The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James-- Creepy and Ghosty, But Kinda Repetitive

The Sun Down Motel

When Viv leaves home for NYC in 1982, she doesn't quite end up there. Somehow she gets stuck in a small town in New York called Fell. She gets a job working the night shift at a motel that sits out on the highway and immediately knows that this motel and town has secrets. Missing and murdered women seem to be a theme here and if Viv doesn't want to wind up as one of them, she knows she needs to figure out what is going on....

In 2017, Carly is determined to find out what happened to her long-lost aunt Vivian. Viv disappeared in 1982 while working the night shift at a motel, so Carly travels to the small town to see if there's anything she can find out. Immediately she realizes that Fell is like the town that time forgot. She gets the same job her aunt had, and is determined to find out what this hotel is hiding.

Since this book came out earlier this year, I've been hearing so much about it. How it was such a good, creepy mystery-- so it sounded like the perfect book to read around Halloween time!! To say I was hyped going into this was an understatement. I was 100% on board to love this book (especially because I've been reading and loving mainly Adult Mystery/Thrillers lately).

And I did like this book. But did I LOVE it?? No. I think a list is in order to organize my feelings about this book:

• The Setting.  This book is set in a motel on the outskirts of a town called Fell.  Both the motel and the town brought some interesting things to the story.  The motel was one of those relics from the past-- those cheap motels that are never updated and probably end up being rented by the hour at some point.  The town of Fell was basically a place where time stood still.  The modern part of this story takes place in 2017, but it was clear little had changed from the 2nd timeline of 1982.  I enjoyed the creepy motel setting and the way Fell felt unchanged by time-- it was endearing in a way and made things easier to figure things out in the 2017 timeline.

• The Dual Timelines. The first timeline is in 1982 and features Viv, a girl who was originally going to New York City, but winds up in Fell working the night shift at The Sun Down Motel.  While there, she discovers that there's been a string of unsolved murders taking place in and around Fell.  

• The second timeline is present day (2017) and features Carly, Viv's niece who is determined to find out what happened to her.  Viv disappeared while working the night shift at The Sun Down Motel and has never been found.  Carly has always been curious about why her mother refused to talk about her aunt that she's never seen or met beyond a faded newspaper clipping.  She ends up traveling to Fell and working the same shift that Viv worked at The Sun Down-- all the while looking into what could've happened to Viv.  

• It was an interesting concept and definitely could've worked, but for some reason it just didn't for me.  The 2 timelines were so similar-- the girls were around the same age, were both very similar in how naive they were, they were both investigating virtually the exact same crimes and coming to the same conclusions, and they were both living in the same apartment and working at the same motel.  Adding to that, the town of Fell was like a time-warp-- it was practically unchanged from Viv's time there to Carly's.  Because of these things, I was forever getting the details confused (was Carly the one who saw the ghost that time, or was it Viv?? Was Carly the one who figured that one detail out, or was it Viv?).  I needed more differences in the characters and their movements to be able to keep things straight.

• The Ghosts. Normally I do not like a surprise ghost book.  I mean, I don't mind a this place is creepy and may be haunted book, but this was straight up real ghosts in your face from the get-go.  And usually that would bug me and make it feel fake, but here I actually liked it.  The ghosts were scary in a The Sixth Sense kind of way-- they were angry and had unfinished business.  I really think the ghosts saved this book for me.

• The Mystery. I thought it was an interesting mystery.  Did I think that BOTH Viv and Carly would figure out everything a serial killer was doing when the police couldn't??  I mean, that's kind of far fetched-- but it was a really good mystery to follow despite that.  There were multiple twists and I kind of did love that because I saw the major twist coming, but didn't figure out the minor twist at all (even though the minor twist was kind of unnecessary and didn't really make a ton of sense).

• The Pacing. The best part of this book (besides the creepy ghosts) was that it didn't drag. It's the kind of book that will hook you and keep you wanting to read just one more chapter.

• Is it YA or Adult?? I know this is classified as Adult Mystery, but it felt VERY YA to me. It's one of those things where just because a book is about teens, doesn't mean it's YA-- and just because this one is about girls in their 20's doesn't mean it's Adult. I think there's more to those categories than age-- and this one just didn't have the Adult Mystery feel. I don't have a definitive reason why I feel it's YA beyond the fact that the writing felt like YA-- it's just my gut feeling being a reader of both genres, but I feel it works better as YA. One reason could be that it didn't feel as polished or developed as Adult Mysteries usually are. Not that I'm talking crap on YA, it's just that Adult Mysteries usually get pretty deep into their characters and this one was very surface level.

