Book Critic
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Review: Carrie by Stephen King
Every year in October my sister and I pick a book (or two) and do a buddy read. The last few years we have read a classic (Frankenstein which we both couldn’t finish) and then last year we read Stephen King’s novel, The Shining. This year we talked about reading something else but King and ultimately settled on Carrie because it was one of his shorter works and it was his very first novel to be picked up by a publisher. My book club also selected this one as our October read for many of the same reasons so it was nice to have a couple of opportunities to discuss…
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Review: The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware (Audible Edition)
Ruth Ware has been on my radar for quite some time, especially this book. I wanted to read it last year for October but then got on to something else. I have wanted to pick it up several times this year but I have heard such mixed reviews that I just wasn’t sure which book to pick as my first Ruth Ware experience. Finally, after much debate, I just decided to go for it and read this book as my first Ruth Ware book since I loved the premise of the summary. It was an interesting read for me and not quite what I was expecting but yet at the…
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Review: One In Three by Tess Stimson (Audible Edition)
One of my friends raved about this book and one of my favorite narrators performs one of the parts in the Audible edition so it wasn’t a hard sell to get me to read this book. Our book club ladies are avid murder mystery/thriller readers so it’s sometimes hard to find books that we all haven’t read but even though this wasn’t an official book club pick, many of us read it based on one of our members suggestions. I didn’t know much more than that based on her recommendation but I was eager to check it out all the same. When I started listening to it, I was hooked.…
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Review: In Case of Emergency by E. G. Scott
This book had so much potential for me. I loved the premise and I was excited to read it. It sounded like it was going to be quite the nail bitter and I think the cover has a lot of visual interest to grab readers right away. I love books like this where the main character is a suspect in the murder of a complete stranger. For some reason that troupe always draws me in because that has got to be someone’s worst nightmare. I mean, I don’t know what I would do if I was being treated as a person of interest in a murder of a person I…
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Re-Share Review: The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
I can whole heartedly say that Simone St James is one of my favorite authors and she is an auto buy for me whenever she has something new coming out. I absolutely love all her spooky vibes and her books are always top notch. I have liked some better than others but this one was one of my absolute favs and now that it’s out in paperback I wanted to re-share my original review with you guys. The Sun Down Motel really took the cake for me. I loved the murder mystery as well as the supernatural elements and it’s a story that has stayed with me for quite some…
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Review: The Light at Wyndcliff (Cornwall #3) by Sarah E. Ladd
I have only read one or two books by Sarah Ladd and I have enjoyed them but this isn’t an author that I would go in search of at a bookstore—until now. This cover is what initially drew me in but the description of the book is what made me agree to reviewing it. Before this book, Sarah Ladd would have been an author that I would have picked up if I saw the book on an end cap or something or other, but after reading this one, I would gladly go in search of her novels the next time I go to a bookstore. There is something so mysterious…
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Review: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
I have only read one book by Lisa Jewell but I loved it and I was so excited to receive and ARC of her latest novel to read this fall! I really enjoyed The Family Upstairs but this one sounded a little darker and more intense than The Family Upstairs, but I was really looking forward to it and was eager to sit down on a dark and stormy lazy weekend to devour this one. One thing that I felt after reading Jewell’s The Family Upstairs was that she has a great way of adding substance and depth to all of her characters which is not always the case in…
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Review: The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox
I read Hester Fox’s debut novel a couple of years ago and I was immediately drawn her to story telling style and characters. I adored her first book and the second book was even better. So to say that I was excited for this one is an understatement. I am such a fan of her Gothic story telling and how quickly I can read her books, while they might not be as spooky as some other books I have read this Halloween season, this one was still a spooky treat for fans of Gothic novels. Also this one is set in Boston which is such a great spooky city and…
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Review: Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten
This was a book that I was looking forward to all year. I was pitched it way back in March or April I think and I had it circled on my calendar for my fall reading. I don’t know that I loved the cover art but I thought the story sounded great. I don’t know much about the Russian monarchy but because I don’t know much about it, I always find books about Russian monarchs fascinating. Like many readers, whenever I think of Russian historical fiction I always think of the Romanovs but this book is not that which was just one more reason why it appealed to me—-something different.…
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Review: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
When HBO picked up this book to turn into a series, I was thrilled! I didn’t know anything about the book or the author but I know that HBO always turns out well done series so when I saw the previews for this one, I couldn’t wait. I also have been getting more and more into the horror genre and when I was approached to do a feature and interview with the author before the HBO series released, I was intrigued and immediately said yes. After doing the interview and reading more about Lovecraft Country, I decided to wait and watch the HBO series in favor of reading the book…