No Bad Deed, by Heather Chavez ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 18th, 2020

320 Pages

Synopsis: Driving home one rainy night, Cassie Larkin sees a man and woman fighting on the side of the road. After calling 911, the veterinarian makes a split second-decision that will throw her sedate suburban life into chaos. Against all reason and advice, she gets out of her minivan and chases after the violent man, trying to help his victim. When Cassie physically tries to stop him, he suddenly turns on her and spits out an ominous threat: “Let her die, and I’ll let you live.”

A veterinarian trained to heal, Cassie can’t let the woman die. But while she’s examining the unconscious victim, the attacker steals her car. Now he has her name. Her address. And he knows about her children. Thought they warn her to be careful, the police assure her that the perpetrator —a criminal named Carver Sweet—won’t get near her. Cassie isn’t so sure.

The next day—Halloween—her husband disappears while trick-or-treating with their daughter. Are these disturbing events a coincidence or the beginning of a horrifying nightmare? Her husband has been growing distant—is it possible he’s become involved with another woman? Is Cassie’s confrontation with the road-side attacker connected to her husband’s disappearance? With all these questions swirling in her mind, Cassie can trust no one, maybe not even herself. The only thing she know for sure is that she can’t sit back while the people she loves are in danger.

As she desperately searches for answers, Cassie discovers that nothing is as random as it seems, and that she is more than willing to fight—to go to the most terrifying extremes—to save her family and her marriage.

HOLY GUACAMOLE! No Bad Deed is without a doubt one of the craziest books I’ve read, and the fact that this is Heather Chavez’s debut, has me expecting great things from her! While readers will have to suspend their disbelief over some of Cassie’s actions, she still comes off as a sympathetic character as she desperately tries to make sense of the sudden downward spiral her life has taken. Almost every chapter has a plot twist, and what you think are random, albeit crazy coincidences, are anything but. The only thing that’s clear is what’s down is up and what’s up is down. Each revelation leads to an explosive climax, but I didn’t know what the heck was happening or why until Cassie’s backstory is unveiled. While it’s not entirely believable, it does explain everything that’s happened.

Overall, No Bad Deed is a fantastic popcorn read that will suck you in from the very first page. I read this in under three hours because I couldn’t bring myself to put it down until I knew what was happening. I HIGHLY recommend this for fans of unputdownable high octane thrillers with enough twists to make your head spin. I can’t wait to see what Heather Chavez does for an encore!

 

Eight Will Fall, by Sarah Harian ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Dark Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to Edelweiss and Henry Holt for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: In a land where magic is outlawed, eight criminals led by seventeen-year-old Larkin, are sent on a mission to kill an ancient evil that plagues their kingdom. Descending into an underground realm filled with unspeakable horrors, Larkin and her party must use their forbidden magic to survive what lies in wait, teeth sharp and jaws deadly.

As she fights for her life, Larkin finds a light in Amias, a fellow outlaw with a notorious past. Soon Larkin and Amias realize their fates are entwined. The eight of them were chosen for a reason.

But as the dangers multiply and her band of felons are picked off one by one, Larkin must confront a terrible truth: they were never meant to return.

I need to start by saying Eight Will Fall will not be to everyone’s taste. To say that it’s dark is putting it mildly. I consider myself pretty hardened against blood and gore, but some of the scenes here had me cringing. Without giving way too many spoilers, let me just say that several instances of flaying are involved. Blech! Just thinking about it gives me the heebie jeebies! That said, the goriness isn’t gratuitous and it’s all part of the story. Which leads me to the phenomenal world building which is one of the most creative and original I’ve come across in recent memory. While the idea of “magic users” being ostracized by their society isn’t new, the entire magic system involving empaths isn’t something I’ve seen before. And, as Larkin and her team make their way deeper into the underground realm, I felt this growing sense of claustrophobia and outright dread that went beyond the monsters they encountered. Eek! Just thinking about it as I write this review is sending chills up my spine, and I read this book a week ago!