I definitely had mixed and complicated feelings on this one. I think some things could've been done better and that the 2 main characters could've been differentiated better-- but I do not regret reading this. It really was the perfect Halloween-time read and I was happy that it was a page-turner.

OVERALL: I'm in between on this one. I liked the creepy motel and the real ghosts that resided there. I wished the characters were better developed and better distinguished from one another. I do recommend this, and I think if you're looking for an easy Mystery to read, this is your book.

Date Published: 2/18/2020

How I got this book: Library

Publisher: Berkley/ Penguin Random House

Type: Adult Mystery/Thriller/Horror

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 3/5

Character: Carly (and let's be honest, Viv too-- they're the same character)

Book: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier-- A+ Dark Mystery

Little Secrets

Life for Marin is pretty much perfect-- successful job, financial freedom, upscale lifestyle, great kid & husband.  Then comes the day when Sebastian, her 4-year-old son, goes missing at a local shopping area.

A year goes by with no answers, and Marin a shell of who she used to be. She barely has the brainpower to think not to mention care about the status of her relationship with her husband-- that is until the PI she hired to find Sebastian comes to her with info that Derek has been seeing a woman behind her back for the last 6 months.  Marin's been numb for 16 months, but suddenly she has one emotion coming to the surface: RAGE.

The more she digs into this mistress, the more she has a focus for all her frustrations.

This is the dark thriller that I NEEDED to get me back into reading again.  This year has been shit, and it's been wreaking havoc on my reading (and blogging) life. This book took me right out of 2020 and dropped me into a story that I couldn't get enough of.  It was such a rollercoaster ride, with twists and unexpected turns.  I wish all dark thrillers could keep my attention the way this one did.

It starts off with Marin's son getting kidnapped.  As a parent, I almost had to put it down before I even really started.  Something happening to my son (and soon to be daughter) is my biggest fear in life.  It would mean my life was completely over-- there's no coming back from that.  So I was very emotionally invested and it was hard to read about.  But I decided I could put my parental fears aside and focus on where this book was going.

And it went to some super unexpected places.  I fully did not expect that this book would go so far away from the missing kid and into such dark and fucked up territory.  But this book was fucked up in all the best ways.  And INTENSE.  It's kind of one of those books that you want to read as fast as you can so that you can stop feeling so damn anxious about what is going to happen.

I love a book where you think you want to root for one or 2 of the characters, but then you realize-- NOPE, they're all kind of toxic and unlikable.  That was this book. In the beginning I felt for Marin and her feelings of grief. Like I said, as a mother it was hard not to put myself in her shoes. But soon I realized that Marin was more than just the grieving, scared mother. She was just as toxic as the rest of the characters in this book.

OVERALL: If you love a dark mystery, you'll love this one. It's just the book I needed to pull me out of my current reality. Very Unputdownable.

Date Published: 4/21/2020

How I got this book: Library

Publisher: Minotaur Books/ Macmillan

Type: Adult Mystery

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 5/5

Character: Marin Machado

Book: Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

• I think Marin would relate to Sasha's need to do dark things.

Blog Tour Review: These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin

THESE VENGEFUL HEARTS
Author: Katherine Laurin
Pub. Date: September 8, 2020
Publisher: Inkyard Press

Mean Girls meets Siobhan Vivian’s The List in THESE VENGEFUL HEARTS, an utterly addictive standalone YA debut that follows 16-year-old Ember Williams as she seeks revenge against the Red Court, a secret organization of Heller High’s most elite female students that specializes in granting and requesting favors—and which is responsible for the accident that left her older sister paralyzed.

A thrilling novel about a secret society and the dangers that lie in wait for anyone brave enough to join—perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus, Kara Thomas, and Maureen Johnson.

Whenever something scandalous happens at Heller High, the Red Court is the name on everyone’s lips. Its members deal out social ruin and favors in equal measure, their true identities known only by their leader: the Queen of Hearts.

Ember Williams has seen firsthand the damage the Red Court can do. Now, she’s determined to hold the organization accountable by taking it down from the inside. But will the cost of revenge be more than she’s willing to sacrifice?

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon,B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Bookshop.org, IndieBound, Books-a-Million

I gotta say this book reeled me in with the cover and the "secret society" premise.  I mean, who doesn't want to read about high school secret societies and someone who is determined to take one down from the inside??

