"everyone is an unreliable narrator."

Ooooh this one was SO GOOD. It had me hooked from the start. Olivia is in a really tough spot. She's burned some bridges recently in her ghost writing career and the industry has canceled her for it. She's in a bit of a bind, financially, and is wondering if she'll work again.

When a surprise offers is extended. After leaving her father's house years ago, she's never been back, never spoke to him again. As a famous horror author, she felt he'd neglected her and she'd rather having nothing than forgive him for his mistakes. But now he's asking her to ghostwrite a story with him - one that comes with a large advance and additional pages as they work well and turn pages in. She doesn't want to but agrees. She needs the money.

From there, this story is completely addicting. I've spent the whole day relating the whole story to the family in my house. We were all waiting on cliffhangers as the mystery unfolded and each twist turned tighter. I had no guesses and enjoyed kicking around the ideas with my husband and adult child. Can you believe it, we ran out of ideas and I just had to keep reading because I truly didn't know what was coming next. This is a heartbreaking story about 2 siblings, murdered and taken horribly from their family, their friends, and the lives they should have been allowed to lead. It hooked me from the start and was such a great thriller! I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

With such a gorgeous cover, I was excited to jump into this. Good things to know before you start - this is definitely literary fiction. It won't be a tension filled plot or a huge rise to a big reveal. It's just a moment in lives that are messy.

We have Max - living life, wondering if she wants that whole traditional boyfriend/relationship that seems like all her friends are starting to jump in to. She's 30 now, does that mean she needs to decide soon?

And we have Vincent. We get before times of Vincent, as he meets up with his friend Fred on a gap year. And we get the now Vincent, cool and calm and very interested in Max.

This was a heavy read, for me, but very realistic. My heart broke, in parts, as Max struggled to find her own answers and juggle demanding respect while also remaining safe. The second story was equally heartbreaking and hard to read it parts. This story was tough but had some really tender, lovely moments.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

A group of kids wake up in the morning and find their campsite empty of all adults. They aren't typical teens, they have traits both their personality and physically of animals. They woke up one day and were just, suddenly, part animal and part human with no memory of any time before. So these missing adults are a really big deal in their world - they provide money, guidance, and community. They decide to pack up their RV and head to the only place they know their adults might have gone - to another group in WA just like them.

But this group of kids are a mess with each other. The story tried to say that these kids had known each other for a while but they seemed to barely know each other. One of their party, Hugo, was nothing short of a bully and he said awful, horrible, hateful things to them the whole time.

I liked the idea of this story. The premise was interesting and the curiosity as to what was going on drove me until about the 50 mark, But by then, there had been multiple weird occurrences with not a single one of them even trying to figure out what was going on. They were just drama. They were just Hugo flying off the handle and being mean to everyone. It was so hard to read and so hard to keep going, knowing they had no defense against him and that he would just do it again and again, hurt them over and over. By 75, there was still no progress and their arguing and hurting each other just wasn't fun anymore. I wish I'd liked this one more but I couldn't take how awful they were to each other with no real guidance of a plot or exploring the mystery until the last 10.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Alex is in a rough spot in her life. She had a smash hit with her first book but the second one has brought public outrage as she researched a crime and then got it all wrong. So this third book she's been invited to come research, she is hoping this will be the one to get her out of this rut. It's also a distraction since her husband passed and she's still struggling with her grief.

But the story is a very sad one. In 1968, the old orphanage in this town was accused of drowning one of their children. There is also rampant allegations of abuse and a long ago settled lawsuit. So Alex isn't necessarily welcomed with open arms in the town as no one is excited to bring this old subject up again.

This was a very compelling mystery. It was a bit slow burn when I first started so I flipped to an audio and it picked the story right up. I found Alex a bit unreliable - she was quick to finger 'who done it' and was constantly moving her allegations around. It was consistent, though, and went along with the drama that was following her from her book 2. I found the back and forth timeline and the added pieces from the interviews such an enriching part of the story and it really pulled me in. I loved the misaligned accounts because memory is murky and it added to the creepy feel to the past and what all happened. The ending was a nice wrap up. Full staff audio - it was great, I highly recommend!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"Everything burns."

