book review

Review: Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket #2) by Roald Dahl

~ megs14malloy

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket, #2)Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is cute and so silly. A great, fun, wacky, witty and energetic read for children.

While I don’t feel the same pull, love, or nostalgia to this as I do to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I can still appreciate Dahl’s imagination and ability to bring fiction to life.

I read this when I was a kid and I’m not sure I truly understood a lot of what was going on, as it does jump around quickly, and there’s a bit of a Cold War humor undertone to it that I’m sure escaped me.

However, I’m not sure I tracked much more this time around in my 40s, though not necessarily for the same reasons.

I did love the incorporation of Charlie’s family more, particularly when their ages were getting messed with towards the end by some of Wonka’s inventions.

I did definitely miss the magic and wonder of the Chocolate Factory. There’s something about the idea of those endless and impossible sweets that is sure to capture your heart. Also, I sort of missed the annoying other children.

Since Charlie is the best of the best though, it was nice to get to see him escape his previously tough life and go on a true adventure with his loved ones.

I love Charlie and Wonka. Classic characters for all time!

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Review: Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham

~ megs14malloy

Only If You're LuckyOnly If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Only If You’re Lucky is a slow burn and I know it won’t necessarily be for every Reader. For me, though, there is no denying the rich-quality of Willingham’s writing.

She pulled this one off in the end, big time. It took me a minute to settle into the story, not gonna lie, but once I did I was swept up into the drama like a nosy neighbor.

In this story we follow Margot, who is a Freshman at a small Liberal Arts college in South Carolina.

It was Margot’s dream to attend this particular college with her childhood best friend, Eliza. Unfortunately, Eliza’s life was taken in a tragic accident just prior to that dream becoming a reality.

Freshman year, Margot is obviously still coming to grips with the loss of her best friend. She feels like a ship without a port and therefore, plays it very safe. She befriends her new roommate and they barely ever leave the dorm.

At the end of the year though, she gets approached by a girl she’s been watching from afar all year, Lucy Sharpe. Lucy is magnetic, bold and popular and for some reason, she wants Margot as a friend.

Lucy offers Margot the chance to move in with her and two other girls in an off-campus house. Unable to refuse a golden opportunity, the chance for a new life, a fresh start and a position amongst the it-girls, Margot accepts, thus changing her fate forever.

As Margot is folded into this new group of girls, she begins to think that perhaps Lucy isn’t quite who she thinks she is.

The other two girls, Nicole and Sloane, seem a bit hesitant to discuss Lucy behind her back. Are they just loyal friends, or is there more to it than that?

By the end of Sophomore year, these girls are completely embedded in one another’s lives, rarely apart. Then a boy from the fraternity house next door ends up dead and Lucy goes missing without a trace. Circumstances have shifted.

As the police dig into an investigation, it’s clear Margot, Nicole and Sloane know more than they’re letting on. Are they helping Lucy, or do they really not know where she is? You’ll have to hang in until the very end to find out.

As mentioned before, this is a slow burn. You have to be patient as Willingham sets the stage, introduces our characters and fills in some of Margot’s backstory.

As the relationship with Margot and her new friends begins, that’s when things start to pick up. It’s hard to get a read initially on the other girls and you wonder just what exactly Margot is getting herself into.

I did really grow to care for Margot and the other girls over the course of the story. A lot of the things they were doing and going through, I could relate to and through Willingham’s writing, it really took me back to that time in my own life, when I met my best friend, Nichole.

Once I was hooked into the characters, I started to fly through this and I loved how the different aspects of the narrative tied together in the second half.

I think some may be disappointed by this because while it’s pitched as Adult, I would actually classify it as New Adult. Some Readers are going to pick this up and find that the storyline reads a little young for them, and I get that.

I read a ton of YA stories, personally, and love them; particularly YA Mystery/Thrillers. While I was a little surprised initially, I still feel like this is a strong story. In fact, I think this would be a great transitional book for Readers moving from the YA to Adult category.

Also, I know the synopsis states they’re in college, but I rarely read the full synopsis for a Mystery/Thriller, and I think the same can be said for a lot of Readers.

You don’t want to spoil yourself, so if you see a favorite authors’ name on the cover, you just give it a go. These are the people I think are going to be the most surprised.

If you go into this with the right mindset though, knowing this is a story involving young women in the early stages of college, going through all the things young women in college go through, you could really enjoy it.

I did have the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and absolutely recommend that format. It’s narrated by one of the best narrators of all time, Karissa Vacker, and per usual, she brought life to this story.

