Finlay within the first few chpaters of book one, Finlay Donovan is Killing It. I've only had the chance to read the first 12 chapters of this entry but I wish with my whole heart that I had the entire book in my hands. I swear, I read this in a couple of hours, in between baths and bedtime stories for my kids. I finished the entirety of book 5 yesterday and that last line had me floored. I was so grateful I had this sample to read but good grief, it leaves me hanging AGAIN and now I have to wait so long to finish this book. It's the holidays, so I'm just going to say it: Bah Humbug.

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line follows Finlay to Maryland, on a mission to help Vero who has been extradied back home on charges for theft. Vero swears she did not steal the money from her sorority, where she was treasurer, but without the guy she was with available to alibi her, she fled the state. Vero is now living with her mom and her aunt on house arrest and things are getting serious as a stalker is sending threatening messages to the house. Now Finlay is determined to solve the case to help her best friend and nanny to clear her name and get her back home.

This is a case that has been in the works for this series for a while so I'm glad Cosimano has made it the focus for the next book. I have hated having this hanging over Vero's head so I'm ready for Finlay and Vero to finally figure out who was behind the theft and clear Vero's name. The two of them together are brilliant and I would hate it if the pair of them were kept apart for future books, which I hope this series ia going to go on for a while. Each book keeps me riveted, usually smiling, sometimes laughing, and sometimes, especially with book 5, almost gobsmacked because I did NOT see that reveal coming and I I LOVE that I can't guess the outcomes of these books before the 70% mark. I love the sass and the trust and the devotion between these two women, the support they give each other through EVERYTHING that they have gone through is astounding. I wish I had someone in my life like Finlay and Vero do, seriously, I envy these two.

Cosimano has a real knack for making the stakes in these books something that keeps me coming back over and over to read them. I've read the series over at least 3 times by now because I love these stories. I love all the side characters from Finlay's kids, Delia and Zach, to her nosy neighbor Mrs. Haggerty, her boyfriend Nick and her "guy in the chair" Cam. I could do without Steven, I'll be honest, but that's just the way I am, I would have left him to rot so many times but Finlay is a better person than me so he's still around. The reveals and the clues keep me guessing and the endings always make the whole book worth the journey of reading it.

This book is sure to be awesome, what I've read of it was not enough, I want to finish reading the whole book already. I'd inhale it in one sitting, guaranteed. Cosimano wastes no time getting the characters in place and starting the investigation and I have no idea who the true culprit is but I will have to wait to find out. Countdown to March and the book's official release beginning NOW. 

Well? Is it March yet??

If you love Finlay Donovan, this book needs to be added to your pre-order list. I already have my copies ordered, the hardcover to go on my shelves and the digital for me to read in one hand while I do everything else at the same time. If you haven't read this series yet, grab a copy of book 1 and try it out. These books are so much fun, you are missing out if you have not read them.

Rating on my scale? 10 stars, ALL THE STARS, seriously, tell me the truth yet, is it March? Inquiring minds need to know! 

Book Review: X Marks the Haunt by Lindsay Currie

My thanks to Netgalley, Random House Children's Books and Lindsay Currie for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Most of the time, when I write my reviews, I start with a bit of a story. Mostly because for me, when a book leads me to an author that has become a favorite, I will remember the book that made me a fan in the first place. I'll remember what I was doing when I found the book, what urged me to read it and the effect it had on me. The entire experience colors the impression I have of the author and it stays in my head, this memory that I always remember whenever another book is released from said author. That first book from Lindsay Currie for me was Scritch Scratch.

This book was released in September of 2020, and in between watching the news about the pandemic, I was scanning through the recent eBook releases from my library, hoping to find something to get my mind off the world for a little while. I have to give credit to the cover design because those colors caught my eye and held it, those blues and greens with that glowing yellow to highlight the bus on the cover are beautiful. And the title definitely made me think, let's see what this book is about. It's a ghost story about a girl, Claire, who helps her dad one night with his ghost tour bus only to find that a real ghost has followed her home. Claire has to figure out where the ghost came from and what it wants in order for it to be at peace and leave her alone. It sounded perfect to me since I love a good ghost story. What caught my attention and held it though was a moment in the opening few chapters. This book is set in Chicago and, as such, deals with a lot of the local history of the city. In particular, the ghost tour mentioned the SS Eastland, which immediately made me sit up and pay attention. You see, 26 years ago (oh geez, that number), I was a big fan of the show So Weird, and its very first episode was about the ghost of a boy that is haunting the show's lead and it turns out he died in the Eastland disaster. For those that don't know, the SS Eastland was a passenger steamship that capsized in the Chicago River without ever leaving the dock and it killed 844 people. It's not a well-known story but it is a tragic one, so the fact that I recognized it when it was mentioned immediately brought to mind that old show and also clued me in to a lot of what I thought I'd see in that book. The book even went into the fact that despite having lived in Chicago their whole lives, the kids in the book were unfamiliar with the history of that tragedy. And I loved reading that book because of that focus, the idea that stories like that deserve to be remembered and honored.

