PROMISE BOYS By Nick Brooks

February 23, 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.

PROMISE BOYS By Nick BrooksPromise Boys by Nick Brooks
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on 1/31/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 279
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students—J.B., Ramón, and Trey—emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive—and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them?

Short and Sweet Review

Ramón, Trey, and J.B., all go to the Urban Promise Prep School, which may look nice on the outside but has a lot of problems on the inside. It’s almost like these boys are in boot camp or prison. When the Principal gets murdered, the three boys become the prime suspects. All three of them claim their innocence but one of them may have had the murder weapon. Now the three boys have to find who actually murdered Principal Moore, or risk getting locked up for life.

Promise Prep school is one of those places where it sounds great and you would probably want your child to go so that they have a chance at succeeding, but that’s not what actually goes on in this school. They have to abide by the Moore Method which is basically extreme discipline and if they don’t they face the consequences. On the day of Moores murder Ramón, Trey, and J.B. are all in detention and the main reason they’re suspects is because they all have reasons for wanting him dead. Moore stops Ramón from selling pupusas which helps with his family’s income, Trey tells Moore he’s going to kill him, and J.B. is mad that he’s in detention and now it looks like he stood up his girlfriend.

I liked the format of the book we learn about each character by having the other people in their lives basically give character witness statements and we also see the transcript from the police interviews. The best part for me was that the boys don’t really know each other, so when they team up to try to prove their innocence they’re still weary of one another. There’s nothing wrong with any of the boys I think they’ve just been subjected to bad circumstances and a lot of scrutiny because of the color of their skin. Trey is a basketball star, Ramón is just trying to help his family, and J.B. is just a quiet kid. It was nice seeing all the boys team up and they each had a support system behind them. The mystery was well written and the format added a lot to the book.

This was a good read and it was short so I was able to finish it in one sitting. The characters were great and I’m glad they didn’t let their circumstances make them a statistic.

Filed Under: Reviews

DELICIOUS MONSTERS By Liselle Sambury

February 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.

DELICIOUS MONSTERS By Liselle SamburyDelicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on 2/28/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 510
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…

A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at “Miracle Mansion” allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that’s nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother’s lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most—Daisy’s or her own?

As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy’s story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight.

Short and Sweet Review

Daisy is able to see ghost, not really an ability that she wanted, but she manages to deal with it. When her mom inherits a mansion away from Toronto, Daisy sees this as a chance to get away especially since her boyfriend just dumped her. When they reach Ontario where the Mansion is Daisy realizes her mom is hiding a lot of secrets and the Mansion is nothing Daisy has ever dealt with before.

Ten years later, Brittney decides that its time for her to get away from her mother a best selling author whose book about the miracle mansion made her see the error of her ways. Brittney is determined to prove that her mother’s book is full of it and she does that by having the new season of her web series Haunted be focused on the mansion and the strange things that have happened there over the years.

This book was just so interesting, it starts off a little slow but I think that was because of the world building. We meet Daisy first and we learn that she’s able to see ghost and I feel like this is different than most books where characters can see ghost mainly because Daisy has to work really hard to ignore them and try to avoid seeming crazy. Her best efforts do fail because she does seem crazy and its almost like we can’t trust her. She sees maggots coming out of her wounds and her ears and its all pretty insane and it doesn’t help that her mom makes her believe she’s wrong. When Daisy and her mom get to Ontario, Daisy is given strict instructions not to enter the mansion, but its like its calling to her. Daisy also meets some town people who knew her mother from her childhood and they don’t seem to want anything to do with Grace mainly because she was up to some crazy things back in the day. Daisy becomes friends with King who’s family lives nearby. King is a psychic and he decides he’ll help Daisy figure out what’s going on in the mansion and learn a little history about her mom and Peter (the man who gave the mansion to Grace.)

Ten years later we meet Brittney and her partner Jayden who have the web series Haunted. Brittney is a little more brash while Jayden is able to connect more with the people they’re interviewing. The interviews were good we get a new perspective on what was happening ten years ago with Daisy and her mother and that mansion. I thought it was interesting to see that even though Daisy and Brittney don’t know each other they both have mommy issues. Brittney is a strong character and so is Daisy but we both see them bend and break when it comes to their moms.

