Review: Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

~ megs14malloy

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤

Trail of Lightning is the 1st-book of the Sixth World series by Rebecca Roanhorse. While I believe this was originally slated to be a 4-book series, only 2-books were ever published.

After finishing this one, that makes me so sad.

In this story we follow Maggie Hoskie, who is imbued with clan powers that allow her to have superhuman speed and the ability to expertly kill her enemies. Maggie uses these powers in her job as a monster-hunter.

At the start of the story, she is called to a small village to help them search for a missing girl, who was allegedly stolen by a monster.

When Maggie comes across the monster, she’s surprised by its size, strength and taste for human flesh. It’s unusual.

Keeping its head, she takes it to a medicine man, Tah, she’s close to in a neighboring settlement. He comes up with a theory on the monster that sets Maggie on a new quest.

Tah also suggest that Maggie take his nephew, Kai, along with her. He’s training to be a medicine man, and Tah insists he is powerful. Begrudgingly, Maggie agrees.

We follow them as they traverse the reservation, uncovering clues and battling dark forces. Their relationship grows and shifts over the course of the mission, which is to be expected when you need to rely on one another for survival, and also you’re both hot as hell.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I liked learning about both Kai and Maggie. Both of them had very compelling backstories, and I had fun watching their relationship develop. I also enjoyed the initial mystery of it all, and the Indigenous Folklore elements woven throughout.

Where it fell a little short for me was in the execution of the overall mission, as well as the pace. It had ups and downs in intensity, whereas I would have enjoyed a more steady building throughout. Also, the theory that Tah had, what set these two out on their mission, for big chunks, it felt like that just faded into the background.

In that way it sort of lost its lane, as far as the monster-hunting went, but nevertheless, it was never boring.

The setting was well done. I felt I could visualize everything perfectly. The post-apocalyptic nature of it poured through the pages. It had a desperate feel that I really liked. Almost everything was a challenge for these characters, which makes sense due to the state of their world.

I would love to continue on with this series, and already own the next book. However, I know it’s going to break my heart when I get to the end of that one and there’s nothing more.

Either way though, I am really happy that I finally made time for this one. I think Rebecca Roanhorse is such a creative storyteller. I always have fun reading her work.

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Review: Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

~ megs14malloy

Look In the MirrorLook In the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

After Nina’s beloved father passes away, she learns that he left her a property in the British Virgin Islands. A property Nina didn’t even know existed.

She’s thrown for a loop by this information. She felt like they shared everything with each other, but apparently he had been keeping some secrets.

Curious about this hidden side of her Dad’s life, and hoping to find some answers, Nina travels to the BVI to check it out for herself. What she finds couldn’t be further from her what she expected. It seems nothing like her Dad.

An impersonal, uber-modern, waterfront property, all glass and marble. Cold, almost clinical.

How did he even afford it? Something doesn’t add up. Nina is anxious to settle in and poke around. If she’s gonna figure this out, she’s gonna need to dig deep.

Maria is a nanny for the super rich, which often includes staying in exotic resort locations. Her new gig, set in the BVI, should pay enough for it to be her last job.

When her new charges don’t show up at the anticipated time though, she’s told to just settle in and enjoy herself. Though it’s difficult at first, ultimately she does just that. What else is she gonna do while she waits?

As she starts to let her guard down, she begins to notice things that lead her to believe, maybe she shouldn’t. She was given one rule, not to go in the basement, but as her curiosity grows, that starts to feel like an impossibility.

Look In the Mirror is another novel that I had a difficult time rating. I was so into this in the beginning. The intrigue of Nina discovering she inherited a luxury property that she didn’t even know that her father owned. I wanted to know everything about that.

The other perspective, Maria, was also quite compelling, but the story itself managed to go off the rails for me at the end. I just did not care for the direction it ultimately went, and I’m pretty burnt about it, if I’m being honest.

There were some great twists along the way though. I also felt Steadman had a good amount of intensity added to the mysteries of both perspectives.

For me, there was a point where one of the characters gets themselves beyond the circumstance in which we initially found them. It was after that point that it started to lose my interest. It sort of sucked a bit of the intrigue out of it.

With this being said, it was a pretty even split right down the middle for me. The 1st-half was like a strong 4, maybe even a 5, and the 2nd-half was a high 2 or 3. I think 3.5-stars is a fair portrayal of my overall experience with this one.

I do feel like this author always shows great creativity with her plots. She’s not afraid to take risks and I appreciate that. Sometimes her stories hit with me, other times, less so. Nevertheless, I’ll always pick them up.

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to seeing what Steadman comes up with next!

