Book Review – Page 14

Book Review: “A Flicker In The Dark” By Stacy Willingham

I picked this book as my main December pick for Book Of The Month Club thinking a debut thriller sounded amazing! I haven’t read a thriller in months and I truly believe that is the reason for my big reading slump. I was so excited to deep dive into this one.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that, in the process, he does not become a monster. If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Direct quote from book

About The Book

Author: Stacy Willingham

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published Date: January 11th 2022

Page Count: 357 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery and Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.06

“I think of the girls, of all the missing girls out there, and I force myself to keep walking toward the truth.”
Direct quote from book

Synopsis

Chloe Davis is the daughter of a known serial killer who kidnapped and murdered 6 teenage girls and left his family to deal with the aftermath of his decisions.

Fast forward 20 years and Chloe is now a psychologist in a happy relationship finally getting a grasp on her new life in Baton Rouge. But when two teenage girls go missing there are too many coincidences to ignore. How could her farther be murdering these girls when he is behind bars? There is only one answer, it must be a copycat killer. Chloe then takes things into her own hands to help any future girls from becoming the next victim. Can Chloe find the copycat killer before he gets ahold of another girl?

“And so we became the reason: the neglect of his wife, the taunting of his son, the budding promiscuity of his daughter. It was all too much for his fragile”
Direct quote from book

Rating

“fifteen-year-old girl taking a razor to her skin probably has something to do with feelings of inadequacy, of needing to feel physical pain to drown out the emotional pain burning inside her.”
Direct quote from book

Review

I was in need of a really good thriller/mystery read and this one hit the right spot! I was hooked on this book within the first three chapters and they are fairly short chapters so I would say that is a pretty decent timeline.

I had my suspicions of who the killer was basically from page one however I was completely wrong! I would have never of seen that ending coming which is why I really love this book. There was a lot of great twists and turns in this book and it really made the book interesting.

This book also focused a little bit on drug addiction and the way it can affect your everyday life. I felt like this was very important to the plot and just an interesting story line that I didn’t see coming. This is an important topic and this book made me want to learn more about how addiction can negatively affect your life.

I highly recommend this quick and easy read! Especially if you like a book that catches you by surprise.

QOTD: What is your favorite Thriller and/or Mystery book?

Book Review: “The Ex Talk” By Rachel Lynn Solomon

I read this book as a buddy read with one of my friends on Instagram “TheInstaBookWorm“. This was to help me get out of a three week reading slump and we both decided a fun light hearted romance read would do the trick. We also really loved “Weather Girl” by the same author so we felt this would be the perfect book! Lets get into it!

“So often, I’m trapped between the pain of remembering and the fear of forgetting.”
Direct quote from book

About The Book

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Publisher: Berkley

Date Published: January 26th 2021

Page Count: 336

Main Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 3.78

“But maybe that’s what we all are—halfway-broken people searching for things that will smooth our jagged edges.”
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Synopsis

Shay was raised to be a radio host, her dad said she always had a face for radio. After college she got a job as a producer at the local radio station in hopes to one day get to host her own show. However, she was always afraid her voice wasn’t something people would want to listen too.

After ten years a new hotshot journalist winds up finding himself on the air telling a political story only after a few months of being in the station. Animosity grows between the two over time. But when the station is at risk of going under they fight to keep their jobs by offering to host a hit new show called “The Ex Talk”. They are suddenly forced to work hand in hand as co hosts who supposedly used to date and now are somehow qualified to give out relationship advice. Can they keep the peace and make their listeners believe they had previously dated or will all the charades come crumbling apart?

“Sometimes I feel like I’m playing at being an adult, like I’m constantly looking around, waiting for a real adult to tell me what to do if my garbage disposal starts making a weird sound or if I should be putting more money in my Roth IRA. I am just…I feel like a complete mess.”
Direct quote from book

Rating

“The thing about losing someone is that it doesn’t happen just once. It happens every time you do something great you wish they could see, every time you’re stuck and you need advice. Every time you fail. It erodes your sense of normal, and what grows back is decidedly not normal, and yet you still have to figure out how to trudge forward.”
Direct quote from book

Review

Alright, Listen up. I really wanted to love this book. I though the idea of a podcast where ex lovers talk about their relationship sounded so amazing! I was ready to dive in and devour this book in one sitting. But honestly it started off slow and ended slow.

