TOWER OF DAWN By Sarah J. Maas

April 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

TOWER OF DAWN By Sarah J. MaasTower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #6
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 9/5/17
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 675
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq have arrived in the shining city of Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent, whose vast armies are Erilea's last hope. But they have also come to Antica for another purpose: to seek healing at the famed Torre Cesme for the wounds Chaol received in Rifthold.

After enduring unspeakable horrors as a child at the hands of Adarlanian soldiers, Yrene Towers has no desire to help the young lord from Adarlan, let alone heal him. Yet she has sworn an oath to assist those in need, and she will honor it. But Lord Westfall carries his own dark past, and Yrene soon realizes that those shadows could engulf them both.

Chaol, Nesryn, and Yrene will have to draw on every scrap of their resilience to overcome the danger that surrounds them. But while they become entangled in the political webs of the khaganate, long-awaited answers slumber deep in the mountains, where warriors soar on legendary ruks. Answers that might offer their world a chance at survival . . . or doom them all.

Short and Sweet Review

Chaol and Nesryn are in Antica to try to forge an alliance with the Khagan, whose large armies could be the turning point in the war that is on the horizon. Chaol has also come seeking the Torre Cesme to see if some of the wounds he received in Rifthold can be healed. Yrene Towers is the healer who has been chosen to heal Chaol but after all of the horrors she witnessed as a child from Adarlans Soldiers, she’s not sure she can even be around Chaol let alone heal him. Even though our characters are in a different continent there’s still danger that surrounds them.

If you were wondering where Chaol was in Empire of Storms he was here in Antica trying to get the Khagan to form an alliance to help with the war in Erilea. Everything about this book was perfection. I loved seeing new characters involved and seeing Chaol try to negotiate on Aelin behalf. Chaol and Yrene have a relationship that is rocky at the beginning but the more time they spend together seeing each others demons, the more their relationship began to bud. These two were perfect for each other and it made my heart just happy to see them realize that they belong. Nesryn on the other hand forms a bond with Prince Sartaq and ends up going with him and his ruk to the mountains, where they learn some interesting things. There’s a lot of good things happening in this book that will keep your interest. I didn’t think I would enjoy seeing what Nesryn was doing but her and Sartaq ended up learning some interesting things that changed everything. I also liked their relationship, because I didn’t think she belonged with Chaol.

This book was full of action that we’ve come to expect from this series and it explains Chaol’s absence from the last book. I’m so excited to see what the next book brings because so many things were revealed here!

Filed Under: Reviews

NIGERIA JONES By Ibi Zoboi

April 26, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

NIGERIA JONES By Ibi ZoboiNigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/9/23
Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 379
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.

Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. ­There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe.

As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

Short and Sweet Review

Nigeria has been raised by her father who is a social justice warrior. He has a Movement that is a black separatist group in Philadelphia. Nigeria runs the youth group for her dad and leads rituals that connect group members to their ancestors. The only thing missing in Nigerias life is her mom, who she’s sure is coming back. When Nigeria learns that her mom wanted a different life for her she starts to question everything she’s learned. Nigeria also learns that her mom wanted to enroll her in a private Quaker school so Nigeria goes to honor her mothers wishes. Everything changes when Nigeria gets to experience a little freedom and wonders if everything she’s learned in the movement is right.

I have very conflicting feelings about this book. Nigeria was raised in a household where their beliefs are taken very seriously, so to see her go to this new school and interact with people who weren’t black was painful. She also holds out hope that her mom is coming back so there was a little mystery about where her mom was and why she would have left the movement in the first place. Nigeria goes to school with an old friend Sage and her cousin Kamau. Nigeria’s dad doesn’t want her going to school, she’s been homeschooled her whole life, but Nigeria knows she needs to go because this is what her mom wanted. There was a lot of layers to this book and I found myself frustrated at some points because they take the movement so seriously and I understand I’m all about making changes but it got too intense and it was crazy. Whenever they talked about the movement, I felt like I was at a black panther meeting, it was almost like Judas and the Black Messiah. Anyway Nigeria and her dad find themselves most of the book and I just felt myself rooting for her to get out from under him and just make a way for herself and experience the world for herself so she can make decisions instead of having them made for her.

The ending makes up for the rest of the book and I was glad to see Nigeria kind of become her own woman. The whole thing with her mom was pretty shocking and I wasn’t ready for it. This book made me really stop and think about my own experiences being black and a woman and I get how Nigeria was raised but I’m glad that I was able to know my history and not having that experience be so restrictive. I enjoyed following Nigeria during her journey even though at some points it was hard but in the end it was rewarding.

Filed Under: Reviews

SHE IS A HAUNTING By Trang Thanh Tran

April 24, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SHE IS A HAUNTING By Trang Thanh TranShe Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 2/28/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Gothic, Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Young Adult
Pages: 344
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She's always lied to fit in, so if she's straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don't belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can't ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves cryptic warnings: Don't eat.

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house--the home they have always wanted--will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house's rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.

Short and Sweet Review

Jade Nguyễn arrives in Vietnam with her sister Lily, to spend five weeks with her estranged father and help him set up a website for the B&B he’s opening in exchange for tuition money. When Jade first arrives at the house she knows something isn’t right but neither Lily or her father acknowledge that anything seems off. Jade wakes up each night paralyzed and sees the ghost of a bride who gives her warnings. The house won’t stop until it gets what it wants but Jade is determined to stop it and keep her family together.

It’s always the synopsis that draws me in, and who wouldn’t like a story about a monster house? My problem with this book is our main character Jade. She just comes off as a brat, I get that her father wasn’t there but she’s not so great to her mom either. For someone who came to Vietnam for some money she’s not entirely grateful and the way she goes about treating her dad is awful. Anyway Jade bounces between caring about her sexuality for a few chapters, then her not really knowing Vietnamese and not feeling Vietnamese enough, to going back to caring about the house. Jade meets a girl named Florence who is also helping with the website design and they have feelings for each other, these wasn’t a romance I liked mainly because Jade didn’t know what she wanted so it was almost like she was toying with Florence’s feelings. Florence also tries to help Jade figure out what’s going on in the house. The whole house thing is weird because there’s also ghost who are involved but it’s like the house is its own entity. I don’t think the book came off as creepy or chilling, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. I found myself annoyed more often than not at Jade and the things she did.

This book just wasn’t good. I was bored and there were a lot of elements that the author tried to tackle and just fell short. If this book picked a lane and stayed there I’m sure it would have been better than what I actually read.

Filed Under: Reviews

CURSED CROWNS By Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

April 21, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

CURSED CROWNS By Catherine Doyle and Katherine WebberCursed Crowns by Catherine Doyle, Katherine Webber
Series: Twin Crowns #2
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/9/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 512
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns…but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Coolheaded Rose plans a royal tour to establish goodwill throughout the kingdom. But Wren balks—how can they gallivant around Eana when their grandmother Banba is imprisoned in Gevra?

Impatient Wren steals away on a ship to the icy north, where King Alarik offers a deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom. Desperate, Wren agrees. But her spell has unexpected consequences….

Meanwhile, when Rose's royal tour is interrupted by a mysterious stranger claiming to be from the long-lost Sunkissed Kingdom, the strands of destiny pull her south to the ancient Amarach Towers, where only the Seers of Eana know why the Restless Sands are erupting—and why Shen-Lo himself might hold the key.

But back in Anadawn, rebellion is brewing. And if Eana is to stand a chance at peace, the sisters will need to reunite once more and convince their people to forsake old loyalties for new ones.

Short and Sweet Review

In Anadawn, Wren and Rose are the twin queens, but not everyone is happy about having witches on the throne. Rose thinks the best course of action is going on a tour to show people that there is nothing to fear. There’s a group calling themselves the Arrows who are trying to stop Rose and Wren from having a successful reign and will even go as far as going to war with the kingdom. While Rose is thinking about the tour, Wren is thinking about Banba who is being held prisoner in the kingdom of Gerva. We see the twins go their separate ways trying to solve the problems plaguing Eana, but they’ll learn they’re stronger together than when they’re apart.

This book was so exciting and full of action. Rose is on a tour that Wren was supposed to join her on but instead Wren went to Gerva to try to rescue Banba. On the tour Rose and Shen are met by a stranger who turns out to be Shens cousin from the lost Sunkissed kingdom. The trio travel to Amarach Towers where they meet seers who help them figure out where the kingdom is. It turns out that Shen is the lost heir and when Rose learns this she gets hopeful that maybe the Sunkissed kingdom can help the Anadawn kingdom fight off the rebellion that is brewing, but Shen has other ideas about what his people should be doing. Wren on the other hand is face to face with King Alarik trying to bargain for Banbas life. Wren ends up having to use forbidden magic to bring Ansel back to life and she faces steep consequences.

