winter weather reads

Review: The Salvage by Anbara Salam

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

The Salvage: A NovelThe Salvage: A Novel by Anbara Salam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Salvage is an atmospheric Historical Horror novel set on Cairnroch, a small island off the coast of Scotland, in the Winter months of 1962-63. We follow Marta Khoury, a trailblazing marine archeologist, who arrives to the island to explore a Victorian shipwreck recently freed from Arctic ice.

The wreck holds the remains of a celebrated explorer, as well as the spoils of his final expedition. On her first dive down to the ship, Marta does find what she was expecting as far as the explorer and his treasures go, but she also sees something unexpected. A dark figure, a shadow, lurking amongst the wreckage. How is that possible?

When a record-breaking winter freeze strands Marta on Cairnroch, she ends up developing a friendship with a local woman, Elsie, who works at the island’s only hotel. We get Marta’s day-to-day as she tries to navigate life on the island, among the locals, and far from her regular life.

After artifacts from the ship begin disappearing, Marta and Elsie are forced to hunt for them before anyone, most notably, Marta’s employers, find out they’re missing. With the pressures of work, and this feeling that something darker is haunting her, Marta’s looking forward to the thaw that seems will never come.

This was really good. I think Salam did an excellent job setting the scene and developing Marta’s character. While the content ended up being much more Literary than I tend to gravitate towards, it was saved by the great atmosphere and subtle creepiness. I also did become attached to Marta and was truly interested in her circumstances.

I was definitely invested in the plot, and while the ending went a bit against my tastes, I still think Salam did a great job with the story overall. There’s something so eerie about being stranded on a remote island during an icy winter. I should know, I live on one, and it’s one of my favorite, though unsettling, yearly events.

I would recommend this to Literary, or Historical, Horror Readers. Particularly if you’re an atmosphere girlie like myself. I also found Marta’s profession as a marine archeologist to be unique and it brought a lot to the story.

Anyone interested in stories involving creepy, underwater habitats should also check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher, Tin House, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’d definitely be interested in reading more from Anbara Salam in the future.

View all my reviews

Review: Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold

~ megs14malloy

Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die: A NovelCross My Heart, I Hope You Die: A Novel by Mallory Arnold
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die follows three women, Cham, Ruby and Nora, who through a very odd twist of fate, all discover that they’re dating the same man.

None of the three had any idea, or suspicions. He’s that good of a liar, apparently. Furious and disappointed, the three get together and over drinks hatch a revenge plot.

They lure him to a remote cabin at the top of a snow-covered mountain, planning to scare the living daylights out of him. Things don’t go quite as planned, and he’s killed, but no one is admitting to the dastardly deed.

They’re stranded at this cabin now, at least for the overnight and suspicions are starting to grow. How well do they even know each other? They just met.

With pressure mounting, they need to figure out if one of them is a murderer, or if they’re not as alone on this mountain as they thought they were.

I had fun with this, I did. The beginning, in particular, I found so intriguing. Did Arnold ultimately do too much, though? That’s the question I’m asking myself.

When do we cross from camp to cheese? I feel like at a certain point, this novel sort of crossed that line into less enjoyable territory for me.

There’s no denying that it’s an entertaining story and I did enjoy it more than Arnold’s last book. I love an upward trajectory with an author. I think this had a fun concept and some truly gripping scenes.

At the end of the day, it was a bit uneven for me though, as far as my enjoyment level. Therefore, I feel like the 3.5-star rating is the most fair.

This is purely an assessment based on personal taste though, and I know so many Readers have loved this one. I’m down for anything Arnold writes next. This had a lot of great aspects, and is sure to bring some chills into your life.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Overall, I had a good time with this. It’s a fun Winter Thriller!

View all my reviews

Review: Warning Signs by Tracy Sierra

~ megs14malloy

Warning SignsWarning Signs by Tracy Sierra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tracy Sierra impressed me with her debut novel, Nightwatching, when I read it back in 2024. It was disturbing in such a realistic way, and played off one of my own personal fears, which is being in my house as an intruder breaks in to cause harm.

That horrifying scenario is something I think about a lot actually, I write whilst being home alone for the weekend.

Warning Signs is Sierra’s Sophmore novel and follows 12-year old Zach as he joins his Dad, somewhat reluctantly, on a father-son ski weekend. Before you jump to conclusions and think, how nice, a Dad who wants to spend time with his son, I’ll just let you know, that’s not the case here.

Bram, Zach’s Dad, has his own strong motives for this trip and it has nothing to do with father-son bonding time. Bram’s business is currently in financial distress, and the weekend was planned as a way to woo potential investors.

