The Hike is a multi-POV novel about four friends who go on an intense hiking trip to Norway. They've been friends since they were in high school, and now in their thirties they still reunite each year for a holiday. This year Liz has picked the trip and everyone else is a little less than enthused about the physically demanding vacation. 

Lucy Clarke begins this story with lots of character building around the four friends: Liz, Helena, Maggie, and Joni. By the time the trip begins, I had felt a connection to several of the characters and a deep interest in the others. When they arrive at the lodge near the daunting peak they plan to summit, the friends meet a small group of locals- some friendly and others less so. 

Interspersed with chapters about "the search" for a woman's body, Clarke builds tension even before the hiking expedition goes awry. My only gripes are that this book was a bit long (384 pages, not ideal thriller/suspense length in my opinion) and that the end managed to feel very this, then this, then this (a shift from the overall writing style).

For a character driven adventure in the wilderness book, this hits the mark. I found myself picking this up over other books I was reading, and I think it will work for many readers. 

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC. All opinions are my own. 

I saw another book review that said this was not chilling, just barely chilled. That’s the best description; it’s like somebody got it out of the fridge 30 minutes ago and forgot about it.

My Murder is exactly what I was told it would be and unlike anything I’ve read before. In a near future world, Lou is given a second chance at life after she is murdered by a serial killer. 

Lou has an interesting job providing therapeutic touch, she has a spouse and a nine month old daughter, and she’s active in a survivor support group. But her should be cozy life isn’t satisfying her, so Lou endeavors to learn more about her murder- something she cannot remember due to the cloning process. 

Just go into this one blind, expect a more literary style, lots of heart piercing insights into matrescence (new motherhood), and what it means to keep secrets from others and yourself. This book quietly blew me away. I can’t wait to read it again for all the well laid clues and intricacies of this story. 

This graphic memoir was gut wrenching and breathtakingly honest. In Lighter Than My Shadow, we learn about the author’s experience with eating disorders and trauma. She writes with so much depth and simplicity along with fantastic illustrations. I was blown away by how much I related to this memoir having had a very different eating disorder. 

Enter this one with caution, it brings up so much detail around ED and to a lesser extent SA. If you can take care of yourself and read this, I think it’s a really special book. 

Vincent Ralph is the author of one of my favorite YA thrillers, 14 Ways to Die. So I was excited to read a new book by him, set around Halloween about a group of teenagers with secrets that begin haunting them. 

The beginning of this book was solid, but it lost me in the middle. Then, unfortunately, the end was never ending. There were too many red herrings and then the big twist at the end was so far fetched and felt disconnected from the first three quarters of the book. It is so different from 14 Ways to Die which has super short chapters that all end on some kind of cliffhanger and which brings back around hints from throughout to get to the shocking twist at the end. 

This wasn't the book for me. I think it will work well for teens looking for a creepy Halloween book.

1 star for content and portrayal of serious issues, the writing is strong enough and the audiobook is well produced. 

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. 




I cannot in good conscience recommend this book on any level. First of all, the title is a spoiler so when Josie begins recounting her story of meeting her husband when she was 13 and he was 41, my antennae were up and not in a good way. This is a story about grooming, pedophilia, and dysfunctional family relationships. It in no way makes a positive point about these serious topics. 

When the truth is revealed, it gets even worse. Josie is a liar, and it is explained that she as a teenager coerced her husband into a relationship and that she was actually the abuser all along. GARBAGE. As someone who works in abuse prevention, I am so angry about this portrayal in a world that already struggles with believing victims. Lying about sexual assault is very, very rare. But that’s not the message presented here. I’m very concerned about the welcome reception this book is having here on Bookstagram. This kind of story is antithetical to the mission to help survivors of SA and move towards an end of abusive cycles.  Please skip this one or read it quietly- it doesn’t need more buzz. 

If you read and enjoyed The Appeal by Janice Hallett, you'll love this quirky holiday follow up titled The Christmas Appeal. We are reunited with many of the same Fairway Players for their holiday pantomine of Jack in the Beanstalk. It sounds simple, but of course with this dramatic crew it is anything but.

Femi and Charlotte are back on the case, sifting through the variety of documents that tell this story. Sarah-Jane and her husband are newly in charge by democratic vote, so they are trying to please most everyone while sticking to their own high standards. Everything is the usual local theater group drama until a very, very large beanstalk is borrowed from another play group. 

And I'll leave it there. This is full of hijinks, a mysterious murder (or was it?), and so much fun. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books, all opinions are my own.