Quincy is the lone survivor of a serial killing spree, therefore she’s a final girl. She knows two other final girls from completely different murder scenes, Lisa and Samantha. Lisa wrote a book about her experience and went on to become a psychologist to help others cope and overcome trauma. When Quincy hears that Lisa committed suicide, she has a hard time understanding or believing it. Samantha has disappeared or at least kept herself hidden from the public until she arrives to visit Quincy with concerns of her own. The lives of the three final girls become intertwined and complicated beyond what should be a logical possibility. Final Girls kept me glued to the pages and it didn’t disappoint! A mystery thriller worth every moment spent reading it, 5 stars!
Twin princesses are born. A rival ruler always kills the twin, so the second princess is hidden away. When the queen dies, the twins’ grandmother, Tabra becomes queen and her sister Meren is kidnapped by a mysterious man who might be the Shadowraith. He actually thinks Meren is Tabra, so she plays the part. He’s terrifying and has secrets that Meren is scared of but curious about. The two get to know each other better as they help one another through danger and eventually get to the Shadowraith’s home. He explains who he is and introduces himself as Reven. He’s been giving a home to the Vanished and others that are shunned from their communities, giving them jobs, safety and a place to belong. When Reven’s sanctuary is attacked, Meren creates a portal for the people to escape. All that’s left are Reven and Meren. They both end up making extreme sacrifices for the people they love. The ending leads to a sequel. 4 stars for the mystery wrapped up in this fantasy!
Mattie is about twenty and lives with her much older husband, William, in the mountains in solitude. William is abusive in all ways. He treats her like a possession, not a person, and keeps her hidden on the mountain in a cabin. She’s not allowed to leave the area around the cabin. Mattie is having flashbacks and bits of her past are returning to her as memories despite William lying to her for so long. A strange, unknown creature has shown up on the mountain near the cabin and it’s killing animals and sorting their bones and organs into distinct piles inside its cave. When Mattie and William discover the cave, he believes it’s the work of a demon and that he’s destined by God to get rid of it. Hikers are searching for new animals when William threatens them to leave his mountain. They see Mattie’s injured face and one of the hikers recognizes her from news reports. She’s unsure of what he’s talking about and William denies anything about the reports and restates that Mattie is his wife and the hikers need to leave or he will harm them. Mattie continues to recall bits of her past and when William leaves for town, the strangers approach the cabin to talk to her, filling her in on who she really is. The mystery and danger are suspenseful and Mattie has great strength despite her confusion. Horror adventure thriller worth 4 stars!
*Information on book content: language content: 23 swear words and 3 f-words mature content: PG-13, mentions wifely duties and drugs are found and mentioned a small amount violence: PG-13, bloody animal found dead, gore, abuse to main character with blood involved.
A thief, Abriella, breaks into the vault of a man who became rich from selling females into prostitution. She only steals enough to carry so he won’t notice it’s missing. On her way home, Brie (Abriella) stops at a friend’s home to pay for the contract her daughter has just signed with the rich man. She did this to get medicine for her mother. Now Brie doesn’t have enough money to pay her rent to Madam V., her greedy, horrible aunt who makes Brie and her younger sister Jas live in a basement storage room. Brie and Jas also have to slave away taking care of the house and two spoiled cousins. When Jas is sold to the Fae King, Brie travels through a portal pretending to be one of the many human women wanting to marry the Fae Prince Ronan. She meets an intriguing Fae male that keeps showing up wherever she goes but then she’s caught by the king and finds out he took Jas as bait to get Brie’s help. The king wants Brie to steal artifacts from Prince Ronan’s court. She sees Sebastian where she never thought she would and runs from him because she’s surprised and angry. Once she comes to terms with who Sebastian really is, Brie realizes that she can use it to her advantage in finding the relics and getting Jas back. She does care for Sebastian and feels guilty for using him. The intriguing Fae male is Finn and she works with his group to stop the king. They help her with the shadow magic she has. Brie feels trapped and alone throughout the story because she doesn’t know if she can trust anyone but she perseveres to get Jas safe again. I enjoyed reading this book because of Brie, the main character. She’s strong, resilient and will do anything to save her sister. The conflicting two main male characters make the story interesting, especially since they’re both vying for Brie’s attention. 5 stars for this fantasy full of conflict!
Charlie wants to leave college and go home. She hasn’t been able to focus since her dorm mate was murdered and she just needs to get away. Her boyfriend Robbie wants her to return for spring semester but he understands that she needs a change of perspective. He’s busy and can’t change his schedule to take her home so she gets a ride from Josh, someone offering a ride on the rider board. They head off for the six hour drive and Charlie can’t help but think of all the ways she’s just put herself in danger by riding with a stranger. Josh is heading to Ohio, the same direction as Charlie. At first, it’s an uncomfortable silence and then they play twenty questions and Charlie discovers something she wishes she hadn’t. Now she’s sure she’s in danger. Most of the story is from Charlie’s point of view but there are small snippets from a few other characters. I was riveted as soon as I started reading but then there was a lull when the suspense slowed down. Soon the intensity built back up. This book has unexpected turns and developments and I enjoyed reading it! 4 stars!
Hannah is excited to attend Oxford and discovers she has a rich, spoiled roommate, April. April’s antics are usually thrown on everyone except Hannah, sparing Hannah from April’s devious pranks. One night, Hannah finds April strangled and dead in their dorm room. She’s shocked and doesn’t remember what happens after she finds April. She’s the main witness in April’s murder trial and the only information she has is seeing a college porter going down the stairs by her dorm room. He’s found guilty on that little bit of evidence but insists he’s innocent until the day he dies, even though he remains imprisoned. Hannah begins to doubt that he was guilty and digs into any evidence she can find. She uncovers much more than she bargained for, putting her life and her unborn baby in danger. Love the twist of this mystery thriller and the suspense had me glued to the page, 5 stars!
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