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Review: What Once Was Mind (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell

~ megs14malloy

What Once Was MineWhat Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

What Once Was Mine is the 12th-installment in Disney’s long-running Twisted Tales series. So far, I have read 10 out of the 12 books and definitely have plans to read them all!

If you are unfamiliar with this fantastic series, you can read these books in any order. Each one tackles a different Disney story, twisting one major plot point and then examining what would have happened because of that twist.

In this volume, Liz Braswell twists the tale of Rapunzel, or the movie, Tangled, if you prefer to look at it that way.

Worried about the life of their ailing Queen, pregnant with her first child, the citizens of Corona search for the infamous Sundrop flower to cure her, but end up picking a Moondrop flower accidentally.

Because of this one tiny error, the baby girl, Rapunzel, has silver hair, the color of the moon, dangerous to the touch.

In order to keep everyone safe, the Queen and King make the heartbreaking decision to have Rapunzel locked away in a Tower, far from the kingdom proper, and watched over by a powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.

Rapunzel dutifully stays put for 18-years. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but the pull of seeing the floating lights on her birthday is just too strong.

She sets out on an adventure of epic proportions with two theives, Flynn and Gina, on a search for her happily ever after.

Y’all, this book is an absolute blast to read. Dare I say, the BEST TWISTED TALE YET!!!

If you love the story of Rapunzel, the cute and quirky characters within it, or you think that the movie Tangled is a true gem to be watched on repeat because of its glorious good humor, you absolutely have to get your hands on this book!

I have never jived with Braswell’s writing as much as I did with this one. She really shines here, bringing this story and these characters to life in a whole new ((moon))light!!

A hearty thank you to the publisher, Disney Books and Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. It absolutely filled my heart!

What Once Was Mine will be released on Tuesday, September 7th!!!

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Review: Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares (Paola Santiago #2) by Tehlor Kay Mejia

~ megs14malloy

Paola Santiago and the Forest of NightmaresPaola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares by Tehlor Kay Mejia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Half a year has passed since Paola Santiago took on the legendary spirit, La Llorona. Since that time, a lot has changed in Pao’s life and she wouldn’t say for the better.

She has grown distant from her two best friends, Emma and Dante. Truth be told, she barely speaks to them anymore. Add to this the fact that her Mom has an annoying new boyfriend practically living at their house. Yeah, not great.

Additionally, Pao’s still having nightmares. This time set in a dark, creepy forest where her Dad plays a role as a recurring character. The Dad she really knows nothing about and barely remembers.

When Dante’s abuela collapses right in front of Pao, some things she was saying just prior, prompts Pao to believe the two occurrences, her dreams and Dante’s abuela’s mysterious illness, are connected. Pao also believes that her father may be the key to saving Dante’s abeula.

It’s a race against time as Pao, begrudingly joined by Dante, hits the road to Oregon to try to track down her Dad. Luckily, the two are able to pair up with their old friend, Ninos leader, Naomi, who contributes quite a bit on their journey.

Again the kids must face down incredibly dangerous and frightening supernatural entities on more than one occasion. This book got scary, y’all. I mean it!

Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares is an incredible sequel. I felt like with this novel, even though it is packed full of action, I got to know the characters more.

Pao in particular. In the first installment, I felt a bit disconnected from her. There was so much action, it was chaotic and I never felt like I really understood her.

I was so focused on what was going on in the periphery. But with this novel, I feel like learning more about her family, her feelings of loneliness and self doubt, I truly came to care for her.

She is such a soft, sweet, yet strong character, who grew by leaps and bounds over the course of this story.

Mejia does a great job of tying creatures of folklore into a modern, compelling tale. It’s evident from this book that there is a lot more of Pao’s story to tell. I feel like we are just scratching the surface of complications for this spunky girl.

In short, this is a super fun Middle Grade adventure story, perfect for Readers who enjoy a bit of darker, don’t turn out the lights, content in their stories!

I am greatly looking forward to meeting up with Pao again and going on another adventure.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Books and Rick Riordan Presents, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

As always with books found within the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, this dazzled me with its high-stakes, page-turning content. Well done by Mejia!!

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Review: Come With Me by Ronald Malfi

~ megs14malloy

Come With MeCome With Me by Ronald Malfi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aaron and Allison Decker are happily married. They’re a great match. Life is good.

One December morning, as Allison heads out to a local shopping mall, she says to her husband, “come with me.” Aaron, feeling a little too comfortable lounging around, declines her offer.

That’s the last time he sees his wife.

Allison’s senseless death brings Aaron’s world crashing down around him. Overwhelmed with grief, he tries to take it one day at a time, but even basic things are taxing. He’s drowning.