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Review: An Evil Premise by T. Marie Vandelly

~ megs14malloy

An Evil PremiseAn Evil Premise by T. Marie Vandelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Upon hearing that her sister, Deidre, has been egregiously-injured in a bizarre accident, Jewel drops everything and rushes to be by her side in the hospital.

All she knows is that Deidre was involved in a hit-and-run and remains in a coma. That’s horrible, and of course upsetting, but even more shocking to Jewel is the terrible skin malady that seems to be plaguing Deidre as well.

Her sister looks nothing like herself. How long has she been dealing with this strange condition, and what exactly is it? Jewel has so many questions.

She decides to stay at Deidre’s apartment, so she’ll be closer to the hospital while Deidre hopefully recovers. It’s at the apartment, as she tries to settle in, that Jewel comes across her sister’s current unfinished writing project.

While both are published authors, Deidre is very successful, while Jewel’s work has never garnered much attention.

After a conversation with Deidre’s literary agent, who called to inquire about the unfinished story, Jewel agrees to help meet a very serious deadline. It’s the least she can do to help her sister during her hour of need.

Also, more selfishly, maybe Deidre’s agent will be impressed with her work and it could help boost Jewel’s career as well. Silver linings.

As she starts reading Deidre’s manuscript though, she discovers something very unsettling. It seems to be mimicking her current circumstances, but how?

Not only that, she thinks it is possibly getting longer every night; that she can hear someone else typing while she’s in the other room. Jewel tells herself she’s just being paranoid. That would be impossible. Wouldn’t it?

Determined to see it through, to finish the manuscript, help her sister and possibly jump-start her floundering career, Jewel pushes on. No matter what happens, she will honor her commitment. Then her skin begins to itch.

Y’all, this was brutal and very, very good. I was all over the place with it, trying to figure out WTH was going on.

I was so entertained by being in Jewel’s mind and watching her interact with everyone around her. Staying at Deidre’s, she has many interactions with the other tenants in Deidre’s building, as well as quite a few interesting encounters at the hospital as well.

It’s clear Jewel might not be the most reliable narrator, which I love, but what was going on with everyone else? Was there anything going on, or was Jewel just pitching them to me in a way that would make me think that?

I love reading stories that revolve around authors, and this one certainly had that nailed with not one, but two authors. It incorporates sections of the book Jewel is working on, and those book-within-a-book elements were incredibly well-executed. NGL, it was impressive.

I thought it was losing me at the end, a little bit, I felt like I was going to be disappointed with the conclusion, but Vandelly brought it around with a jaw-dropping, evil grin inducing conclusion.

I would absolutely recommend this to Horror Readers, particularly if you enjoy a book-within-a-book story. I felt like Vandelly created some chilling horror imagery, with many scenes genuinely getting under my skin. Also, speaking of skin, excellent body horror.

Thank you to the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Everyone should be adding this to their Summer Scares TBR!!!

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Review: Pride or Die by C.L. Montblanc

~ megs14malloy

Pride or Die: A NovelPride or Die: A Novel by CL Montblanc
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pride or Die follows Eleanora Finkel and her friends during their Senior year of high school in Texas. Eleanora has founded a LGBTQ+ Club at their school, which ends up playing a large role in this story.

During one of their meetings, the school’s head cheerleader, Kenley, is attacked right outside the classroom that the Club is meeting in, and she’s fairly badly injured.

Hearing the assault, the Club members rush out into the hall and find Kenley there on the floor. Suddenly, they find themselves the main suspects. Why?

I have no idea.

In order to clear their names, and ensure the survival of their Club, they must now investigate the crime and find out who really attacked Kenley.

I found the whole mystery a bit lackluster. Eleanora was running around like the sky was falling in, claiming she had to protect her friends because there was a homophobic murderer on the loose, yet no one was murdered and the person attacked was a popular straight girl who wasn’t even a member of their club?

It just seemed like, out of all the mysteries you could have developed, a very odd choice to me. Even after the Scooby-Doo like reveal, I was left scratching my head about it all.

Sadly, Pride or Die was not a hit for me. I love YA Mystery-Thrillers and do read a lot of them. Going into this, I was excited to get a strong Mystery, set in high school, following the members of an LGBTQ+ group.

Unfortunately, the MC, Eleanora, I found her personality to be so incredibly-grating, it was hard to focus on anything else. I’m happy she had a bit of self-reflection at the end, but it almost felt like too little, too late.

Honestly, I feel like the author did the story a disservice by only having that one perspective. I really enjoyed Noah and Tyler, Eleanor’s friends, as well as Kenley.

