Review: Recursion by Blake Crouch

Posted November 26, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 15 Comments

Recursion by Blake Crouch
Series: standalone
Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY) on June 11, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Time-Travel, Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Memory makes reality.
That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.
That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.
As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.
But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

I think I am at a point where I will read anything that Blake Crouch writes in the future. I love his writing. I love the imagination, and this book delivered it all in a near-perfect package. I knew when I cracked the book open, it will be the only thing consuming my reading time and I was right. From the moment I started it, I had a hard time putting it down until I finished it.

So what is the book about? I’ll try to explain some of it without going too deeply into it because I think it’s best to go into this book with the unknown and an open mind.

This book follows a cop named Barry and a neuroscientist Helena. Barry Sutton is investigating a phenomenon dubbed by the media as a FMS - False Memory Syndrome. People are popping up claiming they remember another life they lived, and that their memories feel so real as if they really did live them out. But how could it be if the life they are currently living in isn’t the same?

Helena Smith has devoted her entire life to create the technology of preserving precious memories, especially since her own mother’s memories are failing due to Alzheimer’s. What she ends up creating is far beyond that. A machine that can send you back into memory and have you relive that life all over again. People who were meant to die, don’t have to die. But what happens if they remember their deaths? In the wrong hands, the piece of technology is terrifying and possibly world ending.

This book was fast-paced, one wildly entertaining ride that is both imaginative, scary, and well written. I had a hard time putting the book down and love every minute of it. Blake Crouch is an amazing author that knows how to hook me from the first sentence until the very end.

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Review: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

Posted March 15, 2018 by Lily B in Audio, Reviews / 11 Comments

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel
Series: Themis Files, #2
Published by Random House Audio on April 4th 2017
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 9
Format: Audiobook, Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force.
Now humankind faces a nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth . . . and maybe even the stars.

I listened to Sleeping Giants last year and absolutely fell in love with not only the audiobook but also the story.

Waking Gods picks back up a few years after the events at the end of Sleeping Giants. Now it seems that Themis isn’t the only robot out there as another Giant robot appears on Earth, than another, than another. Soon Kara, Dr Rose, Vincent and their mysterious friend are out there again trying to figure out why the robots are showing up and are they a danger to Earth.

This was a thrilling ride. I love having all the voice actors and the characters right back telling the story. They do such a great job with the book it is both exciting and an interesting listen. There were a few parts that I found myself reading the actual book for (mostly the scientific parts), but overall the audio is my favorite part.

The story itself is exciting as a reader, I was eager to find out what happens to the characters and what do the giant robots want from the Earth. This definitely had some science fiction elements to it, but it was easy enough to get into the story. Sylvain Neuvel really knows how to bring the characters and their personalities to life through simple character dialog and files. This is not written as a traditional book which I think makes it even more exciting.

I did have some gripes about it

First, I didn’t like the voice of Eva. I get that she is suppose to be 10 year old girl, but she was super whiny and listening to it was a bit grating.

The second gripe might be a spoiler so please read at your own discretion below

View Spoiler »

That’s all. I am enjoying this series, it’s really well done and I am looking forward to digging into book three and seeing how it wraps up. That ending definitely threw me in for a loop.

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Review: Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata

Posted February 6, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 19 Comments

Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
Series: Santos #1
Published by Mariana Zapata on June 10th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 485
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

Heat:

Ruby Santos knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she signed up to write a soldier overseas.

The guidelines were simple: one letter or email a week for the length of his or her deployment. Care packages were optional.

Been there, done that. She thought she knew what to expect.

What she didn’t count on was falling in love with the guy.

Dear Aaron follows a young woman named Ruby Santos, who knew exactly what she was doing when she signed up to write to a soldier overseas. The guidelines were pretty simple, one email or a letter a week for the length of his or her deployment and care packages were options. What Ruby didn’t expect when she finally got to writing to Aaron was falling in love with him.

This was cute, my first Mariana Zapata book and needless to say it will definitely won’t be my last.

Dear Aaron was a sweet, slow burn romance that follows a very inexperienced Ruby (who is around 23/24 years of age) and a 29-30 year old soldier Aaron. Both seem to be at an odd point in their life. Ruby is a seamstress and loves doing her work, but she works for two of her aunts that seem to mistreat her and Ruby doesn’t have a backbone to stand up to them until she starts corresponding with Aaron.

Aaron is a soldier that is almost done with his deployment, but serving is the only thing he knows. To his family, he feels like a failure because he didn’t follow the steps of the family business and chose the military life instead. Aaron and his father are on a bit of a rocky terms, but despite his father’s anger they still seem to get along.

When we first meet Ruby her age is a bit confusing at first because she does tend to sound like a child due to her inexperience and being sort of a pushover, but I found her character to be someone I could and could see myself in her shoes.

I love that despite knowing what was coming that the author took the time to develop the relationship and friendship between the two characters, I adore my slow burn romances.

I was also pleasantly surprised that this was a romance more primary focus was the growth between characters emotionally and as people.

I didn’t know how to feel about Aaron’s sudden flip in the book about being open in his feelings, I was actually expecting the moment to maybe go a bit differently, it just felt like an awkward transition - but it was still fine.

The writing was great. I did have the hardest time putting the book down and read it in a day.

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Review: The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posted February 5, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 11 Comments

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Fixer, #1
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens on July 7th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Thriller
Pages: 372
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This thriller YA is Scandal meets Veronica Mars.
Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.
And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.
Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Heist Society, readers will be clamoring for this compelling teen drama with a political twist.

Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick is about to have her entire world turned upside down. Having spent her entire life on her grandfather’s ranch, Tess is suddenly uprooted and moved to D.C by her much older sister Ivy Kendrick, where she is thrown into a world of politics and power.

Tess never knew what Ivy did for a living in D.C. All Tess knows was that Ivy abandoned her after their parents death and the grudge against her sister for bailing and barely calling is strong.

It doesn’t help when Tess learns from the kids at school that Ivy is a Fixer who fixes people’s problems, including a lot of problems for the parents of the teens that go to her school.

When a conspiracy surfaces that might involve more than one family of her new school and Tess’ own classmates, Tess finds herself in a very complicated situation and she doesn’t like being kept in the dark. But what Tess does not realize is just how dangerous power and politics might be.

This was wonderful. My first book by this author and needless to say it will now be my last, I am already on book two and loving it.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes really knows how to write a complicated story that hooks you from the very first page and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I had the hardest time parting with this book. I loved the characters, I loved the mystery, I loved how all the lies connected and how everything unfolded.

That shocking moment about Ivy and Tess in the end, I almost did not see coming, but it ended up being such a good twist that only made the book even more compelling.

Tess is a character that is easy to follow. She is still pretty much a teenager in her own way, but it was nice to see that despite her loneliness and grudge against Ivy, she still cares very much.

The writing for this was just great, it kept me interested, the storytelling was well done, how everything connected seemed to be well though out and it ended up being a really engrossing read that I cannot wait for more from this author.

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Review: Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

Posted October 27, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 8 Comments

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux
Series: Asylum #2
Published by HarperCollins on August 26th 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 343
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

In this haunting, fast-paced sequel to the New York Times bestselling photo-illustrated novel Asylum, three teens must unlock some long-buried secrets from the past before the past comes back to get them first. Featuring found photographs, many from real vintage carnivals, Sanctum is a mind-bending reading experience that blurs the lines between past and present, genius and insanity, perfect for fans of the smash hit Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Dan, Abby, and Jordan remain traumatized by the summer they shared in the Brookline asylum. Much as they'd love to move on, someone is determined to keep the terror alive, sending the teens photos of an old-timey carnival, with no note and no name. Forsaking their plan never to go back, the teens return to New Hampshire College under the guise of a weekend for prospective students, and there they realize that the carnival from the photos is not only real, it's here on campus, apparently for the first time in many years.
Sneaking away from sample classes and college parties, Dan and his friends lead a tour of their own—one through the abandoned houses and hidden places of the surrounding town. Camford is hiding a terrible past, and the influence of the asylum runs deeper than Dan ever imagined.