Overall, I think this was a bit of a change for Stacy Willingham. Her earlier stories have been well and proper in the Adult category. It’s nice to see her stretch her legs a bit and I feel she was successful in this story.

It’s well-constructed and contains a full cast of nicely-fleshed out characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me a copy to read and review. Willingham is a must read for me. I will continue to pick up all her work!

Only If You’re Lucky is available now!!!

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Review: The Expectant Detectives (The Expectant Detectives #1) by Kat Ailes

~ megs14malloy

The Expectant Detectives (Expectant Detectives, #1)The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Expectant Detectives is a new style of Cozy Mystery that I have certainly never read before. I found it to be charming and a heck of a lot of fun; pure enjoyment.

I love Cozy Mysteries that feature an MC and their friend group trying to solve a local mystery. A few favorites, to be noted for example, from recent years would be The Thursday Murder Club, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and The Marlow Murder Club.

All three of these books have one important thing in common, the MCs are older than we would typically find in the Mystery genre. These older, dare we call them elderly, characters are quirky, fun and provide a bit of a different perspective than the norm.

In The Expectant Detectives, Kat Ailes uses a very similar set-up to other Cozies, but her intrepid group of amateur sleuths are pregnant women, not elderly individuals.

In this story, we meet and follow, Alice. She and her boyfriend, Joe, are expecting their first child. Although not planned, they’re both excited about the pregnancy and looking forward to the next steps in their relationship.

Thinking their city-located flat will be too small for their growing family, they decide to move to the sleepy village of Penton. They just feel like it would be a more desirable place to raise a child. Safer and all that…

That is until a dead body is discovered at a prenatal class they have joined. They can’t believe it. This is not what they thought village life would be like.

Now everyone in attendance at the class is a suspect, including Alice and Joe.

Together with a few of the other pregnant women, Alice begins looking into the murder herself. She needs to clear their names before this baby arrives.

Side note, Alice has a glorious dog, Helen, who could easily turn out to be my favorite character of the year. I just adored her and the joy she brought to the narrative.

I was really entertained by this story. The audiobook was well done, the narration so on-point with the humor that it had me laughing out loud numerous times.

I thought Ailes set-up for this story was creative and truly unlike anything I’ve read before. Alice has a dry, witty sense of humor that worked well for me. She tells it like it is. She’s pretty blunt about her pregnancy and the way it is changing/affecting her body.

I also liked that it wasn’t just Alice that was pregnant, she had her new friends to share the experience with, as well as to help her do some first-rate investigating.

For me, I wouldn’t say the initial murder was totally compelling. It didn’t even make sense to me at first how they were so confident it was a murder, like it almost felt like it could have been an accident or something.

Nevertheless, I was willing to go on that journey with the characters because I was enjoying them so much. After a while, the more the ladies dug in, the more secrets and intrigue they revealed, then I was hooked.

Overall, this is a fantastic debut Mystery. It had just the right amount of humor and fun, mixed in with the actual mystery. I think the longer this series goes on, the more attached that I’m going to get to these characters and this village as well.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely looking forward to more from Kat Ailes!

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Review: The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

~ megs14malloy

The HeiressThe Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. That’s quite a name and the lady herself has quite a story. In The Heiress, you get a front row seat to all her drama.

Buckle up, baby, you’re in for a bumpy ride.

In Rachel Hawkins latest novel, she treats us to the complicated life story of Ruby McTavish and the fractious family she left behind.

At the time of her death, Ruby was the wealthiest woman in North Carolina. She was also its most notorious resident.

Her notoriety started early when she was kidnapped as a child, a very wealthy child. Her face and story were everywhere. The talk of the town, you could say.

Unlike the tragic case of the Lindbergh baby though, Ruby was found alive and returned into the arms of her family. A seemingly happy ending.

Ruby lived an eventful life from that time forward. Widowed four times over, with marriages the stuff of gossip columns, her early infamy never really had the chance to wear off.

After her death, the family estate, Ashby House, set high in the Blue Ridge mountains, along with Ruby’s nine-figure fortune is left to her adopted son, Camden, much to the chagrin of the other surviving McTavish family members.

Camden doesn’t want anything to do with the estate, or the inheritance. He rejects it and moves to Colorado. He marries, becomes an English teacher and lives a fairly normal life.

10-years later, after the death of his Uncle, a summons for his presence brings Camden, along with his wife, Jules, back to North Carolina and into the fold of the McTavish family.

