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. 

Book Review: Habits of the Sea: A Novel by Shea Ernshaw

My thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books and Shea Ernshaw for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I remember picking up Shea Ernshaw's debut and thinking, "Maybe this will be good?" I ended up loving the story, the atmosphere, the ideas that Ernshaw put in her book and I immediately pre-ordered her next release. Now here I am, having collected any and every book by Shea Ernshaw, just because she wrote them. When I pick up an Ernshaw book, I know to expect a dreamy atmosphere, a type of love that is slowly earned, hardships that make every moment something to overcome that make the ending worth it. These books are poetic and heartbreaking and I will always find my way back to reading Ernshaw's books, time and time again because of the feelings they bring out in me. Ernshaw's latest is no different, in fact, it may be a new favorite of mine.

Habits of the Sea: A Novel follows two characters, Clay Lockhart and Ellie Mills. In the 1950s, Clay Lockhart's wife dies during a terrible storm. Witnesses claimed they could hear his cries in the night over the sound of the rain but come morning, the house and the land it stood on has been cleaved away. The story goes that it floats out in the water, with sightings being reported about it for years. Ellie Mills finds the island one night and manages to set foot there, meeting the fabled Clay Lockhart not looking a day older than he did the night his home tore away from the coast. Haunted by the memory of what she found, Ellie grows up doubting what she remembers until she hears that the island has been sighted again. Deciding once and for all to find it again, Ellie manages to return to the island and to Clay Lockhart, where she has to learn that some impossible things are possible and the things worth living for are sometimes not what you expect to find.

I'll start off by saying that while the overall effect of this book is beautiful, it was undoubtedly, utterly heartbreaking. I started this a few days ago and managed to finish it last night and good grief, I'm still kind of reeling from it. I loved the writing, the whimsical way of invoking the feeling of living a fabled life, and at the same time, oh wow, not what I expected once I reached that ending. I kept thinking of things like, don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Live the life you want to live. Carpe diem. The future is not guaranteed. All of these thoughts have been swirling in my head since finishing this book and my dreams were filled with crashing waves and bottomless waters that made me feel unmoored by the time I climbed out of bed. This book feels like a tragic fairytale, the kind with sharp edges. I loved it and yet, it's difficult to put into words the whys behind the feeling. The parting sentiment from this book could almost be called depressing and yet, I think the reasoning behind it is because this book shows not just one choice, Ellie returning to the island, but then shows each and every single choice she makes from there on out. It shows an entire lifetime of choices almost and when you put that all together in a book, the effect is both incredible and tragic to behold. Especially when you get to the ending.

Ellie Mills was an interesting character, a woman who tried so hard to want the things that are expected for her and yet comes to realize that yearning for something else is not necessarily a bad thing. Trying to find something more, understanding that you can deserve a different kind of life, something you only dreamed of, is a kind of quiet strength not often seen in books. Ellie has to come to terms with the fact that wanting something more is okay, making the decision to be happy for herself is just as important as anything else. I loved that journey for her, knowing that each day she was making the choices to try for something different, to be something other, and her transformation over the course of the story was the driving force of the book. Her connection to Clay Lockhart was the kind of love that builds from nothing, becoming a force that ties two souls together for not just this lifetime but EVERY lifetime. I thought Clay was tragic because of what had happened to him and how he's been living for so many decades but it takes resilience to live alone on a floating island for as long as he has managed. The life he built and the things he learned while being adrift, it was all breathtaking, the idea of being at the whim of the water and the wind and still getting up everyday to live his life. Ellie and Clay together made me feel like I was taking deep breaths and holding them, waiting for them to come together and then watching each day as they made the choices again and again to work together to keep their livelihood going all the while choosing each other. It was heartwarming to witness.