I've been reading every Lindsay Currie book I could find ever since. I jumped at the chance to read Currie's latest novel and I have already pre-ordered my copy for my shelves. 

X Marks the Haunt follows Will Stone, whose mother works at the historic Graceland Cemetery. Will enjoys spending a lot of his free time at the cemetery, learning all the ins and outs of burials, mausoleums, and studying the old burial records of everyone who resides in the cemetery. When one of the crypt keys gets lost, things start to change at the cemetery. Trees start to die, the water in the lake starts to go down, and something starts to follow Will and his friends as they try to find the missing key. The kids realize that something has been set free in the cemetery and it is taking the life out of the cemetery. Will and his friends have to figure out who the ghost is and what they need to feel at peace before it is too late to save the cemetery.

First things first, this is another story set in Chicago and specifically focuses on Graceland Cemetery, which has sometimes been visited in Currie's other books. I love the fact that these books seem to be interconnected, it makes it feel more real in a sense, the idea that all these characters and their ghostly experiences are all somehow related to each other. Will even mentions a specific character from another book and what they are doing in the present, not by name but with enough information that if you've read Currie's other books, you know who it is he's talking about. As it is a real cemetery and because of the times I've seen it mentioned in Currie's books, I've done my own research on the cemetery, finding pictures of the many historical grave markers and statues incorporated into the stories. It's because of this use of setting that I find Currie's books so fascinating. I can find this information for myself and see the real headstones and the landscape for myself without having to imagine it and without having to go and see it in person. I swear, when I finished this book, I had half a mind to try visiting my own local cemetery to learn its history and read its records, all to see if maybe I would like to be a cemeterian, like Will and his mom, myself. It's not possible, I don't have the time or the energy to make a pivot in life like that, but that's what this book did, made me consider it for a night which is a plus for this story and the inspiration it can give. For that reason alone, I will encourage my kids to read Currie's books so that they too can be exposed to this history and so they can learn something new.

The characters are always well-written, thoughtful kids with their own issues they have to work through. Will is a kid with an interest in the history of Graceland cemetery and aspires to be a person who can help patrons when they come looking for deceased loved ones. He loves the research and he wants to be able to handle those mysteries on his own. But he worries about what his classmates will think of him because he spends so much of his downtime in a cemetery. Another classmate has a parent who works in a funeral home and has been teased by the class bully ever since. Will has only one friend but he really wants to be able to have more friends and his connection and interest in the cemetery might keep that from happening. It felt so real and I was proud and happy with how Will worked through these issues, understanding that real friends will be open to accepting all of him and that what sets him apart from his classmates is what precisely makes him the right kid to help a lost soul find peace in the afterlife. All of Lindsay Currie's characters feel like kids I could have once known or even been and I love that they are messy and realistic, they make mistakes and they try their hardest and in the end, they are more confident in themselves and what they can do. I read middle grade books a lot because when I find an author who writes an incredible book with a kid character like this, I know that they respect what kids can do, that they know that kids can handle serious issues like grief and loss. They are not talking down or lecturing their readers, they are giving them someone that they can see their own self in and for me, that is the mark of a great writer.

The story itself is something I had never heard of and I've done a little of my own research on it as a result. I would love to go into it more but it reveals too much of the mystery and since my own reading of this book is what brought this to my attention, I feel like other readers should learn about this issue for themselves. It's definitely an eye-opening occurrence that makes me grateful that I don't live in that time period, for sure. It is yet another kind of tragic story that has been lost over the years and my learning about this has allowed me to do some research to learn about this. Because of that, I feel like this would be a great book to give kids in the classroom, allowing teachers to delve into the history that is explored in these stories. I know I've learned new things all thanks to reading Currie's books. Also, Currie has a great sense of atmosphere and tension, writing scenes that can leave you a little on edge because I don't care what people say, what might be in the dark is still scary no matter what age you are.

I still have a few Currie books to finish. They're on my shelves and on my tablet, I just need to finally read them. If you are looking for a good ghost story, you can't go wrong with trying this book out. Currie has a great talent for telling a good ghost story and her books are always a fun, quick and sometimes chilling read. I'll collect all of her books for as long as she keeps writing and I can't wait for my kids to be old enough to ask me for a ghost story and I can give them these books.

Rating on my scale: 10 Stars. Seriously, I loved this book. I loved Will and his friends and the mystery behind the ghost. I've been researching images of Graceland Cemetery all morning and reading the stories about the place. If a book can make me do research, it deserves all the stars it can get.

Book Review: I, in the Shadows by Tori Bovalino

My thanks to Netgalley, Page Street YA and Tori Bovalino for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I'll start by saying I own ALL of Tori Bovalino's books, including the anthology she edited. I absolutely ADORE The Second Death of Locke and I'm currently reading My Throat an Open Grave. Bovalino's books all seem to have an undercurrent of true feeling between the characters. I believe their connections to each other, I want only the best for them, I love so many of them in the stories I've read. This is what brings me back to Bovalino's writing and why I have all of her books even though I haven't finished reading them yet. I KNOW they will be great and I'm taking my time with them. I'm also looking forward to upcoming releases and I'm on the newsletter mailing list so I can keep up to date with all announcements and news.

I will also say, I do NOT know the play Cyrano de Bergerac although I do know the premise of it. I don't think you need to know a lot about that source in order to enjoy this book. This story stands well on its own as story about grief and love and acceptance. I can't wait for my copy to go on the shelf with the rest of Bovalino's books.

I, in the Shadows is about Drew Tarpin, who has recently moved into a new house with her Dad and stepmom, Bee. Her sibling Reece is away at school so Drew is left on their own to navigate the new life in a new town and a new school, complete with a ghost haunting her bedroom. Liam died almost a year ago and now Drew has to work to find out what is keeping Liam from moving on to whatever comes next. Drew and Reece have always been able to see ghosts but Reece was usually the one to work with them to help them move on while Drew did anything else. Now Drew is on her own, trying to remember anything that Reece has said that would help. When Liam realizes that Drew has a crush on the same girl that Liam loved, Liam's best friend Hannah, Liam agrees to help Drew with talking to Hannah in exchange for working on how to help him move on. As the pair get to know each other, something starts to come out of the woods, determined to devour Liam's soul. Now Drew has to work fast to figure out what is keeping Liam from moving on before he ends up taken by the thing in the woods.

This book made me tear up, I had to take a moment to breathe and then I could continue on with reading. Always the sign of a five star read when a book makes me cry. I loved these characters, even though they were kind of jerks, and messy, and made horrible decisions but it was those realistic traits that made me believe in them and want more for them. I knew the point was to get Liam to move on but it still hurt when he was gone. I thought Drew was interesting and endearing. I mourned for the loss of Reece as a constant for Drew, I cheered when Drew started to reach out and make friends, I hissed when Drew ignored her old friends from home because it was better to cut them out of her life now when they were all going to be graduating in a year and it was going to happen anyways. Seriously, rolled my eyes at that one but I had faith in Bovalino's writing so I kept reading. I thought Hannah was so sweet and genuine with her grief over losing her best friend. I thought Rin was a great supporting character, trying to bring Drew into the group and looping Drew in on things to help them understand everyone. I LOVED Bee, the fact that she was the stepmom and the one truly steady force in Drew's life, giving support and love at every available moment. The only character I really didn't enjoy was Drew's dad, who was practically non-existent for the most part but with so many characters to focus on, it didn't matter that we barely saw him.

I thought the plot was interesting, using a ghost to help you win the girl of your dreams, or at least the girl who could end up being the girl of your dreams. I know it was supposed to come off as a bad decision to use a ghost to trick a girl but I really didn't see it as a horrible decision. Misguided? DEFINITELY. But I felt like it fit with teenagers making stupid decisions. In today's day and age, it didn't feel too far off from what could happen to get a pair of kids to like each other. It started off as just prompting Drew to talk because she got tongue-tied around her crush and it just went from there. But I will say that my impression of this plot probably has a lot to do with the fact that I think this was more of a side story to the main plot of figuring out what was keeping Liam stuck as a ghost. I really liked this kid and I hated that this horrible thing had happened to him and now he was stuck watching his friends and family move on without him. The tragedy of it was heartbreaking and I wanted him to find peace and I wanted Drew to focus on how to get him the help he needed. That journey kept me flipping pages and the outcome was worth everything that came before.

The world of this book was so intriguing. I wish there was more in terms of the background and I still have a few questions about certain things with characters and the ghost world in general. When the book started, I honestly wondered if there had been another book because of how readers are just dropped into the story. I searched through what I could find but there wasn't a previous story with these characters. I think that is a point for Bovalino in the sense that this felt like a world that was fully developed even though this was our first time stepping foot in it. As a result, I want MORE but who knows if that is in the cards.

This book was a beautiful, thoughtful exploration of grief and loss and what it does to the people left behind in more ways than one. It goes through how it changes intentions, how it makes people make decisions they never would have before, and how it can bring people together and make them stronger. I loved this book and I love this author. I'm a fan for life, as previously stated. I'm so happy I have more books of Bovalino's to read instead of waiting for more books to be released.

Rating on my Scale: 9.5 Stars because this is a short, heartbreaking kind of story and I wish there was more to come from this world in general and answers to some of the questions I still have. Still, very VERY respectable and exactly what I would expect as a book written by Tori Bovalino. Read this book if you love ghost stories and the people who can deal with them.

Book Review: Sybilline by Melissa de la Cruz

My thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Young Readers Group and Melissa de la Cruz for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This is my first book by Melissa de la Cruz. I bought the Beauchamp Family books but have not gotten around to reading them yet. When I saw the gorgeous edition of this book up for preorder, I read the synopsis and decided to give this book a try. For the most part, this book held my attention and I was really liking the development of the story and the characters. I was certain this would be a 4 Star read at least. I had read some of my fellow reader's reviews and was more or less prepared for some specific reveals to come up in the story. I thought in the end, I'd still end up sincerely liking the book. It was the ending that knocked another star off my rating. It was going great until the last 40 pages where things went just a little wonky. I'll also say now that this definitely feels like the start of a series in the sense that this book might feel stronger once the rest of the books are released. That being said, I'll definitely be reading the next book. 

Sibylline is about 3 magical teenagers, Raven, Atticus and Dorian. This trio have been friends for years and together, they dreamed of attending Sibylline, a magical ivy league school that would help learn about magic and how to cast it from the best. They each have a unique magical ability and they worked hard on their applications. When they're each rejected from attending the school, they come up with a plan. They decide to apply for jobs on the Sibylline campus and when they can, they'll sneak into lectures and steal texts that would allow them to learn on their own. As they execute their plan, the attractions between the three of them start to grow, further complicating their plans and their friendships. As they work to navigate these new developments, they start to notice things happening on campus. Something is killing students and is starting to destroy an important building. Raven, Atticus and Dorian have to put what they have learned about the school in the present and in its past in order to save the school before its destroyed.

First of all, the book is written very well. De La Cruz has a way with words that invoke the images of a beautiful campus and the yearning of teens desperate to find a place that can keep them together and help them learn. I was pulled in from the start with the connection between Raven, Atticus and Dorian. I thought the scheme they came up with was impulsive but they're kids so it made sense that they thought it would work. I wanted to know WHY they were rejected if they had made themselves into the best candidates to be accepted at the school. I thought their individual powers were interesting and the way they were portrayed kept my attention as they were shown dealing with their everyday lives with magic. Each chapter follows a separate character, showing what they are doing with their jobs on campus, the people that they meet and the parts of the mystery that they get to witness. I will also say that I preferred Atticus and Dorian to Raven. I'm not sure if that was the intent but there were several instances in which Raven was shown to be selfish and spoiled and completely unaware of the difficulties that her friends have without money and yet they just sigh and shake their heads because they love her still and I just rolled my eyes. The way she was written, Raven was just spoiled, end of story, and I wasn't as focused on her chapters compared to the others.

As for the plot, I was more intrigued by the force that seemed to targeting students and the buildings. The storyline about the three teens trying to spy on classes and teach themselves did not have as much importance. It was the reason for getting them to the school but it did not have as much of a driving force to keep them focused on this. Over the course of the book, the three of them read ONE book, and only a few pages from it, and they snuck into ONE lecture. For this being the point of them being on the campus to begin with, it was relegated to a side plot. I wonder if it would have been better that they were accepted on a wait list type of study, to give them opportunity to work on campus to get to know the faculty and then try to listen in on lectures if they can find the time. All for the purpose of proving they should be accepted as students but the no one has managed to get accepted from there. It just felt kind of pointless in the overall plot of the book.

The pacing was also a little confusing. Atticus was working with a team trying to save a historical building from crumbling into ruins. Every time that was the focus, it felt like more had gone wrong than should have been possible with the way time was moving in the story. I got the impression that this team had been in place and had been working on this for a while. But now Atticus is on the page and everything is deteriorating faster and it didn't make sense to me with the way time was moving on the page. I think the course of the book was the entirety of one semester but I couldn't tell if the season's were changing or if they were getting paid for their work at certain intervals, anything that could have helped to show how long they were working and how things were progressing. The main focus that gave any indication of time passing in the book was the way the building seemed to be getting worse. Pair that with the lack of actual spying on class lectures and reading magic books and it was enough to irk me so that I only really liked the book but didn't love it.

Which brings me to that ending. I was all for the development seen, the reveals from the past and the ideas it gave, it all made me invest in the story and how it would end. But then I noticed that I maybe had about 30 or 40 pages to go in the book and I thought, with the pages it took to get HERE, how is it possible to wrap this up? And it barely took anything to wrap up the conflict and then there was that development between the characters that made my eyebrows up and disappear. Maybe I'm too old for this kind of book because I didn't get the appeal, I thought it was something that seemed out of nowhere. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I didn't truly believe the love and attraction between some of the characters. Some of them felt more genuine than others and when that ending hit, my impression was that maybe it should have been left to a future installment to get that right feelings to hit. I believed in the connection between a couple of the characters but one in particular didn't hit the right notes and as a result, that ending made me just stop in my tracks because it felt like an almost easy answer instead of having to make a choice. I didn't believe the emotion so the ending felt flat. Then there were the reveals from the school and I thought what? I'm supposed to believe all of this was because of that? It was all part of the plan kind of ending just make me frustrated because I never can believe that with the way people are, the plot will work out just the way it was meant to without key characters aware of the role they are playing.

So there it is, another star off for what was a good book before that ENDING hit. I've been talking about this book and it always goes, this part was great, but then that ending, I though this was interesting, but then that ending, this could have used a little tweaking but then that ENDING. Maybe I'm not the right audience for this, maybe I'm not aware of how this fits into the current book world. I liked this book, I was REALLY liking this book, I just do not meld with the way it finished, or was left unfinished. I have not found anything about a continuation for the series but I'm not ruling it out as a possible future release. I'm still interested in seeing where this world and its characters go and to see if future books make this one feel stronger. It feels like the start of something that had to end too soon for the story to stand securely on its own. A respectable read for those that like dark academia and magic, with a few caveats to keep in mind.

