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Review: Elevation by Stephen King

~ megs14malloy

ElevationElevation by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I picked up Elevation as Book #9 for my TBR-Haul Project.

I hauled this all the way back in October 2018 and had planned to read it immediately. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick it up as soon as I wanted and then it got buried on my shelves and forgotten.

This happens a lot, hence the need for the creation of my TBR-Haul Project. If I actually followed through on things, we wouldn’t need this type of self-improvement project.

But enough about me, let’s get to Elevation, which happens to be a Castle Rock story. That fact alone ups its rating. I love that twisted little town.

We follow Scott Carey, who has a disturbing health ailment he’s trying to make sense of. It sounds insane and he’d prefer not to have the whole town gossiping about it, therefore, he confides only in his good friend, retired General Practitioner, Doctor Bob Ellis.

Scott is losing weight, a lot of it and rapidly. Yet, his physical appearance looks no different.

It’s bizarre and no matter how long the two friends discuss it, they just can’t come up with an plausible explanation. However, scales don’t lie. He weighs the same dressed, or not, with heavy things in his pockets or not.

The problem is there seems to be no end in sight, besides reaching zero on the scale. What will happen then? Basically, Scott believes his life now has a rapidly approaching expiration date.

During the midst of all of this, he also is dealing with regular life stuff. Including befriending some new neighbors, a married lesbian couple who own a local dining establishment, and seem to be the talk of the town.

The women, Dee-Dee and Missy, are new to Castle Rock and not everyone is happy about the restaurateurs presence.

As the town starts preparing for its annual Thanksgiving Day 12k, Scott begins to notice the discriminatory behavior directed at the couple. In his own bumbling way, he decides to try to help.

Then there’s the actual road race, the turkey trot. An odd and well-detailed road race that Scott not only participates in, but excels at.

Unlikely friendships are formed and the rest of the book plays out with all the characters learning a lesson or two.

This story is like the Aesop’s Fable of Stephen King’s written work. It’s short, concise, a bit fantastical and I think he had a point to make; maybe a lesson for all of us.

In fact, I believe at the time, this story may have gotten a bit of heat for being too political. I personally have no opinion on that either way, but what I did take away from this was the quality of the storytelling.

As always I found the writing to be absolutely fluid and engaging; top notch stuff. However, if this had been included in a short-story collection, it wouldn’t really stand out to me as a favorite, as say something like Secret Window, Secret Garden, 1922 or The Body.

The book itself is gorgeous. The end pages and the illustrated chapter headings, loved them. 5-stars for the packaging. I’m happy to have it on my shelves as part of my vast King collection.

Overall, while this won’t stand out as one of my favorites of King’s work, I am glad that I finally made time for it. It always feels good to check something off a list!

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Review: Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

~ megs14malloy

Emergency ContactEmergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up Emergency Contact as Book #6 for my TBR-Haul Project. I hauled it all the way back in July of 2018 and then for some reason never picked it up.

My initial attraction, and frankly the reason I bought it, was for the cover. I mean, look at her! She’s stunning. I was also hearing great buzz for it at the time though.

In spite of the fact that it’s been collecting dust all that time, I have never really lost interest in the story. After picking it up, I’m disappointed in myself for neglecting it for so long!

This story is set in Austin, Texas and follows two main characters, Penny and Sam.

Penny is just entering her first year of college. With dreams of being a writer, she’s looking forward to getting to Austin and leaving her small town life behind.

Penny was raised by a single mom, who she loves so much, but has a complicated relationship with. Penny’s mom was young when she had her and sometimes, to Penny, it feels more like she is the parent than the child.

Sam is in his early-20s and he is in a major rut. After a break-up, he’s stuck secretly living at the coffee shop in which he works.

He dreams of becoming a filmmaker, but those dreams are on hold at the moment, as he just tries to struggle through day-to-day life. Being newly sober is the icing on the cake, but he does his best to make it work.

When Sam and Penny meet through Penny’s new college roommate Jude, it’s silently like a gut punch for them both, but they don’t make a real connection until later.