Sanctum opens up shortly following the events of book one. Dan is having nightmare’s and he isn’t sure how to stop them. Getting away from the Asylum, he assumed that his problems would be fixed - but they are not. It doesn’t help that his friends Abby and Jordan seem to be ignoring him, and someone is sending them weird vintage carnival pictures. When a letter shows up from his ex-roommate’s mother, asking Dan to visit her son, all clues start to point for the trio to go back to New Hampshire College.

Guys, I am just adoring this series. I think a large part of it is due to the fact that the book is mixed media, I love asylums and old creepy vintage carnivals and atmospheric books and this had all of it mixed into one. Once I picked this one up I had a hard time putting it down, I completely devoured it, and loved falling back into this series.

A large part of me wishes there were more books out there like this. I truly believe it adds to the reading experiences and the photos were creeptastic and perfect for this time of year.

Also, this entire book takes place close to Halloween time. So when Dan, Jordan and Abby go back to the college, there is a bunch of secrets that they are still trying to uncover. Including the fact that there seems to be a secret society that is linked to Daniel Crawford and the society seems to be after the trio.

This book isn’t without issues and I acknowledge that. I still feel like there is a bunch of holes that the author needs to fill and I hope everything wraps up in the final book. I don’t think everyone would love this book as much as I do. Because at times Dan and his friends have quiet a bit of drama going on, but they are pretty normal teenagers, so I can see how that would definitely play the part in the book, even if it is probably one of the few realistic parts of this book.

But, I still love it. It’s on an atmospheric side. It’s great for Halloween or fall. It’s creepy, and I am totally hooked. Plus there is a creepy carnival - I’m sold. Also, ghosts, yes?

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Review: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

Posted October 24, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 16 Comments

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
Series: Darkest Powers #2
Published by HarperCollins on March 23rd 2010
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 360
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

You don't have to be alive to be awakened.
Chloe Saunders is a living science experiment—not only can she see ghosts, but she was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. She's a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control, which means she can raise the dead without even trying. Now Chloe's running for her life with three of her supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and they have to find someone who can help them before the Edison Group catches them.
Or die trying.

The Awakening is the second book in the Darkest Power series and it follows directly in the aftermath of book one.

This review will contain spoilers from book one, so turn back now if you are not interested.

Chloe and Rachelle are captured after fleeing the Lyle House by the Edison Group - a group that seems to be responsible for what they are. After learning some unsettling facts about herself, Chloe and Tori break out and regroup with Derek and Simon to escape the Edison Group and find Andrew - their father’s friend.

Meanwhile, the Edison Group is hot on their heels and are refusing to give up.

This was another interesting reading. I am just completely addicted to Armstrong’s writing. I think she weaves and tells a story well and there is just something about the way she crafts her story and characters that makes it impossible for me to put down. I flew through the book and now sitting here awaiting book three to arrive in my mailbox.

The characters are slowly starting to grow and develop more. I like the long way Tori came from book one, but I also like the fact that she isn’t perfect and is still very Tori.

I adore the relationship between Derek and Chloe and how of all the characters they seem to click and understand each other the most. That being said, it does disappoint me a little that there is this weird triangle going on between Chloe, Derek, and Simon - one that I do not seem to understand. Chloe and Simon don’t have a connection at all and are barely together in the book. The relationship between Chloe and Derek is well fleshed out, so I am worried going into the last book to see where exactly this is going.

The ending of the book was intense and kept me on the edge of the seat but it did end a little abruptly and left me wanting to know what happens next.

Overall, this was another great read. Everyone’s powers are still developing so it’s kind of interesting to see how these kids are not perfect and don’t have much control and are still working on figuring themselves out as they try to survive.

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Review: Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Posted October 23, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 10 Comments

Asylum by Madeleine Roux
Series: Asylum #1
Published by HarperTeen on August 20th 2013
Genres: Young Adult, Horror
Pages: 317
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.
As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

Asylum follows a sixteen year old boy named Dan Crawford, who is somewhat an outcast in his high school and doesn’t really have any friends. When he arrives at New Hampshire College for Prep, it is more than just a summer program to him, it is everything. He meets a girl named Abby who is an artist and a boy named Jordan who is extremely smart and loves math. It isn’t long into their stay when Dan discovers that the building in the summer program is stationed is an old Asylum, one that was used as the last resort for the criminally insane. Soon the trio is found sneaking away and looking into the dark secrets of their temporary summer home, but soon find more than they bargained for.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I love mixed media type of books, so the fact that the author incorporated pictures into it made me so giddy with excitement. It was wonderful enough that I felt like the book itself was atmospheric, but the pictures added to it, just bought everything together for me and it was everything I could ever ask for.

