"The Island of Small Misfortunes" presents Sequoia Owens's summer 1898 visit to his grandfather's home on Todeket Island, a private island among Connecticut's Thimbles. This island, usually a summer retreat, has become his aunt's permanent residence following her son's death. Sequoia's arrival on a stormy night is timely, as he may be able to prevent another tragedy. He then tries to connect with his distant family, exploring the island's history, its peculiar home, and local ghost stories. Amidst family tensions, Sequoia attends a séance led by his aunt, hoping to contact his cousin. When the séance takes an unexpected turn, Sequoia must piece together the island's secrets and his family's past to save himself.

This historic, gothic mystery immediately captivated me with its atmospheric and lyrical writing. Todeket and its inhabitants are enshrouded in mystery. The stories surrounding the island's origins and Sequoia's family are intriguing, blurring the line between fact and fiction. The characters are complex and deceptive, making it hard to discern who to trust. As each character’s story intertwines with Todeket’s legends and the ghost, I was drawn into the island’s intricate puzzles. Sequoia discovers that Todeket itself is a puzzle, and he is a missing piece. Overall, "The Island of Small Misfortunes" is a multi-layered, fast-paced, analytical mystery that gradually unfolds, leading to a surprising conclusion.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Years ago, Kosa's father made a fateful mistake in stealing an orb from a mysterious woman who stole Kosa soon after her birth, raising Kosa as her own.  Kosa keeps the witch alive with her hair while staying locked in the attic.  As Kosa grows, she learns the truth of how the witch she knows as her mother receives her power; hunting down travellers from the nearby woods. Without knowing much about the outside world, Kosa struggles with right and wrong until a boy named Sammy shows up and someone actually comes looking for him. 

Kosa is a dark retelling of Rapunzel with plenty of gore, evil and suspense.  From the beginning, the stage is set for Marta, the witch to be evil, ruthless and powerful.  From Marta's dilapidated house to her eerie familiars, the writing creates a mysterious hideaway. Kosa's relationship with Marta is interesting to see grow and develop.  As a small child, Kosa is dedicated to her mother and wants to help her, Kosa knows the physical pain she endures helps to keep Marta alive. However, as Kosa uncovers Marta's secrets, she becomes divided in her loyalties.  When Sammy is captured and his uncle comes to Marta's to look for him, Kosa discovers a bit of what family and care looks like.  While the beginning and ending of the story moved swiftly, I found the pacing in the middle sections to be somewhat slow. However, the suspense builds effectively as Sammy's uncle grapples with the loss of his wife and Kosa learns about her powers.  Kosa's decision to take back the power from Marta and make a decision about her own life will help to set a whole town free.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. Years ago, Kosa's father made a fateful mistake in stealing an orb from a mysterious woman who stole Kosa soon after her birth, raising Kosa as her own.  Kosa keeps the witch alive with her hair while staying locked in the attic.  As Kosa grows, she learns the truth of how the witch she knows as her mother receives her power; hunting down travellers from the nearby woods. Without knowing much about the outside world, Kosa struggles with right and wrong until a boy named Sammy shows up and someone actually comes looking for him. 

Kosa is a dark retelling of Rapunzel with plenty of gore, evil and suspense.  From the beginning, the stage is set for Marta, the witch to be evil, ruthless and powerful.  From Marta's dilapidated house to her eerie familiars, the writing creates a mysterious hideaway. Kosa's relationship with Marta is interesting to see grow and develop.  As a small child, Kosa is dedicated to her mother and wants to help her, Kosa knows the physical pain she endures helps to keep Marta alive. However, as Kosa uncovers Marta's secrets, she becomes divided in her loyalties.  When Sammy is captured and his uncle comes to Marta's to look for him, Kosa discovers a bit of what family and care looks like.  While the beginning and ending of the story moved swiftly, I found the pacing in the middle sections to be somewhat slow. However, the suspense builds effectively as Sammy's uncle grapples with the loss of his wife and Kosa learns about her powers.  Kosa's decision to take back the power from Marta and make a decision about her own life will help to set a whole town free.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Darlene Connely has always been running a scam to help her get ahead in the world.  Since the world was turned upside down by a solar storm called Sun-Kissed four years ago, Darlene has found more ways to capitalize on everyone's losses and try to make her high school boyfriend repay an old debt.  Twenty-five years ago Todd Dolan left Darlene pregnant, thinking she was going to give the baby up for adoption.  Now, Darlene is trying to set up a nest egg for her adult son, Emmett while providing for her mother's nursing home care and she's not afraid of ruining anyone's life to get what she feels like she deserves. 

