Sarah Barrie: Unforgiven

Sarah Barrie shows what happens when a once victim becomes the vigilante:

Lexi has dedicated her life in just trying to survive, she drinks to much and sleeps with whomever she likes as long as they pay her. But Lexi's true passion is as a Hacker. Tracking down pedophiles, gathering information about them to put them away. Lexi was the last victim of the notorious pedophile known has the Spider, oh so she thought as a new individual has come forward claiming to be the real Spider as they emulate the murderous acts. Now everything from before is being called into question, even the innocence of the man convicted of being the spider. Did they get it wrong all those years ago?

This is the first book that I have read by Barrie and I can tell you this will not be the last. This book is a dark, gritty thriller that you will not want to put down as you get caught up in the search for "copycat" serial killer. This book will seem darker than other thriller books and that is because the victims are children. I will say that Barrie does not go into detail of what happens to the victims but does give enough detail that you KNOW what has happened to them and it is heartbreaking and sick. So if you have triggers of child abuse then this book will not be for you, as I said not a lot of detail of what is happening but enough to know as a reader what is happening.

Lexi is a straightforward but also complex character at the same time. I love that Barrie did not sugar coat her past or make it seem like what she lived though has not affected her, it has and Barrie does not shy away from this. Lexi is trying to recover from her past and help those who cannot help themselves yet at the same time she is unable to forgive herself for what happened and what almost happened to her sister. Lexi has chosen to be an escort as she believes that is really all she is good for, but Lexi is nothing but a survivor and she always will be. I appreciate that Barrie does take time to explain Lexi's history as well as the link between her and DI Rachel as their history brings some of tension that is felt throughout the book.

This book had quite a few twists and turns along the way and I like that all the evidence is not just handed to the police or Lexi. Lexi does a lot of digging on the internet so that type of information can take time to dig through, especially the type of groups that Lexi has had to infiltrate over times. I will also totally admit that I did not see that final twist coming. 

In the real world would the let Lexi be as involved as was probably not but I’m okay with how Barrie dealt with it in the plot, I mean this is a work of fiction so you need to dispel things a bit. And how Barrie presents it in the story works.

This was a terrific read, Highly recommend this book if you like thriller books and be prepared to read this one in one sitting. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, Lexi is the type of character I am drawn to in these types of books. 

Enjoy!!!

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Megan Boley: The Darkness All Around Us

In her debut novel Megan Boley explores what happens when you give a pharmaceutical company too much power:

Pharmmatrox was on the cutting edge of medical science, they had created incredible drugs that were supposed to save the world, no on would ever get sick again. But instead of curing people, they created an additive drug called Dust, that eventually turns the user into a zombie like creature.  Stella is just trying to survive and keep her promise to find her friends before people started turning on mass. But Stella has a few problems, no only is she a user of Dust she is also on the run from a woman who is hunting her believing she is the reason why there are turned in the first place. Stella knows her time is running out in more ways than one and she has to try and find her friend and hopefully do some damage to the company that caused this in the first place.

When I read the premise of this book, I knew it was one that i would want to read. I am all for books where there are morally grey characters, and when the book is presented as Dark and Gritty. I have not read a zombie based book in quite some time, I think many have moved away from the genre for awhile (it did get oversaturated there for awhile), but I am happy to delve back into the genre. I like Boley's take on how the zombies are created, this is not your typical you get bitten you become a zombie. No this is if you use this addictive drug too long, it is going to turn you into one and all those who take it know this. However, like in many zombie or apocalyptic novels, the zombies are really the least of your worries, it is the other survivors you need to worry about. I think that Boley does a great job of showing how far humanity can fall and how the two different groups The Faction and Pharmatrox (troxies), are battling each other for control.

I struggled to get into this book at the beginning, I wish there had been a prologue to give readers the general idea of the dystopia we are about to step into, the two sides and why they are fighting. Instead, we have to wait till chapter 10 in order to get even a hint of what occurred before. I wasn't able to understand why people hated Troxies and wanted them all dead or how people were becoming zombies, so I felt like I was muddling through the first few chapters trying to figure it all out. 

