Book Critic
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Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Right now, The Haunting of Hill House is everywhere thanks to the Netflix mini series. My sister and I do a buddy read for October/Halloween every year and each of us pick a book to read for the month and then we read it together. My pick was Frankenstein and The Haunting of Hill House was her pick. I wasn’t terribly excited about this book, but I’ve been looking for something similar to Crimson Peak (the movie) and this one sounded like it would be in the same vein—-though a more modern setting. I also picked up the Penguin Horror edition with an intro by Guillermo del Toro and I…
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Review: The Witch Elm by Tana French
Tana French has been an author that has been on my radar for years. In The Woods has been on my bookshelf for years but I just don’t think about it when I am looking for something to read. Though that might change now that I have actually experiences French’s writing. Her Dublin Murder Squad series has a huge cult following and people either love it or hate it, so that alone intrigues me, but yet about I find that I just don’t think to pick up her books. The Witch Elm is her first standalone book so I was eager to test out her writing and story telling without…
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Review: True Places by Sonja Yoerg
I have been long impressed with Yoerg’s novels and when she has a new one come up, I am always happy to review it! One of the things that I love about Yoerg’s books is that they are standalone novels and the character arcs are wrapped up in the book rather than stretching it out to multiple novels. She writes strong and impactful stories that leave readers satisfied with a resolved story that will stand out in the readers minds. This latest book is no different—a strong and memorable plot the left me wanting more yet left me feeling satisfied by the resolution. A girl emerges from the woods, starved,…
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Review: The Girl from Berlin (Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart #5) by Ronald H. Balson
I needed little convincing when this one came up for review. The cover is beautiful and it’s set in pre war Italy. It was an easy yes for me. I didn’t know that this book was part of a series when I agreed, and honestly I don’t think that it mattered too much with this one. Sure there is a backstory between Liam and Catherine, but the heart of the book is the mystery and the historical details of Ada’s plot line. An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the…
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Review: The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen Trilogy #1) by Signe Pike
I only needed to see this book marketed as a cross between Outlander and an Arthurian legend and I was immediately excited about reading and reviewing this one. This book is a debut novel and what a debut it is! I was blown away by the story and you need to immediately move this one up on your TBR list, the hype for this book is real. I was torn between devouring the book to find out what happened and slowing down because I didn’t want the magic to end. Intelligent, passionate, rebellious, and brave, Languoreth is the unforgettable heroine of The Lost Queen, a tale of conflicted loves and…
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Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Every year my sister and I pick two scary books to read. This year we went with two horror classics, The Haunting of Hill House and Frankenstein. Neither of us have read these two books so we thought it would be fun to do a buddy read all month and discuss them. So we started Frankenstein first. It’s been on my list to read for so long. It’s like the classic horror story and everyone says how amazing this book is. Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only nineteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells…
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Review: The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland
It’s been forever since I read a YA novel. I kind of go through phases with YA novels. Sometimes I end up reading like 5 or 6 at a time, and then I don’t read any for like months. Currently I’m in the ‘I haven’t read any YA for months’ phase. So when this book came up for review, I was about to pass until I read the summary. I love Napoleon and the French Revolution and when I saw that this book was about Napoleon’s step daughter, Hortense, I was excited to read it….YA or not. For Napoleon’s stepdaughter, nothing is simple — especially love. Paris, 1798. Hortense de…
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Review: Believe Me by J.P. Delaney
This book seemed like it was going to be outside of my comfort zone, so I almost passed on it. I mean, I like a darker psychological thriller as much as the next person, but so many people use the Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train comparisons that sometimes I start to question the validity of these claims and I’ve read a lot of thrillers lately and I just felt like I needed a little bit of a break from the pace of said novels. While this book didn’t carry the “the next Gone Girl” endorsement, I did see some reviews that compared it to other darker psychological…
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Review: The Pint of No Return (A Sloan Krause Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander
I only recently discovered Ellie Alexander when I read the first Sloan Krause mystery last year. Since then I have read one of her Bake Shop Mysteries and I absolutely adore her mysteries. There is nothing like mixing food (especially pastries!) with murder. Being from Oregon myself, I have a soft spot for all things Pacific Northwest as well as local authors. I got in on the Sloan Krause series from the very beginning and I was thrilled to be asked to read the next book! No other festival compares to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. The whole town is buzzing with excitement over this year’s activities and eagerly awaiting Nitro’s…
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Review: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
Full disclosure, I haven’t read the Narnia books and I know next to nothing about C.S. Lewis’s life beyond the fact that he wrote the Narnia books. Now I have seen the Narnia movies and I love the story and when my boy is old enough, I plan on reading the Narnia books together with him. So it didn’t take much convincing—–ok any convincing—-for my to read this book about Lewis’s wife. I didn’t even need to read the review pitch, the title told me everything I needed to know. From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis…