Truly, Darkly, Deeply review

Today’s review was a book that took serial killer to a different level. Instead of concentrating on the killer… Truly, Madly, Deeply took the perceptive from the killer’s family.

Sophie was a young girl when her Mom’s boyfriend came into her life. He was everything she wanted as a father. While they grew as a family women were brutally murdered. Then one day Matty was arrested and Sophie’s world changed.

Now as an adult Sophie received a letter from prison…he wants to speak with her because he’s dying. This could be the chance to put things to rest. Told in Sophie’s perspective from the past and present, we follow her doubt if Matty is truly guilty. And we get know her mother Amelia-Rose from when they move from Massachusetts to London and having a serial killer as a boyfriend.

I have to say this was different from most murder/crime books I’ve read. It’s slow, maybe going from the past and present, and there are a few hints given throughout the the book that makes it known that all isn’t what is seems. The pace wasn’t as fast as I liked but it didn’t stop me from finishing this book. I did find Sophie’s obsession with Matty a little annoying and the build up to the end was very slow. You already know that Matty did something… it was just the wait to find out that was frustrating.

The ending did feel neatly wrapped up and there were a few surprises causing some twists and turns that left me satisfied with the book. It wasn’t as suspenseful as most murder/crime books but that’s ok! As I said before this has a different set up to that type genre and I actually liked that. I was engaged and wanted to know what happened. And sometimes reading a slower pace gets you to thinking about the story and where it’s going. There were some things I wasn’t surprised about but the ending was a bit of a shock. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

Should you read it? Yes, a different type of serial killer book with a twisted ending.

Finally Forever Review

Sebastian and Ainsley are back! This sexy mafia romance is the final book in the Forever Series and it doesn’t disappoint!

I was happy to return to Ainsley and Sebastians world as they are in protective custody from Sebastians horrid mafia Father. But an old injury causes Sebastian to lose his memory of ever meeting Ainsley! He’s not even the same caring Sebastian we know and love. I can’t tell you the emotions I felt reading this book and my heart went out to Ainsley. Her struggles were my struggles as I wanted to yell at Sebastian to snap out of it.

Tara did a wonderful job at bringing the reader back into Ainsley and Sebastian’s world. It was an emotional rollercoaster as we watched Ainsley try and get the man she loved back. I couldn’t put the book down with all the twists Tara threw at us. I had to finish it. And man there were surprises in store with returning characters that added so much more depth and emotions to this book.

The story flowed and the pace was quick that I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I felt Ainsley’s emotions of lost and heartache. I felt Sebastian’s confusion and fear. But most importantly the sex scenes were vivid and hot! Tara knows how to write hot sexy characters that any reader can connect with. This was the perfect ending to a wonderful series. I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters but Tara wrapped this series up with a nice bow and I’m deeply satisfied with the way everything turned out.

Should you read the book? Yes! A perfect wrap up to a wonderful series that will leave you satisfied and keep these wonderful characters with you always.

Order the book here!

Wrath Review

It’s been a while since I did a review. Moving back to Arizona, getting a new job, and buying a house was a lot of work. But i’m happy to be home and happy to start reading again! Todays review is a creeptastic read about a very smart rat who is out for revenge.

Wrath is about Sammy the lab rat who was genetically altered with human DNA…he simply became very intelligent. And with the help of a little boy he escapes to cause chaos in New York city. There was a reminiscence of the movie Willard with revenge and the movie/book of Rats of Nimh with the genetically altered rats.

This book was about experiments and animal suffering, which unfortunately happens for medicine and beauty products. I do believe scientist do have the best interest at heart but sometimes their greed for power and the unattainable overshadows everything else they set out to accomplish. Noah and Sienna fell under that line. Messing with nature could have consequences.

I found the science behind the book understandable and most likely the authors did their research. It was very interesting on the lengths Noah and Sienna would o to obtain the perfect animal experiment. It was very disheartening and sad but then the rat killing human revenge scenes were horrifically good! Reminded me of Stephen Kings Graveyard Shift and Willard. Rats are viscous when need be. Especially when they gather together as one.

The book was vivid, especially the brutal death scenes by the rats. It gave me the heebie-jeebies thinking of how one could die from them! The plot flowed and the pace was quick. I turned each page with dread and anticipation. I loved Sammy and Dallas interaction. You could tell they cared for each other but ultimaltey Sammy had an agenda. I did like the different point of views from the characters. It was good to read about the human perspective, not just the rat’s. The ending had me worried but it was wrapped up neatly like a present with a bow. It left me thinking about the book for days and wondering what real science experiments are going on.

Should you read it? Yes! A thrilling horrific science fiction read that will keep you up at night of all the possibilities of animal revenge.

Blood Like Magic Review

Today’s book is a very magical enticing read! Let’s take a look at Blood Like Magic!

