Publication Day: March 29th, 2022

Rating:  ★★★★

Saylor Rains

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Publication Day: January 11th, 2022

Rating:  ★★★★

A Flicker in the Dark features Chloe Davis, who at 12 years old was living in a small town where girls were disappearing all summer, only for her father to be arrested at the end of summer for all of their murders. Now nearing the 20 year anniversary, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice, engaged— only for young girls to start going missing all over again.

The beginning of this novel really draws you in and makes you keep turning pages! Chloe turns out to be a very unreliable narrator, one who is grasping onto her happiness. The plot is really interesting and atmospheric reads are my absolute favorite. While the book gets to a point where it isn’t as page-turning as it initially was, it does constantly keep you trying to figure out the plot and guess what’s going on, and it does pick up and grip you again! I thought the ending was satisfying and the best plots are ones that make sense to a certain degree when you figure out what really happened/is happening, like this one did.

This was a great read from one of my favorite publishers recently; they have just been a powerhouse of putting out some of my recent favorite thrillers! I’m in a cabin in the middle of the mountains with almost no internet so I missed publication day by a day, but happy publication day! Thank you so much to Minotaur Books, Stacy Willingham, and NetGalley for this copy.

Saylor Rains

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Publication Day: April 5th, 2022

Rating:  ★★★★

Amazing, twisting plot.

A copycat serial killer is murdering people, each different in method but all famous cases from the past. Detectives Cara Elliott and Noah Deakin are trying to hunt down the true killer. At the same time Jessica Ambrose is on the run after being accused of being the arsonist who set the fire killing her husband. With the help of suspended detective Nate Griffin, she discovers a shocking connection to the copycat killer and the arson.

A culmination of crimes committed all leading up to one tantalizing finale. This is apparently Sam Holland’s debut novel, and it was a very thought out plot. There are murders, plot twists, darkness, suspicion, shifting tension, and all of the things that make a great thriller. I was definitely glued to this book— I had to know who did it!

One of my favorite things about a book is when they have amazing, well rounded, flawed characters. The one things that dragged for me about this book was that some of the main characters started off hard to empathize with and/or were borderline unlikable. After dipping into the plot more, this didn’t matter as much, but I do find that liking the characters and rooting them makes a book SO much better, because then you’re rooting for them to win, you’re hurting when they hurt, you’re overall getting all of the emotions that a great book makes you feel. I think that would have put this book over the top.

Thank you to Sam Holland, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the pleasure of getting to read an arc of this book.

Saylor Rains

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Publication Day: March 1st, 2022

Rating:  ★★★★★

The Night Shift was like coming home and realizing it smells just as good as you remember— in this case home is Alex Finlay’s writing.

FBI Agent Sarah Keller is back, investigating what could be two connected crimes fifteen years apart. In 1999 four teenaged girls working at a Blockbuster were attacked, and only one survived. History repeats itself all these years later in an ice cream shop.

Alex Finlay is a master of keeping you on the edge of your seat, suspicious of everyone. He creates real, flawed, well-rounded characters, lays out a phenomenal and complex plot, and is well practiced at writing alternating perspectives without a single one being boring. I read this all in one sitting and I kept jotting down theories for each thing said, heard, or realized throughout the story and one of them panned out!

The one thing I do not forgive Alex Finlay for: just like after reading Every Last Fear I feel genuine heartbreak for some of these characters and I now need to decompress once again.

This was an amazing read, thank you to Alex Finlay, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this incredible ARC.

Saylor Rains

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Publication Day: January 4th, 2022

Rating:  ★★★

Rachel Hawkins is a great author which drew me to this book. In

Reckless Girls

the characters, their voices, and their interactions all feel very genuine and compelling. The mood is set incredibly well.

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are hired to sail two women to an island in the pacific. What starts off as a trip of a lifetime, fun opportunity quickly spirals out of control after they get to the island. Lux is a very fun character in this story, and you get to see the background of how a lot of characters met. This is a very atmospheric read, which Rachel Hawkins excels at creating. Meroe Island is not all that it seems.

