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Review: Begin Again by Emma Lord

~ megs14malloy

Begin AgainBegin Again by Emma Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Emma Lord and I have a special relationship. It’s like she sees me, she gets me, she channels what interests me into her stories. Every time I pick up one of her books, my heart is filled to the brim with love.

Okay, I’m not delusional. I know we don’t actually have a special relationship, but I definitely connect with her stories in a remarkable way; one that stands out to me amongst the many books I read.

For her latest release, Begin Again, I’ll be honest, I didn’t read the synopsis. I don’t really care what it is about, if her name is on the cover, I’m picking it up.

I went into this blind and was absolutely delighted with how this story began to unfold. Something completely wild happens in our protagonist’s life right off the bat. I was shocked and laughed, is this what this book is about?

This story follows Andie, who is navigating her first year post-high school. After spending her first semester at a local community college, remaining at home with her grandmothers, Andie has recently transferred to the college of her dreams.

Blue Ridge State is 2-hours from Andie’s home and once she is there, she quickly realizes that she is on her own for the very first time. Honestly, the wide-open freedom is jarring and a bit overwhelming.

Andie is a girl who always has a plan and right from the start her plans for her time at Blue Ridge don’t go as she anticipated. Her long-term boyfriend, Connor, who attended Blue Ridge first semester actually transferred to Andie’s old community college to surprise her.

She transferred to Blue Ridge with the hopes of surprising him. Huge whoopsie!

That enormous flub really sets the stage for Andie’s first term. She’s sort of thrown for a loop, but she isn’t someone who gives in easily. She slowly starts to build her own life; establish her independence.

Andie finds a group of friends, passions to pursue and a boy who is super kind and shares her interests. Blue Ridge is beginning to feel like home.

Life isn’t always smooth sailing though, as we all know and before too long the stress-monster is rearing his ugly head.

Connor is trying to maintain his presence in Andie’s life and she has mixed feelings about the status of their relationship. Then some startling secrets are revealed and of course, there’s some family drama happening that Andie can no longer ignore.

It’s a lot for her to try to navigate successfully. She’s sort of torn between the person she was and the person she has the potential to become. I became super invested in Andie’s life and all the issues swirling around her.

This story is set in that pivotal time of life when you are transitioning from high school, living with your family, to adulthood, living on your own. It’s that sweet spot where the building blocks of your future really begin to solidify.

Andie had some trauma in her family. She lost her mother when she was younger and her father skipped out a bit after that. It was a very impactful experience in her life.

As you would expect, Andie brings that into college with her. Her relationship with her father is still strained, even though he is making an effort, she’s not entirely sure she’s ready to forgive him just yet.

I love how Lord’s stories always include the complexity of family life. Families are just that, they’re complicated. Even the ones that appear perfect, there’s always something there; some issue or issues that can be explored.

Andie being on her own for the first time was also so compelling. She was on quite a journey of self-discovery, even if she was the last one to realize it.

Emma Lord brings so much love to her stories. You can tell she writes with care. She cares about her characters and how the issues are presented. While the stories overall have a feel-good tone, there are always deeper meanings and connections to be made.

I connected particularly well with this story. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but I developed such empathy for Andie. Additionally, the friend group, the found family feel, really touched me and the ending was completely satisfying.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

While I figured I would love this story, I had no idea how much I would LOVE this story. I cannot wait to see what Emma Lord gifts us with next!!

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Review: The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

~ megs14malloy

The House in the PinesThe House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

A fun debut novel! I liked this one a lot. The House in the Pines contains solid storytelling and an intriguing premise.

This story follows Maya. When Maya was a Senior in high school, her best friend Aubrey, died suddenly, mysteriously and with no identifiable cause, directly in front of Maya’s eyes. The only other person around, a young man named Frank, fled the scene.

Seven years later, Maya lives with a loving boyfriend, has a job she enjoys, although isn’t challenged by and is working through kicking a prescription drug habit.

Maya has struggled with the circumstances of Aubrey’s death ever since. Due to this, she has understandably had trouble with sleeping and the pills sort of took the edge off, helped her to suppress the overwhelming anxiety.

At this point, the prescriptions have run out. She needs to stop. It’s going about as well as would be expected, which is to say, not well at all. Then Maya makes a disturbing discovery.

Maya comes across a YouTube video showing a young woman, sitting in a diner booth, suddenly keel over and die. Sitting directly across from this woman is none other than Frank, the same man who happened to be sitting right next to Aubrey at the time of her death.

Maya is rattled. It seems like proof to her. She always knew Frank did something to Aubrey and now this other girl, this sort of proves it, doesn’t it?

After a disastrous dinner at her boyfriend’s parent’s house, Maya knows she can’t live with not knowing the truth any longer. She packs her bags and jumps a bus for her hometown of Pittsfield.

Her Mom still lives there in the house that Maya grew up in and welcomes her home with open arms. It’s hard for Maya to be back there after everything that happened, but she knows she needs this resolution in order to move forward.

Additionally, her mother, who has years of experience as an EMT, may be just the person to help Maya through the painful withdrawal process.

Maya finally feels able to face her past. She throws herself into an investigation, not only of what happened to her and Aubrey all those years ago, but also to the young woman at the diner.

I was really intrigued by this story. It pulled me in from the start. I enjoyed how Reyes structured the telling of the story. There are both past-and-present timelines, as you slowly piece together what happened between Maya, Frank and Aubrey that summer and how that has impacted Maya’s life ever since.

When she meets Frank at the local library, inexperienced Maya is taken in by the older boy right away. It’s not necessarily his looks, but more a certain magnetism he has that is hard to resist.

Frank knows just what to say and it seems they have similar interests. Before too long though, Maya begins to notice certain things about their time together that make her greatly uncomfortable. In fact, she becomes so ill at ease around him, she actually begins to fear him.

Additionally, Frank’s presence is putting a strain on her other relationships. Always thick as thieves, Maya and Aubrey are spending less time together than ever.

Once Maya finally admits to Aubrey the truth behind her relationship with Frank, Aubrey surprises her. She’s afraid of him too. Just as the two girls begin to make connections, on that very day, Aubrey ends up dead.

I could really sympathize with Maya. The events of that summer were truly traumatic and it definitely had lasting repercussions on her life. Finding and watching that video brought it all back for her.

It’s like she was forced to relive it. I appreciated that her character was willing to return home and face all her fears and it did get creepy.

I really enjoyed the pace of this as well. I couldn’t put it down once I started. While I found some reveals fairly predictable, if you’ve recently read (view spoiler), you may see it too, I still enjoyed the story a lot.

Overall, I am so glad that I picked this one up. It was quick and fun, yet thoughtful and slightly spooky. I am really impressed with this as a debut.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to pick up more from Ana Reyes in the future!

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Review: Malice House by Megan Shepherd

~ megs14malloy

Malice HouseMalice House by Megan Shepherd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After a very successful start, Malice House dropped off a cliff for me around 75% of the way in. It’s unfortunate, I hate to say it, but it happens…

This story follows an artist named Haven Marbury. Haven’s father, a very famous author, has recently passed away. Because of this, Haven travels from her home in New York City to his property on the West Coast. She has inherited his possibly haunted house and everything in it.

Having recently suffered through a very traumatic break-up, with barely two pennies to rub together, the idea of having a place of her own, far from her ex, is actually a blessing.

Once at the house, Haven meets with her father’s 0ld-caregiver, a rather disturbing woman in her own right. A woman that in the past has refused to spend one single night at the property.

Unusual happenings begin pretty much right away. It’s a big house and definitely spooky. Additionally, it’s bringing up a lot of mixed feelings for Haven.

Sifting through her father’s belongings, Haven discovers an unpublished manuscript called Bedtime Stories for Monsters, which is quite different from his previous works.

It’s dark and twisted, right up Haven’s alley. She has an epiphany. She needs money. Her father’s name on a cover will sell any book. She’s an artist. She’ll illustrate this book and pitch it to publishers as a father-daughter posthumous collaboration.