Only Dead Leaves Fall is an emotional thriller set in the aftermath of a detrimental solar flare.  I was very interested in the book because of the solar flare and its environmental impacts.  It was interesting to see how the lack of food and other resources caused more of an economic disparity instead of helping to level the playing field.  Darlene's character has continued to suffer after the effects of the solar flare.  She was definitely an interesting character to follow; at first, Darlene seemed like a scrappy yet determined underdog that you want to cheer for and as the story progresses, she turns into a schemer whose plotting only seems to hurt everyone around her.  With a slower start, the action gradually builds as Darlene, Todd and Emmett's story arcs begin to collide.  Emmett's story added a more heartfelt storyline as well as the introductions of a series of twists and turns that led to an exciting ending. With that, as much as I liked the setting of a post solar-storm world, I think the story would have held up just as well in the reality of the recent past.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

The 2018 stock market crash coincided with the rise of a disturbing online game called DEVILSGAME, leading to a series of destructive and violent real-life events. Nathan Rifkin, creator of an in-game app, and Claire Bodine, Director of the religious website Goodonline, have joined forces to combat the game's harmful influence. Their mission is to stop people from playing DEVILSGAME before more lives are shattered and to uncover the identity of those who weaponized this seemingly innocent platform.

DEVILSGAME is a unique interactive cyberbook, accessible only on a digital device. Each chapter unfolds in real time, starting on February 2, 2018, through a series of BlackBerry texts, transcripts, and recordings. The text incorporates hyperlinks to illustrations, definitions, websites, translations, and songs, creating an immersive and research-like reading experience. This firsthand account of events provides a suspenseful, fast-paced narrative centered on the characters' actions and reactions.Claire and Nathan, despite their contrasting backgrounds, form a powerful alliance against the conspiracy lurking within the game's virus. Claire's impactful messaging and media presence complement Nathan's deep understanding of the game and his connections within the gaming community. Their combined efforts create a formidable two-pronged attack.The mystery surrounding DEVILSGAME's destructive power, the entity behind it, and their motives captivated me. Wrapping up with a thrilling conclusion, DEVILSGAME provided a unique and exciting reading experience. 

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​"But though humanity doesn't escape us when it's dark out, I've learned that human decency only exists when it's convenient."

Ashley Lutin has found an interesting way to deal with his grief after the death of his wife and the disappearance of his son. He has transitioned into helping others with their pain and desire to depart from life. With thoughtful planning and a detailed ritual, Ashley helps people by giving them a taste of exactly what they wanted and leaves them with a renewed purpose.  However, Ashley soon decides to change his methods, creating a permanent solution for the people he is supposed to be helping.  His upcoming appointment with a man named Jinx will test  Ashley's determination and put him face to face with the person who can answer his questions. 


At Dark, I Become Loathsome is a unique look into humanity, grief and pain.  For a shorter story, the pacing is more of a  slow burn with a known undercurrent of something going terribly wrong, eating away and corrupting Ashley.  I enjoyed how the story moved through Ashley in the present, going through the motions of his death experience along with memories of when he was with his wife and son up through his son's disappearance interspersed with Ashley's directions for the ritual.  As Ashley's narrative continues, the state of his mind deteriorates and yet he seems to see things clearly for the first time in a long time.  As Ashley intersects with Jinx, the tension rises and Ashley faces some difficult truths about himself.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Ever since Flora Calhoun found the body of a classmate on her morning run, she has needed to fight for justice.  After taking the fight for her classmate, Lucy too far, Flora has kept her investigations to high school matters.  However, when Flora's ex-girlfriend Ava calls her in a panic, Ava responds and finds herself in a similar situation to Lucy. Ava is a person of interest for the police and her former CIA grandfather tells her to steer clear of investigating, but Flora must avenge her friend.  Returning to the scene of the crime, Flora finds clues that lead her to an underground operation linked to several classmates.  Once Flora infiltrates that operation, however; she begins to receive threats.  Questioning classmates involved isn't going very well, either.  Flora's only friend, Cass, seems to be tired of her constant trouble and new friend, VT, might be more trouble than he's worth.  When Flora's investigation leads to her family getting hurt, Flora knows she is close to the answer, but doesn't know if it's worth it anymore.


