Another excellent supernatural mystery by Simone St. James!
April and Eddie drive to their honeymoon destination but are waylaid when they find a young woman walking down the road. They offer her a ride and then discover she’s been stabbed so they rush her to the hospital. Little do they know, they’re opening a door to the evil that’s the cause of the disappearances over the past 20 years.
Multiple mysteries within!
18yo Tru doesn’t know what she wants for her future, not even whether or not she wants to leave her hometown of Mount Orange, Florida. She feels stuck until 18yo Rio shows up in town. Rio is a female diver like Tru and they instantly become friends. They both want to solve the twenty year old cold case murders of Bailey and Celeste , who were teenagers when they were killed. Tru and Rio feel a deep connection to Bailey and Celeste and when they dig into the evidence and ask questions, their lives become endangered.
Likes/dislikes: I love that there’s more than one mystery inside this story. The suspense was great and kept me riveted. Tragic and scary and such a good read.
Mature Content: R for sexual related nudity.
Language: R for 164 swears and 52 f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths
Ethnicity: white
Disturbing family dynamics!
After Sunny’s mother dies, her family seems stretched to the breaking point. Her father and siblings have all followed the mom’s lead in keeping up appearances and keeping secrets. On the surface, Sunny sees that her 15yo brother Dom has always been shunned by the family and left alone, now he’s suspected of killing his girlfriend. She knows that her mother wanted her to take care of Dom, so she befriends him and the two siblings start to investigate information their mother left behind. When murders occur at their school, Sunny is frantic to clear Dom’s name. What she discovers changes her life forever.
Likes/dislikes: I like the unique storyline with a mix of mystery that includes horror and supernatural elements. Alternating between past and present made the story more interesting. The author showed how loyalty can be good but also twisted.
Mature Content: PG-13 for mention of sex, underage smoking and mention of drug use.
Language: R for 165 swears and 54 f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: predominantly black with some white side characters.
Deadly fantasy!
18yo Rune lost her only family to witch hunters two years earlier when Nan told Rune to betray her. Nan was a witch who knew her time was up and she wanted to save Rune. Nan made Rune promise to turn her into the witch hunters and denounce everything she grew up knowing and loving. After Nan’s capture and death, Rune became the Crimson Moth; a vigilante who rescues witches and helps get them to freedom. Rune attends social events to discover the witches who are next in line to be captured, so she can swoop in and save them. Her disguise seems to be working but one guard suspects her and will do everything he can to catch her.
Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the mystery and the reveals. The world building was done well. The danger makes the story even more interesting.
Mature Content: R for on page sex.
Language: R for 28 swears, 8 f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity consists of mostly white, with ocher and golden skin tones mentioned.
Delightfully creepy!
17yo Emer is a curse writer that gives spells to women that are afraid and want protection. 17yo Jude has a demon following her and she’s suffering physically from the toll it’s taking on her. 17yo Zara wants to reanimate the sister she lost a year ago when she was murdered. The three young women end up working together to solve the murder mystery of a serial killer the police are calling the London Ripper. They get themselves in deeper than they bargained for and hopefully they won’t be the next victims.
Likes/dislikes: I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the twists. I was spooked a few times by the creepy descriptions. I like the strength and perseverance of the three main characters, Emer, Jude and Zara. Jude adds humor to the story.
Mature Content: PG-13 for mention of drug use.
Language: R for 162 swears and 27 f-words.
Violence: R for repeated bloodshed and deaths.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mostly white with some Black, brown and olive skin tones included.
A fun, spooky read!
Tabatha apprentices for the famous and magical Solomon. He states, through several prophecies, that he will die. It’s a shock to everyone when he actually dies and it’s a brutal death. Tabatha is told by Solomon, before his death, to only trust his son Callum and no one else. Callum and Tabatha try to solve the murder mystery but get swept up in the unknown along the way.
Likes/dislikes: This book is such a fun read! I loved the spooky atmosphere and the mystery. Tabatha is a strong, persistent, interesting character.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 50 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG for deaths.
Ethnicity: The Solomon family members are white and Tabatha is Chinese American.
Tenacity, bravery, and loyalty!
26yo Opal fiercely takes care of Jasper, her teenage brother, and has been his guardian since their mother drowned twelve years ago. Opal is bound and determined to give Jasper a promising future away from Eden, Kentucky. She earns money with part time jobs until she starts cleaning for Arthur Starling, the owner of Starling House. She knows there’s something off about the house but she doesn’t care. Opal just wants to earn money for Jasper to attend private school and Arthur pays nicely, even though the longer she stays there, the more she sees the strange goings on and can’t seem to pull herself away.
Likes/dislikes: I love Opal’s tenacity, bravery, and loyalty to her brother. The I was pulled into the story because of the mystery surrounding Starling House. I like how the author shared the background of the community, characters and Starling House.
Language: R for 172 swears and 63 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, off page.
Violence: PG-13 for self harm blood sacrifice.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity falls to white Jasper has a brown skin father.
World devastation!
Reeling from the overwhelming destruction caused by the Malice weapon, Salvation’s residents are trying to save themselves and the injured. They’re searching for survivors and want justice served on those who set the weapon off. Rune is stuck in the rancor king’s domain while the Night Render hunts down the three scattered pieces of the weapon that can take the evil king down. Hanne questions everything she’s ever believed about the “helpful” voice she’s heard since she was a child. If the kingdoms can work together, there might still be hope in surviving the destruction of their world.
Likes/dislikes: The love interest is a bit stilted. The character growth is stronger in this sequel than in the first book of the series. My favorite character is Prince Rune because he’s kind and strong.
Mature Content: PG for kissing.
Language: G for no swears or f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: falls to white.
Action and intrigue!
Prince Rune is betrothed to Princess Hanne and as they’re visiting his homeland, she gets trapped in a malsite where no one can see or hear her on the outside of the boundary of this area filled with malice. Rune wakes the Nightrender from her 400-year old slumber to save the princess. The Nightrender is a mythical hero who saves humans from malice and corruption. Rune wants to help the Night Render but his parents fight him about it, so nothing gets accomplished. Meanwhile, Hanne is threatened by an evil creature, a rancor. She must help create a weapon against her kingdom and Rune’s kingdom or she will be destroyed. Hanne wants to save herself and she’ll do anything to stay safe.
Likes/dislikes: The story is of action and intrigue. The Night Render is an awesome mythical character with a single mission. The character development is a little stilted in some parts.
Mature Content: PG for implied sex.
Language: PG for 1 swear and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is light brown skin dominant in Ivasland and white skin dominant in Embria.
Worthy of a YA horror movie!
Abby and her high school group of friends are on top of missing or dead persons in their small town of Doubtful. They stick together and help keep each other safe from the serial killer that lurks around their homes. The group has established rules based on a century of missing people and killings. The town residents have learned to always lock their doors and windows, to never be outside at night and to always have someone with them. When Abby’s sister Hope is pulled from her bedroom window one night, Abby and her friends must use everything they’ve learned to stay alive as they search for Hope and discover the terrifying truth.
Likes/dislikes: The book is definitely material worthy of a young adult horror movie. I liked the narrative of secondary characters. I grew to care about the two main characters and appreciated their loyalty.
Language: PG-13 for 10 swears and no f-words.
Mature content: G
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: falls to white.
The Thought Spot 