Unfortunately, a local group of bibliophiles that her father was a part of, the Ink Drinkers, start continuously trying to insert themselves into the process of deciding what to do with the unpublished manuscript. Haven probably should have kept that discovery to herself.

After that, things start to get really weird. Haven feels like they’re crazy, she wants them to stay the heck away from her. It’s her father’s work. They have no say over what she does with it, or do they?

There’s an attractive, though suspicious, neighbor. There’s potential poltergeist activity at the house. There are monsters coming to life and attacking. There are crazy locals and a dark, ill-feeling atmosphere.

As mentioned above, I was super intrigued by this in the beginning. I love the idea of fictional stories pulling through into real life. Monsters jumping off the pages and wrecking havoc. Are you kidding?! That’s amazing!

There were a few fun twists and as it began to come together as to what was happening, I lifted an eyebrow. Okay, Megan Shepherd. I see you. You are a Horror Gurlie. Me too!

At some point though, it kept going and went too far. It got so convoluted that it was hard to follow. I’m not sure what could have improved, I’m not claiming to be an author here, but it completely lost me by the conclusion.

I liked Haven as a character and enjoyed watching her discover some fairly significant family secrets. I just wish the pace could have been more even. The monstrous elements did build steadily, but they didn’t stop at a coherent point. It just devolved into chaos.

The more I think about this, as I am writing this review, the more disappointed I get. I am serious when I say, I really enjoyed the beginning. There are so many elements in this to love, especially if you are a fan of darker fiction. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t pulled through to a solid conclusion in my opinion.

With this being said, just because I wasn’t crazy about the ending doesn’t mean you won’t be. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a shot. You could find a new favorite read within these pages.

Thank you to the publisher, Hyperion Avenue, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this one didn’t blow me away, I would definitely pick up more Megan Shepherd novels.

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Review: Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

~ megs14malloy

Tell Me I'm WorthlessTell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tell Me I’m Worthless, originally publisher by Cipher Press in 2021, was rereleased on January 17, 2023 by Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio.

This story mainly follows Alice and Ila, close friends and part-time lovers, who have been estranged after a hallucinatory night spent in a haunted house. Their friend Hannah was there that night too, but she never made it out.

The Reader gets both Alice and Ila’s perspectives, as well as a third perspective that I will let you discover for yourself.

I went into this story expecting it to be a new take on a haunted house story and it is, but I wouldn’t classify it as a haunted house story per se. Rumfitt does creatively use that beloved Horror trope to bring something completely new to the table within these pages.

As a piece of Transgressive Horror, this story definitely gets high marks. For me, although I can appreciate the creativity and gut-punching social commentary, I can’t say this was a highly enjoyable reading experience for me.

Please note, I am not remarking on the skill or creativity of the author when I say that, I just feel like this story wasn’t particularly suited to my reading tastes.

I could have used a bit more of a linear plot and a stronger atmosphere, as that is one of the main things I look for. There was a lot of great character work here and topical commentary, but there were also a lot of fever dream-type, internal monologue rants that sort of lost me.

Additionally, I found some of it a little hard to track. With this being said, I still appreciate all that Rumfitt poured into this story and the stark, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners feel of it all.

I would definitely pick up more of Rumfitt’s work.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I would recommend the audiobook as a medium for this.

They did some really unique sound work for a few of the intense horror scenes. It’s definitely worth checking out.

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Review: What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

~ megs14malloy

What Lies in the WoodsWhat Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When they were 11-years old, best friends, Naomi, Olivia and Cassidy, spent an entire summer playing a game of their own invention, dubbed The Goddess Game, in the woods of their town. It was secret and magical, the rules made up as they went, appeasing a goddess known only to them.

They loved it and truly got immersed in their play. Sadly, their summer came to a shocking close when Naomi was viciously attacked in their playground, the woods.

Somehow, the little girl is able to survive her 17-stab wounds. Naomi is left with many scars though, both on her physical body, as well as in her heart and mind.

