2025 releases

Review: The Killer Question by Janet Hallett

~ megs14malloy

The Killer QuestionThe Killer Question by Janice Hallett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Janice Hallett has made quite a name for herself as the Queen of the Unconventional Narrative. Her books are always a journey. They’re truly a unique reading experience and I always walk away amazed.

The way she’s able to weave a complete story together using only human interactions is unmatched. The use of mixed media is exceptional, making for highly-entertaining audiobooks. In The Killer Question, the mystery centers around pub quiz nights in one small village.

The mystery and corresponding story are revealed through a cycling array of quiz categories, phone messages, and email correspondence. The full cast audio pulled me in and never let go. I was swept away, feeling like a patron of the pub.

If you’ve enjoyed Hallett’s work in the past, you should absolutely read this one as well, and if you’ve never read Hallett before, I think this could be a fun one to start with. It’s certainly a great example of her style!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Janice Hallett is one of my go-to authors and she hasn’t let me down yet.

I always look forward to her latest releases. Even though her style is very distinctive, and carries over throughout her books, you never really know what you’re going to get. She certainly keeps her Readers on their toes!

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Review: The Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace

~ megs14malloy

The Late-Night WitchesThe Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Late-Night Witches is a Cozy Paranormal story from Auralee Wallace. I really enjoyed Wallace’s Evenfall Witches B&B series and have been excited to read more from her.

When I saw this cover, I knew I’d have to read it. It’s absolutely adorable and I had no doubt that the story would fit the Halloweeny cover art. Spoiler alert: it definitely did!

This story, which is set on the atmospheric Prince Edward Island off the Eastern Coast of Canada, follows Cassie, her younger sister, Eliza, and the rest of their family, during the spookiest month of the year, October.

Oh yeah, and also, vampires have invaded the island and legacy dictates that they need to be the ones to defeat them. The set-up of this was a lot of fun and gave me heavy Practical Magic vibes, but not in a copy cat way, more in a comforting way if that makes sense.

I loved Cassie as a MC. She’s a typical older sister, but also a Mom to 3-kids, parenting by herself as her husband works overseas. Eliza is also a typical younger sister, and as a younger sister myself, I found it easy to connect with her.

The interactions among the family brought the cozy for me. They have an estranged Aunt, Dorcas, who due to the whole vampire thing, they end up reaching out to and unsurprisingly they a learn a lot from her about their family, and the special powers they may hold.

I also liked Cassie’s kids. I normally find children rather annoying in books, but I thought here the scenes with them ended up being more fun than trying, and I loved the banter.

The vampire bits were also fun, and I was laughing out loud in quite a few places. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Auralee Wallace’s other books, as well as fans of Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart series. The humor and cozy level is fairly similar to that series, IMO.

Thank you to the publisher, Ace, for providing me a copy to read and review. It sounds like there could be a sequel to this, and I would absolutely pick it up!

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Review: Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts #1) by Carissa Broadbent

~ megs14malloy

Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts, #1)Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In 2025, Bramble, a Romance Imprint for Tor Publishing, graciously gifted me a copy of Daughter of No World. This is a series that was previously Independently Published, but has now been picked up by Tor. I knew nothing about this series, but it certainly sounded like something I would enjoy.

Nevertheless, it sat unread for a long time because I was trying to be good; I was trying to avoid starting any new series until I had wrapped up some I already had going.

Then she sat and sat…

Recently though, I was participating in a Reading Challenge with some Book Friends and this lovely novel fit all the parameters I was looking for. Over 500-pages? Check. Red Cover? Check. Sword on the cover? Check.

Oh, also, must be able to finish within a 24-hour period.

Luckily, I found it so easy to get into this story and had no problem finishing it within that allotted time period. This was the first that I’ve read from Broadbent, and I found her writing to be consumable, and frankly, addicting.

This story follows Tisaanah, a young woman who barely escapes with her life on the night she tries to buy her freedom from the man who owns her. Desperate to save the best friend who helped her to escape, Tisaanah flees to the Orders, a powerful organization of magic wielders, to try to join their ranks.

