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Review: Death in the Dark Woods (Monster Hunter Mystery #2) by Annelise Ryan

~ megs14malloy

Death in the Dark Woods (Monster Hunter #2)Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Death in the Dark Woods is the 2nd-installment to Annelise Ryan’s Monster Hunter Cozy Mystery series.

This series features cryptozoologist and specialty bookstore owner, Morgan Carter, who helps investigate mysteries that may be linked to potential cryptid activity.

The beauty of this series is that it combines two of my very favorite things: creepy vibes and cozy mysteries.

I really enjoyed the 1st-book, A Death in Door County, when I read it last year and was looking forward to going on more adventures with Morgan and her lovable dog, Newt.

While that first story featured a potential lake monster, in this one, Morgan travels a little farther from home to help investigate possible Bigfoot sightings.

Specifically, the Bigfoot sightings have occurred around the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest area of Bayfield County, Wisconsin. When a man is found dead, with an injury to his throat not thought to be cause by a human, a local warden, Charlie, calls Morgan for help.

Morgan is excited that her cyptid hunter business is finally getting some traction after gaining notoriety following the lake monster case. She’s more than happy to assist Charlie.

Nevertheless, Morgan is a skeptic at heart, so it’s gonna take solid proof for her to claim a Bigfoot is responsible for the fatal attack they’re investigating.

Morgan and Newt travel there and meet up with Charlie, who introduces them to their comfortable temporary lodgings, and then they get straight to work.

Morgan immerses herself in the small town, questioning numerous people about their experiences and opinions when it comes to the area’s Bigfoot legends.

It’s true that some claim to have seen Bigfoot type creatures, but that’s not the only thing Morgan uncovers. She reveals a trail of secrets and lies that could end up having more to do with the recent murder than anyone seems to be suspecting.

As the pressure starts to build, will Morgan and Newt be able to sniff out the killer before they strike again, or could Morgan end up being the next victim?

I had so much fun with this. I actually enjoyed it even more than the 1st-book. I loved that Morgan was traveling away from home, and that she was sort of inserting herself into this new place and digging around, trying to figure out whatever she could.

I loved learning about the local area along with her and meeting the various colorful characters of the small town.

Jon Flanders, the Police Chief, who asked for Morgan’s assistance in the 1st-book, appears in this one as well, as their relationship has continued to grow.

There have been some sparks between them and I love the way the chemistry is continuing to build. They both have some traumas in their past, so I like that it’s moving slowly, at a pace that seems realistic. It makes sense.

I also liked the dynamic between Morgan and Charlie. Charlie, as the local girl, has her own very strong opinions on the Bigfoot legends and I liked how Morgan didn’t let Charlie really sway her one way or another.

The highlight for me though is definitely the relationship between Morgan and Newt. I absolutely adore and appreciate the way that Ryan writes their connection.

As a Dog Mom, who frequently spends the majority of a book worrying about any doggie characters who may be involved, it was so nice to just sit back and enjoy the fact that Newt got to participate in pretty much everything Morgan does.

And I never worried about him! You can tell that Annelise Ryan is a dog person, and I just knew that she wouldn’t take it anywhere uncomfortable. It was freaking great!

At this point, I’m not sure what the long-term plans are for this series, but I really hoping for more books. There’s so much left to explore with Morgan, both as far as potential cryptid mysteries, but also with her personal life.

I am properly attached to Morgan, Newt and even Jon. Keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be getting news of a 3rd-book soon!

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

I recommend this to Cozy Mystery fans. It’s a unique series and a lot of fun. I’ve never read anything quite like it!

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Review: Goblin Monday (Goosebumps: House of Shivers #2) by R.L. Stine

~ megs14malloy

Goblin Monday (Goosebumps House of Shivers #2)Goblin Monday by R.L. Stine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Goblin Monday is the 2nd-book in the House of Shivers series.

This entire franchise holds a very special place in my heart, and I was excited when I learned that Stine was adding another limb to the Goosebumps family tree.

I really enjoyed the 1st-installment, Goosebumps: House of Shivers: Scariest. Book. Ever., when I read it last year. It was fast-paced, with a great antagonist and spooky creatures. Overall, a very solid Goosebumps read.

Jumping into this one, I was feeling confident and loved how this one kicked off. The set-up was great and I was anticipating a solid ride all the way through.

In this story we follow Mario. He grew up in South Florida and has very recently moved North with his family. On his first winter break, he gets invited along a holiday trip with his new friends, Todd and Jewel.