A chance encounter finds them alone and the serious experience they go through together that night creates a bond that they keep all to themselves.

From that point forward, they remain in daily contact via text messages and an all-consuming relationship blooms through that remote form of interaction.

As they continue to get to know one another, feelings and emotions begin to grow, but will the two be able to take it from the screen to IRL?

The audiobook format of this story swept me away. We have two narrators, one for Penny and one for Sam and they truly brought this narrative to life. I genuinely felt like I was listening to Penny and Sam tell their stories.

I absolutely adored both of these characters. Penny especially. The way she thought and viewed the world, it was so natural and relatable. I loved her sense of humor or sort of snarky attitude towards life.

Sam was such a sweetie, who although he had been let down by many people in his life, still managed not to be jaded and just had the kindest heart.

In addition to loving them individually, I loved the chemistry and banter between these two. From the very first moment they met, I knew we were bound to have something special here. Watching their relationship grow through a less traditional medium than face-to-face interaction made it that much more enjoyable.

There was a certain level of pining that came with it that I’m not sure we would have experienced otherwise.

Both of these characters were dealing with different and very serious life issues involving family, past traumas and self-confidence. Watching them work through those things, and help each other work through those things, was believable and ultimately left me feeling hopeful.

I was surprised by how connected I felt to these characters as the story progressed. I haven’t really been picking up a lot of Contemporary stories recently and this one revamped my interest in these types of topics and narratives.

I am definitely planning to read more of Mary H.K. Choi’s work. If it is half as great as this, I have a lot of stellar reading ahead from this author!

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Review: Sweet Little Lies (Cat Kinsella #1) by Caz Frear

~ megs14malloy

Sweet Little Lies (Cat Kinsella, #1)Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Twenty-six year old Cat Kinsella is a DC with the Metropolitan Police Force, her dream job. After a less than stellar childhood, Cat has made her own way in the world and tries to keep the past just there; in the past.

As we all know though, the past frequently comes back to haunt us and Cat’s about to learn that lesson the hard way.

When Cat gets called to work a murder scene very near the pub that her estranged father still runs, old memories get stirred up, throwing Cat’s brain into overdrive.

Additionally, the victim, a housewife named Alice turns out to be very much linked to Maryanne Doyle, a teenage girl who went missing from Ireland almost two decades ago. Is this a coincidence?

Cat’s family met Maryanne while they were vacationing in Ireland just before she went missing and Cat has never forgotten her. Maryanne could do that; make an impact.

But the biggest takeaway from that time for Cat, was that her father was a liar and perhaps worse. After Maryanne’s disappearance, he was questioned by police and lied to them.

He said he never met the girl and that wasn’t true. In fact, her father may have known Maryanne very well; certainly more than he should have.

Cat has always suspected he knew what happened to her and it definitely drove a wedge between them. Could he also be involved with this current case?

Cat has to solve this mystery now, or risk it continuing to haunt her forever. Thus, Cat and her team dig into the investigation. It goes deep and gets twisted.

Sweet Little Lies is the first book in Caz Frear’s Cat Kinsella Mystery series. Incidentally, this was a debut novel.

This was also the 7th-book that I picked up for my TBR Haul-Project. I hauled this back in August of 2018, when it was my BOTM pick for the month. I was originally so stoked for it and then it sort of fell off my radar.

I’ll admit it took me a little while to really get invested in the mystery, but Frear definitely brought it around in the second half. I think initially I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and what was happening.

Like the whole Alice / Maryanne thing, I’m not sure if I wasn’t paying well enough attention at first, but it took me a minute to get a grasp on that.

Once I started really focusing in on it, the investigation became gripping and intense. Cat’s personality, although dry to me initially, really began to grow on me. I’m sure she’ll continue to grow as a character in future installments.

I am definitely interested in moving on with this series. Overall, a I found this to be a compelling Police Procedural!

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Review: The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch

~ megs14malloy

The Last Town (Wayward Pines, #3)The Last Town by Blake Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Last Town is the concluding book in Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines series.

