📚📚📚📚/5 • It’s getting HOT in here. The spiciest book in the series by far (and so far! 😜) • No lie, I was a Nesta hater, I just didn’t like her attitude! I think this book had me come around a little bit more but I still think she’s pretty ungrateful at times, but at least we have some reasoning now to some of her actions. The way Cassian pines for her is everythiiiiiing! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #fantasy #fantasybook #romantasybook #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #bookdragon #somanybooks #tobereadpile #acourtofsilverflames #acosf #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks #sarahjmaas #batboys #velaris #hellofeyredarling
📚📚📚📚/5 • This made me wish I had 30 degree weather to read this in lol . • A cutie little novella to tie up some loose ends. It didn’t really make me feel incredibly positive or negative, it was just cute. The little bomb dropped at the end of Rhys and Feyres plan is fun though! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #fantasy #fantasybook #romantasybook #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #bookdragon #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #acourtoffrostandstarlight #acofas #coverart #girlswhoread #sarahjmaas #batboys #velaris #hellofeyredarling
Which hue intrigues you the most? ’Almost Transparent Blue’ by Ryu Murakami? ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki’ by Haruki Murakami?, ‘Colors: The Story of Dyes and Pigment’ or ‘Tiepolo Pink’ by Roberto Calasso? New books are added almost everyday. #desertgeneralstore #bookstoreinthedesert #bookstore #readinginthedesert #Harukimurakami #Ryumurakami #tiepolo #visit29palms #wondervalley #yuccavalley #joshuatree #highdesert #shopcorner62
📚📚📚📚📚/5 • UHM. the last sentence on page 666… are you kidding me!? When I tell you my world SHATTERED for a moment. • Im not a war girlie myself so this felt a little slower paced for me to get into, but I still very much enjoyed it. The cauldron is so much more evil and powerful than I first assumed, and I love the where the story is taking Nesta and Elain. I can’t wait to see where the storyline goes with their newfound “traits” we’ll call them. The way that Maas connects single sentences and moments from previous books to another, is just…. 👨🏻🍳💋 • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #fantasy #fantasybook #romantasybook #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #bookdragon #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #acourtofwingsandruin #acowar #coverart #girlswhoread #sarahjmaas #batboys #velaris #hellofeyredarling
📚📚📚📚📚/5 • “There you are I’ve been looking for you” !!!!!!!!!! Ugh I am crying; screaming; throwing up!! ACOMAF has me in a CHOKEHOLD. • Im back to say, FUUUUU Tamlin, Rhysand all the way. What a beautifully selfless, multifaceted character. He’s put all others before himself and it’s heart breaking but oh so beautiful. I cannot believe how this book ended. I have to immediately jump into the next in the series! I want to live in this world 😅 • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #fantasy #fantasybook #romantasybook #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #bookworm #bookdragon #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #acourtofmistandfury #acomaf #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks #sarahjmaas #batboys #velaris #hellofeyredarling
Get into these 2024 Middle Grades #ProjectLITCommunity selections. @projectlitcomm #JustReadIt #readinginthedesert #projectlitelementary #middlegradeslit
Cheers to the 28 epic Project Lit Community YA selections for 2024. #JustReadIt #ProjectLITCommunity #readinginthedesert
📚📚📚📚/5 • I just want to start with… IM SORRY I WAITED SO LONG. This book has been on my shelf for well over a year. I told myself I was going to read more of genres I typically don’t reach for in 2024 and fantasy is one of them. Roman-tasy might just be my new “thing” • I must say, I’m a Tamlin lover, and I’m sure that will change once I get to book two 😂. The beginning of this was a bit slow but I think necessary in order to establish a baseline character and world. The last third of the book was amazingly vivid and action packed and hooked me for book two! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #fantasy #fantasybook #romantasybook #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #bookdragon #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #acourtofthornsandroses #acotar #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks #sarahjmaas
📚📚📚📚/5 • A great start for the year! The psychological thriller and the cross over of paranormal haunt was unique and fresh! I loved that this was from a perspective from a culture outside of my own; the diversity was a breath outside of my normal reads. • When the main character finds multiple attempts on her life, she has to look intrinsically for a reason. Has she done something to spite those around her, or is it more sinister? • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #kindleread #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #psychthriller #psychologicalthrillerread #amazonfirstreads #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #almostsurelydead #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
📚📚📚/5 • The Maker is such a fun introduction to science fiction and fantasy for young readers! I wish that there were an adult version of this book as I loved how unique it was, but as to be expected, just a little juvenile of a read for someone my age. • The descriptions of the world and character was so thorough and fun! A nice quick read to start the year. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #kindleread #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #youngadultfiction #fantasyread #yafiction #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #themaker #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
I have so many new friends on here, I want to know where everyone is from! What type of place do you live in? Is it a big city, a tiny town, maybe somewhere rustic and woodsy(where I wish to live) ? I’m from southern Arizona! Desert area with gorgeous mountains and perfect sunsets! 🏜️ #whereareyou #arizona #itshothere #readinginthedesert #drinkyourwater #useyoursunscreenkids
If you haven’t listened to @desertoracle (radio show and podcast) by @kenlayne you should. And if you haven’t spent an entire day laying in the desert staring up at the clouds, then an entire evening staring up at a meteor shower, you should do those things, too. The sky has a lot to say.
