What Lies in the Woods

What Lies in the Woods was a random late night choice when I felt I had enough energy to try to read. 

Naomi just wants to forget what happened in the woods that awful summer and she has done a good job so far until the attack dies in prison causing her to receive notification. Unable to hide from her demons any longer she heads back to her hometown and starts trying to learn the truth of what happened that summer. 

The writing was okay and transitions were smooth. The main character was not my favorite. I get she was suppose to be slow on the uptake of learning thing but she was painfully slow. I figured out the whole mystery before anything was revealed which is annoying. I don't mind figuring out part but I like some shocking twists and turns. 

Not sure when I will get motivated to read again. My husband passed and I have been spending all my time working on his estate. By the time I go to bed just the thought of picking up a book is totally overwhelming. 

Still See You Everywhere

 

Still See You Everywhere is the third book in the Frankie Elkin series. Like previous books in the series I read this in every free second I had.

Frankie is still on a mission to find missing people from cold cases she has found browsing the internet and newspapers. Not sure why she is answering Frankie answers the call of a cold hearted serial murderer who is due to be executed soon. Unwilling to help at first soon Frankie is drawn in and quickly heads to a remote island in search of answers. 

Frankie is flawed and broken in so many ways. I love that she is not a perfect character, does not always figure everything out, and acts like a normal human when faced with her life on the line. I like that the mystery is not always so cut and dry and not that easy to say who is right and who is wrong. 2025 cannot come soon enough because I am eager to read the next story in the series. 

Running Blind

 

Running Blind is part of a series but I had no issues reading it as a stand alone book.

Shirlee McCoy is always good for a fast read, her books are light hearted with plenty of action and clean romance. I like that I can figure out what is going to happen to the main characters but still have the mystery aspect. 

Fool Me Once

 

Fool Me Once is a stand alone mystery novel. It is the first Harlan Coben novel I have read so I cannot confirm if Mr. Coben has a writing style with a lot of similarities like other reviews state.

Maya is a mess, her husband has been killed in a random act of violence or so the police state, her daughter's nanny is acting strange, and Maya deals with horrible flashbacks to her time serving in the military. 

I liked Maya she seemed like a thought out character with lots of flaws, real feelings, and struggled to know what to do like any normal human would struggle with. I feel like the other characters were sort of an after thought though, they really lacked personality and had no no real feel to them.

The overall story was new for me and not one that felt cookie cutter compared to other writers I have read previously. However I did not like the ending at all, felt like the easy way was taken out. 

Writing was consistent, I never struggled to figure out what was happening at the time, some surprises and turns while some I figured out. I would consider reading more of Mr. Coben's work if I see at the library. 

The Mystery Guest

 

The Mystery Guest is the second book in the Molly the Maid series. While I enjoyed The Maid enough to continue on the series I am dubbing The Mystery Guest with second book syndrome. I had to force myself to keep reading at times. 

Molly is different and thinks different then the average person, I love how consistent her character is all the time. In no way at all is Molly a cookie cutter character and it was nice seeing an in-depth look at her childhood and how she even struggled to relate to children. 

I was not overly thrilled with the story line, it did not hold my attention and nothing was a shock for me. I expected almost everything that happened. I kept hoping for a big revelation I missed in some way. If the library has The Mistletoe Mystery I would consider trying it. 

The Ballad of Never After

 

The Ballard of Never After is the second book in the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy. 

I love Evangeline, everything from her name to her personality. She is such a dynamic and well rounded character that I could easily see her with her pink hair walk through the door any moment. Normally love triangles make me cringe but this one is executed perfectly and adds so much to the story. 

Stephanie Garber has a lovely and elegant writing style it is not for everyone but I just adore it. The way Mrs. Garber is able to describe things paints a rich and vivid image in my mind that I thoroughly enjoy. Also I did not deal with second book syndrome while reading The Ballard of Never After. Constantly I was trying to rush through daily life just have a few minutes to read. The other day I stopped at the bookstore and have already started A Curse For True Love. 

Chasing Endless Summer

 

I had no clue that Chasing Endless Summer Chasing Endless Summer was the second book in a series. 

Caroline had no personality just seemed like a shadow of a person who could have personality. It was typical V.C. Andrews style with the family have dark secrets, mental illness, and society frowned upon relationships. I know V.C. Andrews passed away many years ago but I am not sure if it is the same ghost(s) writer or not. The story also did not fit well, part here, part there, and another part over there it had a horrible flow. Not a series I will continue and if I feel a need for a guilty read I will be choosing to re-read some early work from V.C. Andrews. 