Cam may be displeased about their stay in North Carolina, but Jules has other thoughts. She loves the property and is enamored by the idea of it being all theirs.

The more she learns about Cam’s estranged family, the more determined she becomes for him to claim everything Ruby intended for him to have. The more they learn about Ruby though, the more tainted her legacy seems to become. What exactly is her story?

I found this to be absolutely addictive. I listened to the audiobook and loved how it was formatted, as well as the multi-cast narration.

We get both Cam and Jules perspectives, as well as Ruby’s story through a series of letters she has written to an unknown recipient. Cam and Jules are both providing the present timeline, as they travel to Ashby House and stay there with Cam’s family for their first time.

Ruby’s letters provide us with a glimpse of her life from the start. We go through her various romances and learn of the events that shaped her into the woman she becomes.

I loved the set-up and Hawkins was successful in capturing and holding my attention. I wouldn’t say there was a ton of action, but as a character study, it’s definitely intriguing.

If you love deep-held family secrets and drama, you will most likely enjoy this one. It’s seriously the most twisted Family Drama, and I love twisted!!

As the past catches up with the present, the truth of who Ruby was writing to is revealed and thus, the truth of her life becomes clear. OMG, what a crazy life!

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this. It’s great storytelling. There’s varied layers of deceit and backstabbing, which we love to see. My only wish is that it could have been a little longer and that there could have been more suspense.

Nevertheless though, a really enjoyable read.

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

I always get excited for the newest Rachel Hawkins, and am already anticipating whatever she writes next!

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Review: Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, Edited & Intro by Jordan Peele

~ megs14malloy

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black HorrorOut There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror is a project brought to us by writer and director, Jordan Peele.

I’m sure you’re aware of Peele’s work. He has left quite the stamp on pop culture with his brilliant movies and television work. His popularity catapulted this collection onto many TBRs before it released this past October.

I was highly-anticipating this Anthology and am so happy to report, it’s great! Peele was able to bring together an impressive list of authors to contribute to this collection.

I loved how unique each story felt. Within the Horror genre, you really have almost every subgenre represented here. There’s something for everybody.

I’ve written before on the difficulty of rating Anthologies super highly. You’ll always have some stories you connect with more than others. I try to base my rating on the reading experience as a whole.

It’s clear, every contributor here is a gifted storyteller, and whether or not you vibe with the exact content of each story, you’ve got to appreciate the level of skill and heart that each author brought.

Whether you are a fan of SF-Horror with futuristic concepts, Speculative Horror with supernatural elements sprinkled throughout regular life, Mermaids, Historic Horror, or Social Horror; you will absolutely be able to find a story within this collection to sink your teeth into!

If you are interested, some stand-outs for me were: Eye and Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse, The Other One by Violet Allen, Lasiren by Erin E. Adams, Dark Home by Nnedi Okorafor, Flicker by L.D. Lewis, The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson, A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree by Nicole D. Sconiers and Hide and Seek by P. Djèlí Clark.

While these are the stories that resonated the most with me, as I mentioned before, this collection truly has stories for every type of Horror Reader.

It’s super diverse, extremely fast-paced, well-arranged and will keep you on your toes throughout.

Overall, this is a well-rounded collection. Every person who reads this is going to have a different experience. I think it would be really fun to read this with friends, or a book club. There would be so much to discuss!

That’s what it’s all about; making your own connections and interpretations, having fun and learning from others perspectives, cultures, traditions, folklore and experiences.

I think all of the contributors to this Anthology should be proud of the work they put forth here. Everyone was bringing their A-game.

I’m happy to have been introduced to a some new authors that I can follow, as well as getting to read more from some of my tried and true favorites like P. Djèlí Clark, Nnedi Okorafor and Rebecca Roanhorse.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Anthologies, Horror stories, or Speculative Fiction in general. I’ll remember this collection for a long time!

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Review: All the Dark Places (Detective Rita Myers #1) by Terri Parlato

~ megs14malloy

All the Dark PlacesAll the Dark Places by Terri Parlato
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

All the Dark Places is the start of Terri Parlato’s Detective Rita Myers Mystery series. There are 2-books released thus far, with the 2nd-book having just come out this past December.

I actually read them out of order, starting with What Waits in the Woods. I really enjoyed it and knew immediately that I needed to read this 1st-book ASAP.

I loved Rita and needed more of her in my life!

