Category Archives: Part of a Series

Mystery, Part of a Series, Review, YA

#review #mystery #YA #seriesstarter A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth…?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40916679-a-good-girl-s-guide-to-murder

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Girls-Guide-Murder/dp/1984896369/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

i bought this book and here is my honest review

Pippa is a rule follower, overachiever, and one that always gets her homework done early. when she has a assignment to do she chooses to pick the missing persons case of a local girl that happened five years before. lots of secrets come to light and the missing girl’s boyfriend was blamed for her disappearance and supposed murder but her body was never found. Pippa is bound and determined to find the real answers and possibly find the real killer. but when the real killer knows Pippa is on the right track to unmask them, she is getting threating notes and is aware that no matter where she is they can get to her.

Holly Jackson started writing stories from a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel aged fifteen. She lives in London and aside from reading and writing, she enjoys playing video games and watching true crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is her first novel.

Audio Book, Dragons, Novella, Part of a Series, Review, short story

#review #audiobook #dragons Threshing Day (Empyrean 3.5) by Rebecca Yarros Narrated by Justis Bolding, Jake Bordeaux, Chase Brown, Frankie Corzo, Giordan Diaz, Teddy Hamilton, Laura Knight Keating, Zion Jang, Nick Mills, Robb Moriera, James Aaron Oh, Anthony Palmini, John Skelley, Jasmin Walker

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Welcome to Threshing Day, the brutal, high-stakes trial where would-be riders at Basgiath War College fight to earn the bond of a dragon or die trying. Amid ruthless competition and dragon fire, these thirteen cadets must survive a battlefield where desperate rivals will do anything to gain an advantage and dragons decide one’s ultimate fate—and where a single choice can forge a rider … or destroy them.

Xaden Riorson, the powerful leader. Rhiannon Matthias, the clever friend. Dain Aetos, the dutiful rule-follower. Liam Mairi, the kindhearted protector. Ridoc Gamlyn, the jokester. Sawyer Henrick, the underdog. Garrick Tavis, the dependable aide. Imogen Cardulo, the impulsive fighter. Bodhi Durran, the second-in-command. Mira Sorrengail, the fearless rider. Brennan Sorrengail, the brilliant tactician. Aaric Graycastle, the restless royal. Sloane Mairi, the determined sister.

On Threshing Day, there’s only one rule: don’t die.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/251172932-threshing-day

https://www.amazon.com/Threshing-Day-Wing-Claw-Collection/dp/B0GYQC35CM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ANQH57Y8CXDM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EQAe3L9Y-u0aj4VesIVHK_8-QryN8YpgAJqe41g5NSD3Uifta34eb9w2Wca9nkqKAki5vij0-7jW1tvcm6pzHhPCW94X1VGSBVA_9QSuQHjSQlHpddy-meCLX8Nd8TFcnruNOf59f3ygqYMOSUDNTLryrhDHevkT7NgnIxVjc3Q7OqoMNpCop9GDhBQ1fCo9emTjSvo93Y7ThJwO5tChJtzQFUbTjlGJpaDVfmh1y2o.9KsE8aekFrfECetQuJhJC3qC200p6gsOutaL6kDsYcE&dib_tag=se&keywords=threshing+day&qid=1791116793&sprefix=thres%2Caps%2C220&sr=8-1

i bought this book and here is my honest review

omg these 13 short stories were ones i never knew i needed. Back at our favorite war college Basgiath we are getting the characters pov on how they bonded with there dragons that we have come to love and treasure. more secrets, more tears, and finding out this is the only book in the series we can trust is mind blowing. i love this world and need more

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.

Age Gap, Audio Book, Cartel/Mafia, Part of a Series, Review

#review #audiobook Bad Bishop (Society of Villains 1) by L.J. Shen narrated by Lucy Rivers and Corvin King

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He’s Deathless. She’s trying to find a reason to live.

