Stacey is the coolest aunt EVER hands-down! When she organizes a trip for her two sisters and their kids to the happiest place on earth, none of them could have ever prepared for the nightmare that awaited them!
This debut thriller by Bonne Bartron is everything I never knew I needed! It was a perfect spooky season read, and although Iâm not a gal that is easily creeped out, as a mom, this one did me in. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE a strong female protagonist, and this book has three soooooo-I was sold on the first chapter. This book deals with subject matter that is SO RELEVANT RIGHT NOW and that is one of the things I absolutely loved about it. I like a good twisty mystery that feels relevant, fresh, and scary all the while delivering those twisty blows I live for! This book is a slow burn that I devoured happily-with the lights on, and definitely not before bed. Without giving too much away because I really want yâall to read this book, I will say this- step aside Slenderman & Momo, Mr. Tasty Treats is here, and heâs coming for your babies. đ
Eliza Jane Brazier's debut novel If I Disappear is a campy, culty delight!
I live for the creep factor, the who-done-it mystery, where the fingers seem to point in every direction and you just can't for the life of you seem to figure any of it out.
Sera is a lonely woman, a divorcee who has recently lost her baby, her husband, and is on the verge of losing her job and even her home when her favorite podcast host seems to have gone missing. Rachel is the host of a true-crime podcast called "Murder, she spoke." When Rachel suddenly stops airing episodes, Sera takes it upon herself to travel to Rachel's hometown to solve this mystery. At first Sera is unsure if Rachel is even missing, I mean, after all, she doesn't even really know this person, does she? Once she arrives at Rachel's family's summer dude ranch, she finds it in disrepair, not at all the idyllic ranch Rachel painted for her podcast listeners, and she quickly realizes something is amiss. there is a mystery to be solved here, a missing woman, and EVERYONE is a suspect!
This book is a slow burn, an unraveling of small clues. Just when I would have an AHA moment, thinking I had it all figured out, I would be left with 12 more questions, and honestly, i'm not mad about that aspect of the story at all! The protagonist's personality wasn't developed enough for me to connect with her, and her personality fell flat for me. I feel like she was trying to be portrayed as strong and fearless but she felt very one dimensional. I was hoping to have an explosive ending after such a slow unraveling, but it wasn't that for me at all. So many loose ends needed to be tied up, leaving the reader with an open ending and even more questions, What happened to Rachel? What did Sera do? How did it end? I had Sopranos flashbacks all over again.
Overall, this was a solid debut, it was a good book, and I can't wait to see what they do with the TV series!
If I Disappear will be out on January 26, 2021 (which happens to be my birthday, BTW!) So set a reminder, youâre not going to want to miss this one!
Thank you Berkley Publishing & Netgalley for my gifted copy of this book!
âMiracles are not without their price, my darling”
Jennifer McMahon has done it again, folks!
Another beautifully written timeless ghost story. I have grown to expect nothing less from McMahon, as every book I have read is better than the last, the next story more original, more chilling, and more real than the last!
Come sit, let me tell you a story. The story of Sparrow’s Crest, the beautiful, sprawling stone estate built in the Vermont countryside upon the healing waters of the Brandengurg Springs. The springs, said to be cursed, said to hold healing powers, and grant wishes. These springs hold a secret far more powerful than any one person can fathom. This story is a brilliant, refreshing ghost story that I will not soon forget. Beautifully written from two POV is the story of Jax, who has come home to Sparrow’s crest after her sister Lexie has drowned in the spring fed pool on the property of the estate- and the story of Ethel, her great-grandmother who’s husband built the home upon the rubble of the hotel that was once there. Jax and Lexie have been estranged for many years, a strained relationship that all returns to those waters. That pool. That house. McMahon take us on Jax’s mission to understand what happened to Lexie in her final days. Coming back to Sparrow’s Crest after so many years, finding it in shambles, papers upon papers all leading back to the springs; Lexie spends her time there trying to unravel the mystery of her sisters death.
I love McMahons timeless style of storytelling, and I can honestly say I was not prepared for this one. It hit me right in the gut, and held on until the very end. Food? Water? Sleep? Who needs those things? I found myself gripping my kindle underneath my covers in the middle of the night imagining the bumps, wet feet padding on my wood floorâŚ.my front door creaking openâŚ.One piece of advice? Don’t read this book in the dark.
Brilliant. I can NOT wait to share this book with everyone, and I can NOT wait to have a paperback copy in my greedy little hands.
Thank you Netgalley & scour Press Books for the advanced copy of my new favorite ghost story!
First of all I want to say THANK YOU to Simon & Schuster Scout Press & NetGalley for my advanced copy of The Drowning Kind by Jennifer Mc Mahon. Without the wonderful publishers and Netgalley I wouldnât have the opportunity to review so many fantastic books. I love what I do, and I couldnât do it without them!
So, letâs talk about this delicious morsel- Not only is this book beautiful, it is a modern day ghost story and that is something I can NOT miss! Jennifer McMahon is the author of one of my favorite books, The Winter People, and from the sound of it, this book is going to be just as good.
