Publisher: HarperCollins

The Close by Jane Casey

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from HarperCollins to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

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The Close by Jane CaseyThe Close by Jane Casey
Series: Maeve Kerrigan #10
Published by HarperCollins on 03/02/2023
Genres: Fiction / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths, Fiction / Thrillers / Crime, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense, Fiction / Women
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Source: HarperCollins
Amazon // Barnes & Noble // IndieBound
Goodreads

‘If you haven’t read Jane Casey, start immediately’ Marian Keyes, the Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller Suburban bliss

The new neighbours seem just right for Jellicoe Close, a pretty street filled with perfect houses and happy families.

Sinister secrets

But one neat front door hides a ruthless criminal – and the new neighbours aren’t what they seem to be either. DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are undercover, posing as a couple to investigate a deadly conspiracy.

Murderous deception

As they try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the true threat they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind...

‘A full-blooded triple-decker mystery...The Close is Jane Casey at her very best’
The Times

‘A deliciously bingeable read’
Ruth Ware

‘Another cracker from Jane Casey’
Cara Hunter

‘Thrums with the tension of a classic crime thriller’
Sarah Hilary

‘The most dangerously addictive series in crime fiction’
Erin Kelly

‘The Close is Jane’s best Maeve Kerrigan novel yet. Absolutely brilliant!’
Liz Nugent

‘A brilliant example of nothing being as it seems’
Harriet Tyce

Content Warning: Domestic violence references, human trafficking, child sexual abuse/molestation

By now we should all know that if a book is a horror, thriller, or mystery, I’m probably going to want to read it. So when HarperCollins reached out and asked if I’d like to read The Close by Jane Casey, I said yes pretty quickly. Thank you to HarperCollins for sending me this book and facilitating my honest review.

Characters

The Close has an interesting cast of characters, beginning with Maeve Kerrigan. I admit, I do quite like our main character and I love the leading man, Josh Derwent as well. They’re well written and even though this was my first encounter with them, I found myself full immersed in their story.

As for characters that should be unique to this particular book, my annoyance with Rhys Vonn has rarely been matched with other characters. Trust me when I say, he’s an ass. Not overly fond of Mike Knox, Tom Thwaites, or Brian[mfn]I don’t remember his last name and don’t feel like getting up to get the book lol[/mfn] either.

All in all, great characters that have enough background to keep you going. And special shoutout to Pippin… you’ll figure it out when you read it.

Atmosphere

I like the tiny suburb feel of the book. I don’t live in England and have never been to England, so I’m not sure if Jellicoe Close is meant to be a suburb, a tiny town, or just a neighborhood. But I love the setting so much. I love that it feels like one of those close-knit neighborhoods where everyone knows everyone, everyone gets along as well as they can, and everyone has a great time together. But it also has the feeling of being creepy, especially when an unknown person seems to be watching everything the neighborhood does. It’s great!

Writing

I really enjoy Jane Casey’s writing style. It is well paced, easy to read, and entertaining. I’m looking forward to finding and reading the first 9 books in the Maeve Kerrigan series and hoping there will be an 11th and beyond.

Plot

I really liked this plot. Posing as a couple to spy on one house because there may be wrongdoing going on, working a prior murder case at the same time, and then stumbling into even more trouble than they thought is a lot, and it works. It works very well. This plot kept me wanting to read more.

Intrigue

Well, it is a mystery/suspense/thriller novel, so obviously there is going to be intrigue! And it will keep you wanting more of it. Who is this mysterious lurker, whose thoughts we occasionally get to read? What is going on at number 7 in Jellicoe Close? What other secrets are the residents of Jellicoe Close hiding?

Romance

I know, it’s a mystery/suspense/thriller. But there is romance. There’s definitely a spark between Miss Kerrigan and Mr. Derwent. Even if they don’t really understand it yet and even if they don’t know what, if anything, they want to do about it. It’s very interesting and I want to know more. Again, hoping for more books…although leaving this budding romance this way makes me think there will be.

Ending

The book’s ending was a surprise but also quite satisfying. All of our cases have been wrapped up neatly and there are no strings hanging – except that pesky budding romance, of course. But this was a seriously great ending.

Conclusion

I gave this one 4.5 stars because it is truly a great read. It kept me on my toes and made me want to read the rest of the series, plus any that come out later on. I highly recommend it to my thriller lovers, especially if you like thrillers set in England.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Published on by Charli4 Comments
Serpent & Dove by Shelby MahurinSerpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Published by HarperCollins on September 3, 2019
Genres: Adaptations, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy, General, Romance, Wizards & Witches, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 544
Format: Hardcover
Source: Personal Library

An Amazon Best Book of 2019 * New York Times Bestseller * B&N's YA Book Club Pick * Indiebound Bestseller * #6 on the 2019 Kids’ Indie Next List
"A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance that kept me reading long into the night. Serpent & Dove is an absolute gem of a book." —Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses series
Bound as one, to love, honor, or burn. Book one of a stunning fantasy trilogy, this tale of witchcraft and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Sara Holland.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.
Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all.
Set in a world of powerful women, dark magic, and off-the-charts romance, book one of this stunning fantasy trilogy will leave readers burning for more.

I’d been hearing about this book on Bookstagram, BookTube, and BookTwitter as an anticipated release for September 2019. And then the Barnes & Noble YA Book Club chose it as the book for the October 10, 2019 meeting. So of course, I picked up a copy as soon as I had the money. I’m definitely not sorry I did.