Olivia and Cassidy saw the man who did it, identified as Allan Michael Stahl, a suspected serial killer. The testimony of the three girls helped to put him behind bars.

He had killed six women, but it was his attack on Naomi that ultimately lead to his incarceration. The girls are lauded as heroes for their courageous testimony.

22-years later, Naomi receives a phone call that brings that horrible summer back to the forefront of her mind. Stahl has died in prison.

One might think this would provide Naomi with a bit of relief. The man who brutally attacked her, tried to take her life, has come to the end of his. He can never hurt another person. But Naomi feels more guilt and doubt than relief.

It’s clear from her reaction that there’s much more to the story. The girls may not have been 100% truthful about what was going on in the woods that day.

Naomi travels back to her hometown. She needs to see Liv and Cass. Maybe they can work through this together. The reunion brings up a lot of feelings, including tension. Liv wants to reveal the truth, but Naomi’s not even sure she knows the truth.

Naomi’s determined to figure it out. She knows the story they gave the authorities wasn’t the whole story, but what is? Naomi starts digging in and before long it’s clear, someone doesn’t want the truth coming out. Are they willing to kill to keep the secret?

I have really enjoyed some of Kate Alice Marshall’s YA-books, so when I heard that she was coming out with a debut Adult novel, I was super stoked. She has a darker writing style and I was very interested to see what she could do with that in the Adult space.

I was not disappointed! What Lies in the Woods was super intriguing to me from the very start. I loved how the reveals were arranged and the pace was perfection for me.

I had a lot of theories, some turned out to be true, but there were also some fun surprises along the way.

The tone of this story, and even some of the themes, reminded me a lot of two YA-Thrillers that I have really enjoyed, Little Monsters and Broken Things. So, yes, while this is Adult, there is a past perspective that takes place when the girls are younger.

I liked this. I always enjoy an alternating timeline, especially when it helps to piece a story together like this one did. Additionally, I think that makes this one a great transitional book for Readers who may be moving from YA-stories in the Adult-space. This could be a great place to start.

While this wasn’t perfect for me, I did lose track of some of the side characters every now and again, it is still such a strong debut for Marshall in this new space. I hope she continues to write more Adult Mystery/Thriller stories.

She definitely has a knack for the darker side of humanity and that’s what I like to see in this genre. Her main characters are always super compelling as well and I definitely felt that way about Naomi.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I had so much fun with this.

I will pick up anything Kate Alice Marshall writes, no matter the age range. Middle Grade to Adult, I’m here for it!!

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Review: Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon

~ megs14malloy

Locust LaneLocust Lane by Stephen Amidon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The suburban town of Emerson, Massachusetts, seems like the ideal place to live and raise a family, but we all know that a lot drama goes on in such towns. It may hide below the surface, but trust, it’s there.

In Stephen Amidon’s Locust Lane, the death of a young woman, Eden, opens up a crack through which the more unsavory sides of this town can be viewed.

After her body is discovered, it is clear that Eden was a victim of foul play. The police investigation into her death includes three local teens discovered to have been partying with Eden that night, Jack, Hannah and Christopher.

This narrative follows multiple perspectives of the adults in the town tied to Eden’s death. These include Jack’s Mom, Celia, Hannah’s Step-Mom, Alice and Christopher’s Father, Michel, as well as Patrick, a man who inadvertently ended up near the crime scene on the night in question. We also get the perspective of Eden’s Mom, Danielle.

This might sound like a lot, but it wasn’t difficult to follow. I think Amidon did a really great job of presenting all of these different perspectives in a distinct and important way.

Each one added to the building-out of this story. Sometimes I feel like, when there are this many perspectives, some are not as important, or interesting as the others, but that wasn’t the case here at all. In fact, I can’t imagine this story being told any other way.

I found the connections amongst the adults so interesting. Their relationships, whether mere acquaintance, friendship, or something more, had a very tight-web feel. Emerson is a small, wealthy town, and Eden was an unwealthy outsider. She didn’t grow up there like the rest of the kids. This definitely had an impact.