Lila


My innocence was ripped from me one fateful night under the starless sky. Resulting in an unwanted teenage pregnancy and a secret the Camorra must bury. My father decided to hand me off to the highest bidder. The lucky winner? Tiernan Callaghan, psychopath extraordinaire. The Irish mafia prince wants me for all the wrong reasons. Alliance. Money. Prestige. War. I am but a pawn in his twisted game. The man who sits on a throne of his enemies’ skulls thinks I’m a weakling. Little does he know, in this chess game, the underdog wins. Because the thing about bad bishops? They protect good pawns.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/232477281-bad-bishop

https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Bishop-Society-Villains-Book/dp/B0FNFCP6SH/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BnyJ_Uueo-yOw6V6LoCCAmWptGmUcanfGwNwLnljgOjGRoRErXF2FI8RapuDZkHQvktt9ny6UX5oHfKHqw3EB2rK5C-19YJnK79l3BPUlDG2yIJRlvh2d6dgI4Gv2DlOO9OT9ii8eplJrp_T4p2X_PmKp5PE_SE0GvAKAM9SBm2L_7g8AZmPCBgQv0GXuPsMcZxh3tkXPN3MgZUY7jA3JOIBPrJFXxFhGi_dZeYrhglwTaTMFjyKo7ezBMeypgDNdDMFsY43ip6vEDKimJbz7XvSt-TxwxWHJqDPyf48UzI.eg7WjZXzEGsuXKeMFHYWvTL8sikymF5HmklM8xqMMCI&qid=1789655221&sr=8-13-spons

i bought this audio book and here is my honest review 

when a family secret gets out after the daughter gets her innocence taken away her father sells her to the highest bidder and when the family has to now deal with him and the baby that came from their daughters’ rape. there will be so much blood shed than ever before. so many secrets that just start pouring out into the open. how will they all handle it when everything is finally out of the closet. 

L.J. Shen is a New York Times, USA Today, WSJ, Washington Post and #1 Amazon Kindle Store bestselling author of contemporary romance books.

She writes angsty books, unredeemable anti-heroes who are in Bill Gates’s tax bracket, and sassy heroines who bring them to their knees (for more reasons than one).

Crime Fiction, Kindle Unlimited, Part of a Series, Thriller

#Review – The Summer Children (The Collector 3) by Dot Hutchison

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This FBI agent has come to expect almost anything―just not this…

When Agent Mercedes Ramirez finds an abused young boy on her porch, covered in blood and clutching a teddy bear, she has no idea that this is just the beginning. He tells her a chilling tale: an angel killed his parents and then brought him here so Mercedes could keep him safe.

His parents weren’t just murdered. It was a slaughter―a rage kill like no one on the Crimes Against Children team had seen before. But they’re going to see it again. An avenging angel is meting out savage justice, and she’s far from through.

One by one, more children arrive at Mercedes’s door with the same horror story. Each one a traumatized survivor of an abusive home. Each one chafing at Mercedes’s own scars from the past. And each one taking its toll on her life and career.

Now, as the investigation draws her deeper into the dark, Mercedes is beginning to fear that if this case doesn’t destroy her, her memories might.

First I just want to say that this book is my favourite of the series. Hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year. I usually choose the first book in a series as my favourite but not this time. Don’t think this has ever happened to me before either.

I’m also really liking that each book is from a different agent’s point of view. This one is in Mercedes’ POV and even when I finished the first chapter only, I had a feeling this was going to a doozy and man was I right.

My first thought was, who the heck are these kids that keep showing up at her door? Are they from one of the foster homes she stayed at? WHO ARE THEY??

Right away I wasn’t a fan of Mercedes’ girlfriend. She knows what Mercedes does for a living and yet, she was not supportive at all and made it seem like Mercedes asked for this crap to happen to her.

As we dive deeper into these random children showing up at Mercedes door, we learn that it’s not so random and that there’s a purpose. An angel is saving them but why? Who is this angel?

I don’t want to give too much away but man, this book was SO good. I do suggest starting with the first book though. Because each book is about a different agent and you learn more about their lives, their friendships with each other and so on. I also love that you see Inara, Bliss and Priya quite often. I just love this whole family dynamic.

