Review: Hideout (Alice Vega #3) by Louisa Luna

~ megs14malloy

Hideout (Alice Vega #3)Hideout by Louisa Luna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Alice Vega, still kicking butt and taking names.

Hideout is the third book in Louisa Luna’s gritty Crime Thriller series, Alice Vega, featuring the badass people-finder of the same name.

In my opinion, the books in this series do not necessarily need to be read in order. In fact, I would argue they can also be read as standalones, however, you will be missing out on the gorgeous build-up of the relationship between Alice and her partner-from-afar, disgraced former cop, Max Caplan.

So, while they can be read any way you like, I would highly recommend starting at the beginning and proceeding from there. They’re all really good, so you should have a fantastic time catching up, at any rate.

After the conclusion of The Janes, which was set on the West Coast of the U.S., Max returns home to the East Coast battered and bruised. That was an extremely dangerous case for him and Vega both.

The two of them begin to settle back into their regular lives, Alice working missing persons cases and Max, most importantly fathering his daughter Nell, as well as performing his private investigative work.

Vega gets bored easy though, so when she is propositioned with an unusual case, finding a missing college football player last seen 30-years ago, she jumps on it.

Normally, Vega’s cases are very current and she’s battling a ticking clock, so this one is quite unusual. She begins her search where the man in question, Zeb Williams, was last seen. A small town in Oregon called Ilona.

As she begins to get to know some of the locals, Vega starts to understand this town may not be as sweet and pristine as it first appears. There’s a lot of dirty secrets and vicious inclinations hiding just under the surface; including an active branch of a white supremacist group.

Vega knows people are not being honest with her. She believes someone, maybe multiple someones, know what happened to Zeb. Additionally, she has a feeling the most powerful players in town may be involved.

Naturally, she calls Cap to bounce some ideas off of him. Well, really she wants his help, but Cap isn’t ready.

He has a lot going on in his own life, particularly struggling with the fact that his baby girl is almost a grown-up. He can’t drop everything and risk his life again just because Vega called.

I was really anticipating this release and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t vibe with this one quite as much as I did with the earlier books.

If you have read this, you may be able to predict what I am going to say, but for me, part of the magic of this series is the partnership between Alice and Max. Their personalities, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, compliment each other very well. It’s a solid investigative duo.

In this book, the vast majority of their interactions are long distance. This one is much more, Alice living her life on the West Coast and Max, living his life on the East.

Max is helping her only in minor ways. The case turns out to be extremely dangerous, and Alice, seemingly uncaring to risks, puts herself in incredibly nerve-wrenching circumstances. This woman seriously has a gut of steel. She’s not afraid of anything.

I do love Alice as a character for that very reason. She is extremely confident, but it’s because she works hard at it. She trains herself in body and mind and she knows she is prepared for anything. She knows she can perform even with her life on the line.

I also love Max. He has so many incredible qualities. I actually did really enjoy reading about his relationship with his daughter, Nell, in this one. She is a lot like him, which I think makes him really nervous!

My one hope is that in the next book of the series, which I am assuming there will be more, Max and Alice actually physically work the case together.

I feel like I am well and fully attached to these characters now. I definitely want to read more in this series. This one is really interesting. It’s a lot, but it’s intriguing.

I did like the backdrop of having the college football element. As a huge football fan, that was really fun. Something I don’t think I have ever read before in an Adult Mystery/Thriller.

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

I really appreciate it and will be keeping my fingers crossed that we get more of Vega and Cap!!!

View all my reviews

Review: The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

~ megs14malloy

The Chalk ManThe Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eddie lives a quiet life in the same sleepy village in which he grew up. His day-to-day is fairly mundane. He’s a school teacher, who lives in a big house with a younger roommate and maybe he drinks too much.

That’s pretty much Eddie in a nutshell. Like many of us, his life wasn’t always quite so boring however. It just kind of evolved into its current repetitive state.

Little does Eddie know he’s about due for a good old-fashioned shake-up when a blast from his past returns.

His old friend Mickey is back in town and he wants to chat about a certain unresolved murder case from 1986. Eddie, who has been haunted by the events of that year, doesn’t really want to discuss it, but when Mickey tells him he may have the answer, Eddie can’t resist.