How could the truth ever come to light with the parents involved to the extent that they were?

The kids felt more like pawns in a game the adults were playing, as the parents scrambled trying to make sure their kids came out of this incident okay. Very little thought was given to the dead girl. Honestly, this felt real as heck.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration. It was so well-done, truly bringing the story to life. I definitely recommend it. The story itself is super intriguing, but I felt the quality of the narration really took it to the next level for me.

The tone and feel of this story reminded me of a gorgeous blend of some of my favorite Crime Thrillers and Domestic Dramas. I’m thinking, for example, of books such as Take It Back by Kia Abdullah, A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson and Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda, to name a few.

If you enjoyed any of those novels, you should absolutely have this one on your TBR!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I was hooked by this story, beginning-to-end. This was my first Amidon novel and I’m looking forward to many more!!

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Review: Ragman by J.G. Faherty

~ megs14malloy

RagmanRagman by J.G. Faherty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Ragman is a fun-filled, brutally-descriptive Horror romp through the streets of modern-day New York City, following multiple perspectives, all trying to survive the wrath of an ancient mummy’s curse.

I’ve actually never read a book featuring a mummy before and ended up having a ton of fun with this one. It was a bit like a SyFy channel movie come to the page and frankly, that hit the spot for my current reading mood.

In this story our main characters include Dan, a current NYPD officer, his ex-partner, disgraced NYPD officer, Tom, Dan’s wife, Joanna, a forensic lab tech, and Stacy, Tom’s ex-girlfriend, who works at an Egyptian Museum in the city. We do get a couple of other perspectives, but these four were really the stars of the show.

The gist of this is that in the 1800s, a group of very rich young men traveled to Egypt, raided a temple, killed the priest of the temple and robbed a bunch of ancient artifacts to increase their own wealth and prestige.

A mummy from this theft ends up at a museum of Egyptology in New York City, where present day it is awakened. Said mummy rises from his slumber with a deep yearning for revenge against those who’d wronged him and his temple.

As luck would have it, the descendants of these tomb raiders, now mostly live in NYC, convenient yes, but not surprising. They’re all still incredibly wealthy families and New York City is a known haven for the ultra-rich.

And when very rich men begin to be brutally murdered, literally torn limb-from-limb, it draws attention. When people, including our protagonists, witness the being doing the murdering, they can hardly believe their eyes.

A giant mummy erupting out of thin air with a clear vengeance against particular people. It’s unclear how they’ll ever be able to stop it. Bullets have zero effect.

How will they stop it?

I’ll be honest, I started to feel a little hopeless here. This ancient killing machine seemed unstoppable. How could our protagonists ever survive its wrath?!

As mentioned above, I had a lot of fun with this. It wasn’t perfect, but it definitely kept me entertained and wanting to read more.

The killing scenes were wild, brutal, descriptive and cringe-worthy. That’s basically everything I’m looking for in a supernatural creature feature.

This is the second novel that I have read from Faherty and both had very engaging horror imagery. He has quite the knack for creatively killing people off.

Additionally, in this one, I enjoyed all of the ancient Egyptian lore and concepts included. It gave the narrative a little something extra that was just so interesting. I loved the premise and how it followed through to the end.

Finally, I will mention that I really enjoyed Tom and Dan. I liked the women as well, especially Joanna, but the relationship between Tom and Dan was very well done.

They were partners and best friends at one point, but had a falling out, so a lot of this focused on them rebuilding trust and friendship.

I liked watching that play-out amidst a backdrop of brutal murders. It sounds insane, but it’s true. I really felt for Tom, he got the short-end of the stick quite a bit, so I loved seeing him gain some confidence back over the course of this story.

I’m hoping there is a sequel to this following these main characters. Faherty definitely set-up that possibility and I would absolutely be here for it.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Flame Tree Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a damn good time!

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Review: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

~ megs14malloy

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: Book One of the Emily Wilde SeriesEmily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries: Book One of the Emily Wilde Series by Heather Fawcett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is the perfect, snuggled-under-a-blanket, Winter read.

