Review: Sadie

Author: Courtney Summers. 

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, New Adult. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

I think the cover might be just a tad bit misleading. Like, I didn't realize it was a mystery thriller until I read the synopsis. Though I don't think that's a bad thing, it's just different. The cover looks more like that of a YA book than that of a mystery thriller. 

Sadie was...wow. 

The parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were the ones from Sadie's point of view. They were much more engaging than the counterpart. 

Though I can't exactly complain because the other parts are narrated in the form of a podcast series and they're supposed to be distant and unconnected. 

The storyline itself was pretty exciting, full of tense, suspenseful moments. 

Sadie's character was flawed and unique, and though the end irked me a bit, I know it was the best possible ending. 

All in all, Sadie was a quick, intense read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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Review: The Affair

Author: Sheryl Browne 

Genre: Psychological Thriller.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫♥️

You trusted her. You shouldn’t have.

Alicia’s been telling lies. And now they’ve come back to haunt her.

When an old colleague turns up at a party, Alicia comes face to face with the man who has the potential to ruin her perfect family life. He wouldn’t, would he?

In order to keep her secrets, Alicia has to tell yet more lies and when a devastating car accident makes the situation even more dangerous, it’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart. Can secrets really stay hidden forever?

The cover is the perfect thriller cover, with just enough suspense to make you want to pick it up and want to know what it's about. I especially love the blue colour!

Spoiler Alert: This book might make you cry. 

I know, I know. It's a psychological thriller. Psychological thrillers aren't supposed to make you cry. They're supposed to chill you, scare you, but not to make you cry. 

The story begins with the death of a 6 month old baby. And the way Sheryl Browne wrote the chapters following his death, as his family coped with it? They'll definitely make you cry. 

Once you're done crying and all, the thriller aspects start cropping up, and the story just gets better and better. 

With Alicia trying to keep a secret and Julian trying to protect his daughter, and blaming himself for his son's death, The Affair was a rollercoaster of emotions. 

My favourite character has got to be Julian, because damn it if I can find a real person who's that good, inside and out. He was so unbelievably amazing that it left me in awe of him. He's the kind of dad every girl deserves. You know how they say that every girl's super hero is her dad? Well, Julian is that super hero. 

Okay, I'll stop now. But you should go on and click that link below and buy this book this instant, because you need to read it!

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Review: When The Lights Go Out

Author: Mary Kubica. 

Genre: Psychological Thriller. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫

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?

The cover is colorful and intriguing. I really like it.

This is the first Mary Kubica Book I read, and I don't know if I'll be reading any of her other works. 

The storyline was pretty intriguing, and I read it till the end, but only because I wanted to know what exactly happened. Whether Jessica Sloane was Eden's daughter or not. And that one question is what kept me reading. 

I hate stories that drag too much. I love books with ample action, where things just keep happening. Well, this book was way too slow for me. Way too slow. 

I was actually starting to like the book, and then the book took a sudden twist and I was left fumbling in exasperation. 

So yeah, it was psychological enough, but it lacked a lot in the "thriller" aspects. 

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Review: Proof Of Lies

Author: Dianna R. Wallach.

Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Mystery. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Some secrets are best kept hidden…

Anastasia Phoenix has always been the odd girl out, whether moving from city to international city with her scientist parents or being the black belt who speaks four languages.

And most definitely as the orphan whose sister is missing, presumed dead.

She’s the only one who believes Keira is still alive, and when new evidence surfaces, Anastasia sets out to follow the trail—and lands in the middle of a massive conspiracy. Now she isn’t sure who she can trust. At her side is Marcus, the bad boy with a sexy accent who’s as secretive as she is. He may have followed her to Rome to help, but something about him seems too good to be true.

Nothing is as it appears, and when everything she’s ever known is revealed to be a lie, Anastasia has to believe in one impossibility.

She will find her sister.

I love the cover! It's so gorgeous and perfectly suits the story. I love the blue colours too!

Proof of Lies was an engaging, suspenseful read. The fact that it was a YA Suspense made it all the more fun for me!