I think this book starts off great and lost me a little toward the end. It is a nice and quick read, easy, and again the characters are very enjoyable. To me it wasn’t an extraordinary book beyond that. I don’t want to give anything away, but I want to say that if I knew even more of the characters and their past or if we just had a bit more in the way of breadcrumbs to piece together everything would be more believable in the end.

Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the copy of this arc.

Saylor Rains

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Rating:  ★★★★★

Brilliant.

Twenty years ago the Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women before seemingly going underground. Now, he’s back. 

Detective Annalise Vega lost someone she loved to this killer twenty years ago, and now she has the chance to solve the case once and for all. Starting with the recent murder of Grace Harper, who may have discovered something incriminating that no one else knew. 

The best part of Joanna Schaffhausen’s writing, is her characterization. Right from the introduction Annalise comes across as a well-rounded character with both positive and negative traits, and she’s very self aware. You become suspicious of every new character but she’s able to endear some of them to you so that you hope it isn’t them. 

This book was a great police procedural and was so fun for me to figure out, and I was pleased to get it all except for one detail that even slipped by me! This was an enjoyable read and this book definitely got me out of a reading slump.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Joanna Schaffhausen for the opportunity to read this review copy.

Saylor Rains

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Publication Date: June 8th, 2021

Rating:  ★★

Heather Evans returns home after her mother’s baffling suicide. In her mother’s belongings she finds some alarming letters- correspondence with the serial killer Michael Reave. Reave has been serving a life sentence for decades now after being convicted for several ritualistic murders of women, even though he continually pleaded his innocence. Finding these letters causes Heather to seek out the person her mother had been writing to and look more into this case. When a new body is discovered with the same MO as the previous murders, Heather tries to find out the truth about what happened and what her mother could have known.

Initially, this story is a gripping thriller. It gives you the creeps the same way the opening to a horror film does, very atmospheric which is great. I would advise anyone who can’t handle animal cruelty in a book to skim that. I did find that once you reach a certain point in the book there is so much going on, so many different elements that are supposed to be mysterious, creepy, or haunting, that it does feel like a little too much.

The premise of this book was intriguing and the creep factor was definitely there for some of the book. I wasn’t completely satisfied with it as I finished it up, but there are some great reviews for this book and I’m sure there will be even more by the publication date. I would definitely recommend you read it and form your own opinions because I have a feeling people are going to be very hit or miss with this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Jen Williams for the opportunity to read this review copy.

Saylor Rains

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Publication Date: December 14th, 2020

Rating:  ★★★

My heart breaks over and over for Detective Casey White.

A woman’s body washes up on the beach with striking similarities to a case from a couple years back involving the ex-sheriff, Jericho Flynn, Casey’s romantic partner. Days later another woman is found, and both of them have ties to Jericho’s past. Every clue uncovered seems to incriminate her loving partner more and more, and time is running out to catch this killer before he catches her.

Saltwater Graves was a good story, it would make a good episode of a crime drama to use as background noise when I’m doing other things, but it wasn’t an edge-of-my-seat/can’t-put-it-down thriller. The procedural aspect of this book was fun to read and was just like watching CSI or Bones as they try to find out what happened to the victims. The book doesn’t really get into its crescendo until the third or fourth quarter of the book, until then I wasn’t crazy about it. I did find myself so sad and heartbroken for Casey toward the end of the book as she faced one loss after another in rapid succession and couldn’t catch a break. I also found the ending to be unsatisfactory, I’m sure there will of course be another installment in the Detective Casey White series, but this ending wasn’t one urging me to read on. I do applaud the author’s ability to break my heart for Casey.

I was mostly excited for this book because of the fact that the setting, the Outer Banks, is where I live and grew up. For me, I feel like it was a mistake on my part because this wasn’t an Outer Banks setting this was more like a Virginia Beach setting through and through and the inaccuracies drove me up a wall, but that’s just a personal grievance of mine and did not affect the rating I gave this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, B.R. Spangler, and Bookouture for the ARC of this book.