This is a dual perspective story following Detective Rita Myers, our MC, and Molly Bradley, the woman most closely linked to the mystery tackled in this book.

This story is set during the first week of January, which incidentally is when I read it. This tickled me for some reason. This has no bearing on my review, I just thought it was a funny coincidence.

So, it’s the first week of January and Molly has planned a dinner party for her husband, Jay’s, 40th-birthday. They have their tight-knit group of friends, which consists of three other local couples, over to the house.

It’s a great time. There’s plenty of drinks, laughs, food and even a beautiful cake. At the end of the night, the wine has definitely gone to Molly’s head. She heads upstairs to bed while Jay sees the other couples out.

The next morning when Molly wakes, Jay isn’t in the bedroom. He isn’t in the house at all and no coffee has been made. Fearing something is wrong, Molly rushes out to his office, housed in an outbuilding on their property. It’s there that she finds his dead body.

Detective Rita Myers is assigned to Jay Bradley’s case. An experienced detective, Rita is convinced that Jay’s murder isn’t some random act of violence. She believes someone in their circle is responsible for his death.

The investigation leaves no stone unturned as Rita digs into Molly and Jay’s life. It turns out, their group, like most, is hiding a lot deep dark secrets, including Molly herself.

It’s really hard for me to not 5-star a book that keeps me invested for an entire day. I flew through this and loved it. It wasn’t totally perfect, but pretty damn close.

I am well and truly invested in Detective Rita Myers now. I can’t wait for more books in this series, but I have a feeling, since the second one just released, that I’m in for quite a wait before book three.

I listened to the audiobook for both and loved them so much. It’s dual narrators, to fit the dual perspective and the narrators truly captured the spirit of these characters.

I definitely recommend this series to any Reader who enjoys Police Procedural Mysteries, or Crime Thrillers. Parlato’s mysteries are engaging and hard to put down once you start.

Detective Myers is such a compelling MC as well. She’s someone you can really get behind. She’s strong, smart, determined and always looking to do what’s right.

When I say I read this straight through, I’m not joking. I was on a journey with these characters. I didn’t even have time to make status updates. That’s how invested I was. I’m actually hoping for a paycheck from Rita’s department for my efforts.

If you’re looking for a strong new Mystery series to start, look no further. This is where it’s at. While you’re reading it, I’ll just be over here patiently waiting for more!!

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Review: What Waits in the Woods (Detective Rita Myers #2) by Terri Parlato

~ megs14malloy

What Waits in the WoodsWhat Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What Waits in the Woods is the 2nd-book in Terri Parlato’s Detective Rita Myers series. This is an Adult Police Procedural Mystery following, you guessed it, Detective Rita Myers.

I actually didn’t read the 1st-book, All the Dark Places, prior to reading this one, but I enjoyed this so much, I started the 1st-book immediately after and have already finished it.

It’s fair to say, I will continue to pick up each book in this series as they’re released. Keep ’em coming, Parlato!

This is a dual perspective story following Detective Myers and Esmé Foster, a young woman directly connected to the mystery investigated in this book.

I listened to the audiobook and the dual narrators truly brought these two perspectives to life.

Esmé left her small hometown of Graybridge, 11-years ago to pursue her ballet career. After an injury and a recent break-up though, she decides it’s finally time to return after she gets a call from her brother stating their father isn’t well.

The day that Esmé returns, a body is discovered on her family property. She arrives home to police cars and questions, not exactly the homecoming she was expecting.

Making matters worse is the fact that the dead body isn’t just some stranger, it’s Kara Cunningham, one of Esmé’s closest childhood friends.

Esmé is devastated by the loss of her friend, but there’s something else needling her as well. Esmé and Kara looked a lot alike, what if she was actually the intended target?

Esmé has her reasons for believing this could be the case, but it’s going to take her processing a lot of old baggage to actually figure it out.

Detective Rita Myers gets called to the Foster property after the discovery of Kara’s body and immediately digs in to her investigation. Detective Myers has a lot of experience and genuine care in her work.

There’s no doubt she is going to get to the bottom of this grisly crime, no matter what it takes.

I had so much fun reading this. The mystery was intriguing, the plot was fast-paced and the reveals were exciting and more often than not, unexpected.

I think Detective Myers is a fabulous main character and I know I am just going to become more and more attached to her as the series continues.

She’s a seasoned detective, no-nonsense and smart. She works with a lot of younger detectives and cops and you can tell that they look up to her as a leader.

