General Description: Beth, Michael, and Nicole are grieving the loss of their mother. However, these siblings have not interacted with each other for at least a year, and their father disappeared 7 years prior. The tensions are already high and get worse when they discover a VHS tape from Summer 1999, which shows their father covered in blood, asking their mother to help him cover up a murder. The siblings now have to find out the truth, but they uncover more mysteries than they were anticipating. Will they be able to figure it all out?

The goods:
- These were my favorite plot twist by Jeneva ever (I know some people are saying it's predictable, I am not one of those people. Do with that information what you will).
- It was a quick read, which is appreciated when I feel like every book I read lately is about 400 pages lol.
- The layers of mystery in this book and how all the plots are closed was very nicely done.
- I appreciated the sibling relationships and how they were explored.

The loss of a star:
- I don't think this is a true thriller, but more of a tension filled mystery, which I feel like are two very different things. It was slower paced in the beginning but once I got to like 15% I did not want to put it down. I wish it was marketed as a pure mystery instead of thriller.

Overall, I feel like if you liked The Perfect Marriage, you may not like this book. However, I do think this could be your first Jeneva Rose book to determine if you'd like her other books or not.

3.5/5 Stars

General Description: Jack and her husband Gabe have made a living off of testing companies security system. However, when Jack returns home from one of these jobs and finds Gabe brutally murdered, she knows she has to find out who did it. The police believe Jack did this, but Jack knows that's on true. On the run for the truth, can Jack convince police to look elsewhere besides her and can she bring justice to Gabe's murderer?

The goods:
- I do think the action scenes were well done.
- Jack's determination to solve her husband's murder was admirable and I overall liked her as a character.
- I did think the concept and the information you learn about the technological world was extremely interesting. 
- Majority of the plot twists did hit pretty hard in my opinion, especially near the end.

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- The whole star loss is because this book just felt it is dragged? I don't fully know how to explain it while listening to the audiobook because a lot was happening, but I also felt like not a lot happened. I had to make myself turn back on the audiobook to listen to it.
- For how smart Jack is, I was so disappointed she fell for one of the police's tricks and it made me not trust her characterization. It really took me out of the story early on.

Overall, I don't think this should be your first Ruth Ware book, I've seen others rave about The Woman in Cabin 10 and others, so maybe try one of those first to see if you're a Ruth Ware fan before picking up this one.

General Description: Margot was supposed to be going to college with her best friend, but she died before they were able to go to college together. The death hangs over Margot her entire freshman year and she doesn't really make many friends, until the summer before sophomore year begins, and Lucy Sharpe invites Margot to live with her and two friends over the summer. Margot agrees because Lucy reminds her of her dead best friend and she wants to try to get control of her life back. However, we flash forward a year, and Lucy a missing, one of their fraternity neighbors is dead, and at the center of it is Margot and her two roommates, Sloane and Nicole. Where is Lucy? Who is the murderer in the house?

The goods:
- After the lackluster All The Dangerous Things, I felt like the plot twists were back in full force and i was engrossed in them.
- The book was fast-paced and I found myself continuously wanting to read it over other books I was reading at the time.
- I did feel like I was living in a college house next to a frat, it felt much more believable than her previous novel. 
- the side characters (and side mysteries) were giving me everything I needed in this book. Even as we switched time periods, I was fully sold on all plot lines.

The loss of a half-star:
- For a stand alone, I feel like I didn't get full closure on the characters. I wish it was a bit longer and either more wrapped up, or left us with an opening to a second book.

Overall, if you were on the fence with Stacy Willingham after All The Dangerous Things, you should pick this up. She'll suck you right back in, giving you similar fillings to A Flicker In The Dark.

General Description: A girl wakes up on the side of the road, with no memory of who she is. A police officer finds her and while trying to figure out who she is at the police station, her dad shows up and says she's Mary. He has all the proper documentation, photos from when she was younger, and she goes home with him. But she doesn't feel like a Mary. Drew is searching for his girlfriend Lola, even though he's the prime suspect. He stops at nothing to get lead after lead to find Lola, even if the police will do nothing. Will Drew find Lola in time? Will Mary be able to to discover who she truly is before her situation takes a turn for the worse?

ALL The goods:
- Freida McFadden Level Plot Twists. That's all.
- I loved how Mary's perspective gives us a day by day breakdown. I am not sure 100% how losing your memory works, but this felt very realistic in terms of how she got it back.
- Drew's perspective gives us a bit more action packed, fast paced view into trying to beat the clock to find his missing girlfriend.
- The book kept my interest the entire time and found myself neglecting other books to keep listening to this one because I had to get answers that badly.
- The introduction to the book is one of the best hooks I've read in a while. I was in from page one.

Overall, if you like thrillers, pick this up next. You'll want to add Megan Lally to your auto-buy authors list.

Note: Check any content warnings, just in case. It's a horror book, but even my skin was crawling a bit too much at certain scenes.

2.5/5 stars

General description: Roos has been forced to perform seances to keep her mother and her alive. These seances aren't completely real, but Roos is possessed by her spirit companion Ruth during the seances to convince patreons the spirits of their loved ones are there. One day, wealthy widow Agnes Knoops attends a seance and decides afterward to take in Roos (she pays her mom off). Agnes and Roos then live in a slowly deteriorating mansion together and Roos will do anything to make Agnes happy, even if that means potentially being replaced when Roos comes up with a scheme to bring back something she knows will make Agnes happy: her husband. But, not everything is as it appears in the paper. Will Agnes truly be happy with Roos?

The compelling parts:
- I'd say the first few chapters, the point of the book where the plot gets clear, and slightly before the end are the most interesting points of the story.
- I did like how spooky the book was, it's definitely perfect for a Halloween time read.

The loss of stars:
- Roos gets interviewed by a doctor in the book and I feel like it kind of spoils the whole thing. There is nothing surprising or that compelled me to want to read longer.
- Agnes just annoyed me, I feel like she didn't tell Roos important aspects about her life on purpose and it ruined the story for me to see how often this happens.

Overall, if you like horror books and prefer character driven stories, you could like this! But if you need a heavy plot book, this is not the book for you.

I would recommend checking the content warnings before reading, because I feel like there are a lot but they were not mentioned in the audiobook version.

General Description: Three women, one cottage, a connection that lasts the test of time. 1619: Altha is on trial for witchcraft after a stampede kills a man. 1942: Violet has been sheltered her entire life, until her cousin turns her world inside out. 2019: Escaping an abusive relationship, Kate finds solace in a cottage left to her by her great-aunt. However, the cottage holds more secrets than Kate is expecting. Follow the lives of these three women as they navigate being women forced into terrible situation and how they handle each of them.

The parts that were okay?
- There was one part where the birds and bugs attack someone who deserves it and I liked that.
- Altha's story line near the end of the book did briefly pull me into the book

The loss of 3 stars:
- This felt like an extremely long book where truly not much happens. I didn't feel empowered after this, more frustrated than anything over the lack of anything happening.
- We don't get a true explanation on the connection for all of these women, or the magic, or even get full resolution on 2/3 of their lives (I did think Violet's had enough resolution)
- No story line really compelled me to want to keep reading for the majority of the book and I felt like I had to push through this book.

Overall, I am sure someone who loves character driven stories would adore this, but that someone is not me. 

Note: This is the 4th book in the Pendragon series. There will inherently be spoilers for the series below. Proceed with caution.

General Description: Veelox is the next territory Bobby Pendragon has to try and save from their turning point. However, traveler Aja Killian tells him it's fine, that she has it under control. The issue: everyone wants to live in the perfect reality that Lifelight creates for them. Aja's solution: The reality bug. This bug will make people's reality in Lifelight less than perfect, hopefully encouraging them to get back into the real world to produce food, people, and other aspects of a society. However, is it really that simple? Bobby isn't sure and he sticks around to see. How will the Reality Bug work and will it truly stop Saint Dane? It almost feels too easy...