A Cozy Fantasy with low-stakes, light romance, enchanting atmosphere and easy-to-love characters. This was exactly what I needed for January!!

This book follows Miss Emily Wilde. Emily is a Cambridge Professor, who specializes in the study of faeries. In fact, when we meet her, Emily is fastidiously researching her latest project, the first ever encyclopaedia of fairy lore.

Emily has traveled all over the world studying various culture’s magical beings and the legends and lore surrounding them. She has one destination left, a remote village in the Scandinavian country of Ljosland.

Emily is used to field work, so she’s not put off at all by the stark, isolated village life. However, she wasn’t aware that it would be so rustic that she would need to chop her own wood to keep warm.

Needless to say, Emily, along with her trusty companion, her dog, Shadow, have a bit of a learning curve to overcome in Ljosland.

As they’re settling in, Emily receives a letter from one of her Cambridge colleagues, Wendell Bambleby, that he’s planning to join her. He can’t be serious? Emily works best alone.

Alas, arriving as unexpectedly as his earlier correspondence, there he is. Wendell Bambleby on her doorstop, two student research aides in tow. Good grief.

As days pass, and Emily’s research deepens, she begins to suspect that Bambleby knows more about the fae than he is letting on and there may be an unconventional reason for that. Will Emily’s research be a success? Will she figure out the mystery of the Hidden Ones near her cottage?

Most importantly, will she figure out the mystery of the man residing within?

Emily Wilde’s was such a lovely, cozy, warm hug of a read. I’ll be honest, I teared up at the end. I just didn’t want to part from these characters. I’m so happy this is just the start of our journey with Emily.

There’s a lot to love about Emily as a character. She’s a true academic. Not one for small talk, she struggles a bit interacting with other humans. It’s not her favorite thing.

I loved the whole idea of her setting off into the great unknown, Shadow by her side, to complete her research. She is fearless. In fact, her life is in jeopardy more than once over the course of this story, yet she seems to navigate it all so well.

Emily has her ups-and-downs over the course of this story and I felt for her every step of the way. She’s definitely the type of character you would want to be friends with. I found it so easy to connect with her.

Wendell was so fun too. He’s handsome, charming and has a natural ease with people that instantly gets under Emily’s skin. Everything seems to come so easily for him and if you’re struggling, as Emily is with some of the villagers, that can definitely be frustrating.

I loved their sort of love-hate relationship. All love on his side, a little less so on hers. I wouldn’t say hate, but she definitely rolled her eyes at him more than once.

I really enjoyed the cold, barren setting with the backdrop of the magical faerie realms as well. There were quite a few whimsical scenes that I thought were done really well.

Additionally, I liked how Fawcett chose to format this. It reads like you are reading Emily’s journal entries. It felt intimate and real-time with her adventures.

There are footnotes though, just a warning, I know not everyone is crazy about those. I felt they worked here though by adding to the vibe of the story.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic start to a series. I am definitely attached to these characters and look forward to reading more about them in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this one and definitely recommend it to fans of Cozy Fantasy and stories involving the Fae!

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Review: They’re Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso

~ megs14malloy

They're Watching YouThey’re Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well, that didn’t go as I expected…

They’re Watching You was a highly-anticipated release for me. Unfortunately, this story and I did not get along.

In this novel we’re following Maren, a student at the prestigious Torrey-Wells Academy. Two weeks ago, Maren’s best friend, Polly, went missing from school. Prior to her disappearance, Polly said some cryptic things to Maren.

When everyone, including the police and school headmistress, assume that Polly has run away, Maren knows that’s not true. Polly was her roommate, she knew her better than anyone. Polly would never leave her hanging like that.

Thus Maren begins looking into it. To her it’s clear, her friend is in trouble and she’ll do anything she can to help.

When Maren finds an envelope hidden among Polly’s things, containing an invitation to a secret society, she knows this is a lead worth following.