I wish I would have had the opportunity to get to know all of them more, but Eleanora was so self-absorbed, I really feel like I didn’t know anything about anyone else.

I hated the way every SINGLE PERSON, besides Eleanora’s three friends, were portrayed. Even the people showing her kindness, Eleanor judged and said critical things about.

I just found her perspective and outlook completely exasperating. There was zero nuance allowed and every single character was a stereotype of what that ‘type’ of person should be.

There were also so many odd, cringe-worthy moments, that I can’t really get into here without giving away important plot points, but yeah, chapter after chapter of that type of thing gets old quick.

I will say, the audiobook narrator, Ina Marie Smith, was really great. She was believable, vocally, as a teen, and she exuded emotion and sincerity throughout.

At the end of the day, this just wasn’t to my tastes. If you think the synopsis sounds intriguing though, I certainly encourage you to pick it up. Please don’t take my word for it. I’m sure many Readers will have fun with this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though it didn’t necessarily work for me, I’m glad I gave it a shot.

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Review: The Other People by C.B. Everett

~ megs14malloy

The Other People: A NovelThe Other People: A Novel by C.B. Everett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the Publisher’s Synopsis:

Ten strangers.
An old dark house.
A killer picking them off one by one.
And a missing girl who’s running out of time…

Trust me when I say, I need no more impetus to pick up a book than lines like this in a synopsis. This is the exact set-up I love for a Mystery-Thriller. No matter how times I read them, they never get old for me.

I have fun seeing how each author brings their own style and ideas to this classic set-up, and this one is definitely unique. No one can deny it that.

In The Other People, we have 10-strangers waking up and finding themselves in a locked country house. They have no recollection of how they got there, and yet they have personal items with them, and each of their rooms seems to have been designed with their individuality in mind.

They’re tasked with solving the disappearance of a young woman, who none of them know. They must rescue her before time runs out. And I mean that literally. There’s a timer ticking down every moment.

Adding stress to the already stressful circumstances is the fact that a killer is stalking the house as well, and no one is safe from their dark designs. As the bodies start dropping, pressures rise and everyone is driven to wits end.

While The Other People had a very promising start for me, my enjoyment level ended up being all over the place over the course of the story.

It had a great set-up and I loved the full cast of unlikable characters. They were all so different, what had brought them all together? I also thoroughly-enjoyed the meta-feel of it. It was delivering me a trope-filled Locked Room Murder Mystery, and it knew it.

It felt like we were celebrating that fact together.

Unfortunately, it did start to lose me toward the end. I still feel like it was a good book, it just wasn’t consistent enough for me to give it a higher rating. Frankly, I’m sad about it considering the strong start.

It did have one very unconventional perspective that I really appreciated though; the omniscient nature of it was refreshing and I thought it added to the overall intrigue.

I don’t know. I would still recommend this, for someone looking for a classic-feeling Locked Room Murder Mystery with a Psychological Thriller twist.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I liked the risks the author took with this, and I would definitely be interested in reading more from them.

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Review: The Folklore of Forever (Moonville #2) by Sarah Hogle

~ megs14malloy

The Folklore of Forever (Moonville, #2)The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Folklore of Forever is the 2nd-book in the Moonville series by Sarah Hogle. If I’m understanding it correctly, these are companion novels following various characters in the town of Moonville, Ohio.

The 1st-book, and this one, follow sisters, but I’m not sure if all the books are going to follow sisters in this family, who are maybe witches, or if other townsfolk will be included. Nevertheless, it includes many whimsical witchy vibes.

In this one, we’re following Zelda Tempest, a paranormal skeptic, and Morgan Angelopoulos, a ghost-hunting podcast host with a deep desire for magic.

Zelda’s family, the Tempests, include a history of alleged witches, including her two sisters, but Zelda doesn’t get down with all of that. Even though she’s made her living writing paranormal mystery books, she’s not a believer.

She’s recently returned to her hometown of Moonville with a case of writer’s block, hoping it will inspire her creativity in some way. It’s there she begins having run-ins with the handsome man next door, Morgan.

Morgan ends up convincing Zelda to go on one of his ghost-hunting romps with him, exploring a local haunted property, and it’s during this night out that Zelda discovers something disturbing about herself. She can see whimsical creatures lurking in the Moonville woods that no one else can see.

Maybe her sisters aren’t just faking it. Perhaps she has magical powers too? She and Morgan pair up and lean into Zelda’s creature spotting abilities, delving deep into Moonville’s woods to see what else could be hidden there.

This was such an oddly-composed book. I felt compelled to keep reading, but couldn’t really understand why?

It’s hard to explain. It’s not bad by any stretch, but yeah, definitely just a head-scratching, middle of road experience for me. It’s also a bit outside my comfort zone, as I don’t tend to vibe well with light-whimsical stories. I prefer a lot of dark, danger and dread with my whimsy.

Additionally, the story itself was ALL over the place. It was enchanting, but in a Luna Lovegood-when you first meet her-kind of way.

You wonder, is she okay? And of course, she is, she’s great, but at times hard to understand.

The writing style is eccentric, and both the character interactions and the plot felt chaotic. With this being said though, I did enjoy watching the relationship between Zelda and Morgan develop.

While it was certainly the oddest Romance book I’ve ever read, I think for people who enjoy this type of story, especially the Cottagecore vibes, this could work quite well.

It does get really wild towards the end. I was laughing out loud, like it really got that wild. It was fun though. I certainly never could have predicted all that happened.

I am interested, believe it or not, in picking up the other books in this series. As oddly compelling as it is, I want to get the other sister’s stories as well.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though a little out of my element, I still enjoyed my time with this.

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Review: Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell

~ megs14malloy

Boys with Sharp TeethBoys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After her beloved cousin, Sam, is found dead in a shallow creek on the campus of Huntsworth Academy, Marin James vows to get revenge. She knows his death was not an accident, and better than that, she knows who is responsible.

Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, two untouchable rich boys, who are among the most socially elite in the school had befriended Sam, and pulled him into their toxic world.

Marin is determined to find the truth of what happened to Sam. She ends up infiltrating Huntsworth as a totally new person: Jamie Vain. She’s after one thing, revenge.

From the very start, this novel gave me HEAVY Foul Is Fair vibes. Everything from the set-up, to the strong focus on getting revenge, and the narrative voice, all reminded me of that book, which I loved.

I listened to the audio and thought the narrator did a great job with the initial tone; it was morose, and felt heavy and serious. However, as it continued, I couldn’t help but feel that it was too one-note, which started to get old.

I feel like the further I read, the more it started to lose me. It was a progression of disinterest.

The first half was really strong, I did love the set-up and how mysterious it all felt, but the closer it got to the end, the more it went off the rails for me.

I will say, I do feel this is categorized well as Dark Academia. Over the years, it seems a lot of books get called that, but only loosely fall into that category. This does have all the necessary components of a solid Dark Academia, even though the execution fell a little short, IMO.

I enjoyed the philosophical concepts that were incorporated into the story. I liked how much of a personal battle the MC was having with her own mission and place in this story.

That aspect was really well done. I think if you enjoy this sort of dark tone, paired with a more cerebral storyline, you’ll like this one a lot. Sadly, for me, the ending just left me lost. IDK what the heck happened.

Nevertheless, I am glad that I picked this one up. I would definitely read more from this author in the future, and I know a lot of Readers are going to enjoy this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Roaring Brook Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I really appreciate it!!

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Review: The Cut by C.J. Dotson

~ megs14malloy

The CutThe Cut by C.J. Dotson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After fleeing an abusive relationship, Sadie Miles, with her toddler, Izzy, in tow, ends up at the L’Arpin Hotel, a historic property on the edge of Lake Eerie.

She’s not there for rest and relaxation though, she’s there for a job. When she’s offered a position as a housekeeper, which includes a free room at the hotel, she jumps at the offer. She’s beyond desperate.

We follow Sadie as she tries to navigate her new circumstance, having to do things that make her uncomfortable, such as leaving Izzy alone with an elderly woman she just met, so that she can get her work done.

It’s not just those necessary actions that are making her uncomfortable though, there’s a lot around the hotel that is odd; including, but not limited to, the people.

Individuals go missing, and there’s definitely something in the water, or the pipes, or food. The higher-ups seem to be covering-up, but what? And what about the man from the power plant, always yelling and carrying on, like she’s done something to him. What is going on here?

Sadie, like many great Horror characters before her, isn’t willing to let any of this stuff go. She’s determined to figure out the truth behind the hotel, even if she needs to put herself in peril in order to do so.

I had fun with this one. The Cut has a great set-up, and it did succeed at keeping me guessing and compelled to move forward with the unsettling narrative.

It reminded me of one of those Creature Feature movies from the late-70s/mid-80s, that had like ants that had grown to the size of houses and ate entire towns.

Were they super logical? No. Did they keep you entertained on a rainy Saturday afternoon? Absolutely. This is the vibe I got and I’m not complaining about it.

This is solid B-Horror, and don’t take that as an insult, because it’s not. I love B-Horror. It’s pure entertainment, that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It tells a story, gives you thrills, chills, and keeps you at the edge of your seat.