Home is Where the Bodies Are

 

I had a 21 hour car ride and knew I would need something to entertain myself so checked out Home is Where the Bodies AreHome is Where the Bodies Are to read during the ride. Due to my situation I was able to read the story in one sitting. 

Beth resents her siblings like crazy, they ignored their dying mother and showed up in time to see Beth fall apart right after her mother had passed. Each child has their own demons, Beth knew she was never good enough for her parents having stayed in a small town working at the factory her father had worked at. Nicole loves drugs more then anything and no one was interested in helping her except Beth. Michael is the rich child who escaped to California and forget all his family. With the three siblings thrown together they have to learn to face the past to learn what finally happened to their father who walked out on them years ago. 

This was not my favorite Jeneva Rose book but it did keep my attention for a whole reading. I did not figure out everything until key parts were revealed. I liked the characters and the growth that was shown with them while still showing them having serious PTSD from various things that occurred in their lives. 

The Wager

 

I had high hopes for The Wager A tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder The Wager A tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder. I found previous work by Mr. Grann interesting and captivating. 

As always I was captivated by the beginning, chapter one I started to get bored, chapter two picked up, then after that it was hit or miss for me. I can highly appreciate the time, effort, and dedication to research that went into the story. Clearly finding antique ship logs, diaries, and pictures is not easy nor is it for the nondedicated. The story made sense and told completely what happened to all the men as far as history was able to share. The pace of the writing was too slow for my taste and it seemed like a lot of things repeated themselves. Despite this I would consider giving another work by Mr. Grann a chance. 

Endangered

 

I got  Endangered out of a local free library. I knew I had a plane ride so I took Endangered to read while waiting to board and flying. I had no clue it was a series. 

Summer is a fun character, she is at home in the mountains watching wildlife but also loves to have the comforts of a shower and a good meal. Not liking her name much she goes by Sam and is thrilled to be on assignment to update how the cougars released are doing. Finding two of the three Sam quickly takes her pictures and heads back down the mountain. It is there she finds a toddler who has a toy truck. Seeing no adults she asks him where his mom is, at that point Sam notices a figure down the path waving at her. Assuming it is the toddlers father she lets the child run down to him just as the last of the daylight fades away into the night. This is a mistake since the toddler goes missing and the cougars Sam worked so hard to get back into the wild are blamed. Determined to find the boy and the truth Sam soon encounters more then she was prepared for as she searches for the young boy. 

I really liked Sam she was spunky but believable. Everything she did was believable and made sense for someone trained to be in the wilderness. Despite being a mystery it had funny moments and tender moments. This was my first wilderness mystery read and I would give the genre another try. Despite being a series the story ended with no questions for me and everything was wrapped up nicely. 

Once Upon A Broken Heart

 

Once Upon A Broken Heart is a gem of a story I missed hearing about until browsing the bookstore recently. Carval is still one of my favorite books so I did not hesitate to buy more work by the amazing Stephanie Garber. 

The mysterious Prince of Hearts finally gets his time to shine in his own series. Jacks is just as cruel and demented as he was in Carval but this time he is free to grant as many deals as he wants. With the fates free from the deck of playing cards Jacks power has returned and he is happy to make bargains for a price. 

Evangeline is desperate and determined. Surely the prince of hearts understands heartbreak so he will grant her desperate wish of wanting to stop the marriage of her one true love to another. Guided by her heart and less by her wits I really have grown to like Evangeline, she is clever in her own way but without fail her heart always makes the decisions for her. 

The real reason I like Mrs. Garber so much is her world building, it is so vivid and delicious to read. Each area and even characters are painted in precise colors creating a world magic and clarity. Mrs. Garber's writing style is uniquely her own. I have already purchased The Ballard of Never After and cannot wait to start it. 

The Apothecary Diaries

 

The Apothecary Diaries is the first in a manga series. However I have never read a manga like it before. Instead of it being a comic it was like a chapter book with very few pictures. Despite this I really enjoyed the story and all the characters. 

Maomao is interesting, she just wants a peaceful life with out drama or attention of men. As the story progresses you learn how far Maomao goes to make avoiding men happen. Despite being a lowly servant Maomao has several things going for her, she can read, has strong wits, and knows how to diagnose and treat ailments of the women in the inner palace. 