The mansion is a whole different beast in itself, it reminds me of the movie Monster House. The mansion is basically a living entity. The mansion is able to make people hear it if it wants and its supposed to be feeding off of the dead people inside but it gets stronger and decides it wants to feed off of the living. When Daisy gets there she realizes that the house is way stronger than anyone has anticipated. It was hard to put this book down especially when I got further into it, mainly because we start to learn more about the Mansion and how it’s operating and we see how Daisy’s mom past had a big affect on what’s happening now.

This book was insane, but in the best way. There were a lot of tough subjects that were mentioned in this book so just watch out for that. The ending was pretty great and I love how things were handled, the dual POV worked out really well. If you’re looking for a psychological horror thriller than this book is for you! Its a book I’ll be thinking about for a while.


Filed Under: Reviews

LOLA AT LAST By J.C. Peterson

February 18, 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.

LOLA AT LAST By J.C. PetersonLola at Last by J.C. Peterson
Published by HarperTeen on 2/28/23
Genres: Contemporary, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 393
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Join Lola Barnes, a.k.a. a modern Lydia Bennet, at the beginning of a summer gone truly wrong: where a boat party-turned-fiery-fiasco ends with the ship, Lola’s summer plans, and her reputation truly sunk.

(The boat was barely on fire, for the record—and all the partygoers were just fine.)

Luckily, this disaster of a summer has another thing in store for her: a path of self-discovery she never saw coming.

Given an ultimatum—jail time, or spending the summer with the nonprofit Hike Like a Girl—she laces up her hiking boots and takes to the wilderness. Along the way, she’ll encounter unexpected friends, a sweet romance, strength she didn’t know she had—and herself, Lola, at last.

Short and Sweet Review

Lola’s summer is not off to a great start, the friends she thought she had want nothing to do with her and to make matters worse she ends up catching a boat on fire that belongs to her brother in law and sister. To pay for her mistakes Lola ends up having to join Hike Like a Girl, a nonprofit where she should rediscover herself and figure a lot of things out while out in the wilderness.

Lola at Last is the companion novel to Being Mary Bennet, in this book we meet the illustrious Lola who was shipped off to France but came back after that didn’t work for her. Anyway we see the aftermath of Lola being gone, her friends aren’t really her friends she’s like an outcast now trying to figure out how to fit in again. Lola uses humor as a coping mechanism but it comes off as if she really doesn’t care especially if she’s in the wrong. Lola has a way of making things about her and she needed a lot of character development. I think the Hike Like a Girl actually did Lola a lot of good, she needed to get away from the people she thought were her friends and just start fresh. Lola is not excited about joining HLAG at first she makes the experience pretty awful for the other girls with her temper tantrums and showing up late, but eventually she turns her attitude around and starts to make an effort. We also see Lola try to rekindle her relationship with her twin sister Kat which got strained when Lola went to France. There’s also a romance between Lola and Ezra and I thought this was a cute relationship. Ezra makes Lola want to try to be a better person but Ezra also has some doubts about if Lola can change from the reckless girl she used to be.

This was a pretty entertaining book, I liked reading about all of the hikes the girls are going on. I was worried that Lola wouldn’t have much character development, there was a lot of ups and downs with her behavior but eventually she figured out what kind of person she wanted to be and learned from her past mistakes. I liked the characters and the plot and Lola was a good character and I liked seeing her growth. Pick this book up, because it’s definitely a breath of fresh air, kind of makes me want to try hiking.


Filed Under: Reviews

HEX YOU By P.C. Cast AND Kristin Cast

February 16, 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.

HEX YOU By P.C. Cast AND Kristin CastHex You by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast
Series: Sisters of Salem #3
Published by Wednesday Books on 1/31/23
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 287
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Twin sisters, Mercy and Hunter are witches, direct descendants of the Goode family, the founders of their town. After the murder of their mother at the hands of a foul demon, they have become the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds--ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and the darkest of creatures exist.

