ARC

Review: Ruin Road by Lamar Giles

~ megs14malloy

Ruin RoadRuin Road by Lamar Giles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Do I think Ruin Road will work for everyone? No. Was Ruin Road for me? Absolutely. This intriguing and heart-wrenching YA Horror was right in my lane.

Lamar Giles has quickly become a new favorite!

I first read from Giles when I picked up The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power a few weeks back. His story, The Protege, stood out as one of my favorites of that collection.

I knew after I read it, I would need to pick up more of his work as soon as possible. As luck would have it, I already had a copy of his latest Ruin Road, but with this absolutely STUNNING cover, I knew I wanted to save it for closer to Halloween, which is exactly what I did.

In this story we follow high school student, Cade Webster. Cade is star wide receiver, with the hopes and the potential to eventually be drafted into the NFL.

Cade works hard and stays humble. He lives with his parents and little sister, all of whom he loves and adores. Cade also attends a private school, where he is one of only a handful of Black students.

He’s sort of a guy living between two worlds; the one he grew up in, and the one of his peers at the posh private school. His quarterback drives a 911, or something insane like that. It’s quite different from the world Cade came up in.

Cade tries not to let those details phase him though. He just needs to stay focused, follow his father’s life advice and achieve everything he can in order to make an easier life for himself and the rest of his family.

No matter how hard he works, however, no matter how much he achieves, Cade always has some people judging him incorrectly. Y’all, can guess. He’s big, he’s fast and he’s Black. People keep their eye on him on the bus, let’s say.

With that in mind, one fateful night, when his helpful actions are misjudged, Cade is forced to flee a sketchy situation and ends up ducking into a pawn shop to avoid further altercation.

It’s there that Cade makes an impulse purchase, and utters a poorly-worded wish, that will change everything.

I loved this. It was such a perfect blend of hard-hitting Contemporary mixed with intense, brain-scrambling Horror-Thriller elements. The content and themes explored were so well done, but the character work was really the star of the show for me.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciated Cade as a main character. First, I loved the fact that he was such a serious football player. Football is one of my passions and I’ve never really read any YA story that had that rep done so well.

Additionally, everything else about Cade was impressive. I loved being in his head, and getting his perspective, as this story played out.

The Webster family is so fantastic. It was nice to read about such a close-knit group, with both parents engaged and involved and with Cade loving on his little sister so much. You could tell he felt the responsibility of being a big brother, and I felt like that was such a special thing to read.

I also loved the set-up of the detour into the pawn shop being the match that really lit this fire. It was giving me Needful Things, or The Auctioneer vibes, which I loved to see.

Overall, this story was completely my style. If I am picking up a YA Horror-Thriller, this is what I am looking for. I would absolutely recommend this, particularly if you are a fan of Tiffany D. Jackson. IMO, this is giving the same level of quality as a Jackson work.

In other words, top-freaking-notch!

Thank you to the publisher, Scholastic Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. My next task is to deep dive into this author’s backlist. I’m looking forward to it, and whatever he has coming next!!!

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Review: Running Cold by Susan Walter

~ megs14malloy

Running ColdRunning Cold by Susan Walter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julie Adler is a former Canadian Olympic biathlete, who now resides in California with her husband, a successful businessman. The couple share a beautiful home, plenty of money and by all accounts, a healthy marriage.

That perfect facade is shattered though the day that Julie’s husband commits suicide. Left to pick up the pieces, Julie is reeling and as it turns out, he wasn’t quite as successful as he put on. Julie is left with essentially nothing.

Julie is heartbroken. She’s embarrassed. She doesn’t know what to do next. She can’t come clean to her friends, admit they’ve been living a lie, so she does what many of us would do, she runs away, returning home to Canada.

Back in Banff, where she once trained for the Olympics, Julie finds work as a housekeeper at a luxury resort. Just as she starts to feel she is getting some stability, a high profile guest is discovered dead in her room; murdered.

Julie was the last person seen, via hotel cameras, exiting the guest’s room. This makes her the number one suspect, but what motive could Julie possible have?

Meanwhile, Julie’s Californian girlfriends miss her. They think she’s gone to Canada to lick her wounds. They have no idea how dire Julie’s circumstances actually are.

Wanting to support Julie, they travel to Banff and end up checking into the hotel where Julie works. They think Julie is a guest there and she doesn’t correct their assumptions.