My reader heart is so full right now.

Read in KU – https://amzn.to/3TiTedp

2nd Chance, Dystopian, Part of a Series, Review, Zombie

#Review #Zombies – Chaotic Undead (Stay Dead Book 5) by L.C. Mortimer

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Zombies never stay dead.

The apocalypse wasn’t supposed to be like this.

It wasn’t supposed to tear away everything they loved, everything they hoped for, everything they dreamed about.

But it did.

Winter, Isaiah, Greta, and Luke find themselves with a broken-down truck in the dead of night. They’ve made it to a small-town that doesn’t just have zombies – it has survivors, too.

But will the mysterious strangers holed up at the elementary school be helpful or harmful?

And how will they escape the horde that surrounds the house they’re hiding in?

Chaotic Undead is the fifth book in the Stay Dead series and should be read in order.

 

GOODREADS

 

AMAZON

 

Twinsie Kelly’s Review

I am crazy for a great zombie book/series and absolutely have loved this series. However, this book left me a tad wanting. I am giving it 4 stars because the storyline is still great, but I felt like there were a couple holes for me. But I am not the author and maybe it is not how the characters were speaking to the author or what the characters wanted at the time of the story. What I do love is that the four of them are still close and are realizing that they are more of a family now, rather than just friends or just survivors that are surviving together. They really have weathered some crazy storms and zombie hordes, but I think their journey is really just getting started. Stay tuned for another review!

 

L. C. Mortimer

L.C. Mortimer likes zombies, shifters, and things that go bump in the night. When she’s not busy dreaming up her next story, Mortimer can be found dancing, traveling, or curled up with a cozy mystery.

Dystopian, Part of a Series, YA, Zombie

#Review #Zombies – Fear the Undead (Stay Dead Book 4) by L.C. Mortimer

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Zombies never stay dead.

Winter has seen a lot of terrible things since the start of the apocalypse, but the trouble isn’t even close to being over.

After surviving the most horrific farmhouse filled with creepy dolls – why do those even exist? – the group continues on their journey.

Then their car breaks down.

Then one of their members faces an injury.

Then they have to decide whether facing a mob of zombies is worth it to save themselves.

Winter just wishes that the dead would stay dead in Fear the Undead.

Author’s note: this is the fourth book in the Stay Dead series and should be read in order.

 

Goodreads

 

AMAZON

 

Twinsie Kelly’s Review

I really enjoy this group of survivors! They are one of the most unlikely teams but they are definitely growing on each other. They are definitely in survival mode but things are slowing them down. They continue toward Kansas, trying to get Greta to her family. They all feel like they will accomplish something great if they can reunite Greta with her family but in this book, you can tell how defeated everyone is starting to feel. Luke is injured and is slowing everyone down, Greta is starting to feel slower, everyone is starting to feel some sort of doubt. While they haven’t run into a ton of zombies in this specific book, they are constantly dealing with storms, dealing with vehicles running out of gas, moving slow….They need time to heal and make a plan. The end of the world was happening and they were surviving, together! I can’t wait to join them on the next leg of their journey.

 

L. C. Mortimer profile image

L.C. Mortimer likes zombies, shifters, and things that go bump in the night. When she’s not busy dreaming up her next story, Mortimer can be found dancing, traveling, or curled up with a cozy mystery.

Cartel/Mafia, Cops/Detectives, Kidnapping, Part of a Series, Suspense, Writers on the River Attending Author

#review #partofaseries Sink Like a Stone (The Stone Chronicles 3) by Maverick Montgomery

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When justice is on the line, leave no stone unturned.

