Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This collection seriously blew me away. I finished reading it a few weeks ago, and I still think about several of the stories on a day-to-day basis. The audio version was fabulous-- there were several different narrators for the different stories and they really captured the mania, melancholy, urgency, and desperation needed for the different stories.

I gave this a 4 star since there were a couple of stories that just didn't quite work for me:
-Clown Face
-Saudade
-Hiraeth
-How Not to Come Undone

BUT, that being said, the following stories were amazing and I genuinely haven't stopped thinking about them for weeks:
-Repent
-Nodus Tollens***
-From within
-In his house
-Open waters
-Ring of fire

Each story was pretty different, but they all had that same ~vibe~ and you could tell they were written by a masterful storyteller. I feel bad rating it lower than a 5 star since I enjoyed these stories SO much, but anthologies are hard because it's almost impossible to have 10+ stories that all just *work* for a single reader. I would highly recommend this anthology for horror fans, especially if you love stories about desperation and what it means to be human.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.


The golden couple is the story of a couple with a marriage on the rocks and their therapist who promises to solve all their problems in only 10 sessions. The story is told in alternative perspectives from the wife (Marissa) and the therapist (Avery). Each had a different narrator who completely captured the essence of the character. I loved Avery's no-nonsense ways and Marissa's wholesome quiet strength.

The story was really interesting with secrets in each character's background that were told in a string of reveals after getting little bits and breadcrumbs along the way. There were a bunch of red herrings and surprises that definitely kept me engaged and intrigued. The ending was surprising but believable (increasingly hard to do for me as an avid mystery/thriller reader!!), and I felt like things wrapped up well. I did still have one unsolved thread that I would have liked some more info about, but I'll let this little one go :)

My only reason for docking this down from 5 stars is that this title was just too long. I think the book could have easily been shortened by an hour or so (30-50pages?) and still had all the same twists and turns. It just would have packed a better bunch in a slightly shorter story. I was intrigued the entire time and wouldn't have considered stopping listening, but I did find myself hoping for parts of the story to just speed up already because nothing was happening. Not my favorite Hendrikcs/Pekkanen title, but definitely better than their last two books! I'll definitely continue to pick up titles from this duo in the future since I enjoyed this one so much.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all, when I tell you that this book broke me. Jolene is a 12 year old girl who has been through way too much in her short life. She lives for the daily livestreams from her favorite social media persona-- Addy Earheart. Addy flies on her Ultralite Trike every day and streams her adventures. Jolene feels like she's finally made a friend... until the day Addy crashes her glider while on livestream. Jolene tries everything she can to get help, but no one will believe her. This is when she sets off by herself to try to find her friend in the desert before it's too late.

This story was so heartbreakingly beautiful. Jolene is trying to find someone and ends up finding herself along the way. She makes friends, discovers her worth, and figures out how to stand up for herself. I legitimately cried multiple times while reading and will be purchasing this title immediately. It's a great story about bravery, friendship, self worth, and being lonely that would be great for any middle grade reader. There are a lot of complex topics that I would recommend discussing with a parental or guidance figure though. These include: drug use, CPS/foster system, internet safety, and obviously the biggest thing of all in the story is Jolene going off into the desert by herself with no plan and without actually telling anyone where she is going.

The narrator was absolutely amazing. She kinda sounds like Mandy Moore? Her emotions were perfect for Jolene and she fully acted her narration without being over the top. Would definitely recommend the audio version.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book because it's beloved by one of my favorite booktubers (Becca and the Books). When I saw an audio copy of the book on NetGalley, I was SO excited.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my favorite. While the setting and ambiance were stunning, I felt overall underwhelmed. The story was under-developed and not very much happened, so the book felt a LOT longer than it was. There was a big cliffhanger at the end, but I'm not sure that's enough to keep me reading a second book.

There isn't anything objectively wrong with this book-- I think it has an audience with lovers of fae stories and readers who are there for the *vibes.* It just wasn't really for me.

Giving it a 3/5 since the writing was good and the ambiance was fabulous. The narrator did a good job-- I've definitely listened to other audiobooks she's narrated and she's great at conveying emotions in a believable way.