You're Next is a young adult, Nancy Drew style mystery written for the new generation.  Flora's character is complex and yet exactly a that of a teenage girl. Flora is forever changed by finding the body of her classmate and is determined to make those responsible pay.  Her interests aren't exactly cut out for a seventeen year old girl, but the way she goes about her investigations are. Falling into two common young adult tropes, Flora has absent parents and is rarely in class. The murder mystery is compelling as Ava's death seems senseless and strange for a highschooler.  The deeper Flora digs, the more danger she is put in.  The underground club creates another level of mystery and excitement as well as introduces VT, a potential love interest.  Flora's grandfather was the one responsible character in Flora's life, yet somehow let her keep getting herself in deeper trouble.  While the writing kept up a fast pace, it did take a while for Flora see what was going on right under her nose.  

​Lucretia wants one thing in life, immortality. However, to ask for such a thing from the Vampire Lord that rules over her town will only result in death.  When Lucretia is attacked in the streets by a rogue vampire, she is determined even more to gain immortality.  She pushes the Vampire Lord to give her what she wants, but Lucretia will have to jump through his many hoops.  Lucretia's wishes are compounded by the fact that she works for a powerful human lawyer who is defending Lucretia's childhood friends, members of the Vampire Resistance. WIth the disappearance of the Resistance leader, Uros, Lucretia and her boss have been pushing for Uros' release even though Lucretia believes him to be dead.  As Lucretia spends more time around the Vampires, she learns of the presence of a Draken, the only vampire who is able to kill another vampire and reconnects with Sava Novak, a vampire who she used to give blood to.  Firmly entrenched in the Vampire's world, Lucretia plans for her immortality, one way or another.    


Heartfelt is a vampire story written for vampire lovers.  Luscious writing catapults you into the secluded town where vampires rule and the humans around them are either enamored, enraged or show high esteem for the immortals among them.  Lucretia covets the vampire's ease of existence.  Lucretia's character shows a deep longing and desperation for her own benefit.  Every thought and action of Lucretia's is dripping with her desire.   Lucretia's desire mixed with her current job of helping to find Uros' current whereabouts and defend the vampire Resistance create a suspenseful plot as she is actively involved with opposing forces.  Most of all, I enjoyed being pulled into the vampire's decadent world, their parties, their dress, the levels of government, their whims and their powers.  While I guessed at one of the twists with Uros fairly early on, the ending proves exciting and surprising with an open ending for a second book. 


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

​Luna Auber is happily working as a cake decorator with a supportive, long term boyfriend when her twin brother commits suicide.  Recently diagnosed with Huntington's disease, Luna's brother left a mysterious set of instructions for her to follow after his death including a trip to Sweden with a strict itinerary to follow in order to uncover the secrets of their identity as well as a promise of a cure. With the onset of shakes of her own, Luna goes on the trip and follows the tour. She learns of exciting ancestry, she is a direct descendant of the Birke, an iconic female Viking Warrior.  However, there is no mention of Huntington's; instead, there is a mythological story of transformation into otherworldly beings.  Determined to find her cure, Luna takes in the knowledge required of her and returns to the States unknowingly entering a war between two warring factions.  


