Month: December 2020

Review: The Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate

~ megs14malloy

The Last to See HerThe Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay, that was a story. A heck of a wild ride. One, I am sorry to say, I didn’t enjoy that much.

In the beginning, I was really into this. It didn’t take long for the action to kick off and I was definitely intrigued.

For a while the tension was building quite nicely, then for me, it just crossed over into eye roll territory, from which it never returned.

By the last 25% I was racing through, not because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen, but because I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

With this being said, just because it wasn’t a good fit for my tastes, doesn’t mean it won’t be for you. There are definitely a lot of readers who will enjoy this. Sadly, I just wasn’t one of them.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Mira Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. Even though it wasn’t a new favorite for me, I still very much appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion.

View all my reviews

Blog Tour: The Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate

~ megs14malloy

The Last to See Her is a fast-paced Domestic Thriller following two sisters on a girls trip to New York City where things go horribly wrong.

Gen is currently going through a bitter divorce. Meg, her sister and best friend, is going to be attending a medical conference in NYC. Trying to help her sister out, to get her mind off her current troubles, Meg invites Gen to go along.

Gen agrees and meets her sister in the city. They immediately head out for dinner and drinks.

The ladies end up letting loose and having more drinks than they normally would. Returning to the hotel a little drunk, they get into a conversation regarding Gen’s marriage.

It seems to stress her out. In fact, she throws her 4-carat engagement ring from the balcony and promptly states she is going out for a walk. She needs some fresh air.

Gen stumbles out of the room and out of the hotel. Meg, who doesn’t think it is the greatest idea, nevertheless puts up no real fight. Her sister is a grown woman. She can do what she wants.

Meg lays down and ends up passing out. When she wakes up the next morning, Gen has never returned.

Meg is understandably alarmed. It’s a big city, and not one her sister knows that well. Where could she be?

The narrative alternates between Gen and Meg’s perspectives initially, with both before and after sections. Eventually, other perspectives are added in, including Gen’s estranged husband, Thad.

The chapters are short, continuing to build tension as the story goes along. You learn about both Gen and Meg’s lives in the lead-up to the ill-fated NYC trip. There are twists, turns, deceptions and betrayals.

I am currently about 70% through with this one and I am having fun with it. It’s an extremely quick read. Perfect for a weekend escape.

There’s a ton of drama and it’s addicting. I am excited to see where this one ends up. So far it has been a wild ride.

I have a feeling, it’s only going to get more over-the-top, if that’s even possible, as the conclusion approaches. This could actually make a great Lifetime movie. I can just picture it!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Mira Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review, as well as including me in the blog tour!

I am planning to finish this one today and will post a full review here once I am done. Please be sure to stay tuned for that!

The Last to See Her will be available wherever books are sold beginning on December 15, 2020; or you can preorder now!!!

 

 

Review: How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Folk of the Air #3.5) by Holly Black

~ megs14malloy

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (The Folk of the Air, #3.5)How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And just like that my faith is restored in this thing we call a world. Thank you, Holly Black. We needed this.

Unsurprisingly, Cardan had me entranced from the start.

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is a collection of beautifully illustrated short-stories, following Cardan’s perspective from when he was just a little boy, all the way through and after, The Queen of Nothing.

I knew going in that this was illustrated, but my goodness, it is absolutely stunning.

As I was reading I would often stop and just soak in the illustrations. It truly brought these stories to life and gave them the magical quality of an old-time fairy tale.

Cardan is such a fun character and reading his life from his perspective provided all new insight into his decisions and motivations. I love him even more now than ever.

For true fans of this series, this is bonus content that should not be missed!

Personally, I will pick up anything Black chooses to write regarding these characters, or Elfhame in general. This book is a wonderful collector’s piece and one I am happy to add to my collection.

View all my reviews

Review: Red Hands by Christopher Golden

~ megs14malloy

Red HandsRed Hands by Christopher Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

In Jericho Falls, New Hampshire, Maeve Sinclair is busy soaking up the warm atmosphere of the local 4th of July parade, when the unthinkable happens.