I loved all the mystery about Anastasia's parents, but I hated the fact that it wasn't revealed in this book. I really hope it is in the sequel!

As for the characters, Anastasia was a really relatable character. The way her feelings for her sister switched because of the circumstances totally made sense. She wasn't a devout, neither did she hate her sister. Marcus was a sweet character too, and kinda seemed too good to be true. 

The storyline was flawless, and I loved all the sleuthing Anastasia and Markus did together. 

Overall, Proof of Lies was an engaging and fun read!

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Review: Mister Tender's Girl

Author: Carter Wilson. 

Genre: Psychological Thriller. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍬

How far are you willing to go for Mister Tender?

At fourteen, Alice Hill was viciously attacked by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn’t exist. His sinister character is pop-culture fiction, created by Alice’s own father in a series of popular graphic novels.

Over a decade later, Alice has changed her name and is trying to heal. But someone is watching her. They know more about Alice than any stranger could: her scars, her fears, and the secrets she keeps locked away. She can try to escape her past, but Mister Tender is never far behind. He will come with a smile that seduces, and a dark whisper in her ear…

Inspired by a true story, this gripping thriller plunges you into a world of haunting memories and unseen threats, leaving you guessing until the harrowing end.

The cover is simple, yet has an air of mystery to it. It's definitely different than the typical mystery covers, and that may be the reason why I didn't realize it was a thriller until I started reading. 

Right from the beginning, Mister Tender's Girl pulled me into its story. There wasn't a dull moment in the book. 

Alice's story was disturbing. The way a character created by her dad led to such tragic events in her life chilled me. 

The story itself was one big mess. In an interesting way, of course. I couldn't stop reading, and yet, I didn't want to know what happens next. Told you, it was a mess. 

And that is exactly why I loved it. I love psychological thrillers that mess with your head. The kind of books that make you wonder about things you'd never think about on your own. 

All in all, Mister Tender's Girl was a chilling, goosebumps-raising read that will leave you paranoid and make you wonder whether you want to hug the book or throw it away. 

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Review: Deadly Recall

Author: T.R. Ragan. 

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫♥️

PI Jessie Cole is about to discover that there’s no revenge too wicked as New York Times bestselling author T.R. Ragan’s gripping series continues.

When you search for the missing, there’s no telling what you’ll find. PI Jessie Cole learned that painful truth firsthand when her sister disappeared. Now a new case will test Jessie and Ben once again.

Owen Shepard, the public face of one of the country’s biggest health insurance companies, has become the target of a vengeful father. The man blames Shepard for his child’s death and plans to make the CEO know what it’s like to live with a broken heart—and watch others die. After killing two employees, the desperate father kidnaps Shepard’s daughter. Tasked with finding her, Jessie and crime reporter Ben Morrison are running out of time to save her.

Meanwhile, Ben is still seeking insight into the man he used to be before a car crash erased his memories. And each discovery is leading Jessie and him down a frightening road. What they find could scar both of them forever.

I should stop reviewing thriller covers because I always request them only when I like the cover. But for this one, I requested because I'd read and loved the book one in the PI Jessie Cole Series. 

Deadly Recall was as thrilling as the first book in the series, Her Last Day. 

I'd been waiting for this book to appear on the NetGalley shelf, because I so wanted to know what happens to Jessie and Ben after the events of Her Last Day. 

And Deadly Recall did not disappoint me at all. It was fast-paced, thrilling and just my kind of read. 

I loved that there were multiple cases to solve, and how there was just no time to pause. I loved all the action. 

And the characters, wow. I loved Zee with her eccentricity and her determination to make it work, to rise above her schizophrenia and be what she wants to be: a private investigator, just like Jessie. I loved Ben's character because there was so much conflict there. A car accident 12 years ago had left him with retrograde amnesia, but had it also changed who he was? 

All in all, Deadly Recall is a definite must-read for all the mystery/thriller lovers out there!

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Review: Ouroboros

Author: Genevieve I. Eldredge.

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Romance.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Blurb: 

All introverted geek girl Syl Skye wants is to get close to her girlfriend. But when you can kill with a simple touch, a normal date night’s not really in the cards.

