book review

Review: The Kind to Kill (Shana Merchant #4) by Tessa Wegert

~ megs14malloy

The Kind to Kill (Shana Merchant #4)The Kind to Kill by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Kind to Kill is the 4th-book in Tessa Wegert’s Crime Fiction/Police Procedural series, Shana Merchant.

If you are unfamiliar with these books, they follow Senior Investigator, Shana Merchant, who, at the start of the series, transferred from the NYPD to the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York. She does this after having a horrendous run-in with a serial killer.

Initially, Shana is looking for a slower pace then her NYPD position. Alas, it seems murder and mayhem follow her everywhere she goes.

I definitely recommend starting at the beginning of this series and working your way through. Although, like many Adult Mystery, or Police Procedural series, you can read any of the books as standalones, or start anywhere along the line, I feel like this series has the greatest impact if you begin with book one, Death in the Family.

In this installment, it’s mid-summer and Alexandria Bay is gearing up for their popular Pirate Days event. The town floods with tourists eagerly anticipating the fun-filled annual festival.

Shana is still reeling from the events at the conclusion of book three, but she is hoping things will settle down soon enough. Maybe the Pirate Days are just what the community needs to distract their attention away from her and the high profile Blake Bram case for a bit.

Unfortunately, when a tourist named Rebecca, visiting the area with her husband, mysteriously disappears, Shana and her team realize this isn’t going to be a normal, relaxed community event.

Their resulting investigation could put a dark cloud directly over Pirate Days, a fact members of the local government aren’t too happy about. Shana refuses to back down though. Time is of the essence here and they need to find Rebecca; community reputation be damned.

As the investigation digs in, Shana begins to realize a lot of the evidence is reminiscent of the serial killer murders in New York she was involved in. Is it mere coincidence, or has someone targeted the area, targeted Shana, on purpose?

Does A-Bay have a full-fledged copy-cat on their hands?

As with the earlier books, I really enjoyed this one. Wegert has done a great job building out Shana’s character and backstory. In fact, it is a central theme throughout all the books in the series.

The beginning of this had a bit of a slow start for me. There was quite a bit of exploration of the community outlook and others opinions of Shana, her connection to Blake Bram and whether or not she had a culpability in his crimes.

For me, we sort of dug into that side of the story a bit too much at the beginning of this, when I would have preferred the focus to be more on the investigation into Rebecca’s disappearance.

With this being said, once the investigation does really get underway, I was hooked. I’m hooked into Shana’s personal story as well, don’t get me wrong, it just felt a little uneven there in the beginning.

The intensity of the case continues to build throughout the book, as more people get involved, including the complicated family of one of Shana’s team members. There were some clever red herrings placed throughout and I enjoyed guessing at what the final outcome would be.

Spoiler Alert: I didn’t guess correctly!

I’m so excited by the ending of this one. Nice set-up, Wegert! I cannot wait for the next book. Already! It’s true, I’m totally invested in this series.

Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The Kind to Kill releases in early-December 2022, so you have plenty of time to catch-up with, or start the series, before its release.

Don’t miss out!!

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Review: White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

~ megs14malloy

White HorseWhite Horse by Erika T. Wurth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


**A NOVEMBER 2022 BOOK OF THE MONTH SELECTION**

Kari James has a bit of a dark past. There’s her missing mother, her father, who suffered a brain injury in an accident and is unable to care for himself, as well as a best friend lost to their lifestyle choices.

Now in her 30s, living back in her hometown of Denver, Colorado, Kari works, takes care of her Dad and in her downtime, enjoys reading, or having a few beers at the White Horse, her favorite local watering hole.

Kari’s cousin, Debby, is her closest friend. The person she can count on the most. The two spend quite a bit of time together, but would probably be together even more if it wasn’t for Debby’s overbearing husband.

One night while Kari is drinking at the White Horse, Debby arrives. As they chat, Debby presents her with a bracelet that she found while doing some cleaning. It used to belong to Kari’s Mom.