Larkin and her team are the type of flawed characters that I love. They start off perhaps not making the best decisions, but as the dangers they face increase, so does their friendship and trust among one another. Unfortunately, this makes it even more heartbreaking when some of them die. The romance between Larkin and Amias isn’t a major part of the story, but it was sweet and added to my constant state of anxiety as the author made it clear almost from the beginning that no one was safe.

The story itself grabbed me immediately and never let go. It’s action-packed and the fast pace is aided by a few surprising twists. I did think that although the bittersweet ending wrapped everything up nicely, it felt a little rushed. I read somewhere that this was originally planned as a duology before being scaled back to a standalone, so perhaps that explains why.

Overall, Eight Will Fall is a near perfect hybrid of dark fantasy and horror. Because of the more gory scenes I discussed earlier, I do not recommend this to anyone younger than sixteen. Otherwise, for those who like these two genres and have strong stomachs, I encourage you to try this. I guarantee it will be a memorable read.

 

 

Dead to Her, by Sarah Pinborough ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 11th 2020

400 Pages

Synopsis: Being the second wife can be murder…

”Once a cheat, always a cheat,” they say. Marcie Maddox has worked hard to get where she is after the illicit affair that started her new life a few years ago. But her world of country clubs, yachts, and sumptuous houses in Savannah, Georgia, isn’t easy to maintain, no matter how hard she tries. Nor is keeping her husband, Jason, truly interested. So, when Jason’s boss brings home a hot new wife, from his trip to London, the young Mrs. William Radford IV isn’t quite the souvenir everyone expected. Sexy, drop-dead gorgeous and black—Keisha quickly usurps Marcie’s place as the beautiful second wife. But when Marcie sees the extra spark in the room when Keisha and Jason are together and their obvious magnetic attraction, the gloves come off.

Revenge is best served cold, but in the steamy Savannah heat, blood runs so hot that this summer, it might just boil over into murder.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive. ~ Sir Walter Scott

By the time I was halfway through Dead to Her, I thought I had everything figured out, but as this is by Sarah Pinborough, I really should have known better. This story is filled with a plethora of twists, unreliable characters with unknown motivations, and a juicy ending that caught me completely by surprise. Lies, secrets, and betrayals are all set against the steamy backdrop of Savannah. And underneath the backstabbing drama is an interesting exploration of race and white privilege, with a little voodoo thrown in. It’s all a bit crazy and unrealistic, but where in less skillful hands, this easily could have been a hot mess, Pinborough as always, adeptly juggles her numerous murky characters with a myriad of flavorful plot elements. Fans of the author will not be disappointed in Dead to Her and I guarantee that this will appeal to a wide audience of new readers as well.

 

 

Day Zero (Day Zero Duology #1), by Kelly deVos ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Dystopian Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 12th, 2019

432 Pages

Synopsis: If you’re going through hell…keep going.

Seventeen-year-old coder Jinx Marshall grew up drilling weekend with her paranoid dad for a doomsday she’s sure will never come. She’s an expert on self-heating meal rations, Krav Maga and extracting water from a barrel cactus. Now that her parents are divorced, she’s ready to relax. Her big plans include making it to level 99 in her MMORPG and spending the weekend with her new hunky stepbrother, Toby.

But all that disaster training comes in handy when an explosion traps her in a burning building. Stuck leading her headstrong stepsister, MacKenna, and her precocious little brother, Charles, out to safety, Jinx gets them out alive only to discover the explosion is part of a pattern of violence erupting all over the country. Even worse, Jinx’s dad stands accused of triggering the chaos.

In a desperate attempt to evade paramilitary forces and vigilantes, Jinx and her siblings find Toby and make a break for Mexico. With seemingly the whole world working against them, they’ve got to get along and search for the truth about the attacks—and about each other. But if they can survive, will there be anything left worth surviving for?