There’s so much is happening with this story. It is a complete whirlwind of action and well developed characters that gripped me from the start.

I listened to the audiobook, mostly on a solo road trip, and I gotta say, that 5-hours of windshield time flew by. I was so invested in this story.

You get a few perspectives, including the local cop investigating the hotel murder, Detective Monique Montpelier, who was a nice contrast compared with Julie, Remy, the hotel manager, and Izzy, Julie’s closest friend from California.

I loved all the perspectives and what they each contributed to the narrative. It was a detailed story and each perspective switch helped to put all the vast pieces into place. I felt it was very well executed by Walter.

I love stories that follow professional athletes, so loved hearing about Julie’s time as a biathlete. I totally understood her reasons for returning to her old stomping grounds after her husband’s death and really felt like Julie’s whole background contributed so much to this story.

I also loved getting Monique’s perspective. The local detective, with not a ton of murder investigation experience, being thrown into this high powered world.

It felt honest, and so captivating.

This is the first novel I have ever read from Susan Walter and I loved the way she delivered this story. It was so readable, from start to finish, pulling me in and keeping me on my toes. I loved the balance between action and mystery.

Towards the end, it got crazy. I’ll admit to not being as completely wild about the way it went in the end, as compared with the build-up, but it’s still a super solid 4-star action-packed Thriller that I would 100% recommend.

Particularly, with the Winter months closing in. I feel like this is the perfect cold weather Thriller. The Banff setting will transport you to that isolated ski town. Be sure to have your hot beverage at the ready.

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

This has been a standout Thriller for me in 2024. I urge y’all to check it out!

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Review: Dearest by Jacquie Walters

~ megs14malloy

DearestDearest by Jacquie Walters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

Dearest is a unique take on the New Mother story and an impressive debut. I really enjoyed the topics explored, as well as the Supernatural bits and Body Horror.

In this story we are following, Flora, who just had her first child, a girl, Iris, 6-weeks ago. Iris arrived a little early and unfortunately, Flora’s husband is still deployed, so she’s left to navigate these early stages of 1st-time parenthood alone. As adorable as Iris is, it’s not an easy thing.

As time passes, Flora feels herself slipping. Her sleep-deprived brain is playing tricks on her and she’s struggling navigating the endless lonely days.

When it reaches the point where Flora feels like she’s losing it, she receives an unexpected visitor; her estranged mother. Even though her mom hasn’t been a part of her life in years, Flora hesitantly accepts the help being offering.

Her mother agrees to stay with her and Iris, at least until her husband returns.

Even with her mother around, Flora is still experiencing odd occurrences that cause her to believe something is going on in the house, or like someone is after her and Iris. Is it in her head, or are there actually much darker forces at work?

I enjoyed this quite a bit. The audiobook was fabulously narrated by the author herself, which I felt was a nice touch. It felt like experiencing the story exactly how the author wanted it to be told, and I think she did a great job with it.

Stories of new motherhood are sometimes tough for me to relate to, or become invested in. NGL, I’ve had a few that have annoyed the heck out of me, but I never felt that way here and had no problem becoming invested in Flora’s story.

I did love the overall mysterious vibe and how in depth it explored feelings of isolation, as well as the oftentimes complicated mother-daughter relationship. Additionally, Walters’s Horror descriptions were great, including some stellar Body Horror, which I always love to see.

I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy women-centered Horror, or weird is it supernatural, is it not stories. I would also highly recommend the audiobook format, should you have that available to you.

Thank you to the publisher, Hachette Audio and Mulholland Books, for providing me copies to read and review. If this Walters debut, I cannot wait to see what’s up next!

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas (Murder, She Wrote #59) by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran

~ megs14malloy

A Killer ChristmasA Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I’m rounding up for nostalgia, but either way, this was still an enjoyable Cozy Mystery. It’s set in Cabot Cove in the festive days leading up to Christmas.

While A Killer Christmas didn’t contain the most compelling mystery for me, taking over half the book to get to our murder, I still had fun sitting front row to all the town drama. You know I’m always down for that!

This is the 59th-installment of my all-time favorite Cozy Mystery series. I cherish my time with Jessica Fletcher; always have, always will. If I’m counting correctly, this is the 48th-book that I have read in this series.

In case you are new to the Murder, She Wrote books, these can be read in any order and can really be divided into two types: the Cabot Cove mysteries, which are set in Jessica’s hometown and involve a recurring cast of local characters, and the ones that are set around the world during the course of Jessica’s travels as a best-selling mystery author.