Todd and Jewel’s grandparents live in Vermont and their parents take them up there every year. When Marco gets invited along for the trip, he is ecstatic. He’s going to get to see snow for the first time!

He’s warned on the car ride up that Grandpa Tweety and Mom Mom are a bit on the eccentric side, but they’re purportedly harmless and wickedly entertaining.

Mario enters their home with an open heart and excitement for all the adventures that lay ahead that week. Little did he know that soon he would be fighting for his life.

As the cover and synopsis indicate, this story does involve goblins. The way Stine introduced the idea of goblins being on the Vermont property, and slowly bringing them to life on the page, was engaging and admittedly, creepy as heck.

Mario didn’t notice the ominous nature of the events happening at the home as quickly as I thought he would, but once he did, it was hard watching him try to get his friends to believe in the things he had seen and experienced.

They weren’t taking him seriously, brushing off his concerns, and I was getting as frustrated as he was!

I found almost the entirety of this book gripping and fun, but the very end just blew the whole thing for me.

Ultimately, I was really conflicted on how to rate it. It’s so good, I was hooked, right up until the final two scenes. I was seriously was thinking that this could actually be a unicorn 5-star Goosebumps read.

But then, Stine just did his thing where the end is so freaking bizarre and makes no sense in context with the rest of the story. Why, Mr. Stine? Why?

Honestly though, even with that being said, it’s still absolutely worth a read. There were some genuinely scary scenes up until those final few moments.

There’s a lot of creepy content involving birds, and wandering around in a snow-filled forest feeling like something is following you. The build-up and development was great, but yeah, that ending; not good.

Obviously, I still recommend this to any fan of the Goosebumps franchise. We all know at this point the tricks that Stine oftentimes pulls at the end. To long time Readers, you’ll most likely just SYH at this conclusion.

And as far as new Readers go, I always encourage jumping in on new series from the beginning, as soon as you can. It’s fun to just read along from the start as they’re released, and I plan to continue to do so with this series.

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

It looks like the 3rd-installment is going to be a Mummy story and I’m so ready for it. I will never stop reading R.L. Stine’s work, because no matter how old I get, you’re never too old for Goosebumps!!

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Review: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Finlay Donovan #4) by Elle Cosimano

~ megs14malloy

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4)Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice is the highly-anticipated 4th-installment to Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan Cozy Mystery series, featuring my favorite gal pals, Finlay and Vero!

When Finlay and Vero mention they need a Girls Weekend, people think rest, relaxation, that the women need to let their hair down. After the events at the Citizen’s Police Academy, it wouldn’t be surprising if they needed a break.

This is Finlay and Vero though, so you know there’s more to it than that. What they’ve really got planned is negotiating with a loan shark, rescuing Vero’s childhood crush, Javi, and finding a stolen luxury car.

Getting away won’t be so easy though. After Finlay’s mother hears about the Girls Weekend to Atlantic City, she insists on going. They’ll need help with the kids and she’s a girl too. She wants in.

Then Steven, Finlay’s ex-husband, gets word of the trip and insists that Finlay cannot take the kids over a state border without his permission, which he’s not giving, but he’s willing to go along.

Thus begins the most hilarious road trip from hell.

They check into a seedy casino hotel, two rooms of course, and Finlay and Vero get to work right away. It’s tricky, but they don’t have a lot of time.

After negotiations with the loan shark, Marco, fail, the gals have to move on to Plan B. They’ll just have to find the whereabouts of Javi and the Aston Martin themselves, using nothing but their phenomenal sleuthing skills.

They figure out where Marco’s suite is and decide to break in to search for clues. I mean, obviously, right!?

Unfortunately, they discover much more than they bargained for in that suite; Marco’s dead body. With police circling like birds of prey, Finlay and Vero need to stay out of their sights, find Javi and get the heck out of dodge before they get accused of killing Marco themselves.

Y’all, I had so much fun with this. First of all, I was stoked to be back with this outrageous cast of characters. I love Finlay and Vero with my whole heart, but it’s not just them. All the side characters are wildly entertaining as well.

The way this one kicked off, with the road trip to Atlantic City, was hilarious. Just how the girls thought they could get away real quick and do what they needed to do, and the next thing you know, we’ve got two rambunctious kids, a opinionated mother and a jerk of an ex-husband in tow.