The whole collapsing of civilization and heroic teenagers are the only ones who save everyone, is pretty much the underlying theme of almost every YA dystopian novel out there. Whether the fall of mankind is brought about by alien invasions, zombie apocalypses, AI run amok, sinister scientists, or as it is in this case—a tawdry tale of governmental corruption, dishonesty, greed, arrogance and stupidity—it’s always interesting to see how the next generation will turn things around. I’m happy to say that Day Zero is an exciting and original addition to the dystopian genre that’s certain to appeal to a wide audience. It’s dystopian, yet because of its political and social infrastructure, also manages to be contemporarily relevant.

Jinx, is an utterly relatable and sympathetic character, who as the daughter of a well-known doomsday prepper, hasn’t had the most traditional upbringing. When her world is further upended, she doesn’t suddenly take on superhuman heroic qualities. She’s unsure of herself and makes mistakes. Yes she has some pretty mad skills including Krav Maga, but her self-doubt at times gets her into trouble as does her bickering with her stepsister, MacKenna. Speaking of which, one of my favorite parts about this story is how despite their differences, Jinx and MacKenna are equally protective of Jinx’s precocious younger brother Charles, who is diabetic and sometimes needs to be saved from himself. Charles is also my favorite person in the story because he’s just so darn sweet and adorable, and knows just about everything there is to know about botany. I swear, every scene he was in I just wanted to reach in and hug him!

The story itself thoughtfully explores how in a two-party system, neither side ever gets it absolutely right. I also liked how the idea of doomsday preppers all being crazy is completely upended, although even at the end I don’t think Jinx’s dad should win any Father of the Year awards. There are many twists here, but the biggest comes at the end, and completely had me floored. It also perfectly sets things up for the final book in this duology, Day One, which is set for release in 2020.

As is usually the case in these types of books, some of the scenarios as they play out are a little far fetched, but overall Day Zero successfully combines compelling characters, plenty of action and suspense, mystery, and thoughtful social commentary. One cautionary note though: There’s quite a bit of violence and that combined with the sophistication of the plot itself, definitely makes this geared more for older teens. Otherwise, I highly recommend this to fans of dystopian fiction.

 

 

 

 

Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1), by Sandhya Menon ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Diversity, Fairytale Retellings, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 18th, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of “When Dimple Met Rishi,” comes the first novel in a brand-news series set at an elite boarding school, that’s a contemporary spin of Beauty and the Beast.

Will the princess save the beast?

For princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out that she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity of a lifetime. She knows what she must do: Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. But much to Jaya’s annoyance, Grey’s brooding demeanor and lupine blue eyes have drawn in. There’s simply no way she and her sworn enemy could find their fairy-tale ending…right?

His Lordship Grey Emerson is a misanthrope. Thanks to an ancient curse from a Rao matriarch, Grey knows he’s doomed when he turns eighteen. Sequestered away in the mountains at St. Rosetta’s International Academy, he’s led an isolated existence—until Jaya Rao bursts into his life, but he can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something. Something that might just have to do with the rose-shaped ruby pendant around her neck…

As the stars conspire to keep them apart, Jaya and Grey grapple with questions of love, loyalty, and whether it’s possible to write your own happy ending.

I love contemporary retellings of classic fairytales so when I saw Of Curses and Kisses, by Sandhya Menon on NetGalley, I just had to request it. Except for a couple of issues, this modernization of Beauty and the Beast kept me thoroughly entertained.

I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m a sucker fo fairytale retellings. And you probably won’t be surprised that one of my favorite fairytales is Beauty and the Beast. So when I saw Of Curses and Kisses on NetGalley I knew I had to request it even though I wasn’t thrilled with the title (love the cover though!) 

