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Review: White Line Fever by K.C. Jones

~ megs14malloy

White Line FeverWhite Line Fever by K.C. Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

White Line Fever is the 2nd-book that I have read from K.C. Jones, and I believe we are going to have a long and beautiful friendship. This was great. I loved the themes explored and the hair-raising, disturbing and distressing journey we went on with these characters.

This story follows Livia, who after experiencing a particularly rough patch at home, gets swept away on a girls’ weekend retreat by her three best friends.

As they head to the remote cabin they’ve rented, they encounter a bit of trouble on the road, and like many characters before them, decide to take a shortcut.

County Road 951 looks unremarkable at the start, but what the women don’t know is that this road also has another name: The Devil’s Driveway.

It does not take long before the group starts noticing concerning things happening, time slips and confusion, hallucinations and worse. Their good-spirited getaway is quickly turning into a pulse-racing nightmare.

The horrors of the road seem to be linked to their past, but it’s all so hard to decipher. The women are confused and tired, but regardless of the challenges and their fears, they’ll need to work together if they have any hope of survival.

I thought White Line Fever was so interesting. It begins with a startling and gripping Prologue that is set on the stretch of road where the women ultimately end up, but it’s not necessarily related to them.

That Prologue really set the tone for the story. Then we take a quick step back and meet Livia, as well as her friends, and we learn of their motivations behind their girls’ trip.

It had the perfect Horror story set-up: four friends on a girls weekend, driving to a remote rental house, things going horribly wrong. Also it featured a great Horror story lesson, which many of us already know and practice in our own lives: don’t ever take the shortcut.

We do get a past-timeline, in addition to the present-day action, where we follow Livia and her friend group when they were just young girls.

We learn of formative (read: traumatizing) events that happened to them on Livia’s family’s property.

I did enjoy that back-and-forth. The friend group and particularly the way the events of their youth were relayed did give me heavy-It vibes; not in a copy-cat way, in a more inspirational, subtle way. I enjoyed that vibe.

While some of the events occurring in the Devil’s Driveway were a bit too fever dream for my general tastes, I did love the character work and in particular, the growth that our MC, Livia, displayed throughout the story.

You truly go on a journey with these characters. I enjoyed the feel of the road itself, how it plays the role of antagonist. I also loved the strong bonds of the friend group, as they tried to figure everything out in order to get out of there.

I would recommend this to Horror Readers of all types. I think the creativity and exceptional character work make this one worthy of picking up. I’m looking forward to more from Jones in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

K.C. Jones seems to take risks with his writing, and I respect the heck out of that, and enjoy a lot of the themes and concepts he explores in his stories. The best part is, I have no clue in what direction he’ll be going next with his work, but you better believe, I’m gonna be there to read it!

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Review: Only in Your Dreams (Oakwood Bay #1) by Ellie K. Wilde

~ megs14malloy

Only in Your Dreams: A Novel (Oakwood Bay, #1)Only in Your Dreams: A Novel by Ellie K. Wilde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Don’t be fooled by this cutesy cover, Only in Your Dreams is hot, hot, hot, and lucky me, it’s just my kind of spice!

In this book, we are following Melody Woods and Zac Porter. Melody has just returned to her hometown of Oakwood Bay, after a decade away, following a painful breakup.

She’s moved in with her twin brother, Parker, and is trying to process everything. In an effort to encourage her out of her funk, Parker has been pushing her to take his spot on an upcoming camping trip with his friends.

To be fair, some of them used to be Melody’s friends, including Zac, Parker’s best friend, and the boy who broke her heart 10-years ago. Whatever. She’s so disconnected with all things Oakwood Bay at this point.

Parker’s best friend, Zac, a college football coach, is reeling Melody is back in town. He messed things up with her 10-years ago, and has never truly forgiven himself for it.

When she shows up at the campsite in Parker’s place, he can hardly believe it. Maybe this is his chance to win her back?

But with Melody focused on getting back on her feet and returning to the city, and with Zac stressing over his team’s lack of wins, will he be able to put the proper time into winning back Melody’s affections?

Adding complication to the matter, they have to keep any sort of relationship they have a total secret from Melody’s brother, Parker, who Zac knows would flip his top if he thought they were getting involved.

There were so many aspects of this that I absolutely adored. I loved the small town feel and all the characters that we got to meet over the course of the story. I’m excited to find out what other characters we’re going to follow in this series of companion novels. There’s so many options!