Prior to being granted membership however, she needs to complete an apprenticeship. She’s assigned to Maxantarius Farlione, a reclusive and handsome fire wielder who despises the Orders, and clearly wants nothing to do with his new apprentice. Until he does…

As mentioned above, I became swept up in this story very quickly. Broadbent wastes no time getting to the action and I always appreciate that. I loved Tisaanah as a character. I thought she was very well-developed and I found her to also be believable as a heroine.

Of course, due to her former slave status, her prowess as a fighter and just her overall attitude and humor, I did get very heavy Throne of Glass vibes from this, particularly in the 1st-half. It was unique enough to me though that it didn’t feel copy cat. It does stand on it’s own to me.

I love any sort of training or competitions in my stories and I think Broadbent pulled it off so well here. The mentor/mentee relationship was great, and I liked how much of the training process we got to see. I feel like because of the depths that we went into with that aspect, it made the evolution of their relationship very believable.

This was so worth me breaking my own rule and starting another series. It was really such a fun experience and I can’t wait to continue on in this word, with these characters. I have a feeling I’m going to love them more and more the further I get into the series.

Thank you so much to Bramble for providing me with a copy to read and review, and for introducing me to Carissa Broadbent’s books. I’m a fan!

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: The Body in the Trees by Terrie Farley Moran

~ megs14malloy

The Body in the TreesThe Body in the Trees by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Murder, She Wrote series holds a special place in my heart. I have read over 50-books in this series that I started when I was a kid. My Mom used to buy the mass market paperbacks upon release and I gobbled them up.

It’s been the longest committed relationship of my life.

The series, originally written by Donald Bain, began in 1989. 37-years later, we are getting the 62nd-installment of this long-running series, The Body in the Trees. Since Mr. Bain’s passing in 2017, the series has had a few different authors contributing to keep the series going.

I do feel like the series has struggled to maintain consistency since Bain’s passing, and some of the newer authors have seemed more natural to the series than others. Terrie Farley Moran, so far, has been my favorite.

Admittedly though, I struggled a bit with this one. It’s definitely not my favorite in the series. It did scratch an itch though, and I was happy to be back in Cabot Cove. I have lots of thoughts and opinions on the way this one came together, but I’m trying not to get salty.

With long series like this, you aren’t going to love every one and that’s absolutely fine.

This story centers around a group of young tourists who are visiting Cabot Cove. The young women end up staying at the Hill House Hotel, the best hotel in Cabot Cove, and a setting that will be familiar to veteran Readers of the series.

Jessica and her friends have a run in with these young ladies while they are dining at the Hill House restaurant one night. It was from this initial scene where the tourists are introduced, that I started to realize this one might not be for me. The way the young ladies were written, I just didn’t find it believable. Sweatshirts and sneakers at a nice restaurant?

Nevertheless, even though little bits and bobs got under my skin about it, the mystery did keep me invested and guessing. I predicted where it was heading, which is absolutely fine, but I ultimately didn’t enjoy who the baddie ended up being. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

I know this is nit-picky, especially for a Cozy Mystery series that is just supposed to be escapist and comforting. I just have read all of Terrie Farley Moran’s contributions to the series and was expecting to enjoy it a bit more.

Nevertheless, I love this series with my whole heart. As mentioned above, in long series like this, you are going to have some you prefer more than others. If I were ranking them all, this would fall in the lower end. For long-time Readers of the series, it’s still worth picking up, especially if you enjoy the mysteries set in Cabot Cove.

For new Readers of the series, I wouldn’t suggest starting with this one. I think you would be best served picking an earlier installment, though they can be read in any order.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I will never stop reading this series. As long as they’re being published, I’ll be reading them!

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Review: The Body by Bethany C. Morrow

~ megs14malloy

The BodyThe Body by Bethany C. Morrow
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is one of the rare cases where I’m going to keep my review as to the point as possible. Usually, I like to try to provide a basic breakdown of what you’re going to get if you pick up a book, and then go into my experience with it.

The only thing I am really going to say about this one is that it was not for me. I didn’t enjoy anything about my experience reading this story.

I’ve enjoyed work from Bethany C. Morrow in the past. I found her Song Below Water duology and Cherish Farrah, which I was in the minority opinion on, very enjoyable.

While her writing style does lean more towards a stream of consciousness style than I tend to prefer, I have vibed with it in her past stories. This also felt stream of consciousness, but in a way that was more confusing than lush and lyrical.