This ended up being very middle of the road for me.  It wasn't as suspenseful or dark as I was hoping it would be, but it did bring that Mean Girls feel that I love.

Ember is FINALLY getting to join the Red Court-- a secret society that uses favors as currency.  They're a group of girls who rig elections, break up relationships, and basically anything else they're asked to do... but it comes at a price.  Ember has been trying to get noticed by them because her sister had an accident which left her paralyzed years back, and the Red Court were at fault.  She's built her whole high school career on getting into the Red Court and getting revenge!

I liked that it didn't take long for Ember to get in to the Red Court and get involved in their antics.  I liked that she went through some sort of inner turmoil with actually liking some of the girls in the Court and liking the power she had-- but at the same time feeling guilty about that and still wanting to take them down.  It was a cool push-pull dynamic.

I feel like it could've went down in a more thrilling way.  I was expecting a big mission at the end to go wrong and the big reveal to come then.  It actually happened very gradually and without the punch I wanted.

I think this book was fun for what it was and I see potential for more Katherine Laurin books in my future!!

OVERALL: A fun take on high school secret societies.  I liked the characters and the revenge plot, but wanted a bigger punch out of the ending.

My Rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary eARC in exchange for this review & blog post.  It did not affect my opinions of the book.

Katherine Laurin lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, and tiny dog. When she's not writing, Katherine enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and listening to true crime podcasts. These Vengeful Hearts is her first young adult novel.

Twitter: @writerkatherine
Instagram: @kl_writer
Author Website: https://katherinelaurin.com/

Adult Book Mini Reviews-- The British Mysteries

• I read both of these books on audio.  I've been in the mood for mysteries lately... and only mysteries.  It's like my brain can't concentrate and slow down unless it's to figure out who is the killer and why.  But during times of stress, I always just go with my gut & read what my brain is feeling-- or a reading slump could come along quickly.
• Here are 2 of the Mysteries that I've read recently and some thoughts:

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Goodreads Synopsis:

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?

My Thoughts:

A daughter (Ellie) goes missing and 10 years later her mother is just marking time.  But the case is about the heat up-- they finally get some answers about Ellie.  That's not enough for Laurel though-- she wants to know all the answers to what happened to her daughter.

Meanwhile, life starts finally moving forward for Laurel.  She meets a man who completely sweeps her off her feet.  Everything is changing.  Then, she meets her new boyfriend's daughter-- who is alarmingly mature for an 8-year-old... and looks exactly like Ellie!!

I loved how this story started off by grabbing me right away!!  I was hooked and intrigued as to why this really happy, seemingly perfect girl could be a presumed runaway.  I felt so sorry for Laurel, but she was also so broken that she wasn't a very good mother to her other children.  I was happy when she started getting something to live for, but I was also VERY suspicious.  Floyd (the new boyfriend) definitely felt too good to be true.

I really liked this one and would be giving it 5 stars if it tried to be a little more surprising in the plot. As it was, it’s pretty easy to see where it was all going and none of the reveals shocked me to any degree. But given the way it’s written, maybe it’s not supposed to be a shocking thriller. Maybe it’s just supposed to be a sad story with some hope sprinkled in?

I liked that this story went deep.  It was really layered and full of characters that felt real.  And it was completely satisfying in the end.

OVERALL: I definitely recommend this one.  It wasn't SUPER twisty, but it was such a good and unique story.

Date Published: 4/17/2018
How I got this book: Library
Publisher: Atria Books/Simon & Schuster

My Rating: 4.5/5

The Whisper Man by Alex North

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.

After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.


And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window... 

My Thoughts:

The Whisper Man is about child abductions that are taking place now that seem to be similar to a serial killer that was caught years ago.  It follows the detective who had a hand in catching The Whisper Man and is now working on the new case, and a man who is recently widowed and is moving to get a fresh start.

There was something about this book that felt short-story-ish to me.  Would it have worked better as a short story??  Maybe.  The lack of build-up made me doubt the need for so many pages.

It's not that this book isn't good or that I didn't enjoy it.  Because I did enjoy it, but I was hoping for something truly creepy and twisty.  There was a twist (or 2), but they were revealed so slowly that I didn't have that shocked & stunned feeling.