It would be difficult for me to select my favorite type. I think I prefer the travel ones, because I like to go along with Jess to the various places, however, there is something to be said about the comfort of returning to Cabot Cove.

In this one, as Christmas approaches, the entire town is getting into the holiday spirit. In fact, for the first time, the town is competing in a state-sponsored competition to be voted the Christmas Town of Maine.

With cash for the town’s non-profits and local businesses on the line, the locals are ready to put on the most festive holiday events that the town has ever seen.

In the midst of all this, local realtor and friend of Jessica, Eve Simpson has a marlin on the line, by way of Boston-based businessman, John Bragdon, who is hoping to buy the old Jarvis homestead. Eve is in a tizzy trying to impress Bragdon and see the sale through.

Eve organizes a dinner where Bragdon and his wife will be able to rub elbows with the who’s-who of Cabot Cove. Of course, as one of the most successful authors currently in the Mystery biz, Jessica secures an invite.

Although she’s not crazy about the idea, Jessica does agree to help Eve. A few of her other friends will be there too, so it can’t be all bad.

Dinner is going well, when the party is suddenly interrupted by the long-missing, and assumed dead, Kenny Jarvis. He heard his sister was putting their family home on the market and has returned to stake his claim. He announces that the Bradgons will never live in his house.

When Rose Marie Bragdon, John’s wife, dies unexpectedly days later, Kenny is quickly the number one suspect.

He was witnessed by many threatening her, but Jessica isn’t so sure it’s as simple as all of that. Doing what she does best, Jessica digs in, determined to find out the truth about what happened to Rose Marie.

As mentioned above, this mystery wasn’t super compelling for me, but everything else going on in the town certainly made up for it, IMO.

The realtor, Eve, a recurring character, always drives me a little batty. She’s abrasive, frequently steam-rolling over those around her. It’s just her personality. Jessica puts up with her in good grace, and I always feel schooled in the patience department.

Why she is even friends with this woman, I will never know.

Eve needed this sale. She reeked of desperation and was willing to do anything to get the Jarvis property sold. Bless Jessica and the others for being willing to help her out.

More than the sale though, the Christmas competition was providing quite a bit of tension in town as well. People were divided on where the winnings should go, if they were actually to win, and the planning of the events themselves got stressful.

Overall though, I did love the holiday vibes pouring from the pages. And all this stuff that I’m talking about, the stress, the tension, it did succeed in pulling me in. It made me invested. I love these characters and this town. I mean, at this point, even I feel like a local, so I was into it. It made me ready to start my own Christmas planning.

Terrie Farley Moran has done a great job with her contributions to this series. This is her 6th, I believe. I’ve read them all and I have really enjoyed them all.

I love how she has kept the original tone of the series, and she for sure has Jessica’s character and mannerisms down. I love this series with my whole heart. I will never, ever stop reading them. If you are looking for a Cozy Mystery series, a true Cozy, I can’t recommend this one highly enough.

I know for me there is a level of nostalgia that others may not have, but even without that nostalgia, I think these are still highly enjoyable mysteries.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I always look forward to the latest Murder, She Wrote. Please keep them coming!

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Review: We Kept Her In the Cellar by W.R. Gorman

~ megs14malloy

We Kept Her In the CellarWe Kept Her In the Cellar by W.R. Gorman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

**4.5-stars**

We Kept Her In the Cellar is a wildly-imaginative and uber-dark Cinderella reimagining. As it turns out, it’s also the Dark Fairy Tale of my slightly-disturbed dreams.

This story follows Eunice, who at the beginning of our tale is just 11-years old and her mother is about to be married to a man who has a daughter, Cinderella.

The blending of the families is rife with unsettling occurrences from the very start.

Eunice learns the rules for dealing with Cinderella, but it’s not an easy life. She basically takes on the role of caregiver, even when she herself is a child.

Cinderella has dark and terrifying powers. It’s almost impossible for her interact with the rest of the world. She needs to be handled at all times. Hence why the family keeps her mostly imprisoned in their cellar.

After Eunice, now 18, befriends charming Prince Credence, she begins to see the possibilities outside of their home. Why should she be shackled within like Cinderella? She’s done nothing wrong and wants a life.