I also appreciated the character relationships and themes that were explored in those previous novels, while here, yeah, the themes being explored just are not anything that I’m interested in. I felt zero connection to this story and couldn’t sit down and go through with you what actually happened. It’s just out of my brain already.

I believe the intent was for this to be Religious Horror, and I have a great history with Religious Horror, hence why I picked it up. However, I feel like this could have been more impactful if Morrow had leaned into a hard-hitting Literary Fiction, or suspenseful Domestic Drama, lane.

But at the end of the day, what do I know? I am one Reader, and this is just my experience. Just because this didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I’m sure there are plenty of Readers out there who will find something powerful in this story. Sadly, that just wasn’t me.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I’m anxious to see what Bethany C. Morrow writes next. I’d love to pick up more YA works from her.

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Review: Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

~ megs14malloy

ZomromcomZomromcom by Olivia Dade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Olivia Dad’s Zomromcom is not in fact a romance novel where a protagonist falls in love with a zombie. Who knew?

Well, perhaps anyone who read the synopsis, which clearly, I did not. I saw the title and the adorable cover and was intrigued enough to give it a go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed there was no zombie love. I was so curious how it was going to work.

Now I’ll never know…

So, what is it about then? This story is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape and follows our MC, Edie Brandstrup, who lives alone and has seemingly excelled at surviving in this world. She’s well-versed in the dangers and considers herself prepared for everything.

At the start of the novel Edie attempts to save her harmless-seeming, and of course stunningly-attractive, neighbor after the first zombie breach of their community in decades.

As it turns out though, the neighbor she assumed was a clueless bro is actually a very adept, super old and slightly grumpy vampire with a large sword. When he turns the tables and ends up saving her instead, Edie finds herself a little weak in the knees.

For all of his grumpiness though, the vampire, one Gaston ‘Max’ Boucher, quickly becomes quite protective over our Edie, and insists that she stay within his bunker until the breach has been resolved.

As you can imagine, with two people in forced proximity, with fear of the unknown outside, things heat up quickly. Edie isn’t willing to turn a blind eye though to what is going on with the zombies. There are innocent people still out there who may not be as prepared as they are. Thus, the two set out with the hopes of helping in the fight for humanity.

This was cute. I liked it. I was drawn quickly to Edie as a main character. She was funny and I loved her perspective, the way she viewed everything around her. She had a great sense of humor and I appreciated the lightheartedness she brought to the story.

Max was swoony too and I did like him as the love interest. I could certainly see why Edie would fall for him so quickly and their banter was great. With this being said, the story itself did feel overly-long and slightly repetitive.

The backdrop of the zombie apocalypse was quite refreshing though, and they even spent a bit time in an abandoned mall, which I loved. That’s such a classic zombie setting. I thought that was really fun. After the mall though, it sort of lost me. I found my eyes glazing over, just wanting it to end.

I see that this is set to be a series and I am interested to see what the next one is going to be about. If it will be connected by characters, or the world, or just another romance featuring a different paranormal character. Depending on the content, I may check it out.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this one didn’t quite knock my socks off, I did really like Olivia Dade’s writing and sense of humor.

I’ll absolutely be picking up more from this author!

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Review: The Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs

~ megs14malloy

The Night That Finds Us AllThe Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Night That Finds Us All is a Nautical Horror novel from John Hornor Jacobs. This story follows the journey of a century-old sailboat, The Blackwatch, as she makes her way from the shores of Washington state, all the way to England. This historic ship can’t sail herself though.

Thus, a hodgepodge crew is assembled to deliver her to her new owner. Our MC is Sam, and she gets invited on the project by a past crewmate, Loick, who believes Sam could be the only person capable of dealing with The Blackwatch’s complicated and moody engine.

Sam’s not thrilled by the idea. The head of the crew is someone she’s had issues with before, but she does care for Loick. It could be good working with him again.

The biggest motivator for her though is the money. Sam’s almost at rock bottom. Her drinking is out of control and she’s struggling to stay afloat on many fronts. Ultimately, she agrees to the job and the journey begins.

Sam’s committed to sobriety for the journey, and the withdrawels begin playing with her mind. At least, she believes it’s the withdrawels. The things she’s hearing, seeing, feeling on this ship, they can’t be real. Can they?