The pacing had a flow to it, a rhythm that was careful with it's reveals, slowly building up to the final images of the book. I'm still not over that ending, the ideas it left behind in my head and my heart. I might not remember every individual detail of this book but I think this ache in my chest is going to stay with me for a while. This is like a story you heard once upon a time, a legend that has been passed down for generations, the exact meaning or lesson you are meant to learn different for each person that hears it. I want to delve into the specifics but I feel like the effect of the book will be lost if I give anything more of it away. What I found in the synopsis was enough to get me to read this book but the experience of reading the book itself was more than I thought I would find and it will stay with me for a long time to come.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I have a couple of Ernshaw books left to read, which is good because I feel a little bereft after this book experience. If you are a fan of Shea Ernshaw, this is one of her BEST stories. Read this book if you want something that feels a dream you once had or a story you want to remember and be prepared to sit with the feelings it leaves behind once it is done.

Book Review: Most Likely to Murder by Lish McBride

My thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Lish McBride for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

A long time ago, nearly a dozen years maybe, I picked up a book called Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. The title made me chuckle because of the connection to the song and while I didn't grow up when the song was popular, I had eventually found my way to Elton John so I could appreciate the fun the title was having with it's rhyme. Then I started reading the book, about a young man named Sam who discovers he is a necromancer and I slowly became a fan for life of Lish McBride. What truly sold me on that first book was the name of the main character. You see, Sam was born on Samhain, the pagan holiday, and his mother decided to give him that for his name. And at first the fact that he was called SAM was making me a little disappointed until Sam explained that his name is pronounced SOWIN, he was only called Sam because his Dad wanted to get back at his mom for giving his that name.

SOLD!! Seriously, it might be insignificant but I knew, from that sentence forward, I would read everything that McBride wrote from then on out. I have read several books that have Samhain pronounced Sam-hane, actually going to the trouble to explain that is how it is pronounced and it would just bug me so much. So Lish McBride gained my admiration and full devotion as a reader with that sentence alone. Obviously it helped that the book was amazing. I've bought copies of ALL of them since (still waiting on word of a new Uncanny Romance, fingers crossed), so this was automatically added to my cart when it was available to order. I jumped at the chance to read it when I found it for review and I'm happy to report that it was exactly what I expected as a teen slasher written by Lish McBride. Dark and funny, filled with memorable characters and creepy deaths, I devoured this book in a day.

Most Likely to Murder follows two seniors and best friends, Rick and Martina, two teenagers happy enough with their lives on the fringes at school and the supposed culprits behind a few big pranks (never proven). When the school yearbook gets passed out at lunch, the layout for the "Most likely to..." page has been redone, listing certain classmates and faculty with macabre titles, the words coming off as threats as they hint at ways these specific people will die. Rick and Martina are automatically suspected of the prank, despite the fact that they too are featured on the page. When their school counselor is pulled out of the lake, the same way his picture and its title predicted he'd die, the whole school is on edge. Then more students end up dead the way the layout predicted and now Rick and Martina and the surviving members of the layout page have to come together to figure out who the killer is and why they are on the list before another one of their ranks ends up dead.

The story drew me in from the start. The idea of it was enough to draw me in, being a former member of my own school's yearbook staff, so the logistics and the image it made in my mind made me eager to give the book a try. The plot is perfect for the readers who grew up reading Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine, just like McBride states on the acknowledgements page, and if you're familiar with those books, you'll see the inspiration easy. The book was exactly what I wanted, creepy enough to keep me reading with characters I cared about, and I was invested from the start. I loved Rick and Martina, their families and their interests.

I admired Rick, a young man trying his best to pick up the slack for his mom and sister after his father abandoned the family. I wanted a best friend like Martina, who kept her head when the adults at the school suspected she and Rick were behind the prank, and who fought back and protected Rick when some students pushed back too hard about being targeted even though they had no proof that Rick and Martina were behind it. They were easy to love and I wanted to keep these two safe from harm. As their group expanded to include the other kids targeted in the yearbook, I slowly came to care for each character. A book becomes a great book when you have a group of teenagers on a page and are able to name each one and what their interests are without any trouble. Sometimes characters bleed together but not with this book.