Then Marco’s hotel room. OMG, I was laughing out loud, exclaiming things. I couldn’t believe how much they were bumbling up that crime scene. It was hilarious.

And people kept showing up! Like, oh, now Nick is here!? I loved that, how even though the setting had changed, we still ended up having the full cast of wacky characters.

I absolutely adored the Atlantic City setting. It’s absurd how many opportunities for hi-jinks they had there. I was living for every minute of it.

This is an extremely strong addition to the series. At this point, my level of attachment for these characters is off the charts and this is one of my favorite mysteries so far.

Overall, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice is another well-plotted, explosive, uproarious, utterly ridiculous adventure with Finlay and friends. 100% recommend to Readers who have enjoyed other books in this series.

If you haven’t started the series yet, but enjoy Cozy Mysteries full of OTT-humor and wild escapades, you definitely should give it a go.

I have listened to the audiobooks for the last three and have loved that format so much. The narration is perfect, A++!!!

Thank you so very much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I love this series and hope that it continues for a long, long time!

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Review: Ghost Island (Jessica Niemi #4) by Max Seeck

~ megs14malloy

Ghost Island (Ghosts of the Past, #4)Ghost Island by Max Seeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Ghost Island is the 4th-installment in Max Seeck’s Jessica Niemi series, also known as the Ghosts of the Past series.

These Nordic Crime novels follow MC, Jessica Niemi, who is a Helsinki Police Detective. Admittedly, this is the first novel that I have picked up in this series, and personally, I feel it worked well as a standalone.

With this being said though, I enjoyed it so much that I intend to go back and read the previous 3-books. I’ve already got the 1st-book, The Witch Hunter, on loan from my library and am excited to start it soon.

I found Jessica to be a very compelling protagonist, and she did refer to some things in her past that I am interested in learning more about. Most specifically, her relationship with an apparent mentor who has since passed away.

In this installment, at the very beginning of the story, Jessica gets in a bit of trouble while leaving a therapy appointment. She gets in an altercation with a belligerent man, who goes so far as to put his hands on her.

Defending herself, Jessica fights back, although in hindsight, she may have taken it a little too far. When video of the incident spreads, Jessica’s supervisor suggests she take some leave to get her head on straight. The Department doesn’t need this type of negative publicity.

Jessica travels to a remote island in the Åland archipelago, where she rents a room at a historic seaside inn. She doesn’t tell anyone in her life where she is going.

Hoping for solitude, Jessica is a bit rattled when a group of elderly travelers arrive, one of them begrudged that Jessica is inhabiting the room she usually stays in.

Jessica learns this group is the last of the ‘birds of spring’, former refugees who fled Finland as children during World War II and lived together for a few months in an orphanage on the island. They return every year, for a reunion of sorts.

The orphanage has been abandoned for years, but the building still exists and local legend has it that one of the orphans, a girl named Maija, who went missing decades before, still haunts the island.

Maija is said to appear, in her signature blue coat, late at night at the end the pier, the last place she was ever seen.

When one of the ‘birds of spring’ is found dead, drowned by the pier, Jessica suspects foul play. She begins to dig into the past of the orphanage and discovers two other deaths that suggest a copycat killer may be on the island.

With inclement weather closing in, making travel an impossibility, Jessica must get to the bottom of this and quickly, before more people end up dead.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this. As mentioned, I hadn’t read the other books and wasn’t sure if that would damper my enjoyment or not.

Nevertheless, this synopsis was intriguing enough for me to want to take the risk and I’m so glad that I did. I was invested in this very early on, as I found Jessica’s character extremely compelling.

I was surprised that this turned out to be a dual timeline, with us getting a huge chunk of the story told via Maija’s perspective, set in the mid-1940s, at the time when she resided at the orphanage.

I am not a big Historical Fiction Reader, but it seemed well done here. Maija’s perspective did manage to keep me engaged and wanting to discover the connections to the present and Jessica’s stay at the property.

This brings me to the setting. I loved it. As someone who lives on a small island, that is remote and difficult to get to, I love island-set stories. It makes it so easy for me to picture just the overall feel of that landscape.

This was made infinitely better by the inclement weather that descends just as the plot is heating up. It brought a claustrophobic feel, as you realize that there is literally no escape for these characters. Someone is dead, and they are stuck. There’s a killer amongst them, but who?

I am an atmosphere girl, first and foremost, and this transported me. I felt like I was there alongside Jessica. I could feel the cold, the wind, the isolation. It was gripping.

