audiobooks

Review: What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

~ megs14malloy

What Big TeethWhat Big Teeth by Rose Szabo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

Here’s the thing, normally when I finish a book, I like to let it stew for a while before I write my review.

Generally, I will rate a book, write a couple of quick thoughts and return at a later time to compose a full review; giving myself permission to alter that initial rating.

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes I will raise or lower the rating depending on how the story has impacted me more long-term.

Unfortunately, What Big Teeth is the type of story that I feel like if I wait any length of time at all, I will remember nothing about this.

Here I am minutes post-turning that final page and I already feel the details of this book flying out of my brain like dust in the wind.

This story follows Eleanor Zarrin, who was sent away from her family home many years ago. She was shipped off to a private school and never even returned to visit.

Now as a teenager, after being the perpetrator of a violent act at her school, Eleanor is forced to flee and return to the unopen arms of her estranged family. The Zarrin Estate is set on the coast of Maine in a little town called Winterport.

Over the course of the story, Eleanor becomes reintroduced to the monstrous relatives she had left behind. She begins to come into her own in this strange place; learning more about herself and her family history than she ever knew before.

And that’s really all I’ve got by way of a summary for this book. I didn’t recognize much of a compelling plot for me to sink my teeth into other than learning about the family.

It was just sort of an odd family drama following a Lovecraftian-Addams family. While I understand that the author probably had more in mind when writing this, whatever it was went 100% over my head.

The reason I am rounding this up to three stars, silver linings, is because of the quality of Szabo’s writing. It really was beautiful. It felt so fluid and I really enjoyed the tone. The point though, yeah, that was completely lost on me.

For this one, these are my full and final thoughts. I am obsessed with this cover. I will keep this on my shelves and I will definitely pick-up Szabo’s future works!

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Review: Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich

~ megs14malloy

Killing TimeKilling Time by Brenna Ehrlich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Natalie Temple is on the cusp of adulthood. It is summer and she should be out partying and enjoying time with her friends while she can before heading off to college.

Unfortunately, that is not in the cards for Natalie after she discovers her favorite teacher/mentor has been murdered.

Natalie’s greatest interest is true crime, much to the chagrin over her over-protective mother, Helen. In fact, her teacher, Mrs. Halsey, is the only adult who ever seemed to understand, and even nurture, Natalie’s curiosity regarding true crime.

Even though the pair had a bit of a falling out, Natalie still cherishes Mrs. Halsey as a person and feels determined to discover what happened to her. It seems only natural to Natalie to begin her own investigation into the crime.

Over the course of the book, you get both Natalie’s present-day perspective, as well as her Mom, Helen’s, past-perspective, which occurs while Helen was in her first-year of college.

Through these two perspectives, the Reader gains insight into the complexity of Helen and Natalie’s relationship, as well as the circumstances surrounding the murder of Mrs. Halsey.

I usually enjoy alternating timelines and perspectives and this was no exception. I liked getting to see Helen’s background. It definitely helped to understand some of her overbearing behaviors; at least her motivations behind them.

I certainly wouldn’t say I agree with her parenting style. You trying to push her away, Helen?!

Natalie, for me, was the weak spot of this story. I did not enjoy her. I could relate to her on being obsessed with true crime at a young age and not having people understand you because of that, but dang, I found her so abrasive.

The way her perspective was written rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed overly aggressive, or brash. I’m not quite sure how to explain it. It turned me off from the story.

Pushing that aside, however, the mystery itself, I was into. I did want to know what happened to Mrs. Halsey. I was absolutely taken along on that journey of discovery.

I also found it interesting to see the connections between the past and present; to see how much Helen’s own backstory shaped the present. That was very interesting.

Overall, this was a good reading experience for me. I wasn’t blown away by it and there were a few aspects of the story I felt could have been handled better, but yeah, I liked it. The audiobook kept me engaged and I would definitely pick up future work from Brenna Ehrlich.

Thank you so much to the publisher, RB Media, for providing me a copy to read and review. I really appreciate it!!

