Author: megs14malloy

Review: The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

~ megs14malloy

The Deep SkyThe Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Deep Sky is a recently-released SF-Thriller debut from Yume Kitasei. This story features a deep space mission where a lethal explosion causes the survivors to question the loyalty of their fellow crew members.

We follow Asuka, one of the crew and sole surviving witness to the explosion that killed three mission members and knocked their ship, The Phoenix, off course.

The set-up was interesting and scarily plausible. With Earth on the brink of an planet-altering environmental disaster, the countries of the world nominate individuals to compete for a spot on a humanity-saving mission.

As with any interstellar mission, space is limited. Asuka is selected as a contender to represent her mother’s native-Japan. Although not initially chosen, Asuka earns a spot as an alternate due to unforeseen circumstances.

Because of this, Asuka can’t help but feel like an outsider.

When the explosion happens, and Asuka is nearby and survives, she becomes a bit of a suspect in the eyes of some of the other crew members.

Asuka feels like she needs to get to the bottom of what caused the explosion. She can clear her name and find out what is actually going on with the rest of the crew. Thus, a mystery twist unfolds.

This was really good actually. I was a bit on the fence at first. The story wasn’t fully able to capture my attention until around the halfway mark. I was very pleased that Kitasei was eventually able to pull me in through the intensity of the storyline and completely pulled it off in the end.

The story is quite thoughtfully-written and the SF-elements provided plenty of interesting possibilities for our future. This would make a great one to discuss with friends, a book club, or other SF-readers in general.

I did feel like the idea of the mission, the way it was initiated was well-developed and thought out. I feel like when you are writing something futuristic like this, you can really go anywhere with it. Kitasei’s take was creative and frankly, believable in a frightening way.

The aspects of this that didn’t work as well for me were the story construction, especially in the beginning, and some of the character work.

The narrative jumps around from present to the past frequently and I felt like, for me, those transitions weren’t smooth enough. They were quite jarring and I kept feeling out of touch with what was happening because of it. Additionally, as far as the characters go, I had a hard time remembering anyone besides our main, Asuka.

None of them felt distinct to me like Asuka did. In spite of that though, I still appreciate what the author developed here. I think this story shows a lot of great creativity and thoughtfulness about the potential future of humanity.

Overall, I was impressed with this as a debut story. It’s complex, multifaceted and thought-provoking. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would definitely recommend the audio version. The narration fit the story very well.

View all my reviews

Review: The Weekend Escape by Rakie Bennett

~ megs14malloy

The Weekend EscapeThe Weekend Escape by Rakie Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After reading the synopsis for The Weekend Escape, I knew I needed to read it. This set-up is my absolute go-to for atmospheric, thrilling reads.

A deserted island, a vicious storm, a murderer amongst friends…

The weekend was intended as a fun reunion for six friends, Val, Bobbie, Juliet, Amanda, Lyndsey and Sonia, but almost as soon as the women arrive on the deserted island, their destination for the weekend, things take a turn for the worst.

The women form a bit of an informal climbing group, they’ve been climbing things together since they were school girls. Their mountain this weekend, an old lighthouse.

A climbing incident leaves one of the women injured. Inclement weather and other extenuating circumstances make communication with the mainland impossible.

Power outages, misplaced poison, secrets, lies and a mysterious Bird Warden, add to the tension and spiraling happenings. What started as a weekend for fun and adventure has turned into a weekend of survival and a fight for their lives.

Who will make it through the weekend escape?

I had fun with this. The setting and atmosphere delivered as promised. I also enjoyed learning about the characters and all their drama, as well as their shared history.

While I’m not sure how memorable this story is overall, it made for a fun weekend read.

I will say this is very, very, very similar to She Started It, which I read not long ago. For the record, this one was published in 2021. I wish I’d have read it first. I actually enjoyed this one more than SSI.

