book review

Review: That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally

~ megs14malloy

That's Not My NameThat’s Not My Name by Megan Lally
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

That’s Not My Name was a great start to a new reading year. If this is what 2024 has in store, I’m a happy girl!

I’ve been on a holiday for the past 10-days. My house needed cleaning, I needed to unpack, organize, it was a whole day affair. Thanks to Megan Lally, that day was a breeze.

I started this one as soon as I started cleaning this morning and could not stop. It’s super compelling, with fabulous narration for the audio. Before I knew it, it was done.

This story follows two perspectives, Mary and Drew. There are dual narrators for the audio and they were each perfect for the character they were portraying. They were convincing as teens, which isn’t always the case.

When we meet Mary, she is injured and in distress. She is taken to a police station and expresses that she has no memory of who she is, or how she got injured.

As she and the kind Officer who picked her up try to decide what their next steps will be, a frantic man arrives at the station looking for his daughter.

She doesn’t remember him, but really, she doesn’t remember anything. He is able to provide the Officer with everything needed to prove she’s his daughter, Mary Boone. He has School IDs, family photos, even her birth certificate.

The Officer leaves Mary in his care, but does promise to check up on her soon, after she’s had a chance to rest.

Drew’s whole life changed weeks ago after his girlfriend, Lola, disappeared. He hasn’t been 100% truthful about the last night he saw her, not with anyone, not even the police, and now the guilt is eating away at him.

Making matters worse, the whole town, even people he considered friends, seem to think he is responsible for her disappearance. It’s always the boyfriend, right?

Drew tries to stay positive and focused. He knows he didn’t do anything to Lola and he’s determined to find her before it’s too late. He needs to prove his innocence, but he also feels he owes it to her after what he did.

The longer Lola is missing though, the more his chances of finding her diminish. He knows that, he’s realistic, so clearly time is of the essence. Along with a couple of friends Drew begins some sleuthing of his own, following leads to a place he never would have suspected.

When I tell you I was drawn in from the very start of this story, that is not an exaggeration. Getting Mary’s perspective as she struggles to recover memories and figure out what happened to her, that whole narrative was so freaking compelling.

Then with Drew, I was equally transfixed by his story. He doesn’t reveal everything right away and you can tell he is second-guessing some things. I needed to stay with him until the end.

I love how Lally paced this out. The perspective shifts were so well done. It’s definitely a ‘one more chapter’ kind of read. Each chapter left me wanting more in such a fun way.

The intensity builds at a nice steady pace as you are given more and more information about what the truth actually is for these two. By the end, I was racing along and felt so many emotions by the end.

I loved the conclusion and am just so very pleased by the overall experience. I am absolutely blown away that this is a debut. Lally knocked this out of the park, IMO and I am super stoked to see what she delivers us next.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a tense, fast-paced, emotional YA Thriller. I think this would work well for fans of Kit Frick, Laurie Faria Stolarz, Mindy McGinnis, or even Natalie D. Richards.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Recorded Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Megan Lally is going on my autobuy list for sure. I can’t wait for more!

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Review: Notes on a Murder by B.P. Walter

~ megs14malloy

Notes on a MurderNotes on a Murder by B.P. Walter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This was wild. It’s like The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Hostel and in all the most sinister of ways…

This book first came onto my radar when I started seeing trusted book friends reviewing it favorably. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I see a friend reading and liking a book, I want to be reading and liking that book!

FOMO is real, so I scurried out and was luckily able to acquire a copy fairly quickly.

I don’t want to say anything about the plot or characters. The publisher’s synopsis is equally as vague, so you may as well just suck it up and jump in.

Notes on a Murder pulled me in from the start. I read the first 1/3 in one sitting. I was so captivated by the narrator of the audiobook, and the way that Walter formatted the story.

There are past and present sections, some cleverly incorporated 2nd-person narrative, and plenty of provocative intrigue to keep you turning pages.

I loved the Greek setting and felt like that was really well played out. That backdrop set the perfect tone for this OTT-tale that definitely went places I wasn’t expecting.

This got dark. These characters, wow, they surprised me with the lengths they went to in this story.

The sinister feel got deeper and faster as it went. It was like a snowball rolling down hill, building momentum, before it finally took out everything in its way at the bottom.

This is the first of Walter’s works I’ve read, but if they are all this disquieting, I will definitely be reading more.

Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I recommend this one to Readers who enjoy dark, twisted Thrillers.

