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Review: The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner

~ megs14malloy

The Last Year of the WarThe Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

If you are looking to have your soul crushed in a beautiful way anytime soon, pick this book up!

In 1943, when Elise Sontag is just 14-years old, her Father is arrested under suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer.

A neighborhood boy, in their small Iowa town, claimed that Mr. Sontag told him he was ‘making a bomb’. A completely baseless accusation.

Sadly, that was all it took for the FBI to show up on the Sontag doorstep. The lives of the family would never be the same.

Ultimately, they, along with numerous other Japanese, German and Italian families were sent to an internment camp in rural-Texas, only taking with them what they could easily carry.

Their lives before nothing but a distant memory.

As a teen, Elise didn’t fully understand what was happening to them. She tries to take it one day at a time and just make the best of it. That’s a hard task for anyone, let alone a kid.

Early on, she meets a fellow internee, Mariko Inoue, a Japanese-American girl from L.A., and the two become fast friends, bonding over their shared experience.

This story follows them through their time at the camp and beyond into adulthood. Told by an elderly Elise, I found this story heartbreaking.

Although this is purely a work of fiction, this situation did in fact happen to many, many families. That is a humbling thing to think about.

The strength of spirit it would take to overcome what the families in this story went through. I can’t even imagine. I really enjoy when historical fiction is able to bring the past to life in such a palpable and touching way.

It was overwhelming for me at times. Particularly the moments told by present day Elise, as she struggles with her pending memory loss and slide into the grips of Alzheimer’s. That hit very close to home for me and was hard to read.

I thought, as always, Meissner tackled each of the topics explored in here with care and grace. She has a beautiful storytelling ability and I was definitely swept away in Elise’s tale.

There were a few minor details that I wasn’t crazy about, some descriptions that I thought were a little odd, but overall, this was a wonderful book and I know a lot of people will enjoy it!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I apologize for taking so long to get to it and am kicking myself for not picking it up earlier!

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Review: Coral by Sara Ella

~ megs14malloy

CoralCoral by Sara Ella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Coral, through the platform of a Little Mermaid reimagining, follows three perspectives through their struggles with mental illness.

Coral: A little mermaid who lost her oldest sister to Red Tide, a condition that mirrors depression.

Estranged and misunderstood by the rest of her family, Coral sets out to find the Prince she blames for her older sister’s demise.

Merrick: A young man whose controlling father is definitely the villain of his story.

After his little sister attempts suicide, and their mother runs off, unable to cope, he blames his father for the entire situation.

When his father announces that he is planning to send his sister, Amaya, to a residential treatment program, Merrick disagrees. He thinks she should be with family and essentially kidnaps her to avoid her going into treatment.

Brooke: The most mysterious of the perspectives, Brooke is struggling with depression and anxiety and currently residing in a treatment center. She is the most challenging to decipher.

As a reader, you can tell all three perspectives are related somehow, as the storylines begin to run parallel but you don’t know exactly how.

Once all is revealed, it makes sense and is a very heavy story to take in.

While I understand how important the topics tackled in this book are, I personally had a hard time connecting with the story.

The writing is strong and I know for the right person, read at the right time, this book could mean so, so much.

For me, the perspectives began to run into one another and I just never felt fully engrossed in the story. With this being said, I am still glad that I read this.

I think it is a completely unique way of exploring very serious mental health issues.

I urge you to read the author, Sara Ella‘s, review for this book as she includes a full list of trigger warnings. I definitely think that is important for this one.

Tread cautiously if you are at all worried that something may be harmful to your mental state.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I do consider this a heartbreakingly beautiful tale and appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion.

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Review: The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters

~ megs14malloy

The Dead Girls ClubThe Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

When Heather Cole receives a necklace in the mail, with one half of a ‘Best Friends’ pendant on it, she can’t believe it. She knows this necklace because it was on the neck of her best friend the night she died. It went with her to her grave.

Or did it?

She panics. What could this mean? She is the only one who knows what happened to Becca that night nearly 30-years ago.

She has to figure out who mailed her this and stop them before they reveal the truth!

Alternating between ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ perspectives, the reader slowly learns Becca’s fate. Following the girls 12-year old perspectives, as they hang out discussing all things macabre was the most interesting part of the story for me.

Becca was obsessed with a story of a woman called The Red Lady, think Bloody Mary, and would not stop talking about her.

She regales their friend group with stories about The Red Lady, a woman killed for being a witch, seeking her revenge. Her storytelling is so vivid the girls begin to believe it.

Is she real?

The ‘Now’ perspective follows grown-up Heather, a child psychologist, as she tries to piece together who knows about her and Becca.

This part of the story was not as enjoyable for me. Personally, I found adult Heather annoying AF and I could not understand the decisions she was making.

Her thought process and decisions were more like she was still 12-years old than an actual functioning adult.

