Release & Review - Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Hunting Annabelle
Author: Wendy Heard
Publication Date: December 25th, 2018

Publisher: MIRA Books
Category/Genre: Adult Mystery/Thriller

Sean Suh is done with killing. After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, he’s determined to stay away from temptation. But he can't resist Annabelle--beautiful, confident, incandescent Annabelle--who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. The man he's desperately trying to be.

Then Annabelle disappears.

Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—he witnessed her being taken first hand—but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the centre of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened than he’s able to remember?

Though haunted by the fear that it might be better for Annabelle if he never finds her, Sean can’t bring himself to let go of her without a fight. To save her, he’ll have to do more than confront his own demons… He'll have to let them loose.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

3.5 “Dexter in the 1980’s” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Harlequin – Mira

This book isn’t coming out until December, but it’s been on my “most anticipated reads for 2018” for a while. I was lucky enough to get to it now and I can tell you, if you’re a fan of Dexter, you’ll probably really enjoy this.

Told from the POV of a killer—no spoilers, since this info is on the blurb—Hunting Annabelle is a psychological thriller filled with twisted and interesting characters, tension and even some moments that made me laugh a little (even though I know I shouldn’t).

The first chapter is so freaking good. It had a lot of mystery involving Sean (what he was/what he had done) and the chemistry between Sean and Annabelle was undeniable. I was so ready to fall madly in love with them and ignore the fact that Sean was a freaking killer. I’d done that with Dexter, so why not again, right?

Well, I did like Sean a lot, but there was a few things that kept this book from reaching first-couple-of-seasons-Dexter level of perfection to me.

First, I went into this under the impression that Sean and Annabelle were a thing. Don’t know why. I just read the blurb that way. So I expected a relationship (old or newish, but still something solid). Problem is, Sean and Annabelle spend so little time together before she’s kidnapped that it was really hard for me to connect with them and Sean’s love for her. Insta-love rarely works for me, and despite the awesome chemistry in the first chapter, this one didn’t. And because I couldn’t connect with “their love”, I ended up questioning a lot of Sean’s later thoughts and actions.

Second thing that didn’t work for me was the big twist. Not that there was anything wrong with the twist per se. It was a good one if you didn’t see it coming. Unfortunately for me, I guessed it on Chapter 4. I can even tell you the exact paragraph that made it all clear for me, because I highlighted it on my Kindle and added a note. Because of that, when the twist was revealed, it ended up having little impact on me.

BUT, big BUT here, the story was still intriguing, so I kept reading. I think what made this book the most interesting was the choice of POV. Being inside Sean’s head was at times confusing (in a good way), entertaining and disturbing. He was going through so much and trying so hard to keep it together, I couldn’t help but root for him. And the times he let go and embraced the darkest parts of him made for some shocking and entertaining scenes. Those were probably the moments I got Dexter-feels the most.

 I love Dexter-feels.

I can’t get into details about the last part of the book (after the reveal) and the ending because of spoilers, but let’s just say those of you who didn’t guess the twist and enjoy messed up characters doing messed up things will enjoy the heck out of some scenes.

Overall, Hunting Annabelle was an interesting read from a debut author that shows promise. The fact that it, at times, reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows only made it better.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Review - Sadie by Courtney Summers

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Sadie
Author: Courtney Summers

Age Category/Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Publication Date: September 4th, 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
 

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. 

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4 “Raw + Stellar Audiobook ” Stars

First of all, this audiobook is stellar. I wasn't a big fan of audiobooks, but this one definitely changed my mind and made me eager to listen to more. Here's hoping my next one is just as good.

Second, am I the only one who feels like this is neither YA nor mystery as it's being marketed?

Whatever it is or isn't, this book was still pretty great. Raw, like pretty much everything Courtney Summers writes, it was a story that wasn't the easiest to listen to because of how painful Sadie's entire life had been. For someone so young, she'd gone through so much already, and I couldn't help but feel for her, want to protect her and take her far away from that cruel world. Poor Sadie deserved so much better than what life had given her (and much better than that ending, if I'm being honest).