I liked this setting more and I also didn’t find this to be predictable, as I did SSI. I couldn’t help but make comparisons throughout while reading, which I did find to be distracting. I wish I had read this one and this one only.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a deserted island story, or stories involving friends weekends gone wrong. This had some intense moments and it was fun watching it all unfold.

Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it!

View all my reviews

Review: A Death in Door Country (Monster Hunter Mystery #1) by Annelise Ryan

~ megs14malloy

A Death in Door County (Monster Hunter Mystery, #1)A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

A Death in Door County is the first book in Annalise Ryan’s creeptastic Monster Hunter Mystery series.

I first learned about this series after I was gifted an ARC of the sequel, Death in the Dark Woods, releasing in December 2023. I was excited to learn about it because it combines two of my favorite things: creepy vibes and cozy mysteries.

This series follows Morgan Carter, a bookstore owner and cryptozoologist, from Door County, Wisconsin. Morgan, like her parents before her, spends her spare time investigating cryptids and that skill is about to come in very handy.

After a few bodies are found along the shores of Lake Michigan with unexplained injuries, Police Chief Jon Flanders asks for Morgan’s help. The injuries look like bites, but not bites from any locally known animal.

Could a rumored lake monster be to blame?

Morgan agrees to help. She’s no stranger to the legends of lake monsters and is more than happy to assist Jon in his on-going investigation.

Y’all, this was really cute. It’s a simple start to a new Cozy Mystery series with a surprising and creative cryptid twist. I definitely enjoyed my time getting to know this main character and a feel for how this series is going to play out.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading more mysterious adventures featuring this plucky-protagonist, Morgan. I also loved how important the presence her dog, Newt, was in the story. You can tell this author is a dog-lover.

It was a little slow for me in the beginning, but I was never not enjoying it. The mystery was fun and I loved how as we got closer to solving it, it started to take on a bit of a Scooby-Doo-type feel.

I was satisfied with the resolution of the mystery and enjoyed the relationship that’s building between Morgan and Jon. I’m looking forward to becoming even more attached to these characters as the series continues.

I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves their dark fiction, but also needs a bit of a palate cleanser every once in a while.

In the next installment, we’re tackling a Bigfoot!!

View all my reviews

Review: The Woods Are Waiting by Katherine Greene

~ megs14malloy

The Woods Are WaitingThe Woods Are Waiting by Katherine Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Woods Are Waiting is a solid debut. It is a fairly simplistic story, but was easy to understand and I enjoyed the overall tone of Greene’s writing.

To be honest, I’m not sure how long the story and characters will stick in my mind, but I would absolutely pick up future work from this author.

In this story we’re following two women, Cheyenne and Natalie. They were childhood best friends, but after Cheyenne moved away suddenly, they lost touch.

Both born and raised in Blue Cliff, Virginia, the women are well versed in the local town lore and superstitions.

Cheyenne, who was raised in the mountains by her single-eccentric mother, in part fled the town to be done with all that stuff. She couldn’t take it anymore.

When a child disappears in Blue Cliff though, Cheyenne receives a call that the event has put her mother in a tailspin and she needs to return home.

The missing boy is all too reminiscent of the three children who were kidnapped and murdered five years before. A man named Jasper went to jail for those killings, but was recently released on a technicality, now another boy is gone.

Nat never left Blue Cliff and she’s surprised when Cheyenne returns. Will the two women being able to repair their relationship long enough to figure out this new disappearance before it’s too late?

As mentioned above, I particularly enjoyed the feel of this. Set in a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, this narrative had a sort of Hillbilly Noir quality to it that I have enjoyed previously in Crime Fiction books such as The Familiar Dark and Out of the Ashes.

It was gritty and I enjoyed all the local lore that the main plot points revolved around. The characters as well were easy to follow, learn about and were mostly likable.

There’s a lot of drama in the town and I think Cheyenne is fairly quickly reminded about why she left. I also tend to love the trope of someone returning to their hometown after many years and investigating some sort of mystery, so this one checked that box as well.