As soon as Kari lays hands on the antique, traditionally-engraved bracelet, she feels a unique energy course through her. This is something powerful.

Kari begins being plagued by dreams and visions, of her mother, of her past, of something dark and dangerous lurking just outside her vision. She’s haunted.

Kari, not unlike myself, has always been a fan of just keeping the past buried. Some events are too painful to dwell upon; they’re best dealt with if they’re not.

Kari had always been told her mother left them. Now she’s not as sure that was the case. She begins to dig. She feels compelled to finally find the truth. Is her mother still alive, is she dead?

Kari’s also sort of forced to deal with her own past, life choices and the loss of her best friend, Jamie. Kari needs to overcome her own guilt, in addition to her grief, in order to move forward with her life.

White Horse is a beautifully-told story. I loved the dark and gritty tone of it all. I could picture everything Kari was experiencing, but it was like watching a Horror movie where the setting is always kind of dark. Where you feel like you are squinting because you’re trying so hard not to miss what’s happening.

I also really enjoyed the themes explored. It was layered, emotional, powerful, and the Indigenous lore and concepts involved in the story were fantastic.

There’s quite a bit of mystery surrounding Kari’s family and early-life. I liked how Wurth gradually revealed the truth. It was done slowly, but in a way that kept me interested from the very start.

The pace and tension continues to build as you learn more. By the end, I was so freaking invested. I had to know the truth!

There were some things that I wasn’t crazy about, but not many. For example, Debby’s husband’s presence occasionally kicked me out of the story, he was so terrible.

Also, some aspects did become a little muddled for me personally, particularly surrounding the focus on The Shining. I think I get it, but I’m not a hundred on it. I may need to read it again to clear up some things.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this story; investigating the long-held family secrets within this one Urban Indigenous family. I listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend that format. It was well-done and just a great story to sit and listen to.

The texture of the grief, the guilt, I felt it. I connected with Kari. Wurth did a great job developing her character. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am going to remember this one for a long time.

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Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

~ megs14malloy

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Queen of Steamy-STEM is back and she’s done it again!!

Without putting too fine a point on it, I’ll just say that Hazelwood’s stories are the romances of my dreams. I loved this one even more than [book:The Love Hypothesis|56732449].

In Love on the Brain the Reader is introduced to Bee Königswasser, a neuroscientist, who has just been offered the opportunity to work on the project of her dreams for none other than NASA.

Moving to Houston, Bee gets to bring along her dark-ray of moonshine assistant, Rocío, who I absolutely adored. The project is set to run for 3-months. This could be the greatest 3-months of her career thus far. Bee is pumped.

Then she discovers her co-lead on the project is Levi Ward. Ughhhh, way to ruin an entire vibe. Levi is a huge jerk her spurned her at every turn in grad school.

Bee never really understood what his deal was with her, but she knows she doesn’t want to repeat any of it at this point in her life.

Unsurprisingly, as Bee and Rocío attempt to settle in at their new office and get to work, it seems that someone is sabotaging them.

Honestly, it’s like Levi isn’t even trying to hide it, but the longer they’re around each other, Bee begins to see a different side to him. Is Levi softening towards her, or was she possibly misreading him all along? Also, if it isn’t Levi sabotaging her, who is it?

Y’all, I adored this story. From the very first moments in Bee’s perspective, I knew I was going to become so connected to her. I adored the way her brain worked, her passions, her backstory, her insecurities, it was all so solidly developed.

Then there is Levi, the epitome of a leading man. He’s handsome, smart, industrious, athletic, motivated, charming, sweet and a Star Wars fan. I mean, sign me up.

I love an Enemies-to-Lovers trope, so I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed this plot. One thing I really appreciated was that most of the miscommunication between the couple is cleared up earlier in the book than is generally the case.

This allowed a better building of their relationship in my opinion. Usually you spend so much time just trying to have characters actually communicate with one another, it can get frustrating. I didn’t really feel that here. It felt like just the right amount to build tension without causing annoyance.