Rating on my scale: 6.5 Stars. I'm a firm believer that this one just needs more books to be considered great. It had all the right starts, it just needs more time to really prove that it will be awesome. 

Book Review: The Children: A Novel by Melissa Albert

My thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow and Melissa Albert for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. 

I've followed Melissa Albert's work since her debut novel, The Hazel Wood was released. I remember the book was being promoted everywhere and I pre-ordered my copy ahead of time. The impression that book left on me took a long time to wear off and it made me a fan for life. So when I saw that Albert was releasing a new book called The Children, I knew I needed to add that book to my shelves. While reading this, I had to take time to let it sit in my head, to let it grow and take shape and show me all the things I needed to see that I was missing while reading. There is so much done in this book that I feel like I could read it again and see more things I didn't catch the first time around. On the one hand, this book is beautiful and on the other it is devastating. It's a toss-up every time I think about it. Overall though, I LOVED this book. It made me do research into other children's book muses and their fates and it made me cuddle my littles a bit closer. If a book can do that, it's an impressive piece of work.

The Children focuses on Guinevere Sharpe, the daughter of the late beloved children's book author, Edith Sharpe, well-known for her Ninth City books that used Guin and her brother Ennis as inspiration. Guinevere spent her childhood running around unsupervised, dirty, sometimes starving, and even neglected. In the books her mother wrote, she was the girl everyone wanted to be and wanted to know. The series was left unfinished when Guinevere and Ennis ended up orphaned by a horrible fire at their childhood home. Twenty years later, the siblings are estranged. Ennis is a well-respected artist and Guinevere has taken up the mantle of promoting her mother's books while also getting ready to launch her own memoir. When Ennis decides to open a new show called Mother at the same time as the release for the memoir, it forces Guinevere to reconsider what she remembers about her childhood. Is it truly the idyllic story she's told in her book and how did it all come crashing down in that fiery end?

The first thing this book made me think of was all those Acknowledgements pages I read at the end of every book I pick up. The ones where the author thanks their partner for doing the majority of the work keeping the house running and taking on the bulk of time spent with their kids. And then there's sometimes a line for said kids being thanked for understanding how much it meant that they let the author do their writing and understanding that they needed to let said author/parent do their work alone. After which, I promptly put my phone down, climbed into the playpen and started a game with my kids. Because yeah, this book made me very conscious of how much time I spend with my kids alongside trying to do some writing. As is, this review is being written after midnight when my kids are asleep so I don't feel guilty about not focusing on them. I don't want to ever come close to being the parents in this book, that's for sure. There is a work/life balance and Edith Sharpe definitely did NOT have that nor really a true parenting bone in her body and the examination of that that and the effect it had on her kids is what drives the book. For the authors who mention their families, you know they value the worth of their partner and their kids. I doubt Edith Sharpe even deigned to mention them for thanks. How much is TOO MUCH to sacrifice for your dreams and who else has to sacrifice with you to get you there?

The second thing this book made me do is research the kids I could think of who inspired some of the classic stories that had children going on grand adventures. I'm happy to report that most of them went on to live long happy lives but this book definitely made me feel heartache for Guinevere and Ennis and the effect the Ninth City books had on their existence. The ideas presented in this story were chilling and it has cemented in my head that I will NEVER use my kids as inspiration. I know I'm talking about them now but there will never be any specifics about them mentioned anwhere in my writing. The fact that there are so many scholarly articles devoted to the research of understanding who inspired what and how and why is enough to make my skin crawl and I would hate for that kind of speculation to be turned on my family. Which is where a lot of the focus of THIS book went to with Guin and Ennis. I only cared about these kids and saving them and Albert deserves so much credit for making them feel so real and heartbreaking.

In terms of characters, the book focuses mainly on Guin, her recollections of her childhood and the spiraling effect her brother's new art exhibit is having on the life she has created for herself. I loved child Guinevere but I wasn't sure where I stood with adult Guin until the end of the book. I could understand why she was how she was but a lot of what she did throughout the book made me question her on everything. That ending though, just wow. It made me sit up and want to applaud and it was all because of Guin. Suffice to say, that is one character that packs a punch. I'm glad she got to where she needed to go, anything else said will ruin the effect of that ending so that is where I will leave it.

If you've read Melissa Albert before, this book fits right in with the rest of her work. At first, I thought this was going to be a story focused more on the effects of a neglectful childhood. Then there was a line, an almost throwaway type of thing with Guinevere waving at her mom and then a few sentences later a revelation and it made me sit up and think AHA, there it is, THAT is exactly what I was expecting from Albert's writing. It starts off subtle and then builds, putting more things in that need a second look at, ideas and images that build until they all come together to give you this overarching image of something terrible and wonderful for these characters and their story. The back and forth of the timelines helps with the rhythm, revealing suspenseful tidbits that the reader takes in knowing how Guinevere's childhood ends and then placing that story opposite the journey Guin is taking to finally coming face to face with her brother again after decades apart. It's all masterfully done, with each secret revealed at just the right time in the past and in the present. I loved the tension it created and the effect it had on me.

One last parting thought, I hope Albert seriosuly considers writing a Ninth City book. I've seen it happen before, after all, Albert did write Tales from The Hinterland that was meant to be a book seen in The Hazel Wood. I'm just saying, if Albert is getting ready to give readers The Ninth City, I will gladly read it.

Rating on my scale? 10 STARS. This book made me re-examine a lot of things, favorite childhood stories, their inspirations and their creators. It's everything I thought it was going to be and then just that much more because of the place it left me with that ending. I'll read this again when I receive my hardcover for my shelves. Read this book if you have ever wondered about the other side of the characters you knew as kids and who they'd be if they could grow up. 

Book Review: These Familiar Walls by CJ Dotson

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and C.J. Dotson for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This is my first novel from Dotson and I found a lot of things to admire. Dotson's writing has a unique grasp that would grab me by the throat and keep me riveted. It's just the PEOPLE in this book that I had my issues with and as much as I wanted to LOVE this book, I can't let go of those gripes. So let's move on and see how much I can talk about this book without giving anything away.....

This will be fun.

I think?

These Familiar Walls focuses on Amber Hughes, her husband Ben, and their two children, Xander and Marigold. It is the height of the pandemic, November 2020, and the family has just moved into Amber's childhood home in an attempt to get more room for themselves with the lockdown keeping families in close quarters. The house comes with an unfortunate past. When Amber was a kid, she tried to befriend a neighborhood kid, a boy with a bad habit of of trying to hurt others in retaliation for any slight he perceived. When things went too far, he left the neighborhood with his family. In early 2020, he resurfaces to break into Amber's childhood home with an accomplice and murder her parents before his accomplice betrays and kills him as well. Amber wants to get the paperwork in order so she can sell the house quickly and get her family into their own brand new place. But as the family tries to settle in, strange things start to happen. Amber's reflection in the mirrors never matches her actions, strange whispers start to hiss around Amber, and Amber starts to go into strange trances that leave her trying to hurt herself. Something dangerous is haunting the house and the family, and Amber has to keep her family safe all while coming to terms with the things from her past that happened in that house.

In terms of writing, Dotson has a strong hand with building tension. I do most of my reading in the small hours of the night so when I was reading this, I'd end up eyeing the shadows out of the corner of my eye. I'd feel a weight on my shoulders, like I was  being watched and I LOVED that feeling. The dread and the images it made me conjure had me wanting to read during the day. The idea of the mirrors not doing what they were supposed to had me thinking back to my own childhood and my aversion to mirrors. You see, I read Bloody Mary when I was 8 and TO THIS DAY, I avoid looking into mirrors at night before I flip a light switch on. So the idea of mirrors showing something other than what they were supposed to made my skin crawl. All of this was brilliantly done. That being said, there were a lot of moments where things were told that made me feel removed from the book. There would be a tension scene, Amber faced with something making her freeze in fear and trying to use anger to bolster her to move and it would make everything feel claustrophobic and I'd be invested in what would happen next. Only the next scene is another morning, Amber hasn't spoken about what happened or has been happening since and I would think wait, why didn't we see the rest of that? Why is she only telling us about what else has been going on, the reflection that she would see that would never be what she was doing? I wanted to SEE all of that. Instead, it's only mentioned as an aside, like it barely mattered to Amber that it had happened and as a result, I didn't care too much either. The pacing just felt like it wasn't staying the course to make me care that Amber was being haunted. 

As for the characters, I was on the side of the kids and no one else. I've read A LOT of these types of books, I knew the twist practically from the start. Despite that, I wanted to see what would happen, I wanted to see how the villain would get their comeuppance because I am a big fan of justice for characters that deserve it. I wasn't sure if I was ever supposed to feel sympathy for certain characters. Everything that was given just made me scowl because so much of the reasonings why were nonsense to me. For me, the big origin story and the reveals for WHY a character is despicable never make any sense to me. I end up thinking, "Really? THAT'S why you did ALL of this?" And the headaches from rolling my eyes makes me want to put these kind of books aside for the foreseeable future. I thought Amber needed to take her own advice and grow up and I thought Ben's entire personality was that he was a pushover. Dotson provided scenes from the past to show Amber and her need to finally have a friend no matter what kind of person they were and I wanted to slap her parents because come on, make an effort to listen to your kid, don't write her off, don't you see what you're doing?! Almost every adult in this book needed to be slapped around, they made me so frustrated. A credit to Dotson's writing but not really a merit for the story because I should care about them at least a little bit. Instead, I hated so many people and that's not a good feeling to carry through a book.

