Showing posts with label Thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thriller. Show all posts

October 30, 2023

Weekly Spotlight - Halloween Romances to Thrillers

 

Bad Luck Charm 
From internationally bestselling author JULIE JOHNSON... a bewitching new standalone romantic comedy set in magical Salem, Massachusetts!
 
GWENDOLYN GOODE LIVES A CHARMED LIFE.
As owner of an occult shop in downtown Salem, Massachusetts she’s accustomed to all things odd and otherworldly. But when a bloody animal sacrifice is left as a warning outside her place of business, the police seem to think Gwen might be the target of some truly evil-doers. Suddenly, her sunny existence is riddled with danger in the form of crazed pagans, rogue employees, and nefarious henchmen. And there’s only one man who can protect her until the storm passes...
 
GRAHAM GRAVES HAS NO TIME FOR WITCHY NONSENSE.
Not in his love life, and definitely not in his line of work. Despite the ever-present oddities of his hometown, the private investigator and acclaimed police consultant prides himself on staying objective in every case that comes across his desk. That all changes when Gwendolyn — a woman who gets under his skin like no other — finds herself in the crosshairs of dangerous criminals. Graham is determined to make her safe, even if her presence tests his steely resolve. But as their mutual dislike sizzles into unexpected attraction… he becomes even more determined to make her something else:
HIS.
 
BAD LUCK CHARM is a total standalone romance of 450+ pages, featuring cameos from a fortune-telling parrot, a modern day pirate, and a coven of well-meaning octogenarians. With characters that leap off the page and plenty of spooky twists and turns to keep you guessing, fans of Johnson's previous Boston Love Story series in particular will adore this blend of heat, humor, and suspense.

My Review



Long Live the Pumpkin Queen
Jack and Sally are "truly meant to be" ... or are they?

Sally Skellington is the official, newly-minted Pumpkin Queen after a whirlwind courtship with her true love, Jack, who Sally adores with every inch of her fabric seams -- if only she could say the same for her new role as Queen of Halloween Town. Cast into the spotlight and tasked with all sorts of queenly duties, Sally can't help but wonder if all she's done is trade her captivity under Dr. FInkelstein for a different -- albeit gilded -- cage. But when Sally and Zero accidentally uncover a long-hidden doorway to an ancient realm called Dream Town in the forest Hinterlands, she'll unknowingly set into motion a chain of sinister events that put her future as Pumpkin Queen, and the future of Halloween Town itself, into jeopardy. Can Sally discover what it means to be true to herself and save the town she's learned to call home, or will her future turn into her worst... well, nightmare.

My Review



Dark and Shallow Lies
A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

My Review

August 22, 2023

My Flawless Life

My Flawless Life
by Yvonne Woon
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Pub Date: February 14, 2023
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon
 
Yvonne Woon, author of If You, Then Me , has crafted a slow-burn thriller about fixing—our friends, ourselves, and our complicated pasts. For fans of Allegedly and We Were Liars , My Flawless Life features a compelling narrator who grapples with the secrets of her private school classmates as well as her own life. At the most elite private school in Washington, DC., whenever anyone has a problem that they need to go away, they hire Hana Yang Lerner. Hana is a fixer. She knows who to call, what to say, and how to make sure secrets stay where they belong—buried. She can fix anything. Except her own life, which was destroyed when her father, senator Skip Lerner, was arrested for an accident that left one woman nearly dead. Now Hana’s reputation is ruined and her friends are gone. So when she gets a job from an anonymous client called “Three” to follow her former best friend, Luce Herrera, Hana realizes this might be her way of getting back her old life. But the dangerous thing about digging is that you never know what you’ll unearth. As Hana uncovers a dark truth about her supposedly flawless classmates, she’s forced to face a secret of her own.
 

My Review: This book starts as if it's setting the scene for a mystery. Hana is walking around St. Francis dissecting the paintings, deciphering what each adult in the room is. An artist, Non-Profit head, you name it, but Hana is spot on. 

While figuring out who does what, Hana is tasked with a job. While she doesn't accept from those she doesn’t know, a $5,000 payment sure changes that plan. 

I do have to say that the first few chapters are hard to get through. It is detail heavy, which isn't too bad. But it reads at such a slow pace for me. The most annoying part was all the hints at what happened with her dad and it still hadnt been explained. But eventually got there. 

I struggled to enjoy this book; it took me about 80% to finally be grabbed in. Which is tough because of just how much I loved her Dead Beautiful books. I really wanted this book to be so much more, but it just fell short for me.

I hope her next series will get me back to the same feeling as her Dead Beautiful books.
 
  

My Rating:
✪✪✪

July 27, 2023

Mister Magic


Mister Magic
 
by Kiersten White 

Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Del Rey
Pub Date: August 8, 2023 
Genre: Adult, Thriller, Horror, Mystery
Format: eARC 
Source: NetGalley 
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon  

Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show—and discover the secret of its enigmatic host—in this dark supernatural thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide. 

 
Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic. 
 
But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has. 
 
Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since. 
 
After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? 
 
Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . .. 

 
 

My Review: I'm far from a Horror reader, but I will always grab something by Kiersten. Plus, her horror books are more of a page turner and edge of your seat rather than scare, so win-win!  

 

For decades Val has lived on the Farm. She helps with the camps and has a good life. Heading back to the cabin she notices that the door is open. It shouldn't be but she'll make a note to add locks where her dad can't reach.  But there won't be a need, she finds her dad has passed.  

 

The funeral comes and Val is in Gloria's house. They talk and Gloria mentions there will be more people attending because she mentioned it online. Val is worried, but she also isn't sure why. Why they showed up here, what happened when she was younger, why her dad was the way she was. Maybe he did something bad, maybe he was in hiding, but now the answers are gone.  

 

To add to everything, three guys show up. Calling her by her full name and Val is scared. She has no idea who they are at all, how they know her name, nada. So, bossy Val takes over and demands they go out outside and explain.  

 

 A brief explanation and suddenly, Val grabs her duffle bag, some cash and off she goes with these guys. Stranger danger, who? Oh, and they are on the way to a reunion for a show she has no clue about and someone she thought dead isn't actually dead.  

 

That's all just in the first three chapters and I feel for Val. She really has a lot thrown at her quickly, but she is strong, smart and just a wonderful character. People blame her, a woman even attacks her, and she still maintains such a strong character. She could easily lash out, scream to the world she hadn't a clue what happened back then. Yet, she remains strong, keeps her cool and even offers kindness.  

 

As the book continues on, so much more is revealed, and it really becomes a page turner that is impossible to put down. I've loved Kiersten’s work since Paranormalcy came out and her books continue to show why she has been one of my top authors for so long and will continue to be.  


 

My Rating:
✪✪✪✪✪