Does this book have creepy? Oh yes it does. I loved following Dan and his group of friends as they dug deep into the underbelly of what had transpired at the Asylum when it was open and all its dark and creepy secrets. Secrets that might be linked to them. They also start having these creepy dreams and there is a bit of a drama with the group because they don’t seem to want to admit that the Asylum is effecting them. Then they find there is a killer on the loose and someone is trying to contact Dan, and they are trying to link the killer and what had happened in the past, because the two might be connected.

Despite the fact that this book takes place during summer. This is a perfect read for this time of years because of its creepy atmosphere and the dark mystery.

So why not a higher rating if I enjoyed it so much? There was a lot of build up, this book had me flipping through the pages and before long I devoured it. I didn’t rate it higher because of the ending. I feel like things escalated so much but the ending was quiet a bit quick and the resolution left me wanting more. I soon discovered that the ending sets up book two wonderfully though, despite the fact that I felt it all wrapped up a bit too quickly.

Overall I am loving this series so much that if you are looking for something interesting to try this Halloween that also has creepy pictures to guide your curiosity, I definitely recommend giving this book a shot.

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Series Overview: Bad Girls Don’t Die

Posted August 28, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 13 Comments

Guys, I have been on the roll with ghost books lately, not sure why, it’s still August and summer but, for some reason ghosts is like it for me this month. So I read the entire Bad Girls Don’t Die series and here are my thoughts.

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
Series: Bad Girls Don't Die, #1
Published by Disney-Hyperion on April 21st 2009
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 346
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.
Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

The book is about a girl named Alexis who is a bit of an anti-social and is leading a dysfunctional life in school and home. Kasey is an Alexis’ younger sister who is obsessed with collecting dolls and that creeps Alexis out. Things start to happen in the house and Kasey starts to act a bit strange and even worse when her blue eyes shift green. Soon Alexis finds out that something has possessed her little sister and that it might be linked to one of town’s saddest history. Now Alexis must find a way to get rid of whatever is possessing Kasey before her little sister commits any murder.

This was an entertaining read. I loved and enjoyed this author writing so much, I felt like she really knew how to tell a creepy, atmospheric ghost story and it took me to quiet a ride.

I felt bad for Kasey. I felt like she was a bit misunderstood and Alexis treatment of her little sister seemed a little heavy-handed. I definitely didn’t understand the relationship there as my sister and I at this age were actually pretty close. Kasey is definitely my favorite of the two sisters and really made me sad for her, as all she really wanted was to have some friends.

The flow of the story kept me on the edge of the seat and I never found it dull. I liked that Alexis ends up enlisting help in the most unlikely people and despite the fact that her family life is a bit of a mess things seem to work its way out in the end.

I do feel like there was something left out that didn’t get resolved or maybe I missed it ? But there was a scene in the basement where Alexis finds Kasey digging and she runs out of the basement holding something, but I don’t think it was ever mentioned what.

From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender
Series: Bad Girls Don't Die,
Published by Hyperion on June 14th 2011
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 442
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Alexis is the last girl you'd expect to sell her soul. She already has everything she needs--an adorable boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and a little sister who's finally recovering after being possessed by an evil spirit, then institutionalized. Alexis is thrilled when her sister joins a club; new friends are just what Kasey needs. It's strange, though, to see how fast the girls in The Sunshine Club go from dorky and antisocial to gorgeous and popular. Soon Alexis learns that the girls have pledged an oath to a seemingly benevolent spirit named Aralt. Worried that Kasey's in over her head again, Alexis and her best friend Megan decide to investigate by joining the club themselves. At first, their connection with Aralt seems harmless. Alexis trades in her pink hair and punky clothes for a mainstream look, and quickly finds herself reveling in her newfound elegance and success. Instead of fighting off the supernatural, Alexis can hardly remember why she joined in the first place. Surely it wasn't to destroy Aralt...why would she hurt someone who has given her so much, and asked for so little in return?