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Saylor Rains

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Publication Date: March 2nd, 2021

Rating:  ★★★★★

Too Good to Be True is one of those books that just grabs ahold of you and won’t let you stop reading. When you think you know what’s going to happen, suddenly everything is spun a completely different way. I don’t want to spoil anything or give anyone clues or ideas, but this is a unique, interesting story filled with lies and betrayal then sprinkle some revenge and deception on top. Set both now and telling the story of thirty years ago you have to figure out who is lying, what they’re lying about, and why.

Too Good to Be True is a book to take a chance on, just go for it and read it without anyone’s reviews in your head!

Thank you to Carola Lovering, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Saylor Rains

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Publication Date: January 5th, 2021

Rating:  ★★★★

The beauty of The Wife Upstairs is that the book is very clearly based on Jane Eyre but also in its own little parallel universe, not relying too heavily on staying true to the classic, which was so important in making this a new and interesting read.

In this book, twenty-three year-old Jane, a foster child who aged out of the system, is walking dogs for her rich neighbors and surviving by stealing things people wouldn’t miss. Then Jane meets Eddie Rochester, who is still the rich, handsome widower, even in this version. Quickly, Jane and Eddie fall into a whirlwind romance which inevitably ends in Eddie asking Jane to marry him. The only problem? Jane feels that Eddie is also keeping some secrets. The story leads you wanting to find out the truth and what really happened.

This book is great for those who enjoy the classics and also some modern thrillers, as well as people who enjoy lighter reading rather than the classics. It’s really an interesting combination of genres that would interest so many types of readers, which makes it great. Of course, it’s not actually Jane Eyre, one of my favorites, but it’s definitely an interesting, fun read.

Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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 Saylor Rains

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Rating:  ★★★★★

Police captain Linda Turner becomes obsessed with solving the haunting murders of two young children and their pastor father, as well as the disappearance of their mother and why they never made it to their missionary work in Africa. Salvation Station is a murder-mystery that combines elements of suspense, police procedural, and a fraudulent religious organization in a way that reads like an episode of CSI or Criminal Minds. Schleich takes you along more than one plot line but is skilled enough to never lose the reader or cause the story to become muddled. I don’t want to give anything away, but the story of the killer was such an interesting one because the author gives them a backstory and makes them a more realistic character while at the same time showcasing to the reader that they are a master manipulator with no conscious.

I was most impressed by the actual crime-solving/investigation writing and how well it was written, and I was shocked when I found out this was Kathryn Schleich’s debut novel. It’s well balanced, concise and not drawn out or boring, and has an interesting plot. Definitely the kind of novel to put an author on my radar for the future.

Salvation Station wasn’t a long novel, but it was an absolute page-turner and the perfect novel for all of the crime readers and watchers.

Thank you to Kathryn Schleich and book publicist Kelsey Butts for this review copy, this was a great read!

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Saylor Rains

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Rating:  ★★★★★

Trumanell Branson disappeared a decade ago, leaving behind a town that never forgot and people who never stopped trying to find her. Odette Tucker, the town’s youngest cop and one with personal ties to Trumanell and her family, is sliding down a slippery slope as she tries to solve this mystery and the one of the missing girl who showed up in a field with only one eye.

No description I give this book could do it justice. I’m heartbroken. This was one of those books that grabbed a hold of my nerves and my heart and just didn’t let go. The powerful imagery, complex plot, and atmospheric writing made for one of the most interesting books this year. The middle of this book made me gasp out loud, the change halfway through something you couldn’t have guessed.

This was a slow read that I definitely took my time with, but I didn’t ever lose my patience with it.

We Are All the Same in the Dark

grabbed my attention and wouldn’t give it back until I finished it. This story had so many layers built into it, it was a masterpiece of a “who-done-it” and makes the reader suspicious of every character at least once. Sip this one slowly like a fine wine and enjoy.

