2021 releases

Review: Where the Truth Lies by Anna Bailey

~ megs14malloy

Where the Truth LiesWhere the Truth Lies by Anna Bailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In Anna Bailey’s debut, we get a deep dive into the small town of Whistling Ridge, Colorado, where a 17-year old girl, Abigail, has gone missing.

Abi’s friend, Emma, is wracked with guilt because she left Abi behind at a party on the night she disappeared. Abi was supposed to be meeting up with a boy in the woods and insisted Emma leave her, but she never should have.

Not only does Emma feel bad about leaving Abi there, others in town blame her as well.

The police believe Abi ran away, but Emma knows that’s not true. Abi would never have left without her. Emma decides to take the investigation into her own hands. She needs to find out what happened to her friend.

Abi’s family is a mess, but truth be told, they were a mess before she disappeared. Her two brothers live in constant fear of their father’s unpredictable temperment, while their mother frequently appears checked-out.

Over the course of the story, multiple town secrets are brought to light. There’s all sorts of racism, prejudice, bigotry and religious fervor. There’s a lot of unlikable characters and unsavory circumstances.

Personally, I never felt connected with this story. None of the characters were distinct to me and I had a difficult time tracking it all through the multiple perspectives and then/now timelines.

I decided to give this 3-stars because I know there is a good story hidden in here somewhere. It tackles a lot of important, sensitive issues and I would never want to take away from that. However, for me, this reading experience was more of a 2-star.

I couldn’t wait for it to be over. With this being said, just because this wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean it is not a good book. If you read the synopsis and it sounds interesting to you, please give it a shot. It could very well be a new favorite for you.

Maybe I was just in a mood or something. Who knows? Crazier things have happened, but yeah, as of today, not a great experience for me. Extremely forgettable and bland. Solid, mehhh.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it. On to the next!

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Review: How to Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliott

~ megs14malloy

How to Kill Your Best FriendHow to Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Georgie, Lissa and Bronwyn have been best friends since their days together on their college swim team.

In the years following school, their friendship group, which includes a few male swimmers, have remained close, frequently taking swimming holidays together.

Lissa and her new husband recently purchased a beautiful island resort, somewhere in the South Pacific, and the group takes full advantage of the lovely waters there.

On their most recent holiday at the resort, Georgie chose not to attend. She’s now living in New York and it would have been an extremely long trip. That’s the excuse she gave at least. She did have some other reasons for not wanting to go.

It’s on this occasion that Lissa, taking an unimaginable solo night swim in the dangerous waters of Kanu Cove, drowns. Her body assumed swept out to sea, is never recovered. Fisherman in the area did spot the body at one point, but before they could recover her, she slid back under the dark surface.


Georgie is out of sorts from the very start. She arrives late, she didn’t get the memo on the dress code, and most importantly, she cannot believe that Lissa would have made that swim at night, alone, voluntarily.

Bronwyn is out of sorts as well, but for different reasons. She’s receiving threatening messages, she’s distracted, constantly looking over her shoulder, but why?

The group is set to stay at the floundering resort for a long weekend and a heck of a lot happens during that time. There’s creatures surfacing from the depths, mysterious occurrences, flaired tempers, entirely too much booze and a storm of epic proportions. Will any of them get off the island alive?

How to Kill Your Best Friend is the second novel I have read from Lexie Elliott. I absolutely love her writing style.

While I did feel this was a bit of a slow burn, I didn’t enjoy it any less because of that. I love the way Elliott builds her characters and the way she allows us to see inside their heads; learn about their pasts and motivations.

I generally enjoy competition tropes, or tropes where characters are members of a team or club. This definitely had that dynamic, even though the women are well past school age. There’s still something about the interactions of people that compete, or train together, that I just find so relatable.

It’s like when you are in that kind of relationship with a group of people, it can feel like you are closer to them than anyone else in the world. There’s an assumption that you know everything about each other, but everyone’s keeping secrets, aren’t they?

Additionally, I loved the setting. The close to abandoned resort. The fact that the characters were stuck there. No matter how uncomfortable they got, or how much they wanted to leave, that wasn’t an option.

Secluded locations allow for the tension to really build and Elliott captured that claustrophobic feeling so well here. Especially towards the end, as the weather picked up, so did the stakes.

Overall, I thought this was a really well executed story. It was dramatic and tense, I had a lot of fun with it!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am a huge Lexie Elliott fan and will continue to pick up anything else she writes.