My only slight criticism would be, once we got to the big reveal, I felt like the end dragged on a little two long for my tastes. Perhaps, if I had read the earlier books and had more backstory on Jessica I wouldn’t have felt that way, IDK.

Either way, I cannot wait to read the other books in this series and I hope there are more coming. Jessica definitely has a lot of room to grow as character. I feel like there are big things ahead for her.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. You’ve hooked me. I’m looking forward to more Jessica Niemi!

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Review: I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto

~ megs14malloy

I’m Not Done with You YetI’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Jesse Q. Sutanto has rapidly become one of my favorite authors in the last few years. I’ve read 9-novels from her and IMO, she has excelled in all three major genre spaces: Middle Grade, YA and Adult. That’s impressive.

She’s a freaking unicorn!

I’m Not Done with You Yet is an Adult Psychological Suspense novel. At it’s heart, it’s an intense story of a toxic friendship.

I thought it was fun and incredibly well-plotted. I flew through it so quickly. I just couldn’t put it down!

In this story we mainly follow, Jane, a midlist writer, who is presently not exactly stoked with her life. Her marriage is passing, at best. Her career is essentially nonexistent and she feels like she is living a life she doesn’t want.

Reflecting back on her best times, her happiest times, Jane always thinks about the start of her Creative Writing program at Oxford, and of Thalia. So much Thalia.

The girls were growing very close that first year. Thalia’s friendship had a huge effect on Jane, but eventually other people started to get in between them.

Then on one particular night, tragedy struck and Thalia and Jane were there for one another. Jane assumed surviving this trauma would draw them closer together, but it actually had the opposite effect.

Thalia abruptly left school and Jane never heard from her again. Years have passed and Jane has never been able to track Thalia down. She’s like a ghost.

That is until the day Jane spots Thalia’s name at the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. And that’s the only breadcrumb she needs.

From there, Jane easily discovers Thalia will soon be attending a Book Con in NYC. Jane will stop at nothing to get herself into that Con.

Even if it means selling her worldly-possessions in order to get funds enough to make the trip. Even if it means making up a fake story to sell her husband on the idea. Even if it means dragging along said husband, who she can barely stand most days. She’s going.

Jane is excited about her mission. She’s going to find Thalia again and once she does, she’s never letting go.

Y’all, this is such a wild ride. There are a few different layers, including past and present timelines. The present, described above, provides the impetus for the main events. The past perspective follows the friendship, from their first meeting, until that final fateful night at Oxford.

The back and forth between the two timelines, beautifully builds out the bigger picture of this relationship. I was absolutely hooked. It’s so intriguing.

Sutanto writes obsession incredibly well. In a way that makes you uncomfortable, yet you can’t look away. Even though her thoughts were messed up, I was drawn to Jane. I was so willing to go on this journey with her.

The twists kept coming and as Part III began, I was floored. There was a reveal that I didn’t see coming, not from a mile away. I think Sutanto had completely lured me into thinking everything was a steadfast, linear course to a particular ending, but life is rarely that way, is it?

These characters were really well done. Not just Jane and Thalia, but also the side characters, including Jane’s husband. They felt believable.

This story kept me on my toes and engaged the entire way through. I thought it was fun that we got to follow two writers, who were at different levels of their career. This does discuss publishing a bit and I was curious how much of Sutanto’s own experiences she brought to the page here.

I do feel like I enjoyed the present timeline a little more than the past, but everything included in the past perspective was necessary in understanding what was happening in the present. Obviously, Sutanto knows what she’s doing.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a twisted and intense story of toxic friendship. Bonus points if you enjoy stories with a college setting, or stories that include insight into the publishing industry.

If you follow my reviews at all, it’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto. I will continue to pick up every single thing she writes. Keep ’em coming, Jesse!!

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am really enjoying Sutanto in the Adult space. There’s nothing she can’t write!

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Review: Among the Living by Tim Lebbon

~ megs14malloy

Among the LivingAmong the Living by Tim Lebbon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Among the Living is an Eco-Horror novel from Tim Lebbon.

I was so excited when I read the synopsis for this one, as we all know, there’s nothing better than reading Arctic Horror in the Winter. I was super stoked to get into it.

This story is set in a very remote area of the Arctic Circle, specifically, on Hawkshead Island. We follow two groups of individuals. The first, a team of illegal miners who essentially exploit natural resources, is led by Dean.

