Daughter of the Burning City

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

daughter of the burning city

YA Fiction | Fantasy | Mystery
2.5 Stars
Blurb:

A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires.

Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Continue reading

Stalking Jack the Ripper

Stalking Jack the Ripper (Audrey Rose Mysteries #1) by Kerri Maniscalco (2016)

Stalking Jack the Ripper

YA Fiction | Historical | Crime & Mystery
3.5 Stars
Blurb:

“Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.”
Goodreads 
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The Zero and the One

The Zero and the One: a novel by Ryan Ruby (2017)
-eARC Review-

the zero and the one

NA Fiction | Contemporary | Mystery
3.5 Stars
Blurb:

“A gothic twist on the classic tale of innocents abroad, THE ZERO AND THE ONE is a meditation on the seductions of friendship and the power of dangerous ideas that registers the dark, psychological suspense of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley and the intellectual and philosophical intrigue of John Banville’s The Book of EvidenceContinue reading

Mad Miss Mimic

Mad Miss Mimic by Sarah Henstra (2017)
-eARC Review-

mad miss mimic

(YA) Fiction | Historical | Mystery | Romance
4.5 stars
Blurb:

“Born into an affluent family, Leo outwardly seems like a typical daughter of English privilege in the 1870s: she lives with her wealthy married sister Christabel, and lacks for neither dresses nor trinkets. But Leo has a crippling speech impediment that makes it difficult for her to speak but curiously allows her to mimic other people’s voices flawlessly. Servants and ladies alike call her “Mad Miss Mimic” behind her back… and watch as she unintentionally scares off every potential suitor. Only the impossibly handsome Mr. Thornfax seems interested in Leo…but why? And does he have a connection to the mysterious Black Glove group that has London in its terrifying grasp? Trapped in a city under siege by terror attacks and gripped by opium fever, where doctors (including her brother-in-law) race to patent an injectable formula, Leo must search for truth in increasingly dangerous situations – but to do so, she must first find her voice.”
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Blackout

Blackout (Lost Girls #1) by Chris Myers (2015)
-NetGalley Review-

blackout

NA Fiction | Romance | Thriller | (TV-MA)
4 Stars
Blurb:

“The blackouts started happening when Teal was eight. There are long periods of her youth she doesn’t remember. She has woken up in strange places, feeling disoriented and unaware of how long she’s been out.

After two years abroad attending a private school and sessions with a top-notch psychiatrist, she’s been deemed cured. The blackouts have ceased, or so Teal thought, until she wakes up in a ditch back home in North Carolina. Continue reading

Olmec Obituary

Olmec Obituary (Dr. Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth, #1) by L.J.M. Own (2015)
-NetGalley Review-

Olmec Obituary

Fiction | Mystery
4.5 stars
Blurb:

“Yearning for her former life as an archaeologist, Australian librarian Dr Elizabeth Pimms is struggling with a job she doesn’t want and a family she both loves and resents.

A royal Olmec cemetery is discovered deep in the Mexican jungle, containing the earliest writing in all the Americas. Dr Pimms is elated to join the team investigating the ancient skeletons found on site. Triumph is short-lived, however, as Elizabeth’s position is threatened by a volatile excavation director, contradictory evidence, and hostile colleagues. With everything working against her, will Dr Pimms find the cause of death for a 3,000-year-old athlete and those buried with her?  Continue reading

Hunt for the Horseman

Hunt for the Horseman by Gita V. Reddy (2015)
-Review Request-

Hunt for the Horseman

Middle Grade Fiction | Adventure | Mystery
3.5 Stars
Blurb:

“A young prince hides his ivory toy from his brother in one of the many secret compartments of the palace. The toy was never found and the search becomes a game called Hunt for the Horseman.

One hundred and twenty-five years later, the land mafia is out to grab the palace. Members of the erstwhile royal family are fighting a losing battle in court to save what is rightfully theirs. They meet for, possibly, their last family gathering in the palace.  Continue reading

The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (2015)

The Girl on the Train

Fiction | Psychological Thriller | Crime & Mystery
2.5 Stars
Blurb:

“The debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people’s lives.

EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.  Continue reading

White Cat

White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black (2010)

White Cat

YA Fiction | Fantasy | Crime & Mystery
3.5 StarsBlurb:

“Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn’t fit in at home or at school, so he’s used to feeling like an outsider. He’s also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.”
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The Walls Around Us

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma (2015)

The Walls Around Us
YA Fiction | Paranormal Mystery | Psychological Thriller
4 Stars
Blurb:

“On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement.

On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom.  Continue reading