Category: NetGalley

Sister of Starlit Seas (Virdian Deep: Book 3) by Terry Brooks

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: November 14th, 2023

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Series: Viridian Deep

Child of Light—Book 1

Daughter of Darkness—Book 2

Sister of Starlit Seas—Book 3

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A rebellious young heroine begins a voyage of self-discovery in the third novel of an epic fantasy series set in the world of Viridian Deep, from the legendary author of the Shannara saga.Auris’s adoptive sister Char has always been the baby of the family—a position that grates on Char, especially when everyone insists on telling her exactly what to do and how to do it. But Char is certain that her headstrong, impulsive behavior, the quality her family sees as her greatest weakness, is actually her greatest the willingness to instantly brave danger and leap to the rescue when anyone she loves is threatened. Char knows she will never grow into the woman she was meant to be under her family’s loving but repressive eye, so a month before she turns fifteen, she runs away and joins a Human pirate crew in the warm southerly regions of her world. Then, three years into her pirate career, her captain—the man she is convinced she loves—is captured by the leaders of the slave trade he has been fighting. When Char leaps in to rescue him, she finds herself thrust into an adventure that will uncover secrets she never suspected about herself, one that will maybe, finally, teach her to look before she leaps.

First Line:

In the late-night hours of the second day of the full moon, I slip from my concealment to begin my latest mission.

Sister of Starlit Seas by Terry Brooks

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pacing of Sister of Starlit Seas varies throughout the book. It started at a medium pace, slowed down while Char was discovering her Merrow side, picked back up during her journey back home, and stayed at a medium fast pace until the end of the book. Usually, I wouldn’t like it when the pace changes up like it did, but in this case, it worked.

POV: Char tells Sister of Starlit Seas in the first person point of view.

Series: Sister of Starlit Seas is the third book in the Viridian Deep series. You can read this book as a standalone. But, as I always do, I suggest reading the first two books before picking this one up. That way, you can understand Char’s relationships.

Trigger/Content Warning: Sister of Starlit Seas has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Slavery (graphic, on and off page)
  • Depression (minor to moderate, on and off page)
  • Boating Accident (moderate, on page)
  • Bullying (minor, on page)
  • Violence (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
  • Death (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
  • Grief (moderate, on page)
  • Stillbirth (minor, off page)

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Sister of Starlit Seas. There are a few kissing scenes, but it doesn’t go beyond that.

Language: There is no swearing or offensive language in Sister of Starlit Seas.

Setting: Sister of Starlit Seas takes place in The Kingdom of Man and The Kingdom of Fae. There are also underwater scenes in the Merrow territories.

Tropes: Chosen One, Orphan, Good vs. Evil, Magic, Growing Up, Mythical Beings, Self-Discovery

Age Range: I recommend Sister of Starlit Seas to anyone over 16.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

At the age of fifteen, Char ran away from her family. A headstrong girl, Char left her family because she felt smothered. Traveling south, Char eventually joined a pirate crew headed by a Human and lived what Char thought was her best life. Everything was fine until one night, on a daring solo mission to rescue the captain of the ship she was on (who she thought she loved). Char was captured. Tortured by repeated and prolonged dunks in the ocean, Char is amazed when she changes into a fabled being called a Merrow. She is immediately taken in by the Merrow community living in the sea. But her changing brings her more questions than answers. The only two people who could answer those questions were her adoptive mother and biological mother. With her adoptive mother dead, Char realizes that she will need to find her birth mother. She also realizes that her journey must start where she left- her home. Can Char get answers to her questions? Will she find her biological mother?

Main Characters

Charlayne (Char): I will not lie; I found Char annoying and immature for over half of the book. But I also liked her. She was loyal, tried her best to keep her promises, and was, for the most part, a good friend (she had to be reminded at specific points about being a better friend). I enjoyed seeing her character grow throughout the book. By the end of Sister of Starlit Seas, she was a little more mature, less annoying, and definitely less reckless. She learned a few life lessons in her travels that stuck with her.

My review:

I got very excited when browsing NetGalley and seeing Sister of Starlit Seas. See, I loved Terry Brooks in high school and had read The Sword of Shannara so many times that I did have passages memorized. Seeing that it was on Random House and it was a wish, I decided to do it. I had a 50/50 chance of getting it. So, I was thrilled when I got the email saying it had been granted. I couldn’t wait to read this book.

The main storyline in Sister of Starlit Seas centers around Char and her quest to find answers. It was a well-written storyline. I liked that Char wasn’t perfect and had the same issues as a late-age teenager (unrequited love, hormones all over the place, self-involved, and annoying). If I am to be honest, she reminded me of a combination of my sixteen and eighteen-year-old. I liked that the storyline changed as the book went on. It went from an answer about who she was to why her adoptive mother made her forget to a search for her mother to the end game (I can’t say what because of spoilers). The author did that seamlessly.

I loved the fantasy angle of Sister of Starlit Seas. The author took the Merrow myth and incorporated it into the storyline. I was like Char; I thought Merrow and mermaids were identical. Nope, they are not. The use of magic was very understated. I can only think of one scene where magic could have been used. But that didn’t bother me. To me, fantasy isn’t all about magic. It is about the world and beings in that world, too.

The end of Sister of Starlit Seas was a little bittersweet. I was very upset over some of the things the author did, but at the same time, I understood why he chose to write that way. I also saw a little hint that maybe another book will feature Char.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Terry Brooks for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Sister of Starlit Seas. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Sister of Starlit Seas, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Terry Brooks

Mister Lullaby by J.H. Markert

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Date of Publication: November 21st, 2023

Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Fantasy, Fiction, Thriller, Supernatural, Adult, Mystery, Suspense

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

From J. H. Markert, the author Peter Farris calls the “clear heir to Stephen King,” Mister Lullaby brings our darkest dreams and nightmares to life.

In the vein of T. Kingfisher and Christopher Golden, the boundary protecting our world from the monsters on the other side is weakening—and Mister Lullaby is about to break through.

The small town of Harrod’s Reach has seen its fair share of the macabre, especially inside the decrepit old train tunnel around which the town was built. After a young boy, Sully Dupree, is injured in the abandoned tunnel and left in a coma, the townspeople are determined to wall it up. Deputy sheriff Beth Gardner is reluctant to buy into the superstitions until she finds two corpses at the tunnel’s entrance, each left with strange calling cards inscribed with old lullabies. Soon after, Sully Dupree briefly awakens from his coma.

Before falling back into his slumber, Sully manages to give his older brother a message. Sully’s mind, since the accident, has been imprisoned on the other side of the tunnel in Lalaland, a grotesque and unfamiliar world inhabited by evil mythical creatures of sleep. Sully is trapped there with hundreds of other coma patients, all desperately fighting to keep the evils of the dream world from escaping into the waking world.

Elsewhere, a man troubled by his painful youth has for years been hearing a voice in his head he calls Mr. Lullaby, and he has finally started to act on what that voice is telling him—to kill any coma patient he can find, quickly.

Something is waking up in the tunnel—something is trying to get through. And Mr. Lullaby is coming.

First Line:

Deputy Sherriff Beth Gardner had only been on the job for two weeks when Simple Simon walked inside the station with a chainsaw.

Mister Lullaby by J.H. Markert

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Mister Lullaby’s pace is fast. The book takes place within a week of Gideon’s arrival home after being honorably discharged from the Army. I was iffy on the pace. The author threw a lot of information at me at the beginning of the book. I had to reread specific chapters. If the pacing had slowed down a little, started at a medium pace, and then amped up, I could have processed the information better.