The second, a group of climate activists, who try to stop illegal activities such as those Dean and his team engage in. The activists are led by Bethan, an old friend of Dean’s.

Dean and his team go to the island to explore a vast cave system. Their exploits lead to a horrific contagion being unleashed. This contagion has laid dormant for many millennia, but now that it’s free, it’s ready to wreck havoc.

Bethan and her team, wanting to stop Dean and his associates from exploiting this rare and special environment, rush there to try to stop them. Spoiler alert: they’re too late.

Dean, Bethan and their rivals teams are now on a survival mission from hell. They can’t let this contagion escape the island. If they do, it could mean an end to life as we know it.

But, hey, no pressure…

The concept of Among the Living is great. I love the idea of exploring what could happen if some sort of ancient contagion, or virus, is unleashed, either due to ice melt, or humans uncovering it from underground.

I think it’s such a horrifying idea. I actually think about it quite a bit. I was really excited to see Lebbon tackle that potentially species-destroying topic here.

Sadly, the execution left me feeling majorly underwhelmed.

This is a good book. I know many Readers will enjoy it. For me though, I just couldn’t care less about the characters, or their interpersonal issues. I was bored by them.

There were some extremely vivid horror scenes, where I feel like the horror imagery was very well presented. Those were the parts I enjoyed the most. They were a little few and far between for my tastes though.

IMO, the beginning of this was the most exciting part, even though in terms of action, that definitely gets more amped up towards the end. It gets crazy!

What I enjoyed about the beginning though, and found most exciting, was the unknown. The anticipation of entering the cave, of what they found there and what it meant. Those aspects were so well done. I wish it could have carried that hauntingly-ominous tone throughout.

Once Bethan and her crew came on the scene, however, it just felt that the interpersonal issues started to outshine the suspense and the horror.

Because of my fluctuations in interest, this book, coming in at just over 300-pages, took me almost 20-days to read. It just went so incredibly slow for me.

With this being said, I understand this is 100% personal taste. It’s nothing the author did wrong, it just wasn’t a good fit for my tastes. Nevertheless, I can appreciate the creativity and the concept itself is absolutely terrifying.

I would recommend this for Readers who enjoy more Literary Horror, but also aren’t afraid of a blood and gore.

It is thought-provoking and could also work very well for Book Clubs, Group Reads, or Buddy Reads.

Thank you to the publisher, Titan Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am definitely interesting in reading more of this author’s work.

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Review: A Reckless Oath (Heartless Fates #2) by Kaylie Smith

~ megs14malloy

A Reckless Oath (Heartless Fates #2)A Reckless Oath by Kaylie Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙

A Reckless Oath is the sequel to Kaylie Smith’s 2023-YA Fantasy release, A Ruinous Fate.

I had so much fun with that 1st-book, becoming extremely invested in the characters. I couldn’t wait to find out where the story was going after the jaw-dropping conclusion.

This story drops you right back, smack dab into the middle of this vast and complex world. The author doesn’t provide much of a refresher regarding the events of the 1st-book, so you better come prepared.

Sadly, I wasn’t prepared. It had been about 13-months since I read A Ruinous Fate, and while I did remember the gist of the story, a lot of the finer details were lost to time.

Because of that, it did take me a little while to find my bearings with this one.

The Heartless Fates series features lots of different magical beings, including Witches, Valkyries and Sirens. There’s a magic system that I’m still not 100% clear on, and there’s a fairly large cast of characters.

Somehow though, it all works. The characters are endearing, the world is vast and interesting, as is the overarching plot. Even though I’m slightly confused half the time, I still really enjoy these books.

It’s got a magical-Epic Fantasy feel that’s just addicting.

After the events of the first book, our main cast of characters has been torn apart. This book features each of them trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and progress forward in preparation for the oncoming war.

It’s like a game of chess, each character is a piece, moving step-by-step across the board, calculating, but are they all still on the same side?

Out of all the different perspectives, I think I loved Delphine’s the most. She’s a Siren and has returned to her home for the first time after an extended absence.

I found the Siren community to be fascinating. Their politics, interactions, etc., I almost wish that whole perspective could have been its own book.

I did still really enjoy Calla’s perspective though, as well. Amina in the land of the Valkyrie’s was also exciting. Together though, at times, with the back-and-forth, it did feel a little jarring.

There’s new revelations in this book that definitely help to progress the overall plot of the series. Relationships have developed further and the intensity has increased. You can feel something building. War is imminent.