ALL the goods:
- Aja Killian could call me an idiot and I'd hug her; i love her personality and her character growth.
- Lifelight is so well described and I love the science fiction aspect added into the series.
- The Mark and Courtney second earth story lines are getting more complex and added a layer I think the series greatly benefit from
- Being able to go so many places in one book kept the book engaging the entire time.
- Finally, Bobby. Bobby is my favorite character of all time because of how he grows after each challenge, how he isn't just good or bad, and I think the Reality Bug really sets up the further complexities we will see from Bobby as we continue reading the series.

Overall, if you've started the series, how can you stop?! Keep going!!

Note: While I am rating this 5/5 stars, I felt this book on a super personal level. I can definitely see the criticisms related to this book, but I am definitely going more with my soul on this rating, as you'll see.

General Description: Daphne gets her hurt broken in one of the worst way possible. Her fiance ends their engagement the night of his bachelor party after realizing he's in love with his female childhood best friend. Daphne now has to find a new place to live, but luckily, her ex-fiance's new girlfriend also ended a relationship with a man named Miles. Miles has an open room and that's how Daphne and Miles end up living together. Now, Daphne is setting her sights on getting out of Michigan, but Miles convinces her to let him show her how Michigan can be a place she alone calls home. Will Daphne leave? What else will Miles show her beyond the Michigan beaches?

All the goods:
- The concept of living together after two break ups was interesting to me.
- I love a good midwestern exploration story line.
- the sister subplot added depth to this book that I think rounded out the book nicely.
- In regards to Daphne, while not perfect, I feel like her and I are very similar and it made me love the book that much more.
- In regards to Miles, I feel like he's a lot like my husband, so I think he'll always have a special place in my heart.

Overall, I think if you didn't like Happy Place, you may like this book better than that. I don't think this should be your first Emily Henry book in my opinion, i'd go in publication order and see if you like her earlier works before picking this up.

General Description: Misery is the only daughter of a powerful vampire councilman. He tells Misery, who has been blending in with the human world for years, that she will be wed to an Alpha of the werewolf pack of the Southwest. Surprisingly, Misery agrees, because she believes the Alpha had something to do with the disappearance of her best friend. Can Misery find her friend before the Alpha realizes something is up, or will Misery find that she has a surprising ally in the Alpha?

The good:
- The spicier scenes in this book made sense for me and followed the progression of the book.
- The overall mystery from the description of the book.
- I think I like the marriage of convenience trope thanks to this book. I thought it was very well done.
- I would instantly go back into the world that Ali built (and I'm convinced we will be back based on the ending).

The loss of one star:
- I did feel a bit lost not have any Omegaverse knowledge. I still don't fully know what a Knot is or anything like that, and when those aspects were highlighted, I felt a bit taken out of the book.

Overall, if you are a fan of Ali Hazelwood but aren't sure about the paranormal world, I would recommend it. I still enjoyed it even with the lack of paranormal knowledge

General Description: Joanna has been protecting the library her father left to her after one of the books he spent his life protecting seemingly killed him. She does this completely alone, as her sister Esther was told by their father to run every year or the same people who killed Esther's mom would get her. However, for one year, Esther doesn't move. And chaos ensues. Esther has to escape the Antarctic base she's on alive and hopefully make it to Joanna. But the people hunting Esther are more powerful than anyone can imagine. How will Esther make it back to Joanna?

The good:
- The description of magic and how the books are created seems extremely unique and I was enthralled, if a bit disgusted.
- I liked the three different perspectives of the different roles in this hidden society and how they all come together (yes there are 3 perspectives even if the description doesn't say so, it surprised me too).
- I feel like the mystery was twisty the entire time and kept you on your toes (for a very long time)
- I could never predict any of the plot twists in this book and I was very impressed when they did hit in the second half of the book.

The loss of a star:
- We spend SO LONG building this world. It makes the book a bit tough to get through at first, and then we get through some major events so quickly. I wish this were a series. Because we've spent so much time in this world with not a ton of action in my opinion and I want to go back.  

Overall, if you're okay with a somewhat frustrating fantastical book that you want to spend more time in, you should pick this up. If there is a second book announced, my review will be edited appropriately :)