I can't talk any more about the story without giving EVERYTHING away so I will try to wind things up here. I'm giving a star for the writing because this book had some really stellar passages. I'm giving a star for the kids because I wanted to scoop in and take them away to safety. I'm giving a star for the reveal behind the WHY for the haunted house because HA, in your face villain! But a star off for the despicable adults and a star off for the pacing. Still, I see that Dotson has a book called The Cut that I'm willing to try out. I'm starting to think that haunted house books just aren't meant for me. I figure out the twists too fast and the villain never has a reason that really makes me think they're worthy of being the main adversary of the story.

Rating on my Scale: 6 Stars. I will be reading more things by Dotson. Just because this book didn't work for me does not mean that another won't become an instant favorite. I'm a firm believer that when an author has the chops for writing something that can make me feel dread, they are worth reading again. This book will find its audience and be a hit for people looking for their next haunted house read. I'll be looking into finding The Cut when I next have the chance to visit my library.

Book Review: You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and C.G. Drews for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This is my first book by C.G. Drews and I'm still reeling from this story. The reveals, the twists, the people in this story. The author's note said something about this story may make you feel wretched and yes, I think that is the word for the effect this book had on me. It made my stomach turn and mouth twist and I wasn't sure what it would come to and then that ending came out of nowhere and now I'm not sure where I stand with this book. Would I read it again? I don't think I would. Would I recommend it to other readers? I would, if you are a fan of psychological suspense and if you read the trigger warnings very very carefully.

You Did Nothing Wrong is about Elodie and her autistic son, Jude, and their life in America with Elodie's new husband Bren. Bren has moved them into his childhood home that he is renovating and Elodie is expecting a new baby. Elodie has everything she has always wanted and is looking forward to her new life and everything that comes with it. Then Jude tells her that the house is talking to him, that he can hear things in the walls and that everything done to the house to repair it is actually "hurting" the house. Elodie doesn't want to believe her son but something about the house is starting to put her on edge. Elodie can't tell if it is the house or her son that is making things difficult but as her past comes back to haunt her, Elodie has to put things together and save her family before it is too late.

There are so many different threads to the plot of this book and some of them can't be discussed because of the reveals they have for the overall storyline. The idyllic new family life for Elodie gives me the impression of that saying "the grass is always greener" because as much as Elodie wanted this perfect family life, the reveals about who she was as a person and her son and her husband shows that a perfect family life is never what it seems. The use of the house and it's renovations mirrored the life that Elodie has created and I'm still making connections with different points of the book and I really hope I can put it to rest in my head soon. The circles it has made me spin makes me think of other haunted house stories and this book definitely fits in with its peers. At the same time, the punch it packs hits that much more in my gut and I think it is fair to say it will haunt me for some time.

Elodie. Oh dear, what can I say about this woman? I wanted to like her but good grief, I think I wanted to strangle her more. Her husband Bren was just as impossible of a character for me to like, and the pair of them not only deserved each other, but they left me feeling conflicted about everything that happened in the book. The only character I was truly on the side of was Jude, who reminded me of so many people I know. I wanted to drag this child away from this house and take care of him. I wanted to hurt everyone who laid a finger on him, I wanted to help him feel safe and encourage him to thrive and I hope this child gets everything he needs and wants for the rest of his life. Everyone else in this book can go take a long walk off a short pier.

In the end, I liked this book enough to finish it, even it was just to say that I finished it because so much of it didn't sit well with me. I wanted to go on a crusade and hurt so many people in this book and when many of the reveals hit, I only thought that they got what they deserved. The images of this book will stay with me for a long time as my dreams last night can attest. Seriously, I woke up in the night and put my hand on the wall, thinking I could hear my house breathing and needing to assure myself that it was only in my head. I managed to resist the urge to run to my kids' rooms to check on them but I did keep their monitor right next to my pillow at max volume. I liked this book for what it is, an examination of family and motherhood that made my skin crawl. I'll read more books by Drews soon, as I have copies of Don't Let the Forest In and Hazelthorn already on my shelves. But this book left a bad taste behind and I wish I could go into this world and wreak havoc on everyone that deserved it.

And please, read the trigger warnings. I can't emphasize that enough.

Rating on my Scale: 5 Stars. It was good, I wanted to like it. I'm sure there are a lot of people who can handle the triggers in this book better than I could and all the power to those readers. For me, I'm convinced to read more Drews books, so at least there is that. 

Book Review: The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

My thanks to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore and Kiersten White for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I read my first book by Kiersten White back in 2010. I had to look up the year because while I remembered the book, I could not remember what year it was that I'd read it. And then I stared in wonder at the amount of books on White's list of publications because wow, okay, I have some reading to catch up on.

I have consistently gone back to White again and again over the years. I always end up loving the worlds created, the consistently strong leads, the intriguing plots. I have a large amount of her works and have always enjoyed the new imaginings for characters seen in other works (And I Darken and The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein come immediately to mind). So when I got the chance to read The Fox and The Devil, I knew what I expected to see. And yet, this book stands out even more than usual because I LOVED this book. If I had written this review a couple of days ago, it would have been filled with exclamation points and heart-eyed emojis and so many entreaties to buy this book because I could not stop talking about it. As it stands, I'm still loving this book but I think I can logically explain exactly what impressed me so much about this story in a way that will hopefully get readers interested in reading it as well.