📚📚/5 • The Midnight Library had such an interesting premise to me. I loved the set up of different books being different lives, as that is exactly how it feels for a lot of us when we are reading. I do find myself liking the trop of multiverse/multiple life themes in reading recently, so I thought I was going to particularly enjoy this book. For me, it fell a bit flat and didn't perform as I expected it to. I was hoping I'd have a similar feeling to it as I did with Addie LaRue. • Sometimes the prose strayed from Fiction to more.. self help feeling? There are what some may consider "heavy topics" that are brought up, and it felt a bit like I was reading something a therapist would suggest to a patient. There was a lot of fluff writing and I think some of her lives could have been way more thoughful and intriguing. • I do realize this is marketed towards young adults, but it felt juvenile in its prose. Also, for a YA book, there can be some alarming themes depending on the age of the reader, so reader beware! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fiction #fictionbook #youngadultfiction #mysteryread #multiplelives #roadlesstraveled #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #themidnightlibrary #matthaig #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
📚📚📚/5 • Greenwich Park was a surprising little thriller. I happened to find it accidentally on the libarary shelf and was pleased with how quickly and easily it sucked me in to the story line. The opening letter really shifted my focus into getting through the set up to get to the goods, and I found it to be a quick read. • There was a lot of "who done it" play between the three POV characters, and just as soon as you thought you had it figured out, you were pushed into a new direction. It definitely ended way differently than I had expected and origianlly assumed the story was going to go. • I did only give three stars for some of the credibility in the plot, as there were a lot of liberties taken to play out the "mystery" that no real person would allow to happen, like the incredibly close friendship to a stranger that does not respect pretty obvious maternal/pregnancy boundaries (smoking, drinking, and all around tom foolery that one would not partake in if pregnant). • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fictionbook #thrillerbook #mysteryread #multiplepov #reading #readlocal #nobodycanbetrusted #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #greenwichpark #debutnovel #katherinefaulkner #coverart #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚📚/5 • I believe this is my first five star read of 2023! If I had to describe this read in 3 words, I think I would choose, Soul-crushing, moving, and emotional. There was something about the way the characters moved through the story that was warming and endearing. I really loved the different view points of Tova and Cameron, and OF COURSE Marcellus. I do wish there was quite a bit more of Marcellus' point of view though. I was always looking forward to hearing from him again. • Tova and Cameron had an unlikely friendship from the jump, but the way that their stories converged was heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. I love when I find myself feeling and rooting for characters that don't exist in real life. • Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of those books that just pulls you, and keeps you invested. The warm fiction with the hidden bit of thrill was a great mix, a perfect read for someone in a slump I believe. Some have said it reads slow, but I think it's a great parallel to the passing of time in Tova's life. Truly, truly, enjoyed this read. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #fictionbook #unlikelyfriends #aquarium #multiplepov #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #remarkablybrightcreatures #debutnovel #shelbyvanpelt #coverart #giantpacificoctopus #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚/5 • Megan does a beautiful job of detailing her experiences growing up in the Westboro Baptist Church and just how easy it was to get sucked down into a singular line of thinking. I found it outstanding that not only was her grandfather the creator of the church but just how extensive his civil rights careeer was. It truly was mind boggling to see someone so adamant about civil equality for one group, turn around and demonize another • There are some incredibly parallels to conservative talking points about the LGBTQ+ community. The very rhetoric that they spew are the same exact tactics they use to infiltrate and indoctrinate their own. This was a great read during pride month particularly as a lot of the book focused on the dynamic between the two communities. • Megan also had an interesting view point about when it comes to hate speech on public platforms and those authors being banned; she sees it as a disservice. Not because of first amendment rights but because the backlash and pushback from others on the platform to her own hate speech was the only thing that could pull her from the control of the church. Much of her success in leaving is to be credited to non like minded strangers speaking out. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #pridemonthreads #LGBTQ+ #leavingwestboro #deconstructingreligion #nonfiction #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #unfollow #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
The London Seance Society By Sarah Penner 🕯 Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves… 💭 This one had me at the synopsis and couldn’t wait to dive in. I had just finished The Lost Apothecary and was excited to read more by this author. I found the Seance Society and all of its secrets to be interesting. I never really connected with any of the characters, but I did like how Vaudeline used her talents to help others. The middle dragged on a little, but loved the last quarter of the book! So many twists and action that made it hard to put down! ⁉️Ever used a ouija board? #historicalmystery #vacationread #fiction #ParkRowPublishing #parkrowbooks #instaread #bookstagram #bookworm #bookcommunity #booked #reader #readingin2023 #readyforsummerTBR #spiritedbook #booksonspringbreak #readinginthedesert
Good night book lovers. #sleeptight #anaccidentalaffair #ericjeromedickey #myfriend #favoritewriter #eatsleepread #fortheloveofbooks #prescottAZ #readinginthedesert #duttonbooks #blackmenwrite #blackmenread #booksaroundthehouse
Good night book lovers. #sleeptight #anaccidentalaffair #ericjeromedickey #myfriend #favoritewriter #eatsleepread #fortheloveofbooks #prescottAZ #readinginthedesert #duttonbooks #blackmenwrite #blackmenread #booksaroundthehouse
March gave me some dreamy reading settings 🤩 I also love how I naively thought that I’ll not just read but also write reviews and post them all while exploring a country I dreamt of visiting most of my life (Morocco 💜). Post-trip reviews coming this weekend 📚😁 Pub: April 4 #TheSoulmate #bookishlove #readinginthedesert #moroccandesert #travelandbooks #domesticsuspense
📚📚📚📚/5 • What a time loop head spinner! Like Groundhog's Day meets The Butterfly Effect. Fantastic, but can be a bit confusing with the timeline. • Jen is witness to a murder that her son commits very early in the morning, against a complete stranger. Whens she wakes the next morning with a plan in place to help him, she finds herself reliving the day before. Stuck in a constant backtracking of days, Jen figures she has been thrown into a loop to go back to the beginning and figure out why her son has done this. As she relives each of the days she has already been through, she looks for clues in her everyday life. It leads her to suspicions about her friends and even her husband. Can she find the answer, before it's all too late? • This thriller was just enthralling! I was so happy that book club picked this one out this month. I found the characters likeable and you truly wanted to see what happened to the. The twists lead you to believe one thing and in the end, end up being the exact opposite. There were so manys schocks, but they were all very well planned out! • This was my frist read from McAllister, but look forward to more of her work! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #womanauthor #timeloop #thriller #womensfiction #literary #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #wrongplacewrongtime #gillianmcallister #girlswhoread #bookclubread #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚📚/5 • *A big thank you to Emilia Hart, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a free digital copy of Weyeard in exchange for an honest review!* Weyward is available March 7th, 2023! • When Kate's great aunt Violet passes away and leaves her estate to Kate, she knows it is the perfect time to flee from her abusive partner. Finding herself in a situation she knows she must escape, she takes up residence in Weyward Cottage, located in Crows Beck. • Crows Beck holds the answers to a question that Kate doesn't know she has just yet. As she settles and builds a life for herself, she begins to discover more about Violet, and the women that came before her. At Weyward Cottage, a generational secret makes itself known. This secret all begins with a 1600's trial of witchcraft for a woman named Altha. • The characters of Weyward I found to be incredibly fleshed out and descriptive. I had a clear picture of each and had either a draw or a suspicion to them all. I felt like Emilia was really able to take us to multiple people's stories in multiple timelines, very well. I also really enjoyed the female empowerment weaved throughout the book, showing the power of women. • Also, lets talk about that cover! Holy Crow (lol) is it GORGEOUS. I know we aren't supposed to judge a book by the cover, but when cover art is not only beautiful but so highly relateable to the book, I cannot help myself. Such a stunning wrap up and round view of large themes throughout the novel. • Big round of applause to Emilia Hart, I so enjoyed Weyward and I hope you do as well! Weyward is available March 7th, 2023. Add to your TBR now!
