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paperbacks_and_planners's Reviews (1.24k)
2.5 stars...
Summary
This follows a woman who is obsessed with her ex-husband's new fiancé. She slowly reveals what happened in her marriage and all the dark secrets that have been hidden.
I really don't want to say much here - there isn't a ton of plot to this story and I don't want to spoil anything.
Overview
This is domestic thriller following an unreliable female character.
I personally did not find this book book suspenseful or creepy in any way. However it does touch on some pretty serious subjects. So check out the content warnings below if you're sensitive to any triggers. However! Many of them are spoilers so I recommend skipping them if you can handle most thrillers.
Content Warnings:
What I Liked
1. The twist at the halfway point was FANTASTIC. I couldn't believe how much it took me by surprise. I actually gasped out loud at the gym. Unfortunately it was the only shocking thing in this book...
2. I enjoyed the subtle insanity of the characters. Unlike a lot of other thrillers I've read recently, this book was not over the top with it's twists or character arcs. Everything about this felt realistic and plausible.
What I Didn't Like
1. This was so. dang. slow. This book dragged on for way too long. Half the time I felt like we were aimlessly following the main character as she repeated the same things over and over.
2. The final reveal(s) felt really disappointing. I was expecting another twist or something shocking... but it just ended. I wanted so much more from this.
Overall, this was quite disappointing. I was expecting a twisty, suspenseful thriller but this is more domestic fiction. I didn't get a single spooky/thrilling vibe out of this. However, I did enjoy the authors' writing style so I still plan to check out some of their other books!
Summary
This follows a woman who is obsessed with her ex-husband's new fiancé. She slowly reveals what happened in her marriage and all the dark secrets that have been hidden.
I really don't want to say much here - there isn't a ton of plot to this story and I don't want to spoil anything.
Overview
This is domestic thriller following an unreliable female character.
I personally did not find this book book suspenseful or creepy in any way. However it does touch on some pretty serious subjects. So check out the content warnings below if you're sensitive to any triggers. However! Many of them are spoilers so I recommend skipping them if you can handle most thrillers.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
Emotional & Physical Abuse, Stalking, Alcohol & Drug Abuse, Macular Degeneration, DepressionWhat I Liked
1. The twist at the halfway point was FANTASTIC. I couldn't believe how much it took me by surprise. I actually gasped out loud at the gym. Unfortunately it was the only shocking thing in this book...
2. I enjoyed the subtle insanity of the characters. Unlike a lot of other thrillers I've read recently, this book was not over the top with it's twists or character arcs. Everything about this felt realistic and plausible.
What I Didn't Like
1. This was so. dang. slow. This book dragged on for way too long. Half the time I felt like we were aimlessly following the main character as she repeated the same things over and over.
2. The final reveal(s) felt really disappointing. I was expecting another twist or something shocking... but it just ended. I wanted so much more from this.
Overall, this was quite disappointing. I was expecting a twisty, suspenseful thriller but this is more domestic fiction. I didn't get a single spooky/thrilling vibe out of this. However, I did enjoy the authors' writing style so I still plan to check out some of their other books!
I received an arc of this from the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
19 year old Ruby Grace is engaged the perfect man.
Noah works at the whiskey distillery the entire town revolves around.
When Ruby Grace goes to the distillery to buy her fiancé a barrel, she is greeted by the man she hasn't seen in 10 years. Noah sees right through her facade of designer shoes and snooty attitude. And for the first time since she got home from college, she's able to be herself.
As Noah and Ruby grow closer, Ruby Grace starts questioning if she really wants the future laid out before her.
Overview
This is an age gap, forbidden romance told in dual perspective from Ruby Grace and Noah's POV.
Just a note in case these aren't your cups of tea - there is quite a bit of grey area cheating as well as plenty of unlikeable characters.
Content Warnings: Gambling, Addiction, Death of a family member
What I Liked
1. Kandi Steiner writes some of the best angsty romance ever. I can't get over the drama she is able to build in her story without it feeling too heavy or too much. It is a true art
2. The romance in this totally had me. The chemistry between Noah and Ruby Grace was built up so well and jumped off the page. I couldn't help but root for them even when I totally disagreed with their actions. Again just a note there is grey area cheating in this book - so tread lightly if that's not something you're okay with reading about.
3. I want to join Noah's family. Ugh I fell in love with literally all of them and I'm so excited that we are getting a story from all the brothers!!