Trigger/Content Warning: Mister Lullaby has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Mental Illness (graphic, on and off page)
  • Violence (graphic, on page)
  • Murder (graphic, on page)
  • Gun Violence (graphic, on page)
  • Rape (graphic, on page)
  • Grief (graphic, on page)
  • Fire (moderate, on and off page)
  • Bullying (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
  • Racism (minor to moderate, off page)
  • Alcoholism (moderate, on and off page)
  • Anxiety and anxiety attacks (moderate and off-page)
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (moderate to graphic, on page)
  • Blood (graphic, on page)
  • Gore (graphic, on page)
  • Body Horror (graphic, on page)
  • Coma (graphic, on page)
  • Dead bodies and body parts (graphic, on page)
  • Loss of autonomy (graphic, on page)
  • Homophobia (moderate, on and off page)

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Mister Lullaby. It is not graphic.

Language: There is graphic swearing in Mister Lullaby. There is also offensive language used in various parts of the book.

Setting: The Before part of Mister Lullaby is set between Harrod’s Reach, Nebraska, and Lalaland. The Then part of Mister Lullaby is set in Harrod’s Reach and wherever Teddy drove the bus.

Tropes: Chosen One, Emotional Scars, Reluctant Hero, Dark Lord, Good vs Evil, Childhood Friends, Monsters, Humans Can Be Evil

Age Range: I recommend Mister Lullaby to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

The night Gideon arrives home, his younger brother, who has been in a coma for three years, wakes up and starts shouting names. Why he shouts out names confuses his family until Maddy shows up in town. Her explanation is crazy: Sully is trapped in a nightmare land called Lalaland. There, he is struggling, along with other coma patients, to keep the monsters inhabiting that world from bleeding into this one. But something is wrong, and the king of these monsters, Mister Lullaby, is trying to break through. While trying to process the information he has been told, Gideon and his best friend, Beth, are stunned when prominent figures in the community start showing up brutally murdered. Can Maddy be believed and trusted? What is happening in town? Can Gideon and Beth protect their loved ones and the townspeople from the evil trying to come through? Or will they fail?

Main Characters

Deputy Sheriff Beth Gardner: I didn’t know how to feel about Beth. On one hand, she was a great police officer and rose to the job when the Sheriff was attacked. But, on the other hand, her personal life was a mess. She was friends with Gideon and Jax. But her friendship with both was not equal, and it showed. She sided more with Jax (who was awful in the flashbacks and the present day) than Gideon. Even during the storyline, she didn’t treat Gideon like an equal. The use of his nickname, Giddey Up Gideon, was used as a way of putting him in his place. But she was determined to protect Sully at any cost when push came to shove. What she did at the end of the book was very selfless.

Gideon Dupree: I liked him, but he was so damaged that I thought his character wouldn’t rise to the occasion. He was bullied relentlessly throughout school and beyond (Giddey Up Gideon referenced how he ran). He blamed himself for Sully’s accident even though he had nothing to do with it (it did happen while he was watching him, though). And his Army career left him with even more scars. But, by the middle of the book, I saw something shift in his character. It happened when Maddy came to town, and it evolved. By the end of the book, even though he was still damaged, Gideon had come into his own.

Theodore Lomax (aka Teddy): Teddy’s character sent chills up and down my spine. He was a serial killer who had a very troubled and trauma-filled childhood. He had a voice in his head, called Mister Lullaby, that was instructing him to kill coma patients. Teddy also killed other people for fun. But Teddy realized the voice wasn’t a figment of his imagination until he bought a bus (which he named the Lullaby Express) and started picking up random people. It was real. His end game was to go to Harrod’s Reach and set those random people loose while he searched for the name at the top of his list, Sully Dupree. He was evil personified, and I couldn’t think of a better antagonist for this book.

Maddy Boyle: I liked her character. But I did wonder what her connection to Harrod’s Reach would be and what would happen once she got there. I liked how she was like an envoy to Lalaland (having been there herself). She was able to convince Gideon and then Beth about the dangers that were coming out of the train tunnel.

Simple Simon: I went back and forth on including him as a significant character. I decided to have him as a central character because of his actions in the book’s second half. Simon knew a lot about what was going on with Lalaland bleeding through, and he was a massive factor in the events that went down at the end of the book.

Sully Dupree: The whole storyline is centered around Sully. He was still a powerful force even though he never woke up and talked. I can only get a little into what happens with him because of spoilers.

My review:

Mister Lullaby was one of my most looked-forward-to-read books. I had seen it featured on other blogs and was thrilled when Crooked Lane Books sent me the widget. So, when it was finally time for me to read it, I dove right in. I finished the book liking it but was disappointed by it simultaneously (thus the star rating).

Mister Lullaby has various POVs. Not only that, but the author also split the chapters into Before and Now. The author labeled each chapter with who it focused on and whether it was Now or Before. But I got lost while reading. I would backtrack to determine when the chapter occurred (the who part was obvious). It frustrated me but not enough to DNF.

The main storyline of Mister Lullaby is good, and I find it fascinating. I liked that the author tied his previous books into this one. It made for an interesting read. But, sometimes, I lost sight of the storyline (Sully, the train tunnel, Teddy, Gideon, Beth, and Maddy). There were so many secondary storylines thrown in (some I feel were to fill in empty plot holes) that my head was turned around. Did I need to know why Jax was such a dick? Or why did Beth marry him? Not really (even though it was sad). That stuff could have been left out or mentioned in passing. Another example was the chapter with Chimp and the weird fish. My head was spinning by the end of the storyline, and I couldn’t keep everything straight.

The storyline with Teddy and his collection of serial killers was interesting. Unlike the main one, this storyline was tight and kept to just the storyline. The only time it deviated was toward the end of the book, but even then, it was all right.

The horror angle of the book was well written. I want to warn everyone that it is bloody and violent. I did jump during some scenes, and in others, I had to read gagging.

The end of Mister Lullaby did disappoint me. It seemed very rushed. The final battle was almost anticlimactic (compared to what was happening around them). I also needed clarification on why Beth did what she did. There were storylines left in the air. I also have not received a resolution about what would happen to the town or the aftermath. They might have plans for another book in this universe (or even a sequel). I also have an answer as to why the book’s ending was the way it was. The author explains everything in the acknowledgment section after the end.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and J.H. Markert for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Mister Lullaby. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Mister Lullaby, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by J.H. Markert

What the River Knows (Secrets of the Nile: Book 1) by Isabel Ibanez

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Date of publication: October 31st, 2023

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult Fantasy, Adventure, Historical Fantasy

Series: Secrets of the Nile

What the River Knows—Book 1

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

First Line:

A letter changed my life.

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: What the River Knows was medium-paced. For the most part, it suited the book. But there were parts, mainly towards the end of the book, where I felt the pacing dragged out some scenes.

Trigger/Content Warning: What the River Knows does have trigger and content warnings. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Death (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
  • Death of a parent (minor to moderate, off-page)
  • Murder (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
  • Grief (moderate to graphic, on page)
  • Gun Violence (graphic, on page)
  • Colonisation (moderate, off and on page)
  • Violence (on page, graphic)
  • Blood (on page, graphic)
  • Kidnapping (minor, off page)
  • Abandonment (graphic, on and off page)
  • Cultural Appropriation (graphic, on and off page)
  • Injury (moderate, on and off page)
  • Alcohol (moderate, on page)
  • Alcoholism (minor, on page)
  • Confinement (minor, on page)
  • Gaslighting (moderate, on page)
  • Cheating (minor, off page)
  • Military Violence (minor, off page)

Sexual Content: There are no sex scenes in What the River Knows. But there are kissing scenes, and those kisses get a little passionate.

Language: There is no swearing in What the River Knows. There is language that people might consider offensive but is era-appropriate.