Rose had more character development in this book, she was more mature. Wren on the other hand was reckless and she knows right from wrong but she’s blinded by her own desires. Rose and Shen still have a relationship which was cute based on the bond they built in the first book. Wren has a love triangle which was not something I liked because I was looking forward to her just being with Tor. Even though the sisters are separated they were able to talk to each other through a magic mirror and offer each other advice which I liked seeing because even though they had others around they to offer words of advice sometimes you just need your sister. I also loved the setting Rose is basically in the desert and Wren is in the ice kingdom it was interesting seeing how different their circumstances were. There was a big twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting and was left unresolved and I’m excited to see how it will be handled in the next book.

Cursed Crowns was a great sequel, I couldn’t put it down and I’m ready to see what the next installment will bring!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE SILENCE OF BONES By June Hur

April 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE SILENCE OF BONES By June HurThe Silence of Bones by June Hur
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 4/21/20
Genres: Historical, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 343
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak;
Ears, but I mustn't hear;
Eyes, but I mustn't see.

1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

Short and Sweet Review

It’s 1800 and we’re in Joseon, Korea. Seol is an orphan and is indentured to the police bureau, and she is given the task of helping an investigator look into the murder of a noblewoman. As their investigation progresses, Seol forms a friendship with the investigator but things take a turn when he becomes one of the suspects.

The synopsis is what drew me into this book, to go back in time in Korea sounded amazing, and also a mystery? Count me in. Unfortunately this book wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Seol lives by strict rules because she’s basically a servant so she can’t speak out of turn, but luckily for her Inspector Han has a sort of respect for her opinions. Korea in the 1800s is so interesting, the noblewoman was also a Catholic and that is looked down upon which is why she was killed, for her beliefs. Seol and Inspector Han do the basic detective work, going around talking to people who knew the noblewoman and dig deeper into her life. Sadly a few more people are killed and time is running out to find the killer. We see Seol do her own detective work and she starts to question whether Inspector Han is the man she thought he was. We also have a side plot of Seol trying to find her older brother, whom she was separated from as a child.

All of the elements of the story were great, unfortunately I found myself confused more often then not. I think it was all of the characters and names and just trying to remember their importance. Also the first half of the book didn’t really hold my attention and that might have been because of what I mentioned above, but the second half of the book is where things started to pick up for me and I was interested to see how the mystery would wrap up.

I would recommend this book, it was fun getting transported to Korea and solving a mystery and you can really tell that things that are acceptable now were looked down upon then. Seol is an interesting character to follow and she had character development as the book progressed and her story is an interesting one.

Filed Under: Reviews

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY By Becky Albertalli

April 17, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY By Becky AlbertalliImogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 412
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.

She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.

Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in.

Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.

Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.

Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .

Short and Sweet Review

Imogen is very straight but she’s all for being an ally, her younger sister is queer, her best friend Gretchen is bi, and her other best friend Lili is newly out and living her best life at college with her group of queer friends. Imogen is finally visiting Lili at college and she gets to experience all the great things Lili has been talking about. One thing that Imogen wasn’t expecting was to find out that Lili told her friends that Imogen is her ex-girlfriend, but Imogen goes with it because she’s a good friend. Imogen also meets Tessa and it makes her question her identity.

Imogen is used to living her life as a supporter an ally to her queer friends and family. I loved seeing her journey and her character develop throughout the story and seeing her come to grips that she may not just be an ally but she may actually be bi. My favorite thing about this book was seeing Imogen spend a few days on the college campus and expand her horizons, the group of friends that Lili has are so nice and inviting. Tessa and Imogen immediately hit it off, and this is when Imogen discovers she may have a crush on a girl and doesn’t really know how to process everything. Unfortunately for Imogen, her friend Gretchen thinks she knows it all and reassures Imogen that she is most definitely straight. I’m glad that Imogen had other supporters in her circle. Over the course of nine days we see Imogen have fun at the college and then go back home and try to think about everything that has happened. There was a lot of great dialogue and fun characters in this book that really made you wish you were apart of the group.

Imogen, Obviously is a personal one to the author and a statement. I loved Imogen and she’s just someone that readers can relate to and you can’t help but to root for her and hope she has a happy ending. This book was so cute and I enjoyed following Imogen’s story and see her discover who she really is. I would obviously recommend this book!