I think I saw a review where some people had a hard time believing one of the twists in the book, I personally thought it was quite obvious, and not surprising and it just made since when you think of most dystopia/end of the world type books; everyone changes in some way or another, from who they are to their names, people have to change and adapt in order to survive. The other twist I did not see coming at all, and does it really affect things in the book, not really, so I am fine with it.

I appreciate that Boley does not waste the side characters in this book, they are not just there to be there, but feel like they are fully fledged people and different from each other even though they do not get their own POV. Each of them has a purpose in this story, especially those around Stella and I enjoyed that we got to know them as well. They also helped keep Stella grounded in certain situations which Stella needed quite a bit of in this book. I mean how can you not like Quinten. 

Death was an interesting addition and I wasn’t sure of her purpose until halfway through the book, so if you find the Death character confusing to begin with don’t worry. Their presence is explained and I actually wish there was more of Death at times (Death starts to fade out the farther you get into the book), to really show the downward spiral of Stella and her Dust usage and in the same way explain why she continued to use.

Overall, this is a really good debut novel and for most of the book you do not think that you are reading one. Boley does not let up on the action, suspense or darkness throughout the book. There are times when I wish the stakes were a little bit higher (but I don’t want to give any spoilers). I look forward to reading what Boley puts out next and I better not have to wait long for book 2.

Enjoy!!!

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Rebecca Ross: Divine Rivals

In the first book in a duology Rebecca Ross shows the power of the letter:

Gods have awoken after centuries of sleep and they are at War again. Some hear the cry to volunteer to join while other are forced to. Iris' older brother Forrest heard the call to war and is now serving on the front lines of it. In order to try to hold the family together for his return, Iris Winnow takes a postion with the Oath Gazette, but what she does not realize that she has a rival for the colomnist position a hansome man named Roman Kit. In order to help stave off her loanliness Iris begins to write letters to Forrest, as she has not received any from him, and slips them under her wardrobe door, where they have started to vanish. Iris did not know where they were going, and hoped that they were going to Forrest, only to discover a letter had been written back to her one day by an anymous person. 

I have heard of Rebecca Ross and have been meaning to read her book A River Enchanted but somehow I ended up reading this book first and it really wants makes we want to move A River Enchanted up on my TBR list. This book was extremely well written that a reader just falls into the story and characters. I did not want to put this down, I found that the book was really enchanting and I enjoyed it more that I thought I would (I think I read this book at the perfect time for me when i was craving something a bit lighter) and I would say that it lives up to the hype that has been created around it. 

I think that people need to be aware that this is not a High Fantasy book, as how the premise is written I think a few people would make this mistake. I went into this book not really knowing what it was about, only that it was one of the best books from last year (at least according to Goodreads). 

I would classify this book in the fantasy light genre as while there are mention of Gods, and it is there war that is causing WWI, as well as using creatures to fight this war, there is very little interaction with them. The most mgical or fantasy based aspect we get is the enchated typewriters that Kit and Iris use to exchange messages. This book is also classified as Young Adult but it falls some place between young adult and new adult in my opinion just based upon the age of the characters and the subject covered. Though I don’t think that this classification should disway you from reading this book.

I absolutely loved the relationship between Iris and Kit, how they are rivals at the newspaper, are from two different classes and that they open up to each other in letters. I think what I loved most about the letters is how sincere they were in them, even when they didn't know who was on the receiving end of them and how those words could lead to something more. I appreciated that Ross gave equal time to their POV and further demonstrated how the same and different Iris and Kit were but their love of the written word was strong for both of them.

This is such a sweet and cute read that really draws you into the story and relationship of the two main charters. You’ll want to pick up the next book in the series right after that ending, I can't wait to pick up the next book in this duology.

Enjoy!!!