Because of my disconnect from the ‘Now’ portions, the overall story felt uneven. I would rush through ‘Now’ in order to get back to ‘Then’. Unfortunately, due to this, it took me a bit longer to get through this than it would the average Thriller.

The premise was very interesting but the execution fell a little short. Also, for me, I was disappointed with one of the big reveals and felt that some of the narrative didn’t fully back up that reveal. I know this sounds cryptic but I don’t want to risk giving anything away.

This being said, there are definitely a lot of interesting aspects to this story and I think the writing shows a lot of promise. I would pick up more work from this author.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion and I know a lot of readers will really enjoy this one!

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Review: Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz

~ megs14malloy

Jane AnonymousJane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jane Anonymous is your run of the mill, 17-year old girl, living in a suburban town, New England state.

That is until she gets abducted while out running an early morning errand. She remains in captivity for 7-months. Locked in a room. Alone.

This is her story, following ‘then’ and ‘now’ timelines until ‘then’ and ‘now’ merge. The narrative itself is more ‘stream of consciousness’ then I tend to enjoy but I’ll tell you what, in this case, it didn’t bother me at all.

I actually feel that it was a really smart choice by the author, as it made the conveyance of this wild tale seem more real. Like a friend was recounting a horrific thing that had happened to them.

When I say ‘horrific thing’, I mean it. This book is not for the sensitive. The violence perpetrated against Jane, being stripped of her freedom and her sense of safety, amongst other traumas, was hard to read.

Her efforts toward recovery were equally heavy and disturbing. In some ways, I think that was even more difficult to read, her struggles to try to adapt back to the life she had before.

Severe trauma, feeling broken and the pathways to recovery are all covered within these pages. I think if this book is read at the right time, by the right person, it could really mean a lot to them and become a favorite.

Hard-hitting the entire way through, if you can stomach it, I think the message of hope that ultimately shines through is worth the effort.

It was that way for me, at least. Although my heart was a little battered and bruised at the end, it was worth it.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it!

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Review: The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith

~ megs14malloy

The Ancient NineThe Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars**

IT IS DONE!

This book was so long. Entirely too long in my opinion.

Following Spenser Collins, a boy from the Southside of Chicago through the hallowed halls of Harvard, as he gets punched for the Delphic, one of the most exclusive of Harvard’s famous final clubs.

Along with his friend, Dalton Winthrop, a Harvard legacy, they set out to unravel the Delphic’s secrets and some mysteries surrounding the club, including the disappearance of a wealthy young man, that remain lore on campus.

Yes, that sounds interesting doesn’t it? Who doesn’t love secret clubs and long-buried secrets and mysteries?

I was excited to receive this as an ARC many moons ago but then never got around to reading it. When I picked it up last month, I had no idea it would be such an undertaking.

What could have been a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat mystery, was instead a tedious and detail-ladened account of the most droll nature, with pages and pages of things such as: a boring romance, that had no bearing on the overall storyline, detailed accounts of basketball practices, including the drills that they went through each day, and unimportant geographical details of each scene.

At one point, I threatened to DNF this but was simply astounded by it all. I had to continue.

The author had a good idea here, the makings of a solid story but who let him go to print with so many inconsequential details dragging the entire book into Bore Town!?

It’s really a shame and that’s all I am going to say on that.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read an review. I appreciate it, as always.

I am sorry I did not enjoy this more but honestly, the story and the author would have best been served if it had undergone another serious round of editing.

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land

~ megs14malloy

A Time for Murder (Murder She Wrote #50)A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

When a young woman seeks Jessica out to question her about the first murder case she ever solved, under the guise of being for her high school newspaper, plenty of memories are drawn to the surface from that time 25-years previously.

Jessica was a young woman herself then, working at a high school in Abbott, Maine, living with her loving husband, Frank, and their nephew, Grady. The Principal at her school ended up being murder and Jessica helped to nab the culprit, or did she?

Once that same inquiring young lady ends up dead, Jessica discovers she wasn’t who she was purporting to be. She wasn’t a high school student at all.

It turns out she may be related to that same Principal who was murdered all those years ago. But why was she choosing now to ask about the case? And are the two cases related?

The plot thickens…

Racing to the conclusion, we follow both past and present timelines, as the cases converge into a wild finish.

It was such a joy to be back with one of my idols, Jessica Fletcher, for this, the 50th installment to the beloved Murder, She Wrote mystery series. As many fans of the series know, the long time author for this series, Donald Bain, sadly passed away in 2017.

The series has since been taken over by Jon Land, a veteran Thriller writer. This is the third book published since he has taken the reins and my first that I have read since the transition.

With this being said, I can definitely tell a difference in tone since the change and although it is different, I do not dislike it. I will continue to read the series as long as they are being published.

