Category Archives: Psychological Thriller

#Review – Breakneck Bay by Faith Gardner

A dangerous waterpark. A missing girl. A wife trapped in a nightmare.

At Breakneck Bay, the rides are fast, the injuries frequent, and the lawsuits endless. But when a teenage employee vanishes after closing, leaving behind a blood-soaked crime scene, it’s clear this summer will be the deadliest yet.

Suspicion falls on park manager Mitch Blue, forcing his newlywed wife Kit to confront the cracks in their marriage—and the unsettling secrets he’s been keeping.

But Kit and the police aren’t the only ones looking for answers. Someone is watching from the shadows, waiting to finish what they started years ago. As Kit uncovers chilling ties between Mitch and the waterpark’s dark past, she’s left questioning everything she thought she knew—including whether she’s sleeping beside a killer.

Because at Breakneck Bay, the only thing deadlier than the rides is the truth.

So I had absolutely no idea what was going on through the majority of this book. I tried predicting and while I thought who was the killer did end up being the killer, I kept second guessing myself. I watch too many horror movies because I thought something really bad was going to happen when all was said and done. If you watch horror movies, you know that most of them don’t end on a happy note.

This book is written in Katherine “Kit’s” point of view for most of it, while some chapters are written in Hawk’s point of view. He’s the bad guy but Hawk is just a nickname he gave himself, so we really have no idea who he is until the end of the book.

Life is going well for Kit. She has a loving husband, a relatively decent job, not as many friends as she wants but life is satisfactory.

Someone goes missing, some odd things start happening at the park they work at and Kit is left questioning things between her and her husband Mitch and the park’s history. Although, I don’t think Kit was ready for the truth when she discovered it.

I liked this book and it was a fun read. All of the characters held their own and Kit’s feelings and emotions definitely made me wonder how I would react in her situation.

Can be read in KU – https://amzn.to/3UN8TPo

#review #thriller #standalone Middle of the Night by: Riley Sager

In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood.

The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.

Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul de sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?

The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed monsters roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.

The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199026522-middle-of-the-night

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Middle-Night-Novel-Riley-Sager/dp/0593472373/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7hc2FEAY4twFW84IePiiRxGe_x3qO-IVM37k5G6PrVxJHcrBWyMvLcyXVxvp1QIQYFjmAR163IVOM6v1UgzcKEZIlw-DhQWPwLQg5Aj_FKk4QtYgz7EQpWZPMYbDrXbFLNKxFiYCeD4cR3SXn5RNcMKXDiQZdspo3oGuRQI6wgV-X4m6unmIXCSASSj2pS700jw_2xpFsqwRLMeYRG0A4C3rczOt5edd12NimU_nsx4w4lrBogCbt17T3_mO-mG0S4ROhCD2ZBuFmgdxLEcC96qlM6LJRivTthsu0-XVMSM.VIfaMGYCc8Mc6k5Dl8kldqDQwKgWSmzxmG0n4nJ6q-4&qid=1752752816&sr=8-5

Review by Twinsie Dee

i bought this book and this is my honest review

Ethan was having a normal camp out with his best friend Billy, but when Ethan woke up there was a slash in the tent and Billy was gone nowhere to be found. Thirty years later, still no idea why he didn’t get taken with Billy, Ethan is now back in his childhood home with so many flashbacks and questions now coming back to him. but when Ethan starts having odd things start happening to him that where things between him and Billy, Ethan starts wondering if Billy is trying to tell him something they never found out if he was killed or not, so Ethan just can’t let this slip passed him. Can Ethan remember anything all these years later to help his friend find some peace, what will he do to get those last pieces to this puzzle together and find out what exactly happened all those years ago to his best friend. this book will keep you guessing till the very last page and you won’t see what actually happened coming.

 

Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, most recently Middle of the Night and The Only One Left. His books have been published in over 35 countries, with more than 3 million copies sold worldwide. A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

 

#Review – App by Rayne Havok

Salem logs on to her favorite app. Her and Kyle are a match. The night starts out fun, with both of them eager to take things further.

The next morning, however, Salem wakes with no recollection of the evening.

Salem joins a dating app that is used for a one night thing only. Those are the rules. No commitments or anything. Just some fun. She comes across Kyle’s profile and decides to choose him for her fun. They meet up and go on a date. But the night doesn’t exactly go as planned. Or does it? She wakes up with no memory of the night before but ends up getting proof of what happened. There’s a nice little twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting. This story is a short, fun read that proves that they do in fact have an app for anything. 