Fingers crossed.

The Fox and The Devil follows Anneke Van Helsing, and her obsession with catching the woman she found standing over her father the night that she found her father murdered in his study. Anneke has spent years studying and becoming a well-recognized detective, to the point that the police call her in to consult on cases that they can't explain. During her work, Anneke begins to make a connection between the victims of certain gruesome, horrifying deaths, recognizing a pattern that links these deaths across the map. She puts together a team of her own detectives, determined to find this serial killer, believing it to be the woman she has never been able to find. As the years pass with her team trying to find the killer before they strike again, Anneke starts to receive letters from her mysterious obsession, signed Diavola, or devil. The pair are playing a game of cat and mouse and Anneke is determined to win, no matter what the cost. Then Anneke begins to make connections between her investigations and her father's work, making Anneke start to question the world that she thought she knew and understood because the creature she is hunting may actually be a monster.

The overall plot of the book was enough to catch my attention and keep it focused, making me wish I could read faster because with the holiday, there was always something coming up to drag me away from this story. I was invested in the story about a young woman determined to find the woman she thought was responsible for her father's death. As the story developed, I was entranced with how the story expanded to include so many other victims, so many other ideas and revelations, that my mind was constantly trying to make its own guesses as each page turned. However, for the most part of this book, I was admittedly believing this would be a solid 4 star read because I could not see how the threads of the obsession were going to conclude. Then it happened, this one solid moment of WAIT, WHAT?, that made me stop in my tracks for a split second before my mind restarted and I started laughing because oh wow, she got me, I fell for it, and then the plot was so much more than I thought it would be and this book became an instant favorite. Seriously, that moment made my stomach drop, my heart skipped a beat, that kind of feeling just overtook my senses and then when it all came together, I could not stop CACKLING because when a book manages to make me stop in my tracks, I am instantly in love. The fact that it took the whole of the book for me to get to that point proves that White has become a force with her writing and now I'm determined to read more books of hers.

Anneke, sweet Anneke, I loved this young woman. For a while, I was a little dismayed at how she obsessed over the serial killer plotline because of her idea of vengeance but as the book continued, I loved how she became more, the way she fought back against the ideas that would keep her penned in and made people respect her. I loved how her worldviews were constantly forced to change and how yes, she fought it at first but then she would shift and evolve and I can respect a woman who takes the time to change her beliefs and transform herself into something more. I loved her team of detectives which included her best friend David, a fellow detective and former flame; Maher, a photographer, and Inge, the daughter of her mentor. Each of these people became dear to me through their actions and their devotion to Anneke. I loved how David had challenged Anneke to solve cases that seemed to stump other detectives. I adored how Maher respected the women in his life and trusted Anneke because she was intelligent. And words cannot express how much I loved Inge, the youngest member of the team, a tour de force that everyone was determined to protect because she was their little sister and they were all of them a FAMILY, and I wanted to keep all of these people safe. I even loved the glimpses we were given of Diavola, and the reveals that were given of her current existence and the life that led her there made her so intriguing, I just wanted to see more of her as the book went on. Even side characters were given enough to make me care about their stories, from the victims we were given glimpses of to coworkers at the police station that wanted to work with Anneke and her team. I don't know if there are plans to expand on this world but if there ever is a book focused on this team, I would be first in line to read that story.

Books that focus on obsessions sometimes have the tendency to become a little one note and I'm happy to report that this book becomes so much more than a story about one woman's quest for vengeance. It is also a story about believing in yourself, because while Anneke does have confidence in her abilities as a detective, she also has to believe in herself as a woman worthy of the connections she has made, the people she inspires with the cases she solves. It is a story about found family, and how important it is to surround yourself with people who will love all of you all of the time. The obsession is the focus for a while but it is everything else in this book that elevates it for me and I'm so happy with the end result. I want to delve into the cases and the details about the serial killer but a lot of my enjoyment of this book is all the little asides that White included to expand this world and I don't want to spoil the experience for future readers.

If you are a fan of Kiersten White's books, The Fox and The Devil is a very respectable read. I want to go back and read it again as soon as I get my copy next year. I want to read everything else I already have on my shelves by Kiersten White AND start collecting everything I don't already own. First up on the list is to start Lucy Undying. I'm hoping it is as brilliant as this book and might even be connected to this book. I can't wait to see any connections I missed while reading this release and here is me crossing my fingers that White has more plans in the making for this world. If this is your first time trying out White's work, I hope you are as enthralled as I was with this story.

Rating on my scale: 10 Stars!!! Seriously, that reveal still makes me giddy. I immediately went onto my group chat of fellow readers and told them how I fell for something that I logically knew wasn't right but it still got me. I hope so many readers come to this book and end up loving it like I did. And then I hope they read other books by White as well.