As it happens, Syl is also a sleeper-princess of the fair Fae. Last year after a freak accident, her power Awakened, granting her white flame to purify the darkness.

Rouen Rivoche is that darkness—a dark Fae princess whose power to bewitch mortals is as terrifying as the violet lightning she controls. Rouen is Syl’s total opposite. Her mortal enemy.

She’s also Syl’s beloved girlfriend.

And even though they joined forces to defeat the evil Circuit Fae who harnessed the killing magic in technology to take over the school…that was so last year.

Now, Syl’s touch could mean Rouen’s death. Her increasing power is spiraling out of control, threatening to burn down everything she and Rouen have built together.

Their lives, their love, their very world.

Cover Review:

The cover of Ouroboros is as gorgeous as the other two books in the series. 

Book Review: 

Ouroboros is the second book in the Circuit Fae series and it's just as awesome as book one. Maybe even more.

I love how much Syl's character has developed over the two books. She's turned into a warrior, from an introvert, geekish girl. 

And contrastingly, Euphoria, or Rouen, has turned from the unbending, dark warrior into a sweet, beautiful soul. 

Add them both, a bit of love, and a whole lot of fantasy filled adventure, and you have Ouroboros. 

The story kept me hooked till the very last page, the thrill and suspense being perfect. There was just the right amount of sweetness and sarcasm to make the narration perfect. 

All in all, Ouroboros was a fun filled, fantastical roller coaster ride, and I'm super excited for the book three! 

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You can read my review of the previous two books in the series here:

Book 1: Moribund ($0.99 only!)

Book 1.5: Derailed.

Review: Avalon

Author: Vanessa Morgan.

Genre: True Story, Pets (I'm calling it a genre!)

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫♥️

Blurb:

Some cats need nine lives to make a difference. Avalon only needed one.

From Amazon bestselling author Vanessa Morgan, Avalon is the heartwarming and once-in-a-lifetime love story of a girl and her neurotic Turkish Van cat.

With humor, the author details how Avalon made other creatures cringe in distress whenever he was around, how he threw her dates out by means of special techniques, and how he rendered it almost impossible for her to leave the house. Avalon was so incorrigible that even her landlord ordered her to get rid of him. But beneath Avalon's demonic boisterousness, Vanessa recognized her own flaws and insecurities, and she understood that abandoning Avalon would be the worst she could do to him. Thanks to her unswerving loyalty, Avalon transformed into a tender feline, and even landed a major role in a horror movie. In turn, Avalon made it his mission to be there for his human companion.

Avalon is a memoir for anyone who has ever been obsessively in love with a pet.

Cover Review:

Do I even have to say how cute the cover is? I guess you also already know why I requested this book on NetGalley even though I had a ton of books waiting to be read!

Book Review:

Avalon is a memoir of author Vanessa's soulmate and companion, her cat, who died in 2013. 

The author recounts how Avalon had stopped before their car, looked at her as if he knew her, and claimed her as his own. 

The story describes Avalon's love for the author and his possessiveness too. The bond the two of them shared warmed my heart, and made me cuddle my cat even more. 

Avalon's story starts off with a bad turn—abuse as a kitten—but then he finds Vanessa and his world changes. Vanessa, who'd been dealing with her own insecurities, welcomes him with an open heart. 

Even through the text, you can see just how much a part of each other they are, and it'd definitely not be wrong to call them soulmates. 

Avalon is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful soul, from an equally awesome person. 

My Chatter:

Oh my God. What can I even say? 

This book was beautiful. All the while I was reading it, from the point where the author breaks up with her boyfriend and moves into a different place with her cat, Avalon, up until the end, I kept thinking, This is what my life will look like, a few years from now. Me and Harry-Chan living together. Me writing my book while she kept me company. 

I felt like I was the author, and as the book ended, I cried just as hard when Avalon died. I'm pretty sure I haven't cried that much at most of the character deaths I've read. This one was way beyond any of those. 

Maybe it was because I was thinking of myself and Harry when I read it that I cried so much, knowing that there'd come a time when I'll have to go through that too, or maybe it was because how heartbreaking it was for the author to see her soulmate go. 

