Review: Death at a Highland Wedding

Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the pre-release copy of Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong. Below is my honest review.

Yet another fantastic entry in A Rip Through Time, this time following Mallory and Gray and company to the highlands of Scotland for the wedding of McCreadie's sister. Of course, there have to be complications - including a history between McCreadie and the groom. Turns out, the groom is a man from the social circle that Gray and McCreadie were a part of in their youths, and McCreadie's family had an arranged engagement between him and the now-groom's sister, which McCreadie effectively ended, causing massive rifts. Things are further complicated by things at the estate, and eventually there's a murder.

Luckily for everyone involved (except the killer, and well, the victim), the crackpot team of Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are there to solve the case.

This one was really good, but I will give you a warning - there are some potential triggers revolving around grooming, sexual assault, etc.

Highly recommended. But you'd be wise to read the previous books in the series first for all the backstory. Though if you choose to, it's still a great novel on its own merits... you'll just miss some of the depth.

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Review: The Language of the Birds

The Language of the Birds by K.A. Merson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and RHPG Ballantine for the pre-release copy of The Language of the Birds by K.A. Merson. Below you'll find my honest review.

I'm gonna be honest - I love a good treasure hunt story. National Treasure? Yeah, saw it in theaters multiple times. Most of Dan Brown's novels, like Angels & Demons or The Da Vinci Code? Love. Indiana Jones? My favorite is the Last Crusade.

I absolutely adore the whole "let's solve puzzles and ciphers and riddles as we move along the hunt for a treasure or a place" trope. And this one did it so well!

Firmly in the YA genre, this one has the young MC follow a trail of ciphers and clues at the demand of some baddies who have kidnapped her mom. She's definitely a unique heroine, as she falls on the spectrum of autism/neurodivergence. As someone who is also neurodivergent, it was refreshing to see a character written so genuinely, who struggles with their differences as both a strength in some situations and a hindrance in others, but begins to learn the ways she can interact with the world on her own terms.

As far as the puzzles go, they were so much fun! The ciphers were interesting to read about, and we get to see Arizona's process documented as she thinks through and solves them. There are also plenty of visual references, which were amazingly helpful. And all the history of alchemy and Herbert Hoover was very cool to read about.

All in all, I absolutely adored this book. I will warn you - there's a bit of a scare with the dog, for those of you who need trigger warnings.

Highly recommended for fans of treasure hunts, YA, fun puzzle adventures with historical references, and neurodivergent representation. Five stars.

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Review: Archangel's Ascension

Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for providing me with a pre-release copy of Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh. Below you'll find my honest review.

More Bluebell! More Sparkle! Murder! Intrigue! Overly lovey-dovey swooning! Ascension! This book has it all.

I'm really interested in seeing where the series goes now, as there are some serious waves being made in the world of Guild Hunter, and a LOT has changed because of this book.

I don't want to spoil much, but this one has multiple timelines running through it, and it jumps around to tell different parts of different storylines.

I'm a little disappointed that yet again, the steamy parts are left out of the Illium/Aodhan books, whereas all the heterosexual couples get... details.. and the two Illium/Aodhan books get allusions to things happening. But I guess I understand it.

Anywho, this one has a lot of built up information culminating from a book series in the double digits, so you're doing yourself a disservice if you jump right in with this one.

Definitely recommended for paranormal romance, fantasy romance, angels/vampires, etc.

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Review: Mapping the Interior

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for my pre-release copy of Mapping the Interior. Below is my honest review.

I am really enjoying getting to know the works of Stephen Graham Jones, and this novella was a gem. It built the horror up easily, tore it down, and built it back up again - over and over until the end came. It provided depth of both character and plot, and the setting was absolutely spot on.

Honestly, I'm very impressed with a novella with this much power and worldbuilding.

Definitely recommend this one for horror fans, but be warned there's some serious trigger warnings for family trauma.

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Review: The Staircase in the Woods

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the pre-release copy of Chuck Wendig's latest horror novel, The Staircase in the Woods. Below you'll find my honest review.

Have you ever seen those really cool pictures people take and put on the internet of old, run down, abandoned houses? Or random parts of houses still standing when the rest is gone? This is kinda like that, but just a staircase. A staircase in the woods, leading up from the ground, leading up into nowhere, is waiting to be found. I've seen photos of random things like this found in the woods, and always thought there had to be good stories around them.

This takes that concept and give it the Wendig version of the Stephen King treatment. A group of friends, in their high school years of course, go camping in the woods one weekend. Five go in, but only four leave. One decides to go up the staircase they found in the woods, standing all on its own, and disappears, just as the staircase does a moment later, never to be seen again. Years later, they're all drawn back into the crazy when one of them leads them straight to another staircase in another forest, and this time, the hunt for their long-lost friend is on. What awaits them at the top of the staircase? Well, I have to leave that for you to read and find out. But what I can say is that this is a horror novel that lives up to the word.

I absolutely loved this one and highly recommend it to horror fans, especially if you like King-esque stories. Top notch, five stars.

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Review: The Ghost Woods

The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of CJ Cooke's The Ghost Woods. Below you'll find my honest review.

The Ghost Woods was pure excellence. I loved every second of it, and had a hard time putting it down even when I was exhausted and needed to go to sleep. The "haunted" nature of things, the science, the character depth, the setting... all added up to a fantastic mysterious horror-adjacent read.

Highly recommended for horror, mystery, and natural science fans, but please note it's not really scary horror, just tension building gothic mystery style horror.

Also, trigger warnings for any and all things surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, including stillbirth, miscarriage, adoption loss, and becoming pregnant due to very bad circumstances (trying to avoid a specific word here to prevent my review from being flagged or denied, but I hope I made it very clear.

Five stars, more if I could.

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Review: The Ashfire King

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for the early copy of The Ashfire King. Below is my honest review.

I've been trying to wait patiently for the sequel to The Stardust Thief for a few years now. It was one of my favorite reads of 2022, and it was smashingly good. I know Chelsea Abdullah had some issues arise, not sure whether those were personal or publishing related, that delayed the book a little. But it was TOTALLY worth the wait.

This one picks up where the other left off, and finds our cast of protagonists splintered into a handful of smaller groups. As each of those groups push towards a reconciliation, the obstacles in their way begin to reveal much more important paths that they must follow that override their main goal of reuniting.

We meet some new goods, some new evils, some new villains, and some new heroes.

All in all, this one was a whirlwind (get it? Nabila and whirlwinds? Aww, read the book and you'll get it) of fun and adventure.

I am so glad she's working hard on the final book in the trilogy. I can't wait for it!

Five stars, highly recommended, but please read The Stardust Thief first. This is book two of a trilogy, and you kinda need book one's story first.

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