morganjanedavis's Reviews (396)

The Reunion is centered around Cait Du Bois, a famous author who is returning to her small hometown for a high school reunion. Due to the tragic past Hotel Lilith holds, she feels this could be a time to gain closure and face her high school tormentors once and for all, proving she is larger than the scars they left, showing she emerged from the experiences that haunt her unscathed. Cait's wherewithall begins to fade as her time at Hotel Lilith is marked by sinister messages, packages, and disturbing interactions with what she assumes is a super fan. Who can Cait trust, and how long does she have to figure it out before it's too late?

This is my first novel by Modglin and she is going to be my new go-to when I'm in the mood for a thriller. I love a good ~the past is coming back to haunt me~ storyline and this one was done perfectly. Her writing style immediately drew me in, providing just enough detail for me to feel like I'm watching the plot unfold in real time while keeping the pace of the story steady. Normally, a dual timeline is a lackluster story structure for me, due to the fact that one is typically less interesting than the other. This was NOT the case here. Although very different, both timelines were gripping and I felt that they gave a depth to the characters that made me become more emotionally invested in the book than I initially anticipated. The WHOLE TIME I was reading this, I concocted at 2-3 theories that I thought were solid enough to reign true to the end...I was wrong about each one. I was truly blindsided and by the last 15 pages or so I was feverishly scrolling to find out what was going to happen next. The Reunion was not a 5 star read only because of the plot twist but, because all story elements were extremely well written, coming to together in a "I am about to blow all my responsibilities for the day to finish this" thriller. I highly recommend this, and I cannot wait to check out more of Modglin's work in the future.

3.5
These Witches Don't Burn follows Hannah, an elemental witch through her journey to uncover the looming threat against her coven that has made itself known. While trying to figure out who is behind the danger, she has to deal with her toxic ex, her family's disbelief of said threat, and ensure that no "regs" she's close to find out about her witchy ways. Hannah's in a race against time to discover who is targeting witches; the lives of her coven and ~regs~ she is close to depends on it.

This was a really cute read! I was looking for something with more of a whimsical beat (Cackle by Rachel Harrison type of energy, if you will) and while this didn't really satisfy that I did enjoy it. I'm unsure of when this book was written/published but I love the sexuality representation throughout. There are characters who are bi and lesbian and the author does a fantastic job of highlighting their struggles throughout the novel. Along with this, there is a trans character named Cal, and Sterling frequently names people with them pronouns if the reader is unaware of their pronouns. This was refreshing and I love that this is becoming the norm in works I reach for.

The characters in this book are extremely likable. They're all complex and nuanced, and Sterling does a great job of supplying background information and linking past events that perfectly explain each character's unique traits. With that being said, the plot of the book was murky and overall a lot to sift through. At first, Hannah and Veronica have multiple theories about the threat that is upon them, one of which involves a trip out of town. This is mentioned frequently throughout the book but, it's never truly connected to anything. I also felt that the reveal of a blood witch was sort of anticlimactic and predictable. Finally, the looming threat was very obvious if the reader paid attention. I figured out the culprit about 1/2 way through the book, and the little clues along the way only confirmed my suspicions. These Witches Don't Burn give off a massive YA vibe with darker elements. YA is normally.....N E V E R my jam (sorry ya'll), this worked better than any YA-eqsue book I've tried to get into. Because of the flatness of the plot, I'm not sure if I'd recommend this per se, though I didn't hate to read it? If you like a Riverdale-ish type beat & witches, you'd probably enjoy this.

Miranda is a has-been actor who is now an assistant professor at a small university. It's her job to teach a few classes and direct the annual play put on by the abysmally-funded theatre department. Miranda is in chronic pain due to a faulty hip surgery which then lead to back issues. Essentially, she can't get through the day without a combination of pills that she abuses to no end. As if things couldn't get worse, her theatre students have organized a mutiny against her play choice "All's Well That Ends Well", campaigning instead for Macbeth. Completely down on her luck and in severe never-ending pain, Miranda seems to have found relief from 3 strange men she met in the bar she frequents. All they want in return for their gifts is "a good show". Will Miranda be able to deliver before truly spiraling out of control?