I also really loved the side characters, particularly Rocío, Bee’s assistant, and Levi’s cat, Schrodinger, because who doesn’t love the cats who star in romance stories!?

I will say towards the end, there was some silly drama that felt very eye-rolly for me, hence the 4.5-stars rounded up, versus a full-5. With that being said though, that’s a pretty minor thing and it was the only time where I was sort of shaken out of the hypnotic trance this story put me in.

I have read all of Hazelwood’s currently published works and I have enjoyed them all. I love that she is writing women in STEM characters and that her characters are all so well-rounded and likable.

As with many Romance stories, there is a formula to them, but hey, they work. You know what you are getting into when you pick up a Hazelwood book and I’m here for it all the way.

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

This is my favorite Hazelwood yet and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!!

Review: Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

~ megs14malloy

Never Coming HomeNever Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The number one thing on Lucas Forester’s checklist for a future mate was that she have money, and we’re talking serious money. The kind of money most people can only dream of; top 1%-levels.

When he meets Michelle while she’s vacationing in London, he sees those big, beautiful dollar signs all over her. She’s perfectly wealthy.

He can hardly believe his luck. His long-time plans of acquiring wealth through a loveless marriage are about to come to fruition. Thus, he puts his well-thought out plan into motion.

The culmination of this plan requires he take a hit out on Michelle and he does, without hesitancy or complication. Now he must play his most important role yet, that of the grieving widower.

Everything is falling into place. He’s feeling good. He’s going to get away with this and then the photos and cryptic messages begin popping up.

Someone knows what he did…

Lucas is scrambling. He needs to figure out who is doing this and put an end to it before they’re able to expose him, but no matter what he does, they seem to remain a step ahead.

Lucas has a lot to hide and this mystery individual is a risk to everything he has built for himself. He’ll stop at nothing to take out this threat.

I really enjoyed Hannah Mary McKinnon’s last two novels, so was very excited to get to this one. Never Coming Home brought her signature wild drama, all while providing a unique perspective.

Getting the story from Lucas’s POV was different and admittedly, very fun. He’s a conniving-dirtbag, there’s no doubt about that, but I found myself quietly rooting for him. It felt a little strange initially, but I got swept up fairly quickly and then was all in.

The final twist was exciting and sort of a fist pump, jaw drop moment, but my main critique actually involves it. The big twist comes very close to the end and I actually could have done with a bit more after the big reveal.

I wanted more of that goodness and I felt it wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes. Although, with this being said, the final few lines were super-satisfying.

Thank you so much to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It took me a long time to get around to it, but I’m so glad I have finally read this one.

I am absolutely looking forward to more from McKinnon!

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Review: The Wakening by J.G. Faherty

~ megs14malloy

The WakeningThe Wakening by J.G. Faherty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Greetings Geeks & Ghouls!

Halloween Weekend is FINALLY upon us. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Am I right?!

If you love possession stories, if you love an exorcism, if you love an exorcism gone wrong, may I present J.G. Faherty’s, The Wakening, for your consideration. This could be the perfect weekend read for you!

This story follows a group of individuals, pulled together through an eerie set of circumstances, trying to save one small New York town from the grips of an ancient evil.

The story actually began over 50-years ago in a remote Guatemalan village, when a young Father Leo Bonaventura was called to assist a friend with a complicated exorcism.

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well. In an effort to learn from that day, Bonaventura brings some evidence of that exorcism back with him to the United States to be studied. Ultimately depositing the objects at a University in upstate New York.

The University is in the small town of Hastings Mills. Over the years the town witnesses multiple atrocities, including an extremely vivid scene taking place in the abandoned attic room of one of the University buildings, when a group of students gathers to perform a seance.

I’m talking, extremely vivid. This was honestly my favorite scene of the entire book. It got my pulse racing. It seriously creeped me out. I could picture it all and the horror imagery was absolutely fantastic!!

It’s a little difficult to explain the set-up of this one, but after the background of the paranormal activities of the town, we begin to follow a group of paranormal investigators who get called to assist with a young girl, Abigail, who appears to be possessed.

