2025 releases

Review: A Mastery of Monsters (Master of Monsters #1) by Liselle Sambury

~ megs14malloy

A Mastery of Monsters (Mastery of Monsters Trilogy)A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before his Sophomore year of University, August’s brother, Jules, goes missing. The general consensus is that he was overwhelmed with school, and other things going on in his life, and decided to skip town.

August knows that is impossible. Jules has been her rock since their family fell apart, and he would never do that to her. Especially considering how upsetting it was when their mother disappeared. Their family spiraled from there.

August is one tough cookie though, and she doesn’t care what anyone says. She will find Jules. He left behind a note, and although cryptic, she knows he is in trouble.

After a 10-foot tall creature, resembling a mix between a werewolf and a psychotic Easter Bunny, attacks her in the park, she realizes her brother might be in way more danger than she ever could have guessed.

Virgil Hawthorne, a bookish and mysterious boy she met after a night of partying a little too hard, could be the key she needs to get to the bottom of the creatures existence, and Jules whereabouts.

As it turns out, Virgil needs assistance with something as well, and he feels like August could be the answer. All she has to do is join the Secret Society he’s a part of. The two strike a deal and set out to achieve both of their goals.

I love Liselle Sambury, and this is a great start to an all-new series for her. I am already anticipating the next book. I wouldn’t say this was a perfect reading experience, but it definitely intrigued me and held my attention.

It’s such a nice blend of SFF-concepts, and I loved the complexity of the ‘magic’ system, for lack of a better word. It’s not really magic, but I’m not quite sure how to describe it. Whatever you want to call it, it’s so interesting.

Additionally, this contains one of my favorite tropes, a competition, and I loved learning about the politics and factions within this Secret Society. I’m just hoping I don’t forget all of the details by the time the 2nd-book releases.

Even though I enjoyed this quite a bit, I’m not sure I would want to reread it before picking up the sequel. It’s a long one and that’s quite a time commitment.

I sort of had this same thought before picking up the 2nd-book in the Blood Like Magic duology. However, if my memory serves me correctly, Sambury did such a sensational job opening up the 2nd book, refreshing the Readers memory without making it repetitive, that I truly had nothing to worry about.

I have a feeling this one is going to be the same. Either way, I’ll be grabbing a copy of the sequel as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you to the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. If any of the following buzzwords sound intriguing to you, you need to pick this one up:

Monsters, dark SFF, Dark Academia and a competition trope.

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Review: The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis

~ megs14malloy

The SafariThe Safari by Jaclyn Goldis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up **

As Odelia Babel, successful-CEO to a fashion empire, prepares to marry for the 2nd-time, she decides to take her family on luxurious vacation for the special day. The ultimate destination wedding weekend.

Her betrothed, Asher Bach, is decades her junior, much closer to her grown children’s ages than her own, but nevertheless Odelia swears it’s true love, and so does Asher.

They’ll be staying at Leopard Sands in South Africa, a posh safari well-known to the family, as they’ve frequented it many times before. Even though it seems like a perfect trip, not everyone is excited for the soon-to-be newlyweds.

Attending the family event are Odelia’s three adult children, Joshua, Sam and Bailey, her daughter-in-law, baby granddaughter and her assistant/best friend. In spite of the closeness of this group of people, there’s a ton of tension simmering under the surface.

Sam and Odelia end up having an epic fight. Things are said that push the boundary further than ever before.

The following morning, a mere hours before the wedding ceremony, Odelia is found dead. Suspicion immediately falls on Sam. Everyone heard the fight. It was bad.

Sam swears it wasn’t him. He has an alibi. He was with his sister, Bailey. At least that’s what he claims. Bailey is nowhere to be found…

As the investigation starts, everyone is a suspect and the once peaceful Leopard Sands begins to feel menacing and claustrophobic. Even though there’s literally endless land and space around them, this still managed to pull off a classic Locked Room Mystery feel that I enjoyed.

