The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso My rating: 1 of 5 stars The Gist Let’s set the scene: small town, a girl disappears, secrets bubble just beneath the surface. You’re thinking ooh, juicy! Maybe this’ll be a tight, suspenseful mystery with compelling twists, layered characters, and psychological depth. You dive in; get comfortable. You prepare for thrills. The Details And then—BAM. The main character arrives and steamrolls every ounce of potential like a drama queen on a mission. Look, I enjoy a flawed protagonist. I really do. But what we’ve got here isn’t a flaw. It’s a full-blown character malfunction. This girl isn’t just immature—she’s emotionally stunted. You’d…
-
-
They Wish They Were Us
They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman My rating: 2 of 5 stars The Gist They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman starts with promise—an elite prep school, a dead student, and a secret society that rules everything. It sounds like it should be dark, juicy, and full of twists. But it isn’t. The story drags, the characters fall flat, and the suspense barely shows up. The Details From page one, the pacing stumbles. For a book centered on murder, it lacks urgency. The plot meanders through parties, popularity contests, and Jill’s repetitive self-doubt. Shaila’s death, which should drive the story, fades behind shallow teen drama. Jill, the…
-
Six Months Later
Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Gist Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards wastes no time pulling readers into a tense, mind-bending mystery. The story starts in a quiet study hall in May. Chloe nods off—and wakes up six months later, in December. She has no memory of what happened in between. The Details That would be chilling enough, but things get even weirder. She’s suddenly got perfect grades, a dream-worthy SAT score, and a popular boyfriend. It should be a dream come true. Instead, Chloe feels like she’s living someone else’s life. And she wants answers. From page one, the…
-
The Island
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