What I did really like in this book was the character development.  I loved that the 2 narrators had complete stories that felt full and alive.  I loved little Jake.  He was one of those interesting little kids that seem like little adults-- wise for his age, knowing more than you'd think a 5 year-old should know.

OVERALL: I loved the idea behind this book, but thought it would've worked better as a short story.  There wasn't enough happening for it to be as long as it was.  I still really liked it, but was hoping for a SHOCKING twist that never came.

Date Published: 6/13/2019
How I got this book: Library
Publisher: Penguin Books UK

My Rating: 3.5/5

Have you read either of these books?? Thoughts?  Share with me!!

One of Us is Next (One of Us is Lying #2) by Karen M. McManus-- The Game Lives On...

One of Us is Next

Simon's legacy lives on....

Everyone at Bayview thought they could move on from the terrible events of last year... but somebody wants to keep the game going.  A new copy-cat app has popped up, and this one includes a game of Truth or Dare to go along with the gossip & secrets.

If you pick Truth-- one of your biggest secrets gets revealed to the whole school.  If you choose Dare, you get to do a fun prank. It seems like a no-brainer, until someone gets killed.

Everyone thought it was funny... until it wasn't anymore.

I liked this book better than the first one, which is rare for me.  First books in a series almost always leave a bigger and better impression on me, but this series is the total opposite.

First, the characters.  They were so much better developed.  I cared so much more about Maeve, Phoebe, Knox, and Emma than I ever did about Bronwyn, Cooper, Nate, and Addison.  The reason is that they were so much better developed in my opinion.  I had FEELINGS about them instead of just wondering if one of them was lying to me about being the bad guy.

I liked that there were cross-over characters and references, but if you didn't read book 1 or didn't remember much, it wouldn't have mattered really.  This is a fully separate book.  I also really enjoyed the pacing-- it was easy to get through this quickly because it never felt slow or boring.

I really can't say too much about the plot except that there is a Truth or Dare game and of course, there is the terrible gossip and deep-dark secret revealing that the first book brought.

One thing there isn't: no creepy twist!!  I mean, there was a reveal (which I knew who it was because it was kinda obvious), but it didn't make me feel icky the way the first book's revelation did.  The only think I didn't like is that the big reveal happens and the book goes on for like 4 chapters afterwards.  The final pay-off in the last pages was not worth 4 chapters of wrap-up.  It needed to end quicker.

OVERALL: I liked this better than the first.  I think the characters were more real and better developed and the reveal less controversial.  I don't even think you need to read the first book to enjoy this, which is a definite plus.  Definitely recommend!!

Date Published: 1/7/2020
How I got this book: Library
Publisher: Delacorte Press/PRH

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 4.5/5

Character: Phoebe
Book: Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

• Phoebe reminds me a lot of Mercedes.  I think they both thought they were more in control of their sex lives than they actually were.  I also think they both use sex as a way to escape.

A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight-- 5 Stars!!

A Good Marriage

A lawyer gets drawn into a murder mystery where an old friend is the primary suspect.

Lizzie is dealing with her own issues and marital problems when she gets a call from an old friend from law school.  He's incarcerated in Rikers and is the prime suspect in the murder of his wife.

When she starts digging into the details, she sees Zach and Amanda as a well-off couple, living in a ritzy section of Brooklyn, rubbing elbows with the parents of the kids at the exclusive school they send their son to.

But things aren't perfect once the curtain is pulled back.  Amanda and Zach barely seem to know each other.  Amanda had a troubling childhood.  And the nieghbors/friends all have their secrets too....

Thank goodness for this book!!!  It got me out of a terrible slump where I just couldn't get interested in ANYTHING.  This book is just what I needed during this blah time in my life.

It starts out with Lizzie, a lawyer with her own marriage troubles, getting a call from a former law school friend who is about to be arrested for the murder of his wife.  She doesn't think the Zach she knew would do something like that, but law school was a long time ago, and how well do we really know people anyway?

It turns out that Zach's deceased wife, Amanda, came from a truly troubled background.  One that few knew about (including Zach).  Has someone from that past come back to hurt her?

As we alternate chapters between Lizzie's investigation and Amanda's life in the days before she died, we get to see that relationships are complicated, everyone has secrets, and you can be lonely even if you're married.

I'm so happy that this author is back to Adult Mysteries.  She's so good at them.  Some authors are just great at weaving multiple storylines together without it feeling forced, and Kimberly McCreight is one of them.  I loved how Amanda's past and present came together, how every character in this book was there for a reason-- they all played a part, they all connected the dots.