Eunice even receives an invitation to the Prince’s Ball and is determined to go. This could be her chance to break free.

However, on the night she’s set to go, it’s actually Cinderella who breaks free with disastrous consequences. Using her vast eldritch powers, Cinderella ends up attending the Ball and enrapturing the Prince with her beauty and grace.

At midnight, she leaves behind a trail of destruction and a single green glass slipper. I think you know a bit of what happens from there, or do you?

I read the synopsis of this so long ago, that by the time I got around to picking it up, I had actually forgotten it was a Cinderella reimagining.

I was expecting Horror and I certainly got that, but I also got enough of my Dark Fairy Tale fix to last me a good long while. This one is going to stick in my brain, that’s for sure.

By 5% in, W.R. Gorman had my jaw on the floor. This story waits no time to take off. It’s 0-to-60 with this one.

I loved Eunice as a character and loved learning all about Cinderella along with her. To think, Eunice had a fairly normal life until her mother needed to remarry. That’s the choice that changed her life forever.

Eunice’s younger sister Hortense was only 5-years old when Cinderella arrived. Cinderella’s needs required a lot of Eunice’s time and I felt bad for poor Hortense, who didn’t really understand why her beloved older sister, Eunice, no longer had the time to play with her.

It really did a number on this family. I liked Cinderella’s father. I felt for him. It seemed like he was also doing the best he could, and he did really seem to care for Eunice, Hortense and their mother.

Cinderella was like nothing I had ever read before. She never ceased to surprise and amaze me with her powers and actions. When I say this, read it as, she’s terrifying.

This story was so engaging. It sucked me in. I loved the choices Gorman made as far the connections with the original Cinderella story and how twisted they are here. It’s incredibly clever and inspired.

The Body Horror is fantastic and there’s a lot of it, which we love to see. I’m talking super cringe, toe-curling moments on the regular. Also, I did listen to the audiobook which was fabulous. It is narrated by EJ Lavery, whose voice work definitely added to the dark whimsy of this tale.

My only complaint is I felt it was resolved a little too easily. After this gloriously-grotesque and dark build-up, I was a wee surprised at how quickly it wrapped up.

I did like the delightful little tid-bit we learned at the end though, regarding the aftermath, or lingering result of it all. In a way though, you could just look at this as a compliment. It just means I wanted more.

Honestly, I could read another entire volume following this cast of characters and set within this world. C’mon, Gorman, how about a sequel!?

Thank you so much to the publishers, Crooked Lane Books and HighBridge Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

I would absolutely recommend this story to Horror Readers, and Dark Fairy Tale Readers, particularly if you love a lot of Body Horror. I can’t wait for more from this author!

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Review: The Debutantes by Olivia Worley

~ megs14malloy

The Debutantes: A NovelThe Debutantes: A Novel by Olivia Worley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the boisterous Southern city of New Orleans, Les Masques Ball is the highlight of the Mardi Gras season for the elite.

The morning after last year’s Ball, the reigning Queen, Margot, was found dead. Margot had a bit of a wild streak, so to some, it wasn’t a particularly shocking development. That sounds mean, but you know how people speculate.

Nevertheless, it was a tragedy and going into this year’s Ball, the new class of debutantes definitely hold Margot’s fate close to their minds and hearts.

Lily is to be this year’s Queen though and she’s absolutely perfect. There’s no way she would get into the type of circumstance that Margot must have found herself in last year. The event should go off without a hitch.

Unfortunately, the Ball gets crashed by a mysterious figure in a Jester costume, threatening those involved.

After the event disperses, Lily sends a message to the three other girls in her royal court, Vivian, Piper and April, asking if they could meet up the next day. But Lily never shows up.

Now the three remaining girls need to try to figure out why Lily wanted to bring them all together and what happened to her. Also, is this connected with Margot’s death?

What is going on here?

The Debutantes is a dramatic and tense YA Thriller, with plenty to keep the Reader on their toes.

I loved the New Orleans setting and the immersion into Debutante culture. It was fascinating and steeped in mystery. I loved the vibes from start to finish.

At first, I’ll admit, it was a little difficult for me to differentiate among all the characters.

The author worked it out though. It’s tough having that many girls involved and keeping them straight. Once I did though, and started to really learn their various personalities and backgrounds, it was so compelling.

There were many entertaining twists, a couple of the jaw-dropping variety, that left me reeling. Additionally, I loved how Worley continued to build up the intensity and intrigue. This was a tough one to put down.