Setting: What the River Knows takes place entirely in Egypt. The prologue takes place in Argentina.

Tropes: Orphan, Enemies to Lovers, Love/Hate Relationship, Ancient Secrets, Babysitting, Magic, Secrets, Slow Burn Romance, Powerful Artifacts, Forced Proximity

Age Range: I recommend What the River Knows to anyone over 16.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Inez Olivera has everything she wants in nineteenth-century Argentina except the attention of her Egypt-obsessed parents. Inez is devastated when she receives a letter informing her of her parents’ deaths. Wanting answers, Inez boards a ship to Egypt. But what she finds there doesn’t answer her questions. She finds an uncle who is closed off and angry. His associate/bodyguard, a handsome British man, keeps trying to send her home. But, after finding evidence that suggests her parents’ deaths were not the tragic accident that she had been told, Inez is determined to stay and find out what happened to them. Can Inez find out the truth? Or is everything that she had been told a lie?

Main Characters

Inez Olivera: I liked Inez. She was spunky, didn’t take crap from anyone, was inventive with how to get her way (i.e., staying in Egypt), and was determined to investigate her parents deaths. There were times that I feared for her life in the book (the one scene when she fell into the Nile had me on edge). I liked that she had layers to her, and the more time I spent with her in the book, the more layers were revealed.

Whitford Hayes: I wasn’t sure what to think of him when the book began. But, as the book continued and his backstory was explained, I started to like him. The author did something different with him; she held much of his background until the last minute. He was indeed an enigma.

My Review:

What the River Knows is a long book. It took me three days to finish. But in those three days, I relished what was written. I was immersed in the storyline and connected with the characters. And yes, like other reviewers, I was very much surprised by the ending and the epilogue. But even before that, the surprises that the author had up her sleeve were almost never-ending.

What the River Knows is a dual-POV book. The story is told mainly from Inez’s POV, but Whit gets his chapters in occasionally. Whit’s chapters explain some mystery that swirls around Inez’s parents, her uncle, and other plotlines. But, what his chapters do not do is verify his feelings for Inez.

I have read very few books centered almost entirely on Egyptian pharaohs and mythology. I enjoyed the mystery of Cleopatra’s tomb. I didn’t enjoy what was happening while Inez, Whit, and the rest of their group were looking for it. I understand why the author did it, but I still wasn’t a fan.

What the River Knows has a few plot twists that will surprise you. I did see the first one coming (sorry to the author). It was set up perfectly so that I would not miss it. This is the catalyst for everything that happens after the twist happens. The author was sneaky and added two plot twists at the very end of the book. I saw neither of those plot twists coming. So, saying I was surprised is an understatement. I was more surprised at the twist in the epilogue than I was at the one at the very end of the book.

The romance angle of the book was slow. It was so slow that I forgot it was even there until Inez was on the ship with Whit. While I had no question of Inez’s feelings towards Whit (ranging from irritation to love), I did question Whit’s. That’s all I am going to say about that.

The fantasy angle of the book was well written. But, like the romance, it was barely there until the middle of the book. I liked how the author wrote about the magic, though. It was exciting and is something that I hope the author expands on in the next book.

As I mentioned multiple times, the end of What the River Knows was a huge surprise. There was so much crammed into it that it did take me a minute to process. But the cliffhanger ending (which annoyed me) and the two twists had me up in arms (see above). It was very sneaky of the author to do that. It was all I thought about for a while after I stopped reading the book.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, NetGalley, and Isabel Ibanez for allowing me to read and review this ARC of What the River Knows. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to What the River Knows, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Isabel Ibanez

Never Wager with a Wallflower (The Merriwell Sisters: Book 3) by Virginia Heath

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: November 7th, 2023

Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Regency, Adult, Regency Romance

Series: The Merriwell Sisters

Never Fall for Your Fiancee—Book 1

Never Rescue a Rogue—Book 2

Never Wager with a Wallflower—Book 3

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The third and final delightful installment in the Merriwell Sister’s Regency rom-com series.
Miss Venus Merriwell has been waiting for her prince to come since the tender age of fourteen. She wants a man who is selfless, academic like her, and free from all the wretched vices her gambler father enjoyed far too much before he left the Merriwell sisters practically destitute. Unfortunately, after a slew of romantic disappointments, there is still no sign of that prince at twenty-three and the only one true love of her life is the bursting-at-the-seams orphanage in Covent Garden that she works tirelessly for. An orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door.
For Galahad Sinclair, gambling isn’t just his life, it’s in his blood. He grew up and learned the trade at his grandfather’s knee in a tavern on the far away banks of the Hudson in New York. But when fate took all that away and dragged him across the sea to London, it made sense to set up shop here. He’s spent five years making a success out of his gaming hell in the sleazy docks of the East End. Enough that he can finally afford to buy the pleasure palace of his dreams—and where better than in the capital’s sinful heart, Covent Garden? The only fly in his ointment is the perfect building he’s just bought to put it in also happens to be right next door to the orphanage run by his cousin’s wife’s youngest sister. A pious, disapproving and unsettling siren he has avoided like the plague since she flattened him five years ago…
While Venus and Galahad lock horns over practically everything, and while her malevolent orphans do their darndest to sabotage his lifelong dream, can either of them take the ultimate gamble—and learn to love thy neighbor?

First Line:

“Do we have an accord, Mr. Sinclair?”

Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pacing for Never Wager with a Wallflower is medium. It could have been done with a faster storyline, especially towards the end. But overall, it worked. There was some slight lag towards the end, but it didn’t affect how I liked the book.

Series: Never Wager with a Wallflower is the 3rd (and last) book in the Merriwell Sisters trilogy. While you could technically read this book as a standalone, I recommend not doing so. I did, and I got turned around references to the other books. I also couldn’t keep the characters straight (other than Vee and Gal) in my head. I plan on reading the other two books as soon as I can.

Trigger/Content Warning: Never Wager with a Wallflower has trigger and content warnings. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Classism (moderate)
  • Poverty (moderate)
  • Abandonment (moderate)
  • Child Abuse (moderate)
  • Gambling Addiction (moderate)
  • Alcohol Consumption (minor)
  • Pregnancy (moderate)
  • Childbirth (minor)
  • Chronic Illness (minor)
  • Death of grandparent (moderate)
  • Death of parent(s) (minor)
  • Murder (moderate)

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Never Wager with a Wallflower. Some are implied, but most were on page. It was not graphic.

Language: There is no swearing in Never Wager with a Wallflower. There is era-appropriate offensive language.

Setting: Never Wager with a Wallflower is set in London, England.

Tropes: Happy Ending, Forced Proximity, Enemies to Lovers, The Misunderstanding, Opposites Attract, Rivals, Emotional Scars, Everyone Can See It

Age Range: I recommend Never Wager with a Wallflower to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Miss Venus Merriwell knows what she wants in a husband. She wants someone intellectual, selfless, and who doesn’t have any gambling vices. She also wants a husband who will be passionate about the exact causes as she is like the rundown, overcrowded orphanage she has taught at for the past four years. It badly needs repairs and to be expanded to the building next door. But, if she has to settle, she will. That is why she is trying to catch the eye of London’s dryest, self-involved Lord. Forget a love match; she knows that marrying him will be safe.

Galahad Sinclair is Vee’s enemy. He represents everything that she despises. He runs a gambling hell on the docks of the East End and enjoys needling her every chance he gets. With their clashes fueling family gossip, Vee and Gal are thrown together at every opportunity. When Vee starts to get close to Gal, she sees someone different from the facade he shows everyone. But, when a secret that Gal has comes to the surface, will it kill their blossoming romance?