I didn’t really enjoy the pace though. By the time I got to the 50%-point, I still felt like nothing happened. Not like in a slow-burn sort of way either, more in a hum-drum, there’s no action-way.

I think maybe the construction of the story was just slightly too simplistic, so it didn’t really have a chance to build any good suspense, in my opinion. Because of this, I also don’t feel this story is particularly memorable.

With this being said, this is a debut and I do think it is a great effort. I will definitely pick up whatever this author chooses to write next. I think there is a lot of potential here for growth and I am happy to go along for the ride.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to seeing where Greene’s work goes from here.

View all my reviews

Review: The Camp by Nancy Bush

~ megs14malloy

The CampThe Camp by Nancy Bush
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Toot toot! Hot-Mess-Express rolling into the station…

Well, this wasn’t quite what I expected and by quite, I mean, not at all. I felt way too disgruntled upon finishing it to write a review and now it’s been days.

I remember practically nothing, apparently sucked out of my brain by the ‘didn’t enjoy it’-gods.

All I can say is, if you tell me you are giving me Summer Camp Horror, you better deliver me Summer Camp Horror.

The synopsis of The Camp had me frothing at the mouth. Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver any of the vibes, nor enticing plot, that I was expecting.

I’m an atmopshere-girlie first and foremost. I’ve mentioned that numerous times. One of my favorite settings is Summer Horror, particularly Summer Camp Horror. I feel like that is what I was promised here, but it’s not what I got.

There is nothing chilling about this, nor Friday the 13th about this and these are just things mentioned in the synopsis. I’m not inventing these comparisons on my own.

If I hadn’t had that in my mind, there’s a very slight chance I would have enjoyed it more, but honestly, I doubt it.

One of my biggest issues with this story was that it didn’t seem to know what type of story it was trying to be. It couldn’t figure out its own identity, so how the heck was I expected to?

There were way too many perspectives for my tastes, they just didn’t seem necessary, as well as a whole host of ridiculous subplots that I couldn’t have cared less about.

For example, you’re following camp counselors from the past, camp counselors from the present, people from a commune located near the camp, there’s a wacky surrogate subplot, a grown woman being accused of sleeping with a 15-year old boy and a cat that lives in a asylum that is giving total Doctor Sleep vibes…

I’m not sure what else to say. It’s rare I’m at a loss for words, but this is one of those occasions. It was just so hard to track and even harder to care. There were so many characters involved; too many.

It did get a little easier once they were all in one spot, the camp, but I feel like that happened way too late in the narrative. By then, I had given up. I probably should have DNFed, but I kept wanting to figure it out; like, what’s the point?

Honestly, it was pretty bad and not in a fun-Sharknado-bad sort of way…

As I always say though, and I do want to stress this, just because this book didn’t work for me, does not mean it won’t work for you. We all have different tastes and enjoy different things.

I’m not quite sure who I would recommend this to, but I would say probably not to huge Summer Camp, or Slasher Horror fans; like if Friday the 13th is your jam, this is not it.

Thank you to the publisher, Zebra Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even when books don’t knock me out of the park, I still appreciate the opportunity to read and them and provide my opinion.

View all my reviews

Review: The Night It Ended by Katie Garner

~ megs14malloy

The Night It EndedThe Night It Ended by Katie Garner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

When a private investigator reaches out to Dr. Madeline Pine, a criminal psychologist specializing in female violence, to ask for her help with a case, she is hesitant to assist.

The case involves traveling to a remote private school, for girls with behavioral challenges, to investigate a recent death of one of the students.

Madeline doesn’t know if she is capable of handling this right now. That difficult case last year almost ruined her.

When she hears about the dead girl though, found barefoot and in her pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine, she can’t resist. The deceased, Charley’s, Mom is the one who hired the P.I. after the police ruled the death an accident.

Madeline has her own daughter, Izzy, about the same age. She can’t imagine being in Charley’s Mom’s position. She would do anything to find out what happened to her own daughter, thus she feels like she has to help.