Stone Graves is their leader and he is the host of a reality paranormal show. The group gets to Abigail’s home, much to the relief of Abby’s father, a single-parent, and immediately begin filming.

It’s clear that Abigail’s issues are no farce, the adults find themselves in a true battle, not just for their lives, but for the lives of the entire town. How can one little girl be so powerful?

Father Bonaventura, now well past his prime, just may be the key to it all.

Dun, dun dun. Y’all, this book was pedal to the floor the entire way through. I hope I have given an intriguing enough synopsis to get at least some of you Horror fans interested.

I don’t think it gets enough love yet, but we can change that. I appreciated the set-up of this so much. You can literally watch the timeline unfold of the horrors of this town.

And trust me, there are a lot of horrors happening with Abby’s house being the center of it all. When I mentioned above it is pedal to the floor, I meant it. There are no pages and pages of nonsense waiting for something paranormal to occur, it is in your face all the time.

Sometimes, maybe it was too much. I can see how some Readers may feel that way. My one small criticism would be that I did feel it was a touch too long. There was so much happening at Abby’s house that on occasion it began to feel a bit repetitive.

Also, this didn’t bother me at all, but I feel like I should provide a caution for others, the entity involved is sort of a demon of lust and chaos. Therefore, their power seeping over the town can cause blatant acts of hyper-sexualization.

To be clear, you will find that on page. Again, didn’t bother me, but if you feel you are sensitive to highly-sexual content, this may not be the book for you.

With this being said, I did love the build-up, including the set of characters that were brought together to battle the evil and the entire possession element. Even though it was a touch too long, I feel like it was worth the investment of my time.

I absolutely plan to pick up more of J.G. Faherty’s work. I was impressed by the imagery he was able to evoke with his words. Yikes.

Overall, The Wakening is an entertaining, pulse-racing, toe-curling, gag-inducing possession story!

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Review: The Prisoner by B.A. Paris

~ megs14malloy

The PrisonerThe Prisoner by B.A. Paris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

When Amelie was a teenager, her father passed away after struggling with an illness. She had already lost her mother, so suddenly found herself alone.

With no money and no desire to go into the state system, Amelie disappeared to London, where she set about making a life for herself.

She works hard at it too. It’s a struggle. Sometimes with no other options, she was forced to sleep on the streets. She works in restaurants mostly, but that industry doesn’t necessarily equal security for a young woman still in her teens. Nevertheless, she pushes on.

Her luck seems to turn around on the day that she meets Carolyn. Carolyn is a successful business woman, recently separated from her husband, who sees something in Amelie and offers her a job as a live-in housekeeper.

That’s how Amelie’s world changes. She now has friends she can count on, a safe and comfortable place to live, as well as a good salary. She begins to live the life that other, more privileged girls, her age are living.

Soon she is moving up in the world and it’s through a new job that she meets Ned Hawthorpe, a business man, technically her new boss and the heir to a vast fortune.

Whilst on a business trip to Vegas, Ned offers Amelie a deal. If she marries him, he’ll give her something she really desires. Who would think that something could go wrong from this?

Thus begins the spiral for poor Amelie.

There’s a kidnapping. There’s a hostage situation. There’s much back-and-forth filling it all in. Why has Amelie been kidnapped and will she be able to make it out of this horrible situation alive?

As with all her other novels, this book begins with a bang right out of the gate. That’s one thing I always appreciate about Paris’s writing. There’s no beating around the bush, or wasted eons of build-up, her stories start very, very quickly.

Usually within the first few pages, you’re in it. This book is no exception.

Then the narrative alternates between the present, which includes Amelie being held hostage reflecting on her situation, what could have lead her here and how she can get out of it, and the past, which fills the Reader in on Amelie’s life from the time her father died, up to the present.

I generally enjoy when stories are formatted this way and I did enjoy it in this case as well. I also enjoyed the short chapters, which made the pace feel very quick. I literally read this in a day.