Dude, that ending...

Aside from the ending, that was a lot to like about the book. The characters weren't as black and white as one might expect with a book with such a serious and troubling theme; Sadie's POV had just the right amount of sarcasm to make her voice stand out; and even though there was little mystery involving the murder and the murderer, Sadie's fate and her path to revenge kept me interested from start to finish.

And I really, really loved how Sadie was portrayed: as someone who was trying SO hard to be strong and dangerous when you could so clearly see how broken she was. I don't love that she was broken, but I loved the contrast and how it made her narrative more powerful.

I initially also liked the podcast chapters, but they lost some of their purpose toward the end. Things got a little repetitive and I couldn't see the point of reliving everything we'd already seen in Sadie's POV.

Overall, though, this is another win when it comes to Courtney Summers' ability to write dark themes, raw feelings and engaging protagonists.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Review - Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Sometimes I Lie
Author: Alice Feeney
Publication Date: March 23rd, 2017

Publisher: Flatiron Books
Category/Genre: Adult Psychological Thriller

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me: 
1. I’m in a coma. 
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore. 
3. Sometimes I lie. 

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4.5 "Twisted like a Pretzel" Stars

 

Three things you need to know about Sometimes I Lie:

 

1. Don’t look at spoilers before or while you’re reading

2. You probably won’t guess all the twists and turns and that’ll make the experience even better

3. It’s as good as everyone else is saying

 

Sometimes I Lie has been on my TBR for a while, but the library waiting list was LONG, so I had to sit and wait. I did, and I was rewarded with a great reading experience.

 

I can’t go into too many details (read #1 above), but I have to say it’s been a long, long time since I read a book that kept me guessing. The last psychological thrillers I read were good, but the surprise elements fell short because I guessed them pretty early on. This didn’t happen this time. I had a bunch of theories about the accident, the diary, the people involved in all of it, like I normally do, and but while I guessed some of the small twists, the major ones caught me by surprise.

 

The whole thing was so well-planned that, every time a twist was revealed, I had to stop, go back and reread some scenes just to make sure they fit the narrative. I’m glad to say most of them did.

 

The characters were another great surprise. I wasn’t sure how to feel about Amber, but she turned out to be smarter and stronger than I expected. I almost threw my Kindle across the room when the last chapter started (that’s how mad I was at what I thought was her “decision”), but then, once again, BOOM!

 

 

Again, reviewing this book and keeping it spoiler free is almost impossible, so I’ll stop talking. All you need to know is that the book is well worth the read, even if the twist at the end was confusing and unnecessary, in my opinion.

 

Grab your copy, get ready to for all the twists and reveals and enjoy the ride.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Baby Teeth
Author: Zoje Stage

Age Category/Genre: Adult Psychological Thriller

Publication Date: July 17th, 2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Sweetness can be deceptive. 

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4.0 “Creepy Child” Star

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press.

This book made me question wanting children. That’s how scary Hanna was.

The blurb says: “Meet Hanna.” After reading this, I say, “Hm, no, thank you.” You can keep that girl away from me. There’ll be no complaints.

Told in dual POV, Baby Teeth is the kind of creepy story that is fun to read. At least it was for me. I practically read it in one sitting, and the story held my attention from start to finish. I blame that on the great writing style (even though I’m not the biggest fan of third person, this one was well-written and engaging) and on the intriguing characters.

I had doubts about Hanna’s POV at first, but it surprisingly didn’t annoy me. I couldn’t imagine being inside the head of a kid could be so entertainingly creepy. Her thoughts were logical and nonsensical at the same time. Sure I felt she was a little too smart for someone her age every now and then, but it could be explained by her psychopathic tendencies, if I can call it that.