Madeline travels to the school with the P.I., Matt, and begins interviewing the other girls on campus over the winter holiday. They’re few, but have a lot to say.

This story jumps between the current timeline, with Madeline at the school trying to figure out what happened to Charley, and audio transcripts of interviews from a case the prior year. You don’t know who the interview participants are, but it’s clear a crime has occurred and the interviewee is involved in some way.

I enjoyed this. I thought this was a solid suspense novel. I enjoyed the setting of the private school and the fact that it was winter break made it extra eerie, as there were very few people left on campus.

The remote location was great and there was even inclement weather to add to that effect.

I liked how cold and dark it felt. Additionally, I liked how mysterious our main character, Madeline, was. She was there to help solve a mystery, but she had her own mysteries as the Reader, I was trying to figure out.

I didn’t find Charley’s story super compelling, but nevertheless, it was still well done. I was more interested in the students that were still left and just getting to know them, as well as finding out their intricacies and secrets.

One of the downfalls of this for me was the narrative style. We had quite a bit of blocky-feeling, stream of consciousness narrative from Madeline and I’m never crazy about that.

Particularly towards the end, Madeline has some things going on with her where she is starting to lose her grip on reality. In those moments, it just felt too jarring to me, the way it was written. I am not a fan of SOC-narrative style in general though, so take that with a grain of salt.


Additionally, in the moments when Madeline was getting confused, I was getting confused and not in a good, suspenseful way. I feel like those moments could have been dialed in a little more to provide more clarity to the Reader.

Overall though, I did enjoy this. I liked the atmosphere and learning about the characters. I think the ending was satisfying and there was definitely a twist that I did not see coming. That made me happy!

Thank you so much to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This was fun and I would definitely be interested in picking up more from Katie Garner!

View all my reviews

Review: Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

~ megs14malloy

Dead of WinterDead of Winter by Darcy Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Dead of Winter is the perfect Summer Chiller to make your blood run cold on a hot day.

If your air conditioning isn’t keeping pace with the heat, look no further, this novel will cool you down quickly!

In this story we meet Christa as she embarks on a two-week vacation in the Rocky Mountains with her boyfriend of around six-months, Kiernan. Christa is a woman haunted by her past and this vacation is a big deal for her.

Kiernan has been such a blessing in her life and she feels like she has a little more courage with him by her side. Kiernan is from the area near the mountains they are visiting and Christa is excited to see a place that is so special to him.

As they are making their way to the remote lodge on the tour bus, along with eight other guests and their guide, inclement weather makes the conditions less than an ideal. A fallen tree blocking the road ends up stalling them further.

As the guide breaks the tree down to move it out of the way, Kiernan and Christa hike up a nearby ledge to get a private peek at the view.

In the worsening conditions, the couple get separated and the next thing Christa knows she is awakening in a cabin, groggy and injured, with Kiernan no where in sight.

As the roads became impassable, the group was forced to take shelter in a tiny rustic cabin they found not far from where the bus is stranded.

They were lucky to find Christa, but the search for Kiernan will have to be put on hold until morning. Their new quarters are tight and claustrophobic, with very minimal supplies. This is not going to be easy.

The group settles in and try to come up with a plan for escape, but they might as well be the last people on Earth. They have no means of communicating with the outside world, and even if they could get a signal out, how could rescue even get to them?

In the middle of the night, their guide goes missing. The next morning the group is shocked to find his decapitated head hanging in a tree just next to the cabin.

Fear and paranoia runs high, as each in the group realizes there may be a killer amongst them. As bodies start dropping, the suspect list grows smaller. Who will make it out of this vacation from hell alive?

Dead of Winter is a fun read. This is the second Darcy Coates book that I have read. The first was a DNF because I was bored, so this one is a huge improvement over that.