Overall, while I found this to be a bit chaotic and occasionally hard to follow, I still am really, really enjoying these characters and this world.

I’m excited to see where it goes next.

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

I truly enjoy Kaylie Smith’s writing and will continue picking these books up!

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Review: The Dragon’s Promise (Six Crimson Cranes #2) by Elizabeth Lim

~ megs14malloy

The Dragon’s Promise (Six Crimson Cranes, #2)The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💚💛💙💚💛💙💚💛💙💚💛💙💚💛💙💚

The Dragon’s Promise is the follow-up to Elizabeth Lim’s fabulous YA-Fantasy novel, Six Crimson Cranes.

I have had this on my shelves since its release, but couldn’t read it, because I hadn’t gotten around to reading the 1st-book yet. Also, a long-time veteran of my shelves.

Earlier this month, I finally decided to pick up Six Crimson Cranes and I absolutely adored it. I fell in love with the world, as well as the characters. I had to have more.

After the heart-breaking conclusion to SCC, I needed to know immediately what was going to be next for our protagonist, Shiori. There were a lot of possibilities.

This story begins with Shiori now in possession of the powerful dragon’s pearl. Her goal is to return it to its original owner, but that is not to be an easy task.

At its heart this is a quest, which works well for me as that’s one of my favorite Fantasy tropes. It also features most of the characters that I grew to love in the first installment.

We travel to places such as the dragon realm and to Shiori’s step-mother’s homeland. The brothers are back supporting Shiori and offering her guidance when she needs it.

Her love interest, Takkan, also played a role here and I ended up loving him even more after this. They have the cutest relationship. The way it developed over the course of the two books just feels so natural. They’re easy to root for.

While I still loved the writing, the characters and the world, I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first book.

I know this doesn’t get said a lot, but I actually wish this had been longer. By that, what I really mean, is that I wish it had been broken into two books.

This feels, in a way, like two distinct stories. We have the first part, where Shiori gets to travel to the dragon realm. In the second part, she returns to the mortal realm and travels around there and does what she needs to do.

Personally, I loved the dragon realm and wish we could have spent more time there. There was a lot of political happenings and interesting new characters that I wanted to know more about.

Then in the same vein, the mortal realm section was just as interesting, but I also wanted to know more. It just felt rushed and like the two halves were smooshed together, when Lim’s fantastic writing could easily have carried this into two separate books.

With this being said, I still really enjoyed this story. It’s actually a compliment to say I wanted more.

I loved how quickly this kicked off. Having read the two books pretty much back-to-back made this a seamless experience for me. I love the lore behind the dragon pearl and learning more about that along with Shiori was so fun.

I can’t wait to the get to the prequel, Her Radiant Curse, which tells the story of Shiori’s step-mother, Raikama.

She is actually one of the most intriguing characters in this series for me, so I am so happy that prequel exists. She needs her time to shine!

I would recommend this series to anyone who loves YA Fantasy, particularly stories that incorporate fairy tale elements, or quests. Elizabeth Lim’s writing never disappoints. It’s always engaging and fast-paced.

Thank you to the publisher, Knopf Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. This is a fabulous series!!

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Review: Her Lost Soul (Detective Maria Miller #2) by Helen Phifer

~ megs14malloy

Her Lost Soul (Detective Maria Miller #2)Her Lost Soul by Helen Phifer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Her Lost Soul is the 2nd-installment to Helen Phifer’s Paranormal Mystery series, Detective Maria Miller.

As the name suggests, this series follows Detective Maria Miller and her partner, Frankie Conroy, as they investigate possible paranormal cases, in and around NYC.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, The Haunting on West 10th Street, so was looking forward to being reunited with Maria and Frankie.

Just to be clear, this is actually a Paranormal Mystery series. I know a lot of Readers enjoy the feel of, is it paranormal, is it not, but then when it comes right down to it, they don’t actually enjoy a paranormal conclusion, or explanation.

This isn’t a Scooby-Doo situation, where the mask is pulled off at the end to reveal the old librarian, who has been tricking everyone with mirrors and lighting effects.

The case in this novel is the disappearance of 17-year old, Riley Holt, daughter of a local Sheriff, who went missing while exploring an abandoned asylum with some friends.

Inspired by media such as Ghost Adventures, the four teens entered the asylum to explore and have some fun. Things start getting creepy though and in a sudden panic, they all flee, only noticing once they are outside that Riley is no longer with them.