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Julia Heaberlin, and NetGalley for this arc.

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Saylor Rains

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Release Date: March 2nd, 2021

Rating:  ★★★★★

Every Last Fear reads like the best kind of crime drama playing right before your eyes. Matt Pine comes back to his NYU dorm after a night of partying to the worst news possible news; his entire family who were on vacation in Mexico was just found dead. What at first looks like an accidental gas leak turns out to be so much more and it has everyone wondering: could this relate to the murder that put Danny Pine, Matt’s older brother, in prison seven years ago.

The unique plot was built on real characters with multifaceted lives. Each chapter revealed new plot and more layers to the story, causing the reader to constantly adjust their theory on what happened. The constantly changing perspective, where everyone has a different piece of the puzzle, is engaging and gives butterflies just like all good thrillers.

The web that Alex Finlay was able to weave in this novel was intricate and fascinating. The things this family went through all because of one night are heartbreaking. The ending was satisfying. I had to mentally decompress after the amount of action my heart just went through. Every Last Fear is a new favorite of mine.

Many thanks to Alex Finlay, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this incredible ARC.

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Saylor Rains

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Release Date: August 11th, 2020

Rating:  ★★★

The Only Card in a Deck of Knives is a collection of rambling, free-verse poetry that is constantly changing and contradicting all within one poem. Written from the perspective of a twenty something year-old who has a terminal illness, she has the ability to speak on a love of life, dying to die, as well as society’s reaction to sick women and its habit of discrediting their symptoms and feelings.

One of my favorite things about this collection was the way that each poem felt like a stream of consciousness. Things followed a train of thought, like a game where each word or phrase might remind the reader of their next point, or the next thought. You could follow the ideas even as long-winded as each piece might appear. Not every poem will relate to everyone, and how could it when it’s written from a specific perspective that the rest of us can only try to empathize with, but some of the lines were absolutely profound and lyrical.

Thank you to Lauren Turner, Buckrider Books, and Edelweiss for this review copy.

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Saylor Rains

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I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Publisher!

5 out of 5 stars

I decided to pick up The Woman in the White Kimono because I have been craving something different than my usual reads. And boy am I happy that I got approved to read this heartbreaking and at the same time heartwarming tale.

The Woman in the White Kimono is a tale of the American Occupation of Japan from 1953 to 1957 and the consequences of it. The reader is presented with a split narrative - that of a young Japanese woman in 1957 (Naoko) and a young journalist with a dying father in present day Detroit (Tori). I must say that the start of the novel turned me off for a bit - it read like a Japanese Romeo and Juliette and the perfect relationship between father and daughter just did not seem real. However, all of that changed, into a really dark novel.

Slight Spoilers ahead

The novel turns into a story of what happened between the Americans who occupied Japan and the women. As in any occupation, babies happen; sure some come from love but a lot of them came from rape, opportunistic practices and other encounters. Whichever way, the women and the babies born during this time were ostracized and vilified. Over ten thousand babies were born to Japanese woman and American men. They did not belong to any country and those that did survive found a lifetime of hardship and discrimination. Japan is a nation of tradition, deep spiritual beliefs and profound pride - anything which shames and disrespects these must not be tolerated. The half Japanese and American babies were a product of losing a war, of losing honor and of deep shame - they were swept under, not to be seen, heard or spoken of. The Woman in the White Kimono explores all of these notions, shows the struggle of women found themselves in these predicaments and explores the unbelievable amount of courage these women had. It speaks of love, fear, family, pride and the ever-changing time. This is the story of Naoko, while Tori must come to terms with having a not so perfect father.

“Father is but another name for God” (Jay Kristoff) and when you find out that your own father is not the perfect man you have always envisioned and believed - it shakes you to the core. Like I said before - Tori’s relationship with her father in the beginning of the book was completely unreal to me - I am sorry but a grown up woman who cannot see any faults in her father is just unbelievable. However, once she finds out that he had a previous marriage and a baby in 1957 in Japan - it changes. All of a sudden she realizes that she doesn’t know who he is and what happened and to make peace with his past she must find his previous family. Tori’s story revolves around understanding that a person does not have to be perfect to be a good father. She comes to understand that to accept and love someone is to do so with every choice they have ever made. In the end - Tori re-establishes her faith in her father and understands herself better.