When one crewmate disappears and another is struck by a terrible, horrific accident, Sam’s confusion and fear grows. The Blackwatch is starting to feel a lot less like some rich man’s pet project, and a lot more like something sinister lying in wait to take them all out.

Interesting, interesting. This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, and I’ve been thinking on it for a while, trying to come up with the best way to explain my experience with it. The longer time goes by though, the more at a loss I find myself. Sadly, it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. It was here one moment, gone the next, in my brain.

There were aspects I enjoyed, but there were also a few things that I thought were a little odd and out of place. Sam, as an MC, is not super likable, but that’s fine. That never really bothers me. I don’t need to like book characters.

I found the atmosphere aboard the ship to be my favorite part of the story. There was an overriding sense of dread that kept me moving forward quickly. Unfortunately, in many areas, it got a bit more fever dream than I tend to enjoy, and I had a difficult time sort of imagining exactly what was going down when the action scenes were taking place.

I did, however, enjoy how JHJ leaned into the historical nature of the ship, and even introduced some occult elements that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, I liked the tone and the ideas behind all that was happening, I just feel like for me, it lack a bit in execution.

This is the first that I have read from this author, though, and I would definitely be interested in picking up more. I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy Nautical Horror. It’s worth checking out. Just because it wasn’t a perfect fit for me, doesn’t mean you won’t love it.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a fun time. I wish I could have imagined the action a bit more, but still a solid read.

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Review: The Day I Lost You by Ruth Mancini

~ megs14malloy

The Day I Lost YouThe Day I Lost You by Ruth Mancini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Day I Lost You is the 2025-release from Ruth Mancini, author of the popular 2024-Thriller, The Woman on the Ledge, which I adored. Ever since reading TWOTL, I’ve been looking forward to more from this author.

I’m happy to report I found this book to be equally twisty and fast-paced. Even though the content didn’t wow me quite as much as TWOTL, I still found this to be so enjoyable and I read it in an afternoon without stopping.

This story spans two countries, Spain and the UK, and involves a reportedly missing child. The child’s name is Sam, and he’s actually just a little baby when he’s thrust into the middle of a lot of adult drama.

Lauren and Hope are our two female leads, and it’s interesting following along as the truths of their connection is revealed. I actually really appreciated how Mancini rolled this all out. There’s a lot of moving pieces. You go in, of course knowing nothing, and as the narrative progresses, more and more pieces slot into place.

As the larger picture reveals itself, some details become predictable, IMO, but for me, not in a way that negatively effected my experience. I still enjoyed the journey to the conclusion, even if I knew exactly where we were headed.

I was lucky enough to have access to the audiobook and I thought it was so well done. I loved the full cast narration and the inclusion of some mixed media passages truly brought the drama to life.

Additionally, the fast-paced narrative worked so well in audio form. It was truly gripping. I enjoyed the time shifts, as well, as all the puzzle pieces came together. I respect Mancini’s concepts and writing style so much. I’m looking forward to more from her in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Perennial and Harper Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this!

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Review: I Found a Body by Becky C. Brynolf

~ megs14malloy

I Found a BodyI Found a Body by Becky C. Brynolf
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I Found a Body is a Adult Mystery that I ended up really enjoying. I was hesitant going in because the overall rating is below a 3.5, which seems fairly low for a new Mystery. I actually put it off for a while because of that.

And I have to say it wasn’t at all what I expected, particularly based on the vibes this cover is giving off, but I did find it interesting. I think it could be a case of the cover selling Cozy or Humorous, and it’s not really that. It’s just a Mystery, and it actually tackles some fairly serious topics.

We have DS Mona Hendricks, who 9-years ago was called to the scene of murder after a body had been discovered by a popular influencer while she was live-streaming. The footage went viral and the case sort of blew up, with lasting repercussions both for Mona and the influencer, Kylie.

In spite of its high exposure, the case remains unsolved all these years later. Mona, who has officially reached rock bottom, alone and out of work, estranged from her daughter, is surprised when Kylie, now a TV personality, approaches her to reopen the case.

Though she can’t really do so in an official capacity, Mona agrees to help Kylie and the two set out to see if they can finally solve the case that haunts them both.