I am an atmosphere girlie first and foremost and Coates absolutely delivered in that category here. I loved the secluded location, the claustrophobic-feeling cabin and the cold, uninviting wilderness surrounding them.

I also enjoyed the unlikable cast of characters being thrust together into tight quarters. These were people who probably otherwise wouldn’t have been socializing with one another, but fate brought them together and they had no option than to try to work together.

I also enjoyed their interactions. As the tension rose and people’s paranoia started to kick in, I found how they were relating to one another really believable. I think Coates did a great job with the psychology behind it all.

For me though, in spite of the fact that it was action-packed, I did feel like it went on a little too long. There were some sections that dragged, or felt repetitive, when I was just wishing to move forward a little more quickly.

Additionally, I felt that it was pretty clear who the killer was and why, so it made certain reveals a little less impactful than I think the author was intending. I was hoping for a bit more suspense to carry me through to the end.

With this being said, I don’t necessarily need to be surprised to have fun with a story and I still enjoyed this one a lot. I thought the level of violence and body horror was perfect and as mentioned above, the secluded setting was fantastically done.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a chilling, intense, cold-weather Horror-Thriller story.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am excited to read more from this author!

View all my reviews

Review: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

~ megs14malloy

The Seven Year SlipThe Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last year, after reading the synopsis, I had no idea how Ashley Poston was going to deliver on the The Dead Romantics. How was it even going to work?

Not only did she nail that, but it ended up being one of my most memorable books of 2022. I loved it so much and have been eagerly anticipating this new release ever since.

The time has finally come for the latest Adult Romantic Contemporary from Ashley Poston.

Unsurprisingly, The Seven Year Slip is stunning. I love this story with my whole heart. Poston has such a unique and magical sense of Contemporary storytelling that really vibes with my tastes.

I cried actual tears, y’all. That’s rough, but feels so good.

In this story we follow Clementine, a single-woman in NYC. She works in publishing and lives in a well-loved apartment that she recently inherited from her late-Aunt.

Six-months have passed since the toughest day in Clementine’s life and she feels like she is doing a relatively good job holding it all together. She is still working hard, focusing on that and just staying busy.

She may be fooling herself though, as she’s sort of standing in place; stuck.

That is until the apartment, which her Aunt always promised her was magical, delivers her the perfect gift she needed to potentially shake her out of her funk.

A man. The apartment delivers her a handsome, kind, sexy man with a Southern drawl and a penchant for cooking. The only problem, for him, it’s seven years in the past.

How the heck is this going to work, you may be wondering? How does this even make sense? All I can say to you is, trust the Poston.

The Seven Year Slip is an absolute delight. It’s so layered and beautiful. I loved so, so much about this story, but for me, the really special part was the relationship between Clementine and her Aunt.

As someone who is so incredibly close with my now adult niece and nephew, that aspect hit me hard. Right in the feels, like a gut punch. You could tell that Poston was writing this story from the heart. I felt it all the way to the marrow of my bones.

Poston’s writing is incredibly smooth and engaging. She quickly pulls you in and before you know it, you’re completely immersed in whatever world she has created.

Additionally, she has a smart and snarky wit that just tickles me. Her characters are fantastic and I love the exploration of the different kinds of love and relationships. Particularly the family relationships are so well done.

As you can tell, I adored this story. I walk away with a full heart. 10-out-of-10 recommend.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This will definitely be a standout for me in 2023!

View all my reviews

Review: A Cryptic Clue (Hunter and Clewe #1) by Victoria Gilbert

~ megs14malloy

A Cryptic Clue (Hunter and Clewe #1)A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Recently, after having a terrible reading experience with a SF-Horror novel that shall not be named, I needed a strong palate cleanser very badly if I was to move on.

Cozy Mysteries are go-to stories for me when I need something like that. Something to make me feel comfortable and like all is well with the world.

That’s exactly what I found here within the pages of A Cryptic Clue, the first installment of the all-new Hunter and Clewe mystery series by Victoria Gilbert.