The writing is smooth and easy to read. All transitions are easily marked and I never once lost track of what was going on. I really want to watch the anime now but I am going to finish reading the series before I watch the anime. Since I thought it was a picture manga I checked out volume one and two the same day. 

Iron Flame

 

Iron Flame is the second book in The Empryean series. 

I feel like Violet changed a lot from Fourth Wing to Iron Flame but to be fair she is most likely dealing with a lot of PTSD and exhausted from keeping her secrets from her friends. Instead of relying on people like she had previously Violet tries to find more and more herself. Digging deeper and deeper until she risks it all for answers she desperately needs. 

Xaden was left out of the story for a major part of it and when he reappeared I did not like his attitude much. He was even more cocky and secretive despite tying to be better with sharing stuff with Violet. 

Several side characters seemed left out as well which was sad since I like their relationship with Violet but she just tried to avoid all her friends and hide from them the majority of the time or ignore them.

My biggest gripe was another love triangle sort of thing being introduced. Violet already dealt with a love triangle in the Four Wing so need to do some odd Xaden love triangle with an ex that makes Violet feel even more insecure. Parts of the writing were too much, I felt like it repeated and did not provide enough new information but I did enjoy the story a lot overall. Like many others I am eager for Onyx Storm next year.

The time it took me to read the story has nothing to do with the story being slow, bad, or boring. Just things going on in my personal life are making it hard for me to want to pick up a book and try to read. 

Compete

 

Compete is the second  book in the The Atlantis Grail series. I actually bought the Ebook since the library did not have it. 

Having made it through the brutal qualification Gwen is now on a spaceship traveling through interstellar space towards and unknown galaxy and an unknown life on the alien planet Atlantis. As usual Gwen continues to be her difficult self and refuses to settle into the strict schedule the Atlanteans have created for the teens. Refusing to choose civilian or cadet Gwen is allowed more time to decided which she will choose. This comes with a price though and she has found herself an aide to the commanding pilot Aeson and learning more about the officers aboard the fleet. 

Despite it taking me a long time to read I really liked the book. The author was able to constantly add new information despite daily life being the same throughout the book. I like that you learned more about Aeson even though everything was told from Gwen's point of view. The writing continued to be consistent and easy to read. Despite tech not being my strong point I really liked how Nazarian broke down the more technical stuff and made it easy to understand. 

I have already purchased Win on my tablet and am eager to start it. 

Qualify

 

Qualify was a recent Free Friday by Nook book and it has been ages since I read an young adult book so I figured I would give it a try.

Gwen knows she is nothing special just an average dork trying to make it through high school with the least amount of embarrassing moments for her but that all changes when news hits that the earth is going to be destroyed by an steroid. However salvation lies in aliens who once lived on earth and offers a small hope to teens. Pass the tests and the aliens will take you to their home planet and safety. 

A double edge sword, Gwen can be saved but what if her siblings do not pass the coemption and no saving her parents. Still she must try. Soon Gwen is forcing not only her mind but her body to work hard to pass the Atlantis tests as she hopes to qualify for saving. 

It was easy to read large chunks of the story at once. I would easily get through a hundred pages or so at a time. The writing is smooth and flows well. Since Gwen is the main character you do not get a feel for most of the other characters but their dominate personality traits do show through. My biggest complaint is that Atlantis culture did not really go into much detail when she was in the class. I wanted more on how the aliens live every day not about how to bow to people above your station. Despite that I am eager to continue on with the story and I did buy the second book, Compete, I am hoping it will not suffer what I call second book syndrome. 

All the Dangerous Things

 

I saw a Facebook reel that recommended some thriller books and I happened to like one they had listed so I figured I would give All the Dangerous Things a try. 

Isabelle is a sleep deprived mother who looses it all when her son disappears from his crib in the middle of the night. Unable to trust anyone around her Isabelle begins a mission to bring her son home and find out the truth even if it is not the truth she wants to learn. 

The first major issue I had with the story was the fluff, so much filler, I skipped whole paragraphs and pages as reading and still got the whole story. Way too many twisted and confusing thoughts Isabelle was having the did not move the plot forward at all. Really it makes no sense to me that authors feel like books have to be a certain number of pages when it does not add to the story, I am fine with books 150 to 200 pages. The next issue I had was I did not really like Isabelle or even feel sorry for her she just went on and on about how horrible her life was and most of it was her fault from the horrible choices she made. Beyond that the mystery was solid with a clear conclusion. 

None of this is True

 

None of this is True is a trip all it's own and I almost quit after reading two chapters.