Mercy and Khenti are trapped in the Ancient Egyptian Underworld and need Hunter’s help to escape. But while Hunter searches for a way to save them, other evil threatens Goodeville. Amphitrite is still looming–and she wants vengeance against Hunter. With the gates rapidly weakening, Amphitrite lures out a deadly creature and sets it free on the residents of Goodeville. It will take everything in Mercy and Hunter’s power to stop the goddess and seal the gates once and for all.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of the last book Mercy and Khenti are still trapped in Egyptian hell and Hunter is trying to figure out a way to get them back home. Back home Hunter is still dealing with the aftermath of making the goddess Amphitrite angry. When Mercy and Khenti escape hell it’s all hands on deck to figure out how to get rid of Amphitrite.

As the previous books in this trilogy, Hex You was nothing special. For some reason I just can’t relate to Mercy or Hunter and don’t get me started on that weird Cat person (still makes my skin crawl). Mercy still talks with a British accent for whatever reason and in this book Hunter is finally facing the consequences for her actions in the last book. Anyway Hunter and Mercy’s friends are willing to rush their lives to help stop Amphitrite from wreaking havoc on the town, which is honorable and everything but it was so predictable and I will say losing a character in the end didn’t bother me. There’s just something about the dialogue that makes it hard for me to appreciate these books. The plot always sounds interesting but the characters and execution fall short every time. There’s no reason that these teenage girls should act like they’re in elementary school and what’s even worse was the tension between Mercy and Hunter for the first half of the book. This book was predictable I feel like the only thing people might consider a twist is what happens to one of the characters. Thinking about it now I wouldn’t have minded if we lost more than one character because in the end they really didn’t add anything to this series.

The only positive thing I can say about this was that it was the last book in this series because I don’t think I can deal with another book with fake British accent Mercy and feel bad for myself Hunter.

Filed Under: Reviews

REVELLE By Lyssa Mia Smith

February 13, 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.

REVELLE By Lyssa Mia SmithRevelle by Lyssa Mia Smith
Published by Balzer + Bray on 2/14/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 459
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

On the island of Charmant, magic flows like bootlegged champagne, and fantasies can be bought for the price of a gemstone.

Luxe Revelle, star of her family’s fantastical show, knows the splendor is just an illusion. With Prohibition threatening their livelihood, her family struggles to make a living, watering down champagne and patching holes in their sequined costumes. So when the son of Charmant’s wealthiest family makes her an offer—everything the Revelles need to stay in business, in exchange for posing as his girl and helping him become mayor—she can’t refuse.

The moment Jamison Port sets foot in Charmant, he can’t shake the feeling of familiarity. An orphan with as few memories as gemstones, he’s desperate to learn what happened to his parents. But as he delves into the island’s secrets, he risks angering the wrong person and discovering a truth that just might break his heart.

When Luxe and Jamison accidentally meet, the sparks that fly are more than her magical enchantments. But keeping secrets from powerful people is a dangerous game . . . one that could destroy them both.

Short and Sweet Review

On the island of Charmant magic is flowing. There’s different families who have different abilities and for Luxe she has the ability to charm people with the Revelle family magic. Luxe uses her power at her family’s fantastic shows convincing tourists to give her jewels and with those jewels she can make their fantasies come true for a moment. But as great as the show is the family is running out of alcohol and that’s a problem because her family is struggling financially. Luxe ends up making a deal with Dewey Chronos a resident bootlegger and he’s running for mayor. He tells Luxe he’ll give her family alcohol if she poses as his girl and helps him win his bid for Mayor. Jamison Port is in Charmant for the first time or at least he thinks so, until he feels like there’s things that he recognizes. Jamison has a few memories but not enough to have the full picture. The main reason Jamison is in Charmant is to find out what happened to his parents. Jamison and Luxe meet and sparks fly but they’re players in a dangerous game and don’t even know it.