Main Characters

Venus Merriwell: I liked her, but man, did she have tunnel vision. Her world consisted of her sisters and their families, balls where she would look for prospective suitors, and the orphanage where she tirelessly worked. Her disdain for Gal caught me off because she was sweet with everyone else. There was a point in the book where I wanted to shake her (it was right after she found out Gal had bought the building next door). She was nasty to him, and I couldn’t believe what she said to the boy she had with her. That was almost enough to change my mind about her. But she more than made up for her attitude a few chapters later. I also liked that she loved to read, and Shakespeare was her favorite author. Of course, reading his plays gave her somewhat of an unrealistic view of romance (her journal entries showed that).

Galahad Sinclair: I loved him. Yes, he did some shady things at the beginning of the book. But, I stress this: he had no way of knowing that Vee wanted that building for herself. I liked that the author slowly (and sometimes at a turtle’s pace) had Gal reveal things about himself that saddened and horrified me. Some items, I guessed at, but others shook me. There were points in the book where I did think he made his bed (the whole building fiasco), but he did try to apologize.

My Review:

I enjoyed reading Never Wager with a Wallflower. But I felt a little out of sorts while reading it. This book is the third and last book in the trilogy. I missed a lot of background by not reading the first two books. But I did enjoy Vee and Gal’s very bumpy relationship. That had me on my toes for the entire book.

I loved that the author had journal entries by Vee from 14 to the present day. I liked seeing her thoughts on different situations (from boobs that won’t stop growing to her feelings about Gal). It also gave me good insight into her life growing up, what her father did to her and her sisters, and other storylines that kept popping up in the book.

The main storyline, the love story between Vee and Gal, was well written. As stated above, it was a bumpy enemy to lovers/forced proximity romance. Sometimes, I wondered when the romance would start and Vee’s animosity would end. But that made for a fun read. I also liked that Gal was very much in tune with his feelings for Vee and realized what they were early in the book. On the other hand, Vee fought her feelings until the end of the book.

The orphanage storyline was a little meh to me. While it allowed Gal to explain his formative years to Vee, it didn’t do anything but cause issues between those two. I thought Vee went overboard with her reaction to Gal buying the building next door. The meltdown that she had and the things she said to him was awful.

The end of Never Wager with a Wallflower was okay. It was a little drawn out. I was also weirded out that everyone was okay with what they walked into. I liked the epilogue, but I got confused by it. I had to reread it to understand what was going on.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Virginia Heath for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Never Wager with a Wallflower. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Never Wager with a Wallflower, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Virginia Heath

When I’m Dead (Black Harbor: Book 3) by Hannah Morrissey

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: October 31st, 2023

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Adult, Halloween, Horror

Series: Black Harbor

Hello, Transcriber—Book 1

The Widowmaker—Book 2

When I’m Dead—Book 3

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | World Cat

Goodreads Synopsis:

One girl murdered. Another one missing. And a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth in the latest Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey.

On a bone-chilling October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter’s best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery—her daughter, Chloe, is gone. But, not without a trace.

A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions…details that threaten to tear them apart.

Amidst the noise of navigating her newfound grief and reconciling the sins of her past, an undeniable fact rings true for Rowan: karma has finally come to collect.

First Line:

You’ll love me more when I’m dead.

When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pacing of When I’m Dead was fast. Considering the book takes place within a week of the first murder, I wasn’t surprised. There was a slight lag towards the middle of the book, but I expected it. The lag didn’t affect my reading (I didn’t have to backtrack) or my enjoyment of the book.

Series: When I’m Dead is the third book in the Black Harbor series. Readers can read this book as a standalone. The characters from the previous two books appear in this one, but they are kept as secondary characters. Also, the cases from the previous books are mentioned but kept to just mentions.

Trigger/Content Warning:  There are content and trigger warnings in When I’m Dead. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Child Death (graphic)
  • Kidnapping (moderate)
  • Murder (graphic)
  • Death (graphic)
  • Bullying (graphic)
  • Grief (graphic)
  • Body Shaming (moderate)
  • Gore (moderate)
  • Mental Illness (graphic)
  • Toxic Friendship (graphic)
  • Injury/detail of injury (moderate)
  • Blood (graphic)
  • Medical Content (moderate)
  • Adult/minor relationship (minor)
  • Suicide (minor)
  • Classism (moderate)
  • Suicidal Ideation (moderate)

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in When I’m Dead. It is only for one page, and it does get moderately graphic.

Language: There is graphic swearing in When I’m Dead.

Setting: When I’m Dead is set entirely in the fictional city of Black Harbor, Wisconsin.

Tropes: The Red Herring, The Dramatic Reveal, Twist Ending, Ticking Clock, High Stakes, Missing Children

Age Range:  I recommend When I’m Dead to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When Rowan is called to the scene of a gruesome murder, she is shocked to discover that it is a friend of her daughter, Chloe. When she gets home later that night, she finds that Chloe never returned home from the play she was starring in. As she and her husband, Axel, start investigating Chloe’s disappearance and her friend’s murder, she is shocked to learn that Chloe has been keeping secrets from her parents. The more they dig, the more secrets they uncover. Can they find Chloe and solve the murders?

Main Characters

Rowan Winthrop: I could sympathize with Rowan regarding Chloe going missing. But my sympathy only went so far. She was a largely absent parent who prioritized her job over her child, and she knew it. I did feel bad about the guilt she carried over that and the death of a teenager decades earlier.

Axel Winthrop: I wasn’t sure what to think about him. I felt that he made some very questionable choices throughout the book. Like Rowan, he prioritized his job over his child. But, in this case, I got it. Detectives work strange and long hours. I also questioned his behavior throughout the book with suspects.

Chloe Winthrop: I felt awful for Chloe. She was dealing with a lot. A possible learning disability (and don’t get me started on how her parents didn’t know about it), vicious and ugly rumors being spread about her, and her parents never seemed to notice her. I just wanted to hug her.

Libby Lucas: I didn’t like her but felt terrible for her. Classmates teased her relentlessly about her weight (Neck Rolls was a nickname given to her). I had her pegged as the murderer because of how she acted in her chapters. But the more I read about her, the more I understood her. She was Chloe’s haven in the hell that school became.

My review:

When I’m Dead was an interesting read for me. I liked that this was a dark thriller where I couldn’t figure out who the killer was. I was not too fond of the multiple POVs, but they grew on me. They did give me insight into Chloe and the facts surrounding her disappearance. They also gave me insight into the people murdered and how the murders are tied to Chloe.

The main storyline is centered around the murders and Chloe’s disappearance. The investigation into the murders did raise my eyebrows, though. The main detective and the medical examiner knew the victim(s) and, later on, knew what they did to their daughter. I know this is fiction, but I didn’t think it was kosher. I also thought that Axel interrogating suspects was against everything I knew about police procedure. The author does attempt to explain why they were both working the cases. There was a shortage of MEs and police officers. Then there is Libby’s role in everything. She didn’t tell Axel or Rowan everything she knew and, most importantly, defaced evidence in Chloe’s room. Her behavior made me think she was a suspect until it was proven she wasn’t (alibi). But Libby was central in figuring out who the killer/kidnapper was and the motive behind everything.

The mystery angle was well written. The author gave a ton of red herrings and had me thinking different people were the killer/kidnapper. Heck, she even had me thinking that Chloe did it and ran away. But when she revealed who the killer/kidnapper was and the motive, I was shocked. That person wasn’t even on my radar.

The suspense/thriller angle was also well-written. I was kept on the edge of my seat, wondering when Chloe would be found and the killer would be revealed. And at the end of the book, I was on edge with everything happening.

