mystery – Author Gail Marie

Book Review – Bone Music (Burning Girl 1) by Christopher Rice

Checked out with kindle unlimited, June 2023. This was billed as a thriller, but I think that set me up for failure with this story. As my first book by Christopher Rice, I was excited to delve into a world of serial killers but that’s not what we got. The pace was snail slow, but I kept plodding along hoping that the ending would make up for it. It didn’t. I felt for the female MC, Charolette, since she had a traumatic past, but I didn’t really connect with her as a person. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters except for Marty. There was an attempt at a small romantic arc between Charolette and our male MC, Luke, but it felt more like an afterthought than part of the plot. I was also disappointed that Charolette’s super strength came from a drug manufactured by a drug company. Many of these aspects could have been handled a lot better but fell flat. I won’t be reading book 2. (2/5 rating)

GoodReads

Book Review – What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead is Kingfisher’s retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic “The Fall of the House of Usher.” I’m continually amazed at how much Kingfisher can pack into her smaller word count stories. The last horror I read from her left me more unnerved than scared but this one hit the mark with utmost precision. I relished everything about this book. The sticky atmosphere and cloying Usher House left me with goose bumps at several points. I loved the narrator, Alex Easton, and retired soldier. It was interesting to watch his no-nonsense demeanor be completely rewritten between these pages as he encounters various aspects up the unknown. I feel like this was a great tribute to Poe without trying to become him. Since trying House of Hunger last year, I have discovered I enjoy gothic storylines and added many to my TBR last year. I recommend this to anyone on the fence about giving it a try. (4/5 rating)

Book Review – Girl of Nightmares (Anna 2) by Kendare Blake

In the series finale, our protagonist, ghost hunter Cas Lowood, is trying to move on after Anna Dressed in Blood sacrificed herself for him. After Anna begins to show up in his nightmares and haunting him by day, he realizes something is very wrong with Anna’s disappearance into hell. He will stop at nothing to find a way to save her. Cas continued to be an enigmatic character and quickly became one of my favorite characters. I was grateful Anna got some semblance of a happy ending. The atmosphere continued to be suspenseful and f I felt like the pace was quicker this time. I really loved the different types of witch magic and how the voodoo was portrayed. The ending was chaos but it’s fitting for this Halloween read of mine for them to have to go to hell. (4/5 rating)

Book Review – Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game 1) by Amanda Foody

Checked out with my kindle unlimited membership to try this high fantasy tale by Amanda Foody. Enne Salta is forced to follow clues of her mother to the city of New Reynes after she goes missing. Raised a lady, Enne is not prepared for the debauchery that coats her new location. Her mother’s note connects her with Levi Glaisyer as a possible ally but what she finds is the kids here surviving on the street. Together they set out to find her mother, even though Levi suspects she’s already dead. I liked this world and the plot. The pacing is swift, and her characters were well developed. Foody created good suspense between the ending of this book and the foreshadowing for the next book. This was a good book so I’m not sure why I feel like something was missing and I’m not sure I’m going to read the next one. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Blitz (The Storm Dragons Mate 1) by M. Sinclair

I discovered this author last year and enjoyed her hell trilogy. This series had me excited with dragon shifters attending a paranormal academy for various other species: Dark Imaginarium Academy. After the most prestigious dragon shifter clan takes her in off the street, Bexley is a shifter and raised within the Bronzeheart estate. Bexley doesn’t expect to get into the Academy since she has never shifted, but her invitation arrives allowing her to join her childhood friend, Gage, at school.

**Spoiler Alert**

I love the Academy and the world Sinclair has built around it. I was a bit frustrated at Bexley at times, but I wanted to know what she shifted into, so I kept reading. I’m also invested in the aspect of who stole her memories and why. Gage was overbearing at times but overall, I liked Bexley’s mates. The pacing felt a bit slow at times, or maybe I was simply impatient to fill in the holes around Bexley. I’ll be continuing this series as well as Sinclair’s other series for Dark Imaginarium Academy. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Heart of Malice (Alice Worth 1) by Lisa Edmonds

As my first by Lisa Edmonds, this urban fantasy world was set with betrayal, murder, and exposed dark secrets. Alice fakes her own death to escape her abusive and murderous family. Under a new name and face, she works as a magical private investigator. She manages to keep a little profile until hired to retrieve a powerful magical artifact that will could bring the city to its knees. I liked what Edmonds achieves with this gritty mage society and Alice’s attempt to save her world. I liked her characters, and the werewolf gets my favorite vote. Though, I think her writing style fell a bit flat for me since I felt like something was missing. I’m torn on whether I should read book 2 and give this series another try… (3/5 rating)

Book Review – NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

This will be my first by Joe Hill and the spirit up Halloween seemed like the best time to dust this off my TBR. Now that I’ve read it, it appears I should have saved this for Christmas time. Charles Manx is our resident bad boy and spends his time luring children into his version of Christmasland. Within Christmasland, Charles transforms the children into his terrifying version of the perfect child. The only child to ever escape his clutches is Victoria McQueen. After she is grown, Charles comes looking for Vic, one final time. Even though this was almost 1000 pages, the pace of the plot moved at a gruesome pace. The plot covered decades between characters and places but that didn’t detract from the story either. It was great to watch Vic and Charles battle to the end. I didn’t expect the sad and clever ending, but it did fit. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

This story covers Mouse as she removes the belongings from her deceased grandmother’s house. The remaining clutter points to a terrifying cult that reside in the surrounding woods of North Carolina. Mouse doesn’t believe it’s true until she meets them herself. Kingfisher struck again with this one. I loved Mouse and her dedication to her dog, Bongo. She set the stage with a desperate and intense atmosphere and the plot build up to the ending was everything a horror book aspires to become. If you’re on the edge about reading this, I recommend you try this. (4/5 rating)

Book Review – The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

This was my first book by Caitlin Starling and September was the perfect time to remove it from my TBR. Our female MC, Gyre Price, is an amateur climber who lies about her abilities to obtain a climbing contract that could help her escape her planet. When she arrives, it’s to determine that all the help she assumed she’d have is boiled down to one person, Em. Em keeps an eye on her from the surface, but little things about her story don’t add up as they descend. I have climbing experience and Starling did excellent research into all the needed pieces to accurately describe the caving experience. She also enveloped us in a complex world of cave details like flooding and poisonous vegetation. I liked the interplay between Em and Gyre as they accomplish Em’s goal. The ending was a surprise, but I felt like the story could have been a bit shorter with the same result, though that is just my opinion. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna 1) by Kendare Blake

This was my first story by Kendare Blake. Cas Lowood is our right enchanting male MC. The blood in his veins allows him to hunt and kill ghosts that learn a penchant for killing. He has considered himself in training since his father passed away on his last ghost hunt. He travels with his witch mother and irreplaceable Siamese cat. When his path converges into a ghost called Anna Dressed in Blood, he meets more than his match for a typical ghost hunt. This has been on my TBR for a few years, so I am grateful, that I finally got to reading it. I felt for Cas and his mother on their attempt to find a new normal after such loss. Anna was a clever hook that quickly enveloped me. The pacing was slightly slow to set the second half of the book, but this was still a strong story. Blake created a host of in-depth characters within this Canadian high school and the ending was perfection. On to book 2. (4/5 rating)