The world in this book is magical, we meet different families that have different abilities. The Revelles are able to charm people, the Chronoses can time travel, the Edwardians can hear thoughts, and the Strattori can heal by transferring wounds to other people. Things are really interesting because not only does Luxe have her normal family magic but she’s able to sway people’s thoughts and this second ability is actually blood magic. When Luxe agrees to help Dewey she does it because she wants to help her family, but she doesn’t really know what she’s getting into with Dewey. Dewey starts off as your typical nice guy but deep down that guy has some serious issues. He’s very possessive and insecure and the things we find out that’s been doing are really twisted. Jamison on the other hand comes to Charmant with Roger Revelle and Trysta Chronos, they both left their families behind to see what’s outside of Charmant and I love that they’re Jamison’s best friends, they were ride or die until the end. Jamison has been searching for answers about who his parents were and what happened to him and he feels like Charmant has the answers to those questions. There’s a lot going on in this book with the mystery of people disappearing, family members trying to assassinate each other, and the craziness the time traveling can have on what happens. The characters were great, Luxe is motivated by making sure her family will be okay and Jamison is like a protector, Dewey is someone you just don’t want to like his villain origin story was crazy. I also loved the secondary characters like Millie and Collette, Luxe’s cousins that she hasn’t really hung out with but is trying to reconnect with them and Trysta and Roger. This group really came together to try to right the wrongs that were happening and look for answers.

There was a lot of action in the end and it was a little dramatic but it was still so good. I loved the plot and the characters and the magic just took this book to another level. Get ready to be swept away in the magical world that is Revelle!

Filed Under: Reviews

GOING DARK By Melissa de la Cruz

February 11, 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.

GOING DARK By Melissa de la CruzGoing Dark by Melissa de la Cruz
Published by Union Square & Co. on 1/31/23
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 338
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

#WhereisAmeliaAshley

The Influencer
Amelia Ashley shares everything with her followers – her favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants, her best fashion tips, and her European trip-of-a-lifetime with her hot boyfriend.

The Boyfriend
Josh has no choice but to return home without Amelia after she abandons him in Rome. He has no clue where she went or how her blood got in his suitcase. Why won’t anyone believe him?

The Hacker
To Harper Delgado, Amelia Ashley is just another missing white girl whipping up a media frenzy. But with each digital knot she untangles about the influencer, Harper wonders: who is Amelia Ashley?

The Other Girl
Two years ago, another girl went missing, one who never made headlines or had a trending hashtag.

The Truth
Amelia’s disappearance has captured the world’s attention. What comes next? Watch this space…

Short and Sweet Review

Amelia Ashley is a popular influencer who just recently went on a vacation in Rome with her boyfriend Josh, the problem is she didn’t return to the States with him and now she’s missing. All Josh remembers is she got mad at him and left him to go by the airport by himself. Now that Josh is back without Amelia he looks like suspect number one in this missing persons case. Harper Delgado is a hacker and she’s asked by one of Amelia’s friends to look into her disappearance, but what Harper learns about Amelia is shocking and it may help solve a case about a girl who went missing two years ago.

The book starts off with Josh on an airplane back to California without Amelia. Josh is pretty optimistic that she’ll come back even though she’s not with him. Things start to get more serious when Amelia doesn’t answer any phone calls or text and because she’s pretty popular word spreads fast that she’s missing. Josh is an okay character, we see that he’s not right and he’s holding things back when he gets interviewed by the detectives, also he’s kind of stupid because he talks way more than he should. When we meet Harper she’s digging into Amelia Ashley and anything she can find about her life and where she may currently be. There are chapters where Amelia’s blog post are shown and there are transcripts of her vlogs, I liked that this was incorporated into the story because it gave us more of an insight to Amelia’s character. Things got really interesting when we learn about the girl that went missing two years ago and how Amelia Ashley is not a real person. We learn that Josh is the target of this big plan and Harper is really good at finding things that people try to keep hidden.

The plot was great and the different POVs really worked to tell this story. This book will keep you reading until the end to figure out #WhereIsAmeliaAshley.