I read the first two books last Fall, but for some reason, as often happens, I then failed to pick this one up. Sometimes when things are so good, you just don’t want them to end.

Luckily for me, this is a very memorable story, so I had no problem picking this one up even though almost a year had passed. I hadn’t forgotten a thing.

The truth of Wayward Pines, even the idea of it, is so horrifying that it is seared into my brain from now until forevermore.

After the reveals of the second book, which had huge repercussions for the entire town, things get much worse. Much, much worse.

Ethan Burke has ticked off Pilcher and that results in Pilcher cranking up for a temper tantrum of epic proportions. He’s about to unleash a community-wide shitstorm, pretty much the equivalent of a 10-year old flipping over a game of Monopoly because they’re losing.

This installment was non-stop action from the very start. It’s dropping you off directly where the action left off. There’s no time to pause.

It’s bleak. Not going to lie. For the majority of the book, I felt pretty helpless with regards to my favorite characters. How the heck are they going to get out of this?

It seemed the end was near. I mean I could feel it, watching the percentage run down on my kindle. It was coming. What was it going to be?

Overall, I am satisfied with this ending. I wouldn’t have guessed the ending and I can’t argue with it. This was a tough one. The world was what it was. There were no easy answers.

I think Crouch did an exceptional job over the course of these three books building out this world and providing characters that the Reader could care about. I loved many of these characters and it was sometimes tough to read about the things they went through.

I would definitely recommend this series. Even though it is a bit of an older series, it’s absolutely worth picking up!!

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Review: Bright We Burn (The Conqueror’s Saga #3) by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

Bright We Burn (The Conqueror's Saga #3)Bright We Burn by Kiersten White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bright We Burn is the third and final book in Kiersten White’s sweeping YA-series, The Conqueror’s Saga.

I bought this entire trilogy back in 2018 and she has stood quietly, yet beautifully, on my shelves, unread, for all these years. I picked up the first book on a whim, And I Darken, last month when I started my TBR-Haul Project.

The goal of this self-created project is simply to get me to read some of the backlist titles that I own. And I Darken was the first book of the project and I’m so glad it was.

I had such a successful reading experience with that book and consequently binged the rest of the series.

I found the world White created over the course of this series completely immersive. I was transported to the Ottoman Empire era and I found it to be such a refreshing, captivating, mysterious, yet brutal, setting.

The characters, particularly our main characters Lada, Radu and Mehmed, were each so fleshed out and distinct. Over the course of the series I became so attached to them and invested in their lives. I was like a helicopter mom circling them; especially Lada.

Lada was my favorite character. I loved her strength and determination. I felt like White wrote her really well. It was easy to understand her motivations and as hard as she was, you could tell that it was because she was essentially traumatized from her childhood.

She pushed everyone away, only keeping her country in her heart, that way no one could break it. I felt for her. Additionally, she’s a complete and total badass.

After returning to her home country, Lada uses a thousand stakes to send a message to her rivals. This one would never go down without a fight.

Radu grew so much in this one as well. It took a lot to get him to this place, but I think he finally is able to gain some sort of peace, or at least understanding, in his life that was satisfying to see.

He was a sweet baby bird that I want to protect throughout this beginning of this series. In this book, it didn’t feel as much like that. He really came into his own and although not a perfect situation, we love to see the growth.

Overall, White sent me on a tremendous journey with these characters. I seriously haven’t been this emotional at the close of a series in a long, long time. We’re talking actually tears, folks.

Kiersten White has destroyed me. I may never fully recover.

I’ve now read 9-books from this author and I’ll tell you, she’s a heavy hitter in my book.

I will continue to pick up anything she writes and I recommend you do too!

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The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote #44) by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain

~ megs14malloy

Murder, She Wrote: The Ghost and Mrs. FletcherMurder, She Wrote: The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻

The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher is the 44th-book in the long-running and very beloved Murder, She Wrote mystery series.