Second book of the series and although I still enjoyed it, I do have to say it wasn’t my favorite.

Following the events of book one, Kasey is back from the insinuation that the paranormal agent had locked her up in so she could get better. After all, who comes away unscratched from being possessed?

Kasey ends up having a hard time being back in school and everyone starts to look at her funny and treats her differently because they know she has been to the looney bin. Kasey gets kind of mistreated and Alexis with her new found popularity and best friends does nothing to help her sister’s transition. I disliked Alexis in this one a lot at the beginning. Her treatment of her little sister was a little cruel and unfair and the fact that she did not ease her sister’s transition in school made me angry at her lack of concern. Alexis has a boyfriend now, Megan ends up being her best friend and the cheerleaders are no longer so bad.

When a new girl shows up at school, Kasey befriends her. Together they start a club called The Sunshine Club where any girl is welcome. The Sunshine Club has many rules and Alexis is worried that there is something sinister behind it all and that Kasey might be in trouble again, so both her and Megan join the club only to discover a ghost named Aralt is telling these girls what to do and is leading them to success. How can someone that seems to want nothing but good for the girls be evil?

This was creepy, it really was. Aralt wanted the girls to always be pretty and successful and these girls spend a lot of time grooming and primping in order to satisfy his wishes. The entire club turns into a kind of occult and I kept wondering how Alexis was going to be able to stop it especially when Aralt seems to be playing a great hand in Alexis own success with her photography and has been around for a while.

The ending was difficult but sets up the final book.

As Dead As It Gets by Katie Alender
Series: Bad Girls Don't Die,
Published by Disney-Hyperion on May 15th 2012
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 442
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

It's been three months since Alexis helplessly witnessed Lydia Small's violent death, and all she wants is for her life to return to normal. But normal people don't see decaying bodies haunting photographs. Normal people don't have to deal with regular intrusions from Lydia's angry ghost, sometimes escalating to terrifying attacks.
At first, it seems that Lydia wants revenge on Alexis alone. But a girl from school disappears one night, and Alexis spots one of Lydia's signature yellow roses lying on the girl's dresser the next day. Soon, it becomes clear that several of Alexis's friends are in danger, and that she's the only person who can save them. But as she tries to intervene, Alexis realizes that her enemy is a much more powerful ghost than she's ever faced before... and that its fate is tied to hers in ways she couldn't possibly imagine.
Not even in her worst nightmares.

Third and final book of the series and hard to review without spoilers of the series. After getting rid of Alart and watching Lydia Small die in front of her, Alexis can now see ghosts especially through her photography. Lydia is now haunting Alexis and again strange things start to happen when girls, Alexis knew are starting to disappear and are getting hurt or killed. Alexis thinks Lydia is behind the attacks, especially when she thinks Lydia’s bright light leads them to her and the ghost of the girl always seems to be there.

Soon Alexis realizes that this new ghost she is facing is much more stronger and powerful than before and she is going to rely on herself and an unlikely ally to put a stop to that.

This was kind of dark, a bit darker than the first two books and there is a death in this book that really brought tears to my eyes because I wasn’t expecting it. The story is well told, well written and kept me turning the pages. I read this in the middle of the night and despite the fact that it was super creepy, I could not put this one down. I think of the three I did find this one to be the strongest and one of my favorites.

I highly recommend this series if you are looking for ghost stories this October.

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Review: The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

Posted May 25, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 32 Comments

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Review: The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

The Kept Woman: A Novel by Karin Slaughter
Series: Will Trent #8
Published by William Morrow on January 3rd 2017
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Pages: 480
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future.

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him.
With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.
Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn't belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.
Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.
But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.
Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller -- a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption.

Okay, I am kicking myself for not giving Karin Slaughter a try sooner. If you love Crime, Thriller or gritty Mystery and you have not read this author before, you really need to give her a try. This was my first book by Karin Slaughter, but it will not be my last.