If you are looking for a fun, quick and cozy mystery series with no shortage of volumes to pick up, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy to read and review! It really was such a pleasure. Keep them coming!

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Review: Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood

~ megs14malloy

Keeping LucyKeeping Lucy by T. Greenwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

When Ginny Richardson’s second child, a girl named Lucy, is born with Down Syndrome, the baby is quickly whisked away from her. Not just to be placed in the NICU or given special care, literally taken away from her.

Her husband, Ab’s, wealthy family decides immediately the child would be best dealt with by shipping it away to a ‘special school’ never to be thought of, or discussed, again.

Unfortunately, Ginny’s in such a drug-induced state at the hospital, she doesn’t even realize what is happening until it’s too late.

With her baby gone, Ginny is forced to try to go forth like nothing ever happened, like there never was a baby.

For the next two years she goes on this way. In a deep state of depression, she feels like she is in a fog, with no idea of what to do to make her situation better.

When her best friend brings some newspaper articles to her attention that feature the ‘school’ at which Lucy has been committed, she cannot believe what she is seeing.

According to the journalist responsible for the expose, Willowridge is not a good place. It is as bad as can be with serious issues of neglect and even abuse; basically a hell on Earth.

Along with her friend, Marcia, Ginny decides to go see Lucy, to take her out for a visit, to judge for herself.

Once she sees the conditions of the school first hand, she knows there is no way she can ever bring Lucy back there.

What happens next is a road trip adventure spanning from Western Massachusetts all the way to Florida, with her best friend, her young son and the daughter she doesn’t even know. At times touching, at times infuriating, this story dragged me in and wouldn’t let go.

Wonderfully told, this captivating historical fiction novel, will have you wanting justice for Baby Lucy. This was my first book by T. Greenwood and I was definitely impressed. I look forward to picking up more books from her.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I think this is an important story and I know a lot of readers will get so much from it. Well done.

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Guest Post: Author Chat with Kelsey Quick

~ megs14malloy ~ 16 Comments

On Tuesday, December 9, 2019, a great new addition to the vampire genre is set to be released. This fast-paced and inventive novel is a debut for author, Kelsey Quick.

I had the opportunity, thanks to, GODDESS FISH PROMOTIONS, to ask Kelsey a few questions about her work and what this release means to her.

Before we get into that however, for those of you who visit my blog regularly, you may remember that I just reviewed this novel last week, but for those of you who are new…

…and you can check out my full review by clicking HERE!!!

Without further ado, let’s get into my questions for Kelsey and her responses:

Meg: What advice would you give to other aspiring writers?

Kelsey: Aside from “never give up,” it would have to be: Understand that everyone in this industry gets rejected. That agent who rejected you? They get rejected all the time by editors. The editor that rejected you and your agent’s submission? Acquisitions rejected the last five of his/her/their proposals. If you have rejection issues (like me), this is not your industry unless you can see it for what it really is. It’s an unfortunate consequence of bad luck and, perhaps, a poor product—but that’s where persistence comes in. The more persistence you have, the less luck you need, especially if you keep trying to get better rather than to prove everyone wrong. The better you get, the better chances you have. It’s that simple, although it’s no guarantee. You have to really want it enough to overcome the perpetual sting of being told “no.”

Meg: What were your inspirations for this particular story?

Kelsey: Really, a lot of things! I found the basic framework of the story from reading Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino back in 2007. It was such a chilling, yet romantic manga, especially in terms of artwork. It had a dark, yet shoujo-esque (female-audience intended) style that I’d never seen. My own style of manga was influenced heavily by it, in fact. Aside from the basic framework, I’d always wondered why there wasn’t a big novel featuring vampires ruling over a dystopia, where humans were at their beck and call as slaves. I know they exist and I’ve since heard of them (such as The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa), but at the time, I thought that idea was pretty original, so I stuck with it—and it stuck with me!

Funny enough, a couple of the characters have their own inspirations: Lord Anton Zein is a silver-haired, cruel war general—much like Sesshoumaru from Rumiko Takahashi’s Inuyasha. I’ve also heard that he’s like Prince Cardan from Holly Black’s, The Cruel Prince, as well as Sarah J. Maas’ Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Gemini is the candid, blonde vampire that is a blend of three very different characters: Hanabusa Aido from Vampire Knight, Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter, and Guildenstern from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Meg: With release date just a week away, how does it feel to be having your story released into the world?

Kelsey: It is pretty surreal. I thought I’d never have the guts to self-publish if it came to that, but I clung to the hope of getting traditionally published for so long that I think it eventually wore away all the fears and inhibitions—so to speak. While those two years of querying took a lot out of me and completely killed my writing productivity, I think I needed them to realize that rejection by the publishing industry does not equate to rejection by the reading community. As they say, bestsellers are made, not written (to an extent). So, I decided to do the best with what I had, as my passion for A Violet Fire seems to have no bounds. It’s not perfect, but it is my heart book, and I take pride in how much work I put into it to make it shine well enough to be compared to other big names. At the end of the road, I’m going to be glad I did it this way even if the results are less-than stellar. It’s probably the
hardest I’ve ever worked for something… and the work is never-ending.

