How to Sell a Haunted House

“A puppet is a possession that possesses the possessor”

Hendrix has done it again, y’all!
How to sell a Haunted house is everything I never knew I needed in a horror book, and *spoiler alert* it’s not actually about a haunted house. I mean kind of, but it’s so much deeper than that. The puppets sucked me in, and the wild ass family drama kept me going.

When Mark and Louise’s parents unexpectedly pass away in a car accident Louise comes home to South Carolina to help her brother with the arrangements. Mark and Louise have never been close, their strained relationship made worse by the reading of their parents will.
The drama unfolds as we learn that Louise gets her moms prized art collection (haunted puppets included) and Mark gets everything else. Everything.
As Louise starts clearing her moms art collection from the house scary things start happening….and only get worse.
Mark and Louise have to work together to not only clean out and sell the house, but try to stay alive while doing it.

Hendrix’s campy style never gets old to me, and I absolutely love how the book is sectioned by the stages of grief. It was a perfect added touch! I found myself invested in the family dynamics and fell in love with every character. Even Pupkin.
I finished this book in one day and as soon as I closed it I wished I could read it again for the first time.

This book made me laugh AND cry. I really loved it, and I will always recommend it!

All Good People Here + Review

All Good People Here By Ashley Flowers

All Good People Here Follows the story of reporter Margot Davies and her endless quest to solve a cold case that has haunted her for more than 20 years. When Margot was 6, her friend and pageant princess January was brutally murdered. Margot was never able to get over the trauma of January’s death, and during Margot’s time as a reporter she came across another case that was eerily similar to January’s but was never able to tie the two together.
Margot travels back to her hometown, the town where it started all those years ago to help her ailing uncle and while she is there ANOTHER murder happens that is ALL to familiar. Will Margot be able to crack this case?

Ashley Flowers is the co-host of the true crime podcast “Crime Junkies”, and this is her debut novel! I’m a huge Crime Junkie fan, I listen to it all the time! I love Ashley and Britt, so I was super pumped when I was approved for this arc, and I had really high expectations! Ashley is an incredible story teller, and this book is very well written.

This book is written in multiple points of view, going from Margot in present day to January’s mom Krissy. I like how Ashley tied the story together between the present and past. This story is a SLOW burn, and it points the finger at literally everyone, so trying to figure out who done it is pointless, which I LOVE. Throughout the book the reader is pointed very convincingly at almost everyone.

One of the things that took away from this book for me was the murdered pageant princess plot. It’s a story we are all too familiar with, and one we all wish we knew the answer to. I feel like that aspect didn’t add to this story, and I wonder if Ashley meant for the parallels to be so strong? To me, it was almost a tired re-telling of that infamous case. While we do find out who and what, the ending felt so rushed for me, and it left a lot of loose ends. One minute we are in a very tense scene with Margot, and the next, its over. It just fell flat for me in that sense.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was very well written, and stellar for a debut novel. Thank you NetGalley & Random House for my copy of this thriller!

All Good People Here comes out on August 16, 2022

Pre-Order it HERE

Check out the early reviews HERE

Get to know the author HERE

Listen to the Crime Junkies podcast HERE

If you pick up this book, let’s talk about it! Happy reading, friends!

What’s on my NetGalley shelf? Day 5

It’s the LAST day of my NetGalley series, and I CAN NOT wait to share this book with you! Today we’re going to talk about Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates. Gallows Hill is a gothic, paranormal, psychological ride, and I want on! I love a good coming home story, and this one sounds delicious!

DAY 5

Gallows Hill

Description

Darcy Coates brings you a brand-new horror novel that’ll take your breath away… Gallows Hill is:
Perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon and Simone St. James
For lovers of ghost stories and anyone mesmerized by the twisted secrets of the past

The Hull family has owned the Gallows Hill Winery for generations, living and working on the beautiful grounds where they grow their famous grapes. Until the night Mr. and Mrs. Hull settle down for the evening…and are dead by morning.

When their daughter, Margot, inherits the family business, she wants nothing to do with it. The winery is valued for its unparalleled produce, but it’s built on a field where hundreds of convicts were once hanged, and the locals whisper morbid rumors. They say the ground is cursed.

It’s been more than a decade since Margot last saw her childhood home. But now that she’s alone in the sprawling, dilapidated building, she begins to believe the curse is more than real-and that she may be the next victim of the house that never rests…

All the vibes with this one! I love a good paranormal mystery. I haven’t read any books by this author yet, this will be my first, and I can’t wait to devour it!

Also By Darcy Coates:
The Haunting of Leigh Harker
From Below
The Whispering Dead
The Haunting of Ashburn House
The Haunting of Blackwood House
Craven Manor
The House Next Door
Voices in the Snow

Gallows Hill comes out on September 6, 2022

Thank you NetGalley & Poisioned Pen Press for my copy of this thriller!

Read the early reviews HERE

Check out the author HERE

Happy Reading, friends!

What’s on my NetGalley shelf? Day 4

Hey friends! It’s day 4 of what’s on my NetGalley shelf, highlighting 5 books in 5 days!

First, I just want to say that a NetGalley decline of one of my most anticipated books this year has led me to this book! If you’re new to NetGalley, let me leave you with this one nugget of invaluable advice-Always read your NetGalley emails! Whether it’s an approval or denial-it might lead you straight to your next favorite book!

DAY 4

The Ghosts of Paris

Description

A thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in postwar London and Paris, in which a search for a missing husband puts investigator and former war reporter Billie Walker on a collision course with an underground network of Nazi criminals

It’s 1947. The world continues to grapple with the fallout of the Second World War, and former war reporter Billie Walker is finding her feet as an investigator. When a wealthy client hires Billie and her assistant Sam to track down her missing husband, the trail leads Billie back to London and Paris, where Billie’s own painful memories also lurk. Jack Rake, Billie’s wartime lover and, briefly, husband, is just one of the millions of people who went missing in Europe during the war. What was his fate after they left Paris together?

As Billie’s search for her client’s husband takes her to both the swanky bars at Paris’s famous Ritz hotel and to the dank basements of the infamous Paris morgue, she’ll need to keep her gun at the ready, because something even more terrible than a few painful memories might be following her around the city of lights . . .

THIS COVER IS EVERYTHING. I mean how glamorous; I love all the details! Day 4 and I’m 4 for 4 on covers that I absolutely adore!

I don’t usually read historical fiction, but I fell for Billie Walker so hard you guys! It was love at first sentence. I’m a sucker for a strong woman, and I have to meet her! The Ghosts of Paris is the second Billie Walker novel, the first being “The War Widow”, which, by the reviews is CLEARLY a book I need to put on my TBR!

The Ghosts of Paris comes out on June 7, 2022 -go put it on your TBR!

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Group Dutton for my copy of this mystery!

Check out the early reviews HERE

Pre-Order it HERE

Get to know the author HERE

Happy reading!!!

What’s on my NetGalley shelf? Day 3

Hi, hey friends! I’m baacckkkkk with what’s on my NetGalley shelf- highlighting 5 books in 5 days.

Today I want to talk about The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang. If you know me you know I’m a HUGE sucker for a strong female protagonist, and this book is IT! I love when I meet a cast of characters that I know I will never forget, and I have a feeling I’m going to find that in this book. Adventure, mystery, and magical realism with some sci-fi peppered in. LETS GO!

DAY 3

The Wilderwomen

Description

Ohioana Book Award finalist Ruth Emmie Lang returns with a new cast of ordinary characters with extraordinary abilities in The Wilderwomen.

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird…

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

First of all, I want to take a second to just appreciate that gorgeous COVER ART! I’ve loved the cover of every book I’ve shared so far- My toxic trait is that I choose my books by the cover, and my wine by the label!

The Wilderwomen is Ruth Emmie Lang’s second book, her first being “Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance” which was published in 2017 and was Target Book Club’s pick of December 2018!