Josie is a middle aged woman enjoying her birthday at the local pub with her husband when she spies the glamorous Alix having a birthday celebration as well. Instead of being with just her husband several people are also at the table and Josie is curious how old Alix is turning and who all the people at her gathering are. Little did the two women know soon their destines would be intertwined as Josie makes it her personal mission to share her life story with Alix and learn Alix's life story at the same time.

The story was so ordinary and just mundane then suddenly wham it took off and I could not put it down. I read two thirds of it in one sitting. I just had to know more and more. The pace at which information was provided was perfect, small tidbits but enough to keep you wanting to read more. Some of the revelations I figured out and some I did not. The ending was perfect and I have my own conclusions, which are no doubt different from other readers, however I am not left wondering. To be able to write open ended and not leave the reader wondering is insanely talented. I look forward to more novels from Lisa Jewell. 

One Step Too Far

 

I could not sleep last night so I looked for a book on my table and happened to find One Step Too Far which is the second book in the Frankie Elkin series. Instead of sleeping I read the whole book. 

Once again Frankie is on a mission to find the missing but this time she is diverting from her planned target to help find a man who went missing in the woods five years ago. Though she doubts he is alive she hopes she an bring comfort to his terminally ill mother with finding remains. Soon though Frankie is in over her head as she realizes something is terribly wrong with the woods and searching for the truth can be dangerous. 

The writing was the same but I found the plot line far more engaging. Most likely because I am horrified by the idea of a person just disappearing in the woods. Cities have answers and in the woods animals leave traces but for a person to just vanish while out in nature with no trace horrifies me. 

With that said I have several issues with the overall story. This next part will contain spoilers. The killer is a woodsman and his helper runs a diner, how on earth were they smart enough to encode their emails and make them impossible to trace? How did they get to the father of the missing campers house and sabotage his car and steal his gear? Also what was up with the screams in the woods that seemed to scare the experienced hunters in the group? What did Scott see? A hallucination due to guilt or the killer dressed up in the gear he stole from the victim? What happened to the night Scott left camp and was found near the river? Was he sleepwalking? Drunk? Taken and not aware? Who attacked Scott in the middle of the night was it the hunter or was it himself causing trauma to his chest? Why did the hunter leave the lean to intact and not destroy it? Was he playing a cruel joke on the missing campers father? What was up with the green Frankie saw at the top of the cliff? So many unanswered questions for side plot things but nothing that was a major question was left unanswered. 

Before She Disappeared

 

I had no clue Before She Disappeared was part of a series or I would not have started it. I tend to try to read series when they are complete or not read them at all. I cannot stand when a mystery ends on a cliffhanger and then you wait ages for the next book to either tie up the mystery or continue it.

Frankie is a woman on a mission, a mission to find the forgotten minorities who disappear, the ones who cases go cold, the ones who are only remembered by their family, and no matter she wont stop until the missing are found. 

Frankie is clearly a well rounded character, she has flaws, she has feelings, she shows fear, and she has things that make me like her a lot. The whole story wrapped up as well, so well in fact I had to see if the book preview at the end of the story was the next in the series. It is and I am trying to decide it I want to continue the series or not. I do like the writing style, the main character, the process, and the overall plot line just not into reading mystery that is a series. 

Five Fortunes - Audio Book

I was provided a copy of Five Fortunes from Mrs. Venkatraman.* It is a young adult story that is stand alone.

Despite having five main characters and side characters each girl is presented with a clear personality that makes it easy to tell them apart. One of the best parts is that each chapter has a title, it has become so rare for author's to include that but really adds a lot to the story for the reader in my opinion. One hundred percent the story was driven by teenage antics and not by romance which I strongly approve of. More stories need to show that it is okay to enjoy being a teen and hanging out with friends. At times the girls did feel a bit stereotypical but that is alright since it makes it easier for girls this age in ways, I know at that age I had a category I considered myself to be in.

The only moment where I struggled a little bit was the very start, is felt a bit like the first couple pages were a sample of the writing of what was going to happen. It was not until I finished a couple chapters I realized the story went from the girls about to get their fortunes to skipping over that part and the girls having their fortunes.

Consistent writing with a lovely flow and words that are appropriate for a young teen. At parts I laughed out loud at the story and other parts wondered how all the fortunes would play out for each girl. Another major bonus is the chapters were consistent in length so it does not mess with the pace of reading.

All in all a delightful read that I see young teens enjoying and not being overly intimated by since it is shorter in length but in no way lacking in a nicely well rounded story.