The end of When I’m Dead was great. I liked the twists that the author threw in about the killer. As I mentioned above, I had zero clue about the killer’s motive and who the killer was. I felt that the very end of the book was a little anti-climactic due to everything that happened.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Hannah Morrissey for allowing me to read and review this ARC of When I’m Dead. All opinions stated this this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to When I’m Dead, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Hannah Morrissey:

People to Follow by Olivia Worley

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Date of publication: October 31st, 2023

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense, Crime, Social Media, Action

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

en teen influencers come to a remote island to star in a reality show, but when one of them winds up dead, they realize that this time, the price of being “cancelled” could be their lives.

A reality show on a remote Caribbean island. Ten teen influencers. One dead body.

Welcome to “In Real Life,” the hot new reality show that forces social media’s reigning kings and queens to unplug for three weeks and “go live” without any filters. IRL is supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime, watched closely by legions of loyal followers. But for these rising stars–including Elody, an Instagram model with an impulsive streak; Kira, a child star turned fitness influencer; Logan, a disgraced TikTok celeb with a secret; and Max, a YouTuber famous for exposés on his fellow creators—it’s about to turn into a nightmare.

When the production crew fails to show up and one of their own meets a violent end, these nine little influencers find themselves stranded with a dead body and no way to reach the outside world. When they start receiving messages from a mysterious Sponsor threatening to expose their darkest secrets, they realize that they’ve been lured into a deadly game…and one of them might be pulling the strings.

With the body count rising and cameras tracking their every move, the creators must figure out who is trying to get them canceled—like, literally—before their #1 follower strikes again.

First Line:

It’s a view you could kill for.

People to Follow by Olivia Worley

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pacing of People to Follow was fast-paced. The storyline occurs within a few days of everyone arriving on the island. The pacing of the storyline suited the book. There was a little lag towards the end (when the author revealed everything and why), but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Trigger/Content Warning: There are trigger and content warnings in People to Follow. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Death (Graphic)
  • Murder (Graphic)
  • Alcohol (Moderate to Graphic)
  • Gun Violence (Graphic)
  • Blood (Moderate to Graphic)
  • Grooming (Moderate)
  • Adult/Minor Relationship (Moderate)
  • Bullying (Graphic)
  • Sexual Assualt (Moderate)
  • Panic Attacks (Moderate to Graphic)
  • Sexual Violence (Moderate)
  • Violence (Graphic)
  • Grief (Graphic)
  • Death of a Parent (Graphic)
  • Sexual Harassment (Moderate)
  • Gaslighting (Moderate)
  • Confinement (Moderate)
  • Stalking (Graphic)
  • Classism (Moderate)
  • Body Shaming (Minor)
  • Eating Disorder (Minor)
  • Toxic Friendship (Moderate)
  • Slut Shaming (Moderate)

Sexual Content: There is no graphic sexual content in People to Follow. But there are insinuations about relationships between the characters. I took that as they had slept together. There is also a brief mention of a naked girl’s photograph being shared in a text between a group of boys (with the girl’s head not shown).

Language: There is graphic swearing in People to Follow.

Setting: People to Follow is set on a fictional island in the Caribbean.

Tropes: The Unlikable Victim, The Red Herring, Close Quarters, Outsmarting the Criminal, The Dramatic Reveal, Twist Ending

Age Range: I recommend People to Follow to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When the producer of a new reality TV show contacts ten teen influencers, they are all thrilled. This show is a way for some to rebrand. For others, it is a way of gaining more followers. For one, it is a way to get revenge on the nine people who wronged them, even if that means murder. When people start dying, and secrets are revealed, it is up to the survivors to figure out which one of them is a killer.

Main Characters

Kira Lyons—Out of all the characters in this book, I liked her the most. When things started to go sideways, Kira didn’t panic that much. She actively looked for who the Sponsor/killer was and, later, a phone so they could call for help.

Max Overly—I liked him. Even after the Sponsor revealed his secret, I thought his character was interesting. He genuinely felt bad about everything that had happened when he was fifteen, and, like Kira, he actively tried to find out who the Sponsor/killer was.

Logan Costello—I will admit this, but I had her pegged as the killer/the Sponsor for most of the book. But I was shocked when two secrets were revealed. One, there were hints dropped throughout the storyline until it was revealed. But the other one surprised me. Still, it didn’t make her any less of a suspect. That is until the end, when everything went sideways.

Corrine Lecompte—I didn’t have an opinion about her, but I did have her pegged as at least an accomplice. I wasn’t surprised with what she confessed, but I was surprised at who was mentioned during that conversation. It made me eye her as a possible killer, too.

Aaron Tyler Banks—I didn’t like him, but I did pity him. He had fallen from grace and sought a way to return to the influencer/streaming/acting world. His secret didn’t surprise me. It made me sad for him.

McKayleigh Hill—I did not like her. She was everything that I disliked as an influencer. She was fake, shallow, and catty. I wasn’t surprised at all by what was revealed. But, I was surprised by her role in another secret.

Zane Rivers—He was another one that I couldn’t stand. Something about him rubbed me wrong after the author introduced his character. I can’t say I was surprised by what the secret was. But I was surprised at his role with the secondary secret that he, Logan, McKayleigh, and Graham shared.

Graham West—Like Corrine, he was another one that I didn’t have an opinion of. He didn’t join in on McKayleigh or Zane’s torment of Logan. I also didn’t think his initial secret (and connection to Aaron) was as bad as the others. His role in the secret with Zane, McKayleigh, and Logan was bad, but you could tell he felt awful about it.

Elody Hart—I. Could. Not. Stand. Her. I saw she was fake as soon as she was introduced in the book (the babes gave it away). Like Graham, her secret wasn’t that bad (compared to the others). But what was revealed at the end and her connection to Max blew my mind.

Cole Bryan—I had no opinion of him either. He was obnoxious and rude. I wish I knew his secret because I am sure it was a small fish compared to what was revealed later in the book.

My review:

There is one main storyline in People to Follow. It follows the ten influencers and why they are on the island. Then, it morphs into a fight for survival when the Sponsor starts making their demands. This storyline was well-written, and I couldn’t put the book down. It was also a chaotic mess. I’m not too fond of books with more than one viewpoint. But in this case, it worked. The author would end one POV with just enough information or half of the information given about a person and then start the next chapter with that person’s POV.

Numerous secondary storylines are married to the main storyline. Some will not make sense initially, but a lightbulb will go off while reading, and you will understand why the author mentioned that storyline. All of the characters are intertwined in one way or another. Even characters that you think didn’t know each other are connected. It makes a massive spiderweb of storylines that can be difficult to separate.

The mystery angle of People to Follow was excellent. I didn’t figure out who the Sponsor and the killer were until almost the end of the book. And even then, I was only halfway right. The author had a massive twist in the plotline where the author revealed everything, and it was freaking wild. My mouth dropped because of not only who it was but because of why.

The thriller angle of the book was just as good as the mystery angle. The author used being confined to an island during a storm with no electricity to give an appropriate background and feel. The characters’ helplessness and horror over what is being done to them come off the pages.

The end of People to Follow was very anticlimactic, but it gave me chills. I can’t go much more into it, but I will say that the killer was not sorry.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, NetGalley, and Olivia Worley for allowing me to read and review this ARC of People to Follow. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to People to Follow, then you will enjoy these books:

Secondhand Daylight by Eugen Bacon and Andrew Hook

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing, Cosmic Egg Books

Date of publication: October 27th, 2023

Genre: Science Fiction, Time Travel

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | AbeBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Something is happening to Green. He is an ordinary guy, time-jumping forward at a startling, uncontainable rate. He is grappling to understand his present; his relationship is wholly tattered; his ultimate destination is a colossal question mark.