DESCRIPTIONđ
Be careful what you wish for. When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that itâs just another one of her sisterâs episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmotherâs estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sisterâs things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined.
In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.
Do you like ghost stories? Paranormal thrillers that will keep you up at night, guessing and checking every noise you hear? If that is your jam, Jennifer McMahon is your girl! I was never really into the paranormal stuff until I read The Winter People, and I was hooked. Not only does she write a kickass ghost story, but the mystery had me reeling! I love a good twisty book.
What is your favorite ghost story?
The Drowning Kind will be published on April 06, 2021, so keep an eye out for it!
Since we have been spending more (Ugh, all ) of our time at home, I have had plenty of time to look up all of the new and exciting goings-on in the literary universe…….And I am going to share a few of them with you!
There are a lot of books coming out that I am excited about, (By a LOT of great authors) and I hope, by the end of this list, you are excited about a few too!
The Silent Wife
“Atlanta, Georgia. Present day. A young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead. The police investigate but the trail goes cold. Until a chance assignment takes GBI investigator Will Trent to the state penitentiary, and to a prisoner who says he recognizes the MO. The attack looks identical to the one he was accused of eight years earlier. The prisonerâs always insisted that he was innocent, and now heâs sure he has proof. The killer is still out there.
As Will digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the original case in order to reach the truth. Yet nearly a decade has passedâtime for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear. And now he needs medical examiner Sara Linton to help him hunt down a ruthless murderer. But when the past and present collide, everything Will values is at stake . . . “
The Silent Wife will be released on July 28, 2020
Home Before Dark
“What was it like? Living in that house.“
“Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularityâand skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her fatherâs book. But she also doesnât believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, donât exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her fatherâs death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals arenât thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggieâs father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itselfâa place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her fatherâs book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.”
Home Before Dark will be released on June 20, 2020
The Waffle House On The Pier
Run away to Sea Salt Bay, where the sand is warm and soft, the sea is a perfect blue, and a candy-coloured waffle house is about to change Sadieâs lifeâŚ
For as long as she can remember, Sadieâs grandparents have run the waffle house on the pier at Sea Salt Bay. With its pretty painted chairs, sweet smells, and the warm advice of her beloved grandparents, the waffle house is like a second home.
But when Sadieâs grandfather dies, leaving her grandmother without an anchor, Sadie must make a difficult decision. She quits her job and moves back home, determined to keep things going. The trouble is, she knows nothing about running a business, and learning at a million miles an hour with a shop full of hungry people isnât easy. When she nearly burns the waffle house down, she has to admit she needs to get some help.
Her ex-boyfriend Declan promises to be there for her but Sadie worries that getting too close is a mistake â especially as he has a new girlfriend now. And anyway sheâs just met newcomer Luke, with his gorgeous suntan and mellow voiceâŚ
Sadieâs family have always loved Declan and theyâre not too sure about Luke, leaving Sadie unsure which way to turn. A terrible accident at sea forces her to look into her heart, but what if itâs already too late to tell the right man that she loves him?
If you love stolen kisses under the pier, walking along spray-capped shores eating ice cream, and books by Lucy Diamond, Jill Mansell and Jenny Colgan, you will fall in love with this romantic, heart-breaking read.
The Waffle House on the Pier will be released on June 25, 2020
The Guest List
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.
The bride ⧠The plus one ⧠The best man ⧠The wedding planner ⧠The bridesmaid ⧠The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. Itâs a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The brideâs oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didnât wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
The Guest List will be released on June 2nd, 2020
Invisible Girl
ONDON:On a fine avenue of grand houses, big cars and electronic gates, lies a neglected urban wasteland
It is nearly midnight, and very cold. Yet in this dark place of long grass and tall trees where cats hunt and foxes shriek, a girl is waiting…
When Saffyre Maddox was ten something terrible happened and she’s carried the pain of it around with her ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn’t, and now she hides from him, invisible in the shadows, learning his secrets; secrets she could use to blow his safe, cosy world apart.
Owen Pick is invisible too. He’s thirty-three years old and he’s never had a girlfriend, he’s never even had a friend. Nobody sees him. Nobody cares about him.
But when Saffyre Maddox disappears from opposite his house on Valentine’s night, suddenly the whole world is looking at him. Accusing him. Holding him responsible.
Because he’s just the type, isn’t he? A bit creepy?
INVISIBLE GIRL: A story of secrets and injustices, and of how we look in the wrong places for the bad people while the real predators walk among us in plain sight.
Invisible girl will be released on August 6, 2020
One By One
Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesnât sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when thereâs a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkersâŚand you canât trust any of them?
When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?
One By One will be released on September 8, 2020
Magic Lessons
Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when sheâs abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the âUnnamed Arts.â Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.
When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And itâs is here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.
Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffmanâs masterful storytelling.Â
Magic Lessons will be released on October 6, 2020
Mark your calendars and set your alarms so you don’t miss any of these awesome summer/fall releases. I hope you find a few that you are excited about, and if you do, let me know!
The Literary Wife 