This is the 3rd-year in a row I’ve read a new release Thriller from Jaclyn Goldis, and The Safari is definitely my favorite. I was here for all the craziness, it got wild and the setting felt refreshing for the genre.

It’s a dramatically-messy family drama set against a backdrop of beautiful South Africa. I loved the fly on the wall experience I got with this one. It was quite entertaining. It’s a straight-up popcorn read, and I was invested.

I loved the set-up, and getting to know the family. The dynamics were messy from the start. I liked getting a front row seat to all that.

As it progresses, it starts to get a little manic, and I suspected everyone at one point or another. Maybe the baby did it? I honestly didn’t know. Maybe they all did it. We’ve seen that happen before.

There were some areas, mainly involving Bailey, that meandered a bit, and sort of went a little out of focus, but that was brought around in the end and overall, I was pleased with her story arc.

Additionally, towards the end, it did get a little difficult to track. There were side characters, locals to the area, that took up larger roles and some of them, and their connections to the story, started to get a little convoluted.

Overall though, this was an entertaining read. I got through it so quickly and had a lot of fun with the wildly OTT-drama. You won’t like a lot of characters in this story, but you may like watching them spiral.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Each one of this author’s releases have gotten stronger for me, and we love an upward trajectory. I can’t wait for the next one!

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Review: It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson

~ megs14malloy

It Happened on the LakeIt Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Greetings again from Outlier Island!!

But this time I’m here, and I’m happy about it. I had so much fun with this, and I’m not getting that impression from many of my book friends who’ve read it.

This is a long one, I’ll admit. Coming in at well over 500-pages, that’s a bit unusual for a Thriller, or Domestic Suspense, but to me, it never felt too long.

I was so invested in all the juicy drama, trying to figure it out. My brain was spinning with all my theories…

I would definitely say it’s one of those books you just have to pick up at the right time, and luckily for me, I picked this one up at a time when it was exactly what I needed.

I don’t necessarily agree with the publisher comp to Rear Window, but in a way I can see what they were alluding to, as there is definitely a lot of ‘watching’ going on.

The drama of this story surrounds Lake Twilight, and the private island set in it, with its stately-Victorian home inherited by our MC, Harper Prescott. Even though Harper has an aversion to the property, she’s recently returned after some upheaval in her life, including a divorce.

When she was younger, Harper went through a lot of trauma on the property and the surrounding area, so it’s not surprising she hasn’t really wanted to spend much time there in her adult life.

While we don’t learn all that has gone on in Harper’s past right away, we are treated to past perspectives that help to fill in the blanks.

Harper’s present perspective is given as 1988, and the bulk of the action in the past occurs 20-years earlier in 1968. For me, I loved the back and forth, because it helped to slowly fill in the blanks and build out the story.

I say slowly, because it does take a long time to figure everything out, but not so much because the pace is slow, but more because there is soooo much to uncover.

Harper was considering fixing the property up in order to sell it, but being back stirs up so much unresolved issues and feelings, she’s not sure if she’ll actually be able to follow through with that plan. For now, she’s mostly focused on putting her past to rest.

Can Harper figure out the hazy puzzle that is her past before the island claims another victim, or will Harper finally be overcome by the things that have haunted her?

It Happened on the Lake features one of my favorite tropes and I think that’s part of the reason it was such a hit for me. I adore when a protagonist returns to their hometown, usually that they’ve fled years before, and ends up trying to solve some sort of mystery that’s been haunting them.

That’s exactly what this book is and I was in it with Harper. I also really enjoy Harper as a protagonist, because she was written in such a way that I wasn’t 100% sure how reliable her perspective actually was.

That sense of uncertainty had me questioning everything, and I think that upped the intrigue level for me. I wanted to trust her, but part of me wasn’t ready to let my guard down.

There were moments during the build that reminded me a lot of Riley Sager’s, The House Across the Lake. It has sort of similar vibes with regards to the lake, surrounding town, and the people watching people situations.

Obviously, the content of this is vastly different and it is more drawn out, but if you enjoyed that drama-filled lakeside setting, this could end up working for you too.

There’s a lot of moving pieces, particularly at the beginning, so it is the type of read where you have to be completely dialed in. If you miss anything, I can see it possibly getting confusing. Particularly due to the time jumps.

Regardless, I think if you’re in the right mood, and you have the patience for it, it’s a super fun and enticing read.

While it won’t be for everyone, I think for the people it hits with, like myself, it can be a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was hesitant to pick it up initially, because of that intimidating page count, but I’m glad I ended up giving it a shot.

It exceeded my expectations!

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Review: Whistle by Linwood Barclay

~ megs14malloy

WhistleWhistle by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After tragically losing her husband in a hit-and-run accident, Annie Blunt, a popular Children’s author, is looking to escape from NYC in order to get a fresh start for herself and her young son, Charlie.

Through her editor, she’s able to secure a lovely rental house in a small town in upstate New York, close to the Vermont border, or as Charlie calls it, ‘in the country‘. It will definitely be a big change of pace for them.

Looking for things to do at their new place, Charlie ends up discovering an old train set locked in a storage shed in the yard. Annie helps him bring it in the house and set it up, but there’s something nagging her about it; an unsettling feeling she cannot explain.

Strange noises, strange occurrences throughout the neighborhood, and a strange feeling haunting Annie’s every moment. She’s determined to get to the bottom of what is happening in their new place.

Is it her? Is the stress finally taking over, or is there something more sinister at play?

Interspersed throughout Annie’s story, we also get a past perspective that may provide the answers to what is happening to her and Charlie. It might not be a train journey, but this novel is certainly a journey. Wow!

Whistle was a very fun read. While it won’t go down in history as the most memorable Horror novel I’ve ever read, I appreciate the classic feel of the storytelling. Barclay definitely succeeded in captivating my attention.

It actually heavily reminded me of a less diabolical version of Needful Things. There were a lot of aspects of this story that reminded me of that one, and I wasn’t mad about it.

I appreciated that Barclay didn’t try to throw in a bunch of narrative tricks, or gimmicks. It’s just a straight-forward story that manages to be creepy as heck.

Also, I found the characters compelling enough to care for their outcome, which is always a plus. Additionally, I’ll never look at a toy train set in the same way again…

Overall, I was really impressed with this. I would definitely recommend it to any Horror Reader, or even people who maybe don’t read Horror as much, but want to dip their toe into an unsettling Supernatural Thriller once Spooky season comes along.

Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had never read from this author before, but I’m excited to look into his backlist!

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Review: Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings

~ megs14malloy

Well, ActuallyWell, Actually by Mazey Eddings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eva Kitt is the host of a sarcasm-heavy, internet-based chat show called Sausage Talk, where she interviews B-List celebs while noshing on hot dogs.

While she once dreamed of a serious career in journalism, that’s not how it worked out. She’s here now and she’s trying to do her best, even though it seems like the world may sometimes be against her career advancement.

Riley Cooper is the guy who broke her heart in college. Not just broke it, shattered it and danced on the pieces. He’s also a beloved social media personality, where he hosts a show on deconstructing toxic masculinity.

After a few too many cocktails, Eva watches one of his annoyingly-successful vids, and is disgusted he gets away with peddling lies. Thus, she makes her own scathing review of Riley’s work and character; as you do. She doesn’t have that many followers on her accounts. No one is going to see it, or take it seriously.

IT GOES VIRAL…and she said some things!!

Eva finds herself raked over the coals by her bosses, but then she’s given an opportunity to redeem herself. All she has to do is reach out to Riley and interview him on her show.

Eva would rather do anything, seriously ANYTHING, but that, but with her career on the line, she’s forced into the interview, where she finds Riley as handsome and devilishly-charming as before.