After a somewhat slow start during the first 40 pages or so, I found myself completely captivated by this modern day version of the beloved classic. I’ve seen other reviewers complain about Jaya, saying she’s cold and standoffish. Which to be honest, she is, at least at first. But I completely understood why. This is the oldest daughter of an Indian royal family, and as such, has had numerous weighty expectations on her shoulders all of her life. But balancing this is her close relationship with her younger sister Isha, and her protectiveness toward her is both irritating and touching. And speaking of Isha, she’s actually my favorite character in this story. At fifteen-years-old, she’s been shamed in Indian society and the media for a mysterious incident that isn’t actually revealed until you’re several chapters in. Unsurprisingly, the “scandal” is completely overblown, and the fact that Isha is a sweet, innocent girl with a sunny disposition, makes this even more hurtful. I also love her determination to become an engineer despite her family and just about everyone else frowning upon this. Grey is also a wonderful character whose backstory will tug at your heartstrings. In addition to the curse hanging over his head, he’s been neglected his entire life by an uncaring father who irrationally blames him for his mother dying in childbirth. The relationship between him and Jaya starts out rocky, but it progressively develops into a lovely romance.

The story itself, despite being a retelling, is creative and original. For example, Menon turns the rose that slowly loses its petals into an exquisite rose-shaped pendant whose rubies begin to fall out one by one as Grey’s eighteenth birthday approaches. Yes there are nods to the original fairytale as well as the Disney adaptation, but there are many unique twists and although I was pretty certain Jaya and Grey would attain their happy ending, I was kept guessing as to how things would unfold.

I HIGHLY recommend Of Curses and Kisses to anyone who loves imaginative fairytales retellings with plenty of diversity and complex characters. I have no idea what the next book in the St. Rosetta’s Academy series will entail, but after this magical beginning I can’t wait to find out!

 

 

 

The Deep, by Alma Katsu ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Paranormal Fiction, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 10th, 2020

432 Pages

Synopsis: From the acclaimed and award winning author of “The Hunger” comes an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world’s most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of her sister ship, the a Britannic.

Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the Titanic from the moment they set sail. The Titanic’s passengers expected to enjoy an experience befitting the much-heralded ship’s maiden voyage, but instead, amid mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, find themselves in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone. While some of the guests and crew shrug off strange occurrences, several—including maid Annie Hebbley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeline Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim—are convinced there’s something more sinister going on. And then disaster strikes.

Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together by going to work as a nurse on the sixth sailing of the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship to support British forces fighting World War I. When she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier, she is at first thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the tragic night four years earlier. But soon his presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past—as they both discover that the terror may not be over.

Featuring an ensemble cast of characters and effortlessly combining the supernatural with the height of historical disaster, The Deep is an exploration of love and destiny, desire and innocence, and, above all, a quest to understand how our choices can lead us inexorably toward our doom.

I loved Alma Katsu’s previous book, The Hunger which was centered around the Donner party, so I was quite excited to see what her take on the Titanic and the Britannic disasters. With The Deep, Katsu once again takes historical tragedies and skillfully blends them with the supernatural.

The story shifts between the two time periods leading up to the twin tragedies, and while it’s told from multiple viewpoints, the main character that forms a connection between both events is mysterious Annie Hubbley. What adds even more fun to this tale though are some of the real life characters that you get to see like Madeline Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim. And best of all is the inclusion of Violet Jessop, who actually did live through the sinking of both ships, as well as a previous collision between the RMS Olympic and the HMS Hawke. While Violet, who’s portrayed as Annie’s friend, has a relatively minor role here, her real life story is fascinating.

Katsu subtly weaves in supernatural layers to the suspenseful events leading up to both disasters. It makes for a chilling and goosebumps-inducing read that I found impossible to put down. I have to be honest and say I did find the ending a tad anticlimactic, but this is a relatively minor complaint.

Overall, The Deep, will further cement Katsu’s reputation as a storyteller extraordinaire. She’s a refreshing voice in the genres of historical and paranormal fiction, and I can’t wait to see what she writes about next!

