Author: megs14malloy

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

Review: Are You Afraid of the Dark: The Tale of the Gravemother by Rin Chupeco

~ megs14malloy

Are You Afraid of the Dark?Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many of you probably remember, hopefully fondly, the 1990s-Horror Anthology television series for young people called Are You Afraid of the Dark? I loved that show and all things related to it.

Recently, I binge-watched The Midnight Society on Netflix and it made me hugely nostalgic for this series. As I was searching the web for more content, I stumbled across this book about a week before its release date.

Seeing Rin Chupeco’s name on the cover sealed the deal, I ordered it immediately. Having read YA Horror from Chupeco before, I knew this would be good. I just knew it!

Spoiler alert: I was right.

In this story we meet Levi, who is the new boy in town. He gets the opportunity to try out to be a member of the Midnight Society. This book is the story he tells around the campfire that night.

First, let me just say, Levi is definitely getting in and deservedly if this is the story he is telling. I became so immersed in this and loved how it all played out.

The story follows Zane, who is also a new boy in town, after his family inherits a haunted mansion. He moves to town with his Dad and his little sister, Emma.

Local legend says the property is haunted by the Gravemother, a woman who was apparently suspected of kidnapping and harming local children.

It doesn’t take long before Zane comes to believe the legends are true. Even though they aren’t living at the property, it needs some heavy renovating, they do spend time there and Zane starts to see and experience things he can’t explain.

Along with his new friend, Garrett, who started out as a bit of an enemy, Zane digs into investigating the legend for himself. Are the stories about the Gravemother true? And even if they are, how can they help her to rest?

I really enjoyed this story. It had so many fun elements and was written really well. Zane’s friend Garrett has his own ghost-hunting team. How could you not love that?!

I think Chupeco did a great job transitioning into the Spooky Middle Grade genre. There is quite a difference between YA Horror and Middle Grade Horror and I feel like they navigated that so well.

The imagery was great, the story fluid, fun and engaging and there was also great messages about family, friendships and personal growth. I felt like it was so thoughtfully written for the target audience.

The highlight of this for me was the friendship between Zane and Garrett. I feel like Chupeco nailed the natural progression of new friendships.

In the beginning, I thought Zane and Garrett were going to have real issues; like a bully situation. Happily though, they were able to advance past that and become supportive friends. They also acknowledged it and communicated their feelings to one another.

It was nice to see and I think in a MG story, it sets a great example for Younger Readers. This is more than a spooky story, there’s substance here.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this. While I don’t think it will stick in my mind for years to come, I had a great time with it in the moment and that’s what I was looking for.

I’m hoping this is a start of an all-new revamp of this series. I would love to see future installments from other talented writers like Chupeco.

I would definitely recommend this to any fan of the original series, new fans, or any Young Readers who enjoy a spooky story. This was a lot of fun!

View all my reviews

Review: Burn the Negative by Josh Winning

~ megs14malloy

Burn the NegativeBurn the Negative by Josh Winning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

Even though it had a promising start, sadly, Burn the Negative really let me down in the latter half of the story. I’m bummed about it, y’all. I wanted to love this.

Let’s discuss that initial set-up, shall we?

In the beginning we meet our MC, Laura, an entertainment journalist living in London. We are introduced to Laura as she is making her way to L.A. for a new assignment. She’ll be covering a modern remake of a 1990s Horror-Cult Classic movie called The Guest House.

It quickly becomes clear that there is a lot of mystery and dark lore revolving around the original movie and that Laura has first hand knowledge of that film.

As it turns out, Laura was a child actress who actually had the starring role in The Guest House. Since that time and the tragedies that struck many involved in the film-making, Laura has changed her identity and never let on to anyone who she truly is.

This includes her boss who sent her on this assignment.

Obviously, she’s concerned about returning to L.A. Having anything to do with this new remake, even in the slightest way, makes her nervous. It seems Laura’s doubts are for a reason too, as almost as soon as she is on the ground in L.A., strange things begin happening around her.

So far, so good. I’m a sucker for stories revolving around the filming of Horror movies, series or documentaries too. It also had a strong is it supernatural, is it not supernatural-feel to it that I tend to enjoy.

I was getting major Poltergeist vibes because of all the lore surrounding the making of that movie and the aftermath; the Poltergeist Curse, if you will.

