mystery

Review: Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts by Nancy Campbell Allen

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This is the 4th book in the Proper Romance Steampunk series. While it’s technically an interconnected standalone, I highly recommend you read the others first to get the full effect. Plus you’ll get to meet some of the current characters.

Emme is all about full rights for everyone, including shifters. Unfortunately there are those who disagree and have made their feelings known, in the way of a death threat. So Inspector Oliver Reed is charged with being her bodyguard. After dealing with the aftermath of her many protests, he is less than thrilled with being forced to be around her even more.

Watching these two together was so fun. They circled around each other for a while. It was bit like enemies to lovers, which is my favorite sub genre of romance. They clearly didn’t feel good and happy thoughts in the beginning. But the more they’re put together the more they come to the realization that they care for each other.

Plenty of butterflies in the belly moments sprinkled with a few heart stopping ones makes this the perfect sweet romance. I really hope we got more from this world!

~Melpomene

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Review: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewel

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I’m torn on this one…somewhere around four stars but not really if that makes sense. It’s sufficiently creepy, suspenseful, intriguing, and all that.

When Libby turns 25, she discovers that she’s now the owner of an abandoned mansion. Along with this newfound knowledge comes the revelation of the true identity of her birth parents. As if that’s not enough, she begins to discover the sordid secret of who she truly is.

I liked this book. I really did. But something about the ending didn’t satisfy me. Still, I kept coming back to it whenever I had time to read a few pages so that says a lot.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Family Upstairs

Quick review: Where the Blame Lies by Mia Sheridan

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Under the definition of a roller coaster read would be a picture of this cover.

NO SPOILERS!!

Don’t read reviews or posts about it. Go straight to the book and dive in. You don’t wanna know anything!! I’ll admit I did read the synopsis before I read the book, and I rarely do that, but it took nothing away from the story. Nothing could prepare me for what was to come.

I’m still reeling and it’s been a few days since I finished it. I can’t believe the ups and downs this books had. So many theories and only once did I get something right. I don’t remember the last time a book put me through this type of insanity. Was it uncomfortable at times? Heck yeah. Did I ever wanna stop? Definitely not. I needed to know how this ended.

Mia really knocked it out of the park with this. I don’t remember the last time I felt this type of adrenaline rush while reading. My heart was racing like crazy! I’m still all twisted. And emotionally drained. Can’t get it out of my mind.

SYNOPSIS

Abducted.
Terrorized.
Imprisoned.

At nineteen-years-old, college student Josie Stratton was kidnapped by a madman and held shackled for ten months in an abandoned warehouse before she finally escaped her hellish prison.

Eight years later, when the body of a young woman is found chained in the basement of a vacant house, Cincinnati Police Detective Zach Copeland is instantly reminded of the crime committed against Josie Stratton. Zach was just a rookie on the perimeter of that case, but he’s never forgotten the traumatized woman with the haunted eyes.

As more information emerges, the crimes take on an even more sinister similarity. But Josie’s attacker died by suicide. Does the city have a copycat on its hands? A killer who picked up where the original perpetrator left off? Or are they facing something far more insidious?

Josie has spent the last eight years attempting to get her life back on track, but now there’s a very real chance she could be the unknown suspect’s next target. As Zach vows to keep her safe, and Josie finds herself responding to him in a way she hasn’t responded to any man in almost a decade, the investigation takes on an even more complex edge of danger.

As past and present collide, Josie and Zach are thrust toward a shocking and chilling truth. A revelation that threatens not only Josie’s life, but everything she’s been fighting so desperately to reclaim.

~Melpomene

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Review: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

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I don’t know how this one slipped by me. I love Karin Slaughter and always greedily snatch up her latest books. And yet I missed this one…

A shocking crime. A mother and her two daughters are held at gunpoint, victims of a revenge crime. Some escape, one does not. But nobody comes out of this tragedy unscathed.

Flash forward twenty plus years. Another shocking crime, and Charlie finds herself involved yet again. This time, not so much a victim. Still, old memories come rushing to the surface.

Once again, the author has written a can’t-put-it-down kind of story. It’s fast-paced, has great characters, and includes a few little twists and turns. Everything you’d want in a thriller!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Good Daughter

Review: My Daughter’s Secret by Nicole Trope

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This one started off in a big way…two young women stumble upon a body hanging from a porch. And even though Julia’s death is immediately ruled a suicide, her mother Claire just can’t let it go. So she begins to dig into Julia’s life, looking for answers. Why would her daughter kill herself? Eventually this question changes to, DID Julia actually kill herself? Although the story lost a bit of momentum about halfway through, it’s still a gripping, twisty story up until the very end.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: My Daughter’s Secret

Review: Finale(Caraval #3) by Stephanie Garber

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“I don’t think my heart could be safer than in your hands.”

I’m pretty sure Stephanie Garber is related to Legend. She is full of magic and I was swept away by her storytelling. This trilogy is now one of my most recommended series. From the moment I finished Legendary, I knew I needed more. There were so many secrets that needed to be uncovered. Finale did just that.