The conversation unsurprisingly stirs up all sorts of dark memories and emotions in Eddie. It’s tense. He and Mickey have been estranged for years. It’s not a warm and fuzzy reunion.

Mickey’s sudden reemergence in his life isn’t the only thing tied to the horrific events of 1986 though. The chalk men have also begun to mysteriously appear. Now Eddie must confront his fears and buried secrets head-on if he is ever going to be able to lay the past to rest.

I originally purchased The Chalk Man when in released in 2018, but then I sat on it for years. Honestly, I became apprehensive after reading some of the early reviews which basically alluded to this being a knock-off version of Stephen King’s masterpiece, It.

When my niece mentioned she wanted to Buddy Read The Chalk Man though, I threw caution to the wind and willingly jumped in.

I will say initially I was surprised by the number of similarities to It. I thought to myself, oh no, this could be bad.

However, I am happy to report that after that slightly frustrating start, this one really came around for me. I found it to be interesting as heck and loved the short chapters with their many mini-reveals. It made for a great Buddy Read and we had such a fun time discussing it along the way!

I believe this was Tudor’s debut and if so, I think it definitely sets the stage for her style. She brings a lot of creepy atmosphere in her stories and I loved the back and forth between past and present timelines in this one.

The sections from 1986, of Eddie and his friend group, had the heaviest It vibes, but I became so intrigued with the characters and all that was happening to them, that I eventually was able to overlook all the Itness.

I thought the mystery element was very well done and it definitely kept me guessing. I have also read The Burning Girls from Tudor and really enjoyed that one as well.

I would say, comparing the two, that her writing has matured a bit since this earlier release. I definitely look forward to picking up more from this author. I’m so glad that I finally gave this one a shot. Overall, a fun reading experience!

View all my reviews

Review: Secret Identity by Alex Segura

~ megs14malloy

Secret IdentitySecret Identity by Alex Segura
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

In 1975-New York City, Carmen Valdez finds herself working for the head of Triumph Comics as his administrative assistant. Carmen dreams of becoming a writer, but for now her assistant position will have to do.

Unfortunately, it’s just the way in the industry, in the times, in the culture. Carmen has so many ideas, but good luck having them heard.

When one of her coworkers, a seemingly harmless man named Harvey, approaches her with a proposition to fulfill her dreams, she can’t refuse.

He wants her help creating a new character. Of course her involvement would need to be kept secret initially, at least according to Harvey, but he sells her on the fact that after it is a success, they could reveal the truth to their boss. Then he’ll have no choice but to take her ambitions seriously.

Carmen isn’t naive. She knows she can’t trust Harvey completely, but honestly, what choice does she have. She’s desperate for a chance and her boss has repeatedly shot her down. This could be it.

Putting her reservations aside, Carmen agrees to help Harvey and over multiple brainstorming sessions, the two create Triumph’s first female hero, The Lethal Lynx.

After their scripts have been submitted, with Carmen’s name absent from the credits per their earlier agreement, Harvey is brutally murdered. With Harvey’s death comes absence of proof that Carmen played any role in their creation.

Harvey was the only person who knew the amount Carmen contributed to The Lethal Lynx. She is completely gutted. Carmen needs to find out what happened. It doesn’t seem random, but who would want Harvey dead?

Secret Identity took me completely by surprise. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this. Being pitched as a ‘literary mystery’ made me a little nervous. That’s not really my genre.

I’ve read from Alex Segura before, however, and enjoyed his writing style. Additionally, the fact that this has the comic book industry as the backdrop was extremely interesting to me. I decided to give it a go.

I’m so glad that I gave it a shot. This is literal scientific proof that reading outside of your comfort zone can be a good thing! Just trust me on this.

This entire book is dripping with atmosphere. 1975s New York City was a thing; a character unto itself. Segura brought all of that to life within these pages.

Carmen was an extremely likable character. It was captivating getting to know her, a bit about her past, and of course getting to see behind the scenes of the comic book industry.

I was super impressed with the film noir-quality Segura was able to channel into this story. It is such a unique and enjoyable experience.

As a side note, I did listen to the audiobook and highly recommend that format. Included in the narrative are occasional excerpts from The Lethal Lynx comics, for which super fun sound effects are included in the audio version. That was really a treat!

I would definitely recommend giving this one a go. There’s so much to enjoy in this story for a vast array of Readers.