Laura, as a character, was quite mysterious herself. I was interested in learning more about her, as she slowly unveiled the truth of her time with the film, the reasons her family left L.A., and her life since. She has a rather dry personality, but I wasn’t put off by it. She was fine.

There was a certain point though where I stopped enjoying the ride. More specifically, when I stopped feeling as much that it was inspired and started to feel more like it was falling into cliche territory.

I can name the point where the switch-flipped too. Without giving too much away, I will just say it had to do with a road trip, a gas station and the police.

After that point, I started to be more annoyed with the story than pleased by it. Particularly, the dialogue towards the end bordered on cringe and I’ll admit, I was happy when it wrapped up.

Overall, while there were aspects of this I enjoyed, it was too much of a mixed bag for me to give it a higher rating. The concept was fun, but the execution throughout didn’t stay consistent in my opinion.

With this being said, I know a ton of Readers are going to love this. If the synopsis sounds interesting to you, please give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite!

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would be interested in checking out more of this author’s work.

View all my reviews

Review: At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche

~ megs14malloy

At the End of Every DayAt the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well, I was warned. I should have listened.

After reading a couple not so promising reviews for this book, I was going to skip it. There are so many new releases crowding up shelves right now, a Reader has to be selective.

Ultimately, curiosity got to me. I had to know, what was it people weren’t connecting with. I had to find out for myself.

Indeed, now I know. Normally, I would start a review by giving you a brief synopsis of the overall story. I know when I read reviews, I look for certain buzzwords and scenarios that sound like the story could be a good fit for me.

Unfortunately, in this case, I don’t think I could give you even a 20-word description of what this book is actually about. In fact, I can’t even recall what the main character’s name is and I finished this about 2-hours ago.

It does follow a girl, who wears gloves all the time, who works at a theme park that is clearly, though unnamed, supposed to represent Disneyland.

An actress died on a park ride and I think I was supposed to care about that, it was mentioned numerous times, but I didn’t. I wasn’t given enough coherent info to care.

At the end of the day, for me, this book felt like it had no point. If there was a plot buried deep within here somewhere, I never stumbled across it. There were a lot of words, but none of them seemed to make sense in the order in which they were presented.

I don’t even know who to recommend this to. Maybe, based on the vibes, if you are one of the few people who enjoyed The Tenth Girl, you might enjoy this. Also, perhaps if you enjoyed the HBO-series, Westworld, you might like this.

That’s a stretch though. I never actually watched Westworld, besides the first episode I couldn’t make it through, so take this comparison with a grain of salt.

I would actually be interested in hearing this author talk about the intent and ideas behind this story. While it wouldn’t be likely to change my opinion on it, I would definitely be interested in hearing the inspiration, and honestly, the point.

With this being said, just because this book didn’t work for me, if you think it sounds interesting, you should absolutely give it a go.

I would never want my opinion to discourage anyone from picking a book up. After all, it’s just my opinion, and what the heck do I know anyway?

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me a copy to read and review.

Even though this didn’t work for me, I wish the author the best luck with its release!

View all my reviews

Review: The Cornish Village Murder (Nosey Parker #2) by Fiona Leitch

~ megs14malloy

The Cornish Village Murder (The Nosey Parker Mysteries #2)The Cornish Village Murder by Fiona Leitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Cornish Village Murder, previously titled A Brush with Death, is the second installment in The Nosey Parker Mysteries.

This series has definitely become one of my favorites in the Cozy Mystery genre. They’re so fun!

I actually started with the 4th-book, as an ARC, and then the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of the 1st. I knew without a doubt after that, I needed to read them all.

I since have been reading them upon release, there are now 6-total, the latest being A Cornish Seaside Murder, which I read and reviewed last month. I had missed books 2 and 3 though and really wanted to check those off the list.

I finally have time this month to dedicate to catching up. I actually listened to the audio for this one, which is the first time I have done so with this series and I loved the narration. It was so Jodie.

It was so good, in fact, that I finished it all today while doing my Saturday cleaning.

A little background, this series follows Jodie Parker, who recently resigned from the Metropolitan Police in London, after a close call, and returned to her native village of Penstowan in Cornwall with her teen-aged daughter, Daisy.

She has opened a small catering company, often getting the help of her Mom and a few close friends, to help with jobs. She’s also, since the first book, inherited an adorable Pomeranian, Germaine.

The mystery in this novel revolves around the death of an author who had been attending a local festival. His body was found at the bottom of a cliff. The last person to see the deceased was artist, Duncan Stovall, now the prime suspect.