Since the asylum is believed to be haunted, and after vigorous searching, no signs of Riley are found, Maria and Frankie are called in to take over the case.

As known experts in all things unexplainable, they seem like the right people for the job.

Maria and Frankie are forced to dig into the dark history of the asylum, leaving no stone unturned in their desperate search for Riley.

As with the first book in the series, this one also contains a historic perspective that is in some way connected with the current investigation.

In this case, we follow a patient at the asylum in 1960. We go back and forth between her experiences at the asylum, including the people she interacts with, and Maria and Frankie’s investigation.

I did really enjoy this. It didn’t hit as hard for me as the first book, I think because I didn’t find the mystery as creepy as that first one.

Also, it almost felt too short. I would have enjoyed a longer build-up to the final showdown and some more explanation as to how this was all resolved. I know what the results of the resolution are, but am unclear how we got there really.

With that being said though, I still found the back-and-forth perspectives intriguing and loved learning more about Maria. She’s a fun protagonist. I feel like I can relate to her and I enjoy the chemistry that she has with Frankie.

I am absolutely planning to continue on with this series. I hope there are a lot more future installments. They’re fun, light reads, that can help you forget about life for a while. Finally, two thumbs up for the audiobook format.

Thank so to the publisher, Storm Publishing and Dreamscape Select, for providing me with copies to read and review. I am looking forward to more Maria Miller!

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Review: You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen

~ megs14malloy

You Know What You DidYou Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

You Know What You Did is an intensely-suspenseful Mystery/Thriller debut from a hot up-and-coming author, K.T. Nguyen. And what a crackling debut it is!!

This story follows a fascinating-MC, Anh Le, who goes by Annie. She’s married, and the mother of a teenaged daughter. Annie is also an artist, although she’s feeling unsatisfied with her career lately.

In fact, a few aspects of Annie’s life are beginning to derail after the passing of her Mom, a Vietnam War refugee, who Annie had a contentious relationship with.

Annie’s mother had been residing in an out-building on their family property, so she had been a fairly constant presence in Annie’s life.

The loss impacted Annie in a lot of unexpected ways. Her severe-OCD comes roaring back and the dark fixations of her mind seem to be morphing into her reality.

When Annie’s most wealthy patron goes missing, shortly after Annie visited her home, the police come knocking.

The disappearance is shocking and it has Annie questioning everything, even herself. She can’t seem to keep current events straight in her mind.

She’s confused about many things and it’s scary. She begins to distance herself from her family and friends.

With Annie’s husband traveling for work, and her daughter off to summer camp, Annie is left to her own devices. As you can imagine, that doesn’t go well.

Waking up in a hotel, with a lifeless body beside her, Annie has officially hit rock bottom. The police are back and she doesn’t have answers that make sense, not even to herself.

Y’all, I loved this. I found it completely engaging, creepy and thought-provoking. K.T. Nguyen delivered all the tense, claustrophobic, desperate, unreliable narrator vibes that I could ever hope for.

I found it so easy to connect with Annie. I felt everything she was feeling. It made me incredibly anxious, but in a good, entertaining way, if that’s possible. There were times that I was crawling out of my skin of anticipation.

I was sympathetic to Annie’s character from the start, particularly since I couldn’t stand her husband, or her daughter. It often felt like they were ganging up on Annie and were just not giving her any slack.

I was happy when they both left, so Annie could be alone. Although it definitely didn’t help her mental state.

It’s funny, I was Buddy Reading this with a friend and she mentioned, like how much is what Annie is relaying to us about her husband and daughter true? Could it be her paranoia? Part of her mental spiral? Or were they really being that rotten to her?

It’s so funny, I didn’t even consider that before she said it, but yeah, Annie’s mental state definitely added so much to the suspense of this story. It was an exceptionally well-executed unreliable narrator situation.

I absolutely loved Nguyen’s writing. The character work in particular, I was so impressed. I enjoyed not only the suspense and mystery of this story, but Nguyen also chose to tackle some difficult topics, such as the immigrant experience and mental health.

I enjoyed the levels of depth that these topics added to the story. This is more than just your standard Popcorn Thriller. This story has meat and I enjoyed every bite.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a taut, engaging and emotional Mystery/Thriller. Particularly, if you enjoy an unreliable narrator.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review. If this is her debut, I cannot wait to see what Nguyen delivers next!!!

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