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Review: Murder Most Antique (Stamford Mysteries #2) by E.C. Bateman

~ megs14malloy

Murder Most Antique (The Stamford Mysteries #2)Murder Most Antique by E.C. Bateman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Murder Most Antique is the 2nd-book in E.C. Bateman’s Stamford Mysteries series.

I really enjoyed the 1st-book in the series, Death at the Auction, and have been eagerly anticipating this follow-up.

This Cozy Mystery series follows Felicia Grant, whose has returned to her home village of Stamford to help her Dad run their family-owned Auction House.

In this installment, Felicia has been convinced by her best friend, Cassie, Stamford’s Mayor, to assist with the town’s annual Georgian Fair. Felicia is mildly put out, but she tries her best to grin and bear it. She’s hoping the lavish period costumes will be the worst she’ll have to endure.

When the headline speaker is found dead though, it’s clear this isn’t going to your average fair. As more bodies drop, Felicia finds herself trying to track down another killer.

Who says small town life is boring?

I enjoyed this. It’s a good book, but I didn’t have as much fun with it as the installment. It seemed to drag for me for some reason. It just felt overly-long and I wasn’t super intrigued by the mystery.

It does kick-off quickly, with a person missing before you are even 10% in, but after that, I don’t know, it just never really took off for me.

Yeah, I don’t really know what else to say. Sadly, it just wasn’t a gripping read for me. At the end of the day, I’m still proper attached to these characters and hope that the series continues.

I really enjoy Felicia so much, but I hope if there is another installment that it brings back a bit more of her humor. This one almost felt too serious for her. It sort of lost some of the dynamic magic amongst the characters from the 1st-one.

I would recommend this series for anyone who enjoys Cozy Mysteries that feature small town, or village, life. The amateur sleuthing vibes are on point and I am looking forward to seeing more of Felicia and friends.

Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this wasn’t a new favorite, I am really hoping we get more books in the series.

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Review: A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

~ megs14malloy

A Twisted Love StoryA Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn’t sure what to expect from A Twisted Love Story after seeing a few mixed reviews. For me it was a fun and engaging Domestic Drama, which offered up quite a bit of food for thought that I wasn’t necessarily anticipating.

Downing was able to draw me in and keep my attention, which is pretty tough to do during the holiday season!

This story focuses on Wes and Ivy, whose contentious romance has nevertheless lasted for a decade.

Their on-again, off-again nature may seem toxic to outsiders, but for them, it is their deep, passionate love for one another that pushes them to extremes at times.

Ivy messes up though and ends up contacting the wrong outsider and drawing her attention to their relationship. Unfortunately, the new woman in their life is a detective and Wes and Ivy have something they’re desperate to hide.

As Detective Karen Colglazier begins to circle the couple like a shark, the heat ramps up and they start feeling serious pressure. It’s a classic game of cat-and-mouse as Ivy and Wes scramble to get out from under the Detective’s scrutiny.

When I first began this story, I hadn’t read the full synopsis. Samantha Downing’s name was enough to attract me to the book. As it was first kicking off, we’re getting a lot of info regarding Ivy, Wes and their relationship. I was curious how it was going to gain intensity, or suspense, from that set-up.

It soon became clear Downing had a plan and I just needed to relax into it. She definitely pulled it off in the end.

I found this story to be compelling and highly readable. While I would tamper your expectations as far as thrills go, I think as a character exploration and twisted romance, this one is extremely well-paced and plotted.

I may be reading too much into it, but it made me think a lot about assumptions. We all make assumptions, even if unintentional, a lot of time based on our own experiences.

We’ve all heard of, or even know of, relationships like Wes and Ivy’s. I enjoyed watching the side characters interacting with them and discussing their relationship with them.

Each of these friends and family members it seemed felt they knew what was best, but I don’t feel like any of them were ever truly spot on with this couple.

Most interesting to me was the Detective’s perspective. She was definitely making assumptions about them, which I felt were incorrect, but then things would happen that would make me second-guess my own interpretation. It was super enjoyable and engaging.

I would recommend this story to people who enjoy dramatic, possibly OTT-Domestic Dramas. This title says it all, this is a twisted love story. That’s exactly what it is.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is only my second Downing novel, but I’m excited to pick up more!

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Review: The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas

~ megs14malloy

The PaleontologistThe Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was sold on The Paleontologist after the publisher’s synopsis noted it to be about a haunted paleontologist…

The full synopsis sounded gripping. There’s also a fabulous cover, plus, a short, simple, yet effective, title.