I am slowly realizing that enemy to lovers is just not my trope. I find it very exhausting. How do you go from hating each other one second and having sex the next and then having all these wonderful butterfly feelings just to hate him again the next page. It is just a rollercoaster I wanted off of!

So you might be wondering, “If you hated it so much why not just DNF the book?” Look, I thought about it but I always say read it till the halfway mark and then you can make that decision. I still wasn’t happy with the book halfway through but I was halfway through, I might as well finish it. It is kind of a silly thing to do but hey now I can add it towards my reading goal.

Something that I liked and could relate to was all the talk about grief and how it can really stick with you when someone passes. I feel like it is something you never recover from fully. The book really talked about grief in a way that was relatable and heartfelt which I appreciated.

I am still looking for a book that can get me out of my reading slump so please send them my way! I really need a good recommendation!

“Every time I imagined adulthood, it looked different from this reality.”
Direct quote from book

QOTD: Do you like the enemy to lover trope? What is your most hated trope?

Book Review: “It Ends With Us” By Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is quickly turning into one of my favorite authors. I have only read two books so far but they have both been highly rated on my end. “Verity” was a crazy psychological thriller and “It Ends With Us” was more emotional than anything. Lets take a deep dive into this book.

“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”
Direct Quote from book

About The Book

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Atria Books

Published Date: August 2nd, 2016

Page Count: 385 Pages

Main Genres: Romance, Contemporary and Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.44

“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”
Direct Quote from book

Synopsis

Lily had a rough childhood in Maine, watching her father abuse her mother and her mother never doing anything about it. She vowed that she would never let a man mistreat her.

She moved from Maine to Boston and quickly met a very attractive Neurosurgeon name Ryle on the top of an apartment building. Both had a lot on their minds so these two strangers decided to open up to each other revealing their naked truths. They quickly got along but this would need to be their first and only time meeting because Ryle only does one night stands and Lily wants a life partner.

Fast forward six months and Lily and Ryle’s paths cross again but this time they can’t seem to stay away from each other. Lily is kind, sweet and caring while Ryle is hot headed, arrogant and extremally stubborn. The most unlikely pair but what do they say? Oh yeah, opposites attract.

Life seems to be going pretty well for the happy couple, until a man from Lily’s past comes racing back into her life. How will this affect their relationship?

“Just because we didn’t end up on the same wave, doesn’t mean we aren’t still a part of the same ocean.”
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Rating

“And as hard as this choice is, we break the pattern before the pattern breaks us.”
Direct quote from book

Review

Wow! This book was so beautifully written! I read this book in practically one day. By that I mean I read four chapters this weekend and then devoured the rest of the book in only a few hours on Monday.

This was such an emotional read and honestly it hit pretty close to home. Being in an abusive relationship isn’t an easy thing to get out of and this book really show cases this. You are always trying to justify what is happening based on all the good times you have had and how sorry they feel after their physical, verbal or mental abuse.

I personally was in a pretty abusive relationship in high school and also another one right out of high school and getting out of those were some of the hardest things I have done in my life. Especially when you have such strong feelings for your partner and they come right back saying how sorry they feel and how it will never happen again, they buy you flowers and take you on a great date and you chalk it up as a bad day and move on.

Some people ask “Well, why didn’t you just leave?” and my answer to that is that it isn’t as simple as that. Sometimes you are scared the abuse will get worse if you try to leave, other times they have groomed you into thinking this is what you deserve and sometimes especially at the start you just think this is all just a big fluke. So many factors play into why people stay in an abusive relationship and it is never as easy as it might seem to just get up and leave.

Being able to pull myself out of two abusive relationships and to slowly put myself back together was tough but I am so much stronger from my experiences and I have grown a lot. I have now found a man who treats me like the queen I am and I am so grateful for that. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and if you ever feel like you are stuck in a relationship reach out to someone for help even a place to escape when needed.