Incidentally, this is the 40th-book that I have read from this series and with the 56th-book set to release in January of 2023, I still have quite a few more to go!

Suffice it to say, a lot of people love solving mysteries with Jessica Fletcher. These books are such a comforting place for me. I have been reading these books since I was kid, when I also watched the television program with my parents.

Angela Lansbury is a goddess.

In this installment, set completely in Jessica’s hometown of Cabot Cove we have a large, recently vacated home with a potential ghost and a thousand books. Are you intrigued yet?

When fellow Cabot Cover, Cliff Cooper, passes away, Jessica agrees to help local realtor, Eve Simpson, prepare his former home, the historic Spencer Perry house, to sell.

According to Cliff’s final wishes, relayed to Jessica herself, the proceeds of the sale are then to go to his last remaining heir, his grandson, Elliot.

Cliff raised Elliot on his own after the mysterious disappearance of Elliot’s parents, Cliff’s son and daughter-in-law. It’s rumored the couple left their newborn baby with the elder Mr. Cooper so they could travel to South America on an anthropological expedition.

Jessica’s main contribution will be sorting through Cliff’s thousands of books to prepare them for sale. Her motivation is that the proceeds will be donated to the Cabot Cove library.

The house is literally packed to the gills with stuff. Jessica can hardly believe the state of it, but she promptly gets to work even amidst the circling rumors that the house is haunted. The rumors are so prevalent that Eve has had a hard time finding people to work at the property.

Therefore she resorts to hiring an unknown handyman, an apparent drifter to handle the repairs, as well as a medium to help chase away the ghosts.

Jessica just wants to quietly sort books, but the chaos Eve has created with all these unknown people makes the whole process completely uncomfortable for her. The last thing she needs is some medium including her on a ghost hunters YouTube series.

When it turns out that the late Cliff Cooper didn’t die of natural causes, however, Jessica can hardly extricate herself from the scene. She can’t help but dive into a mystery.

Thus, Jessica begins an investigation into the Cooper family, their home and who could have possibly wanted Mr. Cooper dead. It’s a real puzzle and the deeper she digs, the more confounding it gets.

As with all MSW mysteries, I had a lot of fun with this. It’s always so nostalgic to crack a spine of another Jessica Fletcher story.

Since this one is set in Cabot Cove, all Jessica’s friends and regular acquaintances make an appearance here. I will say, just for me, I tend to enjoy the stories where Jessica is traveling just a little bit more, but that is 100% personal taste.

Either way, this is a solid, fun mystery, with great twists, turns and reveals. I am so happy that I finally got a chance to read this one and look forward to my next Murder, She Wrote story.

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Review: The Bones Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

~ megs14malloy

The Bone HousesThe Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the death of her parents, 17-year old, Ryn, is left to run the family’s graveyard, along with her brother and sister.

This may seem a simple task to you, they’re gravediggers. How challenging can it be?

In their remote village of Colbren, however, the dead oftentimes don’t remain dead; not exactly.

Allegedly, due a decades-old curse, the dead in Colbren can reanimate themselves and begin to walk again amongst the living. These walking dead are known as bone houses.

For the most part, Ryn is used to dealing with this issue. They don’t cause too much trouble. They seem to stick to the forest and are fairly easily cut down if need be.

Recently though, the behavior of the bone houses is changing. They’re venturing further into the village and attacking with a new ferocity. Ryn can’t quite figure it out.

Around this same time, a mysterious young man, a mapmaker by trade, has come to the village. Could the two things possibly be connected?

Ryn is drawn to this new man, Ellis, and the two begin to get to know one another. It turns out Ellis was found in the very mountains that border the village. He is on a search for his parents. He wants to know where he came from.

They both have mysteries to solve and there’s no better way to solve a mystery than going on a quest. Any Reader knows that!

Thus, Ryn and Ellis, along with Ryn’s very faithful goat, head off deep into the heart of the mountains, where they hope to finally learn the truth behind the curse and their own lives.