Bram and Zach are being joined by some rich men, and their sons, in the hopes that Bram will be able to make some deals on the mountain. Because nothing says, let’s spend some money like apres ski drinks.

As you would expect in a Winter Thriller, things begin to go wrong with the group pretty quickly. There’s tensions among the adults and Zach feels like something scary is watching their cabin from the woods.

As the dangers escalate Zach’s unsure who to trust, but he’s sure thankful that he was trained in outdoor survival by his Mom. He might need to utilize all of that valuable knowledge in order to make it off this mountain alive.

While this may have started out feeling like a standard Winter Thriller, a ski weekend gone bad, it took a sharp turn in a direction I wasn’t expecting. Sierra knows how to get a Reader’s pulse racing and I was gripped until the end.

The initial sections of this doesn’t have the same intensity as Nightwatching, which got cooking right from the start, but this story definitely gets there as the story progresses. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a slow build, but it does take some time to really get humming.

I wasn’t sure either how I would feel about following the perspective of a 12-year old boy in this type of story, but it really worked. I feel like his perspective was the best way to convey the level of danger and I did grow attached to him. I was on the edge of my seat on his behalf.

At times it felt hopeless, and it definitely made me anxious, but in a good way. I flew through the second half and ended up enjoying the heck out of it. I would recommend this to anyone who loves an intense Winter Thriller, or anyone who had fun with Sierra’s previous book.

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for providing me with a copy to read and review. There’s no denying that Tracy Sierra is such a talented writer. I’m really looking forward to whatever she releases next!

View all my reviews

Review: 25 Days by Per Jacobsen

~ megs14malloy

25 Days25 Days by Per Jacobsen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

25 Days is a Winter Horror Thriller set in the month of December. The author has cleverly structured it so that it can be read like an advent calendar, as each chapter is one day leading up to Christmas.

Hence the name, 25 Days.

The story follows Adam Gray and his family. Adam and his wife have been at odds recently, and in an effort to draw everyone closer together, he rents a holiday home for them for the days leading up to Christmas.

The vacation rental is a remote cabin tucked away on a snowy mountain. Far from the outside world, the family should have zero distractions, allowing more time for good ole’ fashioned family fun.

Things quickly take a dark turn though, when someone begins leaving grotesque gifts in a Christmas stocking tacked to the barn door. Each more brings something new, and the gifts progressively escalate in threat level.

It’s clear someone is stalking their cabin, toying with them like a cat with a mouse. How will Adam be able to protect his family? He needs to get them off this mountain, but the odds are definitely stacked against them.

I don’t have a ton to say about this one. This wasn’t bad by any means, it just felt very standard to me. Glancing at other reviews, it definitely seems that other Readers enjoyed this one a lot more than me.

It does have a particular intensity to it that I can see why it would pull people in, but for me, it just never truly captured me. I was reading it and it was fine, but nothing drew me in, or made me feel invested for this family.

It was mildly entertaining in the moment, but overall I’d say fairly forgettable. It’s giving standard Winter Thriller, vacation gone bad, vibes, but maybe amping it up a bit.

I do think it could be fun to read while on your own Winter vacation. It might keep you up at night, particularly if you’re in a remote location.

In only took me a day to read, quick and easy, so that was a plus, but I probably won’t think about it again now that the review is done. If you’re looking for a Wintery Horror Thriller though, give it shot. So many Readers are having fun with it, and you may too.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me a copy to read and review. While I appreciate the thought the author put into the structure of the story, it just wasn’t for me.

On to the next!

View all my reviews

Review: Xmas Break by J.E. Rowney

~ megs14malloy

Xmas BreakXmas Break by J.E. Rowney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Xmas Break is a fast-paced Horror Thriller novella set on Christmas Eve. The first thing that attracted me to this was the cover. I couldn’t resist it and after reading the synopsis, I was even more stoked.

Who doesn’t love a little holiday-themed Horror/Thriller?

This story revolves around sisters, Isla and Clara, who have been estranged since their mother’s death and subsequent inheritance fallout.

It’s been years since the two have spoken, when Isla suddenly receives an invitation from Clara to join her and her partner, Greg, for the Christmas holiday at their luxury mountain retreat. After discussing it with her husband, James, Isla reluctantly accepts the invitation.

They travel to the house on a snowy winter night, and it is indeed just as luxurious as promised. Unbelievable really. And there’s her perfect sister, with her perfect husband and her perfect decorations…

But something seems off. Her sister is acting strangely, but Greg even more so. Isla and James are growing increasingly uncomfortable. They try to have a nice dinner, but things feel forced.

