Review: Those People by Louise Candlish

~ megs14malloy

Those PeopleThose People by Louise Candlish
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let’s get the main grit out of the way:
I am trash for domestic drama from Louise Candlish.

She has such a knack for examining the dark side of an otherwise mundane domestic landscape. Additionally, I am really into how she formats her stories.

She incorporates the use of mixed media, such as police interviews, newspaper articles, texts and/or emails, and I absolutely love that.

This story is set on Lowland Way, a quiet residential street in a posh-suburban neighborhood. The envy of other neighborhoods, this one seems the perfect place to be and raise a family.

Everyone gets along so smoothly, they have even organized ‘play-out Sunday‘, where the street literally gets blocked off to cars and the kids just play in the street all day while the parents relax and socialize. Everyone cooperates. Everyone participates. It’s perfect.

That is until Darren and Jodie move into #1 after Darren inherits the property. They bring with them loud music, inappropriate language, a dodgy renovation project, not to mention many cars that he actively works on and sells from his driveway.

The icing on the cake being that they refuse to follow the rules of play-out Sunday and continue driving cars on the street!!!

As you can imagine, neighbors are not impressed. In fact, their presence causes so much stress that several people discuss selling and moving on. Long-term owners on the street refuse to be cowed by the newcomers however and the plotting and diabolical scheming begins.

Y’all, these neighbors are savage!
They take their domestic peace VERY SERIOUSLY!!!
I can’t say I blame them but, damn, the stuff they come up with!

I had a really great time reading this. As with Our House, you know from the very beginning that a crime has occurred but you aren’t quite sure who the victim is. Overtime, through interviews and the perspectives of multiple characters the true story gets revealed. This style, for me, makes the plot move along very quickly and I love starting a new chapter in order to see someone else’s POV.

At this point, I am a fangirl for Candlish and will definitely continue to pick up any domestic drama she puts out! Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it!

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Review: The Regulators by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

~ megs14malloy

The RegulatorsThe Regulators by Richard Bachman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

To the residents of Poplar Street, in suburban Wentworth, Ohio, July 15, 1996 seems like any other summer day. The paperboy is dutifully tending to his route, the Reed twins are entertaining young ladies, and the corner convenience store is functioning like a well-oiled machine.

Little do they know, the proverbial shit is about to hit the fan.

The Regulators are coming to Poplar Street and you are damn lucky if you come out of this alive!

It’s hard to imagine a 475-page novel, taking place in one afternoon on one suburban street, making you cringe in anticipation but this one sure does.

We follow this set cast of characters from the minute The Regulators first come onto their street until the bitter end. Some we love, some we hate but in the end, no one escapes their fate.

You may wonder, yeah, but what’s it all about?

Trust me when I say, it’s best to go into this knowing as little as possible, but for those of you who are just going to insist on knowing more, I will give you this one small clue: (view spoiler)

This novel is hella violent and dark so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you may as well just mosey on by. This book is only for those with the intestinal fortitude to handle intense scenes of violence.

This is actually my second read of this and I would definitely recommend reading Desperation and this novel back-to-back. I think the overall experience is enhanced if handled that way. I love them both and for different reasons. A must read combo for King’s Constant Readers!

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Review: Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

~ megs14malloy

Wild and CrookedWild and Crooked by Leah Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

This is the story of the friendship of Kalyn Spence and Gus Peake. Two kids whose stories were tragically intertwined before they even knew that the other existed.

You see, Kalyn’s Dad is in prison, accused of murdering Gus’s Dad. When Kalyn moves to Samsboro, into her paternal Grandmother’s home, she is forced to attend school under an alias for fear of repercussions if people knew she was a Spence.

She tries to fly under the radar but finds her new found persona exhausting. She befriends Gus, who definitely stands out in a crowd, and finds his honesty and quiet demeanor refreshing.

Gus has lived in Samsboro his whole life with his Mom, who has never fully recovered from the loss of his father, and her wife, Tamara. Gus, who has cerebral palsy, spends most of his time with his best friend, Phil, but longs for a bigger life outside of Samsboro.

Once Gus and Kalyn begin spending time together, they grow close rather quickly and are both shocked when they discover how their lives are tied together.

Soon the kids are uncovering long-held, small-town secrets and exposing evidence that has never before been brought to light.