This is my first Awad novel and I am truly at a loss...like wtf RLLY happened?!
The dialogue was a lot of inner self-talk and the plot points were extremely murky, thanks to our insanely unreliable narrator who is neurotic at best, rapidly approaching insanity at worst. Miranda moves from downright miserable to so cheery that it's scaring her friends, students, and lover. As the story unfolds, the lines between reality and wherever tf Miranda is when she's not living IRL are blurred. It's a big ol' question mark for the reader to decipher themselves, and it only gets blurrier as the time moves on. Miranda's changes are documented well, characterized by consistent paranoia that someone will ~find out about what she's done/is doing~, holding rehearsals until 1AM, and just generally treating her dumpster fire of a life like "all's well". While this book is clearly a work of fiction, it forced me to think deeply about chronic pain, more specifically women and chronic pain. Although Miranda hyper fixates on her life before the accident and came into her newfound health in a terrible way, I felt for her (and eventually Briana as well) as I read. All of her doctor's appointments, remedies that wouldn't work, men that told her that "pain lives in the brain", the reluctant kindness shown by others was infuriating. All's Well framed chronic pain as an inconvenience to others and painted the sufferers as people who were simply stressed, anxious, and/or wallowing in their pain, which is oftentimes how these people are perceived in reality (Even by their loved ones AHEM: Grace), which is super shitty.
I'm not sure WHAT genre I'd classify this as but the writing style and flat out insanity that ensued reminded me of A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan. So if that was your vibe, you'd probably like this too.

Our story starts with Hannah, a thirty-something woodturner (*not* a carpenter), growing concerned as to why her husband, Owen, isn't home yet. While waiting, their 12 year old neighbor comes over to pass a note to Hannah, from Owen, consisting of only 2 words: protect her. The situation grows even more strange as a duffel with 60k+ is left in his 15 year old daughter (Bailey)'s locker. Hannah and Bailey are hastily led on a wild goose chase to figure out what Owen is hiding as it's imperative that Bailey's safety is relying on the answers.

I'm gonna be totally candid and say that I have allowed this book to expire from my Libby account 2 times now...I finally decided to read it the third time around. All because of the cover...:/. In my head I thought there was no way that a novel with a cover that looks like a cutesy beach read would pack a punch. I immediately associated it with a Nicholas Sparks type beat and put it off. I was SO wrong.

I loved this thriller because thrillers that involve double lives, running away, corporation scandal, etc. are sparse on my TBR, so this was a breath of fresh air. The story takes place only over the course of a few days and we follow Hannah's point of view through the events. I found her inner dialogue to be compelling and well-equipped to incite the psychological ~build up~ as the story unfolds. By the end I really felt for Hannah and Bailey and I loved Hannah's unwavering love for a child that wasn't technically hers. The plot itself was interesting and I could not predict the turns it was going to take although, this may be due to the fact that I never read thrillers like this. My only issue with the book was Owen. I felt that he was extremely selfish? He had only been married to Hannah for a year and for him to have put her in the position to be the sole provider for his teenager because of a mess that he had a hand in (and that the reader truly never finds out how deep it goes) was....wack. I know he was the piece that made the thriller thrilling but still...whatta loser dude. If you're looking for a thriller that doesn't involve murder/death I'd recommend this one! A quick and fun read.

This Coven Won't Break is the second in the duology that follows Hannah Walsh as she navigates high school, girls, and the looming threats towards her coven. Being a teenage witch is hard, and after the traumatic events Hannah has had to deal with over the past year, she's excited to get some downtime to be able to enjoy her senior year and have fun with her bestie Gemma and her new girlfriend (and blood witch), Morgan. THAT IS until hunters try to create a "medicine" that turns witches into ~regs~ and takes away their powers forever. Hannah and the other witches must protect their coven and others, before it's too late.