When he suggests that she allow him to take her on a series of six dates to make up for the past, all of which will be followed via social media, she begrudgingly accepts. It has nothing to do with him. She’s thinking of her career here…

As the dates progress, the two begin to relate to one another in unexpected ways. Did Eva have it wrong? Is the boy that broke her heart, suddenly the man that she needs to heal it?

Y’all, Mazey Eddings is a go-to Romance author for me, and this novel is the perfect example of why. I was immediately pulled in by the humor, banter and quick, yet thorough, character development.

The set-up is so fun. I enjoy stories involving celebrities of any kind, and Rylie was definitely giving off those celeb status vibes. I also loved the concept of the 6-dates for him to redeem himself to her. Each date was unique and helped to progress their relationship.

Eva was giving off major Bobbi Althoff vibes. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but it was seriously all I could think of. She did get a little frustrating at times, Riley was definitely the star of the show for me, but I did feel like Eva’s character showed some real growth over the course of the story.

I like how Eddings always has characters that are going through some fairly serious, and common, real-life issues. I like watching people work through challenges like that, and to see them open up and receive help from others in regards to those issues.

That’s life, right? It always gives the stories a bit more of a believable feel to me. No one is perfect, no one’s life is perfect, and I like the see the messy day-to-day things pulled through into my fiction. Maybe it helps me feel not so alone, IDK.

This is also super steamy. So we have the serious life stuff, but we also have some wild, toe-curling, giggling and swooning bedroom stuff. That’s a nice mix.

I would recommend this to any Romance Reader, particularly if you have read from Eddings in the past and enjoyed. There’s so much to love within this story.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. Eddings has crush another one! Well done!

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Review: Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner

~ megs14malloy

Girl in the CreekGirl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Erin’s brother, Bryan, went missing 5-years ago. His last known location was the small town of Faraday, Oregon, alongside the Clackamas River.

Erin has the opportunity to travel to Faraday, along with her friend, Hari, to work on a piece for their True Crime podcast. She’s not in town long, before it becomes clear that Bryan isn’t the only person to have gone missing from Faraday.

Erin quickly gets pulled into another missing person case, a more recent one, that of a young local woman, Elena Lopaz. Something stinks in this town…

After Elena’s deteriorated corpse is found, she’s transported to the morgue, from where she goes missing again, but how!? What the heck is going on in Faraday?

Girl in the Creek is an interesting story. I would say it’s a middle of the road read for me. It definitely had some compelling elements, and then had a few that were a bit more lackluster, IMO.

For me, the middle of the book was were it was the strongest. I was gripped as Erin really started digging in around Faraday, trying to get to the bottom of the disappearances and what could be behind them.

She ends up paring up with the older lady, Olivia, who owns the B&B she has rented, for a good portion of the investigation. I really liked the two of them working together. Olivia is a native of the town, whose own son went missing years before.

Olivia brought a lot to the table with her survival knowledge, and also her insight into the town and its history, of which her own father played a pivotal role.

There was also some really fun body horror included, and definitely more than one moment that made me cringe, which I love. Who doesn’t love that?

Gosh, I am realizing as I write this, how difficult it is to talk about this without spoiling anything. So much of what I want to say would give away the truth of what’s happening in Faraday and I definitely don’t want to do that.

I will say that I was a little disappointed by the way certain things were wrapped up. It almost felt like there was so much build, that was increasingly intense, and gripping, and then we get to the end and it’s like the author didn’t know how to wrap it up, so just threw some stuff in there and called it a day.

This seems harsh, I know it does, but I don’t know how else to express that feeling. I know that’s not true. I’m sure the author worked very, very hard bringing this to the conclusion that they wanted, but to me, it just felt overly simplistic in comparison to the build-up.

With this being said, this is a good Sporror story. I would recommend it to fans of EcoHorror. I loved the setting of the PNW, and felt like the author did a great job with building that sense of place. That was definitely one of the stronger aspects of the story for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This book certainly gave me a lot to think about, and I would be interested in picking up more from this author.