A rogue car plows through the crowd, taking out several people. As if that wasn’t bad enough, when the driver stumbles out, he continues killing people with his hands!

Not by strangling, or stabbing, or anything like that. He simply touches them and they fall dead.

Maeve has to do something, she attacks the man, but unfortunately through some form of contact with him, she gets what he has: Red Hands, the touch of death.

Maeve can immediately tell something is wrong. She can feel it. She has been contaminated.

Before she can come into contact with anyone, and potentially harm them, Maeve flees into the mountains bordering town.

Ben Walker, weird science expert, is preparing to enjoy the 4th of July holiday with his son.

Unfortunately, before they can set off on their camping trip, Ben receives a call for help from Alena Boudreau, head of the Global Science Research Coalition.

She tells him that a devastating bioweapon has been released from a New Hampshire laboratory, killing patient zero, and leaving one infected woman on the loose.

Ben’s assignment is to go to New Hampshire and get Maeve Sinclair off the mountain and into custody before anyone else does.

Meanwhile, Maeve’s family is anxious to get her back home. They don’t understand completely what has happened to her, but as witnesses to the parade massacre, they know that she’s in trouble.

Ted, Maeve’s father, injured and struggling with his addiction is having a hard time coping. In spite of this, he does assist local authorities in their hunt for Maeve.

Maeve’s sister, Rose, along with her girlfriend, Priya, also head out to search the mountain. Rose feels she knows her sister well enough to guess where she would go to hide.

Ted’s best friend, Rue, a biologist, also gets involved, by heading to the Laboratory to find some answers.

Once Ben Walker hits town, he joins up with the family and the hunt begins in earnest.

I had a lot of fun reading this book, but it is not the type of book that I would generally pick up. However, with this being said, I’m really glad that I did.

This action-packed novel grabbed me right from the very start. It is interesting as heck.

The entire idea behind it had me enthralled. I enjoyed all of the characters and although it started to go a little off the rails towards the end, it was no less compelling.

With shadow organizations, corrupt corporations and questionable government officials, this story certainly had a lot of baddies. All out to get our intrepid hero, Ben Walker, as he struggles to save the little guy.

Along the way, the mystery of the death touch begins to reveal itself. It was hella strange, but I was into it, nonetheless.

I really liked this. I am thinking about picking up the other two earlier books in this series.

The cases Ben worked on in those books were alluded to here, not in a spoilery way, but definitely in a way that made me want to go back and check them out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I certainly appreciate it!

View all my reviews

Review: The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis

~ megs14malloy

The Initial Insult (The Initial Insult, #1)The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Tress Montor and Felicity Turnado were best friends when they were younger. Not anymore.

Now in high school, Tress has an ax to grind with Felicity. She wants some answers to a long-standing mystery and she believes Felicity has them.

When the girls where in the fourth grade, Tress’s parents disappeared late one night while driving Felicity home from their house.

Felicity was found bruised and bleeding at the side of the road, but the Montors were never seen again.

After that, Tress loses her life as she knew it. With no parents, and no one else to claim her, she is forced to live with her drunken grandfather at what the locals call the ‘white trash zoo’.

There are animals that Tress helps to feed and care for. A zebra, an ostrich, an alligator, a panther, among other things. Life is hard.

Tress is not cared for as a child should be and becomes a social pariah at school. Literally abandoned by the entire town, she has no one to advocate for her.

Felicity feels guilty for all that has happened to Tress. Part of her wants to comfort and care for her ex-best friend, but she doesn’t dare. What would people think?

Felicity keeps her true thoughts tucked deep inside her, like she’s been taught, all whilst exuding that Queen Bee attitude that everyone expects.

She’s rich, beautiful, popular and has a secret way to suppress her negative thoughts.

Tress has had enough of it all, so she develops a plan to get the answers she seeks.

It involves a crowded costume party at a deserted house, a coal chute, a lot of bricks and mortar. Felicity is going to talk, one way or another. Tress has nothing to lose.

Alternating between Tress and Felicity’s perspectives, this novel follows the girl’s friendship from the start, to the present, and through various stages in between.

Both girls keep a lot of things to themselves. There is anger, guilt and plenty of low self esteem to go around.

This story is extremely heavy. There is a ton of baggage between these two girls. Even when they aren’t the ones doing things to one another, they are there to bear witness.

They’ve been intertwined in one another’s lives for a long time. As a reader, you can feel the weight of that history. It’s almost tangible.

I found this entire storyline unique and completely engaging. Once I started reading, I could not put this down.

It’s just so well written. I know that this story will not be for everyone, but I think the people who are going to enjoy it, are REALLY going to enjoy it.

McGinnis was not afraid to go dark and stay there. There is not one moment of lightness in this novel and I was here for it.

I cannot believe how this one ended up. The final few scenes, my word.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Katherine Tegen Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I really, really enjoyed this and cannot wait to see how this duology turns out!!!

View all my reviews

Review: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

~ megs14malloy

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

City of Glass, the third installment in Cassandra Clare’s well-loved, Mortal Instruments series, brought all the addictive teen drama I was hoping for!

Since this is the third book in a series, some mild spoilers may be found within this review. I do not plan to hide them.

You have been warned.

Clary still needs to save her Mom. She thinks the answer lies somewhere within the City of Glass, Alicante, the capital of Idris and the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters.

Unfortunately, it’s against the law to travel there without permission and Clary definitely does not have that. Regardless, she’s not letting a little thing like frightening magical laws come between her and her mother’s potential cure.

The rest of the crew travel to Idris as well, including Simon, although he isn’t received as well as the others.

The bulk of the action in this novel, therefore, takes place in the land of the Shadowhunters, which I absolutely loved.

I feel like I learned so much more about this world, their history and the powers and relationships amongst the various beings that inhabit it.

This is what I had been waiting for. Things are finally beginning to come together and as a whole, make a lot more sense.

The relationship dynamics between all of our main characters continued to be built out as well. I enjoyed watching the evolution of friendships, as well as romantic relationships.

There were some huge reveals; one in particular that entirely changed how I viewed a certain character. I really enjoyed that, although some of the build-up to that reveal still makes me a little uncomfortable.

At the end of the day, that entire storyline certainly brought the angst that kept me turning pages. Luckily for the story, it wasn’t just that though.

There is a lot of compelling content in here. Valentine is an incredibly well-imagined villain. The stakes are high and the action flows along at a nice, steady pace.

I’m so stoked to carry one with my journey through the Shadowhunter Chronicles. If this book is any indication, it’s just going to continue to get better and better.

Up next, Clockwork Angel!!!

View all my reviews

Review: A Universe of Wishes, edited by Dhonielle Clayton

~ megs14malloy

A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books AnthologyA Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology by Dhonielle Clayton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Universe of Wishes is an upcoming YA Fantasy Anthology from We Need Diverse Books, edited by the talented, Dhonielle Clayton.

Featuring fifteen diverse stories from some of the best OwnVoices authors currently writing in the YA genre, this collection has something for everyone.

As I read this collection, I kept track of my rating for each story, as well as a short description. The following are my initial notes:

1. A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really enjoyed this one, surprisingly moving for such a short story. Buzzwords: m/m romance, dark magic, family tragedy, hope, justice, wishes.

2. The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker, ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Bloom of Everhart is ready to choose his consort. A competition ensues. One contestant feels more drawn to another than she does to her stated prize.

3. The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray, ⭐⭐⭐
New York City, 1897. I feel like I am missing something? Am I supposed to know Gemma Doyle?

4. Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie Mclemore, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Cinderella retelling where a peasant girl sneaks into the kingdom during a ball, hoping for an audience with the King and Queen, to plead for the rights of her two mothers, their relationship and others like them. She meets the trans-Prince and he changes everything.

5. Liberia by Kwame Mbalia, ⭐⭐⭐.5
Following a crew on a futuristic mission. One of the characters is attached to the plants they are cultivating from their long distant homeland. I don’t think I got as much out of this as I should have, but Mbalia’s writing is so strong.