Nevertheless, Isla is giving it her best effort. She is, and temps do start to thaw, a little. At least on the inside. Outside the storm rages on, and wouldn’t you know it, the power goes out.

The stakes continue to escalate as the night goes on, and soon it becomes clear that these sisters are going to have to put the past behind them if they want to survive to see another Christmas Day.

While stylistically, Xmas Break may not be the strongest book ever written, it’s still wildly-entertaining. This puts the Popcorn Thriller seamlessly into the Christmas holiday, and I’m here for it. Also, I did end up appreciating the more thematic messaging towards the end.

I would say this is completely OTT, so if you aren’t down for that type of Thriller, I would steer clear of this one. For those looking for a fast, fun ride, with ridiculous action and mostly unlikable characters, it’s a must read for you next holiday-themed TBR.

Thank you to the publisher, BooksGoSocial, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I read this in a few hours, and had a lot of fun with it.

View all my reviews

Review: The Bitter End by Alexa Donne

~ megs14malloy

The Bitter EndThe Bitter End by Alexa Donne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy the way Alexa Donne writes a YA Mystery-Thriller. Her novel, Pretty Dead Queens, is one of my favorites of all-time. It was like she wrote it for me.

When I was first learning about this release, everything about it was working in its favor; the cover, the title and this incredible synopsis opener:

When a winter storm traps eight teens in a remote ski cabin, they find themselves stranded with a killer…

Happy to report, this gave me exactly what I was looking for!

The Bitter End is such a fun Teen Scream Thriller. We follow a group of high school students, who go on a school trip, and end up stranded in a posh Colorado ski chalet.

As bodies start dropping one-by-one, and a blizzard has cut them off from outside contact, the remaining teens need to figure out who the killer is before it’s too late.

This is a classic set-up and I loved it developed in Donne’s capable hands. The characters are so messy and full of drama; it got intense. I was getting all the tea and drinking it up. These kids were bitter and a bit twisted.

Alexa Donne has really found her lane with this type of juicy, drama-filled Teen Thrill-Ride and I hope she keeps them coming. I will be first in line to get my hands on any future releases, that’s for sure.

I highly recommend this if you love YA Mystery-Thrillers, particularly if you enjoy inclement weather stories, or whodunits. The execution of this is great. It’s claustrophic and a bit frantic. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to the publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to see what Donne comes up with next!

View all my reviews

Review: Death on the Island by Eliza Reid

~ megs14malloy

Death on the IslandDeath on the Island by Eliza Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Death on the Island, we follow an eclectic group of characters who come together in a tiny island community off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic event.

We have the mayor of the town, an Ambassador from Canada and his wife, a local high-profile chef, an artist with ties to the island, and others. They all come together for a special dinner to open up their talks and hopefully create good spirits amongst the group.

It’s supposed to be a joyous occasion, and it does seem to start out that way. That is until one of the guests ends up dead of unknown causes, but what everyone quickly assumes to be poison consumption.

Making matters worse, a brutal storm is bearing down on them. It’s clear no one is going to be leaving the island. All the better to catch a killer, but in the meantime, doesn’t that mean they’re trapped with one?

I had a blast reading Death on the Island. I went into it with zero expectations. I hadn’t heard of this author, or any buzz for the book, but the title screamed, READ ME!!!

I’m so glad I made the time for it. I was completely engaged from the start. It actually turns out this is the author’s debut novel, and I’m so excited for more.

I appreciated how quickly Reid gets us into the action. I was drawn into the story so fast. I liked that we were following political figures, such as ambassadors and mayors. I haven’t read one like that in a while, so it was a nice change of pace.

I enjoyed how the author formatted the story as well. You get the reveal of the death, and then you go back in time and track through the events leading up to that death. It was done in a countdown-style that I feel added a level of tension to it that might not have been there otherwise.

Learning about this cast of characters, as well as their relationships to one another and potential motivations for why someone would take out anyone at this dinner party, was very entertaining. There was certainly plenty of drama to oh-and-ah over.

With this being said, I’ll admit there’s a lot of moving parts and it was a little hard to track in the beginning. For a minute, I started to feel overwhelmed, but I tried to just relax into it, not worry too much about the details, and to just let Reid do her thing.

Ultimately, Reid pulled it off. This had me so invested, I had no longstanding issues tracking the various characters, or their interpersonal dramas.

Overall, I loved the atmospheric-island setting, which was done so well in my humble island-dweller opinion. I also really enjoyed the use of an inclement weather element to help build out that tense atmosphere, as well as the interesting cast of characters.

It was so gripping trying to solve this murder mystery, my head was all over the place. I did Buddy Read it with a friend, and definitely recommend that. It was so fun trying to guess the killer together, and their reasons behind it.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me a copy to read and review.

