Review: First Sign of Danger

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the pre-release copy of First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong. Below you'll find my honest review.

ALL the stars. Extra if I could.

I love love love this series (from Rockton #1 all the way through until this one, Haven's Rock #4), and this one was no exception. Twists and turns and a dark mystery to solve.

There were some touch and go moments in this one that were hard to process, but I can't spoil anything so I won't say what they were.

All in all, another fantastic entry into Armstrong's delectable Yukon settlement series. I was super sad to see the note at the end that said to look out for Casey and Eric's final installment in February 2027. I don't want another one of my favorite series to end. Sad.

Five stars, highly recommended, but please don't start here. This is like 11 books deep into a series and its spinoff. You'll spoil so much for yourself if you start here. The series is entirely bingeworthy, so do yourself the favor and start at the beginning.

Sad to see the note at the end saying the final Haven’s Rock book will be Feb 2027. Another of my favorites ending :(

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Review: The Devil's Bible

The Devil's Bible by Steve Berry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for the pre-release copy of The Devil's Bible by Steve Berry. Below is my honest review.

This one is Berry at his best, even though it's brutal and heartbreaking and nerve-wracking and stressful. There was a lot of intrigue in this one, like usual, but The Devil's Bible had quite a few layers of plots and schemes. Luckily, they weren't convoluted, so they were easy to follow, and watching Cotton, Vitt, and Nelle untangle the knotted web of alibis and deception was entertaining. We had a lot of past to revisit in this one as well, with references and discussions of the events of books gone by.

I had some issues with the sheer volume of sentence fragments and questions missing question marks, but I'm hoping many of those were or will be caught with final passes before publication. Not sure why Berry has suddenly started using fragments so often (one page is almost entirely sentence fragments!) in his last few books. Maybe he always did and I just didn't notice. I'm not sure.

Anyways, the ending of this one was world-shifting, so I'm interested to see where Cotton's story goes from here and how things will work moving forward.

Four and a half stars, rounded up. Highly recommended for fans of political intrigue and action movies with historical references, etc mixed in. I'd very much suggest reading the rest of the series first, as this one is built on LOTS of past history and ties up some MAJOR threads. But that's up to you, dear reader.

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Review: Secondhand Luck

Secondhand Luck by Kim Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of Secondhand Luck by Kim Harrison. Below is my honest review.

Kim Harrison built a really cool world in Three Kinds of Lucky. In Secondhand Luck, she tore it to pieces and built it back even cooler.

Most of the time I feel like book two in a series is weaker than book one, as they're still finding their footing and trying to make sure the characters all have storylines, etc. But in this one, I felt like it was stronger than book one, or at the very least, just as strong.

It really changed the game up. I loved the development of new bonds - specifically the ones Pluck has with himself and those around him. I loved the fun powers. The villain was actually pretty scary and always a step ahead.

Five stars, highly recommended for urban fantasy fans. But do yourself the favor of reading book one first.

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Review: Operation Bounce House

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman. Below you'll find my honest review.

This one was a roller coaster! I recently discovered and binged the entire library of available installments in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and LOVED them, so when I saw this standalone by Dinniman on Netgalley, I knew I had to request it.

Sadly, for the first half (maybe 60%) of the book, I was struggling hardcore. It was slow and a little repetitive. But the last 40-50% totally made up for that in awesomeness, so I'm glad I didn't give up!

He's crafted a novel that touches on how we treat people we perceive differently than ourselves, the issues with AI, and what it means to be a human on every end of the spectrum of behaviors.

I don't want to give too much away (Roger was my favorite, so I'll say that), but I'll say this:

First half or so - 2 stars. Needed some pacing work.

Second half or so - 5 stars. Top notch, real emotional and storyline payoff.

So on average, that's about 3.5 stars (2+5 = 7, divided by 2 = 3.5), and I'll round up because the last half was that good, so 4 stars overall.

Recommended for fans of sci-fi and dystopia, but be warned, don't go in expecting Dungeon Crawler Carl. Give it a fair shake as its own thing, like I did by the end but should have at the beginning.

(PS - thank you, Dinniman, for the little easter egg of Princess Donut.)

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Review: Strange Animals

Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the pre-release copy of Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson. Below is my honest review.

What a weird and wonderful and wild story! It definitely lives up to the "strange" descriptor. It's reminiscent of Seanan McGuire's Incryptid but much different take.

One thing I really enjoyed about this one is how isolated it felt. The whole book takes place in a small area set in the Catskills, a few mile radius around a specific spot, and includes a campground, a clearing in the woods, a gas station, a horse farm - all within that radius of said specific spot - and the surrounding forest. Anderson did an amazing job at really cutting us off from civilization and delving us straight into the story involving that specific area... while also finding a way to make the cryptid world mysterious and feel like a much much larger thing than the tiny circle of mountainous forest our story is set in.

I also found the creatures to be very inventive and quite entertaining to read about, so I was thrilled there.

I am not sure if this will have a sequel or if it'll just be standalone. I'd be thrilled to read more set in this world, but also felt like this one ended well enough to be standalone if the author chooses that.

Four stars, highly recommended for those who love the strange and exciting and mysterious creature feature.

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Review: Pendergast: The Beginning

Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for the pre-release copy of Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Below is my honest review.

I am *super* excited that we are getting a pre-Relic Pendergast tale. There is so much history that's hinted at and revealed over the course of the extremely long series, so having full length stories going into depth for some is such an awesome thing.

I really loved this one. It's classic Pendergast, but it's early on in his career and explains some really lingering questions: why was he transferred to NYC? Why is Proctor so loyal? What happened to his New Orleans partner agent?