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Review: Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

~ megs14malloy

EdgewoodEdgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Music is life for Emeline Lark. Chasing her dream of becoming a singer-songwriter, she left her small town of Edgewood behind, moving to the city.

No matter how far she goes however, she’s constantly reminded of home. As she performs, with the music coursing through her, she can smell the damp woods of Edgewood; moss and other flora have even been known to sprout from the stage at her feet.

Emeline does her best to ignore it. She feels like in order to succeed, she has break ties with the past.

When she receives news from a friend, however, that her beloved Grandfather has disappeared, she hightails it back to join the search. He is the only family she has left; she can’t lose him too.

With just days left before Emeline is set to go on her first tour, as the opener for one of her favorite bands, she needs to find Pa quickly, so she can return to the city and the life she’s built for herself there.

Edgewood is undeniably a quirky little town, full of superstitions. It doesn’t take long for Emeline to discover that there may actually be something to all the local lore and thus, a more magical than mundane reason for her Pa’s disappearance.

Unexpectedly, she finds herself following her only lead, a mysterious orb left on her Grandfather’s pillow, said to be evidence of a tithe paid to the Wood King.

Into the woods she goes and a fairy tale is born!

I really enjoyed my time with this audiobook. I knew going in that Ciccarelli’s writing is fantastic and that she knows how to sweep her Readers away into another world. I loved her entire Iskari series and feel it’s highly underrated in the YA Fantasy space.

In this story, I enjoyed how modern it felt. I actually didn’t know too much about it going in and assumed it was set entirely in a Fantasy world.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Emeline is a girl very much of our world, who travels to a magical realm to perform a quest; to find her beloved Grandfather who has been stolen away.

This is one of my favorite set-ups for magical stories. It gives me nostalgic Labyrinth vibes and I’m so here for it. Also, it felt sort of Beauty and the Beast reminiscent as well towards the beginning, which is another one of my favorites.

Edgewood gave me many good feels throughout. There was a lot packed into this story; numerous reveals and great growth of character for Emeline.

On a more serious note, I really enjoyed how Ciccarelli explored the relationship between Emeline and her Grandfather. When he started losing his memory, he became unable to live on his own and Emeline had to make the decision to have him placed in a home.

This is such a tough real life issue; one that hits particularly close to home for me. Emeline struggles with guilt surrounding her decision and I appreciated that Ciccarelli included that. Instead of making it glossy and pretty, you could really get a sense of the complexity of Emeline’s feelings. This hasn’t been as easy for her as it may first appear.

In spite of that heavier points in the narrative, this also managed to be magical and fun. There were many great mythical beings, a deal with the Wood King, a long-standing curse and the truth of Emeline’s past coming to light.

Oh, and also, a sweet romance. That’s probably what some of y’all are here for. It was swoon-worthy, a little heartbreaking, yet also uplifting. It was really good, although not my personal favorite aspect of the overall story.

At this point, I will pick up anything Ciccarelli writes. Her imagery is stunning and she never fails to guide me out of reality for a while.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with an audio ARC to read and review. I’m already excited to see what Ciccarelli comes up with next!!

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Review: Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

~ megs14malloy

Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Black Sun slapped me in the face. I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. I expected to enjoy it, sure, but this absolutely transported me to another world.

This lush, epic Fantasy is inspired by civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas. I loved the incorporation of those aspects. It was like nothing I had ever read before.

Following multiple-POVs, Roanhorse was able to seamlessly transition from one perspective to the next without disrupting the flow of the narrative. I thought all the different angles were handled so well.

There’s an ancient prophecy that you get to watch coming to fruition right before your eyes, as all the puzzle pieces move into place just in time for a rare celestial event; a solar eclipse on the day of the winter solstice.

The Sun Priest, basically the highest religious position of this ancient land, has stated that this event will bring about an imbalance in the world.

As the story begins, you are introduced to the main characters, Serapio, Xiala, Naranpa and Okoa, who will play fundamental roles in this prophecy. They’re on the move, everyone is heading towards the holy city of Tova, where a great festival for the solstice will be held.

The tension builds at a nice steady pace over the course of the story, but as you approach the end, hold onto your hats, it feels like it is all going to explode. I was shocked an awed by it all.