Filed Under: Reviews

MY FLAWLESS LIFE By Yvonne Woon

April 14, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

MY FLAWLESS LIFE By Yvonne WoonMy Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 2/14/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 345
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

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.

Short and Sweet Review

When students at Hana’s elite private school in Washington D.C need a problem to go away they hire her, she’s a fixer. She can fix most of her classmates problems, the one thing she’s having trouble fixing is her own life. After her Senator father was arrested for an accident that nearly left a woman dead, Hana’s reputation was ruined and all her friends left her side. When someone contacts Hana for a job that includes following her former best friend, Luce, she takes it hoping this could help her get her old life back. The more Hana tries to figure out with Luce the more she has to dig into her own past and face everything that has happened.

It took my a while to get into this book, but once I did it really held my attention. I liked seeing how Hana used her contacts to fix problems. We get to see how the events of Hana’s father has affected her life, and how she’s dealing with everything or trying to avoid it. The case that she’s currently working on concerning Luce also involves Hana’s past and Hana knows she has to confront her past in order to solve this case. The plot was interesting and the pacing was great. Hana had a lot of character development and she realized that its never too late to fix your mistakes. Hana also teamed up with James, a friend from childhood and I liked the teamwork between them and seeing them reconnect. It was fun seeing Hana talk to other classmates and following leads, the life of a fixer is very interesting although it seems like a lot of work. I will say that the book went back and forth between the past and present and sometimes it was hard to tell what time period I was reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Seeing Hana take this case that’s really about her and she didn’t even know it was great. There were some things that surprised me but these elements were beneficial to the story and really worked. Hana was a good character and someone to relate to she wasn’t perfect, she had her flaws, but she was willing to work on it. This book was engaging and I would recommend it.


Filed Under: Reviews

LIAR’S BEACH By Katie Cotugno

April 12, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

LIAR’S BEACH By Katie CotugnoLiar's Beach by Katie Cotugno
Published by Delacorte Press on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Michael Linden—or just Linden to his preppy boarding school pals—doesn’t belong in wealthy, storied Martha’s Vineyard. But when his roommate Jasper invites him to spend the end of summer at his massive beachfront home, August House, Linden tries his best to fit in. Linden wouldn’t call it lying, exactly. Though it turns out August House is full of liars.

Then someone is found unconscious in Jasper’s pool, and everyone has something to hide—Jasper, his beautiful sister Eliza, their older brother Wells, and their friends. The accident is written off as just that—an accident—but Linden begins to wonder...

Enter: Holiday Proctor. Linden’s childhood friend, and the one person on the island who knows the truth about Linden. There’s nothing Holiday loves more than a good old-fashioned mystery and she’s convinced there's a potential killer on the Vineyard. The only question is…who?

Short and Sweet Review

Michael Linden isn’t wealthy, but he tries to keep up appearances for his boarding school friends. Linden is invited to Martha’s Vineyard by his roommate Jasper, which is where he meets, Wells and Eliza, Jasper’s siblings. After a party one night someone is found unconscious in the pool and it is written off as just an accident but Linden begins to wonder if there’s more to what happened than what’s being said. Holiday is one of Linden’s childhood friends and just happens to be staying at Martha’s Vineyard too and has a love for a good mystery. Together they’ll try to figure out if this was an accident or intentional.

Liar’s Beach was a good mystery it’s a new take on the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The plot was engaging and we’re introduced to most of the characters in the first few chapters. After the person is found in the pool we see Holiday and Linden go around the island looking for clues and try to find leads but there wasn’t much for them to find so their theories were mainly speculation. I didn’t like Lindens character, he was too busy trying to fit in that he didn’t realize how awful he treated those around him. Linden was also more concerned about getting with Eliza to realize that she wasn’t exactly perfect. I would have preferred that Holiday was the narrator instead she just seemed more likable and wasn’t quick to jump the gun like Linden. The ending was okay I guessed who the culprit was mainly from the process of elimination but also there was a bit of a cliffhanger. I think it would be interesting to see these characters in another book and hopefully Linden has some more character development.

Overall this was a good beach mystery and it’s great for summer. There were a lot of good elements and some things that didn’t work but I would still recommend it and I’d be interested in seeing a sequel.

