second chance author

Review: Which Witch (Holy Terrors Mystery #3) by Simon R. Green

~ megs14malloy

Which Witch? (Holy Terrors Mystery, #3)Which Witch? by Simon R. Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Which Witch is the 3rd-installment in Simon R. Green’s Holy Terrors Mystery series, which I would argue is a straight-up Cozy Mystery series, though the assigned genres on the book’s main page would disagree.

I read the 1st-book, The Holy Terrors, when it was released, mistakenly believing it to be a Religious Horror. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and the reality versus expectation divide did end up effecting my enjoyment.

Nevertheless, even though that wasn’t the best reading experience for me, as time passed I kept thinking about the main characters, and how if it had been pitched to me as a Cozy Mystery, I would have had so much more fun with it.

I ended up skipping the 2nd-book in the series, but then when I read the synopsis for this one, and discovered it revolved around a theater production of Macbeth, I knew I had to read it. Happily, it was a success.

I’m proper attached to the two MCs, Diana and Alistair, now. Their relationship is so sweet. I’m left wanting more.

If you’re unfamiliar with this series, Diana is an actress and Alistair is a young Bishop. The two were brought together during the 1st-book and really hit it off. They work well together when it comes to solving mysteries, and have a lot of chemistry to boot.

In this installment, Diana has been hired to play Lady Macbeth at a local theater. When things start going awry, and the whispers start that the production is cursed, Diana reaches out to her old pal, Alistair, inviting him to investigate the mysterious happenings.

Is the theater actually cursed, or is something more mundane at play?

Which Witch was a much better experience for me than that 1st-book, although TBF, I think that’s because I went into it with the right expectations. Don’t be fooled by the darker-themed cover, this reads like a Cozy Mystery.

I do really enjoy Diana and Alistair together. Their chemistry is undeniable. I also loved the theater setting with the active production, and all the actors and stage hands involved. It was quite a mixed group and I had a lot of fun trying to guess what was going on.

At times the dialogue does seem a little forced, but the mystery of this one was very engaging. It does have a nice is it paranormal, is it not paranormal feel that I tend to enjoy, so that was def another plus.

While I wouldn’t say this was the most memorable story, it was entertaining and I’m now excited to go back and read the 2nd-book in the series, Stone Certainty.

Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more Diana and Alistair!

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Review: The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling

~ megs14malloy

The Starving SaintsThe Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The Starving Saints is a Historical Horror novel, replete with a strong religious focus. The story is set at Aymar Castle, which has been under siege for months.

With food stores running low, and no signs of rescue in sight, it seems the residents will soon need to resort to extreme measures in order to survive.

As they teeter on the brink of total destruction through starvation, salvation arrives in the form of the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints. Just like that, the castle stores are replenished and the weak are strengthened.

But how did they get in? And what are they really?

The castle gates are fully barricaded, protecting against their enemies. Soon the entire castle is under the sway of these mysterious saviors, partaking in epic feasts of horrifying origin. As the castle seems to fold under the Saints will, our three MCs are the only ones who seem to see the situation for what it really is.

This story is told through three main perspectives: Ser Voyne, a war hero, Phosyne, a nun-turned-sorceress, and Treila, a serving girl. All three women are working in service to the King, though in different capacities.

Initially, I was wondering how Starling was going to more heavily connect the three perspectives, and I ultimately loved how that was done. I also loved how fully fleshed out all three characters ended up being.

Ser Voyne was def my fave. She was delivering HEAVY Brienne of Tarth vibes, and I was absolutely eating it up.

((Punny!!))

I was also pulled in by the tone of the novel. I was intrigued by the the historical setting, the religious and political characters, as well as their superstitions and belief in miracles.

After the Saints arrived, when the feasts begin and various other odd interactions, it starts to get very trippy. It’s scary and unsettling in an indescribable way. At least to me. It got under my skin what was happening, as I had no explanation and no one was seeing it but me.

I’m sure that sounds silly, but I think I was just so invested, I was able to put myself in these characters shoes and thinking about being in this castle, and experiencing these things truly got under my skin.

Granted, I’m not generally a fan when things get too fever dream, which this toes that line. I still like to be able to track events clearly, even when the characters don’t know what’s going on, and a lot of the time fever dream writing only gives you the same insight as the characters.

This though, I feel was done really well. I think it’s because not all of the characters succumb to what’s going on in the castle regarding the Saints to the same degree, so you still have a bit of a more coherent view of the happenings. I feel like that’s why it worked for me.

This does end up getting really wild, and it is my favorite that I have read from this author thus far. By a long shot, actually. I’m hoping for more like this.

Overall, I really, really, really enjoyed this. It is so strange, but in such an enchanting, dark and unsettling way. The atmosphere and characters exceeded my expectations, and I’m thrilled with that.