I loved how this kept me guessing, and I’m looking forward to more from Eliza Reid!!!

View all my reviews

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!

View all my reviews

Review: Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

~ megs14malloy

Nothing Ever Happens HereNothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There’s a reason why so many people enjoy living in small towns. They’re safe. They’re wholesome and it’s a great place to grow up, or raise your own children.

Shelby and Mack are best friends who still live in the small town they grew up in. Both are successful business women and have their own families. Life is steady and good.

That is until Shelby is viciously attacked, barely surviving the incident, and on that same night Mack’s husband, Leo, also goes missing.

This event shook the town. People were understandably shocked and disturbed. How could this happen here? Nothing ever happens here…

Honestly, this is all I want to say about this plot. I always look forward to new releases from Seraphina Nova Glass, because she always ends up surprising me. I’m never sure what I’m going to get.

I feel like for some Mystery-Thriller authors, they have a bit of a formula, and you know when you are reading their books that it’s one of theirs, because there is such a specific style. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In fact, some of my favorite authors I would say this about. A great example, IMO, being the great Agatha Christie.

For SNG though, I don’t really feel that. This also isn’t a bad thing. Neither way is better than the other. I feel like her stories, the tone, the way they’re told, have really run the gamut for me.

I loved the unique perspectives in this one. We get Shelby and Mack, of course, but we also get the perspective of an elderly woman named, Florence, who lives at a care home that both Shelby and Mack are involved with.

I love getting older perspectives. I say older, but by that I just mean older than what we, on average, tend to get in fiction, and I completely loved Florence.

This book grabbed me from the start. By 10% in, I was hooked. I felt like the opening was so powerful and intriguing that it’s going to stick in my mind for a long time. I didn’t know what to think.

I did find Shelby and Mack a bit interchangeable at the start, NGL. I struggled at times to tell them apart, but that worked itself out the further along I got in the story.

The residents of the care home though, were all distinct and such a joy to read about. The time spent with them was honestly my favorite bits.

Another thing I loved about this was the setting and the climate. This story is set in Minnesota, entirely during the winter months. The snow and teeth-chattering cold play a huge role in the action.

It’s absolutely perfect for Winter reading. This entire story made me feel cold. I’m not joking. I could feel it. Make sure you have a nice warm blanket and hot drink at the ready when picking this one up!

Overall, I had a blast with Nothing Ever Happens Here. It’s such an intensely-OTT, wildly-wicked good time, and boy, oh boy, did it get my pulse racing towards the end.

Florence and Herb are absolute dolls. I love them both and their friendship so much. Goals.

Thank you to Graydon House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. As mentioned, I love Seraphina Nova Glass and always look forward to her latest works.

View all my reviews

Review: A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

~ megs14malloy

A Killing ColdA Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Killing Cold is tense and fast-paced. It’s also the epitome of a Winter Thriller. I loved the setting and atmosphere most of all. It felt cold and claustrophobic the entire time.

Theo is trapped at her new fiance’s family retreat and it’s clear someone doesn’t want her there. When she discovers a clue to her past at the property, she’s flabbergasted.

How can this be? Has she been here before?

I liked following along with Theo as she was thrust into the lion’s den that is her fiance, Connor’s, family. They’ve had a whirlwind romance, so Theo hasn’t had much opportunity to meet them and she’s nervous as heck.

As she should be…

It’s clear from the start Theo isn’t being completely transparent with them about her past, and as the story progresses, you learn a lot more about that.

Regardless of where she came from though, her upbringing was very different from Theo’s and his siblings. Their family is extremely wealthy, and as with most wealthy families, they’re used to getting away with a certain amount of things.

While I was reading this, the dynamics amongst Connor and his brother and sister, kept reminding me of the sibling relationships in Succession. If you are a fan of that show, I definitely recommend you check this one out. I think you’ll understand pretty quickly what I mean.

I also loved and appreciated how much the weather and landscape was made a part of this story. It felt dark and very cold. Also, due to inclement weather, they do get literally trapped at the estate.

This gave it an air of desperation and suffocation it may not have had otherwise. Atmosphere is my number one want in any book, and it was definitely delivered here.

Marshall kept me on my toes with this one and successfully kept me guessing. While I thought the ending had some moments where it veered into convoluted territory, overall, I think it was a fun and intriguing story.

I would highly recommend the audiobook, as well, should you have that format available to you. It’s narrated by one of my all-time faves, Karissa Vacker, and I feel like she did a fantastic job bringing Theo’s perspective to life!

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to whatever KAM writes next!!

View all my reviews