The characters in this book weren't very likable.  To be honest, I'm not sure I rooted for a single one.  They all had secrets and issues and personality flaws.  BUT, I also kind of liked this??  I don't have to love the characters to want to know what is going to happen to them.  Also, I really liked the way this book delved into the idea of marriage and how relationships really are instead of how they are perceived.

The added bonus of included police reports, trial transcripts, emails, etc. just gave it a little something extra.  Kimberly McCreight has included these in all of her Adult books, and I've loved them each time.

The only bad part of this book was that it was over.  I didn't want it to end because it kept my attention so well.  And I didn't guess the ending-- which, YAY!!

OVERALL: If you like Mysteries, READ IT.  Kimberly McCreight has cemented her place as one of the great storytellers for me.  She weaves a mystery like only few can.


Date Published: 5/5/2020
How I got this book: Thanks to HarperCollins and ALA for or providing me with an advanced copy to read and honestly review.
Publisher: Harper

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 5/5

Character: Amanda Lynch/Grayson
Book: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

• Sydney is so lucky that she meets a group of friends that help her through such a stressful time in her life.  When Amanda got to Brooklyn, she was on her way to having that same kind of group and I think she was hopeful she would eventually get the connections that she craved.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson-- Unpopular Opinion Club Again

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

5 years ago, Fairview was rocked by the disappearance of high school senior, Andie Bell-- and the subsequent suicide of her boyfriend when everything started pointing towards him.  Case closed.  Right??

Enter Pippa.  The summer before her senior year, she decides to do her capstone project on analyzing the case (at least that's what she tells her teachers).  What she's really doing is teaming up with Sal's brother to prove his innocence.  Pippa knows Sal couldn't be involved in Andie's disappearance, or likely death, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

The closer she gets to the case, the more SOMEONE doesn't want her poking around.  She starts getting threats, and it soon becomes clear that she's risking her life in the quest for answers.

I'm always looking for interesting YA Mystery/Thrillers, and this one totally caught my eye.  I love a good Nancy Drew story-- and this threw in some of those epistolary elements that I love, so I had high hopes.

Unfortunately, this just didn't go the distance for me.  Maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the pacing??  It was readable, but it's not going to be one that I remember or think about long-term.

The premise was interesting: A girl chooses to devote her senior project to solving a murder/mystery that is beyond cold and closed.  5 years ago, Andie Bell went missing, and her boyfriend committed suicide after texting a confession.  It was all wrapped up, except Pippa doesn't think they got it right and she decides to do her own investigation for a school project.


Some Bullet Point Thoughts:

• I read an advanced copy of this book, but I couldn't help but notice how very British this book is.  This version of the book is supposed to be set in Connecticut, so it really pulled me out of the story when the characters busted out with British Slang.
• Pippa was definitely a know-it-all-- okay, I can get beyond that.  The thing that bothered me about her was the simplistic way she thought about things.  She basically decided to look into this case because Sal was generally nice to her once???  He offered her a piece of candy while he was hanging out with a friend's older sister.  I don't think that's deep enough to know whether someone is capable of violence.
• Also, who was Pippa??  The only thing I knew about her was that she was studious and a devoted friend/sister/daughter.  That is so surface-level for me.  There's so much more to people than just "I like school".
• The first twist is kind of obvious.  I knew part of this mystery's end pretty much right away.  The second part was a little more veiled and I thought it wrapped it up well.
• A dog dies.  I thought we stopped doing that in books??  Or maybe that was just me wishing that...
• Ughhh. There was romance where none was needed.... again.
• People in this book were WAY too easy to confess to things when Pippa confronted them.  I'm sorry, but it was super hard to believe people would just blurt out their sins just because Pippa guessed them.
• I loved how Pippa had a running list of suspects, and the way it almost felt like the reader was involved in the investigation.  The way she's like: here are my notes, here is my list of suspects-- it felt like I was being asked to help solve it.  I loved that part of it.

Look, I think this book is definitely one high school kids will like.  I would 100% recommend it to teens who like to listed to True-Crime podcasts.  It's not that I don't think it's good, it's that I think it could've been so much better.  For me, the characters are just too flat and the story didn't get more thrilling as it went on.  There were times that I was just BORED.  It would definitely pick up and become page-turning towards the end, or in certain parts, but the down-times were just not interesting enough.