The story follows a murder of an ex-cop at an abandoned construction site. A murder that might also be linked to a very wealthy, very powerful and politically connected athlete that has all the money in the world to protect him. A man that Will has already tried to put away due to a rape and has used that power to get away with.

But things are not always what they seem and the crew is about to step into something a lot more dangerous. When a ton of blood at the crime scene implicated Will’s “ex” wife, not only is this case a lot more personal, but a lot more is riding on it.

Wow.. Oh…Wow… I totally adored this. I loved the way the book started with a sneak peak into a scene that sets up the entire investigation. Just as Will, his boss Amanda and partner Faith start to uncover something - there is a brief pause as the author goes back and reveals what had actually transpired through Will wife Angie’s side of the story. It was so messy that it’s scary to think what people with enough money and power can get away with. Angie was a fixer, who got herself involved with the wrong group of people in order to save her daughter. I didn’t know how to feel about Angie, her character was seriously messed up. She had good intentions for sure, but her weird stalking of Sarah (Will’s new girlfriend) and possession of Will was a bit uncomfortable.

That being said, Slaughter is really good at making you feel uncomfortable. The book is definitely not for the faint of heart. The author is really good at the dark and gritty and messy murders. She has really amazing skill at unfolding the story and making the pieces fit together like a great big puzzle. I was left gaping by the end of the book because just as I was starting to think I knew what was going on, nope, she threw in a curve ball.

Her characters are amazing and so human. So flawed, but they feel super real and believable. The entire book was just enjoyable.

I did take a star off only because despite me loving the curve ball and the ending - I was a bit reserved on the plausibility of it.

Regardless, I am looking forward to more from this author and definitely revisiting her other books. Because her writing is great and just hooks you from the very first page.

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Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Posted April 3, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 17 Comments

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Series: standalone
Published by Crown on July 26th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 342
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Heat:

“Are you happy with your life?”
Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.
Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.
Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”
In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.
Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.
From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.

I can’t believe it took me this long to pick this book up. I actually bought this for my dad about a month ago and after he finished, he told me “Lily, you got to read this.” I was a bit busy, had a lot on my plate, and did not get a chance to. I went to the library and behold, they had a copy available and I snatched it up.

Guys! I could NOT, put this book down. It was…Wow.

What is so great about this? Uh… Everything. It’s a science fiction, but it doesn’t completely read like one. I admit, there had been parts that made my head swim a little, but who cares? Crouch is a fabulous writer. The man knows how to suck you in from the very first page and it just never really lets you go. I lost sleep because of this, for reals. But who needs sleep, right?

This book never had a dull moment for me, I was eating up the pages eager for the end, wanting to know how it all turns out. Quite the roller coaster ride.

Don’t ask me to explain what this is about, I might literally explode. Read the blurb, that is the gist of it, the rest you pretty much have to experience on your own.

This book grabbed me from page one and never really let me go. My eyes are burning me, I am tired, but I am so glad I got to finish this. Crouch is really such a great storyteller.

Does most of this book make sense? No, it’s a science fiction. But, it’s interesting, it’s different, it’s compelling and it’s the first book in over a month that has me so damn giddy. I wasn’t coming into this willing it to make sense. I just wanted fun, excitement, something different.

Different it was. I LOVED the concept, the idea of multiverse. How our lives branch out. How there is a possibility of like everything that we could do in a critical moment in our life. The characters were just so raw, so real, the main character especially. I couldn’t help but feel the connection, I felt his love, pain, his loss and the need to come back home.

It was just so good. Crouch to me is a master in storytelling, he succeeded in everything for me. I felt it. I enjoyed it.

I took away half a star because in the end, I felt the ending to be a little weak. A LITTLE BIT. After everything, I felt like maybe it could have used a few more pages. But I get it. The characters were tired.

It is a bit open ended, it is. BUT, but, you guys in this case, given the structure of the book - it does not annoy me. It felt almost perfect. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. It totally made sense following the events, so, go read it if you have not yet. The science fiction part of it is light, but it’s science fiction, don’t go into it thinking it has to make sense, just be open and enjoy every moment.

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