Back to the book, this was an emotional read and I cried multiple times and I promise that you will too. I think this book will be one of my all time favorites and it will stick with me for a very long time!

Be aware of some trigger warnings for Abuse, Rape and mentions of suicide.

“Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them. It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.”
Direct Quote from book

QOTD: What book can you relate to the most?

Book Review: “Disney After Dark” The Kingdom Keepers Series By: Ridley Pearson

This is a series that I started back in my freshman year of high school and actually never finished. I decided that I wanted to finally re read and complete this series! I sat down and read the first book in a day, which is super fast for me despite it being a book for younger kids haha.

About The Book

Author: Ridley Pearson

Publisher: Disney Press

Published Date: August 29th 2005

Page Count: 326

Main Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult and Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 3.91

Synopsis

When five kids get the opportunity of a life time to be hologram guides in Disney World they find out quickly that this was more than what they bargained for.

When they go to sleep at night they wake up in main street Disney World and they see some strange characters moving around after hours. It turns out this isn’t just a dream. Wayne, an old guy who used to know Walt Disney, tells the kids that the park is in danger and they are the only ones who can save it.

These young kids are faced with the challenge of finding The Stone Cutters Quill all while fighting Disney Villains with every twist and turn. Can these kids save the fate of Disney World or will the Villains run amok for the rest of time?

Rating

Review

Growing up I hated reading. Like if you put a book in front of me I would just laugh. One thing that I did really love was the Disney parks. Put the two together and you have found my favorite series growing up. Pretty much the only books I read before I started my Bookstagram. I realize how sad that sounds but it brought me happiness.

This book was a nice lite refresher to all the long books I have been reading lately. I finished it in one day and my brain was very thankful for the quick read.

Reading the first book for the second time was actually a lot of fun. I think I caught onto a few things I missed my first time around. Even though there were some plot holes I still gave this five stars just because of the nostalgia and happiness reading this book brought back to me.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick Disney read and to get an immersive deep dive into some of our favorite attractions.

QOTD: What is your favorite Disney Villain?

Book Review: “The Unhoneymooners” By Christina Lauren

I read this book for a buddy read that I am hosting at the end of this month and to be honest I have a lot to talk about with this book! With that said you should come join in on this buddy read and join in on this conversation.

I apparently tried to read this book back in August and only read the first two chapters before my mood swapped from romance to thriller. So this book has been on my back burner for awhile and I am pretty upset that I hadn’t picked it up sooner. Keep reading to see my thoughts!

“I knew he was a book lover, but to be the same kind of book lover I am? It makes my insides melt.”
Direct Quote

About The Book

Author: Christina Lauren

Publisher: Gallery Books

Published Date: May 14th 2019

Page Count: 400 pages

Main Genres: Romance, Contemporary and Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.01

“I can appreciate my body in a bikini and still want to set fire to the patriarchy.”
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Synopsis

Olive is the complete polar opposite of her twin sister Ami. Olive is just unlucky in all aspects of life where as her sister who is getting married to a nearly perfect guy can now get married for practically nothing when she wins contest after contest to help her plan her dream wedding.

However, on the wedding day everyone comes down with food poisoning except for Olive and her arch nemesis Ethan, the grooms brother. This leaves the Honeymoon up for grabs and there is no way unemployed Olive is going to sit and mope in her lonely apartment while her enemy gets to enjoy an all paid trip to Hawaii.

The catch? They have to put all hatred aside to put on the perfect show of a happily newlywed couple so they don’t get caught committing fraud. Can these two put their hate aside to enjoy a once in a life time vacation or will they get caught in all their lies?

“You don’t get to choose the circumstances. That’s the point of luck: it happens when and where it happens.”
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Rating

“It’s so exhausting pretending to hate you.”
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Review

Once I started this book it was pretty hard to put it down! It took me three days to read this book. Now to some of you this might seem like a long time but for me I average one book a week, so to finish this in three days I know I must have enjoyed it!