Absolutely stunning - a gut-wrenching story about family and what we will do to protect them.

Roman is coming home because he received the call that his father has been hurt in an accident. He's gravely injured and he needs to get home. He's come home to the two siblings that were left behind when he left their small town, left them to run their crematorium family business.

But they were a fractured set of siblings before he left. Their mother has been missing for years. The town, the police - everyone believes their father did it. The kids have always struggled with missing their mom and continuing on with their lives.

However, Roman isn't in town long before he realizes something very big is wrong with his little brother. The time has come for Roman to come back to town and protect his siblings as they are buried deeper into a very dangerous game.

Wow, I was so completely sucked into this one! I did as an audio book and it was hard to stop once I'd started. Each new turn just dropped my jaw and I was amazed at how messy the danger was, how horrifying it all was, and just how major every twist was. I liked how complex and gray every character was. What would you do to protect your family? Roman is willing to risk it all.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"There is no saying what horrors might lurk in those black waters."

What a wonderfully, dark, gothic story. A bog, a surfacing body, an autopsy and madness. Lucy's been called to her sister's home by her sister's husband. Her twin sister, Sarah, is very unwell. But it's not a cold, Sarah is prone to bouts of "hysteria" and Lucy comes to help her out. Last time, it was when she'd lost a child. Now she comes because she wants to ensure Sarah doesn't lose her husband and house. Sarah's greatest fear is being committed.

This was a dark read and I loved it. Lucy's love for Sarah is tested again and again. She has to keep deciding if she will keep picking Sarah or, if at some point, she needs to get out from her shadow and live her own life. I loved the conflict, the gross bloody moments, and the confusion on how to define what was going on. The pace was perfect, gross at times then back to wondering what was going on. The story took turns I never saw coming and kept me absolutely glued to the pages. I loved this one! Can't wait for more from this author!

I have to be honest, I just auto buy this author. I didn't even know what this was about when I started it. So I clicked on that audio and popped my earbuds in and was introduced to Joan and her life. Her stumbling into working at NASA. Her love for her niece, her patience with her sister, her observing her fellow co-workers and learning these new things.

But this is a quiet book. It introduces you to people that you grow slowly, chapter after chapter, to love. You don't realize you do - because it's so easy. Sure, there are those troubling chapters that hint there's a 'now' and a 'then' but I rolled right along as they got to know each other.

So when I got to the last 10 or so, I was a mess as we finally have 'now' and 'then' colliding. As this author does so well, I hung on every word until the very end. What a beautiful story. I absolutely loved it.

A sudden death turns into a murder investigation by two siblings who believe their mom has brushed against a con artist.

It intros with the death and it's pretty shocking. The kids are told individually and they instantly reach out to each other and start to game plan. Both of them have been cut of from their mom and her supply of money for months now - and they blame that disconnect on this new guy her mom met, had a very fast whirlwind love affair with, then married. They blame their current poor financial situation on him, Perry, the husband. Now, with their mom gone, they stand to finally get their hands on their inheritance and to better their lives.

But imagine their surprised when both the police and the husband seem to hint that they wonder if the kids had something to do with it - shocking and enraging both of them.

Part 1 is all about the kids and their current life and then their investigation. Part 2 is when they find someone to help them. I really liked the addition to Ava. The kids were hard to like - selfish, money-hungry, and overly-competitive with each other, Ava was a nice calm to their chaos. Part 3 wrapped it all up and I loved the nice twists at the end. It is every time I feel good about an ending but this one was just like having your cake and eating it, too. Everyone got their just desserts.

It was a quick read, easy to jump right into and follow the line. It wasn't a huge page-turner but I felt compelled to know how it all ended. It kept me entertained, I liked it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This one took me a minute to get into and then I was hooked and wanted to know more!

It's a bit confusing, to start. There are many POV - but the main was is Ebony. She's a grown woman and getting ready to get married. There was a tragedy in her past, her brother's murder, and a famous award-winning photo was taken of her that day, in the midst of her grief, and she's been followed by the press since. So when her wedding day doesn't go as planned, Ebony decides to go away to another country and start to sort some of her family history and her own life out.

