Fiction

Chloe Cates is Missing by Mandy McHugh and Amanda McHugh

This is a very good mystery/thriller that will keep you riveted until the end. The whole story takes place in less than 24 hours, and the tension is palpable. The story is told in short chapters through four main characters’ point of view. There are plenty of unreliable narrators whose lies pile up one after another, and the author slowly dolls out twists and turns with each chapter. The ending was both satisfying and frustrating in that it leaves the ultimate conclusion to the reader’s imagination.

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January 23, 2022 1

In Every Generation by Kendare Blake

“Into every generation, there is a Chosen One. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer.”

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. HUGE. As in I own the entire series on DVD (yeah, remember those old things?) and routinely play them in the background while I’m cleaning, getting ready for the day or to go out, or when I want comfortable coziness. I love all things Buffyverse. Sooooo, when I hear of anything related to Buffy, I leap. That is what I did when I got a chance to read this book. And because I’m such a fan, I will both giddily gush with excitement, and be dramatically picky, about all new things “Buffy” in this review.

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January 20, 2022 0

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

3.5 stars

This is a pretty good mystery/thriller that is a quick and easy read. When Chloe was 12 years old six young girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. Chloe’s father was ultimately arrested for the crime and sentenced to prison. Twenty years later Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and engaged to get married.

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January 16, 2022 1

The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford

This is a really good stand-alone fantasy book. Although the book is 480 pages, it’s a quick and easy read. Told in short alternating chapters from three main character’s points of view, the story sucked me in at the start and kept a steady pace until the satisfying ending.

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January 11, 2022 0

The Starless Crown (Moon Fall #1) by James Rollins

This is the first book in a new Fantasy/SciFi series about a prophecy that a young girl born to an exiled couple will bring about an apocalypse. The Kingdom is on the brink of war with another nation. The King orders his second son to hunt down a species of bats in order to get their venom for weapons. He also orders the Prince to capture the young girl. Meanwhile, in another part of the Kingdom, a thief escapes prison along with a life sized bronze woman that has come to life. The thief’s intricate escape plan goes awry when the woman indicates she has a destiny to fulfill.

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January 8, 2022 0

Fate’s Ransom (The First Argentines #4) by Jeff Wheeler

This is the final book in an exciting, action-packed YA Fantasy series and does not disappoint. Jon-Landon has ascended to the throne and wears the hollow crown. His reign is as bad as Ransom thought it would be. The new King is petty and cruel and makes his hatred of Ransom clear to all. In fact, he goes out of his way to humiliate Ransom in an effort to get him to do something for which he can be deemed a traitor and thereby killed.

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January 2, 2022 0

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

This is a fun, fast-paced contemporary mystery/thriller set during a 10 year college reunion at Duquette University. Jessica Miller has been planning her triumphant return to college after the death of her roommate Heather during her senior year. After Heather’s death, everything Jessica had planned for her life fell apart, including her dream graduate program, the friendship with her six best friends, and her dream boyfriend.

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December 30, 2021 0

Lightning Strike (Cork O’Connor, #0) by William Kent Krueger

4.5 stars

This is a touching, well-written historical fiction mystery/thriller set in 1963 Minnesota. Twelve-year-old Cork O’Connor has a good life. He is half Native American (on his mother’s side) and half Irish (on his father’s side) and is being raised to honor both heritages. His small town of Aurora is near a reservation, and tension is high between the Native Americans and white residents that live in the area.

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December 27, 2021 0

The Geek that Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert

This was a very cute, contemporary LGTBQIA Christmas story. Gideon Holiday lives in a idyllic neighborhood that decorates their homes each year to raise funds for charity. Every house, that is, except his grumpy, hot neighbor Paul Frost. Paul wants nothing to do with bow-tie wearing Gideon or the Christmas decorations that take over the neighborhood each December.

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December 25, 2021 0