Rumors have swirled at school about this mysterious Gamemaster’s Society for years, and as Maren digs in, she realizes there may be a lot of truth behind the whispers. Luckily, she finds out from classmates just the info she needs to secure her own invitation.

Before she knows it, Maren is elbow-deep in secret society craziness. There is a whole underground world at her school, one very few people get to see.

The games cooked up by the society are one thing, but Maren discovers she is playing a game of her own. For every win, she’s one step closer to finding out the truth about what has happened to Polly.

Y’all, I really wanted to love this and in the beginning, I thought that maybe I would. Sadly, this never got off the ground for me and the ending, easily anticipated, left me underwhelmed.

The set-up was intriguing. I liked the idea behind what Ichaso was building, but the execution did not fit my tastes at all. I found the characters to be flat and frankly, boring, especially Maren.

Maren’s personality was practically nonexistent. Besides her insistence on not giving up on Polly, I couldn’t feel anything from her. All these wild things are happening to her, yet her thoughts and actions are putting me to sleep. I felt zero intensity.

Additionally, the romantic elements felt so forced and out of place in lieu of all that was happening. I sort of get one of the connections, as she is working closely with a certain someone to try to gain the information she needs, but it still felt out of place.

Lastly, the person who appears to be running everything, our villain, was ridiculous. I just could not get behind that person as an evil mastermind. Nope, nope, nope.

It just wasn’t for me. The motivations, the romance, the fatuous games that everyone willing participated in for no truly logical reasons and the fact that our heroine is hypocritical and boring, just never allowed this one to connect for me.

With this being said, this is 100% personal opinion. I know that a lot of Readers will enjoy this and I am so happy for those that do. Everyone has different tastes, that’s one of the best things about reading, how subjective it is.

So if this sounds interesting to you, if the synopsis raises your eyebrows, you should absolutely pick it up and give it a go. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more from this author in the future. Perhaps their next release will be more to my liking.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate having the opportunity to share my opinions.

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Review: From Bad to Cursed (The Witches of Thistle Grove #2) by Lana Harper

~ megs14malloy

From Bad to Cursed (The Witches of Thistle Grove, #2)From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

**3.5-stars**

From Bad to Cursed is the second novel in The Witches of Thistle Grove paranormal romance series.

For those unfamiliar with this series, the books are companion novels. They take place in the small, magical town of Thistle Grove following the same timeline, but each book focuses on different main characters.

In this installment, we’re treated to Isidora Avramov and Rowan Thorn in a classic enemies-to-lovers scenerio; one of my favorite romance tropes.

With the Beltane holiday approaching, the whole town of Thistle Grove is gearing up for the celebration. Unfortunately, before it even begins, their festival prep is sabotaged by a dark magical attack and a member of the Thorn family is seriously injured.

The four families end up selecting Issa and Rowan to investigate the mysterious attack. The two aren’t happy about the pairing. They have a bit of a past.

It involves a falling out at a local animal shelter that ended in Issa cursing Rowan with a batch of evil squirrels.

Nevertheless, as they begin working together, the chemistry is evident. Before long, they’re dropping their guard and getting to know one another better. Maybe they should have done this years ago.

This was a fun story. I love the feel of Thistle Grove. It’s cozy and magical, full of interesting characters and events. I will say that I’m not sure how memorable this installment will be for me, but I definitely enjoyed it.

There were some solid steamy scenes, a compelling mystery and charming magical elements. The plot itself is low-stakes, but that’s not a bad thing. It was a relaxing, fun read and everyone needs one of those occasionally.

Additionally, I appreciated the backdrop of family dynamics. Issa and Rowan both come from close-knit families, but the functioning of those families is very different.

I like how that was explored a bit. It was sort of a great example of how there is no one set way to be a loving family; it comes in all forms and functions. Every family is different, it doesn’t mean they love less.

I’m definitely planning to continue on with this series. I like returning to the town and getting to know different people every time, but also seeing a bit of the previous characters. It feels like meeting up with old friends.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am looking forward to the next book, Back in a Spell.

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