I picked this book up because I read the first one and I wanted to know what happened next. While the storyline is interesting enough, that is literally the only reason that I keep going back to these books. None of the characters are extremely likable and the writing style falls flat. I felt like I was just sifting through series of events the entire time as an outsider, like someone was telling me what they've been going through lately, it wasn't immersive in the slightest. I would label this book as "plot heavy"; I feel that a more accurate term would be plot only. While we get information about the characters, it almost reads like they took a personality quiz and the author is giving little bits of that information throughout the book instead of learning about the characters' true selves through their own thoughts, words, and actions. The only person the reader really gets that insight from is Hannah (understandably so as the narrator), and while that's great, it would've been nice to see a bit of that from more of the characters. Along with this, I had some hangups with the plot. The villain completely came out of left field and wasn't shocking at all. The story left too many bread crumbs that led to the final events for it to not be predictable. And the ending? I felt SWINDLED. I wanted so much more. I won't say I regret reading this book and I very much love that LGBTQIA+ representation is consistently woven throughout but, I'm not sure if I'd recommend it. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a sugary sweet YA type beat and while this satiated that craving, I wish it had a bit more depth.

If there ends up being another Hannah Walsh book, I'll probably pass on it and just look up what happens like the human garbage that I am.

"Fridays at midnight, long after the casual moviegoers filed out of the exits, the Starlight Cinema transformed into something dark and perilous. Theater One, the newer half of the Starlight, closed for the night, while the other half, Theater Two—the older, original theater—was plunged into a shadowy world of hauntings and serial killers, werewolves and cannibals, slaughter and mayhem. Witching Hour Theatre."

Larry Wilson's life was mundane. The thirty-something doesn't go out much, doesn't socialize, doesn't date. What Larry looked forward to each Friday was the Witching Hour Theatre. Three horror films are shown on a loop, back-to-back: a horror lover's delight. That is until when Larry realizes the movie goers are becoming less and less, less than the normal number to stay for feature three. An ominous energy envelops the theatre and Larry realizes there may be more bloodshed off screen than on screen tonight.

I really enjoyed this! Witching Hour Theatre was only ~85 pages, a small novella that is a great depiction of slasher horror. Janz's writing style is descriptive af which I felt to be impressive for such a little book. He was able to set the scene and take me there, while simultaneously ensuring the plot moved at an engaging pace. As stated by Larry himself, the events are bit formulaic but, in the endearing way that horror lovers LUV. The gore was disgusting (in a good way) describing in full detail the slasher scenes, down to the sounds. I realize this is a novella but, my only wish is that we got more information on the villains in the story. No motive is stated nor is the villains fate revealed to the reader. The ending was unexpected, which is (most) always enjoyable. I definitely recommend this, it's perfect if you're in the mood for a mindless movie theatre slasher.

When a group of teens decide to break into an abandoned circus-themed amusement park & the site of multiple gristly murders back in the 90’s, everything seems super chill and like *nothing* could go wrong—right?! It’s all fun and games until people begin to go missing one-by-one and bodies are being discovered. Who’s behind this? Why would someone copy the cirque berserk murders 20+ years later? One of these seniors better figure it out quick, before Cirque Berserk and its demons swallow everyone up, for good.

This is my favorite book in the rewind or die series to date. It radiates an American Horror Story type of energy, showcasing modern characters who are far more sinister than they appear. There were fun twists throughout and the novella kept a perfect pace: weaving between backstory and current events flawlessly. Cirque Berserk’s high-energy plot can be attributed to the multitude and variety of slasher scenes. It was so fun to anticipate the gory deaths but never know how they’d play out. Although the ending wasn’t what I anticipated, I loved it and it made me hopeful for a 2nd installment