Sifting through some of Allison’s belongings, Aaron discovers a motel receipt from North Carolina, paid in cash with Allison’s name on it.

They live in Maryland. He has no idea why she would have been at the motel for a two night stay; two nights that happen to coincide with a time Aaron was out of town on business. He’s sure Allison never told him she left home.

Aaron’s mind immediately goes to where yours may have when you read that last paragraph.

He wonders if Allison was possibly having an affair. Immediately he feels guilty. That couldn’t possibly be true. Allison wasn’t like that, was she?

The receipt gives Aaron something to focus on. He’s also insanely curious, thus he sets out on a journey to discover why Allison would have gone there. What exactly was she doing?

Y’all, I think this is my favorite book that I have read so far this year!!!

The more I think about, the more I appreciate just how incredibly well-crafted this story is.

Every moment of Aaron’s journey brings darker discoveries and new information that will ultimately lead him to the truth behind Allison’s secret life.

I was constantly floored by what was happening. The reveals, the connections, the red herrings; they just kept coming. Aaron becomes completely obsessed with his task, risking life and limb in order to solve it.

I love how Malfi beautifully wove together the exploration of grief, the supernatural and a tense and brutal mystery. Yes, it’s a legit mystery, which I had no idea when I started.

I had barely heard anything about this one, Malfi’s name is what made me pick it up and I’m so happy that I did.

I will be shouting from the rooftops about this for a long time to come. It’s incredible. Come With Me releases next Tuesday, July 20th, so make sure you add it to you TBR!

Thank you so, so much to the publisher, Titan Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read it early and provide my thoughts.

All the stars in the universe!!!

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Review: The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

~ megs14malloy

The Dead and the DarkThe Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Logan Ortiz-Woodley has been bouncing around the country most of her life. Her Dads are the stars of television’s most popular ghost-hunting show, ParaSpectors, and owing to this, she has traveled quite extensively with them filming.

When they tell her they need to return to the hometown they fled years ago, Snakebite, Oregon, she doesn’t think too much of it. Just another stop on the road for another episode.

What Logan wasn’t prepared for was the chilly reception the family would receive in Snakebite. The town seems to blame her Dad, Brandon, for unusual occurrences following his most recent visit.

Because of this, Logan and a group of local teens get off to a rough start. There’s been a lot of tension in the town since a popular boy, Tristan, went missing. In fact, on the day Logan arrives there is a vigil praying for Tristan’s safe return.

His girlfriend, Ashley Barton, hasn’t given up hope that Tristan will be found, although others aren’t so sure.

Disturbingly, Ashley begins to be plagued by visions of what appears to be Tristan’s ghost. Unsure what to do, she seeks help from the only person she can think of who may actually have knowledge of paranormal activity, Logan.

The girls begin a cautious friendship and start to investigate what is going on in Snakebite. As more teens disappear the stakes are raised, as is the creep factor.

In addition to all of this, Logan also learns a lot more about her Dads, their relationship and what caused them to leave Snakebite in the first place. She’s been desperate to learn more about them, as her relationship with her Dad, Brandon, has been particularly strained.

The Dead and the Dark is a darkly compelling YA Paranormal Thriller releasing Tuesday, August 3rd.

I really enjoyed diving into this story. There’s a lot of exploration of topics outside of the paranormal, such as family, sacrifice, grief, forgiveness, the idea of home being tied to people versus place and what it’s like to be different in a small town.

I listened to the audiobook and was completely transported to Snakebite. It’s that small town many of us grew up in. I felt like I had been there before and could recognize all the Town players.

For a debut, I was impressed with the flow of the story and the layers Gould was able to bring to the page. While the paranormal aspects, as well as the atmosphere, were a ton of fun, I think I enjoyed the family dynamic and character growth most of all.

If you enjoy Mysteries or Thrillers with a Paranormal twist, you absolutely need to be adding this title to your TBR!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies of this to read and review. I had a great time with it and cannot wait to see what Courtney Gould writes next!!!

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Review: The Therapist by B.A. Paris

~ megs14malloy

The TherapistThe Therapist by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

B.A. Paris, my Queen of Manipulation, is back with an all new Domestic Thriller, The Therapist, releasing this Tuesday, July 13th.

When they began their relationship, Alice and Leo, were making a go at it long-distance. However, as time passes, it no longer feels enough to just see each other on the weekends.

Deciding to make the jump of living together, Leo buys a house in an exclusive, gated-community called, The Circle, in London. As lovely as it is, it’s a far cry from Alice’s little cottage in the country.

Making the transition easier is the fact that Alice actually got to keep her cottage, renting it out to tenants temporarily, because Leo was able to get such a bargain on the house.

When Alice finds out how he was able to get the house at such a steal, however, she’s furious!

A woman, Nina, had been murdered in the house, in their bedroom. She cannot believe Leo withheld this information from her. He’s a liar and Alice is so angry about the whole thing that she can’t even stand to be around him while she processes it all.

Leo, sheepish at being caught out, agrees to give Alice some space to work through all she’s learned. Alice, for her part, doesn’t just work through it though, she becomes obsessed with it.

Alice doesn’t believe the official story that Nina’s husband was the killer. She can’t explain why, she just knows that isn’t right.

As strange occurances begin happening at the house and suspicious neighbors seem to be lurking around every turn, Alice isn’t sure just who she can trust.

Gaining some assistance from a Private Detective also interested in Nina’s case, Alice begins a deep dive into the life of the woman who used to live in her house.

With numerous red herrings, a protagonist that I wasn’t sure I could trust, more twists and turns than an amusement park roller coaster, I could tell I was reading a B.A. Paris!

I listened to this entire audiobook today while performing my regular Saturday chores around the house. I ended up cleaning things that didn’t even need cleaning. I had to know how this was going to turn out.

I came nowhere near predicting the end, although I don’t generally try to do that. I like to just go along for the ride and let the author take me where they choose.

I will admit, toward the beginning, feeling frustrated with Alice. She’s a bit bullheaded and I just couldn’t understand why she was so fixated on Nina. However, I was satisfied with how that was ultimately explained and as I grew to know Alice, it made a lot more sense.

The intensity definitely continued to build at a nice steady pace as the story went on. There’s a lot of suspects!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

B.A. Paris is definitely one of my go-to Domestic Thriller authors and I had a blast with this one!

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Blog Tour: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

~ megs14malloy

The Final Girl Support Group by one of my favorite Horror authors, Grady Hendrix, is set to release on Tuesday, July 13th, 2021.

It’s described by the publisher as: A fast-paced, thrilling Horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.

I was over the moon excited when the publisher reached out ot me and asked if I would be interested in receiving an early copy to read and review; as well as participate in the Blog Tour. This was one of my most anticipated titles of 2021; of course!!

I’m currently halfway through the novel and so happy to report that I am LOVING it! Hendrix has such a distinctive voice. You can tell right away when you pick up one of his books. The ease with which he pairs humor, satire and wit with genuine horror elements, is such a joy to read.

I also always enjoy his nods to the classic Horror of my youth. The only other author I can think of, also one of my favorites, who also pulls off this style so smoothly is Stephen Graham Jones.

This novel works off the premise that final girls, a very common theme in Horror movies, are real. In fact, the classic Slasher films that really created the genre, are based on their lives and experiences. We’re talking films like Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leprechaun, and even newer releases like, Scream.

Supposing the final girls from these films went on to live their lives, they may need some support. After all, they had experienced a trauma that almost no one else has lived through; no one else but each other.

Because of that they form a support group. They meet once a month and when our story begins, they have been meeting for the past 16-years. We learn early on how differently each of them has dealt with their trauma.

Lynne, our main character, is obsessed with safety; constantly scanning her environment and being prepared for all threats. The other women have each dealt in different ways, showing that there is no one true path to healing, if such a thing is even truly possible in their cases.

When it appears that someone is targeting the final girls once again, hoping to pick them off one by one, Lynne sets out to find the monster and stop him before it is too late.

As I mentioned about Hendrix somehow manages to mix the perfect amount humor into his stories. I love how I can literally be laughing out loud one moment and then having my heart-racing another. It makes for such a well-rounded reading experience; just so fun.

Lynne has such a dry personality. Being in her mind as she navigates the potential dangers in the world is a real trip. I’m really interested to see where the story is going to go. I have no idea who is after the final girls; it’s a real mystery at this point.

I am hoping to finish this up over the weekend and will post my full review before release on Tuesday. If you grew up like me, watching all the slashers, you have to check this one out. There are some real connections to those movies and I always love seeing that. It’s so nostalgic.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I truly appreciate it and am having a blast with this one!

Full review to come…stay tuned!!!

 

 

Review: Star Wars The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland

~ megs14malloy

Star Wars The High Republic: Out of the ShadowsStar Wars The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Out of the Shadows, is an upcoming Young Adult novel set to be released on July 27th, as part of the new Disney Star Wars: The High Republic content.

This novel is set approximately a year after the galaxy-wide event known as the Great Disaster.

This is the fourth installment of the High Republic materials that I have read and I enjoyed watching all the various storylines converge a bit in this one.

