One House Left by Vincent Ralp..

Posted 06/17/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

If you’re a fan of urban legends, then One House Left by Vincent Ralph is definitely a book you should check out. Playing around with Bloody Mary or Death Number 999-9999 is one thing, but living in an urban legend? That’s a whole different story. For the most part, I wasn’t overly attached to our main character, Nate. Something was off about him – and not just the fact that he was oddly obsessed with Murder Road and keeping people away from there. He just wasn’t a character that I really connected with, to be honest. But sometimes you don’t need to connect with the characters. I loved Max – she was someone I’d probably have been friends with when I was in high school. She’s fiery but she also has a soft side. She’s my favorite of the characters in this book. The other two main characters, from whose point of […]

The Debutantes by Olivia Worle..

Posted 06/15/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

When I chose to read The Debutantes by Olivia Worley, I did so based purely on the cover. I love the cover to this book so much, even though I can’t exactly tell you why. It just jumped out at me as something I should read. And my intuition was spot-on. The Debutantes is what Pretty Little Liars would have been if it was set in New Orleans. Dead and missing friends, danger, secrets being exposed, mysterious masked people…. Yep, Pretty LIttle Liars in New Orleans backed by Krewe culture and, to an extent, Debutante culture. Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I loved it so much. I loved Pretty Little Liars. Reading this book kept me on my toes. I didn’t want to put it down, and honestly, I stayed up until 6AM to finish it! It was so easy to read, so easy to follow that I just […]

What the Woods Took by Courtne..

Posted 06/14/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Content Warning: What the Woods Took contains: I periodically receive emails from NetGalley telling me what books are “Read Now”. In the most recent email, What the Woods Took was listed among the books on offer. While I had previously seen Courtney Gould’s other books on NetGalley, I had not been lucky enough to be chosen to read them. But since this one was “Read Now” I managed to snag it. I’m so glad I was able to get it. In this book we follow five teenagers who have been sent away to “wilderness therapy” by their parents/guardians. Our illustrious group consists of: As we follow these five teens on their wilderness therapy journey, we find that things in this wilderness aren’t exactly what they seem. One of the things I loved about this book is that the enemy isn’t what you’d expect – and in some cases might actually […]

Buried Secrets by S.F. Baumgar..

Posted 06/09/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I picked up Buried Secrets a while ago while perusing the Edelweiss+ gallery of books that could be freely downloaded, but didn’t get around to reading it right away. Now I kind of wish I had. For one, it is a clean thriller. No foul language, no sex, nothing that would make your grandmother cringe. The author even states it is meant to be a clean book. Which is a nice change of pace from the overly sexualized, over-filled with cuss words thrillers I often read. Not that I’m opposed to a little bit of sex or some swear words. I’m not. I just would prefer that the books have less rather than more of those things. Buried Secrets is the revised edition of The Secret, the prequel novella to the Mirror Estate series. I’d not read The Secret, so I went into this book blind. But that didn’t stop […]

All Hope of Becoming Human by ..

Posted 06/08/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

When I saw All Hope of Becoming Human by Lonnie Busch in the Edelweiss+ “to download” category, I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did! One of Mr. Busch’s influences is Stephen King and you can definitely see that in this novel. He expertly crafted the kind of allegory that Mr. King uses – where the people are the problem, not the fantastical monsters that plague them. Not only that, but he blended science fiction and horror in a way that made them seamless, something that I’ve seen many other authors try and fail to do. Mr. Busch has created a cast of characters in All Hope of Becoming Human that are not only likeable, but ones that you will genuinely care about. You’ll grieve their losses, celebrate their successes, and sit in shock at what they endure. Rebecca is an enigma for the majority […]