The Wilderwomen comes out on November 15, 2022

You can pre-order it HERE

You can check out the early reviews HERE

You can order Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance HERE

Learn more about Ruth Emmie Lang HERE

I hope you consider picking this book up, and if you do, let’s talk about it! Happy Reading, Friends!

What’s on my NetGalley shelf? Day 2

I’m highlighting 5 books in 5 days, and I’m back for day 2! Today we’re going to talk about a YA thriller from one of my FAVORITES- Courtney Summers!

Courtney Summers has written quite a few YA thriller/mysteries, a few of my favorites being “Sadie” and “Cracked up to Be”. Summers has a unique voice in the YA world- Her books are always thrilling and ALWAYS have me on edge, so I was PUMPED when I got an approval for this book!

Sidenote- Let’s talk about this beautiful cover! it’s perfect!

DAY 2

I’m the Girl

Description

When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley’s older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.

A spiritual successor to the breakout hit Sadie, I’m the Girl is a bold and masterfully written account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?

I’m the Girl checks all of my thriller-bingeable-read boxes, and I can’t wait to start it! All 5 books highlighted on my blog this week will have reviews up this month, so watch this space, you might find your next favorite book!

Thank you NetGalley & MacMillan for my copy of this thriller!

I’m the Girl comes out on September 13, 2022

You can Pre-order it HERE

Check out the early reviews HERE

Learn more about the author HERE

Happy Reading!

What’s on my NetGalley Shelf? Day 1

I have 5 books on my NetGalley shelf, and I want to talk about ALL of them so I’m sharing one book from my shelf every day for 5 days. I can’t squeeze them all into one post, so here I am, making a NetGalley series!

I’ve been reviewing on NetGalley for a few years now, and I’ve met a lot of really great books there! They make it easy for us reviewers to support the authors we love- and share the books we love!

If you’re new to book reviewing, you should stop reading this and go get a NetGalley account- It’s easy, and free! Right now, I have 5 books on my shelf, and I’m excited about ALL OF THEM!

I only request books I REALLY feel like I would be interested in, so when I get approved, I’m always SO stoked, and when I get declined it’s a huge bummer. My toxic trait is buying all the books I get declined for….so that’s been working out for me!

DAY ONE

All Good People Here

Description

In the propulsive debut novel from the host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie, a journalist uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later.

You can’t ever know for sure what happens behind closed doors.

Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the infamous case of January Jacobs, who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January—and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist. But she’s always been haunted by the feeling that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice.

When Margot returns home to help care for her uncle after he is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, she feels like she’s walked into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she remembers—genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who’s gone missing under circumstances eerily similar to January’s. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and to solve January’s murder once and for all.

But the police, Natalie’s family, the townspeople—they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie’s disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels. Could January’s killer still be out there? Is it the same person who took Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night twenty years ago?

Twisty, chilling, and intense, All Good People Here is a searing tale that asks: What are your neighbors capable of when they think no one is watching?

I am a HUGE Crime Junkie fan, so when I heard that Ashley Flowers herself was writing a book, YOU GUYS, I HOPPED ON IT SO FAST! I’m starting this book today, and I can’t wait to share my review with you all when I’m finished!

All Good People Here comes out on August 16th so mark your calendars and set your alarms! If you’re into murder-mystery, small town-who done it, coming home stories, you won’t want to miss this book.

You can Pre-Order it HERE

You can check out The Crime Junkie Podcast HERE

If you use Netgalley, what’s on your shelf?

F**k Buddies+Review

Christa and Eric. Eric and Heather. Johnny and Christa. Paige and Johnny.

Thank you, Lisa Andrew for reaching out to me with an ARC of this spicy book!
First, I want to say that this is not my typical genre, but after reading Lisa’s short story “Kink or Kill” which was an easy 5 star read for me, (Seriously, go read it) I COULD NOT pass up the opportunity to read this book. I am SO glad I took that chance, because this story did not disappoint!

