2024 releases

Review: The Cornish Campsite Murder (Nosey Parker #7) by Fiona Leitch

~ megs14malloy

The Cornish Campsite Murder (The Nosey Parker Mysteries, #7)The Cornish Campsite Murder by Fiona Leitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙

My new favorite of one of my go-to Cozy Mystery series. This was so much fun. At this point, this cast of characters feels like a part of my friend group. I adore them all.

These books follow Jodie Parker, who resigned from the Metropolitan Police in London after a close call and returned to her native village of Penstowan, in Cornwall, with her teen daughter, Daisy, and their Pomeranian, Germaine.

Jodie opened her own catering company, but old habits are hard to break. She’s ended up helping the local police with a few challenging cases. In fact, she’s now in a relationship with the handsome DCI, Nathan Winters.

In this installment, Jodie agrees to help a friend by taking his catering van, Pie Hard, for a weekend at a local music festival. The friend makes a killing that weekend, but this particular year he can’t make the event, so Jodie offers to run the van for him.

Nathan takes time off work to join her, and Daisy had already want to go for the weekend with some girlfriends. Then, you know, Jodie’s Mom will want to go too, so she rents a posh yurt on site with one of her friends.

The mystery involves a once famous singer being found dead on the beach on the second day of the festival. Jodie had actually witnessed him getting into an argument with some of his former bandmates the night before.

Could one of them be responsible for his death?

Even though he is on vacation, Nathan of course begins to loosely oversee the investigation. And surely, Jodie isn’t going to keep her nose out of it.

This is a classic whodunit-style of Cozy and I had so much fun with it. I love stories featuring musicians, and this one, set at a music festival, was perfectly catered ((pun-intended)) to my tastes.

I can’t recommend this series enough to other Cozy Mystery Readers. Particularly, if you enjoy stories with a fun family dynamic, or small town setting.

I truly adore this cast of characters. Jodie’s family, her Mom and daughter, and even little floof-ball, Germaine, bring so much humor and light-heartedness to these stories. It’s an absolute joy to read. Also, it has just the right amount of humor for my tastes.

It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s still incredibly well-written, paced and plotted. Fiona Leitch is a gem. I am really hoping for more in this series.

Thank you so much to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to hear if there will be more books coming!

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Review: The Queen of Poisons (The Marlow Murder Club #3) by Robert Thorogood

~ megs14malloy

The Queen of Poisons (The Marlow Murder Club, #3)The Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up **

💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙💚🖤💙

The Queen of Poisons is the 3rd-installment in The Marlow Murder Club Cozy Mystery series. I really enjoyed the first 2-books and have been anticipating this one.

This series follows Judith Potts, a septuagenarian crossword setter, and her two best friends, Suzie and Becks, as they nose around their community of Marlow solving mysteries.

This particular story is set amongst the world of local politics, as the Mayor of Marlow, George Lushington, died mysteriously during a town council meeting.

After traces of the poison, aconite, are found in his coffee cup, it’s clear to all that Mayor Lushington was killed on purpose. Known for a track history of barging in to solve crimes, the police preemptively bring in Judith, Suzie and Becks, from the start as civilian advisors.

The women are allowed to interview suspects and search for clues to their hearts’ content. The ladies are excited for their role and dig in with great gusto.

This is going to be a tough case to crack though, but aren’t they all? Who could have gotten the poison into the mayor’s coffee, and for that matter, who could have gotten a hold of the poison in the first place?

This is such a cute Cozy series. I do love this friend group and the dynamics amongst them. IMO, this was a bit of an odd whodonit, like some of the details at the reveal just seemed strange to me, but nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot.

I’m in for the long haul with this series, and am def hoping for more books. I’ll admit, my mind wasn’t 100% on task with this one, since I’m traveling.

With this being said, I still found this engaging and fun. I would recommend this series to all Cozy Mystery fans, in particular if you enjoy friendship groups solving mysteries together, or elderly amateur sleuths.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press and Recorded Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’ll be waiting for more Marlow Murder Club!!!

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Review: 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards

~ megs14malloy

49 Miles Alone49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

In 49 Miles Alone we follow cousins, Katie and Aster, as they embark on a 4-day, 49-mile hike through the Utah desert.