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Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

~ megs14malloy

Project Hail MaryProject Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Ryland Grace awakens from a coma, he discovers he is on a spaceship. He doesn’t know why, or how, in fact, he can’t even remember his own name.

Checking his surroundings, Ryland quickly determines he is alone; the other two crew members evidently not making it out of their comas. Well, shoot, not good.

Figuring he has nothing but time, Ryland sets about investigating his surroundings in the hopes he can determine his purpose for being where he is.

As his memories slowly return, he understands the importance, and improbability of his task. He’s on a solo mission to save Earth from an extinction-level event. So, no pressure.

I absolutely adored this story. I am one of the few people left on the planet who hasn’t read, The Martian yet and after reading this, I’m disappointed in myself.

This was incredibly well-written; fast-paced, clever and hilarious. I loved Ryland’s character so much. His analytical, yet humorous nature, truly made this story shine.

As a longtime Sci-Fi fan, I can honestly say, this is one of the best books I have read in the genre. Everything about it was gripping from start to finish.

The way Weir constructed the mystery of it all and then plotted the reveals, chef’s kiss!!!

I highly recommend this, even if you don’t tend to read Science-Fiction, I believe this story can be enjoyed by Readers of all genres.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It was a remarkable reading experience, one I will remember for a long time!!

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Review: All’s Well by Mona Awad

~ megs14malloy

All's Well: A NovelAll’s Well: A Novel by Mona Awad
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Miranda Fitch is a theater professor at a small New England college. Due to chronic pain stemming from the accident that ended her once promising acting career, Miranda isn’t currently functioning at the top of her game.

Doctors and Physical Therapists have been unable to make any progress with her. It all feels like a sick joke; nothing she tries has helped. Therefore, she takes way more painkillers than she probably should.

As we meet Miranda, she is just about at her rock bottom. The Reader gets a glimpse inside her mind, as she tries to direct her students in this year’s production.

Although Miranda is hellbent on All’s Well That Ends Well, her students want to do the Scottish play. Ha! Can you even imagine? Miranda will not let that happen.

The students are relentless. Worse, they’re mutinous and her colleagues, in the faltering Theater Department, are no better. Just when she begins to believe all is lost, Miranda meets three mysterious strangers at her local watering hole who are able to turn the tides of fate. But at what cost?

I really, really enjoyed the first half of this novel. There’s no denying how fantastic the writing is. It’s cutting, funny, socially relevant, dark and quirky.

However, somewhere around 70%, it took a bad turn, from which it never recovered.

There are a lot of elements included that generally work for me. It’s weird, it’s biting, it has a touch of the fantastical, but unfortunately, it just got too confusing. You can have solid weird, without confusing. I just feel like in this case, it missed that mark.

I’m sure there will be a lot of Readers that will get it; I’m just not one of them. During the first half of the story, even when things got a little strange, you could still tell the events that were happening in Miranda’s reality; you could tell she was having interactions with her students, with her colleagues, what were memories, musings, thoughts and wishes.

When it got closer to the end, it changed. I couldn’t tell what was real. I couldn’t tell where Miranda was in time, space, what was happening to her? And it never revealed itself, at least not in my opinion. So, I got to the end and felt like I didn’t have a conclusion.

Theoretically, I understand the ideas behind what was happening, but I just wanted more closure. I was really disappointed with the last 25%. In it way, it made me feel like I had wasted my time. Never a good feeling.

I’m mainly bummed because I expected to enjoy this a lot more than I did. It happens. All’s well, I suppose.

I bumped myrating up from 3-stars to 3.5, based solely on the author’s creativity and quality of writing. The story for me was a solid 3-stars. It was a good story, but not necessarily my cup of tea.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to share my opinions.

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Review: What Once Was Mind (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell

~ megs14malloy

What Once Was MineWhat Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

What Once Was Mine is the 12th-installment in Disney’s long-running Twisted Tales series. So far, I have read 10 out of the 12 books and definitely have plans to read them all!

If you are unfamiliar with this fantastic series, you can read these books in any order. Each one tackles a different Disney story, twisting one major plot point and then examining what would have happened because of that twist.

In this volume, Liz Braswell twists the tale of Rapunzel, or the movie, Tangled, if you prefer to look at it that way.

Worried about the life of their ailing Queen, pregnant with her first child, the citizens of Corona search for the infamous Sundrop flower to cure her, but end up picking a Moondrop flower accidentally.

Because of this one tiny error, the baby girl, Rapunzel, has silver hair, the color of the moon, dangerous to the touch.

In order to keep everyone safe, the Queen and King make the heartbreaking decision to have Rapunzel locked away in a Tower, far from the kingdom proper, and watched over by a powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.

Rapunzel dutifully stays put for 18-years. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but the pull of seeing the floating lights on her birthday is just too strong.

She sets out on an adventure of epic proportions with two theives, Flynn and Gina, on a search for her happily ever after.

Y’all, this book is an absolute blast to read. Dare I say, the BEST TWISTED TALE YET!!!

If you love the story of Rapunzel, the cute and quirky characters within it, or you think that the movie Tangled is a true gem to be watched on repeat because of its glorious good humor, you absolutely have to get your hands on this book!

I have never jived with Braswell’s writing as much as I did with this one. She really shines here, bringing this story and these characters to life in a whole new ((moon))light!!

A hearty thank you to the publisher, Disney Books and Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. It absolutely filled my heart!

What Once Was Mine will be released on Tuesday, September 7th!!!

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Review: Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

~ megs14malloy

Small FavorsSmall Favors by Erin A. Craig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The small town of Amity Falls is remote and truly secluded from the outside world. It’s set amongst the Blackspire Mountain range, at the edge of an almost impenetrable forest where monsters are said to lurk.

When a supply party goes missing, and evidence of a massacre are found in the woods, the townsfolk believe the monsters may have awoken and are getting closer.

Contention arises among the citizens, as they try to decide how best to proceed. They’re afraid to send anyone else for supplies, but with provisions running low and winter approaching, what choice do they have?

Ellerie Downing lives with her family in Amity Falls. On the cusp of adulthood, Ellerie finally gets to vote in the town proceedings. She struggles with her decision, but ultimately votes for the path she thinks best, even though it may differ from the opinions of those she loves most.

Shortly after the vote, tragedy strikes the Downing family, leaving Ellerie to look after her family farm and her younger siblings. It’s a lot, but Ellerie rises to the occasion.

She has also made a new, intriguing friend. A young man, a trapper, staying on the outskirts of town. Cloaked in mystery, the boy has never even given Ellerie his true name, but the two are drawn to each other like moths to a flame.

As winter progresses, tensions rise while the supplies continue to decrease, forcing people to hide in their homes, protecting what is theirs. Bizarre and spooky occurrences are also plaguing the town, driving everyone’s paranoia higher. Will Ellerie be able to get her sisters through until Spring?

Small Favors was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I absolutely loved Craig’s 2019-release, House of Salt and Sorrows and couldn’t wait to see what she would come up with next.

The synopsis comp to Needful Things is legit, but it is Needful Things if it were set against the backdrop of M. Night Shyamalan’s, The Village, and fused with Dark Fairy Tales.

I know, delicious, right!? Plus, Craig’s writing continues to impress. It’s lush, detailed and DARK. This entire story had such a vibe; the location, the atmosphere, it got into my bones.

I enjoyed how ominous it felt, even when nothing overtly scary was happening. It always felt like at any moment, a monster could appear from the periphery. The characters were compelling and I really liked the conclusion; it was unique and inventive.

I’m so happy with this and again, look forward to seeing what Craig dreams up next. I know I will definitely be adding it to my shelves, whatever it is!

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Review: The Family Plot by Megan Collins

~ megs14malloy

The Family PlotThe Family Plot by Megan Collins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars**

After Dahlia Lighthouse’s father passes away, she returns to her family’s isolated island mansion for his burial. She hasn’t been there for many years and still struggles with the memories of her bizarre childhood.

Weighing heaviest on her heart is the disappearance of her beloved twin brother, Andy, when they were 16-years old. It’s assumed he ran away, but hasn’t been seen, or heard from, since. Every moment on the island is a painful reminder of that loss.

Reuniting with her older siblings, Tate and Charlie, as well as with her Mom, feels surreal. She can barely interact with them at all. It’s so awkward.

As the narrative plods along, the truly odd nature of Dahlia and her sibling’s upbringing comes to light. Her parents were unnaturally obsessed with murderers and their victims, even going so far as to include murder history within the curriculum of their home schooling.

The serial killer who hunted on their very island, dubbed the Blackburn Killer, was of particular interest to them; performing peculiar memorial ceremonies to commemorate the victims on their birth and death days. It’s no wonder Dahlia was hesitate to return to all of that.

On the day they are set to bury her Dad in the family plot, they discover another body already in the ground. It appears to be Andy, dead due to blunt force trauma to the head. The suspected murder weapon, Andy’s own axe, is found in the grave with him.

If Andy didn’t run away, what happened to him? Could he be yet another victim of the Blackburn Killer, even though he doesn’t fit with the other victim profiles?

Dahlia needs to get to the bottom of the mystery, even if it unearths a lot of other messy family secrets along the way.

I’m not sure why this didn’t really work for me. It has a lot of elements that I tend to enjoy, such as an isolated location, small town secrets, family drama, murder and adult characters returning to their hometown after an extended absence. However, I can’t say there was ever a moment while reading that I was actually enjoying it.

I’m sorry if that seems harsh, but it’s true. I can see glimmers of a good story underneath, I know some Readers will enjoy it, but for me, it was too much. It felt like the author took everything dark and murderous she could think of, threw it at the page, and hoped something would stick.

I didn’t find it mysterious, or ominous. The atmosphere wasn’t distinct enough. The reveals weren’t surprising. They actually seemed rather obvious. I just didn’t care and couldn’t believe half of the decisions, choices and actions of any of the characters.

It did read extremely quickly, so that’s a thing. I think overall, perhaps this author’s writing style isn’t for me. This is my first book by Collins and I can’t say I’m overly pumped to try anything else.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Although this didn’t work for me, I appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion and I’m sure a lot of Readers will have fun with this story.

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Review: Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

~ megs14malloy

Velvet Was the NightVelvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

In 1970s, Mexico City, Maite works as a legal secretary by day, and reads romantic comics by night; dreaming of a different life for herself.

Elvis is an enforcer in a group called the Hawks, whose main objective is to suppress political activists within the city. His life is surrounded by violence. He’s also hoping for more; maybe to be more like the King himself, Elvis Presley.

Elvis and Maite are about to have their lives intertwined, all because of a girl named, Leonora.

Leonora is a beauty, a free-spirit, a student, an artist. She lives across the hall from Maite. Although the two have never really socialized, Leonora comes to Maite one day for a favor and then disappears.

Intrigued by the young woman’s disappearance, Maite begins looking into Leonora’s life. The mystery infuses Maite’s life with an excitment she’s never really had before.

Elvis is looking for Leonora as well, but for completely different reasons. His employer is desperate to find Leonora in order to gain access to something he believes she is in possession of.

During the course of his hunt, Elvis begins to notice the quiet, mousey woman living in Leonora’s building. There’s something about her that he is drawn to.

As the narrative evolves the two strangers begin to orbit closer and closer together, but will they collide?

Velvet Was the Night wasn’t what I expected, although that’s my own fault. This is true noir, take that seriously. It’s a slow burn, with relatively low-stakes.

The tone is lush, the narrative richly-atmospheric. Initially, I wasn’t sold. It starts slow. I was wondering where it was going, when it was going to pick up and while I was wondering that, Moreno-Garcia was subtly sucking me in.

The next thing I knew, I was being transported to Mexico City. I was fully immersed within this story, with the characters, with their inner musings. I couldn’t put it down.

It was a unique reading experience for me. I don’t read a lot of books like this and while I really enjoyed it, it still won’t be a genre I will seek out.

I feel like the magic of this for me was in Moreno-Garcia’s writing; it was the way it unfolded, the beauty behind the slow drama of it all. It’s a special book, although admittedly, not for everyone.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. While not necessarily in my comfort zone, I did really enjoy my time reading this one and will continue to pick up anything Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes!!

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Review: We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

~ megs14malloy

We Were Never HereWe Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

When Emily met Kristen in college, she was immediately drawn in by the other girl’s confidence and bold personality. The two hit it off and became best friends.

Years later, even though they live on different continents, the women are still best friends; two peas in a pod. One way they maintain their close relationship, is by traveling together to remote locations around the world. Last year was Cambodia. This year, it’s Chile.

On the final night in Chile, something truly terrible happens. Kristen had headed back to their suite a little early with a cute backpacker they met in a bar. Emily, as a good friend, stayed away for a while to give the two time to be alone.

When Emily does arrive back at the suite, she walks into a horrible mess. Blood, broken glass and a very dead backpacker. Kristen is extremely distraught, saying he attacked her and she hit him in self-defense.

Emily takes control and they do what they have to do in order to get out of the country unscathed. It feels surreal, Emily cannot believe what has happened, mainly because it isn’t the first time.

Their magical trip to Cambodia ended much the same way. Kristen claiming self-defense and both of them cleaning up a giant mess.

Back in Wisconsin, Emily is drowning in guilt. Repetitive thoughts and hazy recollections of the two infamous trips are constantly running through her mind.

She’s having a difficult time putting it in the past and is surprised at how easily Kristen is coping with it all. While Emily is distracted, both at work and in her new relationship with Aaron, Kristen seems to be her normal, carefree self.

When Kristen shows up in Wisconsin for a surprise visit from Australia, Emily is shocked. She’s starting to see her BFF in a whole new light and it’s not flattering.

The tighter Kristen tries to hold onto their friendship, the more Emily begins to feel like she’s trapped. How well does she really know Kristen? What is she truly capable of?

As secrets of Kristen’s past come to light, due to stealthy digging on Emily’s part, it becomes clear that her best friend may not be who she thinks she is.

We Were Never Here is a tense and twisty tale of Suspense. I had fun reading this one, although in my opinion, the pace was a little uneven.

The beginning was great. It kicks of quickly and the stakes are incredibly high. As a person who travels every year with my best friend, I couldn’t even imagine having something happening to us, like what happened to Emily and Kristen in Cambodia. It’s frightening to even think about.

After Chile, it’s clear, something is off with the besties. As the synopsis says, could lightening really strike twice?

Once Emily returns to Wisconsin, I felt like the tense tone was ripped right out from under me. I was bored with being in Emily’s head; her repetitive musings seemed to go on forever.

However, once Kristen arrives, things slowly began to pick back up. I enjoyed the mystery of Kristen’s background and Emily’s sleuthing was definitely an element I appreciated.

The ending was absolutely wild, like WHAT!? The intensity returning with a vigor. We’re talking Lifetime movie levels of drama unfolding. It was definitely fun!

In short, while the pace wasn’t perfect for me, overall, I thought this was a compelling, over-the-top tale of codependent friendship. I am still thinking about and I consider that a great sign; it’s memorable. Kristen, in particular, was a great character!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion!

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Review: Cazadora (Wolves of No World #2) by Romina Garber

~ megs14malloy

Cazadora (Wolves of No World, #2)Cazadora by Romina Garber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Cazadora is the anticipated sequel to Romina Garber’s 2020-release, Lobizona; both part of the Wolves of No World series.

I say series, when in reality, I have no idea how many books are set to be released in this world. I’ll tell you one thing though, after the stunning conclusion to this book, there’s a heck of a lot more story left to tell!

Manuela Azul, Manu to her family and friends, knows what it is like to be different and to be judged for her differences.

As an undocumented person living in Miami, Manu was constantly under stress of detection and persecution. Unfortunately, due to her hybrid nature, Manu is also judged and persecuted within the magical world of Argentinian folklore, a great part of her heritage, as well.

Whereas the first book had quite a bit of the narrative set in our world, this volume focuses more on the magical world and Manu’s place within it.

As her new-found friend group supports and builds her up, they are simultaneously being hunted by the authorities. Manu’s very existence challenges all the rules of their culture. She’s a threat and they’ll stop at nothing to capture her and take her out. Will Manu be able to evade them and keep those she loves safe?

I really enjoyed my time reading Cazadora and overall, found it to be an improvement over the first book. The magical world, in particular, was built out so much more and I felt the stakes were truly raised for Manu.

While the fantasy elements of this story aren’t necessarily my favorite, where Garber truly excels is in capturing emotion. Manu’s situation is extremely difficult and reading her working through it, oh man, I felt everything she was feeling. She is so tough, but everyone can feel vulnerable and defeated at times.

This is an inspiring story. Manu gains strength when she realizes the causes she is fighting for are so much larger than herself.

Garber did a fantastic job of weaving real-world issues into this otherwise fantastical tale; which is true of the first book as well. Stories like this are so important. I feel like Readers, who may have previously struggled to find themselves within the stories they are reading, can find themselves here and that’s a special thing.

I would love to see more in this world, with this phenomenal group of characters. The further I go along, the more attached I am getting to them all!

Thank you so very much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy of the audiobook to read and review. Romina Garber is a star and I know she is going to continue to grow with everything she writes. I am certainly willing to go along for the ride!!

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