In terms of plot, the reveals worked with keeping me hooked to the story. Add in chapters that fill in background story, things happening off the center stage of the story, and I am completely invested. Those extras caught me a little off guard but if you're familiar with slashers, it is par for the course and a must need to keep your attention. It was creepy and the descriptions made my eyes widen in surprise and I was constantly either smiling because of the banter between the teenagers or dropping my jaw a little when another character bit the dust.

I was trying to figure out who the villain was and while my prediction was right, I was not in any way disappointed by figuring it out early. I've just read a LOT of these kinds of books. It's a point of pride to be able to figure these out but it does not in any way detract from the experience of reading this story. It is a quick read and that is in thanks to the way it was written and the way the story unfolds, all plusses in my opinion. Nothing drags or feels out of place, everything just adds to the story and to the world in general. If McBride decides to set other books in this world, expanding this into a kind of series, I would be first in line to read those books.

I want to talk about so much more about this book but to do so would veer into spoiler territory and this book deserves the reveals it earned. The story unfolded the way it needed to, the characters earned their place as kids that deserved to live and breathe and survive and be happy, and when I got to the end of the book, I wanted to see more. Read this book if you loved teen slasher stories filled with good scares and smart teens. I'll be here waiting to see what Lish McBride writes next.

Rating on my scale: 9.5 Stars. I LOVED this book but it is a short book/fast read kind of deal. Some people might only like the book because of that but this is a very respectable read. If you've kept up with Lish McBride books, this is exactly what you'd expect a teen slasher from McBride to be. If this is your first time reading Lish McBride, believe me when I say you should go back and read other books by McBride. Everything I've read by McBride has kept me coming back for YEARS, and I will continue to read her books for as long as she writes. 

Book Review: The Half-Hearted Queen by Charlie N. Holmberg

My thanks to Netgalley, 47North and Charlie N. Holmberg for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I have been waiting, somewhat patiently, for this book. I had the fortuitous chance to read book one, The Shattered King, earlier this year before the release and leapt at the chance to read this book when it was available. On the one hand, I want to write a well-balanced review, talking about all of the character development, the plot twists and payoffs that made this book utterly brilliant. On the other, I want to scream into my hands and kick my feet and laugh maniacally like some crazed fan to extol the virtues of this book.

Guess which side is winning? Allow me to pause for a moment while I gather myself.

And now we are back. Honestly, I want to go on and on about how BRILLIANT this book is and have that somehow be enough because my emotions are still running high but at the same time, I know it's not enough to give this book flowery words of praise without delving into the contents of the story so without further ado, the review!

The Half-Hearted Queen picks up where The Shattered King left off, with Nym taken captive by King Nicosia. Nym is forced to be a political prisoner, guarding her secrets about how she healed Prince Renn while also also trying to work out the connections between the two kingdoms. Desperate to get back home, Nym has to survive the days as the prisoner to a king who will stop at nothing to figure out the inner workings of Nym's healing craft and how he can gain the talent for himself. Meanwhile, Prince Renn has to work to understand his place as the new King of Cansere, leading his people as they try to fight back the Sestan forces that have taken their homeland while an ancient prophecy starts to reveal itself. As the war continues on and Cansere realizes how ill-prepared they are for war, Prince Renn has to consider all the options he has available to save his people, including an alliance with a neighboring kingdom that could threaten his burgeoning relationship with Nym.

The story is strong. The threads from the first are carried through to this book, with reveals paying off with high emotions for me as a reader. As a book about an ongoing war, Holmberg has to work with some delicate subject matter, specifically the actions of a despicable man hellbent on getting what he wants, no matter what the costs, and how this intersects with the treatment of Nym as a prisoner. It made my stomach turn and yet, for the sake of depicting war, it was necessary to see how Nym suffered away from home and away from Renn. The scenes helped to paint Nicosia as the villain and helped to show just how strong and determined Nym had become, a woman who had grown into a force that apparently put this villain on edge enough that he was almost desperate to understand what set her apart from other healers.