What I Didn't Like
1. Ruby Grace's family is insanely unlikeable. Which in of itself doesn't bother me, but I didn't like the they were forgiven so easily. It's mentioned right at the end that their relationship is still strained, but I don't think I could ever forgive what they had done.
2. I'm still a little unclear about the whole marriage situation. This is a spoiler for the twist so don't read this next part if you haven't read the book yet.
3. There are a lot of open plot points. I know there are like 3 more books in the series (one for each remaining brother I'm assuming). But there are a lot of open threads and I want to know now!!
Overall, I cannot wait to continue on with this series. I'm completely in love with the Becker family and need more from them asap. I don't think I could ever not love a book Kandi Steiner writes ❤❤ I devoured this and highly recommend it if you want a small town, forbidden, angsty romance!
Summary
19 year old Ruby Grace is engaged the perfect man.
Noah works at the whiskey distillery the entire town revolves around.
When Ruby Grace goes to the distillery to buy her fiancé a barrel, she is greeted by the man she hasn't seen in 10 years. Noah sees right through her facade of designer shoes and snooty attitude. And for the first time since she got home from college, she's able to be herself.
As Noah and Ruby grow closer, Ruby Grace starts questioning if she really wants the future laid out before her.
Overview
This is an age gap, forbidden romance told in dual perspective from Ruby Grace and Noah's POV.
Just a note in case these aren't your cups of tea - there is quite a bit of grey area cheating as well as plenty of unlikeable characters.
Content Warnings: Gambling, Addiction, Death of a family member
What I Liked
1. Kandi Steiner writes some of the best angsty romance ever. I can't get over the drama she is able to build in her story without it feeling too heavy or too much. It is a true art
2. The romance in this totally had me. The chemistry between Noah and Ruby Grace was built up so well and jumped off the page. I couldn't help but root for them even when I totally disagreed with their actions. Again just a note there is grey area cheating in this book - so tread lightly if that's not something you're okay with reading about.
3. I want to join Noah's family. Ugh I fell in love with literally all of them and I'm so excited that we are getting a story from all the brothers!!
What I Didn't Like
1. Ruby Grace's family is insanely unlikeable. Which in of itself doesn't bother me, but I didn't like the they were forgiven so easily. It's mentioned right at the end that their relationship is still strained, but I don't think I could ever forgive what they had done.
2. I'm still a little unclear about the whole marriage situation. This is a spoiler for the twist so don't read this next part if you haven't read the book yet.
Spoiler
Her mother said that they made a deal with Anthony when he came to ask for her hand. So did he actually love her? Like obviously he was going to propose before the deal was made... So what did his family get out of it? I'm a little unclear. Because to me, he was always going to propose and use her as his arm candy. So why take the deal? I'm a little confused.3. There are a lot of open plot points. I know there are like 3 more books in the series (one for each remaining brother I'm assuming). But there are a lot of open threads and I want to know now!!
Overall, I cannot wait to continue on with this series. I'm completely in love with the Becker family and need more from them asap. I don't think I could ever not love a book Kandi Steiner writes ❤❤ I devoured this and highly recommend it if you want a small town, forbidden, angsty romance!
I received an arc of this from Minotaur Books via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
1.5 stars... this is going to be a quick one because unfortunately I don't have much to say about this...
Summary
Alice is an interior designer and business owner. She has 2 daughters, Sophie and Olivia, and a husband, Nathan. Nathan helps run the financial side of Alice's business.
Beth is Alice' best friend. When Beth shares that she intends to track down the father of her child, the secret turns Alice's life upside down.
Overview
This is told in 3 parts: Present day from Alices POV (first person), 9 years in the past from Beth's POV (first person), and Present day omniscient third person.
Content warnings: Depression, abandonment, death of a spouse
What I Liked
1. Honestly there wasn't much of anything I LIKED about this book. It was fine. It didn't do anything offensive or outrageous. But I can't say I enjoyed my time reading at all.
What I Didn't Like
1. I didn't particularly like the change to third person in the last part of the book. After 200ish pages of first person pov, it was really jarring.
2. This moved so dang slowly. I was 3/4 of the way through the book and it felt like the only thing happening was Alice accusing her husband(s) of cheating. It felt so repetitive and drawn out and honestly I was bored to the point of skim reading.