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Review: Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

~ megs14malloy

MayraMayra by Nicky Gonzalez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mayra is a slow burn, debut Horror novel set at a mysterious house deep in the Florida Everglades. We follow Ingrid, who after years of radio silence, finally hears from her childhood best friend, Mayra.

While it might seem strange for Mayra to call Ingrid so suddenly, out of the blue, to invite her on a private weekend getaway, it’s actually pretty true to character. Mayra did always march to the beat of her own drum.

Desiring a shake-up, Ingrid impulsively accepts the invitation and sets out on a solo road trip towards her destination, using only the sketchy directions Mayra provided her with.

The Everglades are a tricky place. She’s out of reach of cell service, and as the swamp starts to feel like it will swallow her little car whole, Mayra wonders if she’ll ever actually get to reunite with Mayra.

Luck is on her side though, as she does eventually arrive at the quirky little house where Mayra is staying. The two fall into their old patterns of relating with one another pretty quickly, but soon enough the fun reunion is covered by a dark cloud: Mayra’s strange-behaving boyfriend, Benji.

Mayra did deliver on the solid Southern Gothic atmosphere I was hoping for, but unfortunately, it didn’t deliver much else. The setting was definitely my favorite aspect.

I enjoyed the way Gonzalez described the house, as well as the area around it. It had a true sense of place, which is something I always appreciate, and it was unsettling. I could feel the heaviness of it, of the air and natural surroundings.

Additionally, I did feel the development of Ingrid and Mayra’s characters, as well as their relationship history, was strong, but as far as a plot goes, it just didn’t go anywhere for me. It was too long-winded in the build, and sadly had me bored and frustrated.

I wanted answers, mystery abounds, but as I got to the end, I ultimately ended up with more questions than I had even at the beginning. The finale was way too fever dream for my tastes, and I was left feeling disappointed.

Too much build, too little payoff.

Overall, the 1st-half, that anticipation, was stronger for me than the 2nd-half. I wish it could have kept a solid level of interesting set-up, followed by an actual conclusion that made sense. It would have been a more satisfying read for me if that had been the case.

Sadly, we can’t love them all, and even though the content of this, stylistically, didn’t work for my tastes, I would still recommend it for fans of more Literary, character-driven, Horror, or fever dream narrative styles.

Thank you, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is a very solid debut, and I look forward to seeing what Nicky Gonzalez delivers next!

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Review: 80s Ghosts by V.S. Lawrence

~ megs14malloy

80s Ghosts80s Ghosts by V.S. Lawrence
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Chrissy is determined to make her ghost hunting show a success. Even though her vlog-style show has been developing, she’s literally one failed investigation away from financial ruin.

Her back is against the wall, that’s why her latest investigation has to be a success and she’s willing to do anything, risk anything, to make that happen.

When she receives an invitation to investigate Merlin High School, the location of a fire in the 1980s where many lives were lost, she jumps at the opportunity.

The high school is prime grounds for haunting. They could actually find something good this time. Evidence that will boost her show to the next level.

As she and her team settle in and begin their formal investigation of the school, Chrissy notices everyone seems to be acting strangely, including herself. As past and present begin to blur, the investigation starts to go off the rails.

Before, Chrissy just wanted her show to be a success. Now, she’d be happy for them all to just get out alive. What’s going on at the old Merlin High, and how will Chrissy and her team be able to help and move past it all?

Unfortunately, after an engaging start, 80s Ghosts took a nosedive into eye roll territory about 3/4 of the way through for me. There’s just a certain level of silliness I can get behind, and this was not it.

Let it be known, I love campy, I do not love cheesy.

With this being said, I did enjoy and appreciate the ideas behind this story. The initial set-up was great. I just wanted more intensity and dark horror imagery, which I don’t really feel like I got.

I would be interested in picking up more from this author though. Even though this one didn’t go in the direction I had hoped, I still see a lot of promise with this writing.

I think for Readers who are newer to the Horror genre, or maybe making the transition from YA to Adult, this could be a good fit. Also, if you are really into Ghost Hunting content in whatever medium, this could be a fun one for you.