We can tell early on that Katie and Aster are incredibly close, however, something has happened within the past year that has caused a fracture in their relationship.

As hiking is an activity they’ve been doing together since they were kids, it seems they’re intending to use this trip, in one way or another, to repair their relationship.

They’re both experienced backpackers, but as everyone knows, the world is a dangerous place, due both to nature itself and other humans.

As the trip starts off, the girls are both fairly quiet. There’s a lot of thinking going on, but unfortunately not a lot of communicating. Eventually, though circumstances require them to begin to open up and work together.

There’s limited supplies, an illness, a freak storm and an injury, but the most unsettling may be the people they encounter on the trail.

They meet a couple, Riley and Finn, and end up tenting near them for a night. Something about them seems off to Katie and Aster when they share a meal with them.

That night, the cousins hear the couple fighting and witness Riley fleeing their campsite with Finn in hot pursuit. Unable to assist Riley in the dark, Katie and Aster hunker down until morning, at which time the find the couple’s campsite abandoned with no sign of either one of them.

How are Katie and Aster going to be able to help this other girl, when it’s becoming increasingly difficult for them to even help themselves? Will they make it to mile-49?

I adored my time with this YA Survival Thriller for people who enjoy being out on the trails. The topics explored were great, the character arcs were fantastic, and the intriguing bits so well plotted.

Honestly, this is my favorite Natalie D. Richards to-date!

I read this so quickly. I found the cousins both interesting and I enjoyed learning about their relationship, including all they’d been through together.

In addition to getting both Katie and Asters perspectives, we also get a mystery perspective from an individual who has obviously been severely injured on the trail.

This perspective was peppered in and I loved the mystery of who that was, and how it was going to connect to the story of our cousins.

When they meet the couple, there were many red flags, and that situation def upped the stakes for our girls. It was completely gripping. I had to know the ultimate outcome.

I love hiking and being out in nature in general, exploring new places. This is a proper Survival Thriller and it never got too OTT-for me. I thought it was very well done and well plotted. The drama felt real and I loved the character arcs for both Katie and Aster.

I love how Richards kept it intriguing throughout. There was always something to question and wonder about. I also really enjoyed the emotional journey for both girls. They grew so much by the end and I loved the ending. It’s so satisfying.

Thank you to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

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Review: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

~ megs14malloy

The FamiliarThe Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

This could be me. It could be. I did pick this up for a Book Club discussion and I definitely wasn’t in the mood for this type of story, but I also feel like this book had issues…

It took me two tries to get through. Initially I picked it up, read to 31%, and put it down. I was retaining nothing, confused by the number of characters in the beginning and truly felt that none of it was sticking in my brain.

Luckily, our Book Club discussion got pushed back like 10-days, so it gave me a little leeway. I was fully expecting to enjoy it once I returned to it in a different frame of mind.

The second time around, I did start again at the beginning and managed to retain a hell of a lot more info. Nevertheless, I still felt bored and admittedly, my mind wandered a lot.

Our main protagonist is Luzia, who works as a scullion in the kitchen of a manor home. Luzia has magical powers, although she’s never been formally trained in how to use them properly, or harness their full potential.

These powers are noticed by her mistress, Valentina, who then comes up with a scheme to use Luzia’s powers to gain prestige, favors and power for herself within Madrid’s upper-class society.

She trots Luzia out in front of her guests and makes her perform parlor tricks. Luzia ends up coming to the attention of a man connected to the King. She then gets invited to compete in a competition that could result in her being employed by the King himself.

From that point, Luzia’s life becomes a whirlwind. She begins magic training and enters the competition, which pits her against individuals with all sorts of different abilities.

There’s a bit of romance, palace intrigue and lots of interpersonal drama. Luzia’s Aunt is involved, and of course her mistress, Valentina, who is the one who got her involved in this whole business in the first place.

For me, the competition, which should have been my favorite aspect of this book, wasn’t developed, or utilized, as much as it could have been. I know there were stakes involved, but they didn’t feel high or present enough.

I also felt like the magic system could have been more clear and developed as well. I would’ve been happy to do away with the forced romance, in order to then spend that time leaning into the darker sides of the magical elements.