All in all - it is a wonderful book, full of wisdom, life struggles, love and family. My only issue is that the ancestry of the father get’s mixed up in a few passages - at first the author says he is from Slovakia and then Hungary - while those two countries border each other - they’re not the same. Otherwise I really enjoyed this novel.

~Iryna

The Chalice and the Crown is a wonderful, YA fantasy novel for fans of Danielle Jensen’s Malediction Trilogy and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. While the method of transportation to the City of Roses is similar to Carroll’s Alice—that is where the similarities end.

Sasha is a young, Russian prima ballerina. Like many ballerinas, she is obsessed with perfecting her craft and because of this her health suffers. Like her mother before her, she is plagued by nightmares of a distant land where she is a thrall or slave to a rich family. Dreams and reality merge when Sasha’s soul is ripped from her and transported to the thrall’s body. She must use her wits and her friends to find a way to escape and return home. Along the way she finds love and friendship while trying to change the history of slavery in the kingdom.

Flamouri’s debut novel (she had previously had a few short story anthologies) is well written and the pacing keeps you engaged throughout the book. She has interwoven bits of Russian culture without going over the top. For example, the pet name “kotik” or little kitten that grandma Nadia calls Sasha. Or the traditional Russian lullaby, “Bayu Bayushki”, which is prevalent throughout Sasha’s story as a coping mechanism for the young heroine. The only thing that would really tip you off is Sasha doesn’t have a patronymic but instead has a patronymic surname (Nikolayeva means of Nikolai) which happens with first generation Russian-Americans.

Overall 4 stars for The Chalice and the Crown. I was very pleased with how The Chalice and the Crown concluded. This is a standalone YA which was very refreshing and Flamouri did a fantastic job tying up loose ends. The romance was sweet but not the focal point. There are a number of dark themes but the author does a great job cautioning any readers who may see these as a potential trigger.

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Xx

Susan

The King’s 100 was exactly what I expected and I love it that much for that. Perfect for young readers and fans of Meg Cabot. The King’s 100 follows Princess Piper, a Capalon, who sneaks in to the enemy country of Mondaria to find any traces of her mother who mysteriously perished years before. There she auditions to become part of the King’s 100, an acting and entertainment group based in the King’s court.

It is really cute to see Piper explore the enemy kingdom and her own feelings. As a stem-focused country, Capalon puts emphasis on science and tries to remove emotion from every decision. So when Piper begins to feels the strings of love or jealousy, she shies away from these emotions and tries to focus on her goal of finding out more about the long lost queen.

This was a super quick and easy read. I can easily see this becoming a script for a Disney movie or an ABC Family show—it’s light, it’s fun, and it has a strong female lead. The ending did leave some things unresolved so I’m sure there will be a sequel that follows.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Immortal Works Press!

xx

Susan

Two Book Tuesday + Bonus

Two Book Tuesday + Bonus

It’s a THREE Book Tuesday!

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Synopsis:
“Emma and Violette are sisters who share the same dream of attending Paris’s most prestigious dance school. Violette passes the first audition with flying colors, but Emma doesn’t…their wold comes crashing down. But if this vibrant and graceful story teaches us one thing, it’s that there may be more than one way to dance through life…”

Review:
★★★★
This was a short and cute coming of age graphic novel about two sisters who love to dance. Emma is learning who she is, she is growing up and realizing that dreams can change. She is also learning that her parents are human, and though they want what is best for her, they are not all knowing.
I really liked this story, and the artwork is BEAUTIFUL! I look forward to the next one. 

I received a copy of Emma and Violette for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

More happy early reads for UNCANNY TIMES! (Available for preorder now)