3. The big reveal was so fast, kind of confusing, and underwhelming. It didn't help that the foreshadowing and hints were not well concealed so I had a pretty good idea of what the twist was going to be by the time we got there.
Overall this was not for me.
1.5 stars... this is going to be a quick one because unfortunately I don't have much to say about this...
Summary
Alice is an interior designer and business owner. She has 2 daughters, Sophie and Olivia, and a husband, Nathan. Nathan helps run the financial side of Alice's business.
Beth is Alice' best friend. When Beth shares that she intends to track down the father of her child, the secret turns Alice's life upside down.
Overview
This is told in 3 parts: Present day from Alices POV (first person), 9 years in the past from Beth's POV (first person), and Present day omniscient third person.
Content warnings: Depression, abandonment, death of a spouse
What I Liked
1. Honestly there wasn't much of anything I LIKED about this book. It was fine. It didn't do anything offensive or outrageous. But I can't say I enjoyed my time reading at all.
What I Didn't Like
1. I didn't particularly like the change to third person in the last part of the book. After 200ish pages of first person pov, it was really jarring.
2. This moved so dang slowly. I was 3/4 of the way through the book and it felt like the only thing happening was Alice accusing her husband(s) of cheating. It felt so repetitive and drawn out and honestly I was bored to the point of skim reading.
3. The big reveal was so fast, kind of confusing, and underwhelming. It didn't help that the foreshadowing and hints were not well concealed so I had a pretty good idea of what the twist was going to be by the time we got there.
Overall this was not for me.
3.5 stars!
It's been over a month since I finished this, so the details are a little blurry. So this review will be a little shorter/different than normal.
Synopsis
This follows Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson right conclusion of book 1, in England for the holidays. When Charlotte's uncle goes missing, the 2 of them head to Germany to find him. They uncover an art forgery scheme and quickly get pulled into diabolical plots.
Review
Overall, I really enjoy this series! I absolutely love the relationship Charlotte and Jamie. The will-they-won't-they angst is everything I've ever wanted.
However the mystery plot in this one left something to be desired. It felt kind of convoluted and hard to follow at times. And I didn't fine the conclusion satisfying at all.
The ending of this though! How could Brittany Cavallaro leave me like that?! I'm really excited to pick up book 3 and see where this series goes!
It's been over a month since I finished this, so the details are a little blurry. So this review will be a little shorter/different than normal.
Synopsis
This follows Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson right conclusion of book 1, in England for the holidays. When Charlotte's uncle goes missing, the 2 of them head to Germany to find him. They uncover an art forgery scheme and quickly get pulled into diabolical plots.
Review
Overall, I really enjoy this series! I absolutely love the relationship Charlotte and Jamie. The will-they-won't-they angst is everything I've ever wanted.
However the mystery plot in this one left something to be desired. It felt kind of convoluted and hard to follow at times. And I didn't fine the conclusion satisfying at all.
The ending of this though! How could Brittany Cavallaro leave me like that?! I'm really excited to pick up book 3 and see where this series goes!
Summary
Dean has been in love with Rosie since high school. The only problem: he dated her sister.
Rosie doesn't want love or a relationship. She is sick and knows that her time is limited.
They are pushed together for a long weekend back home and they rely on each other to make it through. Back in New York, they're falling for each other. But Rosie knows that it may not last forever...
Overview
Like book 1, this is told from dual POV's - Rosie and Dean.
This is definitely a series you need to read in order - there are continuing story lines and characters from previous books that are addressed.
Content Warnings: Chronic illness, talk of death, child abandonment, alcohol and drug addiction/abuse
What I Liked
1. I can't speak to it's accuracy, but I really appreciated the chronicle illness (Cystic Fibrosis) rep in this. I feel like it's not something that is often explored especially in romance and I really appreciated that L.J. Shen tackled that.
2. L.J. Shen is the queen of angst. And oh man it was given in droves with this book. There is so much stacked against these characters and everyone is beyond flawed. I can't get enough.
3. So. Much. Steam. (Although see section below) These series brings with the sexy scenes. Just know that this series plays with the line of bully/bad boy romance.
4. I absolutely loved Dean's character. In fact I might like him more than Vicious. Dean is definitely less bully-ish than Vicious which I appreciated (although he has PLENTY of his own flaws to make up for it). But his redemption arc just felt more natural and you could tell right away how much he loved Rosie.
What I Didn't Like
1. The number 1 reason I didn't rate this higher is there is a sex scene in this that made me feel so. dang. uncomfortable. I just couldn't get behind this one.
Overall, this is another romance series I'm obsessed with. Definitely continuing with book 3 as soon as I can!
Dean has been in love with Rosie since high school. The only problem: he dated her sister.
Rosie doesn't want love or a relationship. She is sick and knows that her time is limited.
They are pushed together for a long weekend back home and they rely on each other to make it through. Back in New York, they're falling for each other. But Rosie knows that it may not last forever...
Overview
Like book 1, this is told from dual POV's - Rosie and Dean.
This is definitely a series you need to read in order - there are continuing story lines and characters from previous books that are addressed.
Content Warnings: Chronic illness, talk of death, child abandonment, alcohol and drug addiction/abuse
What I Liked
1. I can't speak to it's accuracy, but I really appreciated the chronicle illness (Cystic Fibrosis) rep in this. I feel like it's not something that is often explored especially in romance and I really appreciated that L.J. Shen tackled that.
2. L.J. Shen is the queen of angst. And oh man it was given in droves with this book. There is so much stacked against these characters and everyone is beyond flawed. I can't get enough.
3. So. Much. Steam. (Although see section below) These series brings with the sexy scenes. Just know that this series plays with the line of bully/bad boy romance.
4. I absolutely loved Dean's character. In fact I might like him more than Vicious. Dean is definitely less bully-ish than Vicious which I appreciated (although he has PLENTY of his own flaws to make up for it). But his redemption arc just felt more natural and you could tell right away how much he loved Rosie.
What I Didn't Like
1. The number 1 reason I didn't rate this higher is there is a sex scene in this that made me feel so. dang. uncomfortable. I just couldn't get behind this one.
Overall, this is another romance series I'm obsessed with. Definitely continuing with book 3 as soon as I can!
I received an arc of this from Bloomsbury via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Summary
Maegan is known as "the cheater" since she was caught cheating on the SAT, causing her and 100 other student's tests to be thrown out. And to add to the household tension, her sister has just come home from college pregnant.
Rob was always the big guy on campus. But after his dad was turned in for stealing money from his clients, he's become a social outcast. At home, Rob is also responsible for taking care of his comatose father who lived after attempting to take his own life.
The two are teamed up for a math project and realize they've both been looking for someone to talk to. As they grow close, they try to make amends for all the dark secrets they're hiding.
Overview
This book is told in dual perspective from the POV of Maegan and Rob. This book is packed to the brim with lots of difficult topics (taking care of a comatose parent, familial & school pressures, and loads more). So definitely make sure you're in a head space to handle a heavy book before going into this one.
Content Warnings: Embezzlement, Attempted Suicide, Cheating (school), Bullying, Teen Pregnancy, Abuse, PTSD (never directly stated)
What I Liked
1. Mr. London. He was hands down my favorite character in this book (and the only one who didn't drive me up a wall).
2. I thought the relationship between Rob and Maegan was well written and realistic. I appreciated that they supported each other when they had no one else to rely on.
3. The sisterly bond between Sam and Maegan was really well written. They bickered and didn't always see eye to eye, but they always had each other's best interest at heart. It felt like such a realistic portrayal of siblings. And I definitely wanted to slow clap when Maegan stood up to the professor.
What I Didn't Like
1. My number one grip with this book was the sheer over-the-top dramatics. Like there was never a single moment of relief throughout this. It was just terrible choice after terrible choice. And to make it even worse it wasn't just the teens being train wrecks - it was every adult too. But the end I was so exhausted and frustrated. It just felt like way too much. The reader is dragged in so many directions and into so many problems that I personally never connected or cared about any of them. Because there was always another disastrous thing happening. I needed this to focus on one big thing rather than taking on: teen pregnancy, embezzlement, child abuse, bullying, cheating, familial pressures, poverty, attempted suicide, etc. It was all just too much.
2. I HATED that her pregnant sister gets drunk at high school party and then it is never discussed again. Like everything's cool. Not okay.
This was overall just not for me. This book was heavy, but not in a way that I enjoyed. I can definitely appreciate that there were important topics discussed in this - and if these are something you're interested in reading about, this may work for you! But overall I felt like this book took on too much.
Summary
Maegan is known as "the cheater" since she was caught cheating on the SAT, causing her and 100 other student's tests to be thrown out. And to add to the household tension, her sister has just come home from college pregnant.