I loved the level of intrigue, plotting, back-stabbing and danger that Roanhorse brought to this story. It’s multifaceted and fascinating.

Even though this is a complex story, set in a fully built-out world, it never felt overwhelming or info-dumpy. That’s a hard thing to do. To create a world like this, done this well, takes real skill. I doff my cap to Roanhorse.

I’m so excited to get my hands on the next book in this series and am extremely glad it is going to be releasing soon. This first book definitely ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I don’t want to forget a thing!

This was one of the easiest 5-star ratings I have given this year. I am so happy I finally fit this one into my schedule. A complete delight!

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Review: A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings

~ megs14malloy

A Brush with LoveA Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harper Horowitz is in her last year of dental school and is anxious about her future placement into an oral surgery residency program. In truth though, Harper is anxious about a lot of things.

She has an anxiety disorder and sometimes finds it a struggle to keep herself focused and negative repetitive thoughts at bay. In spite of her challenges, however, Harper excels as a student and takes it very seriously.

Heading to class one day, Harper, distracted and in a rush, crashes into a jaw-droppingly cute boy named, Dan.

Her literal wrecking ball force of a crash destroys a project he had been working on. Harper, remembering how difficult that portion of first year had been, guiltily offers to help him repair it.

Working together on the project, the two hit it off. They feel comfortable with one another and the banter back in forth is flirty and fun.

Dan finds himself quickly falling for Harper, but she is pretty clear with him, she doesn’t want any distractions. She can’t afford it at this point in her life. They have to stay just friends.

Lines get blurred though and the ‘just friends’ mandate becomes more and more difficult to maintain.

Harper feels out of control. This whole Dan debacle is overwhelming. She needs her life to return to the way it was before the infamous crash, but is that what she truly wants?

A Brush with Love is such a smart, witty and romantic comedy. I fell in love with Harper from the very first chapter. I feel like she came to life on the page, and don’t even get me started on Dan.

Swooning from the start!

Even though this is cute and funny though, that’s not all it is. Both Harper and Dan had great depth of character with some hard-hitting story lines in their past.

Both of them were struggling to move past self-doubt, guilt and fear. I loved watching them open up with one another about their pasts and really support each other through those moments. Their vulnerability was beautiful.

Eddings did a great job balancing the humor with serious, real-life issues that many Readers will be able to relate to.

One of my favorite aspects was the incredibly fun dialogue. Harper had a great friend group and the dynamics between them all was fantastic. If you are a Reader who loves hilarious dialogue, you have to read this.

The one, very small critique I have with this story, is that I didn’t feel any real conflict in the plot until about the 70% mark. Then it felt like that wrapped up too quickly after it presented itself.

That’s extremely minor though and completely personal taste. You may read this and feel that it is perfectly paced. It is super fun the whole way through, I just could have enjoyed a bit more time with the resolution to the conflict.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I did listen to the audiobook and it was absolutely fantastic. I definitely recommend that format to Readers who enjoy audiobooks.

Also, I was super stoked to see that this is the first book in a companion series by Eddings. This makes me so happy. I cannot wait for the next book!!

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Review: The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2) by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising, #2)The Camelot Betrayal by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Camelot Betrayal is the second book in Kiersten White’s Camelot Rising trilogy. Granted it had been a minute since I read the first book, The Guinevere Deception, so I was concerned about being completely lost when I picked this up.

Alas, I had nothing to fear. White is a seasoned author; she wouldn’t let me down like that.

In this installment, Guinevere is still struggling to find her place in Camelot. She feels completely unmoored by the fact that she cannot remember who she actually is and where she truly came from.

Even though her relationships with Arthur and her new friends continue to grow stronger, there’s still so much she needs to know. She has blanks she wants to fill in.

While she tries to remain focused on all that’s going on around her, such as Arthur working to expand his kingdom, and Brangien pining for her lost love, Isolde, it’s really difficult with these lost pieces of herself constantly looming over her.

When a young lady arrives in the kingdom, claiming to be Guinevere’s true sister, her mere presence threatens everything Guinevere has been working towards in Camelot. Or does it?

