The Island by Natasha Preston My rating: 1 of 5 stars The Gist Let’s start with this: The Island had one job—be entertaining. Unfortunately, it failed spectacularly. I picked it up expecting a tense, fast-paced survival thriller. Instead, I got a drawn-out group project written in emoji and sponsored content. The Details At first glance, the premise sounds promising. A group of young influencers gets invited to an exclusive retreat on a private island. Cue the danger, mystery, and chaos, right? Not quite. What follows is a painfully slow descent into nonsense with some of the dullest characters I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. To begin with, these aren’t…
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Now You Are Mine
Now You Are Mine by Amanda Brittany My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Now You Are Mine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I picked up Now You Are Mine expecting a tightly woven psychological thriller—the kind that keeps you up too late, eyes flying across the pages, heart racing. The premise had promise: a missing woman, buried trauma, and a protagonist whose past refuses to stay hidden. But despite that setup, the story quickly lost momentum and never found its footing again. The Details The protagonist felt frustratingly…
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The Keeper of the Key
The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Keeper of the Key in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Nicole Willson crafts a gripping and atmospheric tale in The Keeper of the Key, a YA horror/paranormal novel that delivers exactly what I hoped for. From the first chapter, I felt pulled into a world full of eerie charm and unsettling secrets. The setting breathes with life—creepy without becoming cliché, vivid without overexplaining. Fans of haunted mansions and generational curses will find so much…
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The Bluff
The Bluff by Bonnie Traymore My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Bluff in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist The Bluff by Bonnie Traymore is the kind of thriller I hope for every time I pick up a suspense novel. This one delivered. No eye-rolling, no skimming, no groaning at unrealistic choices—just clean, sharp tension that kept me glued to the page. I was fully engaged the entire time, and the pacing never once dipped. The Details The story follows a woman who moves into a coastal home perched…
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What the Woods Took
What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of What the Woods Took in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist What the Woods Took sets out to be a moody, atmospheric thriller, but for me, it ended up feeling flat and uneventful. The premise is intriguing—a girl searching for her missing sister in a town filled with secrets and surrounded by ominous woods—but the execution just didn’t deliver. The Details From the beginning, the pacing felt painfully slow. I kept waiting for something—anything—to really happen. While…
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Only One Survives
Only One Survives by Hannah Mary KcKinnon My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Only One Survives in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Only One Survives is a chilling, fast-paced psychological thriller that tears the mask off fame and exposes the rot festering underneath. From the very first chapter, Hannah Mary McKinnon pulls readers into a twisted world fueled by ambition, secrets, and the relentless pursuit of celebrity. She reveals just how far people will go—lie, betray, even kill—for their moment in the spotlight. The Details At the heart of…
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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan My rating: 4 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan is a beautifully layered and haunting novel that shifts through time. Blending South Asian folklore with the eerie elegance of British gothic literature, it draws you into a story where the past never truly stays buried. Set in a crumbling English mansion called Cilmary, the story follows Ayesha, a teenager who moves in…
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Villa E
Villa E by Jane Alison My rating: 1 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Villa E in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I picked up Villa E expecting an atmospheric, emotionally rich novel. Jane Alison is known for her lyrical prose and experimental style, and the premise sounded promising: an architecturally stunning villa, layered timelines, and complicated relationships. On paper, it had everything I like—intellectual intrigue, sensual undertones, and an artful setting. In practice, it felt like wandering through a museum where nothing is labeled and the staff refuses to speak to…
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Deeper Than the Dead
Deeper Than the Dead by Debra Webb My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Deeper Than the Dead in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Deeper Than the Dead by Debra Webb starts off strong. A young girl discovers a body in a graveyard, and just like that, a quiet town in Tennessee becomes the center of a chilling murder investigation. The setup grips immediately, pulling readers into a story where nothing stays buried for long. The Details Dr. Rowan Dupont, a forensic psychologist with a tragic history, takes center stage.…
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Two Twisted Crowns
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Two Twisted Crowns in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist To begin with, Two Twisted Crowns picks up right where One Dark Window left off—and from the very first chapter, Rachel Gillig pulls you even deeper into the eerie, enchanted fog of Blunder. This is the kind of sequel that not only meets expectations but shatters them, rebuilding its world with higher stakes, sharper emotion, and a story that cuts clean through the heart. The Details Firstly, Elspeth…