OVERALL: Unpopular Opinion Alert.  I didn't love this book.  I had high hopes (which may be a factor in my feelings), but ended up disappointed.  I hear this is a series-- and weirdly, I wouldn't say no to trying out a second book, but I would hope that the second book gives me more depth of characters.

Date Published: 2/4/2020
How I got this book: Thanks to Delacorte Press & PRH for providing me with an advanced copy to read and honestly review.
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 2.5/5

Character: Pippa
Book: People Like Us by Dana Mele

• I think Pippa would like trying to unravel the scavenger hunt that Kay is confronted with to find a murderer.

Adult Book Mini Reviews-- Someone Knows & Good Me, Bad Me

1. Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline

Goodreads Synopsis:

Twenty years ago, in an upscale suburb of Philadelphia, four teenagers spent a summer as closest friends: drinking, sharing secrets, testing boundaries. When a new boy looked to join them, they decided to pull a prank on him, convincing him to play Russian roulette as an initiation into their group. They secretly planned to leave the gun unloaded—but what happened next would change each of them forever.

Now three of the four reunite for the first time since that horrible summer. The guilt—and the lingering question about who loaded the gun—drove them apart. But after one of the group apparently commits suicide with a gun, their old secrets come roaring back. One of them is going to figure out if the new suicide is what it seems, and if it connects to the events of that long-ago summer. Someone knows exactly what happened—but who? And how far will they go to keep their secrets buried?




My Thoughts:

When I saw that part of this book is set in the late 90's, it was pretty much an instant yes for me.  I guess I'm just a sucker for anything nostalgic.

This book shook me a little.  It's freaking depressing, guys.  A kid dies for literally NO reason and everyone who was involved has a shitty life after that. I know that most unnatural deaths are meaningless, but this one really hit me hard.  Why did I read 400 pages just to come away with: What a waste that all was.

Another thing that puzzled me was the BIG BAD.  The theme of this book seemed to be that life isn't black and white-- there are grays when it comes to who is at fault and what is good and bad.  The thing is, the villain in this book was overly evil.  I didn't need the author to make the villain so villainy that I had zero doubts about his/her evilness.  I don't think this book needed a villain like that.  I think the event that happened brought up a lot about culpability and guilt-- it didn't need a serial killer to bring it together.

This is a book of alternating POV chapters, which I like... and I did like it when it was only the 4 main players giving their POV.  At some point, there were the POVs of the parents and spouses too.  It started to get confusing, and I think it would've been better just sticking to the main characters.

Putting all of that aside, I didn't hate the book.  I just didn't like being so depressed either.

OVERALL: Depressing.  Days later I'm still thinking about how this whole book was about a meaningless, senseless death and how I wish I didn't read about it.

Date Published: 4/9/2019
How I got this book: Audio from the library
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Books

My Rating: 3/5

2.  Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Goodreads Synopsis:

Good Me Bad Me is dark, compelling, voice-driven psychological suspense by debut author Ali Land.

How far does the apple really fall from the tree? 

Milly's mother is a serial killer. Though Milly loves her mother, the only way to make her stop is to turn her in to the police. Milly is given a fresh start: a new identity, a home with an affluent foster family, and a spot at an exclusive private school. 

But Milly has secrets, and life at her new home becomes complicated. As her mother's trial looms, with Milly as the star witness, Milly starts to wonder how much of her is nature, how much of her is nurture, and whether she is doomed to turn out like her mother after all. 

When tensions rise and Milly feels trapped by her shiny new life, she has to decide: Will she be good? Or is she bad? She is, after all, her mother's daughter.



My Thoughts:

I know this is an Adult book, but it has definite YA crossover appeal.

This book was rough to read-- emotionally.  It's about a girl who did the right thing, but nevertheless was a completely damaged person.  Milly grew up for 15 years with a psychotic serial killer for a mother--  abusing her, brainwashing her, making her witness horrible, unimaginable things.  Milly was never going to be normal.

She's living with a psychiatrist (Mike) and his family until the trial of her mother can take place.  She's going to a prestigious, private school and excelling.  The only problem is that Mike's daughter, Phoebe, is also a sociopath and she's not about to let Milly acclimate to her new situation smoothly.

The biggest theme of the book has to do with the title.  Is there a bad person living inside of Milly because of the way she grew up??  How much does nurture influence her?  It was a super interesting aspect of this book, and I was totally on edge waiting on Milly to snap.

