Author: megs14malloy

Review: Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

~ megs14malloy

ZomromcomZomromcom by Olivia Dade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Olivia Dad’s Zomromcom is not in fact a romance novel where a protagonist falls in love with a zombie. Who knew?

Well, perhaps anyone who read the synopsis, which clearly, I did not. I saw the title and the adorable cover and was intrigued enough to give it a go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed there was no zombie love. I was so curious how it was going to work.

Now I’ll never know…

So, what is it about then? This story is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape and follows our MC, Edie Brandstrup, who lives alone and has seemingly excelled at surviving in this world. She’s well-versed in the dangers and considers herself prepared for everything.

At the start of the novel Edie attempts to save her harmless-seeming, and of course stunningly-attractive, neighbor after the first zombie breach of their community in decades.

As it turns out though, the neighbor she assumed was a clueless bro is actually a very adept, super old and slightly grumpy vampire with a large sword. When he turns the tables and ends up saving her instead, Edie finds herself a little weak in the knees.

For all of his grumpiness though, the vampire, one Gaston ‘Max’ Boucher, quickly becomes quite protective over our Edie, and insists that she stay within his bunker until the breach has been resolved.

As you can imagine, with two people in forced proximity, with fear of the unknown outside, things heat up quickly. Edie isn’t willing to turn a blind eye though to what is going on with the zombies. There are innocent people still out there who may not be as prepared as they are. Thus, the two set out with the hopes of helping in the fight for humanity.

This was cute. I liked it. I was drawn quickly to Edie as a main character. She was funny and I loved her perspective, the way she viewed everything around her. She had a great sense of humor and I appreciated the lightheartedness she brought to the story.

Max was swoony too and I did like him as the love interest. I could certainly see why Edie would fall for him so quickly and their banter was great. With this being said, the story itself did feel overly-long and slightly repetitive.

The backdrop of the zombie apocalypse was quite refreshing though, and they even spent a bit time in an abandoned mall, which I loved. That’s such a classic zombie setting. I thought that was really fun. After the mall though, it sort of lost me. I found my eyes glazing over, just wanting it to end.

I see that this is set to be a series and I am interested to see what the next one is going to be about. If it will be connected by characters, or the world, or just another romance featuring a different paranormal character. Depending on the content, I may check it out.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this one didn’t quite knock my socks off, I did really like Olivia Dade’s writing and sense of humor.

I’ll absolutely be picking up more from this author!

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Review: Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas

~ megs14malloy

Nothing Tastes as GoodNothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

A banner book for 2026, Nothing Tastes as Good is gripping, topical and will certainly pack a punch for many Readers.

This is a 2nd-chance read for me with this author, and I’m so happy I picked it up. I really, really enjoyed this!

This story follows Emmett Truesdale, who has never felt like he’s been able to fit the mold of the beauty standards of his Southern California hometown. He’s always battled with his weight, and certainly has the childhood trauma to prove it.

As an adult, Emmett finds himself single, in a dead-end job and at a peak weight of over 300-lbs. He feels like he’s being crushed by the weight of it all. He’s desperate for a change. Something that will work and have a truly lasting impact.

It’s in his weakest moment that Emmett stumbles across an opportunity to enter a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. He’s not without reservations, but as mentioned he’s desperate. He’ll try anything at this point.

He applies for a coveted spot as a participant in the trial and to his delight, he’s selected. He will now be one of the first new users of Obexity!

Though the process itself is a bit terrifying, the results are instantaneous and can’t be denied. The pounds melt off at a rate Emmett could’ve never anticipated. As his weight decreases, all other aspects of his life seem to improve.

Unfortunately, Obexity isn’t without side effects and one of them is a real killer. As mysterious deaths start occurring in Emmett’s local area, he fears Obexity may be turning him into a monster, but how can he give it up when others are finally starting to treat him like a human?

As mentioned above, this was a 2nd-chance for me and Luke Dumas. I read The Paleontologist when it was released and I did not have a good time with it. I actually despised it a bit. However, I never write an author off after only one go, and this is the perfect example of why.

