Tag Archives: fiction

Book Title:
Starter Villain
Book Author:
John Scalzi
Page Count:
264
Publishing Date:
September 19th, 2023
Publisher:
Tor Books
Date Read:
October 7th, 2023
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

My Review

Okay, so…this isn’t usually the kind of book I would read. The cover drew me in, and the synopsis capture me with three words. Talking. Spy. Cats. Yes, talking spy cats. With a book that boasts having talking freaking spy … Continue reading

5 stars
1 Comment
Book Title:
Adelaide
Book Author:
Genevieve Wheeler
Page Count:
304
Publishing Date:
April 18th, 2023
Publisher:
St. Martin's Press
Date Read:
June 1st, 2023
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

In love . . .

For twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Williams, an American living in dreamy London, meeting Rory Hughes was like a lightning bolt out of the blue: this charming Englishman was The One she wasn’t even looking for.

Is it enough?

Does he respond to texts? Honor his commitments? Make advance plans? Sometimes, rarely, and no, not at all. But when he shines his light on her, the world makes sense, and Adelaide is convinced that, in his heart, he’s fallen just as deeply as she has. Then, when Rory is rocked by an unexpected tragedy, Adelaide does everything in her power to hold him together―even if it means losing herself in the process. When love asks too much of us, how do we find the strength to put ourselves first?

With unflinching honesty and heart, this relatable debut from a fresh new voice explores grief and mental health while capturing the timeless nature of what it’s like to be young and in love―with your friends, with your city, and with a person who cannot, will not, love you back.

My Review

I am a strong believer in giving a book an honest, decent chance. This, of course, includes books that you wouldn’t normally pick up for yourself without the urging of others. I got Adelaide after a lot of initial hesitation. … Continue reading

4 stars
2 Comments
Book Title:
A Sincere Warning About the Entity in Your Home
Book Author:
Jarson Arnopp
Page Count:
63
Publishing Date:
October 18th, 2012
Publisher:
Retribution Books
Date Read:
May 25th, 2022
Format:
Kindle Edition
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

A NEW CONCEPT IN FEAR...

Imagine a supernatural horror story in which the paranormal activity happens within YOUR home.

A SINCERE WARNING ABOUT THE ENTITY IN YOUR HOME takes the form of an anonymous letter sent to YOUR address. It details the terrifying events which happened in your home and which continue to this day.

You have inherited a curse and are being preyed upon by a bone-chilling apparition. This 10,000-word letter from the previous resident advises you how to cope, while detailing the unthinkable ordeal they suffered before you.

A SINCERE WARNING ABOUT THE ENTITY IN YOUR HOME is the ultimate way to scare yourself in your own home, because it's the only ghost story which takes place IN your home. Dare you read it?

My Review

What originally drew me into this book was the whole premise about it being a letter written by an anonymous author to you, the reader, talking about paranormal events that have happened in the home that you are currently residing … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
The Cement Garden
Book Author:
Ian McEwan
Page Count:
153
Publishing Date:
January 13th, 1994
Publisher:
Anchor
Date Read:
May 17th, 2022
Format:
Paperback
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

First Father died, then Mother. Now the four children are left alone in a house that looks like a castle stranded among grim high-rises. Free of supervision, free of restraint, they can do anything. Be anything. As long as they keep the house's secret.

In this tour de force of psychological unease, Ian McEwan excavates the ruins of childhood and uncovers things that most adults have spent a lifetime forgetting - or denying. Out of blasphemous wishes and hair-raising games, he constructs a novel that is all the more chilling for its offhand approach to the unspeakable.

My Review

There is…a lot to unpack with The Cement Garden. First of all, it’s my ideal book – incredibly dark and unsettling – a thriller that you won’t soon forget. It’s hard to find a thriller that truly unnerves me and … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
The Blackstone Chronicles
Book Author:
John Saul
Book Series:
The Blackstone Chronicles, #1-6
Page Count:
542
Publishing Date:
February 10th, 1998
Publisher:
Ballantine Books
Date Read:
March 8th, 2022
Format:
Paperback
Source:
Borrowed

Synopsis

Now, for the first time, the New York Times bestselling serial thriller is complete in one terrifying volume. John Saul, the master of supernatural suspense, John Saul, brings to chilling life the small New England town of Blackstone--and the secrets and sins that lay buried there. . . .

From atop Blackstone's highest hill, the old Asylum casts its shadow over the village. Built in the 1890s to house the insane, the Asylum has stood vacant for decades. But now, the wrecker's ball is about to strike--and unleash an ominous evil. Strange gifts begin to appear on the doorsteps of Blackstone's finest citizens.

Each bears a mysterious history.

Each brings a horrifying power to harm.

Each reveals another thread in the suspensefully woven web of . . .

THE BLACKSTONE CHRONICLES

Part I--An Eye for an Eye: The Doll

Part II--Twist of Fate: The Locket

Part III--Ashes to Ashes: The Dragon's Flame

Part IV--In the Shadow of Evil: The Handkerchief

Part V--Day of Reckoning: The Stereoscope

Part VI--Asylum

My Review

Until recently, I didn’t even know that this series came together in one book. My mom bought the series as it was released, one each month, back in 1997. So I have the original books, which apparently aren’t in print … Continue reading

5 stars
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Book Title:
Malorie
Book Author:
Josh Malerman
Book Series:
Bird Box, #2
Page Count:
301
Publishing Date:
July 21st, 2020
Publisher:
Del Rey
Date Read:
October 4th, 2020
Format:
Kindle Edition
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

Twelve years after Malorie and her children rowed up the river to safety, a blindfold is still the only thing that stands between sanity and madness. One glimpse of the creatures that stalk the world will drive a person to unspeakable violence.

There remains no explanation. No solution.

All Malorie can do is survive—and impart her fierce will to do so on her children. Don’t get lazy, she tells them. Don’t take off your blindfold. AND DON’T LOOK.

But then comes what feels like impossible news. And with it, the first time Malorie has allowed herself to hope.

Someone very dear to her, someone she believed dead, may be alive.

Malorie has already lost so much: her sister, a house full of people who meant everything, and any chance at an ordinary life. But getting her life back means returning to a world full of unknowable horrors—and risking the lives of her children again.

Because the creatures are not the only thing Malorie fears: There are the people who claim to have caught and experimented on the creatures. Murmerings of monstrous inventions and dangerous new ideas. And rumors that the creatures themselves have changed into something even more frightening.

Malorie has a harrowing choice to make: to live by the rules of survival that have served her so well, or to venture into the darkness and reach for hope once more.

My Review

In the aftermath of a world shattered by unseen horrors, a lone figure stands firm: Malorie. Twelve years since she led her children blindfolded to safety, the fragile line between sanity and chaos endures, bound by the fabric of a … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
The Party
Book Author:
Robyn Harding
Page Count:
352
Publishing Date:
June 6th, 2017
Publisher:
Gallery/Scout Press
Date Read:
January 18th, 2020
Format:
Paperback
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

In this stunning and provocative domestic drama about a sweet sixteen birthday party that goes horribly awry, a wealthy family in San Francisco finds their picture-perfect life unraveling, their darkest secrets revealed, and their friends turned to enemies.

One invitation. A lifetime of regrets.

Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming of age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah—a sweet girl with good grades and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?

But things do go wrong, horrifically so. After a tragic accident occurs, Jeff and Kim’s flawless life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to come apart. In the ugly aftermath, friends become enemies, dark secrets are revealed in the Sanders’ marriage, and the truth about their perfect daughter, Hannah, is exposed.

Harkening to Herman Koch’s The Dinner, Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap, and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, The Party takes us behind the façade of the picture-perfect family, exposing the lies, betrayals, and moral lapses that neighbors don’t see—and the secrets that children and parents keep from themselves and each other.

My Review

The Party was one of those books that I wanted to read for ages, but have pretty much forgotten about it over and over again. I’d see it in the store, or online as a recommended book, but I never … Continue reading

4.5 stars
2 Comments
Book Title:
When the Lights Go Out
Book Author:
Mary Kubica
Page Count:
332
Publishing Date:
September 4th 2018
Publisher:
Park Row
Date Read:
January 13th, 2020
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Library

Synopsis

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica.

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

My Review

…What did I just read? I’m absolutely baffled by this book, blown away by the huge twist at the end. I don’t mean it in a bad way, either – I’m just so…wow. Just when I think thrillers can no … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
Watching You
Book Author:
Lisa Jewell
Page Count:
320
Publishing Date:
December 26th, 2018
Publisher:
Atria Books
Date Read:
February 2nd, 2020
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Library

Synopsis

Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you.

As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.

One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam…

My Review

I’ve been reading a lot of Lisa Jewell books lately – it all started when I chose The Family Upstairs as my Book of the Month, and I’ve been excitedly going through her books, because I loved that one so … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
I Invited Her In
Book Author:
Adele Parks
Page Count:
432
Publishing Date:
February 15th, 2019
Publisher:
MIRA
Date Read:
October 10th, 2019
Format:
Kindle Edition
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse.

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her oldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she had buried forever. Their friendship belonged in the past. To those carefree days at university.

But Abi is in trouble and needs Mel’s help, and she wants a place to stay. Just for a few days, while she sorts things out. It’s the least Mel can do.

After all, friends look out for each other, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy, and revenge from Sunday Times best-seller Adele Parks.

My Review

I don’t read a lot of books that aren’t young adult, but when I come across one that sounds amazing, I can’t not pick it up. That was the case for me with I Invited Her In by Adele Parks. … Continue reading

4 stars
1 Comment