I found the many POV a bit hard to follow. There were definite POV I didn't want and it was hard to get through Part 2 because of them. But I did like how the story unfolded, as we learned the history of Mo and how the jar had traveled through the different hands that had held it. The conclusion to the story was gentle and worth some of the earlier heartache.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"Power cannot be given, it must be taken."

This is a slow burn story, especially at the start. Get ready for the build up for about 30 - but then the story will get going. You'll meet a flower garden that is tucked away - young girls that are pregnant outside of wedlock in a time before Roe v Wade and a time before women were really taught about childbirth or pregnancy.

Our main character is Fern and, through her, we meet the other flowers - Rose, Holly, Zinnia and others. You learn how the house works and wait with the girls as their due dates get closer.

This story was deeply moving. I was sad for all the ways these girls had been let down and abandoned. When the witchcraft was introduced, I was excited to see where the story would go. I loved the spells and the language, the book, the corners and the secrets. I loved the little coven and the things we learned. It was a quiet power that ran through the book and I liked that I felt in on the secret.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Interesting story that got a bit bogged down in details and dialogue.

This was a fascinating story to start but a very slow slog to get going. I loved learning about Elena and her skin-stitch business. Neren's body martyr details were a bit murkier but I slowly did learn what it meant and still shook my head in wonder at the necessity. These 2 felt like solutions to the same problem - only one felt rational and the other not.

Learning about Saints, Nix, Parallax, and Bulwark as a whole felt much slower and laborious. Nix took long stretches of story to inner struggle, wonder about thought and feeling, and then spoke in sweeping deep thoughts and ideas. It slowed the story down and, many times, I felt the message was clear and didn't need Nix to reinforce it again and again with thoughts and discussion.

There's a great story here, one I found fascinating. But it was hard to find it through the slow start. The ending was great.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Shocking twists - reads just like a reality tv show!

To start, as soon as you crack the book - there's a character sheet with information. Just know that it's a lot at the start. You're intro'd to a whole family doing a reality tv show - and Eden, the director, has managed to get her cousin in the mix by one of the family falling for the cousin and marrying her.

This is the cousin's first day of filming (after their scheduled down time). The cousin, Hope, is not used to cameras, being miked up, or the drama of a large family. The wild times start there and completely derail soon after! The story is broken in 3 parts, each one more shocking than the last. As we got to each twist in part 2, my jaw was literally on the ground!

It really did hold my interest and kept me shocked and wondering what would happen next. Even though I guessed a few twists, and I didn't like a single character, I found myself sucked into the plot and where it was all going. It was a fun read, light and easy. I enjoyed it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"Revenge takes time, you see. And I have been patient."

An interesting historical story about vengeance, slavery, family and maneuvering all this in the 1860's in Queen Victoria's court. I appreciated Sally's rage - she hide it when needed but really reveled in it in quiet. It fueled her, moved her, kept her focused on a goal. We're taken through Sally's (real name Omoba Ina)'s time being Queen Victoria’s African goddaughter. She learns the court's rules but finds ways to gain her own power and learn secrets.

There is some romance in the story and I found it to be just meh, a distraction from the story. The story swept me up in the time, I liked the quotes from Sally in the beginning of chapters that reminded you this was based on a real person (even if this is fiction). It's a stark reminder of some of the atrocities that have been done.

I did this as an audiobook and I find many of the voices distracting. The high pitch and varied speeds took away from some of the enjoyment so I flipped back to my hardcopy and enjoyed it more. And this cover! I absolutely love it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Oooh, this was a fun, twisty little thriller. One that kept me guessing and guessing and guessing until I finally just had to go along for the ride!

Kerry is almost at rock bottom of her life. She's run away to a small, snowed in motel - to watch it for a month, make sure the pipes don't burst, while she finishing writing a book she is very late on. She's also an alcoholic and she'd like to try to stay away from that while she's here too.

But as soon as she arrives, she knows something is off. The motel room is trashed, the previous career for the month clearly has not left or cleaned up and she's left wondering what to do now. It isn't until she spots something red in the snow that she get scared.

This was wonderfully twisty and kept me guessing. I loved how it was hard to count on any one character and it lead me wondering, constantly, who all was lying. The ending was the perfect wrap up. I loved this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

A powerful and heartbreaking story about a father and son relationship.

