Lauren

This was fine.

Female main character is supposed to be part of a witch coven, but refuses. She tries to change their generational way of life. She fights the big bad.

Read as part of my Twisted Retreat book box.

It appears from the author's note that there will be a sequel. Won't be reading. I'm guessing the sequel will be based on the main character's child, which is just off brand for what the main character said she wanted (to NOT pass on the house and legacy blood, etc). But they introduced a “love interest” at the end so that's my guess.

Triggers: on page death, death of a parent (on and off page), dead names, transphobia, murder, death of an animal

What did I just read?

The book follows Sarah Slade, a self help guru and social media influencer desparate for likes and views, as she and her husband move into a new house in a small town and document the renovations. The catch? It is a #murderhouse. That's right, a murder suicide happened decades ago in the house. The neighbors are not happy about this, and Sarah finds herself struggling to make friends and find a place in the town.

This book was something else. Unreliable narrator. Heavy drinking. Poison. Murders. Secret identities. Feminine rage.

This was one hell of a ride.

Highly recommend.

Kayla Cottingham does it again! Thank you SO much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the wonderful author for the advanced copy. This is one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and it definitely lived up to the hype.

This book was fantastic. We follow four best friends (who happen to be ghouls) on an adventure to a major music festival where chaos ensues. I saw someone say this was Coachella meets Jennifer's body and those are definitely the right vibes to get a feel for this book.

I absolutely loved the strong female friendships in this book.

There is excellent LBTQ+ representation in this book, as well. I was cheering for our main love interest to get together with the main character the entire time.

TWs are available at the front of the book and on GR.

I think this is like a 3.5?

I don't know why it's not higher.

I honestly really enjoyed it. Kaplan is hot and the steamy scenes were really, really good.

But ya this one probably won't stick with me long.


SPOILERS:






I figured it out. It basically just copied MindF series.

The boyfriend is working with the FBI. Her version of a sidekick is an old man. At the end she “turns off all the cameras” so her sidekick can't see her die. Then the boyfriends best friend is like “but we all knew she was bad and you loved her anyway” And he figures out he does. Then they get married. For the epilogue, he “gifts” he another person to kill.

This is literally MindF. Lack of originality.

DNF because I am sick of hearing about her “teeth clicking” and at 30 percent in I just don't give a flying fuck what happens for the rest of the book. Could have been awesome but nope. Just not good. Also, this quote, after earning what she wants most in life:

“Or rather, it's like the final adjustment on the eye doctor lens that makes the hot air balloon come into focus.”

Wtf.

Ashley Flowers absolutely nailed it in her debut novel.

I'm a huge Crime Junkies fan so I was ecstatic when I was able to snag an e-arc of this book. Huge thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley.

This book is devastating, twisty, dark... It's everything I hoped it would be. The pacing is spot on. The twists and turns come at the right time.

This is a dual timeline book about a young girl's murder and her childhood friend's quest to uncover the truth.

It definitely gave me vibes of a certain famous true crime case – if it happened in an alternate reality and someone knew the true story of what happened haha.

THAT ENDING.

Highly recommend.

This was such a great read.

I really enjoyed this.

I was reluctant to read because Year of the Witching was just not for me. But this... This was exactly what I wanted the story to be and more.

Highly recommend.

The story follows Marion, a young girl from the slums trying to make a life for herself. She gets chosen as a bloodmaid for a Countess. The story then goes into her relationships with the other bloodmaids, the Countess, herself...

Marion is a strong character.

Note: A Lot of the reviews say this is about vampires. It isn't. It's still great.

No.

Least favorite Darcy book so far. I had a lot more hope for this with it being named Gallows Hill but no. No.

Why was this 377 pages long?

Margot is the most insufferable FMC I've ever read. I guess I'll have to try Iron Flame to see if that holds true.

Way too long. Too many attempts at descriptors of the haunted house and creepy atmosphere to the point where almost nothing actually happened in the book until about 80%.

What a stupid ending. The wine barrels had dead bodies in it? And every single generation before KNEW THE BODIES WERE THERE AND DIDN'T DO ANYTHING? What the actual fuck. I thought she was going to die at the end which would have made sense but alas...

Still don't understand why Margot got sent away by her parents, if they knew that no matter what she would be brought back to Gallows and then have NO IDEA HOW TO MANAGE IT.

Not worth the time it took to read, honestly.

Wow. What a book. This is heartbreaking, raw, and shocking. I was a little too old when iCarly first debuted, so didn't know the details of the show. This book was recommended to me by multiple people, and I'm so glad I read it. Jennette has been through so much. Glad she got the help that she needed and is doing well.

“of course a littlegirl should worry about her entire family, that's what little girls do.”