This series follows 60-year old, Jane Hunter, a recently retired university librarian, who has taken on a new assignment creating an inventory for a wealthy man’s vast rare book collection.

Jane’s excited to get to work and on her first day, as she meets her new boss, Cameron Crewe, she’s surprised by how young he is. She expected a much older man, but Cam is in his early-30s; much closer to her own daughter’s age than her own.

Regardless, she’s there to work and is impressed by Crewe’s manor home and collection. This is going to be a big job. She’s anxious to get started.

Jane dives in, meeting other employees and acquaintances of Cam’s along the way. It’s an interesting house, there’s a lot going on, including a spat between Cam and a woman he was dating and has recently blown off, Ashley Allen.

After a charity event held at the property, Ashley’s body is found in the library the next day. She’s dead and Cam is the number one suspect.

Cam asks Jane, along with his assistant, Lauren, to help clear his name. He certainly wasn’t in love with Ashley, but he never would have killed her.

Jane, intrigued by the mystery presented them, gets to work right away and a lovely, classic-feeling amateur sleuth moment ensues.

I had a lot of fun with this. Gilbert delivered exactly what I was hoping for. I really enjoyed Jane as a main character. She’s smart and no-nonsense. You can tell her relationship with Cam is going to flourish as the series progresses.

I also liked Cam. He’s an intriguing leading man, clever, rich and super into books. I’m interested to see how involved he gets in future mysteries. He’s actually a big fan of classic mystery literature, so I feel like that is going to be an influence for him in the books to come.

The mystery itself was simple and easy to follow, which was what I was hoping for. I feel like with many Cozy series, my enjoyment level will increase the more that I become attached to this set of characters.

I feel like in general my ratings for Cozy Mysteries always get stronger as the series progresses. I feel like this series will stay true to that pattern.

We have some nice possibilities for future mysteries that this story already sort of set-up. I’m absolutely planning to continue on with these books as they are released.

I did listen to the audiobook for this one and I loved the narration. I felt like the narrator did a great job capturing Jane’s character and bringing her to life. I would definitely recommend the audio version if you plan to pick this up.

Overall, I think this is a great start to a new Cozy Mystery series. One that I will happily read for as long as they’re published.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I love getting in on this type of series from the start, so this was such a treat!

View all my reviews

Review: Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

~ megs14malloy

Episode ThirteenEpisode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Episode Thirteen sounded perfect to me and while there were quite a few things I enjoyed about the story, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

I took some time to process my experience with this one before I even attempted to write a review. I was so disappointed initially, but I wouldn’t say that would be a fair assessment of all my time with this book.

I think a lot of the disappointment may have stemmed from me building this one up so much in my mind ahead of time. I set my own unrealistically high expectations, if you will.

This story follows a ghost hunting reality tv crew. Quick side note about me, I have been so into ghost hunting YouTube lately. It’s like my go-to late night viewing, so I was super pumped that DiLouie was bringing some of that to the page.

I listened to the audiobook and I do feel like this story lends itself well to that medium. The audio production was very well executed and I would recommend it.

But while I really enjoyed the audio production, I wouldn’t say I ever really connected with the story overall.

Halfway through, I wouldn’t have even been able to tell you the name of the property they were exploring. I also had a difficult time keeping track of some of the male characters. They all seemed like carbon copies to me in the moment.

And even though I celebrate the over-arching vibe of the book, once we got to the crux of the story, it lost me. It reminded me a lot of both Hide and These Fleeting Shadows.

By this I mean, that a certain plot device was used in all three to sort of explain the nature of the places/settings of each of these stories.

It didn’t work for me in either of those cases and it didn’t work for me here either. The thing is none of the synopsis indicates this is where these stories would go, so there’s no actual way to avoid it. Sorry about it, but it’s true.

At the end of the day, even though I wasn’t dazzled by this one, I would absolutely continue picking up more stories by DiLouie. You can’t win ’em all.

View all my reviews