All the Books.

"When the diary of her great-great-great-grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne is unearthed, Betsy sees it as a possible path to getting a paper published or a book deal. It's the jumpstart her career needs. What she finds is a tale of desperation, deprivation, and terror soaked in blood. This book would have been 5 stars except for the ending, which was just a bit too literal for me."  ⭐⭐⭐⭐️ Pros:  Great pacing and tension/Good Stab is a heart-breakingly tragic hero, doomed to be a monster but still with a gentle heart, and he wants nothing more than to go back to his people, but he knows he never can.   Cons: Some of the names that Good Stab uses for animals were lost on me, but it didn’t take away from the story overall/The ending took off a star; it was just kind of silly. It would’ve been better if the fate of Beaucarne remained a mystery, in my opinion.  Full Review:  When the diary of Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran minister, is found behind the walls of a buil...

"Elsie Fitzpatrick is quite content to live a quiet life, tending her garden, reading her books, and spending time with her best friend Daphne. The peace is soon shattered when her neighbor is found dead, and Elsie is the unfortunate one to discover the body. A news story is soon published, revealing the dark truth of Elsie's past as "Mad Mabel" Victoria's first convicted female murderer at the ripe old age of fifteen. What follows is an often heart-wrenching but also hilarious tale of found family, love, and the truly unbreakable power of friendship." ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐ Pros:  Mabel is a saucy beast, and I liked her immediately/Beneath all that irreverence is a woman capable of great love and devotion/Hepworth was great with pacing and suspense.  Cons:  The "big reveal" at the end and Mabel's "inheritance" just seemed rather extraneous.  Full Review: Elsie Fitzpatrick is a crotchety, sarcastic, 81-year-old woman living on a small street in Austr...

"Violet Sorrengail has made it into the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath, a war College, that trains the young people of Navarre to serve their King and Country. She trains to ride a Dragon, hold her own in combat, and in other matters of a military nature. She's, of course, attracted to the tall, dark, and dangerous Xander Riorson, son of the infamous traitor who led a rebellion against Navarre...and the book ended up being as cliché and overdone as it sounds. I should have DNFed this book 500 pages earlier. This was a massive disappointment, and I really don't understand all the hype."  🟊⯪ Pros:  An interesting premise/Some of the challenges were fun/Tairn & Violet's repartee was charming at first, but after 400 pages it became obnoxious.     Cons:  All clichés and tropes in existence lived in this book/ There was no reasoning behind why Jack Barlowe was so intent on killing Violet/ Everyone Violet sees is jaw-droppingly gorgeous/I honestly thought about ...

“When Clay Jensen gets a package of cassette tapes, he has no idea what they mean. When he plays the first one, he hears the voice of a ghost. Hannah Baker killed herself just a few weeks ago, and if you’re listening, then you’re one of the thirteen reasons why. This was a depressing read that emphasized the importance of being kind to others, that every action has a consequence, but also the importance of advocating for yourself. You must ask for help if you're struggling because, though you hope that others will notice, the sad truth is they most likely won't. So, ask for help even though it's difficult."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Dark and intense, emphasizing the importance of being kind to others because we’re all fighting battles that no one knows anything about/How every action has a consequence.  Cons:  Though it’s difficult, you must  advocate for yourself in all areas of your life. Your body, your health. Don’t hope that someone will notice you’re struggling because t...

"It's been six years since Alicia Berenson was tried for the murder of her husband, Gabriel, and sent to the Grove, a facility for the criminally insane. Theo Faber, a therapist, has just transferred there, eager to work with Alicia and try to get her to open up, to actually speak, after six years of absolute silence. Michaelides kept me guessing, and the twist at the end was pretty surprising. Though this wasn't the best mystery/thriller I've ever read, it did keep me on my toes." ⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  I was curious to see why/if Alicia killed her husband. The chapters were short, which I appreciated since they offer convenient stopping points. Cons:   Everyone is in love with Alicia, of course/It all escalated rather quickly.   Full Review: Alicia Berenson is a moderately famous artist. Her husband, Gabriel, is a fashion photographer. They’re a seemingly happy couple. That is, until Alicia is found with her husband, who’s been tied to a chair and shot five times at point-b...

"Ignatius (Ig) Perrish has been living in Hell. It's been almost a year since his girlfriend was brutally murdered, and Ig is still the primary person of interest. One morning, after a particularly rough night, he wakes to find he's grown a pair of horns. If that wasn't terrifying enough, he realizes that the horns compel people to tell him their deepest, darkest secrets. When he goes to his family for comfort, his brother drops a bombshell, and Ig realizes that the horns are the key to unlocking the mystery behind what really happened the night Merrin was killed. This was a brutal, disturbing, and dark read, but Hill has an undeniable knack for grabbing you right from the get go and not letting up until the very last page."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐ Pros:  Ig is a genuinely good person/Though a brutally horrific story, Hill's style is effortless; you can't help but keep turning the pages.   Cons:  It's typical for a man to think a woman's flirting and then lash o...