The larger, outlying picture is beginning to come more into focus. This novel follows a host of different perspectives including one of my favorite new characters, Jedi Vernestra Rowh, along with various other characters that I have come across in the earlier HR works.

As generally happens with Star Wars novels, there was quite a bit of action, but this additionally had a healthy dose of back-handed political maneuverings and finer details surrounding the Nihil raiders.

While the Young Reader installments, such as A Test of Courage and Race to Crashpoint Tower focus on a singular encounter with the Nihil, this was broader in scope. It clearly shows that the Nihil are much more resourceful a foe than the Jedi initially surmised.

Following shortly after the Nihil attack on Valo, many of the characters are still reeling from that trauma and are ill-prepared for what may be coming next.

I appreciated how Ireland kept that a part of the narrative. Allowing even Jedi to question their role and feelings regarding the current threats in the galaxy. Particularly conversations between Vernestra and her Padawan, Imri, I found to be quite touching.

I am genuinely excited to see what happens from here. Also, I still have a couple earlier HR books I still need to get to, so definitely plan to do that soon.

Like any Star Wars book, the HR books can be read in any order, as long as you are cognizant of where it falls in the timeline.

With this being said, you do have some time until this one releases, so I would definitely recommend checking out some of the previously published HR books while you wait. To make things easier for you, I will list them below:

Light of the Jedi
Into the Dark
A Test of Courage
The Rising Storm
Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower

That’s a lot of great content to sink your teeth into. Don’t delay, start today!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney LucasFilms Press, for providing me with an early copy of this to read and review. It has been my absolute pleasure to devour all these recent publications!!!

This is top-notch Canon content here and I’m living for it!

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Review: 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston

~ megs14malloy

10 Truths and a Dare10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With 10 Truths and a Dare, Ashely Elston returns the Reader to the loving, yet chaotic, Messina family. You may recall them from Elston’s 2019-release, 10 Blind Dates.

In this installment, we follow Olivia, one of the cousins, at the very end of her Senior year in high school. In fact, there is just a week to go until graduation.

Olivia has always taken school very seriously, so it is no surprise to anyone that she will be graduating second in her class.

As Salutatorian, she will be giving the welcome speech at the graduation ceremony. It’s kind of a big deal.

What does come as a surprise to Olivia, is the email she receives from the school, saying her off-campus PE teacher never filled out the paperwork needed to show she completed her golf class.

Meaning, without that course officially completed, she is a half-credit short of the credits she will need to graduate!

Olivia cannot believe it. There has to be a mistake. Everything she has worked so hard for can all be taken away from her because of golf!?

She needs to get in touch with her PE teacher, Coach Cantu, in order to clear this up. Otherwise, she will never be able to enjoy all the graduation parties she has to attend this week.

After talking with the coach, it’s clear, she needs extra credit and the only way to get it, is by helping him with the 4-day golf tournament occurring that week.

Olivia needs to hide all of this from her parents, who are luckily out of town, but her Mom tracks her like a police dog. She literally has a tracking app on her phone.

Making matters worse, her Mom knows her graduation party schedule and is really excited for it. How can Olivia possibly be in two places at once?

She’s going to have to call in reinforcements. The other members of the Fab Four, her cousins, Charlie and Sophie, as well as their other best friend, Sophie’s boyfriend, Wes, agree to help and get Olivia through the week.

As with 10 Blind Dates, this story is full of wacky hijinks, romance, humor and touching family moments.

I laughed, cried and felt a whole host of emotions in between. I adored the dynamic of the Fab Four. They really go all in to help Olivia through, what turns out to be, the most difficult week of her life.

The narrative is so fast-paced. I completed it in under 24-hours. Once I started, I could not put it down. I had to know the conclusion.

While this story focused more on the Fab Four, and less on the extended family members, I didn’t mind that at all. The other family was still there around the periphery, bringing that classic Messina family chaos that I grew to love in the first book.

I hope Elston writes more books following this family. Could there be a book for Charlie in the works?

I highly recommend this, or any other book by Ashley Elston, actually. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Also, be sure you read the Author’s Note at the end of this.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide my thoughts and opinion.

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Review: The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

~ megs14malloy

The Drowning KindThe Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sisters, Jax and Lexie, the x-girls, were fairly close when they were growing up. They spent every summer at their Grandmother’s property in Vermont and have a lot of great memories from that time.

Lexie, the older of the two, was different than Jax, however, in a lot of ways. Lexie was more like their father, flighty, free-spirited and at times, manic.