I want to thank, Kelsey, for being so kind as to answer my questions for her. I feel so blessed to have been provided with the opportunity to be included on this blog tour. Also, a huge thank you to Kelsey for providing me with an early copy of the book to read and review.

I really enjoyed this one and was so impressed by the fact that this is a debut novel. Kelsey has a wonderfully creative imagination and pleasing writing style, I look forward to the chance to continue on with this series!

Be sure to pick up your copy on release day, Tuesday, December 9th!!! Until then, click the link below to enter for your chance to win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card that the author will be giving away. The raffle is run via rafflecopter and one randomly drawn winner will win during the course of the blog tour. It could be you!!

$25 Gift Card Raffle

That’s all for now my lovely book friends! I hope you had a fabulous reading month in November and look for my wrap-up soon.

Cheers & Happy Reading!

Blog Tour Review: The Last Affair by Margot Hunt

~ megs14malloy

The Last AffairThe Last Affair by Margot Hunt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

From the outside, suburbanite Mom, Gwen Landon, seems to have it all. With successful husband, Josh, two children and a Labrador, they are a living example of the picture perfect family. Until Gwen winds up dead, that is, bludgeoned to death in her own backyard with a driveway paving stone.

Nora Holliday also appears to be living in suburban bliss, although behind closed doors, things are a bit darker for Nora. Her husband, once an abusive alcoholic, now in recovery, is challenging to live with and the love and spark is definitely gone. Nora does what she can to try to keep it all together for their children but that type of life can be hard.

When Josh and Nora run into each other at an out of town hotel bar, they make a irrevocable and passionate decision that will alter all of their lives.

Full of the domestic drama we all love, glazed with a delightfully devious revenge plot, The Last Affair will keep you vigorously turning the pages until the very end. Once I started down this twisted road of secrets and lies, I could not put it down!

Jumping back and forth between multiple perspectives helped this one to never lose its pace. There were so many secrets, so little honest communication, it was frustrating and amazing all at the same time.

If you are looking for a fast-paced, cleverly plotted domestic drama to help get you through this holiday season, you should definitely consider picking this one up!

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to read this early. Thank you so much to the publisher, Harlequin — MIRA, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I had a lot of fun with this story and am definitely looking forward to Margot Hunt’s next novel. I think her writing has grown a lot for this book compared to For Better and Worse so I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

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Review: A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) by Kelsey Quick

~ megs14malloy ~ 2 Comments

A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon, #1)A Violet Fire by Kelsey Quick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Wavorly Sterling was a child, a vampire attack decimated the population of the town in which she lived. In fact, she is known as the only survivor, rescued, or captured, depending on your perspective, and brought to live within the Vampire Stratocracy of Cain.

Set in a dystopian world, where the blood supply is low, the Stratocracy has developed a vast and interesting system for raising ‘human supply units’. These supply units are eventually chosen and bound to a master who they vow to serve, and feed, for the duration of their lives.

Wavorly is brought to a sort of private school where the girls are raised together and taught how to please their future masters.

The majority of these girls were born within the Stratocracy so have never tasted the freedom of the world outside as Wavorly has. This sets her apart from them and she struggles trying to understand their seemingly docile personalities in the face of what lies ahead of them.

In fact, when we first meet her, she is in the midst of executing an escape attempt. Although it may not go as planned, you have to give the girl props for her strength and determination.

No matter how hard she fights back against the powers that be however, Wavorly is ultimately selected to go live in the castle of Lord Anton Zein and act as one of his supply units. They have a complicated history and you just know something’s going to go down at that castle!

I really enjoyed this, you guys! I do not read a lot of vampire-related content, really my only experiences being Salem’s Lot, NOS4A2 and Doctor Sleep, so I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this or not. Apparently, it’s my new thing!

I loved the dystopian feel of this story. The world-building was excellent in my opinion and I cannot wait to learn more in Book 2.

I also really enjoyed quite a few of the side characters, they added depth, humor and challenging personalities to the story. There were people you really wanted to get behind and people that were a joy to hate. Yes, that is a thing.

Although the plot got a little jumbled for me towards the end, I was still on board for all that was happening. There were revelations and betrayals, a lot of excitement.

I think this left off in a great spot for the continuation of series and I definitely will be continuing. This was one of those books that when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and wishing I was!

Overall, this was an impressive debut. I feel confident this author has a bright future ahead of her. If you are looking for an inventive and captivating, fast-paced read, you should definitely pick this one up!

Thank you so much to the author, Kelsey Quick, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I have since preordered the paperback because I love the cover and also, have no self-control.

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