The Bone Houses is a highly creative and engaging YA Dark Fantasy story. I loved the characters and the escalation of the plot over the course of the book.

It’s hard to believe a story following a gravedigger and the walking dead could be beautiful, but in the capable hands of Emily Lloyd-Jones apparently it is.

The writing is lyrical and compelling, with just the right amount of humor, romance and horror elements woven throughout.

I fell in love with both Ryn and Ellis, but really it was Ryn’s family goat who stole the show. We stan an animal companion element in any Dark Fantasy story, but it was particularly well done here.

Additionally, I love a quest. It was fun to go along with Ryn and Ellis on their journey, as they began to piece together the truth behind the bone houses the intensity of the story continued to amp up.

I also liked the secrecy and reveals revolving around Ellis. He had a super fascinating backstory and I loved how Lloyd-Jones chose to bring that all to light. There were some great reveals.

I picked this up in anticipation of this author’s upcoming release, The Drowned Woods, which is releasing next Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

The Drowned Woods, although following a whole new set of characters, is said to be set in the same world as this novel. I wanted to be sure to have the backdrop of The Bone Houses prior to picking that one up.

Also, I have heard incredible things about this book, so I definitely wanted to get to it anyway.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this story and am happy that i made time for it!

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Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

~ megs14malloy

TenTen by Gretchen McNeil
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

On the ferry ride to Henry Island, best friends, Meg and Minnie, are mostly excited about the weekend ahead. A private house party with cute boys, booze and zero adult supervision. It’s bound to be a good time.

Meg does have her reservations though. She did have to lie to her parents in order to be there, meaning no one really knows where she is. This makes her nervous.

Minnie just wants to let loose and is hoping Meg will be able to relax enough to join her. They’re young, they’re momentarily free and it’s time to make some memories.

Once dropped off on the remote island, they discover their hostess isn’t even there yet; she’s stranded on the mainland.

Luckily, there is a group of teens there though, so they won’t be alone. The others have already settled in and are beginning to pregame. Meg and Minnie get their bags to their room and promptly join the fun.

There are some tense moments. It’s a mixed crew, but overall things are going okay. Then the inclement weather hits and things take a very sharp turn. Tempers flair and now it’s not as comfortable as it once was.

It’s the middle of the night when the first body is discovered. The teens have no way to contact the outside world because the weather has taken out the phone and wifi. They’re trapped on the island with a killer.

Will anyone survive the night?!

Ten is a good old fashioned Teen Scream that I am very happy I finally made time for. It wasn’t perfect and definitely reads a little dated, mental health wasn’t handled as well as it would be now, but overall, I had fun with it.

Another successful backlist bump!

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Review: Now I Rise (The Conqueror’s Saga #2) by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

Now I Rise (And I Darken Series, #2)Now I Rise by Kiersten White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Now I Rise was book #2 for my TBR-Haul Project, which I discuss in detail in my review for the first book in this trilogy, And I Darken.

After completing that 1st-book, I knew I had to continue on ASAP. This is not the type of story you can walk away from.

I became fairly obsessed with the characters in the first book, but now I am properly obsessed.

I’m loving the vibes I am getting from Lada. Her self-proclaimed dragon-status is so friggen apt. She’s serving Red Wedding realness, that’s for sure.

Radu, as well, has captured my heart. He’s such a sweet baby bird, underestimated by many, who I want to protect with every fiber of my being.

As a second book, this was one of the best I have ever read as far as continuing to expand the world and never-ceasing tension found therein.

I don’t want to go into the plot too much as it may spoil the previous book. However, I will mention that after the conclusion of the first book, our three main actors, Lada, Radu and Mehmed, all find themselves in different places, pursuing their own goals.

I have read other books where part of the magic is having characters together. If there are ever times in the narrative where they are all apart, it doesn’t seem to work as well.

That is absolutely not the case here. I loved watching these characters move out on their own and continue to grow. Lada and Radu, though raised together, are on such separate trajectories; they want completely different things, but if you think about it, for the same reasons.