Five Fortunes is the first audiobook I have ever listened to so I have nothing else to compare it to in any way. I enjoyed hearing the story aloud, Emily M Wilson did a concise job of narrating. Wilson was easy to understand, added her own personal flair, and was consistent. 

*being gifted the story in no way affects my review

Five Survive

 

I have been trying to get back into some young adult and all the books I wanted to check out had a massive waiting list so I went back to mystery/thriller except young adult genre added in. 

The characters were not to my liking at all, they all seemed one dimensional even Red whose point of view the story was told from. None of them had my sympathy and none of them acted like real people except Oliver at times. Red seemed so detached from all that was going on it made me wonder if she was on the spectrum in some way. 

My other huge issue with the story was the ending, it felt rushed and incomplete. It was also odd to go from Red's point of view to other people's point of view and written letters. It seemed out of place and not a smooth transition at all. I did like the overall story though it had an interesting premise and I liked that part immensely. 

The Fourth Wing

 

Thanks to a friend lending me their copy of The Fourth Wing I could bypass the hundreds of people on the library waiting list. 

I will admit the warning almost made me not read any farther, I can handle some of the things listed but intense gore is not my style. Thankfully the story did not go deep into describing the injuries. 

With Violet having trained to be a scribe for her entire life I expected more reluctance to physical activity from her, she did complain about it but did not seem to shy away from it. I also expected her to excel at book learning which she did. It would have been nice if her illness was explained a bit more, it seemed to randomly disappear then suddenly reappear. My other thought was Violet's name, it does not fit in the world with the other names. I get that Xander wanted to nickname her Violence so it fits that but beyond that the rest of the names sound more magical and Violet's is just too ordinary. 

Dain was another character that was complicated but also annoying. Despite him being Violet's best friend I felt like they would never have been friends outside the academy. The two constantly butted heads and it is hard to see Dain having any fun in life even as a child since he is such a stickler for the rules. 

Xander is a confusing character, he is old enough to make his own decisions but also the age of hot headed young men. I found him unbelieve a lot of time and yet moments of being a hot headed young man showed up. 

The rest of the cast sort of felt like an after thought at times. I only learned a few thing about each of them and it was hard to get a good grasp on their personality. 

Even though the story was long I wanted more world building. More information on the things around them, more information on how the different species of dragons look, and even more on how the side character's dragons looked. 

Other then those few complains I thoroughly enjoyed The Fourth Wing. Several steamy scenes, bad language, and blood but it seemed to all fit into the story. The opening really drew me in and from the first couple of paragraphs I was hooked on the writing style. I hope that more of Violet's father is mentioned further in the series and why she trained as a scribe when her mother was dead set on her being a rider. 

 

The Nothing Man

 

The Nothing Man is the first book I have had taken from a booktok recommendation and I seriously was not impressed. 

Despite this being written as a book within a book I never had issues with understanding what was going on, every transition was clear and concise. The characters were not even bad, I did not like serial killer, I felt sympathy for his surviving victims, and I cheered for all the good detectives. Yet beyond that I felt no connection to the story, I did not care if anyone lived or died. All the characters were flat in their own odd ways and even the main character Jim did not seem anything but ordinary. The sub-stories seemed to be snuck in and did not fit well with the flow of the story. 

Slow writing, no tension, limited moments of excitement, and a predictable plot made The Nothing Man a story not worth remembering. 

The Final Gambit

The Final Gambit is the third book in The Inheritance Series. I thought this was a trilogy when I started it but I was wrong.

Avery seems to have learned a lot about how to deal with puzzles left in the Hawthorne house, will, and her life overall. The biggest puzzle left for her seems to be her heart as she struggles to figure out her feelings for Grey while being with Jamerson. I personally do not like love triangles and this one was one of the worst ones I have ever read. I also wish that more of Avery's social blunders were included in the story it just seemed like she went from being awkward about things to suddenly perfect in acting in society. The last thing I had an issue with was the way Eve was thrown into the story, it did not really fit nor did it seem important to the story. 

Overall I do not know how I feel about the series as a whole, I enjoyed most of the puzzles but others seemed out of place and forced. The love triangle felt forced and awkward in most parts. The writing did stay consistent throughout the whole series and the characters did not have any major personality changes which I liked. 

While I own the first three books I do not see myself buying the fourth book, it does not seem to be strictly from Avery's point of view so it is a 50/50 chance I will like it or not.