Zada is a scientist in the future. She is mindful of Green’s conundrum and seeks to unravel it by going backwards in time. Can she stop him from jumping to infinity?

Their point of intersection is fleeting but memorable, each one’s travel impacting the other’s past or future. And one of them doesn’t even know it yet.

Secondhand Daylight is a reverse story in alternate timelines between two protagonists whose lives must one day intersect.

First Line:

I came to on the tarmac outside the Sarah Sands Hotel.

Secondhand Daylight by Eugen Bacon and Andrew Hook

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pacing of Secondhand Daylight was medium-paced. While the medium pace worked during sections of the book, the book needed more speed to the storyline-well, at least to Zada’s. There is lag during the book, and I attribute it to the book just plodding along.

Trigger/Content Warning: There are no trigger warnings in Secondhand Daylight.

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Secondhand Daylight. But it is not graphic. The authors do not go into detail and use the fade to black at the end of one chapter and begin the next chapter the next day.

Language: There is moderate swearing in Secondhand Daylight.

Setting: Secondhand Daylight is set in Australia—past, present, and future.

Tropes: Artificial Intelligence, Dystopian, Time Travel

Age Range: I recommend Secondhand Daylight to anyone over 16.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

John Green is in a problem. One night, in the late 90s, he started traveling through time. At first, it was a few days, then expanded to a few weeks. Soon, he was missing months, years, and ultimately decades. He is desperate to stop his uncontrollable journey through time.

Zada took her job knowing that she would eventually be doing the impossible, going back in time to help the company’s founder, John Green, stop time traveling. This is a one-way journey, with Zada stuck in the past once she figures out why John is time-traveling. But finding John before he travels is proving more complicated than she thought, and Zada isn’t sure she can fix his issue. Can Zada stop John from time traveling, or will her journey be for naught?

Main Characters

John Green: I had a tough time connecting to John’s character. But, I chalked that up to his constant confusion over his time traveling.

Zada: Like John, I had a tough time connecting with Zada. But, and I stress this, it was because of her personality. She wasn’t very likable. She had a massive chip on her shoulder, and it showed. But, she was the person to at least attempt to get the job done (reset John).

My review:

When I downloaded Secondhand Daylight, I did it on a whim. That is something other than what I usually do when considering a book to review. I have learned that I either usually love on whim books or I am meh about them. In this case, I was “meh” about Secondhand Daylight.

I had issues following the storyline of the book. It was choppy, and the timeline was all over the place. I found myself reading and rereading paragraphs and chapters. There was a point where I was going to DNF, but I decided to keep reading.

The time travel storylines were interesting. I wish the authors had explained why John was jumping forward in time sooner in the book. I also worried about paradoxes. The only thing that made sense about the time travel storylines was John and Zada missing each other.

The end of Secondhand Daylight was OK. I liked how the authors wrapped up the time travel storyline. The very end of the book did make me think. It was who was involved and the ages that piqued my interest. I would have liked it better if the authors had started with the book’s last page and built on it.

Many thanks to John Hunt Publishing, Cosmic Egg Books, NetGalley, Eugen Bacon, and Andrew Hook for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Secondhand Daylight. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Secondhand Daylight, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Eugen Bacon:

Other books by Andrew Hook

Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of Publication: October 17th, 2023

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Music, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Erin Hahn’s Friends Don’t Fall in Love is about long-time friends, taking chances, and finding out that, sometimes, your perfect person was right there in your corner all along.

Lorelai Jones had it all: a thriving country music career and a superstar fiancé. Then she played one teenie tiny protest song at a concert and ruined her entire future, including her impending celebrity marriage. But five years later, she refuses to be done with her dreams and calls up the one person who stuck by her, her dear friend and her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate, Craig.

Craig Boseman’s held a torch for Lorelai for years, but even he knows the backup bass player never gets the girl. Things are different now, though. Craig owns his own indie record label and his songwriting career is taking off. If he can confront his past and embrace his gifts, he might just be able to help Lorelai earn the comeback she deserves―and maybe win her heart in the process.

But when the two reunite to rebuild her career and finally scratch that itch that’s been building between them for years, Lorelai realizes a lot about what friends don’t do. For one, friends don’t have scratch-that-itch sex. They also don’t almost-kiss on street corners, publish secret erotic poetry about each other, have counter-top sex, write songs for each other, have no-strings motorcycle sex, or go on dates. And they sure as heck don’t fall in love… right?

First Line:

It takes me approximately five minutes to find Lorelai Jones, recently spurned country music princess, let loose in Nashville.

Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pacing of Friends Don’t Fall in Love was a nice medium pace. There was next to no lag, and the storyline flowed smoothly.

Trigger/Content Warning: There are a couple of trigger warnings in Friends Don’t Fall in Love. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • School Shootings/Gun Violence: Lorelai’s backstory and main storyline heavily refer to school shootings. Lorelai is a 3rd-grade teacher and recounts monthly lockdown drills. Her career ended because of backlash that she got from singing Neil Young’s Ohio (lyrics here).
  • Chronic Illness: Lorelai had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease 6 months before the main storyline began. There is a scene when Lorelai flares up after eating non-gluten-free food.

Sexual Content: Friends Don’t Fall in Love is a very spicy romance with explicit scenes.

Language: There is mild to moderate swearing in Friends Don’t Fall in Love.

Setting: Friend’s Don’t Fall in Love is mainly set in Nashville, Tennessee. But there are a couple of chapters that are set in Michigan.

Representation:  There is LGBTQ representation. Craig’s employee is gay and is married. Lorelai’s agent is a lesbian and is also married.

Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Unrequited Love, Opposites Attract

Age Range to read Friends Don’t Fall in Love: I would suggest 21 and over for this book. The sex scenes are very explicit and very spicy.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Lorelai Jones was an up-and-coming country star, and she had it all: a thriving career, dedicated fans, and a superstar fiancee. But that all went up in smoke after she sang a protest song. Her career was over, and her superstar fiancee dumped her over Instagram. Five years later, Lorelai decides that she wants to make a comeback. She contacts Craig, her best friend and ex-fiance’s former songwriter, and enlists his help.

Craig has been in love with Lorelai for years. Content just being in the friend zone, he will bend over backward for her. That includes producing a new record for her. But, as they work closely together, Lorelai realizes that her feelings for Craig aren’t ones of friendship. Deciding to act on those feelings, she and Craig enter a new, unexplored area of their relationship. Can Lorelai and Craig keep their feelings for each other to just the bedroom? Or will Lorelai lose her best friend for good?

Main Characters

Lorelai Jones: I liked her. She was spunky, and she wasn’t afraid to let people know what she was feeling. Before she hit it big, Lorelai was a 3rd-grade teacher, and doing lockdown drills affected her. So, when she sang that protest song (with permission from her manager), she did it from the viewpoint of a former teacher. She wasn’t expecting the backlash. I give her credit for trying to make it again in Nashville after agents refused to sign her. But, and I stress this, I was a little “are you serious” when it came to Craig’s feelings for her. How can you not know that man was head over heels for you? It wasn’t like he was hiding his feelings (spoiler: he wasn’t). I couldn’t believe it took her six years to admit she had feelings for him, too.

Craig “Huck” Boseman: I liked Craig. He was written as an ordinary guy. He wasn’t athletic, was quite nerdy, and was in touch with his feelings. I mean, he wrote erotic poetry!!! He is portrayed as a pushover at the beginning of the book. It didn’t stay that way (he eventually started establishing boundaries). My only quibble with him was his relationship with Lorelai. He had been friend-zoned after that night they had, and he was content to keep it that way. When they made that jump from friends to lovers, I was a little scared for him. He was a sensitive guy, and I was worried that Lorelai would steamroll over his feelings.