Can be read in KU – https://amzn.to/3W91PgQ

#Review – Writer’s Block: How a desperate search for inspiration went terribly wrong by Geoff A. Wilson

A psychological short story by the author of ‘Depravity’, ‘The dream’, ‘Meltdown’, ‘The machine’ and ‘(Un)happy Christmas’.

Ross Stubbard is a failed, angry, and depressed writer who struggles to find inspiration for his next book. One night a strange apparition stands by his bedside – an apparition that embodies Ross’s ghostly alter ego. The apparition urges Ross to write a short story. At first, working with the apparition helps Ross to rediscover his lost writing skills, get him out of his writer’s block, and to develop a gripping story. But then what his alter ego suggests takes on a much darker hue and urges Ross to write a tale of darkness and despair based on himself and his own failed life.

The apparition unlocks a Pandora’s box of Ross’s suppressed emotions and memories where accounts of his deep depression intermix with his fear of alcoholism, where the abuse he has metered out on his wife and kids bleeds into narratives about his darkest suicidal thoughts, and where memories of wanting to hurt people and his readers, who have so selfishly abandoned him, intertwine with his darkest visions of extreme violence and murder.

Too late, Ross realises that his alter ego has become his puppet master, guiding him down a path of self-destruction. The apparition has made him slip further into the abyss, forcing him to lose his grip on reality, urging him to re-enact the horrors he has written, to make the story a reality. The failed, angry, and depressed author, has himself become the embodiment of the darkness he has conjured up in his own, final, story. He, who has sought solace in the cold embrace of his alter ego’s story writing, has unwittingly become the protagonist of his own macabre masterpiece, a story of a man consumed by his own demons, and a cautionary tale of the perilous path that lies at the intersection of creativity and madness.

Oh this one is creepy and disturbing. Especially since I’m an author as well. 

We meet Ross who is a failed author and tries so desperately to find his words again. He looks to an unknown source for inspiration and while it helps him get the words down, he slowly slips into insanity as a result. 

Can be read in KU – https://amzn.to/40jGXX2

#Review – We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Get Out meets Parasite in this eerily haunting debut and Reddit hit—soon to be a Netflix original movie starring Blake Lively—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit.

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, uncanny and inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

My favourite horror author, Mique Watson, posted about this book and said how it was the scariest thing he’s ever read. So I dropped everything and grabbed this book. I’ve gone in completely blind, so I have no idea what’s going on and I’ll write my review as I read this book.

10% in – I have no idea what’s going on but I feel like something really bad is going to happen. Eve is home alone and is waiting for her girlfriend, Charlie, to get home but this random family shows up. Thomas, the father, said he used to live there. Something is off about this whole situation.

20% in – What is even going on? Charlie is finally home and is acting like nothing is strange about this family showing up. She’s the type to give people the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming right away that they’re horrible or evil. Jenny, the youngest child in the random family, decided to play hide and seek in the basement and is hiding out there. Apparently, just letting her come out on her own is a thing.

30% in – Ok this is getting creepier. Also, something happened and I kept thinking that there’s no way my husband would tell me that he would deal with it in the morning and for me to go to sleep. Like, no way at all.

40% in – I still have no idea what’s going on. I have so many questions. Like what does this family want and why the heck won’t they leave?

50% – I think I’m going to be saying that I have no idea what’s going on until the end of this book. Something is definitely off. With the family. With the neighbor. With the random man living in a rundown shack in the middle of the woods. Everything is off.

60% in – I’m wondering if it’s something having to do with the house.

70% in – I have theories but they’re probably all wrong.

80% – 100% in – Yup, my theories were all wrong.

This book was so good. Like beyond good. My mind is reeling and I have no words, so thankfully I wrote this as I read. I didn’t now what was true or not by the end of the book and it was so well written. I think this is the author’s debut as well? Either way, it was chef’s kiss and I’ll definitely be checking out more by this author.

One click here

Twinsie Dee top 5 January- June #ya #thriller #romcom #rh

GOODREADS- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211301664-once-upon-a-paperback

AMAZON- https://amzn.to/3UqJBHb

Going home isn’t easy.

Finding my comatose aunt deep in debt is harder.

What really sucks, though, is cleaning up the mess she’s made of her finances while living next to the enemy I moved away from.

He’s loathsome. Always wrong. And still an arrogant jerk like he was in high school.

I’ve got two weeks to turn in my aunt’s expected manuscript to her publisher and hope it helps with the money issue.

The catch?

She never wrote it. There is no book. Unless I try to save the day and write it on a deadline.