Go ahead, give it a shot!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

I had such a great time listening to this book and will definitely be picking up further works from Alex Segura!!

View all my reviews

Review: Sundial by Catriona Ward

~ megs14malloy

SundialSundial by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Rob does not have a good relationship with her husband. In fact, their relationship is so toxic that I had to take a break from this book only 10% in just to get away from it.

The couple have two young daughters. Callie, the oldest, favors her father, while Annie, the youngest, is definitely her mother’s favorite.

Rob struggles to understand Callie and her increasingly disturbing behaviors. Unfortunately, the older Callie gets, the more frightening her behaviors become. It even seems that Callie may pose a serious threat to Annie, something Rob cannot stand for.

Rob’s husband, Irving, doesn’t see the way Callie is. He doesn’t understand Rob’s concerns, not that she could have expected him to be on her side regardless.

Knowing she has to do something before tragedy strikes, Rob steals Callie away and heads back to Sundial, the mysterious property where Rob grew up, deep in the Mojave desert. What her parenting plans are for after that point seem ominous, at best.

After the pair arrives at Sundial, the focus shifts to exposing the history behind the property, about Rob’s childhood and the truth of who she really is. Through this, the Reader also learns how Rob’s own history could be influencing her current circumstances, as well as her daughter’s lives.

I was very intrigued by the past perspective. It was an interesting set-up and like nothing I have read before. I enjoyed the SF-feel of some the activities occurring during Rob’s childhood.

I do think it is important to note that Rob’s parents kept dogs on the property and I don’t mean as pets. I was hesitant once I discovered that because I am quite sensitive to any harm coming to animals in books.

I can get past it, as long as it is not too drawn out, or as long as it has a point within the larger narrative more than just shock value. In this story, there’s a point. There were a few places I had to skim read, but for the most part, it didn’t have too much of an impact on my overall enjoyment level.

There were times that I even wished the entire book was just the past perspective, but on arriving at the end, it became clear why there’s two perspectives. I was impressed with how Ward tied it all together, as well as the themes explored by doing so.

The ending was wild and crazy, but I liked it. For the most part, while I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this story, as there is literally no joy to be found within these pages, it’s definitely intriguing. Ward succeeded in keeping me uncomfortably interested the whole way through.

It’s the kind of story where you are desperate to know what the heck is going on. I won’t claim to understand the points Ward is trying to make here 100%, but I think I have enough of it to be impressed.

Unique from start-to-finish, this is definitely worth a pick-up for Readers with the stomach and mental fortitude to tackle such a story.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I think it is fair to say that I will pick-up whatever Ward throws at us next!

View all my reviews

Review: The Heights by Louise Candlish

~ megs14malloy

The HeightsThe Heights by Louise Candlish
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

While working at a client’s condo, Ellen Saint, spots a man she knows across the way on a rooftop deck. She can’t believe her eyes.

Sure, he’s aged and other things about him seem different as well, but it’s definitely him. She would know him anywhere.

Ellen is shocked to see Kieran Watts that day because he is supposed to be dead. She knows this because she had him killed herself.

As you can imagine, this turn of events flips Ellen’s world upside down. She becomes obsessed with Kieran all over again. It takes over her every waking thought.

Through flashbacks we learn how this seemingly harmless suburban housewife could come to hate this young man, a close friend to her son, so much.

It’s clear Ellen believes Kieran is at fault in regards to a tragedy that changed their family forever. She will never forgive him and feels he got away with it when he should have been harshly punished. Vigilante justice comes to mind.

The Heights was a tough one for me. From the beginning, Ellen’s character put a bad taste in my mouth and it really never went away.

Normally I love a tale of obsession, but there was something about this one that just didn’t sit right for me.

I thought the end, like literally the last 10-15%, brought something interesting that I wasn’t expecting, but other than that I found this to be fairly boring and at times annoying.

I have really enjoyed three of Candlish’s previous novels, Our House, Those People and The Other Passenger, so just because this one missed the mark for me, I still consider her to be one of my favorite Domestic Thriller authors.

With all of this being said, I did like the way this story was formatted; the way Kieran’s relationship with Ellen’s family was revealed, the tragedy that changed everything and the revelations at the end.