Secondary characters: The secondary characters did add extra depth and nuance to Friends Don’t Fall in Love. Some characters explained Lorelai’s music backstory. Others explained Craig’s backstory, and still others added depth to their feelings and storylines.

My review:

Friend’s Don’t Fall in Love was a well-written book that glued me to my Kindle. I enjoyed reading about Lorelai and Craig’s romantic relationship and friendship. I also enjoyed reading about Nashville and the country music industry. I also agreed with the point the author was making with Lorelai singing the protest song. This book will be going into my read-again pile.

The main storyline centers on Lorelai, her fall from fame, her work to get back into Nashville’s music scene, and her relationship with Craig. I thought it was well written. I was invested in Lorelai and wanted her to succeed. I wanted her to show all her critics the middle finger while she regained her status as an up-and-coming country star. I also wanted her relationship with Craig to work in the worst way.

The romance angle was perfect (chef’s kiss). I liked that the author chose to have Craig and Lorelai have a close friendship before they got involved. It made them getting romantically involved much more believable to me. I also liked that Lorelai was the one who had to come to terms with her feelings instead of Craig. It was refreshing to read.

As I stated a few times above, the sex scenes in Friends Don’t Fall in Love are spicy and explicit. The author does mention it on the book’s Goodreads page, but I read that after I finished the book. So, I was a little surprised at how raunchy it got.

The end of Friends Don’t Fall in Love was perfect in every way. The author wrapped everything up in a way that I loved and made me smile.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Erin Hahn for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Friends Don’t Fall in Love. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Friends Don’t Fall in Love, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Erin Hahn

Murder by the Seashore (California Bookshop Mystery: Book 1) by Samara Yew

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Date of publication: October 17th, 2023

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Fiction, Adult, Amateur Sleuth, Contemporary

Series: California Bookshop Mystery

Murder by the Seashore—Book 1

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, Scarlett Gardner’s dream was to open a bookshop in Southern California, but it soon becomes a nightmare when she finds the dead body of a customer—and becomes the prime suspect.

Southern California is where dreams come true—or so Scarlett Gardner thought. When she came out and opened the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop, she thought her boyfriend and business partner would be part of the story. When he leaves her for a better job, Scarlett finds herself struggling to keep her new business afloat. That’s not the only thing she has to worry about—she discovers something underneath the pier by her bookstore that she didn’t outline for her life’s story: the dead body of a book-buying customer.

After Scarlett gives a statement to the police, she thinks her life can go back to business as usual. But when a lawyer, representing someone named Lorelai Knight, tells her that Scarlett now stands to inherit a small fortune, Scarlett is left with more questions than answers. Before she can think about any of it, the police bring her in for questioning; the body she found was Lorelai Knight. And the evidence they have against Scarlett doesn’t look good—not only does she have a motive because of her inheritance, but a bottle of the same poison found in Lorelai’s system was discovered near the bookshop. Business is booming as Scarlett returns to the bookshop, but for all the wrong reasons – they want to question the last known suspect of the murder.

Who could really be behind all of this? And why frame Scarlett? To clear her name, she’s going to have get creative—and hope she can remain one page ahead of the killer.

First Line:

The involuntary morning mantra that had been running through my head every day for the past four months began at its usual time, nine thirty a.m.

Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Murder by the Seashore had a medium-paced storyline. I wasn’t a fan of the pacing. I felt that it could have gone a little faster. It seemed like the author drew out certain events because of the pace.

Trigger/Content Warning: There are no trigger or content warnings in Murder by the Seashore.

Series: Murder by the Seashore is the first book in the California Bookshop Mystery. Since it is the first book, you don’t have to worry about missing information on characters or plotlines. You can dive right now in and enjoy.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Murder by the Seashore. The main character doesn’t have time to have sex or kiss anyone.

Language: There is very light language used in Murder by the Seashore.

Setting: Murder by the Seashore is set entirely in Oceanside, California.

Representation: There is Asian representation (Hiroki Yoshida, one of Scarlet’s friends, is Japanese) and Latina representation (Lucia Armenta, Scarlet’s best friend, roommate, and lawyer is Hispanic).

Tropes: The Unlikable Victim, Outsmarting the Criminal, The Red Herring, The Protagonist is the Suspect, Twist Ending

Age Range to read Murder by the Seashore: I went back and forth with the rating. But, because it is a clean book (no sex, light language), I would recommend 16 and over to read.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Scarlet was living the dream of running a seaside bookstore with her boyfriend. But that dream crashed when her boyfriend ditched her and left her responsible for the shop. Struggling for months, Scarlet is finally making headway when two things happen-she finds the body of a murdered customer under the pier by her shop, and she is contacted by a lawyer who says she has inherited a small fortune from the murder victim. Declared the main suspect in the murder and wondering if the surprise inheritance has anything to do with it, Scarlet starts her investigation to clear her name. But even she is surprised by the twists and turns her investigation takes her. Will she clear her name? And will she figure out why the victim chose her as a beneficiary?

Main Characters

Scarlet Gardner: I like Scarlet. She was trying to keep her dream (the bookshop) alive but was slowly drowning. Her horror at finding Lorelai Knight came off the page, as was her disbelief over how the investigation was going. But things went a little sideways for me when she started looking into the case. Instead of the confident woman at the beginning of the book, she becomes obsessed with finding her killer. She jumped on the bandwagon for each suspect that she and Lucia came up with. At a point in the book, I wondered if the killer would be revealed with all the distractions being thrown around. By the end of the book, though, I did like how she made headway with her case. I also liked that she talked to her suspects and explained why she thought they killed Lorelai.

Secondary characters: There were a lot of secondary characters who had a lot of page time (Lucia, Evelyn, Connor). While I liked the extra depth they brought to the storyline, some fell flat.

My review:

Murder by the Seashore was an OK mystery for me. I had difficulty getting into it because of the book’s pacing and how the murder/inheritance played out. But once I got into it, I enjoyed reading it. I did get a little grumpy with the police investigation. I can understand naming Scarlet as their primary suspect, but to freak out on her when she opens her backdoor and finds a dead man on her stoop? With her lawyer friend/roommate as her alibi? A little much. I did like how the author wrapped up the book and was surprised at who the murderer ended up being.

The main storyline centers on Scarlet, the murder of Lorelai Knight, her inheritance from Lorelai, and who the murderer is. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I wasn’t a massive fan of how the police’s investigation of Lorelai went. The single-handed focus on Scarlet wore on me, and I couldn’t wait for the actual murderer to be revealed. What also wore on me was Scarlet’s investigation into Lorelai’s murder and why she was given the inheritance. I was glad when the author finally brought both together and revealed the killer. That was a huge surprise because I didn’t see that person coming at all.

The mystery angle was all right. I was halfway right about Lorelai and her reasons for giving Scarlet her money. But the reason why didn’t surprise me. The reason why Lorelai was killed did surprise me. The motive and who did it was a massive twist at the end of the book. I felt terrible for that person, but they did stupid things and paid the consequences.

The end of Murder by the Seashore was typical. I liked how the author wrapped everything up. I loved how Scarlet dealt with Connor (I was internally cheering). I also liked how the author set up book 2!!

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and Samara Yew for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Murder by the Seashore. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Murder by the Seashore, then you will enjoy these books:

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: September 26th, 2023

Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Thriller, Paranormal, Adult, Halloween, Suspense, Supernatural, Mystery

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples… and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

First Line:

Calla Paxson, age twelve, lurched upright in her bed, her heart pounding as if the nightmare she’d been having was still chasing her.