After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees—and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.

Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy—and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc—how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?

With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything.

Order the book here!

Note: Each Review I will link a Black Owned Independent Bookstore for you to order from. Let’s support our small bookstores!

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Tawney’s Review:

This was a great YA Urban Fantasy/Sci-fi book. The diverse characters and family dynamic were strong. The setting refreshing, as it took place in a futuristic Toronto. Yay Canada! I really enjoyed reading Blood Like Magic. ,

Voya is a descendant of powerful Black witches and waits for the Calling so she can inherent her magic. Of course things don’t go smoothly with impossible tasks and terrible consequences arise. This was a unique story with family at the heart of it. I loved how Voya would always fight for her family, even if the situation was difficult her family came first.

Liselle Sambury did a wonderful job at bringing her characters to life and keeping the futuristic magical world around them realistic. Each character had depth and you couldn’t help but fall in love and connected with them. The pace flowed with conflict and mystery, which had me turning each page with anticpation.

Should you read this book? Yes! A captivating read with wonderful characters that make you yearn for the second book immediately! Thankfully it’s a series so we can follow Voya and her companions again soon.

Made In Korea Review

This month is national Asian Pacific American Heritage month so I decided to honor that by reading books by Asian authors. I love own voice authors, and this was a perfect month to find new favs. Today let’s take a look at Made in Korea.

There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris. 

Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover… 

What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor. 

Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.

But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.

Order the book here!

Tawney’s Review:

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Fire Keeper’s Daughter Review

Not only is this one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen but it’s a fantastic own voice story. A book that is on my favorite 2021 reads. Let’s take a look at Firekeeper’s Daughter.

Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.

Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.

Now, as the deceptions―and deaths―keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

Order the book from The Lit Bar

Note: Each Review I will link a Black Owned Independent Bookstore for you to order from. Let’s support our small bookstores!

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What Big Teeth Review

Today’s review is a creeptastic read that I couldn’t put down.

Let’s take a look at What Big Teeth!

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Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.

Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together―in order to save them all, Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.

Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce gothic fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.

Order the book here: Harriett’s Bookshop

Note: Each Review I will link a Black Owned Independent Bookstore for you to order from. Let’s support our small bookstores!

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Tawney’s Review: I found myself intrigued by this gory mystery of a book. Eleanor returns home from being at boarding school for 8 years to a family full of strangers. She returns with questions; why was she sent away and why is she treated like a stranger?

Eleanor’s family has secrets. Grandma Persephone is a witch, Grandpa Miklos, Luma and Rhys are wolves, and her mother mostly stays in the bathtub full of tentacles. Of course bizarre occurrences start to happen due to having a monstrous family. Eleanor fears them but also wants to belong with them, so this twisted conflict is quite captivating. Which make all the more for a good read.

Szabo did a wonderful job at writing a haunting story. The gothic setting wasn’t dreary but spooky and added a tone of dread. It also brought intrigue and mystery to the book. Add in monsters and ghosts and it brings a great cast of characters. The family dynamic is dysfunctional given the members are very different in their peculiar ways. We come to understand them as Eleanor grows familiar with her family herself. The biggest mystery is her cousin Arthur. He is the heir apparent to the family and seems to serve their every needs. There are subtle clues with twist and turns towards answers but the reveal at the end was satisfying.

Should you read it? Yes! With a haunting mystery and secrets lucking in every dark corner of this monstrous family it makes for a fantastic read.

I’m back! The Night Swim Review

I’m back! It’s been a while since I reviewed or posted anything. A lot has happened, especially at the beginning of this year.

I’ve been looking for a job since moving to Nashville last year and it’s been pretty much intense during this pandemic. That was why I took some time off reviewing. But I have been keeping myself busy by writing and reading.

My first review this year is on The Night Swim. I have read a lot of books in the last few months but this book has stuck with me. I devoured it once I started reading and couldn’t put it down until I finished. Let’s take a look at The Night Swim.

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In The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the “gripping and unforgettable” (Harlan Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name―and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation―but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases―and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Order the book here: Estelita’s Library

Note: Each Review I will link a Black Owned Independent Bookstore for you to order from. Let’s support our small bookstores!

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Tawney’s Review:

I’ve always been into true crime, weather it’s podcast, books, documentaries or my favorite series Dateline and Forensic Files. That may be why I got a bachelor’s degree in Justice Studies and went on to work for the court system.

Rachel Krall is a successful true-crime podcaster with Guilty or Not. She is an investigative report who knows how to research, as her podcast last two season overturned a conviction and solved a cold case. She puts her listeners in the jury seat so they can decided if the person is guilty or not.