I really enjoyed how Dumas told this story. Not only are we following Emmett in his present perspective, but we’re also getting a lot of different mixed media elements as well, including excerpts from what I believe is Emmett’s blog.

These elements really helped to build out Emmett as a character and fill in the history of his battle with his weight. Other elements were a great snapshot of how the rest of the world was viewing Emmett, Obexity and the gruesome killings happening in the area.

I loved the characters, not just Emmett, but also the side characters in his life. While I may not always have loved their behavior, I felt like they were all done in a way that was startlingly realistic. I could picture people having all these opinions, and gladly sharing them with Emmett.

The commentary was done in a way, that for me, it didn’t feel preachy, but it did open up a lot of avenues for further discussion. The star of the show for me though was the, at times, disgusting, Horror imagery. I feel like it was all pieced together in a way that made the story feel seamless.

Overall, I found this to be topical, fluid, engaging and slightly horrifying. I feel like a lot of people are going to be talking about this one.

Be sure you add it to your Spring TBR!!

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!

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Review: The Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs

~ megs14malloy

The Night That Finds Us AllThe Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Night That Finds Us All is a Nautical Horror novel from John Hornor Jacobs. This story follows the journey of a century-old sailboat, The Blackwatch, as she makes her way from the shores of Washington state, all the way to England. This historic ship can’t sail herself though.

Thus, a hodgepodge crew is assembled to deliver her to her new owner. Our MC is Sam, and she gets invited on the project by a past crewmate, Loick, who believes Sam could be the only person capable of dealing with The Blackwatch’s complicated and moody engine.

Sam’s not thrilled by the idea. The head of the crew is someone she’s had issues with before, but she does care for Loick. It could be good working with him again.

The biggest motivator for her though is the money. Sam’s almost at rock bottom. Her drinking is out of control and she’s struggling to stay afloat on many fronts. Ultimately, she agrees to the job and the journey begins.

Sam’s committed to sobriety for the journey, and the withdrawels begin playing with her mind. At least, she believes it’s the withdrawels. The things she’s hearing, seeing, feeling on this ship, they can’t be real. Can they?

When one crewmate disappears and another is struck by a terrible, horrific accident, Sam’s confusion and fear grows. The Blackwatch is starting to feel a lot less like some rich man’s pet project, and a lot more like something sinister lying in wait to take them all out.

Interesting, interesting. This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, and I’ve been thinking on it for a while, trying to come up with the best way to explain my experience with it. The longer time goes by though, the more at a loss I find myself. Sadly, it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. It was here one moment, gone the next, in my brain.

There were aspects I enjoyed, but there were also a few things that I thought were a little odd and out of place. Sam, as an MC, is not super likable, but that’s fine. That never really bothers me. I don’t need to like book characters.

I found the atmosphere aboard the ship to be my favorite part of the story. There was an overriding sense of dread that kept me moving forward quickly. Unfortunately, in many areas, it got a bit more fever dream than I tend to enjoy, and I had a difficult time sort of imagining exactly what was going down when the action scenes were taking place.

I did, however, enjoy how JHJ leaned into the historical nature of the ship, and even introduced some occult elements that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, I liked the tone and the ideas behind all that was happening, I just feel like for me, it lack a bit in execution.

This is the first that I have read from this author, though, and I would definitely be interested in picking up more. I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy Nautical Horror. It’s worth checking out. Just because it wasn’t a perfect fit for me, doesn’t mean you won’t love it.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a fun time. I wish I could have imagined the action a bit more, but still a solid read.

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Review: Molka by Monika Kim

~ megs14malloy

MolkaMolka by Monika Kim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

I’ll admit to having no clue what molka were until I picked up this book. If you’re like me, here’s the definition provided in the publisher’s synopsis:

molka (n): the Korean term for spy cameras secretly and illegally installed, often to capture voyeuristic images and videos

These sound awful, right? A plague on society, where no one can presume themselves safe from the prying eyes of others. In public spaces, voyeurs taking advantage and watching unsuspecting individuals in their most private moments.