Rob was always the big guy on campus. But after his dad was turned in for stealing money from his clients, he's become a social outcast. At home, Rob is also responsible for taking care of his comatose father who lived after attempting to take his own life.
The two are teamed up for a math project and realize they've both been looking for someone to talk to. As they grow close, they try to make amends for all the dark secrets they're hiding.
Overview
This book is told in dual perspective from the POV of Maegan and Rob. This book is packed to the brim with lots of difficult topics (taking care of a comatose parent, familial & school pressures, and loads more). So definitely make sure you're in a head space to handle a heavy book before going into this one.
Spoiler
Content Warnings: Embezzlement, Attempted Suicide, Cheating (school), Bullying, Teen Pregnancy, Abuse, PTSD (never directly stated)
What I Liked
1. Mr. London. He was hands down my favorite character in this book (and the only one who didn't drive me up a wall).
2. I thought the relationship between Rob and Maegan was well written and realistic. I appreciated that they supported each other when they had no one else to rely on.
3. The sisterly bond between Sam and Maegan was really well written. They bickered and didn't always see eye to eye, but they always had each other's best interest at heart. It felt like such a realistic portrayal of siblings. And I definitely wanted to slow clap when Maegan stood up to the professor.
What I Didn't Like
1. My number one grip with this book was the sheer over-the-top dramatics. Like there was never a single moment of relief throughout this. It was just terrible choice after terrible choice. And to make it even worse it wasn't just the teens being train wrecks - it was every adult too. But the end I was so exhausted and frustrated. It just felt like way too much. The reader is dragged in so many directions and into so many problems that I personally never connected or cared about any of them. Because there was always another disastrous thing happening. I needed this to focus on one big thing rather than taking on: teen pregnancy, embezzlement, child abuse, bullying, cheating, familial pressures, poverty, attempted suicide, etc. It was all just too much.
2. I HATED that her pregnant sister gets drunk at high school party and then it is never discussed again. Like everything's cool. Not okay.
This was overall just not for me. This book was heavy, but not in a way that I enjoyed. I can definitely appreciate that there were important topics discussed in this - and if these are something you're interested in reading about, this may work for you! But overall I felt like this book took on too much.
3.5 stars!
Summary
Millie has been dreaming of going to school in Scotland for the last year. She decides not to go for her best friend turned sort-of-girlfriend. But when Millie catches her kissing someone else, she immediately applies for scholarships.
Millie is given a full scholarship and flies off to Scotland for her last full year of high school. The prestigious boarding school is known for educating Scotland's rich and royal - including the royal family themselves.
Not only is Millie out of place as the only American but her new roommate is Princess Flora - the princess of Scotland.
Flora wants nothing to do with the school, or Millie. But despite all her attempts to leave, Flora is there to stay.
Overview
This a really sweet, enemies to lovers, F/F romance told from Millie's POV.
Content Warnings: Cheating
What I Liked
1. Millie was such an amazing main character. She was independent and not afraid to put herself out there. I really appreciated her steadfastness in herself - especially as a teenager. While she wasn't completely out, this wasn't a story of her "becoming comfortable with herself". She knew who she was and went after what she wanted. I love a smart, self-sufficient, and witty female main character.
2. I still love the royal family. They are insanely dysfunctional and I can't get enough. I really hope we get Seb's story soon!!
3. The school was wonderful. Boarding school is one of my favorite settings to read and paired with the Scotland backdrop, this setting was perfect.
4. Saks and Perry are everything. They were such amazing best friends and their little romance at the end just tied everything up perfectly. They were my favorite side characters in this book, hands down.
What I Didn't Like
1. The switch from hate to love was a little quick for my taste. They wanted nothing to do with each other before the Challenge, then suddenly opened up to each other. While I understood, I personally prefer more build up in my enemies to lovers trope.
2. While the big romantic gesture was really cute, it felt abrupt. I totally understood why Millie felt betrayed, but her decision to look past and the make-up-scene was so sudden. The entire conflict wrapped up in about 10 pages and I personally needed more. I don't think I could have flipped a switch the same way Millie did so I had a hard buying into their reconciliation 100%.
Overall this was everything I wanted from this story. It was cute, sweet, and had amazing characters. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!
Summary
Millie has been dreaming of going to school in Scotland for the last year. She decides not to go for her best friend turned sort-of-girlfriend. But when Millie catches her kissing someone else, she immediately applies for scholarships.
Millie is given a full scholarship and flies off to Scotland for her last full year of high school. The prestigious boarding school is known for educating Scotland's rich and royal - including the royal family themselves.
Not only is Millie out of place as the only American but her new roommate is Princess Flora - the princess of Scotland.
Flora wants nothing to do with the school, or Millie. But despite all her attempts to leave, Flora is there to stay.
Overview
This a really sweet, enemies to lovers, F/F romance told from Millie's POV.
Content Warnings: Cheating
What I Liked
1. Millie was such an amazing main character. She was independent and not afraid to put herself out there. I really appreciated her steadfastness in herself - especially as a teenager. While she wasn't completely out, this wasn't a story of her "becoming comfortable with herself". She knew who she was and went after what she wanted. I love a smart, self-sufficient, and witty female main character.
2. I still love the royal family. They are insanely dysfunctional and I can't get enough. I really hope we get Seb's story soon!!
3. The school was wonderful. Boarding school is one of my favorite settings to read and paired with the Scotland backdrop, this setting was perfect.
4. Saks and Perry are everything. They were such amazing best friends and their little romance at the end just tied everything up perfectly. They were my favorite side characters in this book, hands down.
What I Didn't Like
1. The switch from hate to love was a little quick for my taste. They wanted nothing to do with each other before the Challenge, then suddenly opened up to each other. While I understood, I personally prefer more build up in my enemies to lovers trope.
2. While the big romantic gesture was really cute, it felt abrupt. I totally understood why Millie felt betrayed, but her decision to look past and the make-up-scene was so sudden. The entire conflict wrapped up in about 10 pages and I personally needed more. I don't think I could have flipped a switch the same way Millie did so I had a hard buying into their reconciliation 100%.
Overall this was everything I wanted from this story. It was cute, sweet, and had amazing characters. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!
ARC provided by Rebellion via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
This follows Gary, an astronaut who is lost, wandering The Crypts - an alien artifact located just beyond Pluto. As Gary wanders in the dark, he talks to himself, relaying everything that has happened to get him to where he is.
Overview
This is a short, 140ish page novel, told in an internal monologue format - Gary tells his story to the reader as if they were there.
This is high science fiction! The aliens, science, setting, are nothing similar to Earth or humans. Which can make picturing the creatures or scene a little tricky. This is definitely not a sci-fi beginner book.
What I Liked
1. I NEEDED to know what was going on! This opens up and you have no idea how Gary got here, what the Crypts are, or anything. And I was completely sucked in by all the open questions.
2. Both the setting and aliens were so unique and descriptive. Nothing was humanoid which I really appreciated. The Crypts were so creepy and atmospheric.
3. I loved the bits of humor that were thrown in. This story overall is bleak and depressing, so the bits of humor gave it a perfect balance.
4. I really liked the style of the story telling. I thought it was a really unique style choice to have the main character talking to the reader as an internal monologue. And it worked perfectly considering the characters mental state. It was just such a perfect choice.
5. The twist ending. Oh man, so good.
What I Didn't Like
1. For about 3/4 of this book I kept questioning if this story had a point. It was very meandering and slow (it took me 4 days to read 140 pages). And with all the heavy description for world and alien creatures, I felt a little bogged down.
Overall, this is one of the strangest stories I've ever read (in a good way!). And it has a really great sci-fi twist! If you're a science fiction reader, I definitely recommend checking this out!
Summary
This follows Gary, an astronaut who is lost, wandering The Crypts - an alien artifact located just beyond Pluto. As Gary wanders in the dark, he talks to himself, relaying everything that has happened to get him to where he is.
Overview
This is a short, 140ish page novel, told in an internal monologue format - Gary tells his story to the reader as if they were there.
This is high science fiction! The aliens, science, setting, are nothing similar to Earth or humans. Which can make picturing the creatures or scene a little tricky. This is definitely not a sci-fi beginner book.
What I Liked
1. I NEEDED to know what was going on! This opens up and you have no idea how Gary got here, what the Crypts are, or anything. And I was completely sucked in by all the open questions.
2. Both the setting and aliens were so unique and descriptive. Nothing was humanoid which I really appreciated. The Crypts were so creepy and atmospheric.