I have no idea if I truly understood what the author was trying to get across with this, but I’ve developed my own, quite intricate, theory involving the holy trinity, and I’m choosing to look at it that way for now. It just feels right.

With Saints like these, who needs Devils. This novel absolutely offers up a lot of FOOD for thought.

I highly recommend it to fans of Historical, or Religious, Horror, as well as anyone looking for a wild, unsettling story set in a medieval castle.

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Review: Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura

~ megs14malloy

Temple of SwoonTemple of Swoon by Jo Segura
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡

Dr. Miriam Jacobs is on the most important mission of her life, to find Cidade da Lua, the Lost City of the Moon, in the Amazon rainforest. It’s her first chance to lead an expedition and prove herself as a serious archaeologist.

Rafael Monfils is a journalist who has joined the expedition, with the hopes of chronicling their search for the lost city, or at least that’s what they think he’s doing.

In truth, Rafael is on a mission of his own, and that’s to stop the team from ever setting eyes on Cidade da Lua, thus protecting his mother’s legacy. All he needs to do is keep them off the correct path.

Once Rafa meets Dr. Jacobs though, he has a really hard time staying focused on his task. The more he gets to know her, the more he wants her to succeed. What’s a guy to do?

As they get further into the jungle, it becomes clear they aren’t the only ones searching for the Lost City. Soon, Rafa’s mixed feelings and Dr. Jacobs’s imposter syndrome are going to be the least of their worries.

Temple of Swoon was lightyears beyond Segura’s 1st-book, Raiders of the Lost Heart, for me, to which this is a companion novel. I enjoyed these main characters, Rafa and Miri, soooo much more, though I still had some slight issues with it.

Nevertheless, I am very happy I picked it up and am glad I took another chance on this author. If there’s another companion novel, I’m def game.

It’s funny, one of the things that I disliked the most about the Raiders of the Lost Heart was the female main character, Dr. Corrie Mejía. Going into this I thought, it’s fine, this one follows different people, you won’t have to deal with her.

While that may be true, at the start of this book, as we’re meeting our new female lead, Miri, we learn she is sort of a mentee of Corrie in the archaeological space, and Corrie handpicks her for this position.

At the start, Miri goes on and on about how drop-dead, off-the-charts, hot Corrie is. No other woman ever has, or ever will, compare to her. ((puke)) That was one of the things that drove me nuts about the 1st-book, and here it was, rearing it’s ugly head yet again!!

Luckily though, that trend did sort of peter out as the story went along. I did like how quickly this kicked off as far as Miri and Rafa’s meet cute. I liked their chemistry from the start and enjoyed watching their relationship grow.

The way this author writes sex scenes are not at all to my tastes, they’re definitely more ewww than awww for me, but what I did appreciate here was the genuine conversations that Miri and Rafa had.

I liked the more serious sides of the story a lot. We delved into Miri’s insecurities, as well as Rafa’s family stuff and I felt that was very well developed.

Overall, I enjoyed this so much more and am really glad that I gave this author another shot. I feel like if her work keeps progressing we could have a real win with the next book. I’m looking forward to it!

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I enjoyed this romantic adventure!

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Review: Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

~ megs14malloy

Cross My HeartCross My Heart by Megan Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Holy Hades, Cross My Heart was an absolutely insane, jaw-dropping, eyebrow-lifting, wilddddddd ride!!!

This was wickedly-entertaining. I couldn’t put it down. IMO, this is a true Psychological Thriller. My head was spinning so fast, I’m surprised I didn’t lift off.

In this story we meet Rosie Lachlan, who received a heart transplant from a donor who had unexpectedly passed away after a tragic accident.

Through an online platform that anonymously connects donor’s families with recipients, Rosie virtually-befriends her donor’s widower, Morgan. Morgan Thorne happens to be a well-known local author, who Rosie quickly becomes smitten with.

A string of heartbreaks, of the romantic variety, haven’t soured Rosie on the idea of finding The One. It would be ironic if her actual broken heart led her to true love, but that’s definitely what she starts imagining as correspondence with Morgan heats up.

As Rosie digs further into Morgan’s life, and learns more about his wife, there are rumors and accusations she can’t ignore. Perhaps he isn’t her innocent dream guy after all.

Admittedly, I wasn’t crazy about The Family Plot by this author, and was hesitant to try anything else from her. After seeing this one everywhere however, I had to check it out for myself, and man-oh-man, am I glad I did!

Even though the MC, Rosie, drove me so batty that I wanted to shake her, I can’t help but doff my cap to Collins, because damn, was she well-written.

Honestly, reading this feels like having the rug ripped out from under you. I did think it was dragging a bit at the end, but that final scene put the sinister grin on my face I always love to have at the conclusion of this type of story.

I had so, so, so many guesses, so many theories over the course of this book. It was completely intriguing. It felt very cat-and-mouse, but it was unclear who was the cat and who was the mouse. I loved that.