It’s such an interesting dynamic between the siblings.

This setting as well, with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire as a back-drop, is absolutely fascinating. I’m not sure how historically accurate it is, but from what I have read, it sounds like the author really did her research and tried to handle it with the upmost care.

It was a super refreshing, historical, real-world setting that made everything happening feel that much more intense and believable.

If you enjoy stories with a rich historical setting, a ton of political machinations and brutal, heart-rending characters, you have to pick up this series. It may be backlist, but it is very much worth your time.

I am so excited to see how this all wraps up!!!

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Review: And I Darken (Conquerer’s Saga #1) by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)And I Darken by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

And I Darken is the perfect example of why you should never neglect your backlist!

Listen, I know it’s tough with new releases being shoved down your throat week after week; it can be extremely distracting. Trust, I get that.

With this being said, there are some real gems out there just lurking on your bookshelves. I hauled this beautiful baby in March of 2018. 2018!!!

I’m so glad I finally picked this up. I’m currently obsessed with the world White created within these pages and picked up the second book immediately upon finishing this one.

For those unaware, which I assume is practically everyone, this is the first book in my TBR-Haul Project.

Basically, I have a problem with buying a bunch of books that I never get around to reading. I’m sure many of you can relate. I finally decided enough was enough. It’s time to start putting a dent in that ever-growing stack.

In my Reading Journal, I have a page dedicated to each month’s hauled books. I am starting at the beginning, in March 2018, and selecting one book from each month until I get all the way to July 2022.

In total, if I cycle through once, there will be at least 52-books included in this project. That’s my goal. If it is successful, we’ll see if I want to continue with it.

Out of the unread books that I hauled in that first month of my recorded hauls, March of 2018, And I Darken still held the most interest for me. I’ve heard a lot about this series and it seems that many Readers with taste similar to my own have really enjoyed it.

I’m so glad I decided to start with this one. I feel like with it, I have set myself up for success with this project.

In this story we meet brother and sister pair, Lada and Radu, when they are just small children. From there we get insight into some formative moments of their lives as they move towards their teenage years.

Lada is the older of the two and has a fierce personality. I absolutely adore her determination and unstoppable desire for independence.

Radu, the baby of the family, is soft and sweet, but he’s extremely smart and is frequently underestimated by strangers. In a society that awards strength, quick violence and skill on the battlefield, Radu doesn’t quite fit in with his contemporaries.

When they were young, their father moved them from their homeland of Wallachia into the heart of the Ottoman Empire, eventually abandoning them there.

Lada’s heart has always, will always, belong to Wallachia however, and she dreams of returning and claiming her birthright of power. She despises the Ottomans and all they have subjected her people to.

For Radu’s part, he feels like he’s found a home in the Empire. A place where he feels safe. He converts to Islam and makes friends.

Chief among their special friends is Mehmed, the lonely son of the sultan. In him, Radu feels like he has finally found acceptance, and Lada is intrigued enough by him to not hate him. That’s saying something for Lada.

Together the three form a very complicated web amongst them. There are secret desires, pining and plotting happening from all sides. It’s intriguing as heck.

I loved all of the political maneuvering in this and the backdrop of the Ottoman Empire was refreshing, exciting and beautifully done.

I also grew very attached to the characters. Lada, I admire and cherish for her dynamism and strong-will. Radu, I love and appreciate for his kind soul and sweet, quiet strength.

While the two had the same upbringing, it’s clear that the two are now set on different paths. Even though they love one another so much, their desires may never mesh. It seems one will always have to sacrifice what they want in order to keep peace between them.

This left off in such an interesting place. You can tell it is building towards an epic showdown. As I mentioned above, I have already started the second book in the series, Now I Rise, and enjoying it just as much.

Overall, I think you can tell that I am living for this story right now. I’m so excited to see what other backlist titles I will love just as much.

If you have been putting this one off for years, like I had, and love YA Political Fantasy stories with complicated familial relationships and lush historical settings, you should absolutely pick this one up and give it a go!

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