I also enjoyed getting to know her more on a personal side outside of work. She has some interesting neighbors and even a potential love interest that I am hoping to learn more about in subsequent books.

As with many Mystery series, I don’t feel like you need to necessarily read these books in order. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything going into this because I hadn’t read the 1st-book yet. It’s a complete story unto itself.

I do feel, though, that this is the type of series where the longer you stay involved with this group of characters, the more attached you become, and the higher your enjoyment level will ultimately be.

I knew right away that I would continue on with this series. The writing is compelling, the mystery is well-formatted and the characters are likable.

This is a very solid Police Procedural Mystery. I would recommend it for fans of Caz Frear’s Cat Kinsella series, or Gytha Lodge’s DCI Jonah Sheens series, as I feel like the tone here and quality of the mystery are very similar to those.

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

I’m so excited to have a new Mystery author to follow. I hope this series keeps going for a long, long time!

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Review: Playground by Aron Beauregard

~ megs14malloy

PlaygroundPlayground by Aron Beauregard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Grossly entertaining!!!

Is this book for everybody? Absolutely fucking not. This is for a very niche market.

If you’ve never read Splatterpunk or Extreme Horror before, don’t start here. You’ll want to ease yourself in more gently than this. This could scar you for life.

I had fun with it. I loved the premise and the gore was non-stop and gag-inducingly detailed. However, I can understand why a lot of people wouldn’t enjoy this and that’s fine.

To each their own. That’s what makes the reading experience so great, it’s different for each of us and I love that journey for us all. For Readers who do love Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror, this is a hell of a lot of fun.

If the thought of a demented version of Squid Game played by children on torturous playground equipment is intriguing to you, than you should definitely check this one out.

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Review: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

~ megs14malloy

First Lie WinsFirst Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ashley Elston is a beloved author of YA-Mystery/Thriller and Contemporary stories. She’s one of my favorites actually.

I’ve picked up all of her releases since I first discovered her top-notch writing on full display in This Is Our Story, published in 2016.

That one kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the pace of it and the investigatory elements woven throughout. I was stoked to have a new author to swoon over.

With First Lie Wins, Elston delivers us her first work in the Adult space. I’m happy to report, she’s entering the fairly-saturated Thriller market with a banger.

This story was completely engrossing and intriguing, with well-fleshed out characters. It grabbed a hold of my from the very beginning and never let up.

Normally, I would summarize a bit of the plot, but I don’t want to here. I want you to go in knowing little to nothing about this story. That’s the best way to experience it, IMO.

I’m not sure that I ever read the synopsis. Elston’s name on the cover was enough.

This story does feature action, high-stakes and shady underground networks. I would say it is on trend with such recent releases as Zero Days and Before She Finds Me.

If you enjoyed either of those two books, you should absolutely pick this one up. I would also recommend this to anyone who enjoys a long-game; IYKYK.

Elston’s writing is so fluid and engaging, it’s clear she would be successful in whatever genre she chooses to write in. Personally though, I am hoping for a lot more in this space. This was fascinating and well-structured.

An exciting Adult Thriller.

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

This was a great way to kick off my 2024-reading journey!

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Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1) by Roald Dahl

~ megs14malloy

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket, #1)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

🍫💛💜💙💛💜💙💛💜💙💛💜💙💛🍫

You know what’s a great way to start a new year?

Re-reading a nostalgic childhood favorite. It’s a quick, fun way to add an extra dose of good cheer and inspiration into the start of your reading year.

I know this, because I actually did it. Today.

I loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child and even re-read it in high school, but it’s been over 25-years since I last visited this enchanting and mouth-watering tale.

Of course I have watched the movies numerous times since, but actually reading Charlie’s journey in Dahl’s own words has truly reinvigorated my love for this classic story.

In the beginning, when we meet the Buckets, I had forgotten so many of the details regarding the family and also just how tough things were for them.

The build-up as Charlie searches for his ticket, while not as edge-of-your-seat for me now as it was when I was a kid, I did still feel a little desperation, both for Charlie and myself. We needed to get into that factory!

This went so quickly. I had also forgotten how fast the story moves between each of the side characters and their experiences with the chocolate factory. Before you know it, you’re down to one.

I am planning to pick up Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator very soon. I’m excited to continue on, because I have only read that sequel once and having not been reminded of the content from movies, have less of a recollection of the story.

I love Charlie and Grandpa Joe so much. Wonka too. He’s such a great character. There’s many ways to picture him, but I’ve gotta go with Gene Wilder for the win.

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