In this story, we follow two perspectives, Dahye and Junyoung, who both end up with connections to the molka issue, but in vastly different ways. It was interesting to follow both of these perspectives, and both filled me with emotion, though also in different ways.

Dahye’s story, which mostly revolves around her relationship with a wealthy young man that goes terribly wrong, was so compelling, and also heart-wrenching, for me to read. She is such a well-realized character, every aspect of her I felt was created with such thought and care.

The way Dahye and Junyoung’s perspectives connect more and more as the story progresses helped to increase the intensity of the story. I’m glad the author included both.

I did find Junyoung’s perspective rather disturbing. Once you read this, I’m sure you’ll understand why, but mainly because of the sick pleasure he was getting from the things he was doing. It left me unsettled, considering that people in our world can be this way.

Monika Kim truly has a knack for drawing Readers into the story. I also was super satisfied with the conclusion. Due to the themes explored, I thought it was so fitting for it to wrap-up the way it did. There’s a lot to unpack in this one, and I feel like Kim did a great job shining a light on some pretty uncomfortable topics.

Overall, this is an impressive Sophomore novel from Kim. I thought maybe The Eyes Are the Best Part would be difficult to match, because that was so engaging and explosive, but this definitely achieved the same levels of intrigue, social commentary and stellar character development.

Thank you to the publisher, Erewhon Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’ll read anything Monika Kim writes and am looking forward to whatever comes next!

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Review: Greedy by Callie Kazumi

~ megs14malloy

GreedyGreedy by Callie Kazumi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Greedy follows Edward Cook, a British-expat, living in Japan with his wife and young daughter. Ed is in serious debt due to his secret gambling addiction and finds himself without a job, leaving him with no way to pay back the dangerous individuals he owes.

It doesn’t take long for desperation to set in. Ed needs to make a move to increase his cash flow, and quickly. His life, and the lives of his family, depend on it.

It’s when he is at rock bottom that he stumbles upon an unusual help wanted ad: Chef wanted! Private chef needed for a high-profile businesswoman. One million yen per day.

What desperate man wouldn’t apply for this job? Sure, Ed’s no Michelin star chef, but he did spend time as a line cook once. That’s pretty much the same thing, right?

To his surprise and delight, after his interview, Ed is offered the job, which he of course accepts. Leaving his wife and daughter behind in Tokyo, he travels to the mountains to the lavish estate of his new employer, Hazeline Yamamoto, an eccentric and reclusive ex-socialite, where he will be staying during his work weeks.

Ed finds himself thrust into Hazeline’s mysterious world; secretive, extravagant and lush. As chef, Ed has a lot of interactions with Hazeline’s other household staff, and learns a lot of what is expected of him in his new role through them.

As I know you’re all guessing, something isn’t quite right at Hazeline’s estate. Ed hears strange noises and is plagued by unsettling dreams. He also sees Hazeline and others behaving oddly, as well as her frequent guests, whose behavior leaves a lot to be desired.

We follow along with Ed as he tries to navigate this new world. He just wants to pay off his debt. He just wants to do right by his wife and daughter, but will he succeed, or has he gotten in over his head?

Heck yeah, this was good. Intriguing and slightly-gruesome, I was pulled into the story very quickly. I think Kazumi did a great job of setting it up. It doesn’t take too long to get to the heart of the story, but she provided enough groundwork to make you feel settled and invested.

Ed’s story was captivating, the secrets he had been keeping from his family that propelled him into this ominous new career path, it was so well-imagined.

I also loved the way the tension increased as the story progressed, as more and more is revealed to Ed; his revelations were my revelations. I truly felt like I was on this journey with him. The atmosphere as well, I could feel it, it got under my skin. The mysterious benefactor, her odd and exuberant guests, it kept me intrigued throughout.

I do think some aspects were predictable, but just because they were to me, doesn’t mean they were to Ed. To watch Ed as reality slowly dawned on him, the horror and revulsion he felt, it was compelling.

And the ending, ohhhh my. I won’t forget this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to Horror Readers, or fans of Dark Fiction in general. I can’t wait for more from this author!!