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Eve Kellman: How to Kill a Guy inTen Ways

In her debut Novel Eve Kellman, flips the table on Men who try to take advantage of Women:

Millie Masters has set up a hotline for women, Message M, when they feel that unsafe to get home. Millie sees the worst of men in these situations, looking to take advantage of women Night after Night. Sometimes she even sees the same guy over again and that the men will just continue to do the same thing night after night. Millie is sick of them getting away with it with no consequences especially when an assault happens close to home. Millie decides it's time to switch things up and take the law into her own hands.

This is Kellman's debut novel and I appreciate the premise that she has presented here. I mean you do not often get the read about female serial killer (in Fiction or real life) and you know you are getting something along those lines based upon the title of this book. I think that when you realize the men that Millie is choosing, the question becomes, can you really blame her for the men she decides to kill? And when does it change along the way.

I struggled reading this one and I don’t know why, I found I wasn’t in the mood to read it when I first started it. I will admit that the book picks up and gets interesting the further you go into the book it just take a bit to get there. There was a point at around the 3/4 marks where I fully said holy fuck out loud with where Kellman took a plot point. it was totally unexpected, and I was there for it. I think people will either love or hate the ending, but I was there for the ending as it was not your typical one at all.

This book was really hindered by having long chapters. I’m just not a fan of them and it just seemed like each chapter went on and on and on and didn’t really give readers a break to process what was going on. I felt like there were places that Kellman could have broken the chapters up a bit instead of forcing them on. I feel like most people prefer shorter chapters than longer ones.

Millie as a character is fascinating and the moral ground and questions that she asks herself, especially at the beginning are really interesting. It is when you find Millie later in the book where she sees that she may not be just killing for saving women anymore. I like that Millie really started out just wanting to help women get out of situations that are just uncomfortable to downright dangerous with her Message M number and side job that she has. It is this side of her life where she feels purpose and excels, and I feel like there is a job that she could make of this somehow.

I would have liked a POV from someone else in the book, I'm not really sure who maybe James, not at the beginning as we have not met him yet but later in the book would have been great. Just break it up a bit, and then once again this could have broken up the longer chapters. I just felt that the book felt a bit stagnant with only having one POV.

I will not deny that this was an interesting read and Millie as a character was truly fascinating. I think that you can tell that this was Kellman's debut novel with the chapter length and the overall flow of the book. But that last 25% of the book and ending made me happy that I pushed through on this one. I do look forward to seeing what Kellman comes out with next.

Enjoy!!!

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Erin La Rosa: Plot Twist

Erin La Rosa, shows that maybe to understand love, one needs to go back and find out why it didn't work out before:

Sophie is a romance writer who has never been in Love. She has written one successful book and now her editor and publisher is wanting more, but Sophie is unable to write anything. With deadline looming Sophie decides to do something drastic, she decides to go visit her exes and try to determine why they never fell in love, what went wrong in their relationships. Maybe visiting the past will help shape her future. Especially, when her landlord, Dash Montrose (former Teen Heartthrob) has been interacting with her more. But Dash is not sure if he is in a good place to be in a relationship and not sure if he can offer the commitment that Sophie seems to want. All both know is that they do need to figure themselves out before the commit to anything else

This is the first book that I have read by La Rosa and I know that i will like to read another book by her. As far as I can tell this does have a slight tie in to one of her other books For Butter or Worse (love the title) but not enough of one to say that I was lost in the characters in this book. This one can be read as a standalone but beyond that it can be enjoyed as a standalone as well.

What can I say about Plot Twist other than it was a super cute read that for sure had a sweet and sexy side to it. The sexy scenes are pretty hot at times and especially the first one it seemed to come out of nowhere, but I was here for it. I like that it was unexpected and in an unexpected location compared to other romance books I have read (And I will be the first to admit it is not that many). I think many people (myself included) would not really want to talk to all my exes, that I had at different points in my life, so you have to applaud Sophie for doing it. And let’s just get this out of the way, Sophie is Bisexual, so she has exes with both women and men. I liked how La Rosa just made this feel normal and not at all forced or weird in any way.