As a one-time Anthropology major, who focused in Physical Anthropology, I felt like this was the Horror novel I’d been waiting for. Sadly, it absolutely wasn’t.

In this story we follow Curator of Paleontology, Dr. Simon Nealy, who has returned to his hometown in Pennsylvania during the Covid pandemic to begin work at the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History, a museum he remembers well from his childhood.

It’s actually the last place he ever saw his little sister. Morgan was just 6-years old when she was abducted from the museum, at a time when she was purportedly to be under the supervision of Simon, who wasn’t much older.

Their mother was a real piece of work, and she’s the one who put them both in that position on that fated day. Simon has been haunted severely by the event ever since, whilst Mom seemingly feels zero responsibility.

As he returns now, the past is brought to the surface once again and poor Simon is left wondering if his sister’s spirit is still trapped at the Hawthorne somehow. He is seeing and hearing things he can’t explain. The museum is a cage of wonder and terrors.

I am not going to go on about this too much. It absolutely wasn’t for me and frankly, I’m super disappointed about it. IMO, this book is just one more thing that Covid ruined. The concept itself is great. The execution, not so much.

I was so anxious for this to end. I even switched from an ebook to the audio to try to make it go by quicker.

I don’t know, perhaps if you enjoy being reminded of Covid every third paragraph or so, you might enjoy it more than I did. An example would be, if you’ve ever wondered about the masking status of each and every character you meet, than this one may be for you.

It wasn’t just the pandemic chat that ruined this for me though, the MC, Simon, was also as dull as dirt, IMO. He was giving me nothing. But in fairness, neither was anyone else.

I wasn’t drawn in, compelled, or intrigued. Big meh energy.

I’m happy to move on. I’m not giving on this author. I will give them another shot. I’m just hoping this is a one-off.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this wasn’t my cup of tea, I definitely appreciate it.

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Review: Goosebumps: Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls (Classic Goosebumps #31) by R.L. Stine

~ megs14malloy

Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls (Classic Goosebumps #31)Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls by R.L. Stine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls is the 31st-book in the Classic Goosebumps reprint series. I read this one in a couple hours after receiving it for Christmas.

I am happy to report it’s definitely one of the fun ones. It’s not perfect, but as Goosebumps go, it’s pretty darn good. A great way to pass a relaxing afternoon.

In this story we meet Spencer and he’s a little awkward, not necessarily one of the popular boys. He gets picked on a bit, made worse when he is forced to read an essay he had written aloud to the class and his teacher has nothing but praise for him.

How dare she!? But when the teacher notices the kids turning on Spencer, she doubles down. Spencer’s story involved the local graveyard and the teacher comes up with the idea to take a field trip there the very next day.

In absolute Goosebumps logic, that’s exactly what they do, pre-planning and permission slips be damned!!

Her idea is for the kids to do some grave rubbings and she’ll ultimately turn it into a local history lesson, if nothing else.

As the kids are exploring the graveyard, Spencer accidentally knocks over an eerie-looking tombstone. After that, all heck hits the fan for poor Spencer.

This story involves graveyard ghouls inhabiting bodies and wrecking havoc on the town. Spencer does have one good friend, Audra, and she’s fairly involved in the action as well.

I fully expected this to be one of the stories where Stine strings you along, all to discover at the end that it was a dream, or prank. I’m not saying that that didn’t happen, but I did give it 4-stars, so…

There were a couple details that progressed the plot that I wasn’t necessarily crazy about; mostly involving animals. Overall though, that didn’t affect my enjoyment too much.

I did think that the ending was super fun. It left a sinister little smirk on my face. OMG, Stine, you tricky bugger.

I would recommend this one to Goosebumps fans. It definitely has that classic formula that made me nostalgic for the horror stories of younger years. I’ll never stop reading these books. It’s just part of who I am. Well done by Stine!

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Review: The Guest by B.A. Paris

~ megs14malloy

The GuestThe Guest by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

B.A. Paris is back and she’s bringing my favorite kind of suspenseful Domestic Drama with her.

I had so much fun reading The Guest. Frustrating in the best ways, I found it to be completely addictive and one heck of a gripping roller coaster ride.

In this story we meet Iris and Gabriel, a married couple living in the British countryside. They have a grown daughter who is currently working abroad in Greece, so all is fairly peaceful on the homefront.

That is until the day a local boy suffered a terrible accident, falling into a nearby quarry. Gabriel was the one to find the boy’s battered body and even though Gabriel’s a skilled doctor, there was nothing he could do.

The boy couldn’t be saved, but Gabriel did get to be with him in his final moments, so he wasn’t alone.

Gabriel hasn’t been the same since that tragic day, and even though Iris is trying to help him cope, it’s definitely put a strain on their relationship.

As they are grappling with this, an unexpected house guest arrives. Their old friend, Laure, has shown up from Paris. She says that she and her husband, Pierre, have had a terrible fight and she needs a place to stay.

Iris and Gabriel have been best friends with Laure and Pierre for many, many years, so they tell Laure that she is welcome and that she can stay for as long as she needs.

Laure moves herself in and makes herself as comfortable as possible, wearing Iris’s clothes and shadowing her every move. As the days and even weeks pass, the couple begins to question Laure’s story and her motives.

What is she really doing there and when the heck is she going to leave?

As tension mounts, more people get drawn into the twisted drama; the new couple in town, their handsome gardener and even Iris and Gabriel’s daughter.

As mentioned above, I really enjoyed this one and found the narrative to be compulsively readable. From the Prologue, Paris had absolutely hooked me. She definitely has a gift for drawing the Reader in.

From the initial set-up, with Laure arriving at the house, you can just tell it is going to get freaking wild. There’s a vibe under the surface of constant tension and intrigue.

No matter how crazy things get though, I always find Paris’s main characters to be relatable. I never have a problem putting myself in their shoes and imagining what I would do in any given situation.

This one had me biting my nails with tension, yelling at Laure, yelling at Iris. I would have done some major clean-out of my house, that’s for sure.

I really got sucked into all of the interpersonal drama in this story, but also loved the mystery running throughout. It was hard to tell who you could trust and some of the connections were also shady.

There were some real strong reveals and I was happy with the way it ultimately concluded. This did feel more reminiscent to some of Paris’s earlier works as well, which were a little stronger for me than her more recent releases.

I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a taut, twisted Domestic Drama, particularly if you have enjoyed B.A. Paris’s earlier stories.

I would also recommend reading this one with a friend, or Book Club. I actually Buddy Read it and thought it was exciting to discuss it with someone else as we discovered the twists and turns together.

Overall, I thought this was such a great read. I’m so happy Paris continues to write these types of stories. As long as she is writing them, I’ll be reading them.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. The Guest is releasing on February 20, 2024, and IMO, this one should not be missed!!

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Review: The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

~ megs14malloy

The Christmas Murder GameThe Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Christmas Murder Game was the perfect audiobook for me to listen to over my Christmas holiday.

It didn’t require surgical-levels of concentration and the plot was easy enough for my holiday-fried brain to follow.

In this story we meet Lily Armitage, who is returning to her family’s lavish estate, Endgame House, for the first time since the tragic death of her mother, twenty-one years ago.

The Armitage family has an annual tradition called the Christmas Game and this year, the stakes are higher than ever. The winner receives the deed to Endgame House itself.

Lily doesn’t really want the house, but she receives a personal invitation she can’t refuse. If she attends, she may be able to get further information about her mom’s death, which Lily has long not believed the official story on.

The Christmas Game takes twelve days, with riddles and clues to finding twelve separate keys, and Lily must compete against her estranged cousins for the ultimate prize.

When bodies start dropping and the family gets snowed in, it’s clear someone will do anything to win this year’s game, even if it means killing off the competition.

I liked this. It’s a solid story with a lot of reveals and red herrings along the way. I really enjoyed the setting, including the harsh weather that helped build tension.

With this being said, while it did feature a lot of elements I enjoy, such as a locked room feel, unlikable characters, inclement weather and deeply-held family secrets, I didn’t find the overall story that gripping.

Most of the characters were a bit one-dimensional, but I did definitely want to know what was going on. I had many theories, none of which panned out 100%.

This is the second story that I have read from Alexandra Benedict. I think I preferred Murder on the Christmas Express a bit more, but reading this over Christmas probably did have a slight impact on my enjoyment level.

I do always find it a bit more challenging to really focus around this time of year, particularly when traveling.

Either way, I will be continuing to pick up anything I can from Alexandra Benedict, and you should too!