 

 

 

Deadly Little Scandals (Debutantes #2), by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Dysfunctional Families, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Freeform for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 5th, 2019

352 Pages

Synopsis: “Think of the White Gloves like the Junior League—by way of Skull and Bones…”

Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes her into pledging a mysterious, elite and all-female secret society called the White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group’s ranks may have the answers she’s looking for. Things are looking up…until Sawyer and the White Gloves make a disturbing discovery near the family’s summer home—and uncover a twisted secret, decades in the making. No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ unputdownable Little White Lies.

Deadly Little Scandals is the sequel to Dirty Little Secrets, and the spellbinding conclusion to Barnes’ Debutantes duology. While I didn’t like these quite as much as her The Fixer duology, (I’m still longing for a third book), Debutantes is filled with all the excitement, humor, suspense and quirky characters the author is known for. What prevented me from giving this a perfect 5 star rating is that Barnes throws a little too much into the mix, giving this a confusing frenetic quality, especially in the second half of the book. I found myself having to re-read certain passages detailing the myriad of convoluted secret family ties, because I just couldn’t keep everyone straight. That said, I absolutely loved the characters, and because of this I was on tenterhooks to find out what happens, right up until the satisfying conclusion. Barnes can always be counted on for providing shocking twists, and she did not disappoint here. There were quite a few surprises which completely blew me away. Overall, Deadly Little Scandals is a slightly messy, yet still enjoyable thrill ride that I recommend to anyone looking for a unputdownable book in the same vein as Pretty Little Liars. You definitely need to read the previous book first though because otherwise you will be left floundering.

The Dead Girls Club, by Damien Angelica Walters ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: December 10th, 2019

288 Pages

Synopsis: A supernatural thriller in the vein of  “A Head Full of Ghosts” about two young girls, a scary story that becomes all too real, and the tragic—and terrifying—consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.

Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face…

In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real—and she could prove it.

That belief got Becca killed.

It’s been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night—that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She’s done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca and the Red Lady behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn’t seen since the night Becca died.

The night Heather killed her.

Now, someone else knows what she did…and they’re determined to make a Heather pay.

There were two things about The Dead Girls Club that initially caught my attention. First, there’s that gorgeous cover. Second, there’s the comparison to Paul Tremblay’s mind-bending A Head Full of Ghosts. Now that I’ve finished I can say I still love the cover, and I think the story is decent, however it has me wishing yet again that publishers would stop comparing upcoming books to previous bestsellers, and simply let them stand on their own merits.

This is a story told in two different time periods: the present, and the early 1990s. I found myself liking the tween Heather much more than the adult one. I’m all for unreliable characters who keep you guessing, but Heather’s actions, both professionally and in her personal life, did nothing to make me feel sympathetic to her plight. The two characters I felt for the most were her husband and best friend who were very supportive, and gave her increasingly unhinged behavior wide latitude. 

What saved this story for me were the chapters set in the past, and which detailed the close friendship between Heather and Becca, as well as its slow fragmentation. When it’s finally revealed what happened the night of Becca’s death, I was empathetic toward both girls, although I don’t think their actions were entirely believable.

The final few chapters contain a few surprises, and there’s an awesome fight scene between Heather and her tormentor. The ending has left me a little conflicted, and two days after I finished, I’m still not sure whether I liked it or not. But on the other hand, the fact that I’m still thinking about it is a plus.

For me, The Dead Girls Club wasn’t perfect, but it was a quick read that I easily finished in two sittings. The actual mystery behind Becca’s death kept me guessing, and even when the adult Heather was annoying the heck out of me, there was no way I was not finishing the book until I knew what happened. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy twisty mysteries with unreliable main characters. In particular, I think fans of authors like Gillian French, Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware will enjoy this.

 

Curious Toys, by Elizabeth Hand ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Chicago, Classic Cinema, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Pedophiles, Serial Killers

Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

336 Pages

Synopsis: In the sweltering summer of 1915, Pin, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller, dresses as a boy and joins a teenage gang that roams the famous Riverview amusement park, looking for trouble.

Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city dwellers who come to enjoy the midway, the park is also host to a ruthless killer who uses the shadows of the dark carnival attractions to conduct his crimes. When Pin sees a man enter the Hell Gate ride with a young girl, and emerge alone, she knows that something horrific has occurred.

The crime will lead her to the iconic outsider artist Henry Darger, a brilliant but seemingly mad man. Together, the two navigate the seedy underbelly of a changing city to uncover a murderer few even know to look for.

I’ve been pretty fortunate in the book department this year, with very few disappointments, and I’m happy to add Curious Toys to my list of 2019 standouts. 

Curious Toys is one of those literary gems that has something for just about everyone. Historical fiction readers will love the time period and setting of Chicago’s Riverview Park in 1915. Riverview was a big part of Chicago’s landscape from 1904-1967, and the author does a fantastic job detailing the splendor of the park as well as its seedy underbelly. She also thoroughly depicts the abject poverty that so many citizens lived under, and what they did to survive. Fans of classic cinema will appreciate the inclusion of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Wallace Beery and Essanay Studio in the story. Art enthusiasts will be ecstatic over Hand deftly giving the artist Henry Darger such a pivotal role. And mystery lovers will be both intrigued and repulsed at the actions of the pedophile serial killer, although his identity is fairly obvious by the midway point of the book. 

This is both a plot-driven and character-driven tale, and fourteen-year-old Pin as the plucky protagonist is a wonderfully drawn personality. She’s definitely ahead of her time, and her struggles with poverty, her sexuality and the guilt she feels over the disappearance of her younger sister, makes her very sympathetic and easy to like even when her decision making is a little questionable.

Curious Toys will please not only readers who are already fans of Cynthia Hand, but also win many her new ones. The only reason why I’m not giving it a full five stars is because there are a couple of instances when Hand veers away from the main plot unnecessarily. But otherwise, I highly recommend this. It’s the kind of book where if you’re like me, you’ll wind up looking up the time period and real life personalities that are mentioned for further research. Speaking of which, I have to go peruse some more of Henry Darger’s paintings!

 

The Last to Die, by Kelly Garrett ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 5th, 2019

205 Pages

Synopsis: It all started out as a game.

Just a way to have fun. We figured as long as we had rules, it wouldn’t be a problem.

 Rule #1: Only break into one another’s houses.

Rule #2: Only take stuff that can be replaced.

It worked for a while. Whoever’s turn it was to break in got a rush, and the rest of us got a laugh over the trophies they brought back. But then someone went too far. Lives got ruined. Someone is dead.

And I might be next.

The Last to Die is one of those books that I dread reviewing because while it’s not a stellar read, neither is it so horrible that I can vent by ranting. No, it falls somewhere in the middle and has me feeling a bit frustrated.

My first issue is with the characters who I couldn’t relate to at all. I know what you’re thinking. “But Kim. These are teens and aren’t you in your 50s?” Okay. First, thanks for the reminder of my advancing years. Second, as most of you know I read and review a fair few of YA novels and there have been plenty where I related to the characters. With this story I tried. I really, really, REALLY tried. But alas, despite my best efforts I couldn’t sum up any strong feelings toward these teens except for extreme dislike. Harper and the others are cookie cutter characters who display the worst personality traits that many adults attribute to teenagers. While I don’t have to like a character(s) to enjoy a book, these are completely bland and shallow with no intriguing layers or depths to them. There is one exception and that’s Harper’s younger sister Maggie, who’s deaf. I loved her, but unfortunately she’s a minor character. 

I did find the plot interesting, which is what saved the book for me. The mystery is a tad predictable, as is the final outcome, but I still enjoyed the way events unfolded. The pacing is consistently fast and this coupled with the book’s short length, makes this an easy and quick read.

Overall, I don’t think The Last to Die quite lived up to its potential. However, this is the debut by author Kelly Garrett, and I did enjoy it enough that I will most likely check out her next book.