📚📚📚📚/5 • *Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this novel for an honest review* available June 19t, 2023! • Where echoes die follow sisters Beck and Riley through an isolated town in Arizona. Left with nothing but the sentence of “come and find me” from their deceased mother, Beck knows she must follow the bread of trail crumbs her mother has left her. • Upon their arrival in Backravel, Beck and Riley notice the differences between the ghost town and most other towns. No cars, no cemeteries, no churches, it’s all very odd. Even more weird, the towns people are almost always in a state of confusion. • When Beck and Avery, enemies turned friends start to have shared ideas and feelings, the two begin to bond. Avery is the daughter of the town leader, Ricky, whom promises healing in his treatment center. But beck knows that her mother committed so much time to Backravel to figure out what is really going on at the treatment centers. • Courtney Gould writes a haunting tale traveling through the Arizona desert. So many mysteries to solves in such an odd town. This kept my attention extremely well and I really enjoyed this read! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #LGBTQ #womanauthor #mysteryread #sciencefictionread #scifibook #hiddenlab #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #whereechoesdie #courtneygould #girlswhoread #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚📚/5 • Where do I even begin with this one. This is absolutely a book that is going to have a chokehold on me for a longggg time. I had so much skepticism about this, but I am so glad that I took the chance on Zevin and this novel. Sam, Sadie, and Marx are likely characters that I am going to fawn over and think about for years to come. This was a read that took a bit longer for me, but because there seems to be so many details and care put into this story, I didn't want to rush through the pages ,but wanted to soak up every detail. • Sam and Sadie find themselves reconnecting at a chilly train station at Harvard's University campus. Sadie thinks she should just ignore the old connecting, but once responding, the collaboration of a lifetime begins. Sam and Sadie meet up with friend Marx and build an empire of a gaming company with best selling titles as they navigate their coming of age. Over the span of thirty years, this novel details the nuances and the bittersweet moments of friendships, love, loss, disability, and work like balance. There truly is something so special about the world that Zevin built for these characters. • Some criticism you may see about this book is that there is too much prose about Video Games. This is something that I thought would turn me off honestly, but, I was enthralled. I do not play any video games of mention really, but the way that Zevin wrote these worlds and these games left me wishing they were real so I could at the very least, watch some play throughs. It was not just a quick mention in passing, she did wonderful with the amount of detail and for that I thank her. • Near the end, the heartache begins and only grows through the back half of the book, just like life. There were a few goosebump inducing moments and I am just enamored with this book. It may even end up being my book of the year. Sorry to the next few books I read that I KNOW I will unconsciously compare to this masterpiece.
📚📚📚📚📚/5 • *Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this novel for an honest review* available August 15, 2023! • Benjamin and Clara are college sweethearts. Meeting by what seems to be destiny. Benjamin, who is soft spoken, quiet, and self conscious falls for the beautiful and intelligent Clara. • As we jump through timelines we learn that each of them see the other as “The One That Got Away”. Each has moved on in different directions, but they are consistently brought back into each others lives. • After an explosion in the North of England at a popular soccer stadium , something is drawing to Clara. She must find Benjamin and make sure he is ok after all these years. • This is not a love story. This story details the real raw truth of how some people’s heart aches for their first love, for their whole lives. This story truly and irrevocably has broken my heart. It made me so sad for those yearning for what once was and their forgotten loves. I truly loved this book so much I flew through it in 24 hours! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #lovestory #brokenheart #unrequitedlove #collegelovestory #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #theonethatgotaway #charlotterixon #shortstory #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚📚/5 • A group of people find themselves answering an ad for a three month writers retreat in a secluded self isolated room. Each person goes not by their name, but by an alias that is revealed through their storytelling. As the days drag on, the group finds themselves in the "oppression olympics"; each wants to be rescued with the worst story, to make the most profit of their sorrows. They will stop at no lengths in order to maim and injure themselves for a quick buck. • The characters were all so odd as was the format of this book. You had to rifle between a standalone plot story, a poem about each character and then a story that each character had written. I found it confusing to follow. Some of the writing was great. The story "Guts" was incredible and I sure wished that the whole book was like this. Then there are stories like "Slumming" that were just trite and repetitive. • This is a book that I've had on my shelf for quite some time and unfortnately I just didn't love it like I wanted to. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspensebook #reading #readlocal #horror #writersretreat #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #haunted #chuckpalahniuk #shortstory #primereading #booksonbooks #bookworm #horrorbooks #bodyhorror
📚📚📚📚/5 • Jack is a police officer being sent away after a traumatic event at work, resulting in the loss of his partner. The force sends him on a cruise to readjust his find, calm his temper, and hopefully regulate before returning home. His only choice is to take this trip and get his head right, or quit his career. . Jack finds himself aboard the Spirit of the Kirkpatrick, a cruise liner that boasts family fun. What he actually finds on board is far from it. A deadly virus has taken ahold of the passengers on the ship and it leaves it's victims with bleeding eyes and a thirst for others. . Jack is nearing his end and what he thinks will be his last day, but alas, he wakes again. Same time, on the same day, in the same cabain.... as yesterday. Jack has to undergo the throws of the virus again and again, day after day, for months. Every day replaying again no matter what he does, trapped in hell. He finds othes on board who are also not affected, trying to decipher the complex mystery ahead of them. . This was a fun read crossing ground hog day with zombie stories! As if cruises weren't scary enough, add never ending Zombie's to it! This was a quick 200ish page read. Iain Rob Wright is a great horror storyteller and I also enjoy and look forward to reading his books. I do wish there were just a tad bit more gore, but that's just a personal preference. Iaian is incredibly creative and I love that about him! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mystery #suspensebook #reading #readlocal #horror #zombie #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #seasick #iainrobwright #shortstory #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚/5 • January Jacobs is a well known murder case in the town of Wakarusa, Indiana. Memories of January's case come flooding back to our main character, Margot, when another similar case pops up, only miles outside of her hometown of Wakarusa. With January's murderer never being caught, Marogt uses her journalist skills to try and start piecing the puzzle of the two crimes together. • With her Uncle Luke being sick with Dementia, Margot decides to return home to care from him and work the cases from a journalistic angle. As margot digs deeper and deeper, the townspeople seem to be hiding more and more. It's up to Margot to figure it out. • Overall, the book had a nice flow and was of a subject matter that I found interested. Flowers did an awesome job at creating that small town feel through the writing. The first half of the book was a bit slow but once the twists started to be implemented is where it really hooked me. I love a good "whodunit" and this had me second guessing what I thought all the way to the end. • I deducted a star because I was a bit sad that the plot wasn't a bit more original. It was just a retelling of the JonBenet Ramsey case in my opinion. Sooooo many similarities to the cases. I think the "influence" of the Ramsey case went just a little too far and Flowers could have made her story a bit more original. ALso, that end. Way too cliff hanger for me. I needed a bit more resolution! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mystery #suspensebook #reading #readlocal #thriller #truecrimepodcast #crimejunkie #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #allgoodpeoplehere #ashleyflowers #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚📚/5 • *Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy of The Escape Velocity Project in exchange for a honest review* • George is an extremely intelligent scientist working for NASA when he is pulled in to work on a top secret project. Blueprint plans that are in a code from a lifeform other than human show on the doorstep of NASA. These plans are for a suspected time traveling and transportation device, and they need the brightest and best to decode the message and put the plans together. Time is of the essence, as Earth is crumbling beneath our feet. An additional time crunch is added when a secret super volcano under Philly explodes, leaving nothing but destruction behind. • Christopher is a self absorbed, misognistic, high ranking pilot for the US Governemnt. Christohper's flying expertise is needed to be the first test of sending human life through the transportation Gate. Searching for further fame he agrees to leave everything behind for the glory of being hailed a hero. When The Gate doesn't work as expected, we are left with questions and more code that must be deciphered. • Overall, I loved the premise of this book. I am a big sucker for coded messages, science fiction, and space themed books. • I think Christopher as a character could have been edited a bit. It was pretty tiring seeing him refer to every. single. female character by her cup size. A few times? ok. But every time gets so boring and makes me roll my eyes as a female reader. You can display chauvenisitic tendencies in other ways. Our character George, literally just fell off the face of the Earth near the end of the book. The story line stopped following him completely until the last chapter which I found so odd. • Full review on Goodreads 💖 • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mystery #suspensebook #reading #readlocal #scoencefiction #scifi #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #escapevekocityproject #shortstory #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚/5 • Caitlin Marceau does it again. She kept me on the edge of my seat and in suspense the whole read. • This is a shorter story, but what it lacks in page count it makes up for in gut punch. This Is Where We Talk Things Out features our main character Miller and her partner Florence. Miller has had to go "no contact" with her mother, Sylvie. When Miller is given the opportuity to spend a weekend with Sylvie to try and rekindle their relationship after her father's passing, she is hesitant but agrees. • Sylive and Miller drive to a secluded cabin hours outside of city limits. Immediatley on the drive, things are not going well and Miller wants to go home. She tries reaching out to Florence, but no signal. Upon arriving at the cabin, Miller is weirded out, as it is a replica of her childhood home. From the furniture, to the smells, down to the clothing she wears, it is completely replicated. • The two go for a snowshoeing hike in the woods where Sylvie and Miller get in a scuffle. Miller is badly hurt and needs emergency care but Sylvie refuses. As they make it home, Sylvie flies off the handle and ends up secluding Miller and Miller is left with trying to find a way out. Tense verbal and physical fighting ensue with a draw dropping twist at the end that will rock you. • Caitlin has such great storytelling skills and is an incredible Indie author. She is able to take real world issues and scenarios and paint a picture beautifully through her words. This was a nice little read a long that I participated in. You can definitely devour it in one sitting. Highly recommend! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mystery #suspensebook #reading #readlocal #thrillerbook #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #thisiswherewetalkthingsout #caitlinmarceau #shortstory #primereading #booksonbooks
📚/5 • Not really the way that I wanted to start my 2023 reading. This was by far the biggest disappointment I've had in my reading journey unfortunately. • The premise of a band of senior citizen's solving murders sounded so fun.. But why was there just SO much going on. Throughout the whole book we meet countless characters that we never get to connect with. There's so many it is hard to count, probably around 20ish characters though. On top of that there are 4 murders/deaths being investigated. Absolutely too much going on to follow or even begin to care about a character. • The twists were too twisty. I can't believe I'm saying this. It's all just so fantastical and unbelievable that it's no longer fun to read. I never knew what the hell was actually happening, or who was who. There were journal entries from Joyce that were labeled, but every other chapter was a random viewpoint that you had to guess your way through. • I particularly wanted to like this one with it being a series, but this was a hard no for me unfortunately :( • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mysterybook #suspensebook #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #thursdaymurderclub #disappointing #primereading #booksonbooks
yes, yes, yes, yes, and more YES. Caitlin Marceau is now easily an "instant buy" author for me. I was lucky enough to receive a free E-copy of this book through Caitlin and DarkLit Press and I'm so honored that they lent me these stories. • This collection of short stories navigates the world and horrors of modern day womanhood so perfectly. Each story I had a unique connection with in how the horrors played out. Although every story was incredibly well written and wonderful the stories that truly had some shine and stood out to me was "Tabula Rasa, Gastric, In Utero, and Blood and Coffee". Gastric ROCKED ME. • Caitlin included so many queer relationships and that was quite refreshing to see! I truly appreciated that as it is so hard to find sometimes. • This is definitely one of those books that I would go back to over and over and keep reading. Thank you so much for sharing your talents and writing with us! Loved this! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #darklit #feministread #LGBTQ+read #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #femina #caitlinmarceau #complimentarycopy #primereading #booksonbooks
This is a first of Erin Bowman for me and I am a big fan! Set in space, there is a rescue crew who has been called to assist with a drill team who has sent out an SOS. The drilling team is a two month journey away from the ship's current location, and they are the closest crew, meaning they must respond. The planet the drill team is located on is volitile and experiences incredibly difficult weather patterns. . As the team comes to rescue it is clearly evident that something is very wrong here. Dead bodies and rotted food is everywhere. Not a single soul to be found. When trecking further looking for survivors the group decides to try the drilling areas. Here, is where the problem is reawakened. . A virus has spread through ground water and infected the entirity of the planet's inhabitents and now it is infecting the very crew that has come to save them. . space, zombies, sci-fi, horror, this book has it all! I really enjoyed this read and I can't wait to get to the sequel of this one! . #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #spaceread #scifi #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #contagion #erinbowman #hooked #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚/5 • This is a book that made me say "Wtf did I just read". After so much hype from a few book groups I'm in, I was excited to snag this one at B&N, but I was left with dashed hopes by page 20. • • Let's start with what I did like: Eric is an incredibly great writer. His prose is jampacked with fun new adjectives and synonyms which you don't see in standard writing, especially horror. The Novella was EVERYTHING. I wish the novella was just the stand alone book, because I was so invested in the story line. • • Martyr and Ambrose, I wanted to like so badly. Their dynamic was interesting, but the back and forth writing between them felt so forced and pompous to me. I didn't even ever quite understand what was happening in their sections. It didn't seem like a well fleshed out story and it was very sporadic with jumping from place to place in the timelines. • • The formatting, although different and unique, was a bit wasteful to me. I see the recurring theme of the centipede, but I don't understand the blank pages of the centipede and what they add to the story or the book. • • Overall, just an ok read for me. I still really really wish that the Novella was the story and the stand alone. It read SO well and I loved the characters and story line. It was much scarier to me than the prose between our two main characters. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #thrillerread #suspenseread #horrorread #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #youvelostalotofblood #ericlarocca #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚📚📚/5 • A tale of alcoholism and its grasp on a group of those trying to kick the habit. As a storm rolls in and power is lost, they hunker down for a long night, only to be met with something more evil than their addictions and past. • Adam lost everything he has ever loved to alochol, and now this night, is no different. Struggling with his one year anniversary of sobriety, he attends his alcoholics anonymous group meeting, in hopes of support, or a reason "why" to continue. As the night progresses eerie things start to happen. Gunshots ringing out in the night, every car in the parking lot is dead, torrential rains, and a ghostly face in the window. When one group attendee makes a break for the car and returns in disrepair, the group has to think of their feet about next steps. • The night is full of a fast paced thrills, snap decisions, and of course some blood and gore. How are they goingto survive the night when every attempt at rescue is foiled. This story absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time. There were a few spots where the writing was a tad cliche, but overall, I loved the style. I really felt immersed in the group. The characters had great variation and I either really felt for the character or, because it was written so well, I was hoping that the character was the next to be offed. • Can't wait to read more of Wright's work! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #thrillerread #suspenseread #horrorread #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #12steps #iainrobwright #primereading #booksonbooks #addictionrecovery
📚📚/5 • A book club pick that turned out to be a middle of the road, meh, read for me. I hardly read romance so I knew there was opportunity for me to not really enjoy this one. • An emotional, missed opportunity love story, that has us in a mess and tangle of relationships, wants, and desires. I did not have buy in with the characters. • Laurie sees a dreamy guy waiting at the bus stop of the bus that she is currently on. She wants so badly for him to join her on the bus. She does just about everything short of just simply asking. The bus pulls away and he is gone from her sights. She then commits years of her life to try and find this mystery bus boy. In steps Laurie's best friend, Sarah. What do you know, she's dating bus boy, formally named, Jack! Laurie keeps the secret to herself and tries to balance happiness and sorrow throughout the following years. • Laurie takes a get away and meets an island hunk, turned boyfriend, turned fiance, turn husband. Throughout all of this she is still making questionable choices with Jack. Quite honestly, pretty inappropriate choices and definitely not things a good friend would do or say. Jack suddenly becomes a ragging ass, and throws it all back on poor Sarah. Laurie loves him through it. • When things fall apart for Laurie, she runs back to Jack and some how there is a happily ever after as if they didn't just BOTH make terrible choices with their loved ones. In my humble opinion, Jack didn't deserve endless love from either woman because he was a jerk to both of them. Why did they want him so badly. He never seemed to make them happy? • I think I would have much preffered an ending of Laurie giving Jack her mind, ending up alone, and each character developing further than "unrequited love finds a way". • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #christmasread #decemberread #romance #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #onedayindecember #josiesilver #primereading #booksonbooks
📚📚/ 5 • • I really wanted to like this. I've heard a lot about Jenny Lawson and was excited to see this in Prime Reading. I guess I should have read the synopsis or description, because the elf on the cover really threw me for a loop. I thought this "holiday" essay was more Christmas holiday so I saved it for December. I was wrong haha, this is about Halloween, folks. • • The essay felt like rushed forced teen humor to me. Don't get me wrong, some of it made me giggle here and there, but so so much of it felt like it was just trying to be quirky and relateable. I guess with the title I expected more... darkness haha. It was more of a comedy piece. • • I spent a lot of time thinking, "get to the point" of the story because it felt like the talking was really not going anywhere. I think kthe intention was nostalgia but I think some better marketing and description so readers expect that rather than the final product presented. • • I did enjoy the little bites of nostalgia we did get, it definitely reminded me of my childhood Hallowens, and it was fun to reminisce. Overall, just wish the execution was a bit different. I will say though, this is my first "essay" read, so that could be reader error of expectation. • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #halloweenread #essay #reading #readlocal #kindlereading #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #ichoosedarkness #jennylawson #primereading #booksonbooks
“When the sun goes down, it’s different” • • 📚📚📚/5 • The thicket is a walk through scare entertainment piece that offers a haunted house experience and ranks in one of the top 10 in the nation. Norah and her brother Brandon treck through the thicket for a good holiday scare. When Norah becomes annoyed, she leaves Brandon and decides to wait for him in the plaza. • • When Norah hears unbelievable screams, she thinks they “can’t be real, right”? Little does she know, he brother is fighting for his life. After Brandon’s untimely death, and the close but reopening of the thicket, Norah returns to the thicket shrouded in massive guilt. As she returns, she sees a few friends there as well and decides to keep a good eye on them. • • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • • It becomes clear that the attack on the Thicket was a planned attack. As Norah decided to return, so does the killer. • • This was a super quick slasher read. It was a pretty predictable read. It definitely read like a movie and was quick paced. • • I wish I would have read this during Halloween as I feel I maybe would have enjoyed it a bit more. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #horrorread #slasherread #thrillerread #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #thethicket #halloweenread #slasher #noelleihli
“Most girls dont get it. I scare the good ones away. ” • *Special thank you to @jeremyraystories and his ARC program for the complimentary ebook copy of Petrified Women* • 📚📚📚📚📚/5 • Harley is closing in on the one year mark of her relationship with her boyfriend, Aiden. Ever since the very beginnings of their relationship, they have been a prankster duo. Each one trying to out do the next. With Aidens birthday approaching, Harley devises a scheme sure to get him good! • Hidden in Aiden’s closet, as Harley is setting up, she is the one taken for a wild ride. From the closet, she hears what she believes to be Aiden cheating in her. But then she hears panick, quick breaths, choking, and silence. As she tried to maintain her composure, she is also methodically trying to plan an escape. Did her loving boyfriend really just hurt someone, or was he pranking her back? • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Aiden’s art form is carvings of wooden women. All have a name, as well as an assigned task that they seek to be doing. Harley enjoys their company, even though they spook her. Because of her kindness towards them, its her only way out; alive. • • The author took this to a really fun place for me. As an avid read of horror and thrillers, they all seem to follow pretty common tropes, but Jeremy did not disappoint. The plot was so individual to anything else I have read, I was left on the edge of my seat wanting more. • The parallels between the petrified women and the their demise was a wonderful touch that I enjoyed! Jeremy wrote in such a way that I empathized with Harley so much. Is Aiden crazy, or am I crazy for thinking he actualky took his prank too far? I loved having my own opinions on the character feel unreliable. It connected you to the story and made you feel really engaged in the storyline. • Tags in comments 💖
“He said he couldn’t wait to get married so he could stuff his wife in a deep hole and never let her out. ” • • 📚📚/5 • Erika Cass seems to have the picture perfect life with a well off husband and two beautiful children in a safe community. But when a local teen girl goes missing, Erika begins to question her perfect suburbia lifestyle. • • Erika has always sensed something dark and sinister within her son Liam. His childhood is peppered with instances of mental health problems and disturbing statements. Erika begins to think that her very son, could be behind the teens disappearance. • • As she begins to put the puzzle pieces together, Erika learns a truth she never expected. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • • I’ve heard a lot of scuttlebutt and good things about this author, and maybe it was just my pick, but this was not it for me. Maybe because I’ve read what I consider far more hashed out psych thrillers I feel this way? I will say McFadden would be a great read for someone just getting into thriller genres but as a seasoned reader, maybe skip. • • I found the characters to be bland, the writing style was a bit juvenile (it read as though it was maybe targeted for teens), and the twist was quite predictable to me. It definitely is a nice easy light read with a quick thrill though if that’s something you’re looking for. • • I did enjoy the end though, when the criminal behind it all got their payback. The bit of blood and gore was music to my ears (eyes? Lol). This one just let me wanting more. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #sciencefiction #thrillerread #psychthriller #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #theperfectson #psychopathchild #sociopathchild #childkiller #goodreads #book #freidamcfadden
“I knew what it felt like to turn toward the stars because it was easier to gaze I to unknowable darkness than to look at the painful wreckage of the life that surrounds you. ” • • 📚📚📚📚/5 • What do you get when you add familial betrayal, government abandoned ships, and piracy? A whole lot of chaos • • Zahra and her space bandits company are looking for a new home, and House of Wisdom looks like the one. This ship was abandoned in space after a deadly virus broke out on board killing everyone in a matter of hours, except for one. Jaswinder is the soul remaining survivor of the tragedy, and only his biomedical genetic signature will allow access to the ship. • • Upon entering, they reawaken the virus and it’s waiting for them in the shadows. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • • Wallace did a nice job of balancing the characters point of views between Zahra and Jaswinder. Each story line was a nice follow and I was left with a balanced exciting for each view point. The writing was a cinematic experience and left me feeling like I could visually see this playing out in my head, the descriptions were top tier! • • With notes of extremism, societal collapse, resistance organizations and government space refugees this was much more than a typical sci fi. So much betrayal, so much mystery. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #sciencefiction #thrillerread #horrorbook #spacethriller #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #salvationday #ghostship #outerspacestory #spacehorrorread #paranormal #goodreads #kaliwallace
“It sets off a strange sense of dislocation in my brain, like it can’t be real. Or I’m not. But maybe that’s because of the dead princess floating in the corner. ” • • 📚📚📚📚📚/5 • Claire is only days away from being unemployed and forced back to Earth. She is on a last mission with her crew when a distress call, an SOS, is received in the outer layers of space that they inhabit. Nothing should be as far out as the are, where could this call be coming from? • • Claire convinced her crew it’s their duty to respond. Upon following the signal, they find something they never expected… a ship that has been missing for over 20 years. With promise of riches and reward, the crew boards the dead ship and is not prepared for what they find. • • Intense bloodshed, suicide and murder, and complete chaos. The crew begins to experience paranormal activities and hallucinations. Will they make it out alive? • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • • This is my first dark natured sci fi I have read and I loved it! Empty space is so scary to me, let alone a ghost ship stranded in space left in complete non repair. This has me hooked from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down for chores that needed to be done. • • The betrayal the crew finds themselves experiencing was a twist I did not expect and a very well written one, was totally blind sided! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #sciencefiction #thrillerread #horrorbook #spacethriller #reading #readlocal
“Sometimes it’s easier to remember sorrow than joy. Sorrow doesn’t hurt as much” • • 📚📚/5 • Holly Darling (yes that darling) finds herself in a life of success. With a successful skin care company and a lab of all her own, the tragedies of her past keep her joy at bay. In a large accident she lost a child and her husband. On the repair, Holly moves with her two remaining children to heal, but her daughter, ends up in a coma… and never wakes, for years. • • Tucked away in England, Eden’s coma is set aside as a worry, when she disappears. With nowhere to turn to, Holly relies on her mothers help to find her child. She is worried there is a sinister reason for her disappearance that comes with her last name. It can only be him; Peter Pan. • • Fiercely protective of her children, Holly hires Christopher Hook, a private investigator to help find Eden. But what Hook discovers is darker than expected • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • • This book just does not do it for me. The main character runs around the whole book like a chicken with her head cut off, but not really DOING anything. A lot of the details revealed (like Eden’s father being Pan) seemed to be glossed over how she came to be. The writing style is flowery, just like a fairytale would be, but it proved to be confusing. I had to reread a few spots just to understand. • • The characters were just very stale and stereotypical. A disappointing read for me which is a bummer because I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite awhile :/ • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #darkfairytale #thrillerread #fairytale #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #literaryfiction #darlinggirl #peterpan #tinkerbell #secondstartotheright #peterpanretelling #neverland #goodreads #book #reading
“How could you hide from a murderer who lives under your skin?” • • 📚📚📚📚📚/5 • • Picture this; you and your scoutmaster are attending a weekend camping session to eat some badges on a deserted island off the coast of the mainland. No phones, one radio, and just enough food to last the weekend. No plans or ability to get home until it’s pick up time. True wilderness survival. Well, what do you do when a guest with an insatiable hunger turns up at camp? • • That insatiable hunger includes the taking of all your supplies, reserves, and even inedible items. The man who has taken your goods is sick, very sick… And it’s spreading. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • The boys of Troop 57 are left to fend for their own when a biomedical weapon of a worm is released upon them. Any contact with the infected, and you’re done for. They try to wiggle their way to safety, all while forced on the mainland try to keep them there. Who will make it out alive. • • The PERFECT book to start off spooky season! I cannot imagine what I’d do in their situation and I’m glad I’m not having to figure it out. I love the drama of the story followed up with press release style articles and transcripts from the scientist themselves that created this monster. New favorite book! A must read for all horror lovers. The graphic descriptions were on another level and absolutely shook me! • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #horrorread #biomedicalweapon #murder #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #insatiablehunger #thetroop #nickcutter #goodreads #book #reading
“Kids are mirrors, reflecting back everything that happens to them. You’ve got to make sure they’re surrounded by good things.” • • 📚📚📚📚📚/5 • • In the desert of the Mojave, you’ll find remains of an odd family. All Rob ever wanted was a normal life. A couple kids, nice husband, and beautiful home. But her past and odd history with Sundial are still lurking near when she starts to see some troubling behavior in her daughter, Callie. • • With a terrifying and troubling choice to make, Rob returns to sundial with Callie in tow. The fear from each of them seeps out silently, only one of us is making it back alive. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Callie begins to do psychopathic tendencies which are all to familiar to Rob, who watched her own sister suffer. In the desert, Rob begins to divulge information about her childhood than she never expected to tell a soul. • • The experiments that Robs family perform on dogs, are really meant to help “breed” the “bad” out of their community, but it runs haywire, and sundial is left a desolate town. With twists and turns I didn’t expect, this was a great read at the top of my list for the month! • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #psycopathtendencies #motheranddaughter #mkultra #mindcontrol #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #sundial #catrionaward #goodreads #book #reading
“You’ve read about it in books, but reading about something isn’t the same as experiencing it” • • 📚📚📚📚/5. • • Set in the Windy City of Chicago, Kira, who is a struggling thespian, gets a big break. She’s heard that working with Malcom Mercer is torture, but she is highly intrigued. Malcom’s assistant, Joanna, sees Kira as her next threat to defeat. • • As Kira dives deeper into her role, she also falls deeper into Malcom’s hand. Shocking and surprising secrets bubble to the surface only for Kira to try and push them down. As opening night rolls around, a true darkness larger than Malcom, takes center stage. 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Kira is one of those characters that throws everything she has into her art. Think… Black Swan ish. She’s not just in the play, she IS the play. Incredibly edgy and power hungry, she begins to meet her match, or so she thinks. • • Malcolm is sadistic and seductive in his own way. The bad boy you can’t let go. But as he pushes Kira further and further, on stage and off, it’s not Malcolm who rises to the top. Kira truly shows her colors and the last page will leave you breathless. • • I’ve loved Laynes writing on her two books now, and I crave more! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #horrorread #thrillerbook #chicagotheatre #thespian #reading #strugglingartist #bigbreak #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #temper #laynefargo #goodreads #book #reading
“We all go a little mad sometimes.” • • 📚📚📚/ 5 My first Riley Sager book, excited to jump on the bandwagon! He is pretty frequently checked out in my library with long holds so I was excited to stumble on this one! • • Charlie is a college student, obsessed with movie. After the unfortunate murder of her roommate and best friend, she decides it’s time to go home and give up the college dream. The problem? Charlie doesn’t drive after her parents were killed in a car accident. • • Charlie meets Josh Baxter at her colleges community bulletin board. She’s looking for a ride, he’s looking for someone to split gas. What could go wrong? Soon Charlie begins to feel suspicious that Josh isn’t quite who he says he is. 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Charlie is one of those characters that makes me want to scream. Why does she make some of the decisions she does!!? You wouldn’t catch me dead in a strangers car for a road trip home. The story was a bit slow getting started and a bit predictable • • What I didn’t see coming was her sweet boyfriend, not being so sweet. Totally blew my mind! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #horrorread #thrillerbook #carride #roadtrip #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #survivethenight #rileysager #goodreads #book #reading #murderread
“But I knew better.” • • 📚📚📚📚/ 5 Andi Lansing has struggled with weight loss her whole life now that she’s nearly 30, she is looking for a change. At the doctors office she befriends a nurse who gives her the name of a miracle cure. But what happens when that miracle turns into a nightmare? • Sickness and black vomit, rumblings in her intensives and insatiable hunger now rule her world, but she’s at her goal weight. Is she willing to continue this life for the societally perfect body? • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • This was a quick 50 page electronic read that I received free by a link, posted by the author, in a horror based book group on Facebook. Super quick read over my lunch break with a plot and details that kept me hooked. • • The gory details are amazing and the lingering questions it leaves you with are even better. Love me a good short horror! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #horrorread #horrorbook #losingweight #acure #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #bookworm #somanybooks #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist #apoundofcure #shortstory #tonyurban #goodreads #book #reading
“In a sense all dreams foretell events, but some more clearly than others.” • • 📚📚📚/ 5 When Noemí receives a strange letter from her cousin, she takes a trip to the mysterious High Place. One arrived, the mysterious home gets more and more odd. Nightmares and sleep walking, visions and hallucinations, and even pungent smells. • The further she travels down the family’s history, the more dark the knowledge becomes. Inducted against her will into the family, the secrets begin to show themselves. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • This one started very slow for me. It took me a long time to get into it but once I got a taste of the hook, I was super intrigued. • • The trope of mind controlling fungus was PERFECT! It really took me for a spin and I loved the descriptions throughout the novel, specifically the descriptions of the sickness and the gloom. • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #mexicangothic #gothicstory #mindcontrolfungus #mushrooms #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #fictionbooks #booktok #bookstagram #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist
“When one’s life seems broken beyond repair, there remains one last move: a person can at least shut her eyes .” • • 📚📚📚📚📚/ 5 Santa Lora is a small town in southern part of California. Quaint and quiet, not much happens on a regular basis. Mei starts college at the local University and is struggling to fit in, although her roommate is nice and tried to keep her involved. • After a night of partying, Kara (Mei’s) roommate returns home early stating she doesn’t feel well. She drifts to sleep. But when she doesn’t wake after hours and hours of being asleep, Mei worries and contacts the school. • A sudden illness of sleep begins to take over. Students and towns people fall ill, stuck in a land of dreams. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Written from the viewpoint of multiple storylines, we watch as “the sickness” sweeps over Santa Lora. by having multiple stories of the same timeline, the book lends itself to a small amount of confusion with mass amounts of characters, but it also develops a well rounded story of what’s happening in the town. • • This is a book that is not popular on booktok but absolutely SHOULD be. If you can get your hands on this I highly suggest it. I flew through it in a day and a half and enjoyed every second of it. Also, the cover is GORGEOUS! • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #sleepsickness #foreverdreaming #multiplestorylines #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #thedreamers #fictionbooks #booktok #bookstagram #toberead #tobereadpile #addtoyourlist
“I couldn’t tell you the truth; that I thought there was something wrong with our daughter. You thought the problem was me.” • • 📚📚/ 5 In the push, we meet Blythe, a new mother to Violett. Blythe tried her best to be a good mother and role model, as she did not have the good fortune of that growing up. Although wanting nothing more than to be a mother, she finds it incredibly difficult to connect with Violett. • When her second child comes around, Sam, she has a dream motherhood experience. Why is it so hard for her to connect with her daughter? As Sam grows, Violett begins acting out even more, causing more and more rift between the family. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • I went into this thinking it was a thriller, but all I got was confusion. The book details three decades of characters with no headings above the chapters. The narration voice is also very odd, as it is first person. The narrator speaks of “you” a lot, meaning her husband or her children, and it just is a bit of a mind game sometimes trying to find which character she is referring. • • Th trope of this book is also incredibly similar to the book “baby teeth” so it just doesn’t read as unique to me. • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #suspenseread #thrillerread #motherhoodnovel #evilchild #whodoneit #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #thepush #ashleyaudain #fictionbooks #booktok #bookstagram #toberead #tobereadpile
“He wasn’t afraid of me. That was his first mistake.” • • 📚📚📚📚📚/ 5 Feminist serial killer, Scarlett takes matters in to her own hands time and time again, and is incredibly good at never being caught. Serving justice to women who deserve it. Although great at her side job, the university she is working again begins to probe further into these mysterious deaths. Scouring data and making connections between each death. Fearful of being caught, Scarlett joins the research team in hopes of throwing them off her trail • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • This was a book that I flew through! I loved the premise, the character development and the tension it held throughout each page . • • Reading through Scarlett’s “villain story” if you will, clears up so many questions that build through the chapters. My attention was kept the entire time, wanting more and more from each chapter. I was so invested in storyline. • • The pace was extremely quick and it was a true thrill for me. Some spicy tension, some gore, and lots “oh no will she be caught!” tension. Layne Fargo is a great author and I’ve got her novel “temper” on my to read list! • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mysteryread #suspenseread #thrillerread #feminist #feministserialkiller #ladykiller #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #theyneverlearn #fictionbooks #vigilantejusticeread #booktok #bookstagram #laynefargo
“But I’ve always believed that murder is the healthiest obsession of all.” • • 📚📚📚/ 5 Shea Collins is a resident of Claire Lake, who is quite reserved, quiet, and friendless. Past traumas haunt her daily life, and she copes with a true crime blog and book she is writing about cold cases in her area. In what seems to be an act of random meeting, Shea secures a meeting with a long time infamous acquitted murderer, dubbed “The Lady Killer”. As she interviews Beth Greer in his home, more and more spooky things began to happen. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • As a true crime lover I thought I was going to love this a bit more. It seems a lot of thrillers recently are all about true crime lovers who end up solving a crime case. It seems like a played out trope and is just a little tired. • • I thought this was going to go a bit more paranormal then it ended up going, but it left a lot of holes that felt unresolved. We ask “why does Beth stay in this haunted house” and when we find she has a dead sister keeping here there, the paranormal influence returns. I don’t know, it felt a little confusing and I wish it had been fleshed out a bit more • • The pace was quick and it was a nice easy read so that gave it an extra star from me. • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mysteryread #suspenseread #paranormal #paranormalinfluence #ladykiller #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #suspense #thebookofcoldcases #SheaCollins #unreliablenarrator #truecrimeread #fictionbooks
“Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.” • • 📚📚📚📚/ 5 Addie LaRue, a French girl from the 1700s, wants nothing more than to make an impact on the world with her time. She makes a deal with the devil, and asks to live forever. But every deal is not without compromise. The dark god that she has bargained with meets her yearly on the anniversary of the deal, to try and claim his reward. But Addie refuses. For over 300 years, nobody has been able to remember her. She cannot speak her name, nor write it. She cannot have her photo taken, or leave her story. She is simply, invisible to all she meets. Until she stumbles upon Harry. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Harry surprises Addie with repeat dates and a pool of knowledge about her. For the first time since selling her soul, she has truly been seen. Addie begins to plan the rest of her forever with Harry, until she learns of the devastating news; Harry’s soul has been sold as well. And time is running out. • • I liked the dynamic between Luc and Addie, scorned lover pining after his toy. But I’m not on the bandwagon of wanting them to end up together. I truly loved Harry and Addie together. I do wish that the author had spent some more time on developing their relationship. It felt a bit rushed and other parts of the book could have been cut to make room for this. • • It features a great unfinished ending that leaves room for a sequel if ever desired. • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mysteryread #suspenseread #dealewiththedevil #soldsoul #reader #reading #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #suspense #theinvisiblelifeofaddielarue #addielarue #historicalfiction #darkgod
“”Do you trust me?” Suzette considered how to respond. It seemed wrong to lie when asked so directly - and it being their first real conversation. “No” she said. “Good, they were right to burn me” • • 📚📚📚📚/ 5 7 year old Hanna Jensen is daughter is Suzette and Alex. Mute and silent, but oh so loving towards her father. Hannah believes that her father is the only person in the world to understand her. As she pines for a lifetime with her father alone, she find that her mother is always standing in her way and Hanna will do whatever it takes to separate them. After years and years of doctors and therapies, Hanna begins to speak; only to Suzette. Hanna speaks of warning, future pain, and hostility. When Suzette voices her concerns to her husband though, they fall on dead ears. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • Hanna is a smart and extremely manipulative little girl. It almost feels as one of those characters that’s written younger than they actually are. Hanna begins playing incredibly sophisticated tricks on her mother, ultimately leading to physical harm. Hanna’s character very much reminded me of the daughter from Orphan! • • The problem here is that Hanna is so incredibly manipulative that her father does not believe nor heed his wife’s warnings. It almost plays into an unreliable narrator trope which I really enjoy in books! • • It also features a great unfinished ending that leaves you wanting some more! • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mysteryread #suspenseread #evilchild #horrorread #reader #reading #radical #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #suspense #babyteeth #babyteethnovel #bookworm #unreliablenarrator #supernaturalparanoia #thewitchestheydidntburn
“An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases” • • 📚📚📚/ 5 When a disaster is an accident almost takes Tempest Raj’s life, and ultimately her career, she finds herself back home with her family in her childhood home. Tempest has resorted to having to work the family business. While assisting her father with a secret staircase project, a mystery is uncovered… a dead body behind the wall. And it looks identical to Tempest. After losing countless members of her family to magic, including her mother, immediately Tempest believes that the Raj family curse, “the eldest shall die by magic”, is coming after her finally. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • When I saw this book was plagued with red herrings and misdirection by other readers, it intrigued me, but unfortunately fell a bit flat. To start, there are a ton of characters to remember and they all sort of start to melt together. I had a tough time trying to keep everyone straight. • • The first half and the set up of the book was great. It was suspenseful and kept my attention. Once we reached the climax of finding that the dead body was that of her assistant, the rest of the tale seemed to be a lot of running around, but no actual solving of the case. • • Within the last two chapters, Tempest seems to have suddenly figured out the mystery, with no further details given to the reader. It felt like a rushed ending and I wish a bit more build up and speculation had been given to us. • • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #mysteryread #suspenseread #underlockandskeletonkey #storytime #reader #reading #radical #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #familymatter #suspense #POCauthor
“The human being is the cause of all evil in the world. We are our own virus” • • 📚📚📚📚📚/ 5 Punchy, obtrusive, disturbing and logical. This read is a great one! Super quick with only roughly 200 pages, a great afternoon read. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Even through the gore and disturbing context, it makes you evaluate and think. • 📚Spoilers May Be Contained Below. Continue At Your Own Risk 📚 • A wild virus has eradicated the use of animals for consumption and humanity has turned to a more efficient means of protein production. Cannibalism, where humans are domesticated, bred, and processed for consumption. • • Marcos, an Argentinian meat processing plant worker, is met with a wild and surprising proposition. One of the very finest of qualities, of his slaughters, presented to him as a gift. What shall he do? Breed her? Slaughter her? Enslave her? • • As the initial shocks and disturbing storyline wears off on you, we are left with what we think may be a new age love story. How Marcos cares for his new gift in place of his lost family almost leaves you with the feeling of hope. Maybe a change in the future is coming. Within the last few chapters you find this absolutely is not the case, as the cycle of consumption continues in this dystopia, but in an even more frightening way. • • A cerebral thriller with a new paradigm about civilization. Let this book sweep you away with conspiracy and a conversation of right vs wrong, human rights, and how we treat our trades and fellow living creatures. This his been filed with my other top favorites as a five star read! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #paradigmshift #lifetales #horrorread #tenderistheflesh #storytime #reader #reading #deathday #radical #readlocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #supportyourlocallibrary #familymatter #cannibalism #goreread #suspense #cerebralthriller #allegory #consumerism #capitalism #howfaristoofar
2021-2022 Our March @projectlitcomm March book of the month was FAST PITCH by @nicstone #ProjectLIT #ProjectLitBOTM #projectlitcommunity #projectlitelementary #ReadingintheDesert #JustReadIt
2021-2022 Our February @projectlitcomm book of the month was THEY CALLED US ENEMY by @georgehtakei #ProjectLIT #ProjectLitBOTM #projectlitcommunity #ReadingintheDesert #projectlitelementary
📚 S M A L L •H A U L📚 • • Did I need to add these to my growing “to be read” pile? No. But they were all on sale and I couldn’t pass them up! • #cailynreviewsbooks #bookreview #goodreadsreview #booktok #bookstagram #arizonareading #readinginthedesert #readingwithcactus #bookhaul #halfpricebooks #smallbookhaul #toberead #tobereadpile #readingpile #newbooks #tobereadstack #gettingoutofhand #cutoff #nomorebookbuying