You do get Morgan’s perspective, in addition to Rosie’s, and they both felt equally unsettling. There were many times that I was uncomfortable by what was happening, but I couldn’t look away. Flies on the wall were cringing.

These two are OTT in the most unhinged ways and I was eating it up. My popcorn was popped and my ass was in the seat for the duration.

I absolutely recommend this one to people who enjoy dark, twisty Thrillers. If you like reading books where you suspect everyone, including yourself, you def need to pick this up.

Thank you so very much to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’ll 100% be picking up more from Megan Collins!

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Review: Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

~ megs14malloy

Christmas PresentsChristmas Presents by Lisa Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This was solid. I definitely enjoyed it light-years beyond Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, so that’s a plus and makes me open to picking up more from this author.

I wish this could have been a little longer, honestly. I felt a little clipped. I would have enjoyed learning even more about this group of characters. Maybe their stories will be continued, or elaborated on, at another time?

In this story, we are following a few different characters. Madeline Martin is a bookshop owner in Little Valley, who in her teen years survived a brutal attack that left her best friend, Steph, dead. Madeline has been living with the shadow of that night looming over her ever since.

Harley Granger is a True Crime Podcaster, who arrives in Little Valley looking to speak to Madeline about the night she would just as soon forget.

It seems Harley has been in contact with Evan Handy, the man convicted of murdering Steph and plans to explore these crimes on his Podcast. Since Evan’s conviction, three other women have disappeared, casting doubts on whether or not he worked alone.

Finally, we follow Lolly, an exotic dancer who gets thrown into the drama unfolding in the small town. Even though we do get Lolly’s perspective, Madeline and Harley are definitely the stars of this show.

The story is comprised of current day sections, as well as glimpses into the past, in particular surrounding Madeline’s life and the night of the crimes.

I listened to the audiobook for this, and while I enjoyed it quite a bit, I do feel the story could’ve been better served by having two, or even three, different narrators. This is personal preference though, but I think it could have helped to delineate between perspectives.

With this being said, I did think the content and set-up were very interesting. The characters were well-developed and easy to follow.

At the same time, since this was so short, I feel like I could have been even more connected, and enjoyed it even more, if it had been a tad longer. That way, all facets could have been taken a little futher. For what is here though, it is well done and I think a lot of Readers are going to really enjoy it.

An added bonus was the setting. The Christmasy-Winter-feel was great and it definitely put me in the mood for some colder weather reads!

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

I definitely recommend this one to Unger fans, or anyone looking to try her work for the first time. I think this one would give you a great feel for her writing style.

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Review: Two Truths and Lie by April Henry

~ megs14malloy

Two Truths and a LieTwo Truths and a Lie by April Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

One of my reading challenges for this month, June 2023, was to give an author a second chance. After careful thought, I decided to give April Henry my second try.

I’ve only read from Henry once before, her 2019-release The Lonely Dead. I gave it 2-stars and upon completion, really had no desire to read more. It wasn’t a great experience.

Henry writes a lot of books and since The Lonely Dead was released she’s had quite a few that do sound interesting to me. This book is one of them.

I am so glad that I picked this up. It’s not perfect, but it was so quick, fun and easy. I had a great time with it!

In this story we follow Nell, a high school girl who is traveling with her acting troupe to a competition when they get stuck in a blizzard. Seeking shelter from the storm, their troupe coach, and only chaperone, finds an aging motel for them to stay at.

She warns the kids to be good and then she retires to her room. The driving was stressful and she needs rest. How much trouble can they get in anyway?

As the kids settle in and begin to explore the motel, they discover they aren’t the only travelers caught there. Amongst the other guests are a robotics team from another school.

The teens gather together in the common room and decide to play a game to pass the time: two truths and lie. The perfect way to get to know one another.

As the game escalates, it seems their night of harmless fun has turned into something much more sinister, even deadly.

It appears a murderer hides in their midst. Will they all be able to make it through the night alive?

I enjoyed Nell a lot as a main character. Also, I listened to the audiobook and the narration was fantastic. The narrator, Christine Lakin, was Nell to me.

This had a lot of tropes I enjoy. Examples being, the team getting stranded at a creepy motel due to inclement weather; I always love that sort of set-up. The strangers they meet being a little odd and possibly dangerous. The motel having a dark and brutal history and the gaming element.

I felt the whole package was incredibly intriguing.

There were some directions it took with the plot that I wasn’t as crazy about, but I feel like overall, it is an engaging and entertaining YA Thriller.

I walk away a happy girl. I’m so glad that I gave this a shot and had such an enjoyable experience with it. I am going to be comfortable now sifting through Henry’s backlist and picking up more of her work.

This is a perfect example of why you should always give authors another chance. Especially if they have only had one book that didn’t work for you. We all deserve a second chance, don’t we?

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