The older the girls got, the more apparent the differences in their personalities became. It was clear that Lexie’s mental health was not well. She struggled to remain rooted in reality. It became a real problem for her.

Jax was always the more grounded of the two. She followed the rules, excelled in school and became a social worker. Over the past year, she’s also been estranged from her sister.

When Jax receives nine calls from Lexie one night, none of which she answers, she assumes her sister is just having another one of her episodes.

The increasingly frantic messages Lexie leaves don’t even make sense. Jax isn’t dealing with it. Not her problem.

The following day Jax receives news that Lexie is dead; drowned in the pool on their Grandmother’s estate, Sparrow’s Crest, which Lexie had inherited.

Jax is shocked. Why didn’t she pick up the phone when Lexie called? Heart-broken and full of regret, Jax makes the journey to Vermont to bury her sister and settled up her affairs.

Once there, reunited with family, including her Aunt and Father, Jax discovers that Lexie had been researching the history of their family and the property.

It turns out Sparrow’s Crest has a dark past and it could possibly be linked to Lexie’s death. Jax dives into the research herself, mostly centering around the property’s infamous pool and the natural spring it is fed from.

As with Jennifer McMahon’s other stories, The Drowning Kind follows two timelines. The present, mentioned above, and then a historical perspective focusing on the history of the property.

The more the Reader learns from the historical perspective, the more the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place for Jax. It is such a spectacular format. The pace is excellent!

I have found that sometimes when an author tries this dual timeline format, one of the perspectives will be more interesting than the other. Because of that, you rush through one perspective in order to return to the other.

That is definitely not the case here. Both the present and past timelines are equally foreboding and intriguing. I was fully committed to both.

Another aspect of McMahon’s work that I always enjoy is her sense of place. Sparrow’s Crest is a character. It is so well developed, you can almost hear it talking to you.

The idea that places remember, that pieces of history live on through the land and the structures upon them. I love that whole concept and it is tangible within this story.

In short, this is a phenomenally constructed multi-generational ghost story that will stick with me for a long time.

The ending, chills. Exceptionally well done. I can certainly say I didn’t see it coming!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Audio, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I highly recommend it and cannot wait to see what McMahon comes up with next!

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Review: The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

~ megs14malloy

The MaidensThe Maidens by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mariana Andros, a dedicated group therapist, has suffered a lot of trauma in her life. Therefore she exhibits a great amount of empathy and patience for her clients.

Due to a large inheritance, Mariana doesn’t need to work, however she continues her practice in order to help others.

Mariana has lost almost everyone she has ever loved. In fact, the only family she has left is her niece, Zoe, currently a student at Cambridge University.

That’s why when Zoe calls her one night, extremely distraught, Mariana boards a train the next morning to go to her. She must help.

Arriving in Cambridge stirs up a lot of memories for Mariana. She attended school there as well and wasn’t prepared for the emotional repercussions of being back on campus.

She tries to push her own emotions aside, however, in order to better focus on Zoe. Apparently, a dead body found the previous evening has been identified as Zoe’s good friend. It is obvious the girl has been murdered.

After conversations with Zoe about her dead friend, Mariana begins to suspect Edward Fosca, a popular and captivating Greek Tragedy professor may be the culprit.

Sure, he has an alibi, but not one that Mariana considers to be reliable; his secret society of young women students, known as The Maidens, would most likely be willing to lie for him.

Mariana successfully inserts herself, through various connections, into the investigation, putting herself on a collision course with the undeniably charming, Professor Fosca.

The Maidens is compulsively readable. Once I started it, I could not put it down!

I loved how Michaelides wove together all of the different aspects of this story. I thought it was wonderfully crafted. I was so engaged, I had to remind myself to come up for air.

The setting of Cambridge was extremely vivid. It starts as this beautiful, pristine and exclusive place. Then over the course of the narrative, a dark underbelly becomes exposed as Mariana digs further into the mystery.

I absolutely loved that. So is life, am I right!?

Additionally, Mariana had such depth of character. I loved learning about her and watching her try to push past her own anxieties and fears, to try and help Zoe.

She became laser-focused in her search for the truth and I was cheering her on the whole way. I wouldn’t say she is overly likable, in the traditional sense, but I certainly found her to be believable.

I could swoon about this for days, but will spare you that and wrap it up by saying, I loved this book!

I thought it was so fun, super entertaining and memorable. The setting, the characters, the twists and turns; it is WICKED!!!

I actually think I enjoyed this more than The Silent Patient, and that’s saying a lot. I already cannot wait to see what Michaelides comes up with next.

Thank you so, so, so much to the publisher, Celadon Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I appreciate it more than I can say. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I cannot wait for it to release!!!

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