I really enjoyed this story. I don’t think Leah Thomas could have fit more hard-hitting topics in here if she tried!

This is a story of identity, perceptions, reality, love, hate, forgiveness, moving on; in short, it’s about life. The characters are great. I loved Kalyn and Gus both so much and even Phil, self-proclaimed antisocial personality disorder and all.

I was pleasantly surprised when the book took a mysterious turn and the kids started their own investigation. I had a lot of fun reading that aspect of the story.

I need more people to read this and be talking about it. I think there is a lot of really great rep in here and the various stories were so honestly told. It was really moving. So, yeah, if you are into Contemporary, pick this one up! It’s so worth it!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Bloomsbury, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to reading more from this author!

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July Challenge: Medieval-A-Thon

~ megs14malloy

July 1st!? What the? I cannot even believe we are finished with half of 2019!! I have completed 93-books so far this year so am confident that I can meet my ‘100-books’ reading goal.

For this month I have selected a brand new readathon to participate in. Medieval-A-Thon is a full month readathon created and hosted by Holly from Holly Hearts Books over on YouTube. If you are a big SFF reader, or even if you are just someone looking to get more into that genre, Holly is a great resource. She posts super funny and fun content and is legit a SFF Queen! The link to her Medieval-A-Thon announcement video is below:

Medieval-A-Thon Announcement

Basically, the goal is to build your nobility ranking by reading a certain number of books and then there are extra prompts to build your medieval wardrobe and weapons cache. The highest ranking is King or Queen with 6 books. This is my goal but I am also hoping to complete all 10 prompts using 10 different books. The 10 prompts, and my tentative book choice, are as follows:

    1. For a ‘crown’ pick a book where the character fights for a throne: Roar by Cora Carmack
    2. For a ‘helmet’ pick a book with a dragon on the cover: Mistress of All Evil by Serena Valentino which is about my personal Queen, Maleficient.
    3. For a ‘breast plate’ read a shiny book: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell. I am also hoping to participate with the Books with Friends discussion on this on July 27th as this is their group book for the month.
    4. For ‘upper leg armor’ read a thick paperback: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.
    5. For ‘boots’ read a book that has yellowed over time: reread of The Dark Half by Stephen King. I have not one yellowed copy but two of this in paperback.
    6. For a ‘cape’ read a book with red on the dust jacket: A Stranger on the Beach by Michelle Campbell has red font on the cover. I know this isn’t SFF but I have an ARC of it so I do need to read it this month!
    7. For a ‘sword’ a book with something pointy on the cover: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.
    8. For ‘fighting blades’ read a book with assassins: I am currently reading Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa and there are assassins who try to kill the protagonist and her traveling crew. Even though I technically started it in June, I am going to count it anyway because I will be completing it this month.
    9. For a ‘bow and arrow’ read a book with elves in it: The Wicked King by Holly Black. I wasn’t sure if this would count but I watched Holly’s TBR video and it is what she is reading for this prompt so, she’s the boss, it counts!
    10. For a ‘battle axe’ read a book with mercenaries in it: Priest of Lies (War for the Rose Throne #2) by Peter McLean.

As we are all aware, I am a hella mood reader, so there is a very strong chance that none of these books will actually get read. Either way, I am reading something and I am going to make every single book fit one of these prompts.

I think this readathon sounds so fun. I hope it is uber-successful so that Holly will host it again next year. If you are interested in learning more about any of the books I have on my tentative TBR, just click the cover photo above!

What about you? Are you participating in Medieval-A-Thon? If not, are you participating in any reading challenges in July? If so, what? I want to know. Leave me a comment below or contact me through any of my social media links.

Cheers & Happy Reading~

Review: The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

~ megs14malloy

The Girl in RedThe Girl in Red by Christina Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Red needs to get to Grandma’s house but this is no fairytale land she is traveling through.

This is a postapocalyptic war zone where a disease, known as ‘the cough’, runs rampant and has decimated the population. The world is a dangerous place with enemies around every corner, or so it seems. Most people have been rounded up into quarantine camps but Red would rather take her chances on the road.

Alternating between now and before, we get a pretty good idea of Red’s home life and family dynamic prior to the sickness. Red, who has a prosthetic limb, after being hit by a car at the age of 8, is used to people underestimating her. She becomes frustrated with this and constantly feels compelled to be tough and prove people wrong.

Highly risk averse, Red feels well prepared for this. Certainly more prepared than your average Joe. She knows the rules. She has been studying them via horror movies and other like media for years. I loved this aspect of Red’s personality. Hello, relatable.

Traveling with her whiny brother, Adam, Red feels like she needs to not only carry her weight but his too. Put simply, Adam was a huge pain in the ass. Red has the patience of a Saint, frankly, putting up with him as she did.

I loved how quickly the action in this kicks off and I thought that the postapocalyptic world was well imagine. The two timelines worked well playing off each other to reveal the entirety of the story. Watching Red’s character gain strength over time was so satisfying.

This being said, I did want a bit more. I know that not every book can be 500-pages but this was just so interesting and the ending, to me, felt rushed.

Overall, I think this is a very solid story. I enjoyed Henry’s imagination quite a bit. This is my first book from her but it definitely won’t be the last one I pick up.

A hearty thank you to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I would definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy darker content and women who kick butt!

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FAVORITES: Dracula Appreciation Post!!!

~ megs14malloy

DraculaDracula by Bram Stoker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A true masterpiece.

Believe it or not, I am still considering how to best write a ‘review’ for this, one of my favorite novels of all time.

I annotated this most recent time reading, in the hopes that it would help when it came to composing my final thoughts.

What I am really struggling with is the idea of little ole’ me ‘reviewing’ a masterpiece.

I guess my goal is more to compel people to read this amazing piece of world literature as opposed to providing a critique of Stoker’s work. Let me think on this a while longer. In the meantime, have a gander at this The Lost Boys gif — a movie greatly inspired by Dracula:

Review or not, I am so happy to have reread this for the 3rd time. Dracula is a book I will continue to reread periodically for the rest of my life.

If you haven’t read this yet, please give it a go, it may surprise you. You may think you know this story…

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Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

~ megs14malloy

I Let You GoI Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And just like that, Mackintosh is redeemed in my eyes!

Artist, Jenna Gray, arrives in a small town on the Welsh Coast and hastily rents a remote cottage there. Like many unreliable narrators before her, she is clearly running from something, but what?

Chances are it is connected with the hit-and-run death of a child that the book opens with but as a reader, you aren’t sure of the connection.

We then follow Jenna as she settles into her new life and begins to find happiness in her newly discovered independence. We also follow intrepid police detectives continuing to work the hit-and-run case.

Slowly, the two storylines begin to merge and what is revealed projects the narrative into the stratosphere. A new perspective is introduced and things rapidly start to come together.

I had a lot of fun with this one although some of the subject matter was hard to read. Trigger Warnings for: (view spoiler)

Overall, I loved the atmosphere, the mystery was strong, as well as the police procedural aspects of the story. Jenna really grew on me over the course of the book and all in all, I did appreciate her character growth.

I would recommend this to the few thriller readers out there who have yet to pick this one up. I feel like I was the last one but there you go.

A quick read with a satisfying ending — what more could you ask for this summer? Pick it up!

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Review: Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

~ megs14malloy

Call It What You WantCall It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Rob, a once super popular lacrosse player, has fallen from grace but not on account of his own actions. His father, the local financial planner, was caught red-handed swindling from clients and everyone suspects that Rob knew. He did work as an intern at his father’s office but swears he had no clue what was happening.

As everything begins to be taken from his family, his father attempts suicide, leaving him in a state where he requires 24-hour care. Now a social pariah, Rob finds himself at rock bottom.

Maegan, a classic overachiever, has been living in her older sister’s shadow for years. Feeling pressured to succeed, Maegan cheats while sitting for her SAT causing consequences for everyone in the room.

Branded a cheater, Maegan sees her social standing slump as well. She now keeps her head down and just tries to make it though each day without too much embarrassment.

When they are matched together for a calculus project, neither Rob nor Maegan are happy about it. Begrudgingly, they begin to meet up to start their project and pretty quickly learn that you cannot always believe what you hear about people.

They begin to confide in one another and discover they have more in common than they ever could have guessed.

Nobody writes teenage angst quite like Brigid Kemmerer. She puts her characters through hell but the growth they are able to achieve is truly a beautiful thing.

Rob and Maegan’s relationship has its complications but it is also sweet, kind and pure. The writing is smooth and highly readable. The friendships were so well done. Rob and Owen. So many feelings.

There are a lot of hard-hitting topics included in this too. So much. The thing that I found most moving was the idea of learning to forgive yourself; of not letting one mistake define who you are. I think a lot of us should be reminded of that. Be kind to yourself. We are all human, we all make mistakes and it is okay to let go of that and move forward.

There was also a strong narrative between Maegan and her sister. As with many sisters, they certainly were not lacking in the drama department. I did like how much their relationship evolved over the course of the story and how they learned to see one another as they are, not how they imagine each other to be.

Overall, I felt this book has a lot to offer and is quite moving. I would definitely recommend it to readers looking for a hard-hitting contemporary. Kemmerer is an autobuy author for me and yet again, she did not disappoint! Well done.

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KING REREAD: Desperation Review

~ megs14malloy

DesperationDesperation by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

A bizarrely assembled cast of characters, all with distinct strengths and weaknesses, come together to fight an evil, older and more powerful than they could have ever imagined.

That would be my single-sentence synopsis if someone were to ask me what Desperation is about. If you have ever read a Stephen King novel however, you know there is a lot more to it than that.

I read Desperation for the first time around 2001. I was just done with undergraduate school and was so excited to have time to read for fun. I read quite a few King books that year. At the time, I remember liking it but I wasn’t blown away and ultimately decided on a 3-star rating.

Now, close to 20-years later, this is pretty damn close to a perfect read for me.

What can explain the difference?

I’m not really sure. I was so invested in this. The characters were a huge part of the enjoyment factor for me. In my very humble opinion, no one does characters quite like King. He is a master of developing every aspect of character’s personality and the reasons behind it. You never wonder what’s the motivation, you know.

This also has one of my all-time favorite tropes. The mix-matched group of characters, placed into extraordinary circumstances, who band together, no matter their ultimate disagreements about the world, and fight against evil.

Good v. Evil.
I love it.
I’m here for it pretty much every time.

This novel is extremely violent, bloody and graphic. Some of the scenes made my toes curls and my stomach lurch. If that is not your thing, you may want to hard pass on this one. The use of creepy crawlers to instill fear was expertly crafted; again, those with strong fears of snakes, spiders, scorpions, or other beasties of that sort, may want to steer clear.

My one extremely slight critique would be that the final showdown felt a little rushed, hence the 4.5-star rating, as opposed to full 5. This book has a nice, long build-up, and I could definitely have read some more substance at the end. It was great but still I wanted more!

Overall, I am beyond happy that I took the plunge and reread this 706-page beast of modern, horror fiction. I am currently rereading The Regulators and totally digging the many connections I missed the first time around. I would definitely recommend reading these two back-to-back for maximum enjoyment!

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Review: While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt

~ megs14malloy

While You SleepWhile You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Zoe Adams needs to get away. Recently separated from her husband, she rents a newly renovated home on a remote Scottish island. It doesn’t take long after arriving at McBride house for her to discover that some places hold long memories.

Soon Zoe begins researching the history of the house and what she uncovers is far from comforting. Ailsa McBride, the original owner, was reportedly a witch who murdered her own child. In fact, just the previous year, another boy had disappeared from the grounds.

Constantly on edge, Zoe sleeps fitfully and begins having visions and visitations from the past. She can scarcely make it through a few hours at the property without something going awry.

Befriending a few men in the village, she begins to discover long-held island secrets and in turn, finds herself the hot topic for the island rumor mill.

The number of different leads and exposed secrets in this left me spinning. The lore of the island and overall atmosphere was excellently portrayed. I enjoyed the melding of past and present and the characters were well fleshed out.

At times, bordering on erotic, this was an unexpected twist of a classic ghost story with the incorporation of an incubus; something I had never read about previously and certainly was not expecting.

Although this was a slow burn, there was definitely enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages. The last 10% dropped my rating down a half star. I wasn’t sold on the way the story ended. It seemed to wrap-up a little too neatly after the strong build-up.

Overall, I was impressed by Merritt’s writing. If you are a reader that enjoys a bit of sexy times with your horror or mystery stories, you will definitely want to check this one out. Also, haunted house fans, this is worth a read. There were moments that I was absolutely freaked out while reading this.

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

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