Review: What Happened to Those Girls

What Happened to Those Girls by Carlyn Greenwald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the pre-release copy of What Happened to Those Girls by Carlyn Greenwald. Below is my honest review.

This one was a wild ride! From the moment the main character got the text message about how they're all going to die out there that then was unsent to the very end, it was explosive. I couldn't put it down!

It was a well-plotted and twisty mystery thriller, and I was very impressed with the author's ability to give depth to even the characters that weren't alive any more.

Highly entertaining, will read more by Greenwald.

Four stars, definitely recommend to mystery-thriller fans and YA readers who like a dark gruesome murder mystery.

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Review: Songs of the Dead

Songs of the Dead by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the pre-release copy of Songs of the Dead by Brandon Sanderson and Peter Orullian. Below is my honest review.

Meh. I hate to say that about a book with BrandoSando's name on it, but meh.

It dragged... a lot. It felt like a lot of info dumping instead of world building. And gosh, I was so sick of hearing about the life-saving power of metal music. Like other reviewers have pointed out, there was a ton of telling instead of showing, too, which also contributed to how the book felt unpolished.

All in all, I gave it 2.5 stars, and since 2 didn't seem right, because it wasn't AWFUL, just not my jam, I rounded up to 3.

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Review: The Secret Attic

The Secret Attic by Chelsea Conradt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and for the pre-release copy of The Secret Attic by Chelsea Conradt. The following is my honest review.

I absolutely loved this one. Twists and turns galore, creepy as heck dolls, and tension that builds. If I ever find a secret attic with a bunch of dolls in it, I'm out. See ya. Later toots, I'm out like Mark Cuban on a bad pitch on Shark Tank. Absolutely not.

Alas, the main character doesn't choose to run screaming away from the secret attic she finds, which is for the best (for us) because it gives us this novel!

Five stars, highly recommend for thriller fans.

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Review: It Came from Neverland

It Came from Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for my pre-release copy of Cynthia Pelayo's It Came from Neverland. Below is my honest review.

I'm a bit disappointed. This one had such an intriguing premise, but the execution was quite lacking. The stakes never really felt high. The plot dragged until the last 20%, and I almost gave up multiple times. I'm glad I didn't because I enjoyed parts of the story, but it was a slog.

The characters were kinda shallow and under-developed. There was talk of an entity that made Peter what he is, but then it's never mentioned again when they're discussing how to stop Peter for good... what's stopping the entity from creating another Peter?

There were SO many typos. SO SO SO many. And the shifts from current reality to a memory of time in Neverland and back weren't really indicated, so all of a sudden mid-page you'd be thrust into a conversation that was a memory being relived, but nothing told you that. It was jarring.

The "happy ending" part was awkward and cringy as well.

Two stars, meh, and I hate saying that about any book.

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Review: Marion

Marion by Leah Rowan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a pre-release copy of Marion by Leah Rowan. Below is my honest review.

One of my favorite musicals ever is one called "& Juliet." It posits the following: what if Juliet didn't kill herself for a dude at the end of Romeo & Juliet, and instead woke to find Romeo dead and decided to run away and travel Europe, find a meaning to her life?

This is a similar set up: What happens if Marion Crane turns the tables on Norman Bates when he attacks her with the knife in the shower? What if she kills him? What kind of fallout would there be?

It's a really fun twist on Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho, but it's been modernized and some of the names changed a bit. And there's even a little Alfred cameo in there, which I think Hitchcock would have loved.

All in all, I think it was a really solid book. I had a few issues with the ending of the narrative feeling a little abrupt, but it was a great read overall.

Highly recommended, 4.5 stars rounded down.

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Review: "What Do You Mean, Murder?" Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic

"What Do You Mean, Murder?" Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic by John Hatch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions

Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for the pre-release copy of Seanan McGuire's Velveteen vs. the Consequences of Her Actions. Below is my honest review.

It would seem Seanan has a thing for personifying the seasons into fun characters (see: Alchemical Journeys series), because this one has Velveteen visiting three of the seasons - Winter, Spring, and Autumn - to see if she wants to pledge herself to any of them. She's doing this as a result of the promise she made in the last volume, and boy do the seasons have it out for her. So of course, lots of hijinks ensue.

I love all the characters in these, and I love how much McGuire makes sure to show how deeply the characters care about each other and the lengths they will go to in order to save one another.

This one was lots of fun (for the reader... the poor characters are put through hell!), and I was really happy with how it all tied up.

Highly recommended, but hopefully you've read either Volumes 1 & 2 or their omnibus combination, Velveteen vs. The Early Adventures. This is a direct continuation of that storyline, consisting of Volumes 3 & 4.

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