I like that both Sophie and Dash want to focus on themself, in order to get themselves better than just wanting to jump into or need a relationship to function. Though they are going through different aspects about themselves it is at the same time nice they can bond over this as well. This book does deal with the mental health of both individuals quite well and that not everything is okay all the time.

Now this book has ALOT of Miscommunication throughout the book. I want to say that the book has the miscommunication trope but it happens throughout the whole book as Dash and Sophie are trying to figure out what they want in relationship and life, that it has just become part of their story as a whole. Another trope is the friend's older brother whom Sophie has had a crush on her entire life.

There is also a very toxic family aspect in this book, and you cannot help but fell sorry for Dash any time that he interacts with some member of his family and the lengths that they will go to to help him stay in the media spotlight when he has no desire to do so.

One of my favourite aspects of the book is how they bond over a squirrel (Richarad Gere), yep squirrel. It was super cute and funny at the same time.

Plot Twist is all around cute read, that I enjoyed. I look forward to reading more by La Rosa.

Enjoy!!!

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Vanessa Lillie: Blood Sisters

Vanessa Lillie takes readers to rural Oklahoma where missing women are just a fact of life:

Syd Walker spends her days trying to protect what is left is left of the indigenous past and lands. She is an archeologist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and it is her job to help those that are found return home. When Syd receives a call that that brings her back home to discovers not only is she there for her job with the BIA but that her sister Emma Lou has vanished. Syd is afraid that Emma Lou will become another body buried in the vast desert only to be discovered in time and Syd is going to do everything in her power to get find her and get her back. But there are lots of people that are not happy with Syd returning, some due to the fact that she works for the BIA and some don’t want her looking too hard into Emma Lou's disappearance. All that Syd know is that the truth needs to be unearthed one way or another.

I was really excited to read this book as I liked the idea of an archeologist working on uncovering bodies of the missing First Nation women, but for me this aspect of the premise was never really met except for the beginning of the book when we are first introduced to Syd as she is on a dig site. The book does start out strong with the prologue and why Syd needs to go back home, but then the pace gets sluggish and does not pick up till a lot later in the book. Due to the fact that the story really slows down, I found that I did not really want to pick up this book to read. I mean I finished it but there were times that I really struggled.

At the beginning I liked Syd as a character, not only do i find the aspect of archelogy fascinating I appreciated that Syd chose to work with BIA in order to help families receive the closure. There are several times throughout the book where I thought to myself that Syd needs to stick to archeology and not detective work. Syd would often go into situations unprepared and without thinking or even telling someone where she will be or have back up. I feel like this info would be in the rules 101 of the BIA. I think that Lillie could have had an additional character in this book to fill the detective role and have Syd and this individual work together.

I really liked Ghost Luna as a secondary Character, she never leaves Syd's side and servers as an ever reminder of how she failed Luna. Luna also seems to be more of a deceive at times, pointing Syd in the right direction.

There is no denying that First Nation women go missing and are murdered at a much higher rate than any other race certainly within Canada and i think it is the same in the United States. Often these women are never found, and never returned home in any capacity and while this story highlights this throughout the book this is mainly seen when Syd in speaking with people in her home community, the plot aspect of the book does not play out till the end. There was no link suggested to Sister's disappearance with other missing people even by halfway through the book. Sure, it is thought about but there is no real evidence to support this theory. Syd does not continue to engage in what she knows best and that archelogy work, instead she decides to be a detective instead.

I enjoyed the idea of this story, but I do not think that the profession that lily chose for Syd matched what she wanted to achieve in this book. I appreciate that Lily brought the missing and murdered First Nation women to the forefront of this book and is not a topic that I have seen often in fiction writing, but I just was not able to get into the story. 

Cheers!!!!

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