There’s some back and forth in time and amongst people involved; a lot of moving pieces. I found Mona to be a compelling main character. You don’t learn immediately what led to her life taking such a stark downward trajectory, and I did like learning about all of that.

I thought the mystery was fairly well-plotted. There were moments where I might have been mildly confused, or felt like maybe some things didn’t add up, but in the end, I feel like Brynolf pulled it off. I am glad I ignored the overall rating and still gave this one a shot.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books and Highbridge Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I would recommend this to Mystery fans, and particularly the audiobook format, which was well narrated.

I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

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Review: Enchantra (Wicked Games #2) by Kaylie Smith

~ megs14malloy

Enchantra (Wicked Games, #2)Enchantra by Kaylie Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Enchantra is the 2nd-book in Kaylie Smith’s Wicked Games Romantasy series. I loved the 1st-book, Phantasma, when I read it in 2024, and it single-handedly propelled me into my admittedly short-lived Romantasy Girl era.

And when I say era, what I mean is as is typical for me, I quickly purchased numerous Romantasy books and then never read any of them.

I’m not proud, but here we are. In fact, I even got an audio ARC of this book, which I was over the moon excited for, and I am just reading it now, over a year later.

Full disclosure: I didn’t listen to the audio ARC, I read my hard copy, which I received from Book of the Month. Anywho, with the boring admin out of the way, let’s get into the book, shall we?

In Enchantra, we’re following Ophelia’s little sister, Genevieve. At the end of the 1st-book, we learn that Vivi is getting ready to do some European travels. Even though Ophie has established an entire itinerary for Vivi to follow, Vivi has other plans.

Desiring answers about her mother’s past and her own true nature, Vivi heads to Italy to seek out her Mom’s old friend, and occasional pen pal, Barrington Silver, at his family estate, Enchantra.

Once there, she’s greeted gruffly by one of Barrigton’s many children, Rowin, who insists that she leave immediately. After traveling all that way though, Vivi is determined not to leave without answers.

One thing leads to another and she ends up getting sucked into the Silver’s lives and the insidious game of hide and seek they’re forced to play every year, solely for the entertainment of the Devils in Hell.

She’s forced to team up with Rowin, in a fake courtship, so that they may compete together as a couple. It’s her only possible chance of survival.

It’s enemies-to-lovers, it’s high stakes and it’s got a strong gaming element that I always enjoy. I actually enjoyed the games here even more than in Phantasma because of the family element. The family is fighting against each other to win, which made it feel more personal.

I loved the Silver family. There’s a lot of them and their relationships are complicated to say the least, but you can still feel the love among the siblings. Even when they’re trying to stab each other through the heart.

I loved the setting of Enchantra as well. The property was giving heavy Beauty and the Beast, but darker and more twisted, vibes. They even spent a lot of time in the library, though I wouldn’t want to sit on that couch ever again.

The game was played in rounds, with one family member selected to be the hunter and the rest of the players had to hide. It provided quite a bit of downtime for Rowin and Vivi to get to know one another, particularly since they needed to hide as a couple.

I loved the progression of their relationship and the push and pull as the attraction grew. Vivi is my girl, I adored her. She was strong-willed, defiant and a little mouthy, but she also had a strength and determination that I think ended up surprising Rowin in a good way.

Rowin was such a strong leading man as well. He was swoony and so hot. I could definitely understand why Vivi would become so enraptured by him.

The steam was fantastic too. Not too much, not too little, it was just right.

I also appreciated how evenly Smith distributed the action/family drama plot with the romance element. Neither one overshadowed the other, and I feel like there’s a real art to that. It’s executed so well, whether you’re here for the romance or here for the games.

I’m kicking myself for putting off reading this for so long. I loved it. It was an absolute blast of a read. Someone please tell me we are getting more books in this series. I am guessing yes based on the ending of this one, but I have heard no actual news in that regard either way.

Overall, this was freaking fantastic. I loved it with my whole heart, even more than the 1st-book actually. Vivi is such a sensational protagonist and Rowin is just my kind of kink. Am I about to enter my Romantasy era 2.0, where maybe I actually read the books this time?

Thank you to Second Sky Books for providing me with a copy to read and review. Though I didn’t listen to the audio, I am confident this book is just as fabulous regardless of the format you read it in!

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