For the entirety of the story, the reader is in Milly's head, which is kind of a sobering place to be.  She has feelings of empathy and sorrow, anger and grief-- but you can also feel that there's something missing somehow.  I had equal feelings of wanting OUT of her head and wanting to see her succeed.

Good Me, Bad Me worked.  It was a readable, addicting, painful story-- and it felt totally real.  Soberingly real.  I won't forget Milly anytime soon.

OVERALL: I loved this psychological thriller and think it was one of the strongest debut books I've read in a while.  I don't think it's for the faint of heart-- it was a hard book to read-- but it is totally worth it if you can handle being in Milly's head.

Date Published: 1/12/2017
How I got this book: Audio from the library
Publisher: Michael Joseph/Pengiun

My Rating: 4.5/5

Have you read either of these books?  Thoughts??  Share with me!!

#Murderfunding (Murdertrending #2) by Gretchen McNeil

#Murderfunding

Becca is living a normal teenage life in suburban Michigan when her stay-at-home mom dies in a car accident.  After the funeral, a girl shows up accusing Becca's dead mom of being Molly the Mauler, serial killer from Alcatraz 2.0.  Becca can't believe her scrapbooking, soccer carpooling mom could ever be the sadistic woman on the app who killed people with a variety of vicious animals.

The only way she can see to clear her mom's name is to go with this girl to the Who Wants to Be a Painiac? auditions and try to see if she can find any info on the original killers.  But this game/reality show is WAY more than what it seems.  And now Becca is in a fight for her life....

I can't decide if I like the fact that this book was super similar to the first book, #Murdertrending, or if I wish it was more of an independent spin-off.  I wasn't expecting the original cast to be involved so heavily, which was a pleasant surprise, but the new Paniacs were complete off-brands.  I wanted Oreo and I got Hydrox.  I wanted Grey Goose and I got Vladimir.

I don't know how much I should say about the plot???  The synopsis doesn't tell what the book is REALLY about, so it makes it hard to talk in-depth about this book.  I think I can safely tell you that a girl that may or may not be Molly the Mauler (a serial killer from the first book)'s daughter, decides to enter a contest to become one of the new Paniacs.  She wants to prove to a Fed-Xer (someone that wants to out the OG Paniacs) that her mom wasn't a serial killer-- and the best way to do that is to pretend to be a serial killer??  Clearly, logic is not this girl's strong suit.  Anyway, she gets chosen to be on this new "game/reality" show, and everything goes haywire.

Meanwhile, Dee (the Cinderella Survivor) is determined to remember where her kidnapper AKA Kimmie? originally lived.  If she can find the house, she knows she can find out who the Postman was.

What I Liked:

• More serial killer personas to get to know (although they weren't as awesome as the ones in the first book).
• The new Death Row Breakfast Club was kind of awesome.  There's a dude from a Russian circus who is basically Gumby.
• Found Family.  I love that trope.  This had 2 found families coming together.
• Gretchen McNeil's talent at telling a story.  I love the way her books are easy to fall into-- it's always easy reading.

Drawbacks:

• There was a national storyline playing out at the same time that this reality show was casting, and it never really went anywhere for me.  The ending tied it all together, so it wasn't there for NO reason-- it's just, I didn't feel like it was needed for the story to work.
• The romance was just okay.  I really liked Stef and I thought the girls were cute together as Disco Dolly's, but something about the way it all developed felt off.  I mean, they went days being together without speaking and Becca would still be thinking that she liked Stef.  It just didn't develop great.
• The whole flow was different than the first book.  In #Murdertrending there would be times of high intensity and then downtime.  This book had all the killing and tension in one short spot.  I didn't like that they only had one encounter with the Painiacs.

This series may fall into the reading category "just for fun".  If you're in the mood to be entertained, this will do that for you.  If you want something serious and literary and thought-provoking, this ain't your thang.

OVERALL: I liked it, but didn't love it.  The first book got some originality points from me, but this one sort of felt like a knock-off.  Good enough, but definitely not passing as the original.  I classify it as a "just for fun" read.  And I need those every now and again.

Date Published: 8/6/2019
How I got this book: Thanks to Freeform and ALA for providing me with an advanced copy to read and honestly review.
Publisher: Disney/Freeform


Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 3.5/5

Character: Stef Ybarra
Book: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

• Stef is a Yentl fan and dresses as Barbra Streisand's character for her Paniac audition.  I just feel like the pageboy outfit would fit so good in the Finishing School series and that Stef would love it.