Jodie takes a personal interest in the case after her and Duncan had really been hitting it off together at the festival activities. She can’t believe he would murder someone, but if he didn’t, that means the killer is still out there.

Jodie can’t just leave that alone.

Along with her new friend, DCI Nathan Winters, Jodie digs into the case and finds this one goes much deeper than she ever could have anticipated. She thought she left London to escape from this kind of crime.

Involving the high stakes world of fine art, I thought this installment was a blast. The mystery was interesting and the characters were, as always, so entertaining and well done.

I adore Jodie as a character. I find her to be so realistic and I love learning about her life. It’s been a treat watching her journey as she adjusts to life back in her hometown. It’s a big change for her from London.

I also enjoy what a great Mom she is and a great daughter. The family dynamics are fantastic. Daisy and Jodie’s Mom are always a big part of the narrative and they bring a lot of humor and love. Germaine as well, love that little pup.

This one was interesting for me because I know where Jodie’s life is heading, but a few of those big changes haven’t happened yet, so it was fun to revisit how it all started.

I’m definitely planning to read the third book, The Perfect Cornish Murder, previously titled A Sprinkle of Sabotage very, very, very soon; as in, probably tomorrow, not gonna lie.

If you love Cozy Mysteries and are looking for a new one to sink your teeth into, I highly recommend this one. There are so many different elements in this series to love. They’re funny, engaging, silly, yet well-plotted and intriguing, with great characters and relationships. It’s a Cozy MUST!!!

View all my reviews

Review: The Hotel by Louise Mumford

~ megs14malloy

The HotelThe Hotel by Louise Mumford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

10-years ago, Bex and her best friend, Leo, were set to explore the remote and abandoned hotel, Ravencliffe, as a way to celebrate the end of school. Bex’s new boyfriend, Richard and his best friend, Oscar, end up weaseling their way into the trip as well.

Four went there, but only three returned. Leo was lost that day, from a high cliffside, never to be seen again.

Richard, an aspiring filmmaker, recorded their entire doomed exploration of the old property. The footage of that day has become a Horror Cult Classic; think The Blair Witch Project had it been real.

A decade later, the trio of survivors have drifted apart, living very different lives and each coping with the events of that fateful night in their own way.

As the ten-year anniversary approaches a documentary project is proposed wherein Richard, Oscar and Bex will meet up and return to the property, to face the demons of their past once and for all.

Our main character, Bex, has lived in isolation in London for many years. She’s cut herself off from everyone, haunted by the past. Leo was her best friend. She has so many unresolved feelings stemming from that night.

Even though she’s against it initially, Bex ultimately decides that returning to Ravencliffe may provide her with the opportunity to get answers about what happened to Leo. So, begrudgingly she agrees to take part in the project.

Bex, Richard and Oscar are reunited just prior to filming and return to the property from whence all their nightmares stem; along with a whole host of crew members for the documentary, of course.

The property seems just a malevolent as ever and incidents aplenty occur as they begin to film. Will Ravencliffe end up taking more lives?

While I did see one of the reveals coming a mile away, there was quite a bit about this book that I found compelling.

I loved how Mumford told this story mostly using just Bex as the narrative voice, but providing both present and past perspectives. I really enjoyed the present perspective, but was equally as interested in the past, which followed the characters from the time they planned the fateful trip, up through Leo’s disappearance.

It was a slow build initially, but I didn’t mind it. I loved Bex as a main character, even though I understand she probably won’t be every Readers cup of tea.

Personally, I love a main character who is flawed in some way, maybe haunted by their past and deals with it by isolation, self-sabotage, or self-medicating. I also always enjoy when these same characters decide they finally need answers and go back to their hometowns, or some other remote location, to investigate the past.

In this way, The Hotel was made for me.

I would say this continued the slow build until about the halfway mark and then events began to escalate more quickly. Regardless of the slow burn, I was never bored and disengaged from the narrative.

The atmosphere was incredible. I loved the remote, stark setting of the hotel, as well as its dark history. It had a solid is it supernatural, is it not supernatural-feel, which I enjoy. Give me all the dark, spooky things.

Overall, I thought this was a super-entertaining read. The plot elements kept me engaged and I loved the overriding tone and feel of the story. Even though it was slightly predictable in places, it was still a great time nevertheless. Well done by Mumford!

Thank you so much to the publisher, HQ, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to picking up more from this author!

