https://amzn.to/43jX0D9

Title: The Wrong Kind of Weird

Author: James Ramos

Release Date: January 3rd, 2023

Page Count: 286

Format: Netgalley

Start Date: December 26th, 2022

Finish Date: December 31st, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This was a very unique book in my opinion. It starts out with our main character, Cameron continuing a tryst that started in the summer with popular girl. They have both managed to keep it a secret somehow. Probably because they don’t hang out with the same circles, and everybody thinks that she’s still involved with somebody else. I really enjoyed reading the story and seeing the struggles of Cameron. It was really wonderful to watch his growth as the story continues on. I won’t say too much because I’d rather everybody read this book rather than spoiling it for anybody. I also can’t get over how amazing this cover looks! I wound up getting my hands on an audio copy that I plan to listen to down the road. I’d love to meet the author and get a signed copy down the road as well! I love their writing style and can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us!

https://amzn.to/43p5TeO

Title: Unseelie

Author: Ivelisse Housman

Release Date: January 3rd, 2023

Page Count: 387

Format: Netgalley

Start Date: December 15th, 2022

Finish Date: December 30th, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

Before I start my review, I want to state that I feel that it’s very important that you read the author’s notes in this book. It sheds some light on this book in ways I couldn’t tell you. It also gives a glimpse of who she is as a person. That said, I want to start by saying that I’m so in love with this cover. I can’t remember how I came across the book. I can say that I’m glad I did. The story was amazing. I connected so well with Seelie. I have ADHD. Seelie is autistic. I never realized how many parallels there are between the two. It was so wonderful being able to read a book that represented an autistic character. I’m sure there are others out there, but this is the first one that I’ve personally come across. I fully recommend this book and I really can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!

https://amzn.to/3oCji43

Title: Drinking Games

Author: Sarah Levy

Release Date: January 3rd, 2023

Page Count: 277

Format: Netgalley

Start Date: December 26th, 2022

Finish Date: December 30th, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This book is a memoir about someone who struggled with drinking problems. The book is completely raw and open about her struggles and her triumphs. I really felt seen and heard in many parts of this book. I feel like many people will. The main focus is not on the drinking. It’s on the insecurities and struggles we all face when we’re trying to come to terms with who we are. We struggle with what we want to do for a living. We struggle with friends coming and going. We struggle with our mistakes and how to overcome them. I could go on. I’m just overwhelmed by this book. I’m so glad that I had the chance to read the book. I wound up preordering a copy of the audiobook. I plan to listen to it eventually. It’s definitely worth the reread.

https://amzn.to/3C68azt

Title: Omens Bite

Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Release Date: April 5th, 2022

Page Count: 315

Format: Netgalley/Audiobook

Start Date: December 14th, 2022

Finish Date: December 30th, 2022

Rating: 4 Stars

Review:

This is the second book in a trilogy. I fully suggest anybody that’s interested in this book read Spells Trouble first. This trilogy is written by a mother daughter team. They also wrote a series called House of Night. House of Night is one of my favorite series of all time. I’ve read them a few times. I’m not going to lie, I haven’t enjoyed this trilogy as much as I did House of Night. I enjoyed it and was invested in the outcome. I think it was the twins attitudes. They were both just annoying in their own way. I actually enjoyed the secondary characters more than I did the twins. I still fully recommend this trilogy. My misgivings aside, it’s a very intense and alluring story. I just wish that the twins were given less whiny personalities.

https://amzn.to/43FJXeS

Title: Desolation Canyon

Author: P.J. Tracy

Release Date: January 18th, 2022

Page Count: 316

Format: Audiobook

Start Date: December 10th, 2022

Finish Date: December 27th, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

I really enjoyed this book very much. This book is the sequel to Deep into the Dark. It can be read as a standalone though. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be shocked at all if I found out these books became a television or movie adaptation. They would be right up there with a lot of thrillers and crime shows. This particular book is about a cult and the darker and not so legal things that they are practicing. Somebody important to one of the main characters is unknowingly involved. I’d love to see if there are other books in this series. I also noticed that the authors wrote another series. I fully plan to check it out and any other books by them when I’m able to! They have such a unique writing style. They also work well together.

https://amzn.to/3IWO1zx

Title: Wicked Ever After

Author: Multiple Authors

Release Date: February 10th, 2023

Page Count: 286

Format: Ebook/Paperback

Start Date: April 1st, 2023

Finish Date: May 22nd, 2023

Rating: 4 Stars

Review:

This is a collection of short stories by ten different authors. They are all retellings of a variety of stories that we all know and love. They all give a different perspective of each of the stories. I really enjoyed them all. I did have some small issues with some of them. I felt like some of the stories weren’t really finished. They just felt like an incomplete thought. I also feel like the authors should have gotten together and discussed the stories that they were doing. I just feel like there would have been more of a variety that way. I think it’s important to note that this isn’t saying that any of these stories are bad. I just feel like there could have been some touches that would have made the stories popped more. I do love the fact that the proceeds of this anthology goes to a charity. It’s also a wonderful way to get a glimpse of each of the author’s writing. My favorite story is the last one.

https://amzn.to/43FQoP6

Title: Survive the Night

Author: Riley Sager

Release Date: June 29th, 2021

Page Count: 337

Format: Hardback/Audiobook

Start Date: December 16th, 2022

Finish Date: December 18th, 2022

Rating: 4 Stars

Review:

This isn’t one of my favorite Sager books. I did enjoy it. Especially the usual twist that Sager insists on throwing in. I originally started reading it at one point and set it down because I just couldn’t get into it. I got the audiobook of it and tried again. I made it further and then kept going until I finished it. Charlie isn’t coping well with school after her best friend is brutally murdered by a serial killer. She chooses to go home in the middle of a semester feeling like she just needs to get away from it all. At least for a while. She puts up a flier to ride with anybody heading that way with the offer to help with gas when she finds somebody who’s willing to take her. Everything seems to be going well until it’s not. Compared to the rest of Sager’s books, this one falls a bit flat in places. I also should mention that there is quite a bit of gaslighting in it. I may go back to reread it again one day to see if my opinion changes. It really was a good read. It just wasn’t my favorite. This is another book that I’d like to see as a movie.

https://amzn.to/3MKq8MU

Title: The House Across The Lake

Author: Riley Sager

Release Date: June 21st, 2022

Page Count: 363

Format: Hardcover/Audiobook

Start Date: November 7th, 2022

Finish Date: December 15th, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

Riley Sager has this habit of sending you on a certain trail and then throwing an explosion on that trail leaving you confused and reeling. What I’m trying to say is that I think it’s going a certain way and suddenly it isn’t. I have a theory on something, and suddenly I’m nowhere near how it actually is. Then sometimes, I was actually right the whole time! This book is no exception to that. In fact, I think this book takes the cake out of all of the books. He became one of my favorite authors quickly. We follow a actress who has been struggling with alcoholism after her husband passed away. In an attempt to keep her out of the public eye until everything calms down, her family sends her to the very place her husband was killed. That’s all I’m willing to share. It’s a really good book. I full intend to read it again one day. I really hope that all the author’s books become movies one day!

https://amzn.to/3CcSqdK

Title: Silent Knight

Author: Xavier Neal

Release Date: December 22nd, 2022

Page Count: 133

Format: Ebook

Start Date: December 15th, 2022

Finish Date: December 15th, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This is a companion novel to the author’s book Compassion. Both of the books are very well written. It has a very powerful message behind it as well. I also love how realistic the situations in the story are. They don’t gloss over anything. It astounds me how many soldiers fight in the war to come home to nothing. They wind up homeless because of it and have to deal with prejudice people looking down on them and assuming the worst. Not all homeless people are addicts. Some just had a string of bad luck and don’t really have the resources to pull them back up. But I digress. In the end, this book is a steamy book with a very deep meaning behind it and I really enjoyed it. I did combine both of those books in this review. I fully encourage reading both. 

https://amzn.to/3MPGWlk

Title: Rebound

Author: Rebecca Barber

Release Date: May 23rd, 2023

Page Count: 305

Format: eARC

Start Date: May 13th, 2023

Finish Date: May 18th, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This author has made me realize that I’m kind of into sports romances. I don’t really care for a lot of spicy books. I don’t mind the spice, but I prefer the story arc over the spicy scenes. This author knows the balance well. I also didn’t mind the tropes that are sprinkled (very lightly) through the book. They don’t really last too long before resolutions happen. So there’s that. This is not the first book that I’ve read by this author. I can confidently say that it won’t be the last either. Her writing style is very addictive. I can’t wait to see what other works she has in store for us!