6. A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now I definitely need to read the Shades of Magic trilogy!! I loved this. Following Alucard Emery, his relationship with Ray Marshall, and how he came to Captain the Night Spire.

7. The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roadhouse, ⭐⭐⭐.5
A solo space Captain who has lost everything sets out to steal back artifacts stolen from her people and housed in a museum. She discovers an unlikely and charming ally along the way.

8. Dream and Dare by Nic Stone, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The story of two misunderstood girls being crushed by traditional gender roles and societal expectations. Remember girls, to always Dare to Dream!

9. Wish by Jenni Balch, ⭐⭐⭐.5
A wish granter from a lamp is surprised when he is summoned to find he is no longer on Earth, but a colony on Venus. The wisher has very special circumstances and he is determined to help her, no matter the cost.

10. The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every heart tells a story. Futuristic and odd, this story of a young couple secretly questioning love gave me chills!

11. Unmoor by Mark Oshiro, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
In a world where magic exists, young Felix uses a very different method for ridding himself of heartache. This was powerful.

12. The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An uninhabitable Earth left behind. An abandoned wasteland. A futuristic archeologist finds record of a girl who once lived. Sadly too realistic.

13. The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton, ⭐⭐.5
An architect who redesigns human form begins a relationship with the heir of a King whose body she is redesigning. Enjoyed the commentary on gender and gender fluidity, but other than that, I found this one quite slow.

14. Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Boy meets girl. Danae and Fabian. A girl from the DR, locked in a tower for decades. A brujo with the power to save her. A delightfully dark Rapunzel retelling.

15. Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A powerful closing story for this collection. Two young men, a world apart, are each held in solitary confinement. One, from Long Beach, California, the other from the Gaza Strip in Palestine. They develop a channel for corresponding and build a deep and binding connection.

This is a really well-rounded collection. Obviously, there were stories that I connected with more than others, but that is always the way with anthologies.

Every person who reads this will have a different experience with these stories, and that’s okay. That’s what it’s all about.

I think all of the contributors to this collection should be proud of their work. I am so happy that this book, and others like it, exist.

I highly recommend this anthology and hope that We Need Diverse Books continues to produce materials like this for a long time to come. For more information on WNDB, click this link:

We Need Diverse Books

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

It was one of my most anticipated anthologies of the year and it definitely did not disappoint!!

View all my reviews

Review: The Dead Season (Shana Merchant #2) by Tessa Wegert

~ megs14malloy

The Dead Season (Shana Merchant, #2)The Dead Season by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Following the horrific events of Death in the Family, Senior Investigator Shana Merchant finds herself on administrative leave.

Her PTSD was triggered by the events on the Sinclair family’s private island and it caused her to display poor judgement. Now she is left spinning her wheels as her department urges her to take time to heal.

Pending a psychological evaluation she may be reinstated to her position. In the meantime however, she is suppose to focus on anything but work.

Shana has a hard time with that. When the remains of her long missing Uncle are found in the woods of her hometown, she heads home to solve the mystery.

At the same time, a young boy, Trey, goes missing on a school field trip in Alexandria Bay. Shana’s partner, Tim, is on the case and Shana feels like it is connected to Blake Bram, the serial killer continuing to hound her.

What’s even more intriguing is that Shana feels like the cases are linked in other ways; like Bram is holding Trey hostage, forcing Shana to solve the case of her long-dead Uncle. If she can solve it, perhaps Trey will live, but why?

I really enjoyed getting to know Shana Merchant, as a character, in the first novel. This second book fills in more of her past and the events that haunt her, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

We learn more about Blake Bram and Shana’s original connection to him.

Wegert won me over in the first novel by utilizing my favorite mystery trope, the locked room mystery. In this second installment, again, she gave me another one of my favorites: when a protagonist returns to their hometown to solve an old mystery.

Shana feels like she has forgotten a lot of her childhood. As she interviews friends, relatives and other community members, it begins to jog her memory and what she finds there isn’t pretty.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this and the reveals.

Shana is a great character, as is Tim, her partner. I have no idea how many mysteries this series will ultimately be, but you better believe, I will be reading them all.

If you are looking for a new mystery series with a classic mystery feel, you should definitely give the Shana Merchant series a try. The Dead Season is releasing on Tuesday, December 8th!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I really appreciate it!

View all my reviews

Review: Thinner by Richard Bachman

~ megs14malloy

ThinnerThinner by Richard Bachman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another successful buddy read with my friend, Shannon!!!

I love this story so much. Is it perfect?

Probably not for everyone, but it’s a hell of a fun reading experience for me. This is my third time through this one and honestly, not the last.

Thinner follows the story of Billy Halleck, a successful attorney living the good life in a wealthy Connecticut suburb.

Billy has a lovely wife, Heidi, a sweet daughter, Linda, and friends and associates he pals around with at the local country club.

He also has an extra 50-pounds or so around the middle, evidence of the many rich meals and treats he can afford.

All is good in Billy’s life until the night Heidi decides to spice things up on a drive home from an event.

With Billy desperately distracted, tragedy strikes. The other party is no one in this town however. They don’t have rich friends and connections like Billy. Connections to the judge and the police.

Billy doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist for the role he played in that tragic night.

Others want justice for what happened and if they can’t get it through the traditional ways, it’s no bother; they have their own ways. Old ways.

A soft caress with a gnarled hand and one word whispered with intention, thinner.

Thus, changing the course of Billy’s life forever.

Y’all this story is gruesome, wild and unrelenting.

The body horror is just that, horrible and horrifying and sure to make you cringe. If you aren’t into graphic descriptions of terrifying things happening to a human body, you may want to steer clear.

I find writing as Bachman, King is much more blunt in his delivery and build-up. This reads very quickly and advances through the plot at a rapid fire pace.

I love going along with Billy as he comes to grips with what is happening to him and tries to fix it.

He calls in a favor from his friend, Richard Ginelli, when he feels like the problem is too much for him to tackle himself.

Unfortunately, once on the case, Ginelli is like a guard dog slipped his leash. He can’t be called back and things escalate quickly.

As gritty and physically horrifying as this story is, there’s also some great food for thought mixed in. Blame, guilt, disregard for others, privilege, power and blood feuds; you can find it all in here.

If you are looking for a quick, quirky, messy, horrific tale, you should definitely give Thinner a shot.

View all my reviews

Review: I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

~ megs14malloy

I Am Still AliveI Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Alternating between After and Before sections, I Am Still Alive follows teenager, Jess, who has moved to Canada to live with her estranged, off-the-grid, father.

Battered, bruised and grieving, Jess has recently survived a car crash in which her mother was killed.

Like losing your mom isn’t hard enough. Like losing the strength in your own body isn’t hard enough. Now Jess has to leave the only life she has ever known behind and move to the wilderness to live with a virtual stranger.

Y’all, you can tell from the very start that this story is going to take you places. Those places aren’t going to be great, but what is great is the writing, pacing and format of this YA Survival Thriller.

After a shocking event, which is revealed slowly over the course of the story, Jess ends up alone.

The cabin where she had been living burned to the ground, leaving her, her dog Bo and a few meager supplies to try to survive on their own.

Jess is still in a lot of pain from her accident. Her muscles have atrophied in one leg fairly severely; as in, she was in therapy training herself to walk again prior to moving to the wilderness.

Because of this, even small tasks are literally exhausting for her. Her physical limitations present mental challenges as well. She truly must learn to listen to her body in order to push through.

This is a true survival story. Marshall does not shy away from pain, hunger, thirst, desperation and anguish. It is all on page and at times is agonizing to read.

There’s also some fairly painful issues involving family, guilt and grief. All handled extraordinarily well.

Reminiscent of Hatchet, the first survival story I ever loved, I really enjoyed reading this. I really enjoyed reading it, even though it tore my heart out and I legit cried like a baby at the end.

This is not a comfortable read, but it’s definitely a challenging, thought-provoking, adventurous read; not for the faint of heart.

I will absolutely be reading more from this author!

View all my reviews