Isaac is now an adult. He's struggling to forgive his father for things that happened in his childhood. It was a quick read, told in sort of journal style, as Isaac goes through his childhood memories and tries to see things from both sides - his father's and his own. What these memories reveal is that he's formed opinions and ideas about his parents that, now that he's older, he sees in a new light.

I really liked the few moments between chapters where Isaac was working through writing his memories down with his therapist. It was a good reminder that these were memories and that what Isaac felt, at the time, didn't always align with how he felt about that memory now, in the present. Sometimes the emotions in a memory don't match what we feel now.

Told with love, respect - it's a good reminder that we, as parents, are not raising our children in the same world we grew up in. It's good to listen to our kids, try to see this new world as they view it, and try to work together to guide through it. This was a very good read.

A wonderfully spooky house and a great mystery.

Carina has just arrived in Jamaica and she's starting a new nanny job. But she's started as Joy, a lie and secrets Carina is trying to hide. She's trying to embody Joy, the way she's out-going and easy to be around. She has great experience with kids and is hoping this will be an easy new job.

However, the first day she meets everyone, she comes back to her room and has a message on her bathroom mirror. Run. As the house continues to push against her, she decides to figure out what is going on before it tires to push her to go back home - something she can't do.

I was instantly sucked in. Carina was easy to like but also, my heart broke for her reasons for running and her secrets. Sure, she isn't perfect but she's made mistakes and is trying to do better. I loved meeting everyone who worked around the house and how each person contributed to the house but also helped Carina feel welcome. It felt claustrophobic, this island and house and how Carina's secrets are holding her back. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end. I did this as an audio book and the narrator did a wonderful job of keeping me sucked in and giving a great voice to Carina. I loved this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The only way out is to write."

ha! I loved this deliciously dark read! It's tense and suspenseful. I listened to this one and I can't recommend the audiobook enough - it has sound effects like the waves of the ocean and bells from a church.

In this our POV is mainly Grady - who has recently lost his wife, the love of his life, and has gone away to a small island to write and try to come to terms with his wife's disappearance. But the island is odd and Grady is so tired and it's a struggle to understand what's going on.

And I highly recommend not knowing more than that! Go into this one blind, and just let the story confuse you until it all comes together. It was so good! I absolutely loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"Remember glory and danger often taste the same. All they leave behind is bitterness."

This one starts with a slow burn as you learn who Semiramis is, where she starts, and how learns some of her first rules in life. I knew noting of this story so this was nice, for me, to slowly intro the world, the people, and the ideas. But as she meets Onnes and arrives in her kingdom, the story really gets move. The different perspectives and points of view were so well done - it really showed the moves and manipulations that happen in court and how easily Semiramis was at playing their games.

The battles, abuse, and deaths at times were brutal. The time in the war was particularly hard to read, as was their trauma when they got home. But the story was compelling, it was hard to put the book down after the first part. The themes of love, betrayal, the rise to power and what it means to hold on to it were compelling and thought provoking. It was really beautifully written, parts felt lyrical and lovely. I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"we're all so much more, and less, than our best, or worst, moment"

A wonderfully woven story - about a hidden author and how she lives and writes under her pseudonym. The story starts when Annie is young - and it's told not only from our main character POV but also from those her life bumped against and were affected. It's a great way to tell the story, through those that knew Annie as well as Annie. It gives us moments from other POV and also shows some of the cracks of how you see yourself versus how others see you. The story itself is a great mystery along with many other genres. I loved getting to know the characters and wondering how all the pieces would fit together. The addition of Annie's story within the story was another added addition and one that helped build the pieces to see the full picture. This story felt refreshing and unique. I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

"He's cheating. He always does."

Out on a week long trip, three adult friends come together for vacation and get irritated by a couple that takes their parking space. As they drink and have dinner, they bemoan how rude the couple was and laugh as one of them writes a note - "He's cheating, He always does." They laugh, they think they toss the note.

Little do they know, the man in the couple will go missing. What is going on?

I really liked that we got multiple POV. It was good to know what was happening and what Lauren thought along with May. I did figure out some of the twists but after a bit of a slow start, I did feel the tension of the story and want to know what would happen next. It was interesting, I liked it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.