I will be honest, I wasn’t too sure about this one in the beginning. It started a little slow for me and the stakes didn’t appear to be particularly high.

I did enjoy the character growth Guinevere was displaying and I also really enjoyed the subplot following Isolde and Brangien; give me a rescue mission any day.

The further the story went on, the more invested I became. In the end, White really brought it around. There were many interesting reveals and now I am itching to get my hands on the final book.

There’s a showdown coming to Camelot and I want to be front and center for it!

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Review: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

~ megs14malloy

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the SeaThe Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. The people believe the Sea God has cursed them. Therefore, every year, a young girl is thrown into the sea in an effort to appease him.

It is believed that these girls will serve as his wife until the next girl is sacrificed. Eventually one of the girls will be chosen as his true bride and the curse will end.

Mina’s older brother, Joon’s beloved, Shim Cheong, is the most beautiful girl in the village. Unfortunately, because of her beauty, Shim Cheong is set to be sacrificed. Joon will be heartbroken. Mina cannot let that happen.

So, on the fated night, Mina takes Shim Cheong’s place by throwing herself into the sea.

Guided by a majestic and slightly frightening dragon through the water, Mina enters the spirit world, where things are not quite as she expected.

The Sea God isn’t maniacally twirling his mustache, plotting evil deeds to unleash upon her village. He’s actually trapped in an enchanted sleep.

If she has any hope of ending the curse, Mina needs him awake. How else is he to choose her as his true bride?

Along with some new friends, including a mysterious boy named Shin, Mina sets out on a mission to try to discover the secret to waking him up. Time is not on her side, however, as humans can only survive in the Spirit realm for a short period of time. The pressure is on.

I had a great experience with this audiobook. The narrator did an incredible job bringing such a dreamy narrative to life. I was transported.

You might even say I was spirited away…

I have since discovered that this is actually a retelling of the classic Korean folktale, The Tale of Shim Cheong. I would love to get my hands on that now.

This was absolutely enchanting and I would be very interested to see how closely it connects to the original source material.

The entire story is so beautiful, so epic, so lyrical and so freaking amazing. I just can’t even express all the feels. I am clearly over the moon for this one.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, for providing me a copy of the audiobook to read and review. You better believe I will be snatching this up on release day!!!

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Review: Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

~ megs14malloy

Moon of the Crusted SnowMoon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Waubgeshig Rice’s post-apocalyptic novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, is a perfect Winter read.

Listening to this audiobook, while out walking my dog in the dark, with nothing but a headlamp guiding our way through barren conservation lands was eerie and thrilling.

The narrator for the audiobook, Billy Merasty, did an incredible job; I felt transported into the story.

For me, Rice’s writing style is a great example of good ole’-fashioned storytelling. It’s blunt and straight-forward. There’s never any struggling to figure out what’s happening, or losing brain cells trying to decipher the plot.

This narrative follows a small, isolated Northern Anishinaabe community as they lose all communication with the outside world at the start of Winter.

Initially they don’t think much of it. It seems to be just the internet and cable, but soon things get worse.

Now without power and no idea as to why, the community must band together to wait it out. They have no idea if supplies from the South will be coming and as more time goes by, people are on the brink of panic.

It feels cold, dark and desperate; much like my heart.

Reading this post-the COVID lockdowns that we have all been dealing with over the last couple of years, made this story hit extra hard.

Rice did an incredible job building the feelings of despair and anxiousness. I was starting to get really anxious as the community’s resources began to dwindle. It’s a slow burn, but extremely well executed.

I liked getting to know this community; watching how they came together and dealt with their horrifying circumstances. It’s a great cast of characters overall. I particularly felt connected with Evan and Nicole.

As mentioned above, I did enjoy the way Rice built up that feeling of dread. It was a great atmosphere. I just wished he would have sunk his teeth into that aspect even more. Gone a bit farther to push that feeling on the Reader. I wanted just a little more.

With this being said, this is a super interesting and well written story. It was definitely a memorable reading experience for me. I look forward to reading more from Waubgeshig Rice in the future!