Filed Under: Reviews

FOUR FOUND DEAD By Natalie D. Richards

April 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FOUR FOUND DEAD By Natalie D. RichardsFour Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 5/2/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 282
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Tonight, Riverview Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, a shift that quickly takes a dark turn.

First a stranger arrives with a chilling accusation. Then the power goes out and their manager disappears, along with the keys to the lobby doors and the theater safe, where the crew's phones are locked each shift. The crew's tension turns to terror when Jo discovers the dead body of one of her co-workers.

Now their only chance to escape the murderer in their midst is through the dark, shuttered mall. With its boarded-up exits and disabled fire alarms, the complex is filled with hiding places for both pursuer and pursued. In order to survive this night, Jo and her friends must trust one another, navigate the sprawling ruins of the mall, and outwit a killer before he kills them all.

Short and Sweet Review

The Riverview Theaters is closing forever, it’s the last business that is open in a now closed shopping mall. All of the customers are gone and now it’s time for Jo and her six coworkers to clean and lock everything up. Their manager is the only one with the keys but once the lights go out he’s nowhere to be found and one of Jo’s coworkers is found dead. Now Jo and the rest of her coworkers need to find a way out and the only way is through a mall that is getting ready to be demolished.

The premise of this book is what got my attention, but I think the execution fell short. Everyone is locked in this mall and they know the only way to survive is to leave the theater and go into the mall. I thought there’d be more of a mystery as to who was trying to kill the group but the killer is revealed at the beginning. The motive for why this person was chasing the group down wasn’t revealed until the last couple of chapters. Jo our main character wants to be a doctor so we see her trying to help those who end up getting injured, she also has ptsd from an incident that happened when she was younger which is why she froze when she saw the killer’s gun. I like the idea of running through an abandoned mall and its dark and you have to find your way out but this was just overkill, the killer was just deranged and the reasoning was not all there. I didn’t remember most of the characters I thought there were too many and I was really waiting for the death toll to get up to four. I think the best part of this book was the little snippets of news articles and emails from people close to the victims. I think the book could have been better if we didn’t know who the suspect was so early on or maybe someone snuck in and did it.

Four Found Dead, had an interesting synopsis that draws you in, but the execution of the book just falls short. I thought I’d be a fan of this book but it just didn’t happen.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE LAKE HOUSE By Sarah Beth Durst

April 7, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE LAKE HOUSE By Sarah Beth DurstThe Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst
Published by HarperTeen on 4/25/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Claire’s grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It’s just how she’s wired—her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.

Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge—and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.

When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows.

Something that refuses to let them leave.

Short and Sweet Review

Claire has a lot of fears and to deal with them she’ll go through a checklist in her head. Claire is sure her worst case scenario won’t come true but she’ll be ready in case it does. When Claire and two other girls, Mariana and Reyva arrive to the summer camp they’re supposed to be staying at and see the lake house burned to the ground and find the director dead, they know they’re in trouble. The girls are stuck on this island, where they have no contact with the outside world, a killer running loose, and even some mysterious force that doesn’t want them to leave.

The Lake House is a survival, horror, mystery and I’m glad that the way the book was described is actually what the book was like. Claire, Reyva, and Mariana are the last campers to arrive and what they end up seeing is not what they expect. The girls have no choice but to figure out how to survive on the island especially because they don’t know when or even if help is coming. All the girls know for sure is that there’s a murderer on the island and they have to stay vigilante. The first half of the book is mainly survival and trying to avoid who they think is the murderer and trying to get off the island. The second half deals with the same thing except now we have the supernatural element involved and the girls were trying to avoid the consequences of getting stuck on the island with (I’m not even sure what to call it. A ghost? A spirit?). Anyway the girls also see their boat driver, Jack come back, and he’s around their age and he seems shocked about the things going on but he knows more than he lets on. I did like the bond that the girls formed, they’ve only known each other for a few hours before they’re thrown into something they really weren’t prepared for. The girls were resourceful and put their heads together to make sure that they would at least be able to survive. I will say some parts of the books confused me, mainly with what ever weird force was at work. I wish that part was explained more. The ending was okay, I’m not sure why all three girls had a memory lapse.

This was a good book and I enjoyed seeing the girls form a bond and truly try to find a way to make it out alive. I would still want some explaination about the paranormal parts and the ending could have been better, but other than that if you’re looking for a creepy and suspenseful book check this one out.

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