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…
-
-
House of Hollow
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland My rating: 1 of 5 stars The Gist I really wanted to love House of Hollow. It had all the right elements: mysterious sisters, a traumatic backstory, eerie vibes, and a fairytale-turned-nightmare premise. On the surface, it promised something dark and dazzling. But beneath the lush prose and moody aesthetic, there’s not much holding the story together. The Details Let’s talk about the writing. Krystal Sutherland clearly knows how to craft sentences, but when every page bursts with metaphors and poetic phrasing, it gets old fast. What starts as lyrical quickly becomes exhausting. The constant references to rot, shadows, and otherworldly beauty pile up.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Queen Among the Dead
Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Queen Among the Dead in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is a richly atmospheric YA fantasy set in a myth-infused version of ancient Ireland. With its fierce heroine, enchanted landscapes, and anti-authoritarian message, this book has all the elements of an epic. But while the premise is promising, the execution sometimes stumbles. The Details The story follows Neve, a strong-willed princess who refuses to be bound by the expectations…
-
Cursed
Cursed by Marissa Meyer My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Cursed in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Cursed is the much-anticipated conclusion to Marissa Meyer’s Gilded duology, a haunting and magical retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. While this final installment offers a return to the eerie world readers fell in love with in book one, it struggles to maintain the same level of momentum and emotional depth. It’s still worth reading, but it didn’t quite leave the lasting impression I had hoped for. The Details The strongest element of Cursed remains…
-
If You Could See the Sun
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of If You Could See the Sun in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang is a smart, sharp, and emotionally grounded debut that brings something truly fresh to the young adult genre. Set in an elite Beijing international boarding school, the novel follows Alice Sun, a scholarship student who has always felt invisible—until she actually becomes invisible. What starts as a strange and terrifying discovery soon turns…
-
Salt and Sugar
Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Salt and Sugar in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho tells a story about family, friendship, and finding yourself. The novel shines with its rich cultural details and heartfelt emotions. Carvalho writes with warmth, making it easy to connect with the characters and their journeys. The Details One of the best parts of the book is how it brings culture to life. Traditions, food, and family expectations all play a big role.…