I wanted to enter this world and destroy Nicosia myself. There was a moment in reading about what Nym suffered that I had to put this book down and breathe because I wanted it to be over, I wanted Nym back home where she belonged, I wanted her back with Renn and I wanted her to annihilate Nicosia. This is the payoff from the first book. Holmberg has created a character that readers adore and seeing Nym suffer forces us as readers to feel for her, to be on the edge of our seats as we witness her pain. When Nym finally manages to get out of Sesta, readers are as relieved as Nym is and we are able to breathe easier. It shows the talent Holmberg has that readers will feel so deeply for the lead of this book.

Another point about the plot and the emotions is the fact that this book got to me in ways I did not expect. Yes, I felt something akin to rage towards the villain, and yes, I was also annoyed with some new characters that I was ready to boot out the door. But it was the quiet moments of reunion that got me the most. I care for the characters I read about and when I rate a book high, it usually has to do with just how much I felt about the people in the story. I cared about these characters, even the ones that did not spend so much time on the page but as I had read about them enough with what Nym said about them, I came to love the people that Nym loved too. So when a particular reunion took place on the page and there was mention of a sob being choked back, I was right there with that character, rapidly blinking back tears and trying to swallow around the lump in my throat because I was that invested in this plot payoff. That emotion took me off guard and yet it made me smile, because a truly great book will make you run the gamut of emotions that the characters are going through.

But then Holmberg got me a second time, with yet another reunion between characters, and I had to put the book down because gosh darnit, my chest felt tight and my eyes were so watery I couldn't focus on the words in front of me. As a reader, I can only hope that I feel that deeply for the events of the book that I am reading, so the fact that this book got me to tear up TWICE, well, that catapults this book into all-star favorite status. You hear that sound? That's the slow clap and standing ovation I'm giving this book. And there were still moments to come that made this book continue to keep me on my toes, smiling and laughing at the romance and holding my breath at the battles, and waiting for the moment that the villain finally gets what is coming to them.

It was all a sight to behold.

The characters are still solid, even the new additions. Renn is still the strong lead that is necessary to keep Nym hoping for more than what she ever that would be possible for her future. Their interactions were swoon-worthy and their back-and-forths proved that their match was the one to root for. I loved how Renn was shown to have gained all of this strength and yet the character that was shaped by a lifelong illness was proven to be a humble man, wishing to keep the spotlight off of himself and yet accepting that in order to win the war, all the hopes of his people were set on him and what he could do. I loved his resolve and his determination to keep Nym, the person who loved him for who he was before he was healed and the woman who had sacrificed so much of herself to fix him. The book showed just how much Renn had absorbed in his life being in the background of his family and how he was able to use his knowledge to strategize how to win the war and work out an alliance that would hopefully keep his people safe now and in the future.

This time around, readers are given more time with Princess Eden and she proved to be a quiet force that kept Nym focused when she was captured. Eden was shaped by the life that she had led and I appreciated how Holmberg showed that Eden could see what had come before and after the events at the start of the book and how she had been sheltered as a member of the nobility compared to what Nym had gone through in her life. If Holmberg decides to continue writing in this world, I would read a duology focused on Princess Eden and what she has to overcome after the events of this book. I was happy when more of Nym's family made an appearance in the story even though I wanted all of them sequestered somewhere away from the battles. I wanted horrible things to happen to some less than likable certain characters, which shows that Holmberg can make readers hate characters just as much as she can make us love the people in this story.

In my review of the first book, my only complaint was that I wasn't really sure about how much time was passing between the different events of the story. This time around, Holmberg has the specifics that made this exactly what I needed to understand the heavy emotions of the book. The passage of time has a weight to it that makes every moment precious so to know that it has been three months in captivity, or two months since this happened, or this long on the road, it all helps to convey the effort it takes for these characters to get to the resolution of the book. I wanted to be able to keep track of time and the specifics were there to help me understand the loss and the relief as Nym moved through this book. It was everything I could have asked for right when I needed to know it, to help me feel just how difficult things had become for Nym while she was in Sesta, to understand the high emotion of Nym receiving certain surprises in the story, to illustrate exactly what the characters were pushing through as they tried to win the war. I loved every moment that Holmberg gave us in this story and I can't think of anything that needed more because I got everything I'd hoped to see and then some with this story.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars!!! This book gave me everything I needed to love it. This duology will live on a shelf of my favorite reads and I will be reading these again and again for years to come. I will be reading everything that Holmberg writes from this day forward AND I will be working my way through every past release as well, all the while working on getting physical copies of every book so that they can all live together on a shelf dedicated to the works of Charlie N. Holmberg. If you read the first book, this book is the perfect ending to the story. If you haven't read The Shattered King yet, what are you waiting for? Run and get a copy now and be prepared to fall in love with the story of Nym and Renn.

