Lock Every Door by Riley Sager is a tale that begins with a bang and will keep you anxiously reading as you try to guess what is going on in the Bartholomew.

Lock Every Door was so interesting and quite dark!

I absolutely loved that the story begins with a high-stress situation that shows you that something bad clearly happened. The storyline after that is organized in a way that jumps back and forth between the current timeline, and the days leading up to the scene in that first chapter. When the two timelines catch up to one another is when the tale gets even more intense.

I really enjoyed that the beginning of the tale focused on the characters and their relationships. All along, and mostly because of that first chapter, there was a strong mysterious, as well as a to good to be true, vibe lingering beneath the surface.

Only when Jules breaks one of the rules of the job, does the mystery begin to really develop. It’s clear that something is very, very wrong. But what, exactly, is going on?

We follow Jules as she carefully investigates.

While reading, I was so anxious to see what was going to happen next! This is certainly a roller-coaster ride of a story!

I really enjoyed the main character, Jules. She was in quite a difficult situation upon entering the Bartholomew. As the story progressed, she struggled with getting over her past, but she was so strong throughout!

I especially loved one scene where her ex showed up. How she spoke to him was perfect. Far too often, these types of scenes make me really angry because the characters let the interaction get to them too much and they cave or dwell on it for far too long. I was so happy to see Jules stay strong and angry!

I found it so interesting to learn little bits and pieces about the other residents of the building. This was written in a way that definitely added to the mysterious vibe!

Once I reached the end of the novel, so many things fell into place. Such as why one woman always wore sunglasses for just one quick example. This is definitely a story that I need to reread soon!

My Favorite Passages:
Her voice is champagne bright and just as bubbly.

Every so often, life hands you a reset button. When it does, you need to press it as hard as you can.

I’m sure some would say it’s my own damn fault. That is was my responsibility to build an emergency fund. At least three months’ salary, the experts say. I would love to backhand whoever came up with that number. They clearly never had a job with take-home pay that barely covers, rent, food, and utilities.

Memories lurch out of nowhere. Leaping on top of me until the sidewalk turns to quicksand beneath my feet.

It’s a beautiful afternoon. Mid-sixties, sunny and clear. It reminds me of my childhood. Of pumpkins and piles of leaves and trick-or-treating.
It also reminds me of my mother, who adored this time of year. She called it Heather weather, because that was her name.

Compared with the rest of the building, the basement is downright primitive, with walls of bare stone and support beams of concrete. It’s cold down here, too. A rush of cold air hits me as soon as I step out of the elevator. It feels like a warning.

There’s always a moment when worry turns to fear, he’d said. That’s when you should have called.

I wake with a jerk on the crimson sofa in the sitting room, the nightmare clinging to me like sweat. I can still smell the smoke and hear the blare of the fire alarm. It’s as if I’m not awake at all but simply caught in another, similar dream. The smoke tickles my nose and throat. I cough.
That’s when I understand what’s going on.
This isn’t a dream.
It’s really happening.

My Final Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this tale. I was so wonderfully paced and well written. A must-read for darker mystery fans!

Out of his three novels so far, this one felt the darkest to me. So of course, I cannot wait to see what Riley Sager does next!

A Monster Of All Time: The True Story of Danny Rolling is a true crime novel that discussed the horrible actions of a true monster.

Far too often, I’ve found that true crime tales focus on just one element of the case, rather than giving the full picture.

That wasn’t the case here; this novel was wonderfully written!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the author as a participant of the Partners In Crime Book Tour in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

The tale was set up in a way that was really interesting. In the beginning, it was split between chapters about the murders, and flashbacks to the murderer in prison beginning with his dream of revenge and moving along his path as he got out of jail and began his evil deeds.

These timelines met up toward the middle, where we then focused on the murderer and the court proceedings, as well as the fall out of a man who had been previously accused.

I appreciated the information that this novel included because it really told the full story. We were given background information about the murderers childhood and plenty of information about his actions. We read the horrific details about the murders and saw the autopsy sketches. We got the court action, notes about the media coverage, and the resolution of the case.

But most importantly, we were given an equal amount of information about the victims and their families. We learned what the victims were like, what they did in high school, and what they were going to college for. We learned about their families and how their loved ones dealt with the horror. I especially loved that we were able to read quotes from the family members once the monster was put down.

This novel absolutely broke my heart. The crimes were terrifying and absolutely horrible. But with the elements from the families, and the reaction from the community during and after the events, this tale was also slightly uplifting.

I highly recommend reading this one if you’re interested in true crime.

Dear Scarlet The Story of my Postpartum Depression by Teresa Wong is a beautifully honest story about her experience as a mother of a newborn.

Oh my goodness, this is such an important read. I’m so thankful that Teresa Wong created this.

I have a few friends that have experienced postpartum depression, and I wish I had read this earlier so I could both try to help more and recommend this book to them if they were feeling up to it.

While I can’t personally relate to the postpartum element, I can certainly relate to the depression and sense of hopelessness.

This account was just raw honesty. The author didn’t shy away from the darker elements.

The artwork was a lovely element to the overall creation of this. The art was simple, but very powerful.

My Favorite Passage:
Never be afraid of your feelings. Although they may overwhelm you at times, there is a strength that is born out of weakness.

My Final Thoughts:
Whether you’re an experienced mom, a new mom, an expecting mother, or just someone who knows someone that fits the previous criteria, I highly recommend this to you.

I think we can all use some education on postpartum depression so we can be there to help ourselves and others.

The “Under the Light of the Broken Moon” FCBD issue of The Only Living Boy is a short glimpse into this comic series, but it really packs a punch!

As a reader that was totally clueless about this series before picking this up, I’m very happy to say that it hooked me immediately!