So, really, how hard can it be to whip up a paperback about falling in love…while tolerating a sexy man who doesn’t believe in it?

the last thing Ava wanted to do was be driving back home but here she was heading to her aunts, as she was now jobless, homeless and found out her boyfriend wasn’t just hers. Life up in flames and on the way home she gets a call that her aunt was in an accident and in critical condition. But she’s alive and can fight to get better. having to find any kind of medicine or proof of insurance, Ava was now in way over her head then she ever imagined she would be coming back home. Gage the jock that was an ass to nerdy Ava back in high school found out that she was next door when her broom met his nuts and fresh thigh tattoo, these two will butt heads and have all the sexual tension between them but will they give each other the shot they secretly want or continue to throw gasoline on the fire. Oh, and on top of everything else she now needs to write her aunt’s new romance novel, so she doesn’t get in trouble and have to pay back the publishing company the advance they gave her aunt. Ava’s world is getting flipped upside down rather she’s ready for it or not. OMG great rom-com perfect banter and the AC needs to be cranked for some of those hot and spicy I hate you moments. this is a fast pace read i couldn’t stop AMAZING….

GOODREADS- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87375990-protect-me-not

AMAZON- https://amzn.to/3xFDLJ8

At Fairview-Teller High, light mixes with dark. Good with evil. And heroes with villains. But there’s a reason students call it Fairy Tale High. They’ll get their happily ever after– even if they have to fight for it.

Popular girl Jessa is caught off guard when the school bad boy—the guy she hates—moves into her house temporarily.
Not knowing how her friends, or the rest of the school, will react, she keeps her new housemate a secret.
Though Jessa loathes Adam for humiliating her at school last year, the more they’re around each other, the more her hatred starts to wane.
And when Adam kisses her?
She doesn’t hate it—or him.
But it does ruin everything.

Welcome to Fairy Tale High well not really but that’s what everyone calls it. You have the queens, wolves, kings and of course a beast, everyone has their roles a d they know how to stay in their own lanes. Jessa got stuck with Adam for a present or fail project and when he didn’t show up to class, she failed and weeks later she still hasn’t let it go, it’s the only time she’s failed at something, and it wasn’t even her fault. Jessa’s dad wanted her with Jay who is from a powerful family and wanted them to rule the kingdom together, but Jessa isn’t having any of that. Jessa wants her own happily ever after even if it’s with someone her dad probably won’t approve of. this queen is her own hero and maybe with the right guy by her side she can truly do good. this was such a cute great story with a plot twist you might not see coming. who will truly rule the kingdom and how will it all play out.

GOODREADS- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/191342252-the-panty-plot

AMAZON- https://amzn.to/3xLPy8U

what happens when your brother’s best friend buys your dirty panties.

Laney Wyatt has problems. She’s just been fired from her brand-new paralegal job. To make matters worse, her student loans are coming due and her medical bills from a past skiing accident are piling up.

When Laney learns about a website where she can sell her dirty panties, she initially laughs at off as a lark. But it’s no lark when she starts making hundreds of dollars a week and has more than enough to pay her medical bills and rent.

Too bad Milo Coulson, her old crush from high school and her brother’s best friend, finds her page and buys her underwear for his own naughty use…

Someone needs to take a cold shower after reading this book. Laney just got fired from her job and can barely pay her half of the rent now. her besties take her out to get drunk and they call her brother Landon and his super-hot friend Milo to come meet them at the bar. Landon and Milo will do anything to help Laney out, but Milo will do anything he’s always found her attractive, but lately it’s just hit him that she’s not just his best friend’s little sister but a woman. After a bit of a pity party Laney gets set up with a temp job with Milo’s help when one of his coworkers is about to have her baby. still needs more cash so she’s going to start selling her dirty panties online after her friend said it as a joke. Little does she know Milo is her biggest buyer after he overheard her 2 best friends talking about her profile on the site. but when both Milo and Laney finally tell each other about their feelings for each other will Milo’s obsession with her panties come between them or will it continue to be his dirty secret. Also, how will Landon take it when he finds out about his best friend and his sister. All the sexy time, talk and that time of the month are happening. You might want a fan on high to cool you off while reading this sexy, steamy book.

GOODREADS- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61381555-run-on-red

AMAZON- https://amzn.to/3Ju0VFa

A rural country road. No cell signal for miles. A terrifying game of cat-and-mouse.

By the time Laura and Olivia notice the headlights tailing them through the hills, it’s too late. What seems, at first, like a case of road rage quickly unfolds into a heart-pounding chase—and a battle for survival.

Who are the men in the truck? What do they want? And can Laura and Olivia outrun—and outsmart—them long enough to call for help, even if it means taking their chances in the hills on foot?

As their situation grows more perilous, the girls realize that the real terror has only just begun. But flight won’t save them from their pursuers. If they’re going to make it home alive, they’ll have to fight.