The chemistry between Melody and Zac was off the charts. I loved the banter, and getting both perspectives, to know what they were thinking along the way, was so fun. I know Wilde will be delivering more of that in the next books.

I’ve never actually read a Sports Romance before. Football is my sport and apparently, this is the Romance I didn’t know I needed; following a College Football Coach?

Yes, please!!!

I really appreciated that too. That we were following the coaching staff, as opposed to the players. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with following the players, it’s just when you think of a coaching staff, and the men and women in those positions, they are usually people who are of a certain age, or maturity level.

Zac is DEFINITELY young for a head coach, but it’s a smaller school and he’s a local guy, so that does make sense. Zac did have a maturity level about him though that was respectable. Particularly, in regards to how focused he was on making Melody know how special, and loved, she was.

This does explore some emotional abuse and gaslighting from Melody’s previous relationship, and I felt that was handled fairly well. She was definitely on a journey, and I liked that it took her some time to process it all, as opposed to just hanging out with another guy and being over it.

Overall, I had an absolute blast with this one. Look, we all have our things. Romance, particularly Steamy Romance is very subjective. We all have our likes, dislikes, turn-ons and offs, and yeah, let’s be honest, kinks.

Read this if you are into Alpha Male Energy: protective, yet supportive, tats, and aggressive dirty talk. Don’t read if you don’t like these things, cause there’s a lot of them.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I have a copy of the next book, Only Between Us, and I’m hoping to pick it up soon!

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Review: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan #5) by Elle Cosimano

~ megs14malloy

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan, #5)Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is the 5th-installation of the well-loved Finlay Donovan Mystery series.

I have listened to all of these books on audio, and this was no exception. Not only does Angela Dawe do an incredible job bringing these stories to life with her engaging narration, but her voice is Finlay to me at this point.

In this story, Finlay and Vero are back home after their wild adventures in Atlantic City, which were chronicled in the 4th-book. They’re looking forward to life returning to normal, or as normal as it can ever be for Finlay and Vero.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long before they are smack-dab in the middle of another mystery, after a body is discovered buried in the backyard of their busybody neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty.

Finlay and Vero have had a bit of a contentious relationship with the elderly-Mrs. Haggerty over the years. She’s always watching, making her the perfect head of the neighborhood watch, but not that fun of a neighbor.

As the police start investigating, Mrs. Haggerty immediately falls under suspicion. After she is cleared though, she still can’t return to her house as it’s an active crime scene. That’s when she shows up on Finlay’s doorstop.

Begrudgingly allowing the older neighbor to stay at her house, Finlay needs this case wrapped up soon rather than later. Worried the police are heading in the wrong direction, Finlay and Vero decide to look into the case on their own.

Yet again, I had so much fun reading this book. I love, love, love Finlay and Vero. Their friendship is perfect and I love investigating mysteries with them.

The mystery of the body in the backyard was quite intriguing. I had a great time trying to solve it. I wasn’t sure who to suspect, and I believe I started to figure it out just when Cosimano wanted me to, so that’s a plus.

Mrs. Haggerty plays a huge role in this one, and I liked getting to know her more. She’s grumpy and opinionated, and frankly, hilarious to have around. I loved her interactions with not just Finlay and Vero, but also with Finlay’s kids; so good.

We also got quite a bit more of Finlay’s agent, Sylvia, in this one, which was a hoot. She’s wild in such a fun way, pushing Finlay out of her comfort zone every chance she gets.

Overall, I was so happy with this story. The conclusion also gave me hope that we’ll definitely be getting another book, which I am so on board for. As far as I’m concerned, this series needs to continue for as long as humanly-possible. A go-to Mystery series for me.

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

I adore these mysteries with my whole heart. 10-out-of-10 recommend for all Mystery Readers!

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Review: Fan Service by Rosie Danan

~ megs14malloy

Fan ServiceFan Service by Rosie Danan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Fan Service is a light Paranormal Contemporary Romance novel from Rosie Danan. I really enjoyed Danan’s last novel, Do Your Worst, so was excited to check this one out.

In this story, we’re following Alex Lawson and Devin Ashwood through alternating perspectives.

Devin is an actor who starred in a CW-style werewolf television series, The Arcane Files. Alex is the girl who created and moderated the largest fan forum for the show.

We find out early on that the two actually met at a Con years before the start of our novel. Unfortunately, for Alex, the old adage ‘never meet your heroes’ turned out to be true. She overheard Devin making nasty comments about her and the costume she made; crushing for a teen.