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Review: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

~ megs14malloy

It Ends with UsIt Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

After graduating college, Lily moves to Boston. It’s a bit of a change from her small hometown in Maine, but that is exactly what she is looking for.

Lily is thriving with her new found independence. She starts her own business and begins to see success with that.

She’s young, gaining confidence and coming into her own.

Then she meets a handsome, slightly arrogant, neurosurgeon, Ryle. He’s sexy as hell and Lily is driven to distraction. She can’t get this guy out of her head.

It appears Ryle feels the same way, but this is a guy who once told her he wasn’t into relationships. Was that just big talk, or was he serious? Do they stand a chance of building an actual future together?

At the same time she is overwhelmed with questions about Ryle, an old flame of Lily’s resurfaces. She’s been thinking of him a lot. A bit of her past she has never forgotten. Will this throw a kink in the works for her and Ryle?

It Ends with Us was my first Buddy Read of 2022 with my fabulous niece, Alyssa.

It was also my first Colleen Hoover book. I was so uncertain going in, as it falls way outside of my comfort zone.

I was so nervous that I wouldn’t like it, or worse, that I would hate it and people would get ticked off by my review. This was such a good book though. I had absolutely nothing to be worried about.

I became so involved in this story, I forgot I was reading a book. It covers a few difficult topics, including domestic abuse. Alyssa and I had some great discussions stemming from these more hard-hitting aspects.

Lily isn’t a perfect character and I appreciated that about her. She makes mistakes and often second guesses herself. Sometimes she would waffle back and forth on decisions and I felt like that made her extremely realistic.

It’s easy to read her story and judge; to say or think what you would do in her place, but I think it is impossible to really know unless you’ve walked a day in Lily’s shoes.

I was surprised at how moved I was. I read via the audiobook and listened to the last chapter and maybe an epilogue (I can’t quite recall) on my morning commute. I ended the drive with tears just streaming down my face.

The lines where you discover where the title comes from. OMG!!!! That hit me like a freight train. If you’ve read this, you know exactly what I mean.

Overall, I would say my first CoHo experience was a fantastic success. I can’t wait to pick up more from her to see if they can garner the same emotional reaction.

Everybody needs a good cry once in a while!

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Review: Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

~ megs14malloy

Daughter of the DeepDaughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Would you be shocked if I told you this was the first book I have ever read by the fabulous Rick Riordan?

Well, it’s true. I can’t believe it either, but it’s true.

Luckily for me, I picked the perfect book to start with. I mean, honestly, this book has it all. I loved it.

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a school for all things of the sea. Ana’s older brother, Dev, is also a student at the school.

Due to an accident taking her parent’s lives two years ago, Dev is all the family Ana has left. He means everything to her. They are very close.

The pinnacle of Ana’s freshman year is a weekend trial at sea; think of it as a very serious field trip.

Ana has no idea what lies in store for the weekend. She can only hope that she’ll be successful, but all of that goes out the window when the Freshman class witnesses a violent and tragic event. They’re lucky to be alive.

They learn a rival school, Land Institute, may be responsible, but why? What could possibly be behind such vicious animosity?

Ana and the rest of her classmates are now on their own. They need to figure this all out and somehow out smart and out last their enemies. Along the way, they learn a lot of school history and Ana learns some quite interesting things about her own heritage as well.

Daughter of the Deep is such an exciting, fast-paced and heart-warming story. I loved the connections to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as well as the setting and overall vibe.

Riordan grabbed my attention from the very beginning and that never changed. I was completely engrossed in all that was evolving on the page.

I adored this cast of characters, how they grew to rely on one another and really became an excellent example of a found family. You want to be with them; one of the team.

Additionally, although the circumstances for our characters are quite serious, there was a great vein of humor running throughout this story. I found that aspect extremely engaging; it kept me focused.

I’m not sure what the plan is for this. If this will become a new series or not. I certainly hope it will be. I cannot imagine this being the last I read of these characters. They’re all so fantastic and there is so much more room for them to grow. I want more!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy of the audiobook to listen to. The narrator was terrific and I feel like audio is great format to take in this story.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be the last we see of Ana and friends!!!

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