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Review: Tag, You’re Dead by Kathryn Foxfield

~ megs14malloy

Tag, You're DeadTag, You’re Dead by Kathryn Foxfield
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars**

Tag, You’re Dead is a futuristic-feeling YA Thriller with a strong gaming element. Unfortunately, as great as the overall concept is, I wasn’t crazy about the execution.

This story features a live-streamed, city-wide game of tag hosted by a well-known, oft-controversial, teenage social media influencer, Anton Frazer. The prize is to become one of his assistants.

The teen’s fans are eager to compete, but what about his enemies? Certainly someone as famous and potentially contentious as Anton has many. What would they do for the opportunity to get close to him?

We follow a few different perspectives, all participants in the game. Through their POVs we also are given background into their various connections to Anton, as well as their motivations for wanting to play the game.

The contestants are outfitted with super high-tech gear that tracks them through the city over the course of the game. Everyone takes turn, being randomly selected and notified through their gear, of being Chasers and Runners.

I felt like the idea of the game was so much fun. I was really looking forward to getting into this one and seeing how the game would ultimately play out.

For me though, I felt this story was imbalanced. I’m not sure if I am wording that correctly, but I’ll try to explain my feelings as best I can.

Some of the perspectives I found really interesting, for example a mother-daughter duo with majorly toxic vibes. Then there were other perspectives that I loathed every minute reading from; mainly, Charlotte.

Also, there were moments the game felt intense and fun, but just when I would start to become truly invested, it would switch perspectives and maybe be about something other than the game, that would take me out of it.

I also had a difficult time picturing some of the scenes, particularly any involving action. There was a lot of interpersonal drama going on amongst the characters, but the setting was less well developed, in my opinion.

I am first and foremost an atmosphere girlie, so I could have used a bit more work in that aspect. This could have been set anywhere, although I believe it is supposed to be London.

Overall, I found this to be an intriguing concept that sadly, fell short in its execution. In spite of it being a mixed bag for me though, I would definitely read from this author again.

Thank you so much to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it!

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Review: Never a Hero (Monsters #2) by Vanessa Len

~ megs14malloy

Never a Hero (Only a Monster #2)Never a Hero by Vanessa Len
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Never a Hero is the 2nd-book in Vanessa Len’s Monsters series, a high-stakes YA SFF series featuring time travel.

I really enjoyed the first book, Only a Monster, when I read it last year and have been looking forward to this sequel ever since. I’m so happy to report that it was just as exciting as I expected it to be.

In this installment, we continue to follow Joan, our incredibly strong teenage protagonist. Since the first book, Joan is starting to see the repercussions of her earlier actions. She’s reset the timeline, but that doesn’t ensure peace and happiness. Not by a long shot.

Only Joan remembers what happened, meaning those closest to her, such as Aaron and Nick, do not remember how close she was to them both. It crushes Joan’s heart many times over interacting with them now.

After a deadly attack, Joan finds herself back in the monster world as a fugitive. It’s clear someone is after her. She’s on the run, but she’s not alone, Nick is with her and Aaron is closing in.

First, let’s be clear, I am Team Nick, so the two of them being on the run together, even if he didn’t remember their previous relationship, made my heart happy. I know they were in serious danger, like really serious, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been so happy about it, but I was.

We do get a lot more world-development in this one. This isn’t to say the world wasn’t built out incredibly in the first book, because trust me, it was. That was one of the things that drew me in actually, but we just find out so much more about Joan, her family and the history of the monsters.

If you aren’t aware, this series does involve time travel. In fact, that’s the coolest thing the monsters can do. They travel in time by stealing time from humans in a bit of a vampiric way.

One thing I did feel in this one that I either didn’t notice with the first book, or maybe it didn’t happen in the first book, is this was giving me serious Infernal Devices vibes. I’m not even sure quite what it was, maybe some of the time jumps felt very period piece, or maybe it was the antagonist, but I wasn’t mad about it.

By this comment, I do not mean to say this is copy-catting in anyway, because it’s not. This is 100% it’s own unique story, it is just more of a vibe. A vibe that I’m addicted to.

It read so fast and some of the reveals had me gagging. I can’t wait to get to the 3rd-book. I think this is set to be a trilogy and I can’t even imagine how it’s going to wrap up.

I definitely recommend this series to Readers who enjoy fast-paced, intriguing SFF. This story is filled with secrets, dangers and angsty love interests. Bonus points for well-plotted time travel.

The third book cannot release fast enough! Bring it on!!

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