Even years later, even as she’s internet famous for knowing everything there is to know about TAF, Alex holds a secret-disdain for its most famous star, Devin freaking-Ashwood.

Ever since the show went off the air, Devin has found his life in a steadily downward spiral. The morning he wakes up naked in the woods with the no memory of the night before though, that may be rock bottom.

The recollections he does have, not to mention the witness reports, are disturbing. Like claws, fangs and howling. Certainly, the full moon was a coincidence, but maybe it’s not. Is Devin literally turning into a werewolf?

Desperate for answers, Devin seeks out the one person who seems to know all there is to know about werewolves, at least the ones portrayed in The Arcane Files, the moderator of the popular fan forum.

Thus, Alex and Devin’s paths cross again. This time they’re on more equal ground though, and in fact, Alex may have the advantage. Devin doesn’t remember her, and she can play this any way she wants.

Ultimately, Devin pleading for help, makes Alex an offer she can’t refuse and the two begin working together to figure this thing out. Before you know it, walls are coming down and an animal attraction is growing strong.

Fan Service is a great read. I enjoyed a lot of aspects of the story. It’s an understandable romance, with a ton of solid character work, but it was a little too drawn out for my tastes, I have to admit.

While I enjoyed learning about both of our main characters, I feel like I almost learned too much about them. Hahaha, is that even a thing?

IDK, but it is the feeling I walked away with.

I’m not sure what specifically I would have cut out of it, but yeahhh, I just feel like all the details started to weigh the story down a bit. It sucked some of the fun out of it for me.

Nevertheless, it had a lot of positives, not least of which was the lovely conclusion. I also thought the steamy bits were great; definitely my kind of kink, and I appreciated the work the author put into Alex and Devin.

Trust, they were FULLY developed.

The more I think about it, the more I think I should round this rating up — LOL. Don’t be surprised if you see that little tick up at some point in the future.

I did love the banter between the two and Devin’s thoughts, in particular, cracked me up. It was definitely a slower build, but also still full of enjoyable content.

I would definitely recommend this one to Readers who enjoy some steam and werewolves. Also, solid fandom vibes for those, like myself, who love that type of thing in a story.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely excited to keep picking up more from this author!

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder (Murder, She Wrote #60) by Jessica Fletcher and Barbara Early

~ megs14malloy

Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of MurderMurder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Snowy with a Chance of Murder is the 60th-installment of the beloved Murder, She Wrote Cozy Mystery series. This series is essentially the Godmother of all other Cozies.

As some of you I’m sure are aware, this is my favorite Cozy Mystery series. I never shut up about it. I’ve read, I believe 47 of them now, but my count could be off. I’ve stopped really keep track after 40.

This book is the 1st to be penned by Barbara Early, author of the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series, amongst other things.

In this installment, Jessica, preparing to depart on a luxurious Winter cruise ends up slipping on the ice on the morning of her departure and severely injuring herself, making travel impossible.

Now housebound, forced to use a wheelchair, Jessica finds herself staring out her windows like never before.

As luck would have it, she has plenty to look at by way of a curious new neighbor, a man named Rymer. He has, for unknown reasons, ended up, in the non-tourist season, renting the house directly across the street from Jessica.

As it turns out, Rymer is an artist whose medium happens to be snow and his sculptures are of the scandalous variety. If you happened to watch Hot Frosty on Netflix this Winter, you’ll be pretty close to imagining what I mean.

With the town a titter over all this risque art on display, it’s no surprise that under the cover of darkness, someone starts destroying Rymer’s sculptures.

For his part, Rymer never seems too concerned. He just starts over, builds something new. It’s Cabot Cove, mid-Winter, there’s certainly plenty of snow to go around.

The morning after the most recent blizzard, however, it’s more than a sculpture that’s found out in the snowy landscape. It’s Rymer’s half-buried body.

Incidentally, there are two other mysteries occurring at the same time as Rymer’s death. Are these other mysteries related to Rymer, and if so how?

You better believe Jessica is going to do her best to help local law enforcement figure it out. With the help of friends, and a healthy dose of determination, she does just that.

3.5-stars, you ask, for my favorite Cozy series? It is rounded up, but still I feel we need to lay it out on the table. Here’s the thing. This is the 1st-effort from this author in this long-running series, and while I did enjoy the main overall mystery, I was left with questions.