Olivia and Laura were on their way to a bonfire out in the middle of nowhere going on backroads, twist, turns and hills. Olivia was getting car sick in the old beat-up Volvo that Laura’s sister let them take for the night. Olivia noticed a truck following super close to them and was able to grab the plate number and text it to her bestie you know to be safe in her true crime mind you can’t be careful enough in a time like this, well this wasn’t because they were in the middle of nowhere she did it all the time so they didn’t think too much of it but she wanted them to have a lead just in case something bad were to happen to her. next thing the truck passes them and sits in wait blocking them from their path and now the girls were in their very own Dateline episode that they didn’t want to be in, with 2 mask men coming towards their car what happens next you will never see coming. What do these guys want to hurt them, or possibly kill them, what did they do. So many twists, turns, and gut retching pain that will have you on the edge of your seat till the last page.

GOODREADS- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199264768-honed-in-havoc

AMAZON- https://amzn.to/3JNuAcJ

They want an heir and I’m the only way they can get it. With or without my cooperation.I thought Cadieux Island would be a new beginning, but the privileged estates and elite college turned into a nightmare.My once tormentor and his twin brother somehow became my unlikely saviors while the grandparents, I didn’t know existed, lured me here with the promise of family have shown themselves to be the true tyrants.The Umbra’s want an heir and I’m the only way they can get it, but I’m not the same girl I was when I stepped onto this island. The Morningstar twins have honed me, sharpened me into something my family will never see coming. Honed in Havoc is the final book in the Corrupt Credence series. A dark college romance with mature content for adult readers.

With the Umbra’s having kidnapped Nova, Lucian and Nox are on a mission to get her back and never let her out of their sights again. When 7 students die tragically Nova is allowed to leave the house with her captures, I mean grandparents to attend the memorial. Her heart breaks when Lucian and Nox barely look at her, but little does she know that’s all a part of their plan. 1 gps tracker placed and unknown Lucian is ready to get his lam back at all costs and who knows how much blood will be shed. OMFG this book WOW, swoon, makes you all hot and bothered, and have all the feels the Morningstar twins are so perfectly written Nova is definitely one lucky lady.

#review #thriller #standalone Run on Red by Noelle W. Ihli


A rural country road. No cell signal for miles. A terrifying game of cat-and-mouse.

By the time Laura and Olivia notice the headlights tailing them through the hills, it’s too late. What seems, at first, like a case of road rage quickly unfolds into a heart-pounding chase—and a battle for survival.

Who are the men in the truck? What do they want? And can Laura and Olivia outrun—and outsmart—them long enough to call for help, even if it means taking their chances in the hills on foot?

As their situation grows more perilous, the girls realize that the real terror has only just begun. But flight won’t save them from their pursuers. If they’re going to make it home alive, they’ll have to fight.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61381555-run-on-red

Amazon  https://amzn.to/3HDUQVA

Review by Twinsie Dee

i bought this book and here is my honest review

Olivia and Laura were on their way to a bonfire out in the middle of nowhere going on backroads, twist, turns and hills. Olivia was getting car sick in the old beat-up Volvo that Laura’s sister let them take for the night. Olivia noticed a truck following super close to them and was able to grab the plate number and text it to her bestie you know to be safe in her true crime mind you can’t be careful enough in a time like this, well this wasn’t because they were in the middle of nowhere she did it all the time so they didn’t think too much of it but she wanted them to have a lead just in case something bad were to happen to her. next thing the truck passes them and sits in wait blocking them from their path and now the girls were in their very own Dateline episode that they didn’t want to be in, with 2 mask men coming towards their car what happens next you will never see coming. What do these guys want to hurt them, or possibly kill them, what did they do. So many twists, turns, and gut retching pain that will have you on the edge of your seat till the last page.

Noelle’s two great passions are murder and horses (separately, never together).

She lives in Idaho with her husband, two sons, and two cats. When she’s not plotting her next thriller, she’s scaring herself with true-crime documentaries or going for a trail ride in the foothills (with her trusty pepper spray).

#Review – Too Late by Colleen Hoover

The instant #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller, a story about a woman caught in a dangerous web of obsessive love, trying to find a way out before it’s too late… this new, updated edition is a “barn-burner” (New York Post) and Colleen Hoover’s darkest romantic thriller since Verity.

Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.

When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan’s surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way.

No one except Carter.

Together, Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it’s too late…

This book…wow.

So first thing, I have to point out that I love love love that the chapters were short. As a reader, I struggle with the longer chapters because I find that I get distracted. Thank you, Colleen, for that!

Now for the review:

We meet Sloan who’s strong, fiesty and has lived a hard life.

We then meet Carter who is your cinnamon roll type of hero. He’s super sweet, gentle, but is savage when his girl is hurt or is in danger.

This book is about Sloan and Carter and what they go through to be together. There were parts of the book where I actually wasn’t sure if this story had an HEA or not. You’ll have to read to find out by the way.

The book is also written in three POVs. Sloan, Carter and Asa’s. I have to say that as a lover of villains, I absolutely loved Asa and his twisted brain. My heart hurt for him and what he went through as a child and how he just wanted to be loved. Even though his views were messed up as a result of how he was raised, he loved Sloan. Hard. Will that love cost him everything in the end?

Colleen Hoover’s darker, thriller books, are my favourite of hers. Verity is my all time favourite book of hers but I enjoyed this one as well. I hope she writes more!

#review #thriller Slashers and Secrets (Hellcrest Heights 1) by A.R. Breck

From dark romance author who brought the Blackridge Prep Series.

Secrets are meant to be buried, until they aren’t.
And Lakyn Ashford has the biggest secret of all.
She thought she could get away with it.
She should’ve known better.
I’d never allow her to escape so easily.
There is nothing more enjoyable than witnessing her crumble as I taunt her, trick her, and toy with her sanity.
Watching her fall apart is a game I’m destined to win.
I take my time with her, picking her apart, piece by piece, until she’s at my mercy.
The smile behind my mask grows as she fears the slasher in Hellcrest Heights.
She pretends to be afraid of me, but at night, she falls to her knees as she bends to my will.
And I have only just begun.
I know Lakyn Ashford’s biggest secret.
It’s me.

Slashers & Secrets is a full-length novel and book one in a duet. This book contains mature language, themes, and content that may not be suitable for all readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62328091-slashers-secrets

Amazon https://amzn.to/3nFCMUl

Review by Twinsie Dee

i bought this book and here is my honest review

holy poop balls, this book had me on my toes and guessing till the very end well until the to be continued. Lakyn and her friends are always in the spotlight with how all of their parents are in politics, so in hinds’ sight they have to have the perfect life but behind the curtains they all have their secrets and when the boys have a very protective nature over the girls no one is allowed to touch them. Well Lakyn didn’t care and was wanting to hook up with a local bad boy and well that didn’t sit well with her guys. After finding out somethings her fling was now no longer breathing. when they didn’t cover it up very well Lakyn’s parents shipped her off for a year, and didn’t tell anyone where she was. once back in Hellcrest crazy things have happen more murders a crazy masked slasher and he isn’t slowing down. will Lakyn and her friends figure out who is killing people while keeping their secrets in the past or will they all be exposed.

USA Today Bestselling Author A.R. Breck lives in Minnesota with her two children and two dogs. Socially introverted and slightly sarcastic, she enjoys watching horror movies and reading romance novels. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys road tripping with her family around the country. She writes primarily dark and edgy romance books with a touch of suspense.

#Review – Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

Allegedly

Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home.

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?

Goodreads

Review by Twinsie Kelly

Whoa! Holy what the heck did I just read?! I have the worst (best) book hangover! A friend of mine read this and immediately recommended the book to everyone. She said the best way to go in was completely blind. Okay, I’ll bite. I purchase the book without reading the blurb on the back, I have no clue who this author is, and did not check out any of the reviews. I highly suggest doing the same, you won’t regret it. Now, if you refuse to go in blind, please continue on and I’ll tell you a little about the story.

This story is about Mary, who is now 16, but at age 9 was convicted of murdering an infant. The story dives deep into the life she has led leading up to this point. In jail, mostly in solitaire because no one knew what to do with such a young murder. She experienced mental and physical abuse…this will make you cringe. She is trying to survive. She is now in a group home and ends up getting pregnant by Ted. He is another group home convict. Mary is truly trying to make something for herself and with some help she starts advocating for herself. She is smart and wants to keep her baby, but she also must literally watch out for her life while living in the group home. A necessary evil. Some of the people in her life are incredibly terrible, but some are really genuine. The hardest part is trying to figure out exactly who you can trust. I went through most of this story just knowing that she was going to win but then you start to feel the doom and gloom. Then, all of a sudden, this crazy curve ball comes flying from out in left field and I sat here like, I can’t believe that just happened. But then the end actually happens, and I just sat there trying to comprehend what I just read. Like, did that just happen? Yeah, that did just happen…OMG! The twist at the end made my head spin!

Author Logo

Tiffany D. Jackson is a TV professional by day, novelist by night, awkward black girl 24/7. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film from Howard University and her Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School University. A Brooklyn native, she is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves most likely multitasking.