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Review: Adrift by Will Dean

~ megs14malloy

AdriftAdrift by Will Dean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Adrift follows the tumultuous lives of a family living aboard a cramped houseboat in a desolate canal. Drew and Peggy, husband and wife, were both aspiring writers. Drew even had a glimpse of some early success, but since has struggled, working blue collar jobs and barely making ends meet.

Peggy is the glue that holds the family together. She’s a loving mother to their 14-year old son, Sam, and she spends some time, when she’s not cooking and cleaning for her family, volunteering at a local library. Secretly, she’s also been continuing to write.

The story follows the family through their day-to-day and it is bleak, my friends. I’m talking non-stop hardship, dissension and isolation. Though it initially reads like a straight Literary Fiction/Family Drama, it does take a sharp turn in the second half.

Admittedly, this is a very difficult read. The drama is powerful and painful. In fact, I had to put it down for a couple of days just to get a break from it more than once. Around 30%, I wondered, why am I reading this, it’s depressing AF, but I couldn’t give it up.

Something was holding me there with these characters.

But as challenging as it was to get through, I also think it’s an important read. Dean did an incredible job with these characters and their toxic dynamic. It felt incredibly realistic, which is sad to say due to the content.

I was fully immersed and it was pretty painful, not gonna lie, but I walk away so impressed with the quality of this storytelling and what Dean was able to achieve here.

I think if you’re in the right headspace going into this, and you are aware that it’s going to be a challenge, that you could walk away appreciating it as I did. It gets intense, almost claustrophobic feeling and I started to feel as desperate as the characters, but the payoff was worth it.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This novel felt like a gut-punch. Dean should be proud.

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Review: When I Kill You by B.A. Paris

~ megs14malloy

When I Kill YouWhen I Kill You by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

A fun and fast-paced Popcorn Thriller from one of my go-to Thriller authors, B.A. Paris. Paris never fails to pull me in and keep me guessing throughout her stories.

In this novel, the Reader follows Nell Masters, but it seems that the Reader isn’t the only person following dear Nell. Nell has a stalker. She knows it. She can feel them watching her. Work, home and everywhere in between. There’s nowhere she feels safe.

Nell thinks the stalker may be tied to her dramatic past. Fourteen years ago, Nell was actually Elle Nugent. She witnessed a young coed getting into a car, and shortly thereafter the young woman’s dead body was found.

Elle became obsessed with finding the girl’s killer. She was right there, she saw her just before she was murdered. She saw the car she got into. Elle’s digging leads her to suspect a man named Brett Parker and her suspicions push her down a very dangerous path.

Unfortunately, Elle’s obsession ended in disaster, and now she feels those past actions are coming back to haunt her. Has someone from that dark past figured out her new identity and tracked her down? Is someone out for revenge?

I didn’t even read the synopsis for this prior to picking it up. I see B.A. Paris’s name on the cover and I’m going to read it. There’s no question about it.

The story is told via Nell/Elle’s perspective, both past and present, and weaves together how her past choices have shaped her into the individual she is today. The audiobook, narrated by Georgia Maguire, was very convincing. It felt like I was truly listening to Nell tell her story.

There were also snippets from what appears to be some sort of journal. These added a nice mixed media feel to the overall narrative. These snippets are mysterious, perhaps written by the stalker?

I liked following along as the truth of this story unfolded. Because of her past, Nell had a hard time trusting other people, but at the point we meet her, she has created a small circle of friends and even has a promising love interest.

As the story progresses, Nell becomes more and more paranoid that someone is onto her and that someone wants her to pay for her past. I enjoyed how the intensity continued to build throughout and I thought the conclusion was satisfying.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was so entertaining and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys an OTT-fast and fun Thriller.

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

~ megs14malloy

You Did Nothing WrongYou Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

Greetings from Outlier Island!!

I’m surprised to find myself here again and certainly surprised that it’s with a C.G. Drews novel. I anticipated loving this, but sadly, I really did not. I’m struggling to keep my feelings for the MC apart from my overall feelings for the story, but it’s a challenge, since she’s such a pivotal piece.

