gritty

Review: Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert

~ megs14malloy

Sleep TightSleep Tight by J.H. Markert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In a nutshell, Sleep Tight is a lot to work through.


Austin Powers In A Nutshell


It’s an interesting story, but it’s also hard to track. I couldn’t even attempt to guess how many character names we learned over the course of this story. It was one of those situations where I got to the end and would hear a name and be like, who’s this?

I will not even attempt to get into the actual plot with you…

I really enjoyed the initial set-up, hearing the story of Father Silence, and meeting our MC, Tess. There were also a lot of the bits towards the end were I felt fully invested, but the middle part got muddled and my attention definitely wavered because of that.

I guess I would say I felt similar with this author’s earlier two works that I’ve read: The Nightmare Man and Mister Lullaby. Markert has exciting, ambitious concepts, but I’m not sure their execution always ends up working out for me.

To be fair though, I enjoyed this more than I didn’t.

I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy Gritty Crime Thrillers that swerve into Horror territory. This one succeeds in capturing that gritty, dangerous feel and I did feel like it progressed at a fast clip throughout.

Some of the aspects of this definitely worked better for me than others, but overall, I think it’s a good book. I would also recommend the audiobook, as that was well narrated by the always fabulous Andi Arndt.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for providing me with copies to read and review.

J.H. Markert continues to intrigue me with his creative concepts and dark atmosphere. Though this wasn’t my favorite of his, I still felt it had a lot of strengths. I will def be picking up whatever he releases next!

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Review: Into the Crooked Place (Into the Crooked Place #1) by Alexandra Christo

~ megs14malloy

Into the Crooked Place (Into the Crooked Place, #1)Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💙💜🖤💙💜🖤💙💜🖤💙💜🖤💙

This was so good! I love this type of gritty fantasy world.

I recently unhauled over 70-books, and during the course of that massive undertaking there were quite a few books and series that I needed to decide if I was still interested in.

The Into the Crooked Place duology was one of them. The overall rating isn’t great, but the synopsis still intrigued me. After I got rid of the books that didn’t make the cut, I decided to just pick this one up. I’m so glad I did!

This is a YA Fantasy story, published in 2019, that sweeps the Reader away to Crejie, a gritty, urban landscape where vice runs rampant.

The characters we follow are all part of the seedy underbelly of this society. There’s a bit of a mafioso-feeling to it. They peddle in dark magic, versus the commodities they would commonly deal with in our world.

We follow four mains: Wesley, a powerful underboss, Tavia, his lead busker, Karam, his muscle, and Saxony, a girl filled to the brim with magic.

There’s a new dark magic unleashed on the streets, think of it as a dangerously high-powered drug, that is corrupting souls to do another’s bidding. It’s wild.

The four team up together to try to stop this plot before it gets out of hand, but this means they’ll need to overthrow the powers that be. This would result in Wesley coming to power, but is that really what would be best for everyone?

This book reminded me so much of Amanda Foody’s Shadow Game trilogy, which I loved. At the time I read Foody’s books, I had never read a Fantasy world quite like that.

Into the Crooked Place is the first YA Fantasy I’ve read since that rivals that sort of magical gangster feel. I’m not sure why this is a setting I enjoy so much, but I ate it up.

I loved learning about this cast of characters. Their relationships were nuanced and I enjoyed their various backstories and motivations. Watching them come together to fight for a common cause was gripping.

There is so much action in this too. A ton of fights and drama. I never felt a lull. It was go, go, go. Towards the end, OMG, I was flying through this so fast and I cannot believe how this ended. I never could have predicted it.

I do see how this wouldn’t necessarily work for everyone, but I think if you’re like me and enjoy stories with this type of vice-filled setting, you could enjoy it as much as me.

The characters were very easy to get attached too and root for. I will be picking up the sequel very soon, because I am so not ready to leave this crew behind.

I need to know what happens.

I’m so glad that this book survived that unhaul and I’m even happier that I finally made the time for it. This one really surprised me!

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Review: Northwoods by Amy Pease

~ megs14malloy

NorthwoodsNorthwoods by Amy Pease
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Northwoods is a debut Crime Thriller/Mystery from author, Amy Pease. I love checking out new authors and am glad that I picked this one up.

Set in the small resort town of Shaky Lake, Wisconsin, this mystery circles around a well-known crisis in America, the opioid epidemic. Eli North is a deputy in Shaky Lake, whose own life is a bit shaky at the moment.

Eli, after returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, turns to alcohol as a way to cope with his overwhelming PTSD. As expected, it has disastrous effects.

His marriage is over and he’s had to take a job working for his Mom, the only person who would actually hire him and keep him on, putting up with his less than savory habits. His mother just so happens to be the Sheriff of Shaky Lake…

The mystery begins with a teenage boy’s body being found in a boat, and a teenage girl being reported missing. As a resort town, the lake draws a lot of outsiders, so solving crimes like these aren’t always as simple as it may seem and this one is anything but simple.

We follow Eli, and the rest of the small department, as they try to figure out this mess and set their beloved town to rights. They’re also joined by FBI Agent, Alyssa Mason.

I enjoyed this, it’s a good story. I liked how nuanced the mystery was and the setting was great. I live in a resort town, so I totally understand the vibes and the different challenges that these characters were facing there.

I also tend to enjoy main characters like Eli; a little damaged, going through some major struggles, but still doing their best and trying to do the right thing.

I liked how Pease chose to make his Mom the Sheriff. I thought that was a interesting dynamic, particularly as it influenced the investigation. The Department is small and they have limited resources. It made them feel like more than coworkers; they were all in this together.

I’m not sure really, I guess I haven’t looked into it, whether or not this is going to be a series, but I would definitely be picking up the next book, if there is another one.

I feel like Pease did a great job here setting the foundation for what could be a fantastic, gritty, page-turning Police Procedural Mystery series.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Caz Frear’s Cat Kinsella series. This reminded me a lot of that, as far as the overall tone and having a compelling protagonist struggling with personal issues.

Further, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Crime Thrillers that examine the underbelly of our society, and aren’t afraid to really dig into why some of these societal issues may exist, or where they stem from.

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

I am glad to have been introduced to Amy Pease. I’m looking forward to picking up whatever she writes next!

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