The audiobook was also well done and I would recommend that format if you’re going to pick this one up. It was a great listening experience.

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

I’m glad I had the chance to read this one, and will definitely pick up future work from V.S. Lawrence!

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Review: My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie

~ megs14malloy

My Ex, the AntichristMy Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

My Ex, the Antichrist is quite literally a dream book for me. Putting it simply, I would describe this one as Daisy Jones and the Six for Horror Readers.

If you’re like me, and love the Horror genre above all others, and you possibly read Daisy Jones and the Six, and loved it too, but thought, ‘where’s the murder? Where’s the chaos?‘

This book is for you!

In this book, we follow the rise and fall of a fictional punk band called The Shivers. Lily and her boyfriend, Drake, are the founding members of the group, then pulling in Ramona, Eric and Malcolm.

The entire novel reads like a Behind the Music episode on steroids, and much like Daisy Jones, I highly recommend the audiobook format for maximum impact.

We know that at the end of their run, Lily had confessed to murder. All was steeped in mystery, as the band refused to talk to anyone about what had happened, leading up to Lily taking such drastic action.

A decade later, Lily has agreed to an interview, and the rest of the band members follow suit. This book is comprised of those interviews, perfectly placed to allow the whole history of the band to play out.

This was such a great time. As mentioned above, 1,000,000% recommend the audiobook format if you’re going to pick this one up. I can’t stress this enough, because of how well the audio production is done. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it half as much if I had just read a physical copy.

More than just the story of the band, I also loved the themes explored, and tend to enjoy epistolary format anyway, so this was a complete treat. I had no idea that’s how this story was going to be told.

It did feel a little stretched out in certain areas, but overall, it was a hella entertaining read. It reads super quickly, and is my favorite Craig DiLouie to date.

It may have you walking away thinking, maybe your ex isn’t so terrible after all…

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit Books and Hachette Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was a complete surprise! So good!

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Review: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia

~ megs14malloy

The BewitchingThe Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Minerva was raised on her Nana Alba’s stories. Stories that included bizarre things, superstitions, magic and witchcraft. These shaped Minerva’s interests into adulthood, as many of us can probably relate to.

Minerva is now a graduate student at a prestigious Massachusetts college, focusing on the history of Horror Literature. More specifically, Minerva is researching the life and work of Beatrice Tremblay, a lesser known author of macabre tales, who once attended the same school.

During her research, Minerva discovers that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by true events that happened in her own life.

In The Bewitching, we’re treated to: Minerva’s timeline in 1990s Massachusetts; to stories from Nana Alba’s life in 1900s Mexico and beyond; as well as Beatrice Tremblay’s time in school during the Great Depression, and the events that inspired her most famous novel.

This might sound like a lot, with all the different people and places, but trust me when I say, it’s beautifully-woven together into one easily understandable, overarching tale.

Admittedly, I am a huge Silvia Moreno-Garcia stan. I’m obsessed with her ideas and the way she tells stories. While not every single one has been a hit, more often than not, they have been, and I always love diving into a new book from her, as you never know what you are going to get.

I was intimidated going into this, as it is told in three different time periods, following three different perspectives, and I tend to not love sweeping sagas like that. However, I loved each of these perspectives. I was equally enamored by each, which is a hard feat to pull off.

This story is dripping in atmosphere, across all three time periods. It’s amazing to me how she was able to completely capture the essence of all three time periods in such a lush and compelling way.

The characters are full of life and distinct in tone. I loved the mystery, intrigue and lore behind it all. It was so good, I can’t wait to read it again someday. I’d love to take some more time with it; perhaps finding even more connections.

10/10 recommend for Readers who love vibrant, unsettling atmospheres, and witchy stories, both historical and modern. Also, slight dark academia vibes…

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

I expected to like this, but I was actually surprised at how connected I felt to the story, and how much I ended up loving all the various aspects it was comprised of. This will live in mind for a long time to come!

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