Christa and Eric are set up on a blind date that goes HORRIBLY. HORRIBLY right. I absolutely love the banter these two share throughout the book. They love/hate each other, and I could not get enough! After their first night together they start to have feelings for one another, which is so sweet, until…..HERE COMES JOHNNY! When we are introduced to Johnny who is both Christa and Eric’s best friend, and Heather, who is Christa’s best friend, things get really WILD, really FAST!

This isn’t your typical spicy romance book, if you’re looking for characters that make good and right decisions, this isn’t it! But what I really loved about it was the author wrote the characters in such a way with such depth that I was rooting for THEM ALL! I loved all of them. These morally gray characters are like us all, and that’s what I really enjoyed. Love is messy, humans are messy, and things don’t always go the way you hope, or the way you think they should.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, It was a nice palate cleanser from my norm, and I’m glad I took the chance on it. The only thing that took away from it for me was that some of the dialogue was hard to follow. I had to go back and re-read who said what, but overall, it was well written with relatable characters who I grew to love. It is broken up into 3 books which worked so well with the timeline, and the Author leaves it open to a sequel, which I’m really rooting for!

F**k Buddies comes out on May 1st, and If you pick it up, I have to know-Are you Team Eric or Team Johnny? Let’s talk about it!!

Pre-Order F**k Buddies HERE

Check out Lisa Andrews Blog and Other Titles HERE

Lisa’s Instagram HERE

The Younger Wife + Review

Happy PUB day to Sally Hepworth and The Younger Wife! Thank you Netgalley & MacMillan Audio for my audiobook ARC! This was a good listen, and I really enjoyed it!

The younger wife is a gripping tale of family drama and secrets. This book follows Stephen Aston, an esteemed heart surgeon at the top of his career, his two daughters Rachel and Tully, and his new fiancé Heather. The problem? Stephen is still married. The other problem? Stephens wife Pam has advanced dementia.
When Stephen and his fiancé Heather announce their engagement over lunch, the very FIRST time the girls meet her, they are understandably shocked!
As this story unfolds so does Stephen, he’s secrets, and who he really is.

This story is well written with relatable characters who we really get to know throughout the book. This was my first Sally Hepworth book, and I really enjoyed it. Throughout the book the reader is left questioning a lot about what’s really going on, and if what we think is happening is actually happening! This book is written in 3 POV- Rachel, Tully and Heather which made it interesting but I think it would have added a creepy layer if we were to also have seen it through Stephens eyes. I was left questioning a lot about him, his actions and motives. I mean a lot of times sociopaths don’t need motives BUT I wanted it!

This was a solid book for me, the only thing that I really felt took away from the story was the epilogue. It didn’t really go anywhere.

Overall I liked it and I will definitely pick up more books by this author! If you like family drama and juicy secrets, this is the one you will want to pick up!

Get your copy of The You her Wife by Sally Hepworth HERE

If you’re interested in all things Sally Hepworth Check out her WEBSITE

Happy reading, friends!

Home Before Dark + Review

Twenty-five years ago, when Maggie Holt was five, her parents moved into Baneberry Hall, an infamous estate in Vermont.
Only a few weeks later they fled in the dead of night, never to return.
Maggie’s father wrote about their experience in the house, a tell-all ghost story that swept the nation. Now, after 25 years Maggie is back at Baneberry hall, putting the pieces together to figure out what really happened the night her family fled.
I’m just going to say it. Hi, my name is Lindsay, and I’m a Riley Sager fan girl. Always have been always will be, and his books will always be a yes for me.
With that said, Home Before dark was no exception, and it checked every creepy, twisty mystery box that I love when I read psychological thrillers, and I will absolutely recommend NOT reading this book before bed. Don’t make the same mistake I did guys! What I loved the most about this book was that I predicted every twist and turn….I predicted them all so incredibly wrong. If you think you know, no you don’t!
P.S.-I love a strong female protagonist, and Maggie Holt did not disappoint!
Thank you @riley.sager for another Gem.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/10 would definitely recommend.
Go buy this book!