It had a great plot, some very Pendergast-novel murders, and some fun little tidbits of sci-fi goodness.

Keep at it, Doug and Linc. We need more Pendergast stories, and I'll gladly devour any stories about him from ANY point on the timeline.

Five stars, highly recommended, AND since it's a prequel that was specifically written to be another potential starting point for new readers, you can start with this one if you'd like.

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Review: The Room in the Attic

The Room in the Attic by T.M. Logan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for the pre-release copy of The Room in the Attic by T.M. Logan. Below you'll find my honest review.

Absolutely a five star read. I wanna start with that. I couldn't put this one down. I started it at bedtime (which is really the only time I have lately for reading) and meant to go to sleep at a decent hour, but read until almost 2 am. Then the next night, I did the same thing, finishing it in the second sitting.

The tension is so well designed, the mystery is so well plotted, and the chapters end with just the right little nudge to read one more. My only complaint is how long it took the main character to consider what was actually going on as a possibility.

Also, I really thought the kids were well written and adorable.

I'll definitely be reading more of Logan's thrillers. Hopefully they're as good as this one.

Highly recommended for mystery-thriller fans. Five stars.

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Review: Night Terror

Night Terror by Vincent Ralph
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the pre-release copy of Night Terror by Vincent Ralph. Below is my honest review.

I very much enjoyed the first novel, Dead Fake, in Vincent Ralph's new Bleak Haven YA horror/thriller series, but I think this one was actually way more fun. This one felt more like a horror type novel than the first, which was more mystery/thriller, and I really enjoyed seeing the characters rise to the occasion and fight for their lives while trapped in a locked mall with the villains. It was creepy and would make a decent movie (as would the first), so I'm hoping Ralph and his agents pitch this to Netflix to do like they did with the Fear Street trilogy.

This one takes place in the 80s, whereas the first novel was set in modern times, and Night Terror tells one of the stories alluded to in Dead Fake - how the history of the town is rife with tragedy and murder.

I liked the cast, especially Grace, and this one was definitely a win for me.

All in all, a solid entry into this new series about a town plagued by violence, blood, sadness, etc. Book one, Dead Fake, is set to be released at the same time as this one, with hopefully more to come.

If you're a fan of the horror/thriller genres and 80s nostalgia, then you'll enjoy this foray into the YA horror space. Fans of the Fear Street trilogy about the same story spread over different time periods, then you'll enjoy this series as well.

Four "why did you read from that cursed book, dude?!" stars.

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Review: Dead Fake

Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the pre-release copy of Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph. Below is my honest review.

I really enjoyed the first novel, Dead Fake, in Vincent Ralph's new Bleak Haven YA horror/thriller series. It had lots of twists and turns and was a lot of fun to read. I liked the whole "preview deaths by AI video" concept, as it was both creepy and disturbing. I thought the main character was developed well enough to root for, and the cast of secondary characters was pretty good too.

All in all, a solid series opener about a town plagued by violence, blood, sadness, etc. Looking forward to reading my ARC of book two, Night Terror, also releasing soon.

If you're a fan of horror and thriller genres or slashers, then you'll enjoy this foray into the YA horror space. It's also a bit of mystery, so that made for some extra fun.

Four bloody slashery stars.

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Review: Twelve Months

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of Twelve Months by Jim Butcher. Below is my honest review.

MORE DRESDEN! FINALLY!

So it's no secret that this is one of my absolute favorite series ever, and I've been anticipating this book since the end of the last one. In 2020 we got TWO Dresden books, and I was in heaven. Until the thing happened, that is. THE THING. I can't speak it out loud, because it's spoilery and also because I still am in denial, five years later and having read the next book following THE THING where it's solidified over and over that THE THING is real. And I can't. Like seriously, I liked that character so much that I named my dog after them. I was (and still am) devastated.

But this book really felt like a tribute to that character and the impact that they had on Dresden, and that I can appreciate.

I couldn't give this one the fifth star that I usually would because it did feel kind of... filler. It was moving chess pieces to get the world ready for the next BIG STUFF, and didn't have a huge plot other that Harry and Chicago trying to heal from the huge battle of Peace Talks/Battle Ground.

But I still loved it. So much.

Overall, this got a four and a half stars from me. I couldn't bring myself to round it up to 5, and since I had to do full stars, it got rounded down to four. Still part of a masterpiece series.

Highly recommended but please, please don't start with this one if you haven't read the series. Go binge it all. It's worth it.

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Review: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the pre-release copy of Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire. Below you'll find my honest review.

Another trip through the Doors, not to Confection, not to the Moors,

This time a trip to Nancy's home, so close in nature to Christopher's bones.

The ghostly specters are riled up mad, the end for the statues gruesome and bad,

so back Nancy goes to the school for her friends, to get help to stop these untimely ends.

Off on a quest, a handful of them go, their bravery and courage and cleverness show.

Seanan's done it again, this book's a delight! Now hurry and go read all that she writes!

Highly recommended, especially if you've read the rest of these (this one does spoil prior books!)

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Review: The Storm

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the pre-release copy of Rachel Hawkins' The Storm. Below is my honest review.

My first Hawkins novel was The Heiress, and I really loved it, so when I saw this, I knew I had to request it. And I'm glad I did, because yet again, I really enjoyed it. It was a little predictable in places, but it was also a great read - it would be even better as a beach read or a "sitting in the hot tub at a mountain cabin" kinda read.

I think Hawkins really excels at creating an immersive setting, and she's a master of setting up that compelling chapter ending that makes you want to read just one more.

Highly recommended for thriller/mystery fans.

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