This issue is the perfect example of a FCBD comic done right! It had a recap element, it was engaging from the start, the artwork rules, and it gave the reader the perfect amount of storyline before ending on a bit of a cliffhanger- but a great one!

Unlike many of the other comics that I’ve read from this event, this one did an awesome job explaining what was going on to someone picking it up without knowing anything about it! I loved the little “What You Missed…” blurb at the beginning that caught the reader up to speed. Then we dove right into the tale!

This story was short and sweet and didn’t waste any space. As a reader, I was given just enough information to get me super interested in the series without straying into info-dumping, or worse, a total lack of world building.

The characters were interesting. We only got little glimpses into what they were like, but I would certainly like to learn more!

The artwork was fun as well. A bit on the creepy side of things, which I loved.

This is definitely one that I would recommend if you see it at a future FCBD event! From this, I cannot wait to get my hands on full volumes of this series!

When We Believed In Mermaids is a story centered around two sisters who are moving through life trying to run from the ghosts of their past.

If you're looking for a lighter summer read that is centered upon family drama and a slight dash of mystery, then I highly recommend this one to you!

Unfortunately for me, this one was a bit boring and quite repetitive. That's just how I feel about most books with two POV's.

I really enjoyed the last quarter of the book though! I even teared up toward the end!

My Favorite Passages:
I missed my real sister, the one who whispered with me, the one who used to be in my corner, but I couldn’t find a way to reach her. She had disappeared into another life, and I didn’t know how to follow her there.

I sip my wine. After several generous gulps, I’m feeling the magic on the back of my neck, down my spine. There is again space in my lungs for breath.

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden is a super creepy tale filled with terrifyingly thick mist, scarecrows that come alive, and a haunting family history.

While labeled middle grade, this one REALLY gave me the creeps!!

I had been meaning to pick this one since I heard the author mention she was working on it when my book club saw her speak. But of course, things got a little crazy and I just never got around to it. When Netgalley did a 24 hour free giveaway, I snagged a copy immediately!

I wasn’t expecting this to be nearly as creepy as it turned out to be! It was so atmospheric and the writing was so spot on that I could really imagine everything playing out in my head.

The story is about a girl, Ollie, who steals a book from a woman who was about to throw it in a river. Ollie brings the book back home with her and is immediately immersed in it.

In school the next day, one of her classmates gets the teacher talking about the ghost story of the farm that they are about to visit to learn about agriculture. The ghost story is eerily similar to the story in Ollie’s book, but she tried to wave it off as coincidence.

When her class gets to the farm, Ollie quickly realizes that it may not be just a coincidence. Weird things begin happening and when their school bus breaks down in the middle of really thick mist, Ollie doesn’t stick around to see what happens. Two other kids from the bus, Coco and Brian, also follow her into the mist.

I loved the three main characters! I cannot wait to learn more about them if they’re featured in the next book! Ollie was going through a rough time, but I loved how brave she was and how she didn’t put up with bullies. Coco was adorably pathetic, but definitely grew over the course of the book. I’d really like to see her hold her own more in the next tale. Brian was also a great character who grew a lot. I look forward to seeing more of his personal growth as well.

The storyline was perfectly paced and the plot was so interesting! There’s just something about thick creepy fog that spooks me. So add scarecrows that can move in the day if you’re not looking at them but get violent at night on top of that, and it’s a horror read for sure!

There was one scene that had me holding my breath! I was truly terrified by what was happening and could not stop reading.

I got some major Slenderman vibes while reading this!

My Favorite Passage:
You can’t, she decided, be super scared for very long before you start just laughing or crying.

My Final Thoughts:
This is definitely one I would recommend to fans of creepy stories! Between the amazing writing, the wonderful characters, and the super spook plot, I absolutely loved it! This is a book I need to add to my shelves!

I didn't make it very far in this one. From the very first opening scene, I thought that this one wasn't for me. After a couple chapters, I bailed. I just couldn't get into the story and didn't care about the characters.

To be fair, I struggle with memoirs to begin with and when I picked this one up, I was on a plane so I was looking for something that would capture me immediately and take my mind off the fact that we were 10,000 feet in the air.

I just couldn't deal with this one... I found this to be so boring! I couldn't get past 30 pages. It was all just a bunch of rambling and bragging.

There Are Monsters Here by Cameron Chaney is not only a tale about monsters that live in the minds of a family, but a tale about these monsters when they come to life.

The writing was wonderful. It was pretty unsettling but also quite beautiful. It was creepy where it needed to be creepy, it was raw and honest, and it really packed a punch.

The premise itself was so interesting! There was also a bit of ambiguity with this tale that leaves the readers wondering long after the tale ends.

There were a few tough subjects that came to life in these monsters; alcoholism, abuse, and depression. Each one affected the family member in its own dark way and each was very haunting.

My Favorite Passages:
That’s the thing; nobody in my family can see anyone else’s monster but their own. It’s just the way it has always been.

No this isn’t the story of how I first saw my monster. This is the story of how I killed it.

I don’t know exactly, to be honest. Something just broke. It was like a tree, how it slowly grows more beautiful from summer to autumn, then finally wrings its skeletal hands of the leaves it once held close. I was one of those leaves, and I was falling to the ground with no one to catch me.

I had set my own shadow on fire and watched it burn. I was a lost boy no longer. I was free.

It was what it was. Something new was waiting for me, something good.

My Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this read! It totally sucked me in and I couldn’t stop reading until I had reached the last sentence!

This is a read that I would recommend to a wide variety of readers! This is just one of those books that could fit into various genres; magical realism, slightly dark fantasy, light but unsettling horror, literary fiction… It even had a bit of a poetic feel.

If you enjoy quick novellas that pack a punch, this one is for you.