I won’t call Hanna a psychopath, because I believe that’s not a diagnosis you can have until a person’s brain is fully developed, but that’s an idea of what you can expect from Hanna. She’s manipulative, violent, intelligent, shows a lack of empathy and attachment to anyone else but her father, and she’s scary AF.

Imagine being her mom and having to live with a kid who not only shows those traits, but wants you dead. That’s Suzatte’s life. Poor woman went through a lot in this story.

Unlike Hanna, I found Suzette to be an extremely likable character. There were times I wanted to shake her because she gave her scary daughter too much power, but I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes, so I tried to cut her some slack. I loved that, despite everything going on, she still tried to be a good mother. She could’ve easily tried to be as awful as her daughter, but even when she tried to fight back, I felt it was more out of self-preservation and worry than being mean-spirited. In all honesty, she had more patience than I expected myself to in a situation like that.

The plot wasn’t perfect--some of the conflicts could’ve been avoided had Suzette acted like a person with full access to technology a little more--but it sure was engaging. I was eager to learn what awful thing Hanna would do next, and I was cheering for Suzette the entire time.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending, but I didn’t hate it, either. I guess it fit well the creepy factor present throughout the book.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining read from a debut author that shows promise.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Release & Review - Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Before I Let Go

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Release Date: January 2nd, 2017

Age Category/ Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Best friends Corey and Kyra were inseparable in their snow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return.

Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated―and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town's lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger.

Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter...

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

3 “Intriguing, but confusing” stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Sourcebooks Fire!

I requested this book on NetGalley because I wanted to give this author another chance, and see if I was the problem since I one-stared her bestselling debut, This is How it Ends. The good news is I liked this a lot more than the author’s previous book. The not-so-good news is that this book could’ve been a lot better.

Before I Let Go is the story of Corey and Kyra, two childhood BFFs who grew up in a tiny town of 200 inhabitants in Alaska. Kyra was bipolar and rejected by the rest of the town, and when Corey’s mom received a job offer somewhere else, she left her town and her best friend behind. Seven months later, she gets a phone call that Kyra is dead. They say is suicide, but she doesn’t believe it. When she flies back to town, it’s obvious there’s more to the story.

First, this book is supposed to be suspense/thriller, right? But with all the supernatural vibe I got from it, it’s hard to put it into a specific genre, which is something that often takes me out of the story. I kept hoping for some explanation to the voices, “predictions” and overall supernatural-y things happening, but I was left disappointed.

Something else that confused and irritated me a lot were the narrative choices. The main story was told in first person present tense, which I don’t mind at all. Then we had flashback chapters, which are always hard for me to connect with (especially when they’re repetitive and add little to the connection they’re trying to establish). But I could deal with them. My biggest problem were the script chapters. Yes. There were some chapters that were written in script format, and WTF was that about? I also kept hoping for an explanation, because that change in narrative made no sense whatsoever, but again nothing came. It was just thrown there. I honestly don’t know what purpose it was trying to serve. Can someone explain it to me, please?

Still on the needs-improvement part, Corey was not an easy character to like. Look, you best friend is struggling with mental illness—I won’t comment on how the portrayal of bipolar because I don’t know enough about it—and you leave her behind with a bunch of people who never liked her and talked about sending her away. I get that Corey had no choice on the matter since she was a teenager and was following her mother, but couldn’t she have at least tried to be a good friend? She promised Kyra she’d come back for her, made the girl promise to wait for her, and she couldn’t even bother to answer Kyra’s letter? *rolls eyes*

Then when Kyra dies, she goes back and starts confronting every single person about how they did not care about Kyra at all. Girl! Girl! The nerve!

I don’t understand what they purpose of having Corey be so careless was. Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth the risk of making her unlikable, which was what it did for me. I found myself getting irritated with her every time she confronted Kyra’s parents or the rest of the folks in her hometown. Also, repetition ruled this story. Corey had the same conversation over and over and over again, and it was completely unnecessary because I had already gotten the idea behind the whole mystery.