If you're a pet person, you should definitely read this beautiful book. Definitely.

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Review: The New Girl

Author: Ingrid Alexandra. 

Genre: Psychological Thriller.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Blurb:

You’ve only just met.
But she already knows you so well.
When Rachel moves into the spare room in Mary’s flat, everyone is quick to jump to the conclusion that there’s something strange about her. Everyone apart from Mary.

And when Rachel starts sleepwalking, everyone’s fears grow. But there’s something about the new girl that Mary can’t help but trust, and having recently escaped a toxic relationship, she needs the support.

Rachel becomes a friend and an ally, and Mary soon discovers that they have more in common than she ever could have imagined.

In fact, Rachel seems to know more about Mary than she knows about herself…

Cover Review:

To be honest, I do don't judge thrillers by their covers, because they're almost always pretty simple and bland. I'm a psychological thriller addict, so when I read this book's description, I had to have it, no questions asked. 

Book Review:

The New Girl was a chilling read, and I'd expected a lot from it. A lot. 

The start was pretty awesome, it built up just enough suspense to bring me to the edge of my seat, but then things started spiraling downwards. 

It was pretty clear just after a few chapters—to me, atleast—what was going on. The truth about who Sophie was, was pretty much told when Cat gets worried about Mary seeing the letter that arrived for Sophie. 

On the other hand, the suspense about what happened on The Night and what Mark was going to do, kept me reading. And the end might have been a tad anticlimactic. 

To be honest, the ending seemed a bit overused to me. I've seen this 'good person kills bad person and gets away with it' ending in a lot of psychological thrillers recently, and it's becoming a cliché now. 

The New Girl was an exciting read, but not as original as I expected it to be. 

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Review: Girls' Night Out

Authors: Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. 

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Women's Fiction.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Blurb:

For estranged friends Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren, it’s time to heal the old wounds between them. Where better to repair those severed ties than on a girls’ getaway to the beautiful paradise of Tulum, Mexico? But even after they’re reunited, no one is being completely honest about the past or the secrets they’re hiding. When Ashley disappears on their girls’ night out, Natalie and Lauren have to try to piece together their hazy memories to figure out what could have happened to her, while also reconciling their feelings of guilt over their last moments together.

Was Ashley with the man she’d met only days before? Did she pack up and leave? Was she kidnapped? Or worse—could Natalie or Lauren have snapped under the weight of her own lies?

As the clock ticks, hour by hour, Natalie and Lauren’s search rushes headlong into growing suspicion and dread. Maybe their secrets run deeper and more dangerous than one of them is willing—or too afraid—to admit.

Cover Review:

The cover is mesmerising and mysterious. If I hadn't already been waiting for this book, the cover would've definitely made me pick it up! 

Book Review:

Girls' Night Out, quite like The Good Widow was a mind boggling read. The ending was absolutely baffling, and it left me on the edge. 

Girls'Night Out is the story of three best friends, who've had issues for the past one year. Contrary to the 'besties' label, there's a lot of bad blood among them. Their issues come to light as the story moves forward. 

The story begins with Ashley's disappearance and Natalie's lost memory. Natalie was the last one to see Ashley, and now she couldn't remember anything. Was that a coincidence? Or was she lying?

Add a con man who'd been trapping Ashley and you have a suspense packed thriller!

There were a lot of elements in the story, and a lot of suspects too. I spent all the while switching from one person to another, convinced that they'd killed Ashley. Well, as expected, the ending proved me totally wrong! 

Girls'Night Out was so full of suspense and thrill that I just couldn't put it down until I finished it. Liz & Lisa did a phenomenal job once again, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it! 

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Review: Past Imperfect

Author: Carrie Pack.

Genre: Adventure, Romance, LGBT.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Blurb: 

Now on the run from the corporation that turned him into a lab experiment, Miles finds himself in a fight for his life as he unravels the complicated relationships he shares with ex-boyfriend Adam, whom he still loves, and wife Ana, whose allegiance he cannot trust.