Finale takes place about two months after Legendary ends. Scarlett and Donatella’s stories aren’t finished yet. They must choose how they wish to live their lives. Will they settle for what they’ve been given or will they fight for what they truly want?

I was so torn while reading Tella’s chapters. Her heart was being pulled in opposite directions. As a 17 yr old, that was a lot to put on her. Her heart was telling her one thing but her mind was pushing her in the other direction. I got whiplash right along with her. Her journey was one of self discovery and who did she really want to be. And I believe she chose correctly, even as her heart was squeezed a few times. She was definitely stronger than most people would be.

He didn’t kiss her as if he’d simply come back to life. He kissed her as if he’d died, been buried, and clawed his way out of the grave and through the dirt just to get to her.

Scarlett’s story took a complete different route than I thought it would. I wanted to shake her a few times. I wanted her to be with Julian and leave everything else alone, but she just couldn’t. As it turns out, her story took a drastic turn that I never saw coming. She had to dig down deep and find the strength to be able to stay on top of everything that was thrown at her. I’m glad she worked through it and made the choices she did in the end.

Now it wasn’t all trials and tribulations, there was also love. So much love. These girls’ hearts were being fought over and it was a battle to the death. AND I LOVED IT. So many swoony moments that had me grinning like a fool. I just love this book and I can’t wait to have it on my shelf!

~Melpomene

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Review: The Better Sister by Alafair Burke

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I don’t even know where to begin with this one. It begins with a betrayal, one sister turning her back on the other. And then, over the course of 14 years, there’s more betrayal culminating in a murder that brings everything back full circle. Two sisters, estranged for years, now find themselves on the same side fighting to save their shared son. I’m not joking when I say I read this one in a day, it was that good. Lots of twists and turns up to the very end!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Better Sister

Review: Alice’s Island by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo

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Stories about dead spouses with secret lives are a dime a dozen. Can’t name one off the top of my head because that’s how common they are, how they all seem to run together. So it was with a bit of hesitation that I picked this one up. And I’m glad I did. Because it’s both familiar and different at the same time.

Alice has a good life. Great job, loving husband, beautiful daughter with another child on the way. And then it all changes in an instant. When her husband, Chris, dies in a car accident she’s shattered. Imagining life as a young widow is tragic. But even worse is the realization that Chris died far from where he was supposed to be.

So Alice begins digging. And she digs some more. Eventually her curiosity leads her to an island she’s never even heard of. Soon she finds herself living a new life as she continues her quest to discover who her husband truly was and what secrets he was keeping from her. But at what cost to both Alice and her children?

I enjoyed this story a lot. While the main plot is one that I’ve heard before, the author takes a unique twist with it. The characters are intriguing, and there’s an underlying vein of humor throughout the story. It’s a bit long and wordy at times but all in all a great story.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Alice’s Island

Review: We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott

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Young love is hard, y’all. All those emotions and hormones and stuff running wild. It’s easy to see how feelings could get out of control. But how far is too far?

Molly is missing. Just disappeared. And of course, the first place the police look is at her boyfriend Cobain. But he’s just as perplexed as the authorities are. He would never hurt her. After all, she’s his everything. Before Molly came into his life, he was just existing as he wandered through life. Molly brought the light to his world. And now she’s gone.

Cobain is determined to find out what happened to Molly. He knows more than what he’s told the police, and he has a suspect list. Did he really know Molly, though? What secrets was she hiding from him?

There’s A LOT going on with this story. It’s told from two different perspectives as well as shifting from past to present. Surprisingly, though, it’s easy to follow and suspenseful enough to keep you reading until the twisty end.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: We Told Six Lies

Review: The Wish Collector by Mia Sheridan

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“I would’ve looked twice at you,” he said. “Then. Now. In any lifetime, and under the brightest of skies.”

Mia Sheridan does it again. The Wish Collector is a story about love, history and curses. The setting is New Orleans with all it’s magic and mysteries swirling about. From the very first page I was swept up into this story. The scenes were ripe with excitement and angst. And with the ghosts from the past they make this story even more mysterious.

Jonah made some wrong choices in his past that drastically changed his future and believes himself unworthy of forgiveness. He remains behind the walls of his home and keeps everyone a part from him. That is until one girl starts showing up at his wall and slowly starts to chisel away at his heart.

He looks like a man who’s been terribly hurt by the world and believes there is nothing left to love about him anymore.

Clara is new to New Orleans and discovers there’s a mystery behind the walls of Windisle plantation. When she goes there to see if she can uncover the truth she finds that there’s more than just ghosts haunting this plantation. Jonah is hiding from his past but she won’t let him. While trying to learn more about Windisle she learns what happened to Jonah and is determined to help him discover his past.

I loved Clara. She’s this tiny ballet dancer but has a fierceness about her. She won’t give up. Jonah is scarred inside and out and she’s the balm that’s needed for healing. When he finally accepts that there’s more he can do besides stalking behind his walls, the world better watch out. Jonah is ready to change it and make it better.

He was beauty and pain, glory and suffering, vengeance and grace, and all the things made stronger and more meaningful because they have an opposite.

~Melpomene
Buy The Wish Collector https://amzn.to/2ztKSU2