Filed Under: Reviews

OFF THE RECORD By Camryn Garrett

February 10, 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.

OFF THE RECORD By Camryn GarrettOff the Record by Camryn Garrett
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on 5/18/21
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 307
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she's equal parts excited and scared, but also ready. She's got this.

Soon Josie is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie's world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn't know whether she's flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, the answer is clear: she's in over her head.

One woman's account leads to another and another. Josie wants to expose the man responsible, but she's reluctant to speak up, unsure if this is her story to tell. What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead, but if Josie doesn't step up, who will?

Short and Sweet Review

Josie wants to be a writer, writing is basically her identity. When Josie wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine she’s nervous and excited. Josie and her sister, Alice, set off on a multi-city tour. Josie meets celebrities, but the main focus of her article is Marius Canet an up and coming actor. But her mission for one profile ends up on the back burner after learning an actress has dealt with sexual assault at the hands of a director. More actresses start telling Josie their story, Josie knows that this is important but this story could also end the writing career that is just beginning.

Josie is our main character and she was okay, I’m sure she was written to be relatable, she’s a plus size girl, all for black inclusion, and she likes speaking out about topics that are important to her. My thing about Josie is that even though she was written to be relatable I found myself annoyed with her. Josie’s romantic interest is Marius and he’s obviously smaller than her in the weight department and he likes Josie but Josie will ruin the moment talking about how she could crush him and how he couldn’t like someone like her because she’s fat. Anyway it felt like Josie was way more interested in a relationship with Marius than writing her profile about him. Josie is also approached by an actress named Penny who tells her about a director who has sexual harassed her and others. Josie tells Penny she’ll help by writing an article to expose this director. Things start to get complicated because she believes Marius doesn’t care and the director threatens to sue. I also mentioned Alice, Josie’s sister, she’s on this trip as a chaperone and I feel that she was more level headed than Josie. Josie and Alice fought a lot and that’s normal between siblings but Josie would take everything to heart.

I could see the direction that this book was going in, and how important it is to help victims but Josie made loving this book hard. This book just didn’t meet my expectations.

Filed Under: Reviews

ALLEGEDLY By Tiffany D. Jackson

February 8, 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.

ALLEGEDLY By Tiffany D. JacksonAllegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 1/24/17
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 394
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?

Short and Sweet Review

Mary B Addison killed a baby, allegedly. No one really knows what happened that night except for Mary and her mother, Mary didn’t say much to the detectives but she did end up taking the fall for baby Alyssa’s death. Now Mary is 15 and living in a group home, she has a secret boyfriend and she’s pregnant. Because Mary is a ward of the state, when her baby is born she isn’t going to be able to keep it and Mary is determined to keep her baby even if it means finally telling the truth about what happened that night.

When we meet Mary she’s in a group home and she doesn’t really talk to anyone. The girls in that group home are crazy, Mary couldn’t really trust anyone in there especially the people running the home. We see Mary working at a nursing home and also trying to take her SAT and maybe try to go to college. When Mary finds out she’s pregnant she learns that she won’t be able to keep her baby. Mary tells one of the girls in the house what actually happened that night and they suggest Mary gets a lawyer and get her verdict reversed. Mary and her lawyer start the proceedings but things with Mary’s story start to get complicated. We also meet Mary’s mom and she isn’t all there, she’s very spacey. The more we learn about Mary and her indecision about whether she really wants to go through with this it makes us question her story.

Allegedly is such an interesting book and it keeps you reading until the very end trying to figure out what happened the night Alyssa died. There’s a lot of twist and we learn that Mary may not be the most reliable narrator. This book is crazy but I’ve learned to expect nothing less from Tiffany D. Jackson. I love her books and this one was just as good as the other books I’ve read by Jackson. This book will have you on the edge trying to figure out what happened that night and what Mary’s fate will be. Definitely recommend this book!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE GIRLS ARE NEVER GONE By Sarah Glenn Marsh

February 6, 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 GIRLS ARE NEVER GONE By Sarah Glenn MarshThe Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Published by Razorbill on 9/7/21
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Dare Chase doesn’t believe in ghosts. But as the host of Attachments, her brand-new paranormal investigation podcast, she knows to keep her doubts to herself if she wants to win over listeners.

Her first season’s subject is the Arrington Estate—a sprawling manor rumored to be haunted by the spirit of Atheleen Bell, who drowned in its lake almost thirty years ago. Dare’s more interested in investigating the suspicious circumstances of Atheleen’s death, which she thinks point to a decades-old murder, not something supernatural.

But Arrington is full of surprises. As Dare is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the estate, she’ll have to rethink the boundaries of what is possible. Because if something is lurking in the lake…it might not be willing to let her go.

Short and Sweet Review

Dare doesn’t believe in ghost but she keeps that to herself because the people who listen to her podcast don’t need to know she’s a skeptic. The focus of her first season of the podcast is about Atheleen Bell who drowned at the Arrington Estate 30 years ago. Dare is convinced the strange things that are happening on the estate are explainable, but the more she digs the more things are starting to look supernatural.

Dare is at the Arrington Estate doing an internship to remodel the estate, but she’s also there to learn information for her podcast. At the estate she meets Quinn and Holly two other girls that are also helping out. Dare learns that Quinn actually sent her a message about Arrington and wanted Dare there to learn why the supernatural things are happening. Anyway there isn’t just one ghost there’s multiple and the mystery is even deeper than any of the girls thought. I liked the book, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. Its your basic ghost story with a mystery. When I heard that Dare had a podcast, I was excited because I thought it would add more to the story but we only read what she’s putting on the podcast twice, once at the beginning of the book and one at the end. In the first half of the book we’re learning about the estate and history but in the second half is where things start to pick up with more ghost appearances and things not being where they should be. The ending was interesting and it does leave the door open for a sequel.

Overall, The Girls Are Never Gone was an intriguing story but there were some elements that just fell short of what I was expecting from a book that was pitched as The Conjuring meets Sadie.

Filed Under: Reviews

I KILLED ZOE SPANOS By Kit Frick

February 3, 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.

I KILLED ZOE SPANOS By Kit FrickI Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on 6/30/20
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 381
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

What happened to Zoe won’t stay buried…

When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year’s Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe, and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe’s life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected—and that she knows what happened to her.

Two months later, Zoe’s body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna’s confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn’t satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina’s podcast uncover the truth?

Short and Sweet Review

Anna is in the Hamptons for the summer for a nannying job. Anna wants to move on from the party girl she used to be and have a fresh new start before college. When Anna arrives in the Hamptons in the small village of Herron Mills she gets a strange reaction from the residents, mainly because she looks like Zoe Spanos, a local girl who just recently went missing. Anna believes that she and Zoe are connected somehow and starts looking into her disappearance, but two months later when Zoe’s body is found Anna is charged with manslaughter. Anna’s confession is a mess and there’s a lot of inconsistencies, the only person who believes that Anna is innocent is Martina, also a local resident of Herron Mills and she has a podcast discussing Zoe’s disappearance.

This book alternates between the past when Anna first arrives in Herron Mills and the present where we see her locked up and Martina doing the investigating. Anna for some reason feels like she knows Zoe and that was the weirdest thing for me because when we read from the present POV when she’s in jail and taking the blame for murder Zoe was already missing when she arrived in Herron Mills and Anna had no idea who she was. That was the biggest thing that threw me off because I knew that Anna didn’t do it even though she is an unreliable narrator because she has blackouts but now it was just like who in this town actually had something to do with Zoe disappearance and murder. Anyway I felt bad for Anna because she was basically coerced into giving a confession and it was just so strange because she sounded crazy. Martina on the other hand was basically rocking the boat, outsiders may have loved her podcast but people in town thought she needed to leave things alone.

This was a book that held my attention because I wanted to know where things would go especially with Anna’s weird confession and Martina’s mission to find the truth. The ending was okay, I feel like people in small town keep big secrets that are eventually going to be exposed.

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