Meanwhile, nineteen-year-old Bethany Carter is on the run from her past and present. Having escaped the same institution that trapped Miles, she must find a way to safely manage the schizophrenia that triggers her time travel while navigating unpredictable bouts of paranoia.

As Miles and Bethany’s lives become more intertwined, Dr. Branagan, the man who made their lives a living hell at Longleaf Retreat, will stop at nothing to continue his research, even if it means destroying his subjects in the process.

Cover Review:

The cover is just as beautiful as the one of the previous book. If anything, the blue-purple theme looks even more beautiful! 

Book Review:

Adam and Miles continue to be an awesome pair of characters, but Bethany stole my heart once again. Her no bullshit attitude gets me every time!

I'd been so eager to read this one after I read it's prequel. The wait for NetGalley's approval had been a difficult one. I don't know what I'd have done if they had declined my request!

Past Imperfect had more adventure, more content and more everything! It swept me away right from the beginning and I didn't rest until I reached the end—except for those times when my mom wouldn't let me go!

The one character that developed massively was Ana. From hating her in the last book, I came to kinda liking her. She developed a lot in the span of one book, and I definitely prefer this version of her. 

Past Imperfect was the perfect ending to the duology. Everything was wrapped up nicely, and everyone who deserves a happy ending got one. 

Past Imperfect did not let me down in the slightest, and I'm so glad I got a chance to read it! 

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Review: The Chosen Ones

Author: Carol Wyer. 

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Blurb: 

They had not been forgiven. And they would never be forgotten …. 

When a doting young father is murdered and his body discovered in a cornfield for his family to see, it’s a harrowing new case for Detective Robyn Carter. But just as Robyn starts to investigate, a popular local doctor and young mother, is found dead outside her surgery.

As Robyn tries to find the link between the victims, she uncovers a dark web of secrets. Were these much-loved members of the community as innocent as they seemed?

The killer has a message for Robyn and the carefully chosen victims. Can Robyn get to the truth before she becomes the next target?

Cover Review: 

The cover is a typical mystery novel cover creating enough suspense to make it interesting. 

Book Review:

The Chosen Ones is the fifth installment in the DI Carter series, and I want to read the earlier books now. I love it when a mystery novel also focuses on the detective and not just the mystery to be solved. 

DI Carter is a strong and efficient detective and she doesn't let her personal life affect her work. I loved watching her solve this mystery! 

The mystery itself was pretty well thought out. The little snippets of the serial killer's past made me even more invested into the story and the ending threw me off even more because of it. 

The characters were well crafted, the story was engaging and I'm glad I read it! Oh, and there were two pets too, and that deserves plus points! 

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Review: In The Present Tense

Author: Carrie Pack.

Genre: LGBT, Adventure, Romance. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫

Blurb:

Miles Lawson goes to sleep dreaming of a future with his boyfriend Adam, but wakes to find he is married to Ana, an acquaintance from high school. When he learns he has been time traveling, Miles is consumed with finding a cure for his rare condition—and finding his first love.

Traveling more frequently, Miles assembles the puzzle pieces of his life and, in doing so, alienates his wife. As he loses control, Miles must realize that sometimes fixing your past mistakes means changing your future. But will he be able to convince Adam he is telling the truth before it’s too late?

Cover Review:

The cover is colorful and eye-catching. Definitely my type of cover. I loved it. 

Book Review:

The first thing I did after finishing this book was look for it's sequel. I found out that it releases in August, so I rushed to NetGalley and requested it. I seriously don't know how I'll live if my request is declined. 

This book is perfection. There's time travel, there's messy romance, there's YA and there's a whole lot of suspense. I mean, what's not to like? 

Despite their many flaws, Miles and Adam are such beautiful crafted characters. They're real. So is Bethany. 

I felt so many emotions while reading this book. I laughed, I cried, I felt afraid for them and I got angry. Damn did I get angry!

The character I hated the most though, was Ana. She wasn't supposed to be the villain in the story, but she's the one who I ended up hating the most. You'll know why when you read it. 

All in all, In The Present Tense was a beautiful, mesmerising page-turner that left me wanting for more. 

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