Also, I felt like Jessica’s character wasn’t quite right. It didn’t feel like her in some ways. It was subtle things, but still things that took me out of the story as I thought to myself, Jessica would never say that, or think that.

One thing I want when I pick up this series is consistency. These are go-to comfort reads for me that I’ve been picking up for over 2-decades. If Jessica suddenly starts not feeling like Jessica, you better believe I’m gonna notice.

Nevertheless, this was still overall a pretty solid read, and of course, I will continue picking up the books in this series.

I enjoy the Cabot Cove-based mysteries, because when you become a frequent Reader, you learn all the townsfolk and it really feels like spending time with old friends. I do think this author succeeded in bringing about the basic vibes of this quaint seaside town.

There was a lot happening here though, some of it felt a little unnecessary. For example, Jessica had a live-in nurse, helping her while she was injured, and they would have little writing workshops together and it included excerpts from this girl’s random Fantasy story.

It just felt to me like the author needed to fill pages and that was one way to do it. There was ultimately a point to it, but it still felt silly and forced.

With this being said, you aren’t going to love every book you read in a series, and I still felt all my love and nostalgia of being back with Jessica in Cabot Cove.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. There’s another book releasing this Summer, set in Boston, and I’m so excited for that one!

If you love Cozy Mysteries, and haven’t checked this series out yet, you really should. They can be read in any order and once you start, you probably are not going to want to stop!

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Review: The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore

~ megs14malloy

The Dollhouse AcademyThe Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ivy Gordon is the most famous star pumped out of the Dollhouse Academy for almost two-decades. The older she gets, now a Hollywood-gasping 34-years old, the more fed-up she gets with the system and her role in it.

The Dollhouse Academy is a wildly-secretive, posh boarding school and talent incubator for potential stars. It’s every young performer’s goal to get there.

Ramona Holloway and Grace Ludlow, best friends and a double act, have idolized Ivy Gordon for years. Watching her career with an admiration that only the young can feel.

At the age of 22, a lucky break suddenly grants both Ramona and Grace admission into the Dollhouse. This is their chance to finally make it!

Though the campus is picturesque and the opportunities endless, the two feel ill-prepared for the cut-throat boot camp-like environment they find themselves thrust into.

Grace fairly quickly finds success, while Ramona, who secretly sees herself as the more naturally-gifted of the two, soon finds herself lagging behind.

The more the disparity between the two gets, the more difficult Ramona finds the whole experience.

Adding to her distress, Ramona is also receiving anonymous, threatening messages. There are moments when she suspects Grace, but could that possibly be true?

Would Grace actually try to scare Ramona, or purposefully harm her chances of success?

As past and present merge, the truth behind the Dollhouse starts to come to light. Will Ivy be able to express everything she needs to in order to save the next young ingenues from following in her footsteps, or is it already too late?

This was a fantastic audiobook and a very interesting story. I loved the unsettling vibes of the Dollhouse. I felt that whole environment was so well-developed. I could picture everything beautifully.

I do tend to enjoy stories that follow musicians, actors, celebs, or the arts industry in general, so that aspect really worked for me as well. I will admit it had a more General Fiction feel than I’m generally compelled to pick-up, but the air of creepiness succeeded in keeping my interest.

The 1st-chapter of this sets the tone and while it does take a step back, it’s a slow build, that sense of urgency, even in moments where you can’t put your finger on why, remains. It’s one of those stories that sneaks under your skin without you being able to verbalize why that is.

I loved Ramona’s perspective most of all, because the further in got in, the more I started to question her reliability, and I love an unreliable narrator. With that being said though, I also found Ivy’s perspective extremely interesting.

If I had to compare the vibe, or feeling of this book, paying no attention to content or themes, to another book, I would say my feeling while reading it was most closely matched by The Other Black Girl.

I would recommend this to Readers who love an unsettling atmosphere, stories involving celebrities, or dark academia. I also highly recommend the audiobook. The fabulous narration brought this novel to life for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from Margarita Montimore.

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Review: Dating and Dragons (Dungeons and Drama #2) by Kristy Boyce

~ megs14malloy

Dating and DragonsDating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Dating and Dragons is the 2nd-book in the Dungeons and Drama YA-Romance series.

These books are companion novels that revolve around RPG-gaming, in particular, and as you may have guessed from the titles, Dungeons and Dragons.

In this installment, we’re following Quinn and Logan. Quinn has recently moved and is starting at a new high school. She hopes that joining a D&D group will be her opportunity to make some new friends.

