Tag: book-reviews

Review: A Friend in the Dark

Title: A Friend in the Dark
Author: Samantha M. Bailey
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Source: Firefly Books Distributed Lines
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 1, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A digital romance turns deadly…

Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward.

One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over?

Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her.

Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin—and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago—puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.

Review:

Eden Miller is struggling with changes in her life. Her husband suddenly wants a divorce and her seventeen-year-old daughter is barely speaking to her when she moves to college. One night she decides to add her college crush, Justin Ward, on Facebook. He messages her right away and they begin an online relationship. However, something seems off. Justin knows more about her life than Eden has told him. Though Eden is living the fantasy that she imagined over twenty years ago, she has to figure out the truth about Justin before her family is put in danger. 

This was such an intense and suspenseful thriller. It was so creepy, in the way that Justin seemed to know a lot about Eden that she hadn’t told him. It’s scary to think that you might not know who the person really is on the other side of the screen. I liked that Eden was a middle aged protagonist. Protagonists in adult novels are often younger adults, so I liked that Eden was at a different stage of her life, but she was also starting a new chapter on her own. 

A Friend in the Dark is a fast-paced and creepy thriller!

Thank you Firefly Books Distributed Lines for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death, death of parent, abuse, rape, sexual assault, murder, stalking, gaslighting

Have you read A Friend in the Dark? What did you think of it?

Review: The Dark Fable

Title: The Dark Fable
Author: Katherine Harbour
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 30, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Magical heists. Deadly secrets. Come along for the ride . . . if you dare. This heart-stopping, seductive fantasy is perfect for fans of Six of Crows .

Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed . . . until she’s caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts.

Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable’s past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.

No one is who they seem to be and the price of uncovering the Dark Fable’s cryptic history just might be fatal . . .

Review:

Evie Wilder is an orphan who usually feels invisible. When she’s caught in a heist to steal a necklace, she catches the attention of The Dark Fable. They are a group of thieves, who ask Evie to join them because she has a special ability to turn invisible. Evie joins them so that she can finally feel like she has a family and she belongs. However, there are many secrets in the Dark Fable’s past, which may be connected to Evie’s own history. She must decide where her loyalty lies, so she can find answers to questions she’s had for years. 

This was a fast paced heist story. Evie was an unreliable character with lots of secrets in her past. The Dark Fable was a mysterious group of thieves with magic powers. Even though the story is called The Dark Fable, the group in the story was referred to by their French name La Fable Sombre. It sounded more mysterious, but I wish it was consistent with the name of the book. There were some great unexpected twists at the end of the story, but they were explained quite quickly. I would have liked to see them revealed a bit earlier so there was more time to see the fallout of these twists. 

The Dark Fable is a great YA fantasy!

Thank you Bloomsbury YA for providing a digital copy of this book. 

Content warnings: death of parents, death of siblings, gun violence, stabbing

Have you read The Dark Fable? What did you think of it?

Review: With Any Luck (The Improbable Meet-Cute #5)

Title: With Any Luck (The Improbable Meet-Cute #5)
Author: Ashley Poston
Genre: Novella, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 23, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Every person she kisses finds their true love, and it’s never her—until now, in this funny and magically romantic short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Audrey Love is cursed to be the person before you find your soulmate, the girl you dump for your true love. So when her best friend disappears hours before his Valentine’s Day wedding, Audrey fears that she did the unthinkable and kissed him at last night’s bachelor party. With help from the best man, she retraces her steps to find the missing groom and, with any luck, a true love of her own.

Ashley Poston’s With Any Luck is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

Review:

Audrey Luck is unlucky in love. She’s the last person someone kisses before they find their true love. After her best friend disappears on the night before his wedding day, Audrey worries that she kissed him and led him to his true love, who is not his fiancé. Audrey must retrace her steps from the night before with the help of the best man to find her best friend before his wedding.

This was such a fun novella! It was an entertaining and slightly suspenseful story. It really felt longer than a novella because the characters were well developed and the story was cleverly plotted. This is my favourite novella the whole The Improbable Meet-Cute series.

With Any Luck is a fun romance novella!

Other books in the series:

Have you read With Any Luck? What did you think of it?

Review: Fake Famous

Title: Fake Famous
Author: Dana L. Davis
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Firefly Books Distributed
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: November 7, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In this breezy novel from the author of Somebody That I Used to Know , one Iowa farm girl—a dead ringer for a global pop star—gets an unlikely shot at stardom. Will she choose fame…or the family farm? Red Morgan is fresh out of high school. With signature red curls and a remarkable singing voice, the bubbly teenager is a devoted daughter and big sister. The world should be her oyster. But Red already knows exactly where her future the family farm in Orange City, Iowa. Zay-Zay Waters is at the top of her game. The Brooklyn-born singer has it all—talent, fame, even a smokin’ hot boyfriend. But life in the limelight isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And when a video of Red singing in the mud—looking and sounding exactly like Zay-Zay herself—goes viral, the pop star begins to hatch a plan. Red is the key to Zay-Zay’s scheme. With much-needed money on the line, Red agrees to step into Zay-Zay’s famous shoes for one week. But when planned appearances start to go off script, Red may be in over her head. Can she really pull it off?

Review:

Red Morgan is a recent high school graduate who loves helping out on her family’s farm. She knows she’s destined to run the farm after she goes to college. When a video of Red singing goes viral, everyone thinks she’s pop star Zay-Zay Waters. Red looks so much like the singer that Zay-Zay goes to the farm and asks her to impersonate her for a week while she goes to a private retreat in Brazil. Red’s family’s farm really needs the money she’ll receive, so she agrees to do it. However, when the planned appearances take an unexpected turn, Red’s true identity could be revealed. 

This was such a fun story. Red got to live the dream as a celebrity for a few days, but not everything was easy. I really liked the characters in the story. Some were quite eccentric and entertaining characters, who made the story fun. The ending was so great too!

Fake Famous is a fun story!

Thank you Firefly Books Distributed Lines for sending me a copy of this book!

Have you read Fake Famous? What did you think of it?