Also, as I always say, just because this one didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. If you are intrigued by the premise, if you want to know what the heck Kieran did to become so vilified, you should definitely pick this one up and give it a try.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to picking up Candlish’s next book!

View all my reviews

Review: One for All by Lillie Lainoff

~ megs14malloy

One for AllOne for All by Lillie Lainoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

One for All is pitched as a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, but don’t go into it expecting an actual retelling.

I would classify this as more of a continuation of the Musketeer legends, but with female protagonists.

Our intrepid hero is Tania de Batz, who hasn’t let her chronic illness smother her dreams. That’s her mother’s job.

Tania’s father is a former Musketeer who has regaled his daughter with stories of his adventures. Tania aspires to be like him, to be a fencer and to protect the crown from harm. Her loving father supports her, until the day he is mysteriously killed.

While Tania’s mother wants nothing more than to marry her daughter off, for her own good, of course, Tania’s father’s final wish was for her to attend L’Académie des Mariées.

A finishing school! Tania can’t believe her father would wish such a thing upon her. Isn’t that just the final stop before finding a suitable husband!?

Luckily for Tania, her father had her back after all. L’Académie isn’t a finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for female Musketeers. Musketeers who will front as socialites, but are actually seeking out intel to stop attacks on the crown.

They’re like crazy secret spy ladies who never back down from a fight. We love that!

For the first time at L’Académie, Tania feels accepted. She doesn’t feel like her newfound sisters-in-arms are judging her because of her illness. They trust in her and her abilities.

Then a boy comes along. Leave it to a boy to spoil things. Etienne is Tania’s first target and he gets under her skin in all the wrong ways.

This is a fun book. I enjoyed getting to know Tania and following her journey as she finally got the chance to achieve her dream of becoming a Musketeer.

I was drawn to her struggles from the very beginning. I felt for her, the way her mother treated her. It was sad and frustrating, but I sort of got where her mother was coming from, even though I didn’t agree with her.

I loved the relationship between Tania and her father though. It was heartbreaking that he was taken from her so soon. Her ambitions to follow in his footsteps seemed like an impossibility at the time for a woman, but he found the way to make it so.

I also really loved the found-family aspect of this story. Once Tania arrives at school and meets her new sisters, that was so fantastic.

The dynamics between all the girls was strong and believable. They made a great team!

While the plot of this didn’t grab me quite as strongly as I had been hoping for, I still really enjoyed my time listening to the audiobook.

Overall, I think One for All is a great story. Sure, it helps that it’s inspired by one of my all-time favorite classics. I loved having female Musketeers!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, as well as RB Media, for providing me with copies to read and review.

This is an impressive debut for Lillie Lainoff. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!!

View all my reviews

Review: A Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons

~ megs14malloy

A Black and Endless SkyA Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hardly know what I just read. Yikes.

A Black and Endless Sky is an intense, bloody, gory, fight-filled, phantasmagoria-laced story following an estranged brother and sister as they battle their way home.

This story actually kicks off with some unnamed workers digging in a cave system in the desert of the Western U.S., where they uncover something monumental.

We, as Horror Lovers, know that nothing good ever began with that circumstance. Y’all know, something terrible is about to be unleashed.

Then we get to meet estranged siblings, Jonah and Nell. The pair, once thick as thieves, have lost contact over the past twelve years, much to Nell’s chagrin.

Nell feels abandoned by her brother, who, as she sees it, left their hometown of Albuquerque as quick as he could to run off and get married; leaving her in the dust.

Jonah, who may in fact be running from things, is a different person than he used to be. At least he is trying to be and he’s sick of Nell trying to put him into the box of his past self.

Now as Jonah’s marriage comes to an end, he feels sort of forced to return to Albuquerque. He also agrees to make the road trip home with his sister.

As the journey begins the siblings are butting heads. Jonah is exhausted, he can’t believe his sister is making this, the hardest day of his life more difficult.

At that early stage, Jonah has absolutely no idea how difficult this journey will actually become.

The siblings end up having an interaction with the cave system mentioned-above and as I am sure all of you may have predicted, it doesn’t end well.

Even though they both make it out alive and continue on their journey, Nell is not the same. It’s like she brought something back with her out of the dark depths of that cave.

This story is absolutely wild and so violent. Jonah and Nell end up facing forces from this world and beyond, all seemingly hellbent on their destruction.

The siblings, who used to fight together so well, are forced to return to those earlier roles, kicking butts the entire way.

There’s a lot going on in this story and I was never bored; not for one second. I am a huge fan of road trip stories and this one definitely delivered that aspect very well.

With this story, Lyons delivered a very Adult-version of What We Buried, mixed with elements of Desperation and the last little bit of Revival. It might not be Tak, but it sure as hell could be a distant cousin…((if you know, you know)).

I don’t read a ton of Horror Thrillers, but comparing this to the few I have read, I think A Black and Endless Sky really holds its own.

I can’t honestly say that I understand everything that was going on here, but I liked being given the opportunity to try and figure it out. It was super fast-paced and I really enjoyed the audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This is the second book I have enjoyed from Matthew Lyons. My taste meshes well with his style of storytelling and I look forward to going on another adventure of his making in the future!

View all my reviews

Review: Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett

~ megs14malloy

Beneath the StairsBeneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Clare left her small hometown of Sumner’s Mills, in upstate New York, behind many years ago. And it wasn’t that she just left, she ran.

After a chilling incident occurred one summer when she was just 14-years old, the town lost its sense of comfort for her. She couldn’t wait to get out of there.

It seems a silly thing, tweens exploring a haunted house, but after that day, Clare and her best friend, Abby, were never the same.

In fact, the incident was so traumatic, Abby’s entire personality seemed to changed. Her parents moved the entire family from town to try to escape it. It was really a formative experience in Clare’s life.

The girls eventually lost contact after Abby’s move. That’s why Clare is particularly surprised when Abby’s mom reaches out to her twenty years later and asks her to return to Sumner’s Mills.

Abby, whose mental health has continued to be a challenge for her, is in the hospital, in a coma after an apparent overdose. She had returned to the haunted house.

Having just ended her long-term relationship, Clare is looking for an escape anyway. She decides she will head back to Sumner’s Mills, lick her wounds for a bit and try to discover what could have possibly possessed Abby to go back to that house.

Once back in her childhood home, Clare is reacquainted with old friends and begins a deep dive into the history of the haunted house, known in town as the Octagon House for its peculiar shape.

Beneath the Stairs uses both past and present perspectives to weave together this truly haunting tale. I always enjoy that narrative format, so was excited to see it here.

This book is definitely a slow burn, and while there’s a lot going on, I feel like Fawcett did a great job weaving it all together in a way that felt fluid.

I enjoyed getting to know Clare as a character. She was strong-willed and pretty fearless. It is clear she had built walls up around herself after her childhood trauma. I felt for her. She was alone, both mentally and physically, through a lot of her struggles.

Over the course of the story, Clare comes into contact with a man who was sort of a first love for her. I was completely invested in the exploration of that relationship. I thought it was extremely realistic and very well done.

My only slight critiques for this story would be that it is quite slow, eventually toeing drawn-out territory. Also, towards the end, a few situations didn’t quite make sense to me. I was left with questions.

Overall though, this is a fun read. I am still thinking about it weeks later, so that’s always a good sign.

I loved the is it supernatural, is it not supernatural feel; generally an element I will look for when picking up haunting Thrillers. Fawcett definitely delivered those vibes; something I hope she continues to bring with future works.

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

I enjoyed this a lot and look forward to picking up more from Jennifer Fawcett!

View all my reviews

Review: A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

~ megs14malloy

A Far Wilder MagicA Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

When Weston Winters shows up on her doorstop, Margaret Welty is home alone and has been for quite some time.

Margaret’s mother, a famous alchemist, is traveling for work and Margaret, essentially abandoned, has no idea when she will return.

Wes is an aspiring alchemist seeking apprenticeship with Margaret’s mom, hence his sudden and previously unannounced arrival. Although Margaret is annoyed by his mere presence, he is able to break down some of her walls and she agrees to let him stay until her mother returns.

Margaret may have ulterior motives. The Halfmoon Hunt approaches and she is desperate to participate. The winner of the hunt, the one who is able to slay the legendary Hala, the last living mythical creature, will win fame and a large sum of money.

The catch is only teams of two are allowed to sign up. Margaret is the best shot in town, but she needs an alchemist for a partner. Perhaps Wes can serve a purpose after all.