I also felt like the conclusion was very strong. That final chapter was the cherry on the sundae for me. It helped it all become a little more clear. Bravo on that.

This is the first that I have read from Olivia Worley, but from this, I can tell that I will definitely be picking up more of her work. This style of YA Thriller suits my tastes to a tee.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to any YA Thriller fan!

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Review: No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally

~ megs14malloy

No Place Left to HideNo Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

After reading Megan Lally’s debut, That’s Not My Name, as my first book of 2024 and giving it a strong 5-star rating, I knew she was an author I wanted more from.

No Place Left to Hide is her upcoming 2025-release, with an expected publication date of January 7th, but I couldn’t wait that long. Once I had my ARC, graciously received from Sourcebooks Fire, I knew I would be getting to it soon.

Unsurprisingly, this was so gripping and absolutely overflowing with twists and turns. It took me no time to read at all, and now I must wait for more Lally. It really was a double-edged sword reading this so early.

This felt a little inspired by the true life Murdaugh murders in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. I don’t know if that was intentional by the author, but I was definitely picking up details and connections that made me think of that case.

It also brought to mind Holly Jackson’s Five Survive. If you had fun with that, you should check this out too.

You may be wondering what it’s all about, and I’m going to tell you as briefly I can; trying not to gush on about it.

So, we’re following MC, Brooke, and to her, image is everything. She comes from a very successful family. Her father has been involved in law in their county for decades and is well respected. Her Mom is the principal of their prestigious school.

There was an incident with a classmate a year ago that almost ruined it all for Brooke. Luckily, she was able to move on from it and has just been accepted into her dream school.

She’s been laying low, but with the Yale acceptance, is finally convinced by her best friend, Jena, to attend an Ivy Party, to celebrate along with the rest of their classmates.

It’s been a while since Brooke attended a party, and even though she’s hesitant, she’s looking forward to letting loose for a bit. At the party though, she is confronted by the brother of the classmate she had the incident with last year.

He blames her for what happened to his sister, and from there, everything begins to go downhill quickly.

There are screaming matches, accusations, threats, car chases, police involvement; it’s pretty edge of your seat until the very BITTER end.

I love teen drama. I love rich people behaving badly. I love having a front seat to it all and that’s exactly what Lally delivered me in this one.

Once I started, I could not put this down. Don’t get me wrong, none of the characters are likable and I wasn’t rooting for anyone, but boy, did I want to know all the tea!

While this is very different plot-wise to That’s Not My Name, Lally’s intriguing storytelling style was still on full display.

I didn’t give this a full 5-stars, because there were some minor things that didn’t quite work for me, but overall, it was a very successful, fun reading experience.

I would recommend this to any fan of YA Thrillers. Particularly, if you love really twisted stories.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to see what more Readers think of this one, and more importantly, I can’t wait for more from Megan Lally!

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Review: Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe

~ megs14malloy

Love and Other ConspiraciesLove and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hallie Barrett made the classic mistake of dating a co-worker. The guy was also a mega-jerk and after their split, it actually had a huge impact on Hallie’s position at her job.

She’s been pulled from the online series she was producing and needs to come up with something new to present the execs, and quickly. Inspiration strikes after watching a late-night docuseries where she sees the most handsome man discussing Bigfoot theories.

Hayden Hargrove has made a name for himself with his podcast. He’s an expert on cryptids and was a guest on the show that caught Hallie’s attention.

She reaches out to him and pitches her ideas. He can’t help but be intrigued by the captivating blue-haired producer who has offered him a great opportunity. To her surprise, he accepts her offer to work with her on her new show.

Unfortunately, Hayden is used to podcasting and his solo on-screen performance isn’t great. Trying to make him more comfortable, Hallie jumps on camera too and it’s then when the magic happens.

Their chemistry is great and Hayden seems much more capable of making his points with someone there to banter off from. Thus, their on-screen relationship is born, but what’s gonna happen when the camera stops rolling?

This was really cute. I definitely got invested in Hallie, Hayden and their relationship. I loved the initial set-up for how they came into each other’s orbits, and appreciated that the author didn’t rely too heavily on miscommunication to keep the story progressing.

In fact, there really wasn’t any miscommunication between the love interests, which IMO was SOOOO refreshing to see.