Now Rachel finds herself following a trial of Scott Blair, a North Carolina resident charged with raping a sixteen year old. Just like real life, the town is divided on who to believe. Scott is a swimming champion and very much liked. His wealthy parents have hired a top attorney to fight the charges as Scott, as a good chance to go to the Olympics. The victim is unable to speak up for herself as the court ordered her silence. She has been put in anonymity but everyone in town knows who she is. She is being bullied with defamatory language on social media. But when Rachel receives a note from a woman named Hannah, a new case emerges. Hannah’s sister drowned 25 years ago and she wants Rachel’s help in solving it. Hannah believes her sister was murdered.

The point of view flips from Rachel, as she investigates these cases, and to Hannah, as she describes her sister Jenny’s life. The back and forth point of views was very interesting and kept me engaged as both characters revealed new clues and suspects.

This was a very good psychological thriller. Golden did a fabulous job at placing the reader in each scene, whether it was in the courtroom or investigating witnesses. There were also transcripts from Rachel’s podcast that made for an interesting addition to the story. The victims’ stories are so relevant with what is happening in the world today regarding rape. The twists and turns made for an intense read. The dual mysteries combined to a fantastically shocking ending.

Should your read this? Yes! A psychological thriller with fantastic twists and turns.

The Vanishing Half Review

“People thought that being one of a kind made you special. No, it just made you lonely. What was special was belonging with someone else.” Britt Bennett the Vanishing Half.

As a twin this sentence resonates with me.

 

Today’s book is a must read!

Today’s book is a fantastic read with wonderful writing and characters in a heartbreaking story about twins and their lives taking different paths. Let’s take a look at The Vanishing Half.

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The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise.

Order here!

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Tawney’s Review:

This book was a wonderful read that explored race, identity, family and sisterhood. Identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella were born in a town of light skinned Black people, where the lighter skin you are the better. The twins runaway to live very different lives. Desiree lives as Black marrying an extremely dark skinned man and Stella lives as white in a privilege life with her white husband. As years pass Desiree returns home with her very dark daughter Jude, while Stella lives her life with her very blonde daughter Kennedy. The story is told third person following the lives of each woman and her daughter through a multi-generational story. It was a very intriguing story that entrapped me until the very end.

As a twin I found it hard that Desiree and Stella would leave each other and live their separate lives. I couldn’t imagine living without my twin…however, twins are their own person, with different personalities, and desires. Sometimes a traumatized childhood could shatter things like Desiree and Stella’s had witnessing their father be lynched by white men. I found their split fascinating because Bennett did a wonderful job at making it real and believable. But the loss of the twins connection to each other broke me.

The characters were relatable and vivid. Not only were Desiree and Stella wonderfully developed but the supporting characters were excellent as well. Jude, Kennedy, Early and Reese had their own engaging stories with prejudice and identity issues. This book was beautifully written with each chapter raw and real. The book is also a great learning experience educating the reader on understanding issues that Bennett weaves into the book such as race, class, privilege and identity.

This book is so relevant for what is going on with our world today that I HIGHLY recommend reading The Vanishing Half.

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About the Author:

Brit Bennett

Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction. In 2014, she received the Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and her debut novel The Mothers was a New York Times bestseller. Her second novel The Vanishing Half was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Her essays have been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Jezebel.

Follow her on: Twitter * Instagram * Facebook

Twin Book Review: Final Girls

During this pandemic we have found ourselves a bit lazy and depressed. Not blogging or writing. But we have been reading. There is something comforting in reading books.

Psychological thrillers are our favorite reads right now. There’s something twisted and dark about murder and coming along for the ride to solve it. This was Kristen’s recommended book and we devoured it. Let’s take a look at Final Girls.

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Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls: Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit; and Sam, the second Final Girl, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

Order here

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Tawney’s Review: Final Girls is a saying in a Horror movie, where the last girl is standing, the survivor, after all the massacre and death is the Final Girl. That is what Quincy is, a Final Girl, the only one to survive her friends’ murders at Pine Cottage. She joins two other Final Girls, Sam who fought for her life against the Sack Man and Lisa who lost nine sorority sisters to a murderer. Together they are trying to live normal lives…until Lisa is murdered.

The book started slow at first. Of course the setup has to happen and the pieces slowly come together. However, once Lisa dies and Sam comes into the picture things pick up to the point I couldn’t put the book down.

Should you read it? Yes! A twisty psychological thriller with a surprise ending.

     

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Kristen’s review:

This is definitely a book for slasher fans and lovers of B-rated horror movies. It was a dark psychological thriller with several plot twists.

I did enjoy the book, though it was a slow burn.  I almost put it in my DFR pile but the ending made up for the slow pace. Riley Sager is a talented writer and knows how to throw a few misdirection towards his readers. He added the B-rated corny, eye rolling comedy mixed in with the suspenseful ride. I would definitely like to see this made into a movie. I’m looking forward to his new book Home Before Dark, which is out now!

1/2

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