As you can imagine, with two young people living and working together under the same roof, sparks begin to fly. It’s not immediate and certainly not discussed, but as Margaret and Wes learn more about each other, they discover they may be more alike than they initially thought.

I was swept away with this story. Saft is a master at creating lush and fully-consuming atmospheres. I loved the world she created here; it felt very greater-Boston area, maybe mid-to-late 1920s, but with magic.

Additionally, I was impressed with the different layers woven into this story. For example, there was quite a bit of commentary on discrimination against ethnic minorities and immigrants. It never felt forced, which I appreciated. It felt like a completely natural aspect of this story.

Both Margaret and Wes had experienced outward discrimination and hostilities towards them based upon who they were and where they came from. Eventually, they were able to talk about and bond over these shared experiences.

I was moved by both of their stories and how they learned to stand strong in the face of those aggressions; how they both sought to make changes for the better for all.

That is just a minor part though, for me, the highlight of this book is the Halfmoon Hunt. I loved learning about it, the lore, history, dangers and watching Margaret and Wes prep for the big day. Of course it doesn’t go entirely smoothly.

Drama abounds as the event nears and I had no idea where it was going or what was going to happen. I was completely head over heels for this team by that point though, I was ready to cut down the competition myself!

While Margaret and Wes have their ups and downs over the course of the story, one thing that never waned was their growing feelings for one another.

This is a YA Fantasy Romance after all and I thought the romance was splendid; so natural and satisfying to watch evolve. From the early neurotic days of pining and questioning, all the way through to the end, I was invested.

There were no eye-roll moments for me, no wishing for it to be over, it was organic and fun.

I really enjoyed Saft’s 2020-release, Down Comes the Night. It was an impressive Romantic Fantasy debut. In A Far Wilder Magic, I feel like Saft’s writing has really blossomed. This is a complex story and it was executed so well.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to for Allison Saft’s next book. I look forward to following her career for a long time to come!!

View all my reviews

Review: Payback’s a Witch (The Witches of Thistle Grove #1) by Lana Harper

~ megs14malloy

Payback's a Witch (The Witches of Thistle Grove #1)Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After she graduated from high school, Emmy Harlow, left her small town of Thistle Grove and moved to Chicago. Since that time, she really hasn’t been back.

She’s forged her own life in the city completely separate from her magical family in Thistle Grove. Perhaps, now is a good time to mention that Emmy is a witch.

During her time in Chicago, she’s felt her powers waning. Apparently, it’s important for her to remain somewhat tied to her magical roots.

With the approach of a traditional spell-casting tournament occurring in Thistle Grove, Emmy finally decides to return for an extended visit. Her parents will be so happy.

Emmy’s family normally acts as the arbiters for the competition and because of where she falls within the family line, it is her turn. She could have passed the duties on to her overzealous cousin, but Emmy feels like it is finally time for her to be involved.

Upon returning to town, it doesn’t take long for Emmy to be right back into the small town circle: gossip, run-ins with ex-boyfriends, flirting with old classmates, amongst other things.

We learn more about the reasons behind Emmy leaving town, more about her and her relationships with her family.

I love the trope of a character returning to their hometown after an extended absence. As someone who moved away from my own hometown as soon as I graduated high school, I can totally relate to those feelings.

When you go back, it’s so mixed. You’re from there, of there, but also, feel like you are out of place. Life moves on without you while you are away and it’s like learning about a whole new place once you finally do go back.

I really enjoyed that aspect of this book. Emmy being reintroduced to her roots and really reconnecting with the people she had left behind.

The tournament was interesting as well, although I could have used more of it. It’s basically like the Triwizard Tournament, but for the founding magical families of this town. I wish there would have been more of that aspect.

Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with the romance. I wanted to be interested, but I just didn’t care either way. It was fine, but I wasn’t sold on how quickly Emmy and Talia fell for one another. Also, I’m not really sure Gareth’s vices were worth the efforts the ladies went to in order to get back at him. Not to be mean but, get over it.

With all of this being said, this was a super cute story overall. I loved the town of Thistle Grove. It felt to me like an Adult version of The Babysitters Coven and I’m not mad about it. I will absolutely be continuing on with this series.

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

I am looking forward to returning to this town and this great cast of characters when the second book releases in May!

View all my reviews