Book Review: An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have so many Kelley Armstrong books.

I've collected them for years. I still remember the series that made me want to read everything from Kelley Armstrong. I was randomly searching through books from my city's digital library when I found a book called Omens. It seemed interesting enough so I borrowed it. I was done with it by that evening, after which I promptly tried to find the rest of the series and consumed it in its entirety by the end of the week.

After that, I randomly saw A Stitch in Time for sale at Subterranean Press and I got a copy, then got the rest of that series when it became available. I started collecting the Otherworld series, searching used bookstores and websites to find every novel and novella that had been published. Then I heard the news of an upcoming series from Armstrong, a book called A Rip Through Time. The title sounded similar to A Stitch in Time, so I thought it was a spinoff and promptly pre-ordered a copy. Easy enough mistake to make but I'm glad that it happened because I LOVE this series so much. Every book is better than the last, and this book, An Ordinary Sort of Evil, is everything I've been waiting to see in this series for the last several years. I can't wait for this book to be released because all the fans of this series is going to be so excited. I spent quite some time sitting with a goofy smile on my face and hearts in my eyes during passages of this book, followed closely with shocked eyes and mouth agape because Armstrong threw in a few unexpected tidbits that caught me by surprise. I want to read this whole series again, I want to read the NEXT book already because there has to be more coming, right? I'm so grateful that the novella is out next month, even though it will set between books #4 and #5, as long as I get to spend more time in this world. THAT is how much I love these books.

An Ordinary Sort of Evil is about Mallory Mitchell, a modern-day homicide detective who has traveled 150 years back in time and now inhabits the body of a housemaid. Mallory has managed to make a good life for herself in the past, filled with people she can trust. She works for Dr. Duncan Gray, an undertaker who has an interest in what is becoming the start of forensic science, and Detective Hugh McCreadie, Dr. Gray's best friend and a well-respected officer of the law. Together they solve the murder cases that McCreadie brings to Gray for help to solve them. They know Mallory's background and have her expertise to help them, trusting her because of the friendship they have developed since the events of book 1. One night, Duncan and Mallory are summoned to the house of one of Duncan's patrons. When they arrive, they are told that a seance had taken place and that the ghost of a missing maid appeared and requested Dr. Gray by name to investigate her death. Mallory and Gray aren't sure if a crime took place but they decide to investigate in the hopes of finding the young woman alive. As they work, they are drawn into a case that has many twists and dangers that they have to stay ahead of because the case is more complex than it first appeared to be.

When I first started reading book 1, I was afraid of one thing. I was worried that the lead, a homicide detective from modern times, would walk around in the past without working to change the way she is. I thought the character would blaze around the town, demanding answers, acting the way a modern woman would despite the fact that she was in the past which would have different customs and expectations. It makes me so grumpy when I read books in which a lead is put in a situation they know nothing about and instead of being cautious and careful, they stomp around like nothing is different. So when Mallory arrived in the past, I cheered when she continued in her role as a maid, trying to fit in while working to understand where she had ended up and how she could get back home. Her reasoning was that in the event that she ended up back in her own time and body, she would want to be sure that the young woman whose place she took could slip back into her past without finding that Mallory had destroyed her life. And I LOVED that.

