While I do have a few other reviews to get shared, I wanted to condense a few of them!
Thanks to the mentioned publishers for any gifted copies in exchange for my honest review
Mini Review - January 2024:
BLUE RIDGE - Peter Malone Elliott (Released January 9th, 2024 - Thanks to GetRed PR and Level Best Books for the gifted copy)
What would you do if you were planning to kill your brother—but someone beat you to it?After former Olympic contender turned burn-out horse trainer Cillian Clarke is framed for the murder of his identical twin Christopher, a rising-star Virginia politician, Cillian is forced to go on the lam. But when someone from Christopher's past emerges and offers Cillian the chance to clear his name, Cillian is plunged headfirst into a sinister conspiracy that not only threatens the sanctity of democracy, but also promises to expose the devastating secret intertwining the brothers forever—the truth behind the death of a woman they both loved.
Mini Review: 3.5/5 stars - Part political thriller and part domestic thriller makes for plenty of tension and intrigue. Cillian finds himself in quite the predicament. He begins to plan the murder of his identical twin brother, Christopher, but now he finds that he needs an alibi for it when someone beats him to it. Cillian is in the middle of a massive conspiracy, and things get moving fast. I did like how the ending came together.
ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY - Stacy Willingham (Released January 16th, 2024 - Thanks to Minotaur Books for the gifted copy)
Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.
And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered... and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.
A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.
Mini Thoughts: 3/5 stars - Dark Academia, toxic friendships, multiple POVs, and a slow burn suspense are what await you in Stacy Willingham's newest release! I will say that I had felt a lull coming to the halfway point, but I'm glad I pushed through. The second half really picked up steam, and I was happy with how things came together! The characters aren't exactly likeable but not in the way you want them to be, if that makes sense. If the synopsis piques your interest, then pick this up!
THE GOD OF ENDINGS - Jacqueline Holland (Released March 7th, 2023 - Thanks to Flatiron Books for the gifted copy)
By turns suspenseful and enchanting, this breathtaking first novel weaves a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman
Collette LeSange is a lonely artist who heads an elite fine arts school for children in upstate New York. Her youthful beauty masks the dark truth of her life: she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache in the wake of her grandfather's long-ago decision to make her immortal like himself. Now in 1984, Collette finds her life upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger.
Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, The God of Endings serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?
Mini Thoughts: 5/5 stars - I can tell you now this is an enchanting and hauntingly beautiful read. Told through the eyes of a vampire, we go on a unique and memorable journey dealing with good vs evil and finding your place in the world in this incredible debut.
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