Unfortunately, not all elements worked as well.

This sort of felt like an early 90s-Lifetime movie. Now, let me be clear, I love a good Lifetime movie now and again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Lifetime movies. Please don’t come at me.

However, this was forced drama and way over-the-top. I usually love over-the-top, that’s sort of my brand. Even things that are fairly unbelievable, but for some reason the tone of this, the feel of some of the circumstances, just did not work for me.

All the male characters were practically indistinguishable from one another. I was almost at the end and one of them was mentioned and I thought, who the hell is that? It took me completely out of the story. I’m still confused about who he was and he played a pivotal role in the plot.

With all of this being said, it was suspenseful and it did keep me fairly engaged, but I have read all of B.A. Paris’s works and when I see her name on a cover, I get excited.

Admittedly, I expect a lot and maybe that’s on me, but honestly, this one disappointed me a bit. It is a good book, there is a fun story within these pages that will keep a lot of Readers on the edges of their seats. Sadly, for me, it just wasn’t as great as I was expecting.

Don’t take my word for it though, pick it up for yourself. If it sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I’m glad I read it and am already looking forward to seeing what B.A. Paris will come up with next!

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Review: Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-And-Under #3) by A. Deborah Baker

~ megs14malloy

Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-and-Under, #3)Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬

Into the Windwracked Wilds is the third installment to Seanan McGuire’s, writing here as A. Deborah Baker, The Up-and-Under series.

This fantastical series is connected to McGuire’s tour de force of SFF, Middlegame, and is perfect for Readers of all ages.

If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, Over the Woodward Wall and Along the Saltwise Sea, proceed with a little bit of caution, as some things I mention herein could be considered spoilery.

Now is your chance to turn back. I am only saying this once.

The series follows two children, Zib and Avery, who upon a normal commute to school one day encounter a giant wall where it shouldn’t be. Together they decide to go up and over this wall, thus finding themselves in a different world, known as the Up-and-Under.

In the first novel, they travel through a magical forest while following the improbable road and the second book finds them traversing the Saltwise Sea. Along the way they collect new friends, encounter challenges to overcome and enemies to out-maneuver.

After a final, very Pinocchio-esque, adventure on the Saltwise Sea, Avery, Zib, the Crow Girl and Niamh, finally find themselves on dry land.

More specifically, they’ve entered the Land of Air, ruled by the intimidating Queen of Swords, who is known to have a habit of turning people into monsters. Although, by this definition the Crow Girl would be considered a monster and we love the Crow Girl!

It doesn’t take long before they come across Jack Daw, the Queen’s son, but he’s giving off a serious vibe that he’s not too crazy about Mommy Dearest.

Can he be trusted though, or is he playing double agent with our intrepid heroes?

They eventually end up at the castle and have to stay on their toes at all times to avoid being tricked by this Queen. She is a devious one indeed.

Will they all be able to make it out in one piece? At this point, Zib and Avery are beyond ready to get home to their parents. But the Queen of Swords is tricky and coming out on top is going to take all their mental stamina. She may be their biggest challenge yet.

After a bit of a slow start, this wrapped up with an absolutely beautiful ending. Once they finally made it to land was when it really started to pick up for me. The Queen was quite the character. She’s got the dangerous, evil Queen thing down and I was living for it.

The intensity was high once they reached the castle. I love these characters so much. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I’m really looking forward to the 4th-book, when I believe we’ll be entering the Land of Fire.

McGuire’s writing, as always, continues to impress. There’s such intention behind every word. The nuance is stunning and truly mind-boggling.

This entire world, the connection to the Alchemical Journeys series, the characters and the lore of it all is so fun to read and think about. There are so many layers, it’s the type of thing you could read over and over and still find new things each time.

I love that kind of story and will definitely continue to pick up anything in this world for as long as McGuire is putting them out.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I just adore this series and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dark, whimsical read.

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Review: Little Eve by Catriona Ward

~ megs14malloy

Little EveLittle Eve by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Hot off the success of The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial, Catriona Ward’s 2018-novel, Little Eve was rereleased earlier this month.

I was super impressed with Ward’s most recent releases, so was very excited to check this one out as well. The synopsis sounded just as WTF as I would expect and the story itself didn’t disappoint in that regard.

This novel starts out with a bang, as the brutalized bodies of a family are discovered off the coast of Scotland, on the remote island of Altnaharra. The scene appears be ritualistic in nature.

The rest of the story fills in the pieces of the events that preceded that horrific event.

The narrative follows a few different perspectives and jumps around in the timeline as well. You mainly follow Eve and Dinah, who are two of the girls living on Altnaharra with the mysterious ‘Uncle’. Through their words you begin to understand what their life was like on the island.

There’s also the perspective of Chief Inspector Black, who becomes involved in Eve’s life. His view, from an outsider’s eyes, really helps to highlight the horrors of Altnaharra.

For the first quarter of this, I was well and truly confused. It is revealed later in the story why that might have been and I did come to understand why Ward would have written it that way. It made sense if you were seeing the world through the mind of these characters.

The tension and pace picks up at the story goes on. I had no idea who I could trust. I was loving so many of the reveals as the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.

Towards the end, it started to get a bit chaotic again and I was finding it a bit more difficult to track what was going on. In fact, I listened to a couple of the last chapters at least three times, trying to capture it all.

That is another thing, I did listen to the audiobook and I’m not sure, that could have added a bit to my confusion. The accent was a little tough for me, with my dumb foreign ears, so some names and words were hard to differentiate.

I think if I would have read a hard copy, maybe I would have had a slightly easier time keeping track of everything.

With this being said, the story itself was absolutely captivating. The atmosphere was rich and creepy as heck. I enjoyed the mystery of it all and finding out the truth.

While the ending wasn’t perfect for me, this was definitely a memorable one. Ward is unique and we love that. Each novel I have read from her is totally different from each other and also like nothing else I have read. That’s a gift.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I enjoyed this one. It’s dark content and stunningly-cold atmosphere is perfect for the Spooky Season.

I cannot wait to see what Ward comes up with next!!!

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Review: Ophie’s Ghost by Justina Ireland

~ megs14malloy

Ophie's GhostsOphie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💙🖤👻🖤💙👻💙🖤👻🖤💙👻💙🖤👻🖤💙🖤👻🖤💙

On the night that Ophelia’s father is killed, and their Georgian home burned to the ground, she sees her first ghost. She takes it in like a child would, with surprise and wonder, but then she keeps it to herself. She knows it wouldn’t be considered normal.

Fleeing Georgia, Ophie and her mother head for the city of Pittsburgh to live with some of her father’s relatives.

For Ophie, this is a big change and it’s definitely difficult living with all her cousins and aunties. Adding to this stressful situation is the ghost thing.

It seems like now that Ophie has seen one, the flood gates have opened. She’s encountering them everywhere. Sometimes it seems like they need something from her. It can be tiring.

Ophie’s Mom is stressed too. She’s doesn’t want to be relying on these relatives forever, but it’s expensive to get a place in Pittsburgh. They need to save up.

Thus, her Mom pulls Ophie from school. She needs to go to work in order for them to make enough money to get their own place.

Without a choice, Ophie does as she is told and begins attending work each day with her Mom at Daffodil Manor as domestic help.

The Caruthers family, the long-time owners of Daffodil Manor, are very wealthy and have a rich history within the walls of the house. Some of the ghosts of the past remain, all too evident to Ophie.

The ghosts learn that Ophie can see them and they begin interacting with her on a regular basis. Soon Ophie finds herself investigating an old mystery, trying to find the truth of one of their deaths.

Having read previous YA-works from Justina Ireland, I knew that I was very interested in picking up her Middle Grade debut. I’ve always enjoyed her writing style, particularly how she seamlessly blends historical fiction with other genres, like horror.

This book does exactly that. The historical piece is so well done. I was transported to the early-1920s while reading. You can tell that a lot of research goes into her work and that she really cares about accuracy.

Ophie was a great main character to follow. Her strength throughout was inspiring. It starts off with a real tragedy and doesn’t get much easier for our young heroine over the course of the story.

I also appreciated the relationship that Ophie had with her mother. Her mother is obviously a strong woman, to go through what she did and be able to move her and her daughter to a new city, a completely different world really than what they were used to, and to still work hard and push on, it shows real perseverance.

It’s no surprise that Ophie would show the same strength of character in the face of challenges. While their relationship wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, the bond felt very realistic and I liked that.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed were the short chapters about the different places. For example, The Attic, and then it will give a bit about the attic of Daffodil Manor, it’s history, what it has seen, how it feels. I love this.

I always enjoy when an author can thoughtfully create a true sense of place, making the places feel almost like characters unto themselves. Ireland definitely has a gift for that!

Overall, while this is fairly serious for a Middle Grade, there’s a ton of important topics explored and I enjoyed the characters a lot. I am definitely used to more humor in my MG, but this was a nice change of pace.

I would certainly recommend this one to all Middle Grade Readers, particularly the audiobook narrated by the always fantastic, Bahni Turpin. It’s a perfect little mystery for the Spooky Season. Get your ghost on!!

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Review: Daphne by Josh Malerman

~ megs14malloy

DaphneDaphne by Josh Malerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the best parts of any sleepover is scaring yourself. Whether it’s with scary movies, games or just scary stories told amongst friends, there’s no denying it’s a fun way to pass the time.

In the small town of Samhattan, when the girls basketball team gets together for a sleepover, one of the girls decides to tell the story of a local legend, Daphne.

Daphne attended their high school a few decades ago, around the same time as many of their parents actually. She was a 7-foot tall, social outcast, who wore Kiss makeup for no apparent reason and made a lot of people, children and adults alike, very uncomfortable.

Legend has it that she died tragically, at the hands of classmates and ever since that time will haunt anyone who dares to think about her. Daphne allegedly appears and kills with her bare hands.

The concept is along the lines of Bloody Mary. We all know her, many of us fear her, but this is worse. With Bloody Mary, you have to be consciously summoning her, saying her name, doing certain things that are said to bring her forth.

With Daphne, all you have to do is think about her though. Everyone knows that the more you try not to think about something, the more impossible it becomes. Thus, Daphne is now pretty much an inevitability for these teen girls.

Kit Lamb, one of the star players, has a really hard time not thinking about Daphne. As a matter of fact, she even asks the rim about her; a tradition the girls have.

She asks the rim if Daphne will kill her. The ball goes in. I think you can all deduce what that means. Then it is a non-stop terror train of thoughts about Daphne for poor Kit. How can she possibly shut these thoughts off?

Will any of the girls basketball team survive knowing Daphne’s story? Honestly, it’s so awful. How could they not think about her after being told?

Daphne was a weirdly-fun and captivating story. Even though I wasn’t crazy about some of the structural choices, it felt quite disjointed to me due to odd perspective shifts, overall, I really enjoyed it!

Truthfully, Malerman’s work has been hit or miss for me; we have a 50/50 relationship. I was actually thinking this would be the last shot I was going to take. Regardless, I’m glad I took the chance as this story paid off.

I really appreciated the exploration of anxiety through Kit’s perspective and also enjoyed the whole idea behind this town and Daphne’s legacy. The idea that it could collectively be blocked from the town memory, without anyone pushing for that to be so, was a really interesting concept.

That something so heinous and traumatic, a piece of history, could be swept under the rug, with everyone just pretending it didn’t exist. That sounds pretty true to life, doesn’t it?

The horror was fun. The concept of Daphne was very creative and well-imagined. There were scenes that definitely got my pulse going.

Additionally, this had some twists towards the end that I didn’t see coming. That absolutely contributed to my enjoyment. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I’m looking forward to more Malerman now!

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I definitely recommend this one to Slasher fans, or anyone looking for a thoughtful, spooky, fun read!

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