I will say, Sadie’s daughter, Izzy, drove me absolutely nuts. I would have enjoyed this even more if she hadn’t been in it. I know that seems mean, but it is what it is.

Overall, though, this was a fun ride. It had some issues, but at the end of the day, I didn’t really care. I actually Buddy Read this and it was a fun one to try to guess what was really happening. Which by the way, I was no where near guessing.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copies to read and review. I highly recommend the audio format if you have it available to you. The narration was a great fit for the tone of the story!

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Review: Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

~ megs14malloy

Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy MysteryMurder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

My initial thoughts upon first hearing the concept for this book were as follows:

I cannot even believe this is a thing. It’s like all my dreams have come true. No one is a bigger GG-fan than me!! To have the Girls all together to solve a Cozy Mystery?!

What the heck could be better!?

I put off reading it for as long as I could, wanting to read it just prior to the publication date, April 15, 2025. In my eyes, it couldn’t come soon enough.

And I’ll tell you what, I did really enjoy it. Was it perfect? No, but it didn’t need to be. I feel like a lot of Cozy Mystery series get better as they go, as they find their rhythm and as Readers become more attached to the characters.

While I don’t think it’s possible for me to be more attached to Sophia, Blanche, Dorothy and Rose than I already am, I do think if the series continues, I will grow to love the format and mystery of the novels more and more.

In this story, we have two things happening. Rose is preparing to host a wedding for her cousin, Nettie, and her beau, Jason, wherein an inheritance clause makes it necessary for the wedding to contain many St. Olafian traditions, so that is a focus of a lot of the action.

Additionally, we have a dead body found on the premises where the wedding is to take place, and due to circumstances I won’t get into, Dorothy is considered a lead suspect.

Because of all of this, the Girls are trying to clear Dorothy’s name, while also giving Nettie the wedding of her dreams. It’s a lot for a weekend!

By the end of the 1st-chapter, I was already impressed by the way the author captured each of the Girls’ personalities and mannerisms; minus Sophia using a cane, which I am still scratching my head about.

It was so easy for me to read, picturing all of their intonations and comedic deliveries. It was just incredibly enjoyable for me as a super fan.

Overall, I found it to be a super cute, very fun, and nostalgic read for me. I felt like all four women, Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche, were executed with grace, and in a way that would make any fan of the show happy.

At times I would have preferred the mystery to be a bit more front-and-center, in comparison to the drama circling Nettie’s wedding. Nevertheless, it was still a great read!

I’m actually not sure if this is slated to be a series, or not, but I’m really hoping for more. There’s so many more opportunities for mysteries. Miami is a busy place and these Girls are always getting into some sort of sticky situation.

I would recommend this to any Golden Girls fan. I don’t think it would hit the same for people who haven’t watched the show, but I could be wrong. As a Cozy Mystery, it was still solid, regardless of who the characters are.

Thank you so much for the ARC, Hyperion Avenue. This was a hugely-anticipated release for me, and I’m honored to have received a copy early.

Thank you, thank you!

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Review: Letter Slot (Shivers Collection #5) by Owen King

~ megs14malloy

Letter Slot (The Shivers Collection, #5)Letter Slot by Owen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Letter Slot is a great Horror short story. This is the 2nd-Shivers Collection release that I have picked up and I enjoyed it just as much as the 1st, Jackknife.

This is the 1st-time I’ve read from Owen King, and I can definitely see the family resemblance. This guy knows how to tell a COMPELLING story. I was hooked from the start!

This story follows Blake, a teenage boy, who lives with his single-mom. They’ve been struggling and Blake’s Mom’s health has suffered because of stress and an accident she had at their rental property.

Nothing seems to be going right for them, and Blake just wants it to be better, particularly for his Mom, who does so much. He hates seeing her in pain.

As part of a school assignment, he ends up pouring out all these thoughts and emotions into a letter, and putting that letter through a mail slot of an abandoned show house.

He’s floored when he receives a response with an offer to help make all of their problems disappear. All he has to do is give his new pal a name; a name of someone he hates.

Blake is left with a real Faustian dilemma on his hands. He’d do anything for his Mom, but what will it cost him?

I really enjoyed how this story played out. The way it was told, it was beautifully-plotted for such a short story. I was completely sucked in and invested in the moral dilemma.

I feel like King did an exceptional job creating an unsettling atmosphere, even when you didn’t know exactly what was getting under your skin. It was a whole vibe; very well done.

Thank you to Brillance Publishing for providing me with a copy to read and review. Grover Gardner’s narration in the audiobook was perfect for this story.

I highly recommend that format!

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