Mallory is one of the greatest, most interesting female main characters I've ever seen and I adore reading about her. I search every year since the first book was released to see if there will be a new book about Mallory and so far, these books don't disappoint. I love the way Mallory's mind works, how she sees the world she's in, making comparisons to the present, pointing out history that has not taken place yet, enriching the world of the story for the reader. I love the banter she has with her friends, the way they trust and believe in her, the way they know that she is intelligent and a detective in her own right and how that helps them with their cases. I love Dr. Duncan Gray, the way he holds back when he speaks but has a weakness for pastries. I love the way he believes in Mallory, the confidence he has in her abilities, the way he protects his sisters and works in a job that he inherited, being an undertaker, even though he hates it. Gray is on one hand the classic example of a Victorian and on the other an open-minded man who is not afraid of what Mallory is, fiercely independent and exceedingly intelligent. They are a match made in book heaven and their connection is what has kept me coming back to read these books, 5 novels and soon to be 3 novellas by my count so far.

I love Isla, Gray's sister, and Hugh, the detective best friend. They are the perfect companions to the two leads of this series, and together, this quartet of characters are so much fun to read about as they work on their cases together. Eccentric in the best ways and a found family that includes so many other interesting characters. After the last book, I was thinking to myself that it had been a while since we'd seen the rest of the Gray household so I was happy that so many favorites had moments in this book. Alice, the young maid with a questionable past, made an appearance with her new wildcat kitten rescued in the last adventure. Miss Wallace, the housekeeper, was around to keep Mallory on her toes. Simon, the groomsman, was the quiet support in the background, available for the many tasks and assistance that his employers needed. And we can't forget about Jack, the latest addition to the house who now works as a maid, who is also a self-described journalist who works with Isla to write out chronicles about Mallory and Duncan's adventures, which are apparently gaining popularity among a large variety of readers. Every character is enjoyable in their own way and to see them all again was such a pleasure after the last book had the main quartet out in the country for a wedding.

The main mystery of this book was an intriguing twist. I thought the idea of trying to solve a murder that no one knows for sure took place was the perfect new plot for Mallory and Gray to tackle. The idea of ghosts and spiritualism was something that gained a lot of popularity in the Victorian era, especially with Queen Victoria's interest in it, so it was definitely a draw to see how Mallory and Gray work on a case that has so many reveals that come about because of it. Also, the cameos that Armstrong placed in this book left me gobsmacked. I mean, the first big reveal was fun and I thought wow, that was unexpected but that final reveal just threw me for a loop, it was so unexpected and yet it made me giddy with laughter and FINE, okay universe, I get it, I'm going back to try reading some particular works of literature again. I swear, I say one time in a review that I don't particularly like something and then one of my new favorite books does something like THIS and okay, fine, I'll read them again. I can't be more specific than that without giving it away and that reveal is just utter perfection. Ugh, I'm still not over it.

Finally, the title of this book. I have not really thought to reflect on the titles of these books, they're usually sufficient in the sense that they perfectly encapsulate the plot of the novel and that's all there is to it. But this title, that phrase, just, I don't know if I can put it into words. When it hit in the story, I felt my stomach drop or maybe my heart turned over, just the impact that it made, a bittersweet melancholy that made me wistful and yet heartsick at the way it was used. It elevated this book just that much more compared to the rest of the series and for that, I want to shout off the rooftops about how utterly brilliant this installment was, it is just that great. I just finished talking to my Dad about this book because I bought these for him and he's catching up on the story and he LOVES these books too and until more people in our family read these, he's the only one I can talk to about how much I adored this book and have him understand because he feels the same way about these characters. I didn't spoil it though. I'm not that cruel. Still, the sentiment remains, readers will absolutely love this installment, I'm confident about that fact. I hope this series has many more books to come. Please, I beg of you, let this series continue for years to come, I love this world and its people so much.

Rating on my Scale: 10 STARS!!! Read this series and then come and read this book and revel in the reveals and the twists and the developments because this series is perfect for mystery lovers. I love these books and I will be reading these again and again for years. Please read these books so Kelley Armstrong can continue writing for this world and we readers can continue to have the opportunity of watching Mallory and Gray solve mysteries in Victorian Scotland. Then they can read everything else by Armstrong and we readers can continue to get great books from her for as long as she is able to write and we are able to read. A win-win for everyone if you ask me.