Since this was supposed to be a thriller, I was expecting something with a little more mystery to it. But there was no build up. When Corey arrives at her hometown, people are already super weird and the hints about what they did to Kyra were already too strong. There was no going from “oh, this town is nice and cozy” to “OMG, this is creepy.” We started with creepy and kept that pace. There was little find out. Little possibilities to explore.

The motivation for what happened was also a little weak. I get that desperation and hope can change people—even 200 people. But to think the ones that loved Kyra the most would behave in the matter they did? And that there’d be no sign of regret? I don’t know if I can buy it. But I blame that on the lack of character development. Aside from Corey and Kyra, everyone else was interchangeable, even Kyra’s parents.

On the other hand, this book was quite addictive. I read it superfast, and the beginning did make me curious about what would happen next. It would’ve benefited from being a littler shorter, but I didn’t consider DNF’ing it at any point, which I can’t say about many books lately. I also loved the setting—a tiny Alaskan town. I thought it helped with the eerie atmosphere the author tried to create. Again, I would’ve liked the town folks to have distinguishing personalities and for the supernatural vibe to have been clarified, but I think the setting in itself was a positive thing. 

Before I Let Go was different than what I normally read, and it was a better experience than the author’s debut. I don’t know if I’m the right reader for this author, but I like her premises, and if she comes up with something else that peaks my interest, I may check it out again.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Release & Review - The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: The Ghostwriter
Author: Alessandra Torre

Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary/Suspense
Publication Date: October 2nd, 2017

I have three months to write the last book of my life. Three months to confess the details of that day, and how it changed everything for me. 

My name is Helena Ross. I’ve written fifteen romance novels, ten of which have become international bestsellers. But this one isn't a romance, no Happily Ever After in place. This novel holds only the truth, which I have run away from for four years. The truth, which I have hidden from the police, from my loved ones, from the world. 

This final book?

It's my confession.

This book is not a romance. It is contemporary fiction, but very suspenseful in nature. It is about a famous romance author and a dark secret she keeps.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

3.5 “Writing Secrets” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you!

I think it's never enough to say that this book isn't a romance. At all. So if you know Alessandra Torre because of her steamy romance stories, don't come expecting more of the same. You'll get to meet a completely different side of her with this book.

Writing a review for this book isn't an easy task. I believe readers should go into this knowing just as little as the blurb tells . THis way, they'll get to experience each reveal and each twist. That's how I did it, and it worked for me.

I have to say I was surprised at how different this was from Alessandra Torre's previous books. The writing is still as good, but while in romance stories the author needs to make the main characters likable and relatable, Alessanda Torre didn't pull back from making Helena complex and, yeah, unlikable. Getting behind Helena's actions and reactions was hard--half the time I was just perplexed at how rude she was--but even that didn't make me want to stop reading. Normally, when I can't connect with the main character, I have to fight the urge to just drop the book and go read something else, but this didn't happen here. I wanted to know what had happened in Helena's life to make her that way. I wanted to follow her story.

The whole mystery behind Helena's "confession book" was the main reason I kept reading. I had an idea of what had happened from the beginning, but I didn't know how and why, and when the truth came to light, my heart broke a little for her. It still didn't make me like or understand her 100%, though. And you know what? That's also okay. I don't have to love Helena or any other main character to enjoy their story. When well done, an unlikable narrator can make the book special (see my love for Gone Girl by Gillian Flyyn).

Besides, Helena's literary agent and her writer rival brought enough likability to make up for Helena's grumpiness. I loved how these two characters came into Helena's life and refused to leave even though she initally treated them so badly. They made her less lonely and therefore more human.

I had a few problems with pacing and with Helena's reactions after she learns "the truth", but I can say this book surprised me in a positive way. I wasn't expecting something so raw, but that's what I got, and it fit the premise and the complexity of the characters perfectly.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.