A lot of the drama really stemmed from Hallie’s job and ex, trying to pick up the pieces and get her life back on track. Hayden also had some personal issues, mostly related to his parents. I thought the author did a great job introducing all these topics and seeing them through to their conclusions.

Overall, Love and Other Conspiracies was sort of nerdy, hella sweet and succeeded in keeping me fully engaged throughout. I loved the banter between Hallie and Hayden, but also the more serious moments, how supportive they were of one another.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was such a solid Romance debut. I can’t wait for more from this author!

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Review: The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak

~ megs14malloy

The Last One at the Wedding is the latest from Jason Rekulak, author of the well-received, 2022-release, [book:Hidden Pictures|58724923].

I really enjoyed the overall vibes of Hidden Pictures and was excited to see what Rekulak would deliver with this next release. I never even read the full synopsis, TBH, the author’s name alone was enough to sell it to me.

In this story we follow Frank Szatowski, a veteran UPS-driver from rural Pennsylvania. Frank is a widower who lives alone. Sadly, he’s been estranged from his daughter, Maggie, for the past three years.

Maggie left her hometown for college and never returned. She’s always been very driven and now has a successful career in tech and lives in Boston.

Frank is shocked when he receives a call from Maggie out of the blue, not just because of the fact that she’s calling, but because of her news. She’s getting married and she wants Frank to be there.

Determined to make things right with his only child, Frank readily agrees. He’s excited to meet his future son-in-law, Aidan Gardner, and get to know his family. Who is this man who seems to have swept his daughter off her feet?

The weekend-long event is set to take place at a lakeside estate in New Hampshire, owned by the Gardners. As it turns out, Aidan’s father is a titan in the tech industry and the family is ridiculously wealthy.

Even though that level of wealth tends to make Frank uncomfortable, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to reconnect with Maggie. Thus, he makes the long road trip, along with his sister, Tammy, and her foster child, Abigail, with good intentions.

Arriving in New Hampshire, Frank has a couple of interactions with some locals that leave him unsettled. They seem downright hostile towards the Gardners, and rumors swirling around Aidan seem to be at the heart of it.

The property itself is a virtual fortress, complete with intimidating security personnel. Frank tries to relax and just be there for Maggie, but it’s not going well. She seems too busy for him. In fact, his presence seems merely perfunctory.

Frank tries not to let it all affect him, but he is highly suspicious of the Gardner family, and seems to get more suspicious with every forced interaction. What exactly is going on here, and is Maggie in over her head?

It was so easy to get engrossed in this story. I loved Frank from the start and hearing everything from his perspective. I listened to the audiobook and the narration by John Pirhalla truly brought Frank to life.

It’s unclear in the beginning what has gone on in the past between Frank and Maggie; you know of their estrangement, but not how it ended up at that point. I liked the way the author chose to play out that part of the narrative.

There’s also so much mystery surrounding the Gardner family and the depth of Maggie’s involvement in the family affairs. It felt dangerous, even without openly knowing why.

The mystery involving the locals though was really where my brain started to stand at full attention. There’s a missing local girl, who was allegedly dating Aidan, though he denies it.

Frank has communications with them that lead him to believe they’re telling the truth, but everyone in the Gardner family denies involvement of any kind. Scared for his daughter’s safety, Frank can’t let it go and continues to dig.

There are some crazy reveals and I loved getting caught up in all the suspense. There are some characters that are a lot of fun to hate as well. Rekulak created some strong villains here!

I had such a great time going on this journey with Frank. This is a completely different feel to Hidden Pictures, but I actually enjoyed this one even more. I loved the character work, the setting and the non-stop level of intrigue.

While subtle at times, and a bit of a slower burn, I think this is a very well developed story that a lot of Readers will enjoy. I definitely recommend the audiobook as well. It was very well done.

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

I’ve had a great relationship with Rekulak so far, and I cannot wait for more!!

Review: Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker

~ megs14malloy

Come Out, Come OutCome Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This book has so much to offer, including great rep and an unsettling atmosphere. I really enjoyed meeting these characters and going along on this journey with them.

It was always easy, actually it mostly wasn’t easy, but I appreciated how Fern and Jaq both grew over the course of the story. There was some great messaging involved with both of their stories.

I also felt it was a nice balance between the Horror elements and the Contemporary elements. For me, certain issues, mainly the Horror bits, were wrapped up a little too easily, but overall, a strong Queer YA Horror novel!!

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