Additionally, I did find a lot about the plot predictable, and super annoying to read. I had almost a constant feeling of distaste in my mouth, which sadly for me, overshadowed the rest of the story.

There’s no denying Drews skills as a writer, and my opinion on this one book by no means changes the fact that I’m going to pick up everything Drews releases. I really enjoyed both Don’t Let the Forest In and Hazelthorn.

The deeply complex relationships and stunning writing in both of those novels are to be admired, but here, I just didn’t feel that same pull, intrigue or raw ache for any of the characters and their journeys. I hate Elodie, the MC in this book, and never felt even one ounce of sympathy for her, which I think I was supposed to.

I’m not going to go into any of the details of this book, as I do feel it’s just best to dive into it. Further, there are so many glowing reviews of it, that I feel you would be best served going to read those to see others thoughts. I’m clearly in the minority opinion, so don’t let my experience keep you from picking this one up.

Even though the content wasn’t to my tastes, I would recommend the audiobook format though. The narration by Saskia Maarleveld was so, so good. It fit Elodie to a tee, and I did find myself not able to look away; like a train wreck.

It’s also fast-paced, and whether you enjoy it or not, it’s a memorable experience. I remember so many details of this book, and will moving forward. There’s something to be said for that. Drews has created a story that is sure to evoke a lot of emotions in the Readers, that’s for sure.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio and St. Martins Press, for providing me with copies to read and review.

Drews’ creativity cannot be denied and I’m already looking forward to their next release. I have a feeling, this will be a one-off for me when it comes to this author.

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Review: The Witch Hunter (Jessica Niemi #1) by Max Seeck

~ megs14malloy

The Witch Hunter (Jessica Niemi, #1)The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This was really good. I enjoyed it. I read the 4th-book in the series first, and then was intrigued enough to want to go back and read them all. That’s a good sign.

Jessica Niemi is an intriguing protagonist with a complex past. I knew that from the 4th-book, but this really filled in a lot of the details. Wow. She’s been through a lot, and for reasons I won’t get into here, needs to hide a lot of it from her friends and coworkers.

This mystery was cool as well. It starts when the murders in a popular author’s books start happening in real life. They seem to be random, but Niemi and the other other investigators know there has to be a connection.

I was wowed by the connection too once it was revealed. I could have never predicted it and the ties to Jessica and her life were definitely disturbing. I’m really wanting to continue with this series and have requested my library get copies of the 2nd and 3rd book.

Here’s hoping!

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Review: The Day I Lost You by Ruth Mancini

~ megs14malloy

The Day I Lost YouThe Day I Lost You by Ruth Mancini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Day I Lost You is the 2025-release from Ruth Mancini, author of the popular 2024-Thriller, The Woman on the Ledge, which I adored. Ever since reading TWOTL, I’ve been looking forward to more from this author.

I’m happy to report I found this book to be equally twisty and fast-paced. Even though the content didn’t wow me quite as much as TWOTL, I still found this to be so enjoyable and I read it in an afternoon without stopping.

This story spans two countries, Spain and the UK, and involves a reportedly missing child. The child’s name is Sam, and he’s actually just a little baby when he’s thrust into the middle of a lot of adult drama.

Lauren and Hope are our two female leads, and it’s interesting following along as the truths of their connection is revealed. I actually really appreciated how Mancini rolled this all out. There’s a lot of moving pieces. You go in, of course knowing nothing, and as the narrative progresses, more and more pieces slot into place.

As the larger picture reveals itself, some details become predictable, IMO, but for me, not in a way that negatively effected my experience. I still enjoyed the journey to the conclusion, even if I knew exactly where we were headed.

I was lucky enough to have access to the audiobook and I thought it was so well done. I loved the full cast narration and the inclusion of some mixed media passages truly brought the drama to life.

Additionally, the fast-paced narrative worked so well in audio form. It was truly gripping. I enjoyed the time shifts, as well, as all the puzzle pieces came together. I respect Mancini’s concepts and writing style so much. I’m looking forward to more from her in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Perennial and Harper Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this!

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