It started off kind of slow, it picked up around page 80 or 90 and once I past that I was reading until I had no choice but to put it down. I think the writing was gorgeous! I loved each character individually and even though the trope feels over played I didn’t care. It was a book that just kept giving!

I know I stated I liked the characters individually but lets talk about Olive and Ethan as a couple. I hated them as a couple! I do not ship them, boot them off the island! Their relationship was soooooooo exhausting. Sorry for all the o’s back there but I need you to fully understand how I feel. Every chapter they were off and on and I just wanted to strangle them both! The arguments every other page felt pointless. I just wanted to fall in love with them but they made it so hard! Now with that said the few steamy scenes in there were really what made me root for them in the end.

Something I took away from this book is that it is important to find a partner who fully trusts you and understands your feelings. Don’t let anyone make you feel like your feelings are invalid! You are worthy of so much more!

Even though I hated Olive and Ethan as a couple I liked the story and the characters alone enough to give this a decent rating. This book also had a lot of humor that made up for the parts that had you screaming. Over all this was a pretty cute and fun book. definitely worth the read!

“It’s the strangest feeling to be proud simply because I’m taking care of me and mine. Is this what it’s like to grow up?”
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Come join us!

Don’t forget to come join my buddy read for this book! We have a few weeks left for you to catch up before we fully discuss the book! Just let me know to get you added!

QOTD: Do you have characters who you just hate as a couple?

Book Review: “The Last Thing He Told Me” By Laura Dave

This book has been on my TBR for a few months. I received it from my Book of the Month Subscription a little while back and I have been wanting to read it for awhile but to be honest the cover just didn’t pull me in, so it kept getting pushed back. Finally I saw that it was listed on Scribed to listen to for free and I knew I had to dive in!

“Maybe we are all fools, one way or another, when it comes to seeing the totality of the people who love us—the people we try to love.”
Direct quote

About The Book

Author: Laura Dave

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published Date: May 4th 2021

Page Count: 320 Pages

Main Genres: Mystery, Fiction and Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 3.93

“He never understood that I wasn’t scared of someone leaving me. I was scared that the wrong person would stay.”
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Synopsis

Hannah’s life gets thrown for a loop when she receives a note from her husband saying “Protect Her”. Hannah knows she is meant to protect her step daughter Bailey, who has already had a troubled life and most importantly who hates her. Why can’t her husband just tell this to her face, why send a note? Protect her from what?

When her husbands boss gets arrested and the FBI start knocking on her door and her husband is no where to be found she decides to start taking things into her own hands.

Taking her scared step daughter all the way to Texas, they start to unravel a very unsettling truth. Is her husband really who she thought he was?

“This is the terrible thing about a tragedy. It isn’t with you every minute. You forget it, and then you remember it again. And you see it with a stark quality: This is what is required of you now, just to get along.”
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Rating

“This is the thing about good and evil. They aren’t so far apart—and they often start from the same valiant place of wanting something to be different.”
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Review

My favorite part about this book is that the daughters name is Bailey, I mean that is my name just spelt wrong! All jokes aside, I really did enjoy this book!

I went into this, like most books, blind. I hadn’t read a synopsis or very many detailed reviews. I knew it would be a mystery and I also knew it was on the GoodReads choice awards which really got me interested. Without knowing what I was really getting myself into I think the story really surprised me. It took turn’s that I wasn’t expecting and over all made a pretty great reading experience.

I started off not loving the characters, which frustrated me because I struggled to want to listen to the first maybe 30% of the book. But the book quickly picked up and the relationship between the characters really started to blossom and I ultimately made great connections with them. I think the over all character development between Hannah’s and Bailey’s relationship was the most touching part of the book and what really stuck with me even after reading. With that said, I didn’t really care why Owen was in hiding, I was just rooting for Hannah and Bailey to grow closer together.

I loved the audio book! I own the hard copy but wasn’t tempted to pick it up because the lady who voiced this book did such a wonderful job! I really recommend picking this one up on audio if you are on the fence.

QOTD: What book do you find yourself thinking back to the most?