View all my reviews

Review: Two Truths and Lie by April Henry

~ megs14malloy

Two Truths and a LieTwo Truths and a Lie by April Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

One of my reading challenges for this month, June 2023, was to give an author a second chance. After careful thought, I decided to give April Henry my second try.

I’ve only read from Henry once before, her 2019-release The Lonely Dead. I gave it 2-stars and upon completion, really had no desire to read more. It wasn’t a great experience.

Henry writes a lot of books and since The Lonely Dead was released she’s had quite a few that do sound interesting to me. This book is one of them.

I am so glad that I picked this up. It’s not perfect, but it was so quick, fun and easy. I had a great time with it!

In this story we follow Nell, a high school girl who is traveling with her acting troupe to a competition when they get stuck in a blizzard. Seeking shelter from the storm, their troupe coach, and only chaperone, finds an aging motel for them to stay at.

She warns the kids to be good and then she retires to her room. The driving was stressful and she needs rest. How much trouble can they get in anyway?

As the kids settle in and begin to explore the motel, they discover they aren’t the only travelers caught there. Amongst the other guests are a robotics team from another school.

The teens gather together in the common room and decide to play a game to pass the time: two truths and lie. The perfect way to get to know one another.

As the game escalates, it seems their night of harmless fun has turned into something much more sinister, even deadly.

It appears a murderer hides in their midst. Will they all be able to make it through the night alive?

I enjoyed Nell a lot as a main character. Also, I listened to the audiobook and the narration was fantastic. The narrator, Christine Lakin, was Nell to me.

This had a lot of tropes I enjoy. Examples being, the team getting stranded at a creepy motel due to inclement weather; I always love that sort of set-up. The strangers they meet being a little odd and possibly dangerous. The motel having a dark and brutal history and the gaming element.

I felt the whole package was incredibly intriguing.

There were some directions it took with the plot that I wasn’t as crazy about, but I feel like overall, it is an engaging and entertaining YA Thriller.

I walk away a happy girl. I’m so glad that I gave this a shot and had such an enjoyable experience with it. I am going to be comfortable now sifting through Henry’s backlist and picking up more of her work.

This is a perfect example of why you should always give authors another chance. Especially if they have only had one book that didn’t work for you. We all deserve a second chance, don’t we?

View all my reviews

Review: She Started It by Sian Gilbert

~ megs14malloy

She Started ItShe Started It by Sian Gilbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

If one of your closest friends asked you to be her bridesmaid and then extended an invitation to an all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas for the Hen Party, you would accept, right?

What if someone you were only slightly close friends with, but had grown apart over the years, did the same? You might accept, but think it was odd they were asking you, right?

Now what if someone who you weren’t close with and may not have always been kind to asked? Would you still say yes?

Personally, I would say, hell yes in the first instance, a kind, I’ll pass, for the second instance, and hide under a rock from the third, because that seems entirely off to me.

For Annabel, Esther, Tanya and Chloe, best friends since childhood, instance three becomes their reality when they are invited by Poppy Greer to attend her extravagant Hen Party in paradise.

The women are taken aback. They weren’t that close with Poppy. None of them have seen her in years, but it is a free trip to the Bahamas. They may not have been best friends with her before, but if she wants to take them on lavish vacations, they could always change that, right?

I mean, honestly, what’s the worst than could happen?

Traveling to the private island, the group are in good spirits. They’re meeting their hostess there and the trip is off to a jubilant start. They’re anxious to discover what Poppy is like after all these years. They couldn’t even find a picture of her on her socials.

Upon reaching the island they find a new and approved Poppy. She’s not the mousy-artist they remember, but a confident, beautiful woman. This could get interesting.

There’s no doubt that She Started It is a propulsive read. I’m always here for the drama and what better setting than a remote island in the Caribbean.

We get everyone’s perspective in this, including a past perspective via Poppy’s diary entries. There were times I felt it was hard to distinguish between the various women’s perspectives; they’re all quite similar, but I did start to get used to it as the story progressed.

Additionally, I could have done with a bit more intrigue. It all seemed fairly obvious quite quickly what was going on and I wish that initial suspense could have been drawn out longer.

With this being said, those are small nit-picky things and may not bother other Readers in the slightest. At the end of the day, this is an entertaining read and strong debut.

My recommendation: Grab your popcorn, grab a cocktail, sit back, relax and enjoy the shit-show!

View all my reviews