3. I loved the bits of humor that were thrown in. This story overall is bleak and depressing, so the bits of humor gave it a perfect balance.
4. I really liked the style of the story telling. I thought it was a really unique style choice to have the main character talking to the reader as an internal monologue. And it worked perfectly considering the characters mental state. It was just such a perfect choice.
5. The twist ending. Oh man, so good.
What I Didn't Like
1. For about 3/4 of this book I kept questioning if this story had a point. It was very meandering and slow (it took me 4 days to read 140 pages). And with all the heavy description for world and alien creatures, I felt a little bogged down.
Overall, this is one of the strangest stories I've ever read (in a good way!). And it has a really great sci-fi twist! If you're a science fiction reader, I definitely recommend checking this out!
I received an arc of this from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
The Loman's own Little Port, Maine. The small, seaside town survives on the influx of tourists every summer. And the Loman's own all the rentals.
This follows our main character Avery who is in a downward spiral after losing her entire family. Avery meets Sadie Loman and is brought into the family. Years later, she is managing all the rental properties and living in their guest house. Then Sadie dies and her death is ruled a suicide after they police find a note in the garbage.
A year later, mysterious things are happening all over the Loman properties. And Avery starts unearthing secrets that lead her to believe there was more to Sadie's death.
Overview
This is told in alternating timelines - the present and flashbacks to the night of the Plus One Party the year before.
This book is pretty dark. There is lots of talk about self harm, depressive thoughts, sudden death, neglect, etc.
Content Warnings: Suicide, Death, Depression, Self Harm
What I Liked
1. This book was insanely atmospheric - and the setting was one of my favorite things about the story. The town itself almost felt like it's own character with the way it was described as "claiming" people.
2. I loved the dynamic between the tourists and locals. I've never seen this dynamic explored before and found it really fascinating. There was so much built in tension and it just added to the mysterious, dark tone of the book.
3. Working off my first too points - this book was suspenseful. Megan Miranda built so much tension and mystery into this without it feeling forced or outwardly trying to be scary. Which this book definitely wasn't. But the suspenseful feeling of this entire story felt so natural and gripping.
4. I suspected everyone!
What I Didn't Like
1. This started to feel a little long and drawn out right around the halfway point. I felt like things were being rehashed a few too many times.
2. I didn't really care about any of the characters. We got lots of back story but I never connected with anyone... I'm honestly not sure what was missing there for me.
Overall this was a solid thriller. The twist wasn't anything mind-blowing but it was a good, suspenseful mystery/thriller. If you are new to the genre and want a good kicking-off point, I'd highly recommend this!!
Summary
The Loman's own Little Port, Maine. The small, seaside town survives on the influx of tourists every summer. And the Loman's own all the rentals.
This follows our main character Avery who is in a downward spiral after losing her entire family. Avery meets Sadie Loman and is brought into the family. Years later, she is managing all the rental properties and living in their guest house. Then Sadie dies and her death is ruled a suicide after they police find a note in the garbage.
A year later, mysterious things are happening all over the Loman properties. And Avery starts unearthing secrets that lead her to believe there was more to Sadie's death.
Overview
This is told in alternating timelines - the present and flashbacks to the night of the Plus One Party the year before.
This book is pretty dark. There is lots of talk about self harm, depressive thoughts, sudden death, neglect, etc.
Content Warnings: Suicide, Death, Depression, Self Harm
What I Liked
1. This book was insanely atmospheric - and the setting was one of my favorite things about the story. The town itself almost felt like it's own character with the way it was described as "claiming" people.
2. I loved the dynamic between the tourists and locals. I've never seen this dynamic explored before and found it really fascinating. There was so much built in tension and it just added to the mysterious, dark tone of the book.
3. Working off my first too points - this book was suspenseful. Megan Miranda built so much tension and mystery into this without it feeling forced or outwardly trying to be scary. Which this book definitely wasn't. But the suspenseful feeling of this entire story felt so natural and gripping.
4. I suspected everyone!
What I Didn't Like
1. This started to feel a little long and drawn out right around the halfway point. I felt like things were being rehashed a few too many times.
2. I didn't really care about any of the characters. We got lots of back story but I never connected with anyone... I'm honestly not sure what was missing there for me.
Overall this was a solid thriller. The twist wasn't anything mind-blowing but it was a good, suspenseful mystery/thriller. If you are new to the genre and want a good kicking-off point, I'd highly recommend this!!