I think this missed an opportunity to create an unsettling, or dangerous, atmosphere. If you look at this cover, that’s what you would expect. It looks gothic and creepy, but it lacked that tone.

Finally, I couldn’t picture anything that was happening. For me, it could have been set anywhere historical. It was only in our discussion that I realized exactly where we were and what the time period was supposed to be.

Valentina was the most interesting character, IMO. She was giving Regina Mills from Once Upon a Time vibes and I’ll never look away from that. I wish I could have felt more connected to Luzia though, as it was really her story we were focused on.

At another time, perhaps I could have enjoyed this more. I’m not sure and at this point, we’ll never find out, because I’m certainly not reading it again.

With this being said, I know that Bardugo is an exceptional writer and my opinion certainly is by no means trying to negate that fact. This book just wasn’t a good fit for me. I’ll be back to read more of her books someday.

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Review: Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

~ megs14malloy

Horror MovieHorror Movie by Paul Tremblay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We’re all someone’s bad guy eventually.

Brilliant. I can’t express how much I love this book. IMO, this is Tremblay’s best work yet. A Horror Lover’s dark and heartbreaking dream.

Additionally, one of the best audiobook productions I have ever experienced and trust me, this is an EXPERIENCE.

It’s so funny. I read this book in less than two days over a week ago. At the time that I read it, I hadn’t looked at, or listened to, any reviews yet. The whole way through, I knew this was gonna be a 5-star for me.

Additionally, I seriously thought it was going to be a 5-star for everyone. Now that over a week has passed, and this book seems to be everywhere, I have seen a lot of reviews, and admittedly, some of them aren’t great.

I was shocked. Am I living in my own little Horror bubble? It’s possible. It really is, but regardless, having thought about it more, I can see this might work best for a certain niche market. Luckily, I happen to be a part of that niche.

I’m happy to stake my flag on outlier island and fully anticipate this making my Best Books of 2024 list. I’m already excited to read it again someday.

I loved how it was constructed. From the present perspective, that had a confessional feel to it, to the actual screenplay sections, to the flashbacks of making the movie, I found it all so gripping. It felt like an origin story to me, but was equally a love letter to this oft misunderstood genre.

I loved the idea of the whole low-budget movie-making process and even though, only certain scenes were released, that it still managed to turn into a cult-sensation even decades later. That’s absolutely something that would happen in the Horror community.

I also liked the idea of the movie itself being cursed. Our narrator is actually the only surviving member of the original production. This brought to mind Poltergeist and the curse that is said to surround the making of that trilogy.

For me, Poltergeist, which originally released in 1982, is part of that golden age of Horror cinema. It’s the first movie that genuinely traumatized me as a child, instilling in me an ever present fear of clowns, and I love it so much not in spite of that, but because of that.

In my opinion, this is a good fit for Readers who end up loving I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, a book I absolutely loved a couple months back.

Basically for me, these two books felt a bit like Tremblay and SGJ had a conversation, maybe about the origins and influences in modern Horror, maybe about why we are attracted to and love Horror, or maybe on how Horror seems to be having a resurgence at the moment…

And then they both walked away from the conversation, inspired to a degree, and wrote books encapsulating those themes. Obviously, I am not saying that’s ACTUALLY what happened, but I felt, as a life-long Horror Lover, seen by these books, validated by them in a way.

They both examine so many different aspects of the genre, or why people may be drawn to it, and they both contained so much heart. They may be dark hearts, but they’re there nonetheless and both books broke mine.

I would recommend this to everyone who thinks it sounds interesting. Give it a shot. Go in knowing as little as possible. The synopsis really says everything you need to know about the plot. I feel like it’s a pretty even mix on opinions right now, so you could end up loving it as much as I did.

Also, I cannot recommend enough reading a physical copy while listening to the audiobook simultaneously. It’s a very unique reading experience and should be attempted if you do have access to both formats.

In summation, (haha) I think Paul Tremblay is a genius.

I love his imagination, his dark humor, his ability to write characters that I care about and the fact that he keeps surprising me. I find his stories smart, gripping and unpredictable. I look forward to whatever he gives us next!!

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Review: Wilderness Reform by Matt Query and Harrison Query

~ megs14malloy

Wilderness ReformWilderness Reform by Matt Query
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I just let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding…

Ughhhh, this hurts my heart. I so wanted to love this, but I just didn’t. I was bored beyond belief through the entire thing and I don’t know why, TBH.

If you look at the individual components, I should’ve loved it, but I felt nothing. I couldn’t care less about the characters, or anything that was happening to them; and since it’s a character-driven story, to not care a lick ended up having a huge impact on my experience.

This is the first I have read from Matt and Harrison Query, although I have heard fantastic things about their other novel, Old Country, which I definitely still plan to read.

This cover is beautiful. I love it, but sadly, that is as far as my love goes with this one. Since this is set at a wilderness camp for troubled teenagers, in a remote area of Montana, I fully expected to be completely gripped by this story.

I love Horror with a nature setting, and anything that involves survival elements, but in spite of that, I never felt a true sense of place, or really any atmosphere here at all. They could have been anywhere as far as I was concerned…

And IDK, maybe I did build this up as something else in my mind, and when it didn’t live up to those expectations, it made me grumpy. Maybe that is it? Maybe it’s me?

I was sort of expecting something a bit like The Troop, and that is on me. It’s not the authors’ fault that I’m a picky bitch. However, I gotta say, I don’t think it’s me that the pace of this could’ve been beaten by a snail.

Part of the problem for me was the main character, Ben. Something about him, the way he was written, or perhaps it was the narration in the audiobook, but it turned me off. I couldn’t stand him. Since he’s such a huge part of the narrative, it didn’t bode well for me.

Even though this was a disappointment for me, I can still recognize some strong attributes of the story, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if I end up in the minority opinion on this one.

With this being said, take it with a grain of salt. Maybe I am just in a mood. It’s totally possible and I admit that. If this synopsis sounds intriguing to you, please do pick it up.

If you end up loving it, come back and tell me how horribly wrong I am. I would welcome it! As I always say, there’s a Reader for every book and a book for every Reader. I’m by no means the end all opinion on all books.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I still am very much looking forward to getting to Old Country.

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Review: The House Across the Street by Jill Childs

~ megs14malloy

The House Across the StreetThe House Across the Street by Jill Childs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The House Across the Street is a new release Popcorn Thriller from Jill Childs. This is my first work from this author and it did keep me at attention and entertained.

This is a neighborhood drama following a few different perspectives. The main focus is on Anna and Lily, life-long best friends. They grew up across the street from one another, and have grown up more as sisters than friends.

Anna is a single mother to a 11-year old daughter, Cassie, who she gave birth to when she was just 17. They were barely done school by the time Cassie was born, but Lily never deserted Anna, like many other teen girls might of.

As adults, even with all that has gone on in the past, they are still present in each other lives. One night, at the start of our story, Anna spies across the street, through the windows of Lily’s father’s home, someone who shouldn’t be there. It’s ominous and she fears something is wrong.

After investigating, Anna’s fears are proved true. Someone has murdered Lily’s father in his bed. After the authorities are notified and it appears that Anna is the only witness, she begins to receive threatening notes.

Fearing the killer may be after her, or worse, after her daughter, Anna stops aiding with the investigation, even though she had promised Lily she would help.

There’s back and forth between Anna and Lily as we try to piece together what the hell is going on in this neighborhood. We also get a bit from Cassie, as she tries to understand all that is happening around her, and why she may suddenly be a pawn in someone else’s game.

Overall, this was a good story. It did nothing wrong, it’s fast-paced and well-told, but I can’t say I found it overly-compelling, or memorable.

It’s simple, easy to follow, and could be great for someone looking for a quick read to distract them on a road trip or while doing some housework. It’s definitely a story I’ll forget pretty quickly though.

I did feel like the male characters were very forgettable. It took me over half the book to even realize that Anna’s ex-boyfriend and Lily’s brother weren’t the same person. That’s not necessarily a good sign.

I also was a little turned off by a couple of twists at the end, but that is purely personal opinion. Others may find them to be jaw-dropping and interesting.

I’m happy to have given this one a listen. The audiobook was well narrated and I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more from this author in the future.

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

I love a good Popcorn Thriller every once in a while. They’re great palate cleansers amongst some of my darker reads.

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Review: The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

~ megs14malloy

The Eyes Are the Best PartThe Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Eyes Are the Best Part is definitely one of the most memorable and engaging debut novels I’ve ever read!

Monika Kim’s haunting ideas moved me, and shall now live rent free in my brain. This story sucked me in from the start and refused to let go. I was thinking about it all the time, even when I wasn’t reading it.

In this story we follow Ji-Won, who has just entered her first year of college. She lives in small apartment with her Umma and her younger sister, Ji-Hyun. Her Appa has deserted them for another woman, leaving Ji-Won as the logical next head of household.

Umma is a mess, barely holding it together enough to make it to her job at the grocery store, and Ji-Hyun is just 15-years old. Ji-Won is feeling a responsibility to care for them both.

It’s not just her family situation causing her stress though. Ji-Won also didn’t get into the college she once dreamed of with her best high school friends. She ended up losing those friends because of that.

Ji-Won’s on her own now, at a new school, and she feels very alone. She doesn’t have anyone she can open up to about all the pressures bearing down on her. She loves her sister and her Umma so much, but she needs to keep strong around them.

When Umma brings about her new boyfriend, a startlingly-obnoxious man named, George, Ji-Won can hardly believe this is her life. George starts coming by the apartment, and then beginning to stay there more often than not.

It’s during this time of incredible stress and change that Ji-Won first starts thinking about the eyes. In particular, blue eyes, just like George’s. She desires them. She dreams of them. She wants to consume them; all the blue eyes.

It’s with no immediate plan in mind, more an act of opportunity, that Ji-Won first proceeds with these overwhelming desires. Once she starts though, it’s empowering, fulfilling, and impossible to stop. Ji-Won is now the ruler of her world. It feels good.

This was incredibly immersive. Ji-Won is such a well-developed character. I loved following her story, being in her mind was a slightly disturbing place to be, but I got it.

I felt what she was going through. I empathized with her as I would a friend and frankly, I was more than happy to go on this f*ed up journey with her.

I loved the relationships that Kim created here, particularly between the sisters. Their connection was palpable. I could feel how much Ji-Won cared for her sister, even when she was being bratty. She wanted to protect her and shelter her.

It wasn’t just that relationship though, every side character that Ji-Won interacted with, I felt like I knew the ins-and-outs of them. Kim took great care when creating this whole cast and it shows.

We get a couple of students, Alexis and Geoffrey, that Ji-Won meets at school and I liked watching those friendships evolve. That whole avenue of the story went in a direction I was sort of expecting, but I still loved it.

I also thought the pace was spot on. It was perfectly-crafted for maximum impact, that’s for sure. Once the spiral begins, she went quickly and with great flourish.

I’m obsessed with the quality of Kim’s Horror imagery most of all. The body horror was fantastic. I read a lot of body horror and this, it got me. I was cringing. I was exclaiming things out loud that I can’t type here. It was perfect. I never knew what vivid description was gonna come next.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the exceptional social commentary/social horror aspects. I felt this was so well done in that regard. In expressing Ji-Won’s experience as a Korean-American young woman in modern-day California, Kim got the points across she needed to make.

This is an exciting story. It’s exciting in its own right, in the fact that it’s a gripping, disturbing story of feminine rage, but it’s also exciting because this is Monika Kim’s first novel. I’m so excited for more from her.

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

I’m so happy that talent like Monika Kim’s exists in the world. This book will def be on my BESTS List for 2024!!!

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Review: Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

~ megs14malloy

Bury Your GaysBury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Bury Your Gays is a novel that’s perfectly-aligned with a new trend in my reading for 2024, and that is reading books set in, or revolving around, the television and movie industry.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked this up. I’ve heard great things about this author’s 2023-release, Camp Damascus, but I’ve never actually read their work before. My final judgement = I need more Tingle!!!

In this story we are following Misha, a long-time Hollywood script writer who has just been nominated for his first Oscar.

It’s as he is on the precipice of this great event that he gets called into a meeting with a studio executive and told that he needs to kill off two popular gay characters from his Travelers series. Misha is alarmed. He doesn’t want to do that; not at all, but he’s told if he doesn’t he may be let go.

Thus, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows hit our MC pretty much simultaneously. His back is to the wall and he is struggling to make a decision. What is he going to do?

The synopsis doesn’t really go into too much of the action here, therefore, I don’t want to either. All I will say is that I was pleasantly surprised to discover this involves one of my favorite Horror tropes, and that’s dark fictional characters coming to life and interacting with their creators.

I loved how Tingle decided to tell Misha’s story. In the current timeline, we get to know a bit about his work and personal life, but we also get glimpses into Misha’s past through sections aptly referred to as, Inspiration.

These Inspiration sections were among my favorites. It’s there we learn the pivotal moments and people from Misha’s life that helped to shape his writing. These sections felt intimate and had a lovely Coming of Age quality to them that I found incredibly captivating.

In additional to the fantastic character work and strong writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the social commentary and reflective exploration of issues within this novel.

In particular, I found it to be thought-provoking in the area of intellectual property rights, the power of creators and their rights to their work. I also enjoyed how Tingle touched upon the greed within the system, and the development and use of AI in writing and the arts.

You’ll never think of the algorithm the same again…

I did listen to the audiobook and cannot recommend that format highly enough. It’s a full cast audio with sound effects that truly help bring this crazy story to life!

I would recommend this to every Horror Reader, but particularly to Social Horror lovers, or those looking for strong Queer stories. Also, if you were a fan of The X-Files, something about this one just brought that to mind for me; maybe the light Sci-Fi concepts, or the villains…

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. The audio production was chef’s kiss!

This book is smart, original, engaging and eerie. I walk away with a full heart, looking forward to more from Tingle!

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Review: Against the Darkness (In Every Generation #3) by Kendare Blake

~ megs14malloy

Against the Darkness (Buffy: The Next Generation)Against the Darkness by Kendare Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up **

❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️

Against the Darkness is the 3rd-and reportedly, final, installment to Kendare Blake’s In Every Generation series.

I have enjoyed this series from the very first moment, but this is my favorite of all. These audiobooks are so much fun!

I was in college when the iconic Buffy series, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, first aired. My best friend and I were obsessed with it, and her, and it became part of our routine to watch it together every week.

Understanding the level of nostalgia that I feel for the tv show, I actually entered this series with a bit of trepidation, but it was quickly apparent that the Buffyverse was in good hands. You can tell Blake is a fan.

Blake was able to channel the vibes and humor of the original series without ever coming even close to copycat territory. This is a Slayer story for a new generation and that theme is carried throughout.

I love how it felt like a true passing of the torch from one generation to the next. The new Slayer, determined in the first book and by no means a spoiler, is Frankie Rosenberg, Willow’s daughter. She’s the first ever Slayer-Witch and she knows she has big shoes to fill.

Throughout the series there are some constant character arcs, so you definitely need to start at the first book and work your way through the trilogy. They’re all so good though, it’s definitely worth a read for long-time Buffy fans, or to newer fans looking for additional content.

Many characters from the original series are included within these books. My favorite being Spike. I felt like he got a lot of page time in this one as Frankie’s Watcher. I was living for every snarky, sexy moment of it!

I mentioned the humor above, but feel it’s worth mentioning again. I was really impressed with how Blake was able to make the stakes feel high, while also channeling so many funny moments. Listen, if you can’t laugh while slaying demons and battling the darkness, when can you?

There was a very interesting aspect of this plot involving Willow that definitely brought me back a bit, say to Season 6. I had concerns. I loved how Blake wrote that whole thing. There were some nail-biter moments, for sure.

This also tugged at the heart-strings a bit, being the finale. There was this one scene, it was fairly short, but still made an impact, involving Spike and Giles. It really got me. It was just the sweetest moment.

At the end of the day, I am so sad that this is the final book, but I do think it’s a perfect conclusion to the trilogy. I actually wish it could have been longer. I am not ready to say goodbye to this new Scooby gang.

Thank you to the publisher, Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The audiobooks are fantastic. The narration by Sarah Mollo-Christensen is a great match to these stories. I definitely recommend that format as well.

Kendare Blake, if you change your mind and decide to write more of these, just know, I will be first in line for a copy!!!

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