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Black River Orchard goes between medium and fast-paced. It is medium-paced until Dan loses his ever-loving mind (around the middle of the book). Then, it starts amping up the pace until the pacing is almost frantic. Then it slowed down again.

Trigger/Content Warning: Black River Orchard does have content and trigger warnings. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Violence (on page): This is a violent book right from the beginning. At first, it is subtle violence, but the violence is in your face by the middle of the book. It is graphic.
  • Blood (on page): This is also a bloody book. It is graphic and goes hand in hand with the violence.
  • Murder (on and off page): A murder sets the tone for the book, and the murders continue throughout the book. Some are described, and some are graphic.
  • Animal Death (on and off page): There are scenes towards the middle of the book where an initiation takes place, including murdering baby animals. I am not going to say much more because it is a spoiler. But it is graphic and almost fever-dreamish when described.
  • Homophobia (on and off page): There is homophobia directed at Emily throughout the book. There are blatant words spoken, and there are things done/threatened. There are other instances of homophobia throughout the book.
  • Grief (on and off page): Grief is one of the prominent undercurrents in this book. Dan is grieving the death of his father (years earlier), Calla is mourning the unexpected loss of a loving father, Emily is grieving her loss of self, John is mourning the deaths he caused during the first Gulf War, and Joanie (later on in the book) is grieving about something (I know it is vague but it is a spoiler).
  • Addiction (on page): The entire main storyline centers on the Harrowsblack apple addiction.
  • Suicide (on and off page): There are scenes where Dan remembers finding his father’s body after his suicide. Also, there is a scene where a police officer takes his service revolver and kills himself in front of Calla.
  • Abusive Relationship (on page): Emily’s wife changes after eating the apple and becomes abusive towards her (mentally, verbally, and physically). Dan becomes verbally and physically abusive to Calla.
  • Attempted Murder (on page): Joanie is almost killed by Prentiss in her house. Dan almost kills Calla.
  • Cheating (off-page): Emily cheated on Meg, so they moved to Harrow. Emily remembers it in a flashback, and Meg brings it up several times during the book.
  • Cults (on page): The book shows two different cults formed around the Harrowsblack apples. Since this will be a spoiler, I won’t say anything more.
  • Gun Violence (on and off page): Guns are used throughout the book to subdue and kill people.

Sexual Content: There is nongraphic sexual content in Black River Orchard. The author only gives bare minimum details about orgies. There is the remembrance of a sex scene between Emily and Meg, but it isn’t graphic.

Language: There is foul language used in Black River Orchard.

Setting: Black River Orchard is set almost entirely in Harrow, Pennsylvania. John Compass has a few side trips to New Jersey towards the middle of the book.

Representation: There is Native American representation (folktales, language) and queer representation (bisexual, genderfluid, lesbian, homosexual, and asexual) in Black River Orchard.

Tropes: Humans Can Be Evil, Monsters, Cults and Religious Extremists, Traumatic Past, Defeated Monster Comes Back to Life.

Age Range to read Black River Orchard: 21 and over

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

John Compass is searching for two things. One is a rare apple, the Harrowsblack, and the other is his best friend, who disappeared five years earlier. Careful tracking leads John to the small town of Harrow, Pennsylvania. It also is revealed that his friend had found the Harrowsblack before he disappeared. Meanwhile, in Harrow, a new apple has appeared. So red that it appears black, it is an instant hit at the farmers market. People who eat this apple cannot stop eating it, and they notice that when they eat the apple, they become stronger and heal faster. As John continues his search, the town slowly starts changing. In the middle of everything is Dan Paxson, the orchard owner. What is with the apples? How did Dan get them? What happens when John discovers the truth?

Main Characters

Dan Paxson: I felt for the guy at the beginning. He was determined to clear his father’s name and make something of the orchard that was his father’s. He was a loving father to Calla (almost too permissive, if I am going to be honest) and was somewhat of a pushover. But, the more he ate the apples, the more he changed. I almost hated to see him turn into what he became at the end of the book. It was nothing like he was initially written.

Calla Paxson: Calla is Dan’s seventeen-year-old daughter who wants to get into Princeton and is a wanna-be social influencer. I didn’t exactly like her at the beginning of the book. She came across as selfish and whiny. But she noticed something wasn’t right with the apples immediately. Calla started knowing that the more people ate them, the weirder they got. I liked her character’s development throughout the book.

John Compass: John is a Gulf War veteran haunted by what he did in the Middle East. He is so haunted that he becomes a Quaker (but will use violence to protect himself). John also becomes a hunter of rare apples. He becomes aware of the Harrowsblack apple when his best and probably only friend went missing five years earlier. I liked seeing John’s character progression in the book. But, what I liked the most was reading about the Native American legends attached to the Harrowsblack and seeing John piece everything together.

Emily Price: Emily is new to Harrow. Meg Price’s wife is feeling out of her element in a small town and in her marriage. Emily did something that strained her marriage and caused Meg to move them to Harrow. Their strained relationship becomes abusive after Meg starts eating the apple. So, I thought Emily was whiny, and she wallowed in self-pity until she met John. Then, I saw a side of Emily that I liked. At first, it was just a tiny glimpse, but by the end of the book, the true Emily was shown, and I loved her.

Joanie Moreau: Joanie showed up almost in the middle of the book. She was a character, and I liked her. She had an open marriage, rented her house out for sex parties (indoor only), and enjoyed teasing her neighbor, Prentiss. But things started to change when the Harrowsblack began making its rounds. It was after a specific event that Joanie showed how strong she was. It was also during the events at the end of the book that showed her character.

Secondary characters: The secondary characters in Black River Orchard made the book. They added so much to this book. The plotline was more flushed out, and the storyline had extra depth.

My review:

Black River Orchard was a well-written horror story that has made me never want to eat apples again. I was engrossed (and horrified) by how the storyline progressed. I couldn’t put my Kindle down. I needed to know how this book ended.

The main storyline in Black River Orchard centers around the five main characters and how those apples changed and affected their lives. It was a scary and often disgusting storyline that repulsed me and made me want to continue with the book.

The storyline with John and his search for the Harrowsblack and his friend was interesting. I didn’t know that there were people who went looking for rare strains of apples (so I learned something new). I liked that John wasn’t afraid to stand his ground when looking for his friend. By the middle of the book, John was central to figuring out how the Harrowsblack ended up in Harrow and who was behind it. He also was prominent in the events at the end of the book.

The storyline with Dan and Calla was sad. I hated seeing their relationship suffer the way it did because of the apples. But Calla was right about everything. When things started to change (and Dan started becoming abusive), Calla was right to begin to think things were wrong. I don’t think she realizes how bad it is until almost the end of the book.

The storyline with Emily and Meg was sad. But I did get annoyed with Emily at various points in the book. She was wallowing in remorse and self-pity until the middle of the book. Yes, she cheated, and her wife did something out of character (moving back to Harrow). But in no way did Emily expect what was going to happen. Her friendship with John was a lifeline.

The storyline with Joanie disturbed me. The amount of hate that she faced was unreal. It was that encounter that snowballed into the tragedy at her house. And the hatred by the cops when they came gave me shivers. But Joanie became a haven for Calla and her friends after everything. Even more so at the end of the book.

The horror angle was written perfectly. The gradual morphing into what happened at the end of the book was fantastic. I can’t get the images of those trees out of my head.

The end of Black River Orchard couldn’t have been written any better. The author ended all the storylines in one swoop. It was honestly shocking how he did it. I also liked the epilogue. But it was the very ending that made me go, hmmmm.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Chuck Wendig for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Black River Orchard. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Black River Orchard, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Chuck Wendig: