ARC Review: The Legacies

 I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Legacies by Jessica Goodman 

Tori Tasso is the surprise nominee for the Legacy Club, being a scholarship student suddenly introduced to a world of wealth, power, and privilege. Now she’s coming into constant contact with students who have previously ignored her, and quickly learning they’re not as perfect as they first appear.  As the Legacy Ball approaches, everyone’s secrets start to spill, leading to a death.

The writing of this book is really effective. Goodman cuts back and forth from after the ball to before, so readers know someone dies-and start collecting clues-but don’t know who the unlucky character is or the exact details of their death. Goodman also uses multiple female povs to let readers into the heads of the most important characters.

This book was very suspenseful and went down smooth. I would recommend this book. 

ARC Reviews: One of the Boys, A Questionable Character

 I received ARCs of these books from the publishers in exchange for honest reviews. This did not affect my opinions of the books or my reviews themselves. 

One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie

This book posits a future where boys can be tested for an M gene, which the majority believes predicts if a boy will be violent or not. M negative boys have privileges that M positive boys do not, and are viewed very differently.

Into this world, sisters Antonia and Bea give birth to boys. Antonia’s son tests negative, while Bea refuses to test her son. This means Antonia’s son lives a much more comfortable life than Bea’s. But there are far reaching consequences neither mother sees coming. 

I have not stopped thinking about this book since I read it. There are so many issues raised: nature versus nurture, what needs to be done to protect women, divisions within society…This book is also so well written. I would definitely recommend this book.

A Questionable Character by Lorna Barrett

In a town affectionately known as Booktown, Tricia runs a mystery bookstore-and solves murders when the police can’t. This time a construction worker is found dead by Tricia and her sister. 

I loved the setting of this story, but not the story itself. I think it’s because I didn’t really love the characters. Even the romance felt off. This book just wasn’t for me. 

ARC Review: Dark Corners

 Thanks to Goodreads and St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book! 

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin 

When a social media influencer disappears, police can’t help but wonder if her meeting with a convicted criminal has something to do with it. To this end, they ask Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster, to speak to him. This one meeting draws Rachel into the world of influencers, as she goes undercover at an influencer conference to try to find out what happened to the missing influencer. All the while, there may be someone obsessed with Rachel drawing her towards danger.

This is the second book in the series but you can absolutely read it as a stand alone. Rachel is a strong independent female protagonist who carries the book well. There is suspense, there is romance, and there is mystery. There were some twists near the end that really surprised me. I would recommend this book. 

ARC Review: A Guide to the Dark

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui

Mira and Layla are on a college tour, when their car goes off the road, stranding then in Room 9 at the Wildwood Motel. Room 9 has a history of death and misery, which Mira can feel deep in her bones. Picking up a team along the way, the two girls begin to dig into the history of Room 9 in hopes of pushing the past out of the present.

This book has a lot of good things going on. Mira and Layla are great best friends who are attempting to figure out their feelings for each other. The supporting cast of characters are interesting and had me rooting for them, Mira, and Layla hard. Room 9 is definitely creepy, and makes the stakes real and high.

But this book didn’t grab me the way I had hoped, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I do know I didn’t really enjoy the chapters from the room’s “point of view”, and I wanted even more about the history of the room.

I would say give this book a try, it seems a lot of people have loved it more than me. 

ARC Reviews: The Block Party, Maidens of the Cave

 I received copies of these books from the publishers in exchange for honest reviews. This did not affect my opinion of the books or my reviews themselves.

The Block Party by Jamie Day

All readers know is that there has been a murder at an exclusive block party. It takes Day taking readers back a full year for us to learn the causes and who is dead.

The characters in this book are so complex. Every one has so many layers, so much going on in their lives and in their heads. Despite the enhanced drama, these characters feel real. Day expertly plants seeds so it seems anyone could end up being the murderer and the murdered. I would recommend this book. 

Maidens of the Cave by Lloyd Devereux Richards

Young women are being found murdered in caves, all with the same mysterious bruise. Fighting against a bureaucracy that is all about paperwork and less about casework, Special Agent Christine Prusik is determined to get justice for the women and stop the killings.

I love the story behind this, that the first book in the series had been essentially ignored until the author’s daughter put something up on Tik Tok and the book went viral on there. I haven’t read the first book yet, but I can tell this is a solid series. This book is a well-written procedural mystery with a strong female protagonist, some romance, and a great twist ending. I recommend this book and would like to get my hands on the first book in the series now. 

ARC Review: The Woods Are Waiting

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Woods Are Waiting by Katherine Greene

Cheyenne left Blue Cliff and never planned to return. But when she gets the call that her eccentric mother isn’t doing well, Cheyenne packs up her life and heads back home.

Blue Cliff is a place of tragedy. Many times over many years, children have gone missing and then been found dead. Superstitions fly rampant, especially as another child goes missing. Cheyanne, her childhood best friend, and her first love must figure out what is truly going on, before another child disappears. 

The first chapter of the book is written in an over the top, way too cliched style. But I’m glad I pushed past that, because the rest of the book is written really well. This story is very suspenseful, with an eerie factor and a twist ending I did not see coming. I would recommend this book. 

ARC Review: Dead of Winter

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

This is one creepy book! It starts out a little slow, with our narrator describing pushing through endless piles of deep snow (snow gets pushed through and described a lot in this book), but when it picks up it really picks up.

A bus full of people heading for a vacation at a lodge is halted by a tree felled in the middle of the road and some terrible winter weather. The group makes their way to a small uninhabited cabin, but wake up to their tour guide’s severed head on a tree right outside. Someone’s plan is to pick them off one by one. 

I couldn’t read this book at night, it was too scary. I guessed part of the amazing ending, but that didn’t take away at all from what a great twist it was (in fact, it made it even better because I felt so successful!). I definitely recommend this book. 

ARC Reviews: The Bones of the Story, Dead Mountain, and With a Kiss We Die

 I received ARCs of these books from the publishers in exchange for honest reviews. This did not affect my opinions of the books or my reviews themselves. 

The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman 

A select group of alumni are dying on a snowbound campus, in the manner of scary stories they once wrote as part of an exclusive writing class. Could this have a connection to a past tragedy?

I really enjoyed this book. I love love love the premise, and Goodman delivers on it. I did find myself more interested in the Now sections than the Then sections, but I think that’s because there was so much suspense in the Now. I definitely recommend this book. 

Dead Mountain by Preston & Child

(Thanks to Novel Suspects for the ARC!)

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the similarities between the plot and the true story of Dylatov Pass (one of the authors even wrote an excellent article about the subject for the New Yorker). In the book, nine hikers were so terrified by something they saw that they slashed their way out of their tent into below freezing temperatures, and died in mysterious ways. Three bodies were never found. The mystery was never solved.

Enter FBI Agent Corrie Swanson and archaeologist Nora Kelly. Two of the three missing bodies have been found, and they are on the case. 

I really enjoyed this book, especially as someone fascinated by the Dylatov Pass Incident. I loved seeing a fictionalized take on it, and the authors’ solution. The book had a lot of suspense and surprises, and I would recommend this read. 

With a Kiss We Die by L.R. Dorn

A young couple are suspected of murdering the man’s parents. They decide to have an investigative journalist podcaster embed with them while they wait to see if they are going to be arrested, believing this will give them the chance to tell their side of the story. 

The entire book is told in podcast form, which works so well on the page (I bet this also makes an incredible audiobook). There is so much suspense, and such amazing twists and turns. I love the way Dorn plays with the concept of a narrator and how each narrator chooses to tell their story. I would absolutely recommend this book, and can’t wait to see what Dorn does next.