Logan, is a participant in said D&D group, a bit of a leader and a hunk to boot. He’s charming, handsome and genuine, but there’s a catch. There’s a rule, agreed to by all members that they will not date other members.

Therefore, no matter how much chemistry Quinn and Logan are feeling, they cannot take the bait. Quinn really needs to be a part of this group. She left her old school under bad circumstances, and she’s not willing to be friendless again.

But maybe, baby, they could spend some time together secretly. That couldn’t hurt? Could it?

I loved this just as much as Dungeons and Drama!! I hope there are going to be more books in this series.

There’s something about Boyce’s character work that is just so sweet and compelling. I’ve loved every background of every character in these books.

The gaming element in this one, the D&D group involved, was so great and felt more in-depth than the gaming in the 1st-book. I loved that aspect. I’m not sure if that is true, or just my perception, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

I also adored Quinn as a main character, and even Logan. I’ll admit he had me swooning and blushing more than once. The chemistry between them was also so well done.

The secrecy and the way everything was resolved, Boyce did a great job developing all of that. There were moments when I wanted to shake them both (miscommunication, it’s a thing), but I still felt like it was realistically portrayed.

I’m not sure what the plan is for this series, if there will be more or not, but if there is, you better believe that I’m 1000% on board for it. These books have both made me giddy with how good they are.

Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Romance, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more from Kristy Boyce.

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Review: The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth

~ megs14malloy

The Haunting of Room 904The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Olivia Becente has the ability to commune with spirits, a gift she surprisingly inherited after the tragic and unexpected death of her sister, Naiche.

A few years after that heart-breaking event, Olivia has put her gift to good use, becoming the most in-demand paranormal investigator in the Denver area.

Even though her career is a success, the loss of Naiche continues to haunt her. When she gets a call from the owner of the Brown Palace, a landmark Denver hotel, saying he has a haunting he wants her to investigate, she jumps at the chance to explore the infamous property.

More specifically, the Brown Palace has a haunting in Room 904; where every few years, a young woman is found dead, regardless of what room she checked into the night before. These deaths hit very close to home for Olivia, and she vows to get to the bottom of it.

Her investigation leads her down complicated personal paths as past and present collide, she’s forced to face a possibly murderous cult, a vindictive journalist, potentially backstabbing friends, and the truth of her sister’s life.

The Horror Community is certainly being blessed in 2025. I really enjoyed White Horse by this author, and tend to enjoy Indigenous Horror in general, but this is even an improvement over White Horse for me, as far as the character interactions go and how quickly the story kicks off.

I love how Olivia, and her best friend/roommate, Alejandro, are a sort of an Ed and Lorraine Warren team in this story (IYKYK). I was drawn in from the start, learning what happened to Olivia’s sister was so sad, and hearing the history of the Brown Palace was uber-compelling.

I felt like I truly went on a ride with Olivia. I enjoyed getting a front row seat for her investigation, and watching as she started to put the pieces together. She certainly showed a lot of courage against everything.

There were other aspects I appreciated too, including a historical perspective that shined a light on the Sand Creek Massacre, which occurred in the 1860s, and is connected to this land and helped develop the history of the place.

There’s also some really fun mixed media elements that have to do with various potentially paranormal items on the virtual market. It’s hard to explain, but just imagine the owners of Annabelle put an ad on Craig’s List.

Those were such an entertaining little break among the darker narrative, and in fact, I felt like they gave the story an even stronger air of reality. People pay a lot of money for that type of object; it’s a niche market, but a ravenous one.

Overall, The Haunting of Room 904 was so good. I’m such a Wurth fan at this point, I’m already anticipating whatever she’s going to deliver next. I would recommend this to any Horror Reader, particularly if you enjoy Occult elements, or Paranormal Investigations.

For me, it did start to get a little muddled towards the end, nevertheless, a very solid Paranormal Horror story, with strong characters and a captivating plot.

Wurth does a great job of creating relatable characters with real emotions in them. Even when they’re experiencing things that you may personally have never experienced before, you can still FEEL it. That’s such a talent.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I definitely recommend the audio format and can’t wait for more from Wurth!

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Review: Rose/House by Arkady Martine

~ megs14malloy

Rose/HouseRose/House by Arkady Martine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Rose/House is a tense Sci-Fi Techno-Mystery by Arkady Martine. This novella was originally published in 2023, but has been recently re-released by Tor.

The edition I read came in at 115-pages. With this being said, I’m not going to go into too much detail about plot.

In short, this novel features an AI house, not a house with AI capabilities, but a fully-AI house. The designer/creator/architect/inventor/owner, whatever designation you choose for him, died over a year ago.

As far as anyone knows, the only other person allowed inside Rose House is the creator’s former protege, Dr. Selene Gisil.

When the local policewoman, Detective Maritza Smith, gets a call from Rose House saying that there is a dead body in the house, she’s shocked.

The creator is gone and Dr. Gisil is overseas. Who the heck is the dead body, and how did they even get in there?

Maritza is dispatched to investigate, but if she’s able to get into this fortress of a house, will she be able to get back out after? The house is being less than helpful, so that outcome is definitely unclear.

This was interesting and unlike anything I have read lately. I enjoyed the 1st-half more than the latter, but still found the concepts compelling throughout.

From the moment I started learning about Rose House, I didn’t want Maritza to go in. Who cares about the body? Rose House acted deceitful and it creeped me out.

To be fully transparent, anything involving AI actually creeps me out. It’s like one of my biggest fears, pretty much in any iteration. I have nightmares about it.

At first, I’ll admit, I was thinking the writing felt a little choppy, but the further I got in, the more it made sense for the story. The feel of it is actually a bit robotic, which makes sense considering it centers around a fully AI house.

I feel like for me, the length was its biggest drawback. I wanted to know more about everything, all the concepts and all the characters. Martine gave me enough to want more, and that’s a good thing, however, as far as my experience goes, I can’t rate it any higher.

Nevertheless, it’s good and I recommend it for any Sci-Fi fan, in particular if you enjoy stories featuring AI. Also, I did appreciate the blending of Mystery into this Techno-heavy setting. It was unsettling.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to picking up more from this author!

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Review: The Widows’ Guide to Murder (The Widows’ Detective Club #1) by Amanda Ashby

~ megs14malloy

The Widows’ Guide to Murder (The Widows’ Detective Club, #1)The Widows’ Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the death of her beloved husband, Ginny Cole, is left with no choice but to start over. She’s heartbroken and misses him dearly, but it cannot be changed.

What is going to change is Ginny’s life. She decides to move to the village of Little Shaw for her fresh start, and she needs to get a job. She’s happy, though also nervous, when she ends up securing a position as a librarian’s assistant.

She’s never worked at a library before, but she loves to read and it seems like it could be a fun and fulfilling job. Her unlikable new boss, Louisa, is startlingly rude, but Ginny just supposes that’s something she will have to get used to.

At least the volunteers seem lovely, and she imagines she’ll fit in with time. Her hopes of an easy transition are nixed though, when on her second-day on the job she discovers a dead body in the library. Now Ginny finds herself thrust head-first into local scandals and secrets.

She ends up being approached and befriended by a small group of local widows, feisty and full of fun, the lot of them, who take Ginny under their wing and start to include her in their activities.

Of course, their current activity is getting to the bottom of this murder mystery. One of the widows, her daughter, Alyson, is currently the prime suspect. The women know she’s not guilty, meaning the killer is still out there, and they plan to find them.

This is such a strong start to a new Cozy Mystery series. This main character, Ginny, is definitely one I could picture myself enjoying for many books to come. Bonus points: in this book, she adopts an adorably-cheeky black cat that she names, Edgar. He’s so cute!

I loved the friend group that Ginny gets brought into as well. They all know what it’s like to be in her shoes, and I think she found strength in their friendship. It was incredibly healing for Ginny and she really needed that.

Ginny’s character arc was very well done. Watching her coming into her own, I’m definitely looking forward to more of that as the series continues.

There’s also a teenage volunteer, Connor, who I hope is a recurring character in the series. I feel like he and Ginny could end up having a sort of grandparent/child relationship and it’s so sweet to read about.

I enjoyed how Ginny is new to town, so you get to learn all about the townsfolk at the same time she does. It makes it feel really natural. I also appreciated how logical Ginny is in such a realistic way. She doesn’t have OTT-powers of deductive reasoning like some sleuths.

While I had a few issues at the conclusion, overall, I adored this. The library, the cat, the hilarious group of widows; well played, Amanda Ashby. I’m looking forward to more!!

I would definitely recommend this to Cozy Mystery fans who love small town settings and slightly older protagonists. Full of humor and heart, this one shouldn’t be missed.

Thank you so much, Storm Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the next book soon!

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