Cure is an exciting mythological adventure.  Focusing on the Birka Viking warriors combined with shifter mythology, Cure is a unique werewolf story.  I was immediately pulled into Luna's character with her unique talents knowing people's taste in cakes as well as her deep care for people and her kind nature. Luna's brother's death catapults her into another world, led by the mysterious nature of his death and her own onset of the shakiness Luna begins her adventure in Sweden.   I loved learning the history of the Birke along with Luna and unraveling her mysterious condition.  Luna took in the information about her condition as expected, I liked how it was divulged to her in tidbits through stories and history.  The suspense heightened as Luna returned to the States and tested the full extent of her powers, inviting other shifters to find her and introduce her to a different way of thinking were werewolves rule the world. Luna's character must grow and accept a lot of change quickly to help fight a war to save humanity.  


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

​The Ormen, a whaling ship from 1901 later outfitted as a research vessel in the 1970's and has since been washed up on the shores of Skumaskot's lonely Icelandic shore. Now, the Ormen is scheduled to be destroyed, hauled out to sea and sunk. Dominique is determined to find the Ormen and document it's last days for social media while living on the vessel and researching it's history. However, Dominique is not alone; Samara, Jens and Leo are explorers who also want to look into the history of the Ormen. Reluctantly, Dom teams up with them. Samara and Leo dig into the Ormen's history as a whaling vessel while Dom and Jen's look into the research period. In 1901, the daughter of the Ormen's owner, Nicky Duthie is attacked and brought aboard the Ormen to serve as collateral and as folklore tells, a selkie wife. Nicky's outrage at the situation knows no bounds and what is happening to her aboard the Ormen is even stranger. In the 1970's Diego Almeyda found himself not in his right mind, cutting his feet in half. When the Ormen washed up on shore, Diego's remains were the only ones found on the Ormen. The rest of the research team has disappeared. With so much mystery and tragedy surrounding the Ormen, Dom soon finds that there may be something sinister aboard the Ormen, something looking for revenge.

A Haunting in the Arctic is an absolutely immersive, atmospheric, historic, gothic mystery. I was hooked from the very beginning with Diego's experience aboard the Ormen. From there, the story focuses on the points of view of Dom, Jens, Leo and Samara exploring the wreck in present day and Nicky's experience aboard the Ormen in 1901 with snippets of the research crew in the 1970's creating suspense not knowing if the events are linked. Nicky's story drew me in with the immense trauma she underwent and how she dealt with her everyday realities of her situation and how she managed her interactions with the crew. In the present, the team is focused on getting to know one another and their separate research challenges, but there is a deeper knowledge of the Ormen between Jens, Leo and Samara. As the team stays with the Ormen longer, strange occurrences happen, dreams, sounds, and sightings that connect to their research. A Haunting in the Arctic is a surprising and haunting tale weaving folklore with the power that trauma holds over us as well as the fact that revenge doesn't always solve our problems or help us forgive and move on.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Sisters Renee and Lou are in Romania with their team from Itinera magazine.  They have an assignment to photograph the castles and document history. After a successful first day, the team learns of an undocumented castle, Solovastru, from the locals.  Untouched and believed by the community to be cursed, the Itinera team waste no time finding Solovastru and creating a once in a lifetime story.  Solovastru delivers everything they hoped for, unique architecture, untouched rooms and the mystery of why it was abandoned.  They are very interested in a bricked up room which reveals a deeper mystery and an artifact that Lou can't resist taking.  After leaving Solovastru, Lou begins to change, almost as if possessed.  Learning some of the castle's history and talking to the Roma begin to paint a horrific picture for Lou's future.  The artifact she took seems to have revived the mistress of Solovastru and there is a powerful group seeking her. 


Revenant is a slow burn supernatural horror with plenty of gore and Romanian lore.  The writing bounces back and forth between the Itinera team in the present and Solovastru in the 1400's.  I enjoyed that this story took place around Bran castle where Dracula lore arose, but was not surrounding Dracula himself, but a different legend from the remote areas of Romania.  The characters created an interesting group with sisters, Renee and Lou, Renee's boyfriend, and a guide. Renee and Lou's dependent relationship created tension before any horror was even introduced.  I enjoyed the chapters written from the historic point of view and wanted to know more about the Makers, their origin and powers and how Madame Solvestru came to know her Maker, Xenia and the artifact was created.  As the danger to Lou becomes more evident, the suspense builds and ancient forces and present day collide. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.