Serpent & Dove is Shelby Mahurin’s debut novel. As such, it does suffer a bit from “first book syndrome” where the story starts off rather slowly and takes a bit to get into. In fact, the only reason I stuck it out was because when I went in to purchase November’s YA book club book, the bookseller who was helping me with my purchase told me she’d read the book and that it should start getting better around page 125. It took me a little longer than that – I had to get to page 239 before I really to go that “I need to keep reading, I have to know what’s happening next” stage. But each reader is different.

Shelby Mahurin doesn’t use a flowery or pretty writing style. I noticed that while she uses descriptions, she doesn’t rely on them as much as other authors (Stephen King, I’m looking at you). I found that there was a perfect balance of descriptions, dialogue, and action.

As far as characters go, I love Lou and Reid. I can’t stand Morgane, Andre, or Grue. Jean Luc is OK, but I’d love to throttle him half of the time. I like Coco and Ansel a lot as well. I don’t want to get into too much detail because honestly, I feel like describing any of the characters would end up as a spoiler.

All in all, I gave the book four stars because the writing and characters are solid. The reason it doesn’t get a full five stars is that it does start out pretty slowly and a bit frustratingly as far as lack of backstory goes. While those things are revealed later, I found myself irritated that these things were being mentioned, but I had no clue what was going on.

I will say that as Shelby Mahurin has announced the title of the sequel to Serpent & Dove as being Blood & Honey, I am eagerly anticipating the second book’s release, whenever that may be.

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Published on by Charli1 Comment
Sawkill Girls by Claire LegrandSawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Published by HarperCollins on 10/02/2018
Genres: Fantasy, Friendship, General, Horror, Social Themes, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 464
Format: eBook
Source: Library

“Reader, hang on for dear life. Sawkill Girls is a wild, gorgeous, and rich coming-of-age story about complicity, female camaraderie, and power.” —Sarah Gailey, author of River of Teeth
“An eerie, atmospheric assertion of female strength.” —Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species
FIVE STARRED REVIEWS
NAMED ONE OF YALSA’S 2019 BEST FICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS
A BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE
A LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD NOMINEE
From the New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn comes a breathtaking and spine-tingling novel about three teenage girls who face off against an insidious monster that preys upon young women. Perfect for fans of Victoria Schwab and Stranger Things.
Who are the Sawkill Girls?
Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.
Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.
Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.
Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.

If Stephen King wrote YA fiction, this book would be right up his alley. Don’t believe me?

An evil creature – demon, devil, who knows? This thing comes from somewhere beyond our wildest imaginations. It feeds on teenage girls – at least until it can break free of its anchor. Doesn’t that sound like something straight out of a Stephen King horrorfest? Well, it does to me.

Marion is sweet, plain, and well, the mountain on which her family leans. She can’t afford to be fanciful or whimsical. She can’t afford to take a break, because what will her mother or Charlotte do without her? But she’s so much more than that. She plays such an important part in the story and it’s so hard to talk about her without giving things away.

Zoey is sweet, loving, but can hold a grudge like no one’s business. Her hatred of the Mortimers of Kingshead on Sawkill Rock should be nothing short of legendary. But, she does have good reason to hate and distrust them. At least, she does for a while. She’s another very important person in this book, again, hard to talk about her without giving too much away.

Val isn’t what she seems. The description above is Val, but it also isn’t. You have to read the book to understand how that works exactly, but know this, she’s important for more than one reason. And to be honest, if you don’t end up feeling sorry for her, I don’t know why you wouldn’t.

Even though it isn’t the main focus of the story – the main focus is what the heck is happening to Sawkill Rock’s girls – I do have to mention the LGBTQ+ subplots going on. I’m not going to spoil it for you, you’ll need to read it for yourself, but it was nice to have a story that doesn’t have the normal straight characters throughout.

I gave this one 4 stars because it was a great read, but I would have loved to have a little bit more info on what exactly that thing was and the place it came from. Other than that, it was an awesome read and I really enjoyed this one.

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Published on by Charli1 Comment
Broken Things by Lauren OliverBroken Things by Lauren Oliver
Published by HarperCollins on 10/02/2018
Genres: Emotions & Feelings, General, Social Themes, Thrillers & Suspense, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 416
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library

With all the intensity and whiplash turns of Sharp Objects and One of Us Is Lying, this engrossing psychological thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver is an unforgettable, mesmerizing tale of exquisite obsession, spoiled innocence, and impossible friendships.
It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.
Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.
The only thing is: they didn’t do it.
On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

After seeing a couple of reviews that panned this book, I decided to give it a shot. I just wanted to see what the big deal was. I chose the audiobook version which seemed to be how everyone else was consuming this book. That and I’d honestly never listened to an entire audiobook before. Too bad I kept falling asleep.

The story does tend to seem a bit disjointed. It bounced between Mia and Brynn, Then and Now, and intersperses bits of both The Way into Lovelorn and Return to Lovelorn in there as well. It isn’t a bad book, just a bit confusing and honestly, the person who did commit the murder really is forgettable, but I think this character was meant to be forgettable. It’s the entire reason it is such a surprise this person did it.

Between the slightly confusing mix of past, present, characters, and books, plus a rather boring mid-story, I can see why other reviewers weren’t thrilled with this book. I definitely wouldn’t listen to the audiobook again, although I might read a physical copy if I could get my hands on one, just to see if there was a difference. As far as this audiobook version goes, it’s a 3 star read because I kept falling asleep during the story, meaning there were parts that just weren’t all that interesting.