Private Investigator Jack Stone finds himself on the wrong side of the law he once swore to uphold. Trapped in a lethal game of life or death, he continues his hunt for Drac and Gino, the two men who hold the key to his destruction.
Now, in a world where every move could be his last, Jack must decide:
Will he rise to the challenge… or sink like a stone?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254904297-sink-like-a-stone

https://www.amazon.com/Sink-Like-Stone-Chronicles/dp/B0H7HZY19Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HTUIRY4NTMO5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9pcQ7DfpHyBYzeml6wFoHR7s1ZRwKkQLc_13k2hEMV2wjhQc2nwQ0hFt5Nf5WMJEHFqsJDvf8k337OjcHmkFvWI3z9PatyfKRCoUMwrRAX4jicdDHoSLSpo_XjlyLz8WCVECG07MxJrqTBOU_Jm66QM4UHyK5CJFkm2dbpn6jim0_5715XQrCTwB60pNsxhvxALX1TBp3aAu5YKLMBqSGlyzE4GJTKZxKXqWCFxqLQE.AufpSlmO12Creyai5lLocGuMvFuTx-YvFFDP1aiZfII&dib_tag=se&keywords=maverick+montgomery&qid=1787424215&sprefix=maverick+mon%2Caps%2C327&sr=8-1

i bought this book and here is my honest review

Emotional rollercoaster. Jack Stone is still on the hunt to kill the drug lords that just won’t die. And now after being kidnapped and seeing his girl and best friend betraying him Jac is now in jail under a different name fighting for his life. Will he make it out alive and get the answers he now is searching for or will he die with unanswered questions.

Maverick Montgomery lives in the Midwest with his wife of nine years and their three partners-in-crime, his two dogs, Austen and Ava, and cat, Jude. Considered a self-proclaimed gamer nerd who was holding a game controller long before he picked up a pen. a gear head at heart who can’t resist drooling over any vehicle whether it be classic or modern, Maverick grew up immersed in classic Alfred Hitchcock films, fueling his lifelong fascination with suspense and crime thrillers.

 

When he’s not writing, Maverick can be found tinkering with cars or dreaming of his next project, usually no more five in his mind at once or he can be hiding out in his man cave surrounded by comic books, stacks of video games, and story ideas waiting to be unleashed. Equal parts snark and grit, he pulls his inspiration from Dick Tracy and Punisher comics, or indulging his wife’s latest project antics while figuring out ways to avoid admitting she’s right.

Crime Fiction, Kindle Unlimited, Part of a Series, Thriller

#Review – The Roses Of May (The Collector Book 2) by Dot Hutchison

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Four months after the explosion at the Garden, a place where young women known as the Butterflies were kept captive, FBI agents Brandon Eddison, Victor Hanoverian, and Mercedes Ramirez are still entrenched in the aftermath, helping survivors in the process of adjusting to life on the outside. With winter coming to an end, the Butterflies have longer, warmer days of healing ahead. But for the agents, the impending thaw means one gruesome thing: a chilling guarantee that somewhere in the country, another young woman will turn up dead in a church with her throat slit and her body surrounded by flowers.

Priya Sravasti’s sister fell victim to the killer years ago. Now she and her mother move every few months, hoping for a new beginning. But when she ends up in the madman’s crosshairs, the hunt takes on new urgency. Only with Priya’s help can the killer be found—but will her desperate hope for closure compel her to put her very life on the line?

At 37% – I’m going to write this as I read because I have thoughts I want to get down before I forget. This one is quite different than book 1. It’s slower but not in a bad way. Just in a way that makes you think and feel things. Book 1 was intense, while this one, at 37% is just…sad and heartbreaking. Heartbreaking because Priya lost her sister and her dad, not too far apart from each other. But her sister…man. Her sister was murdered and of course, our same trio of detectives, haven’t been able to catch the bad guy.

In this book, we get more from Eddison’s point of view. Which is a nice change from book 1, when that was in Vic’s POV.

I’m still early in and I know a lot can happen with 63% left go in the book but I just wanted to say that I feel bad for Priya. Her thoughts and her grief, are intense and rightfully so. Losing your sister…I have a younger sister and I can’t imagine what I would do if something happened to her.

At 67% – I find this book much slower than book one but not in a bad way. Priya is beyond messed up over her sister and the other deaths. Even though they’re complete strangers, she can’t help but feel broken over it. I do like how this book ties into book 1. Not a lot but it gives us current events with some of the girls from book 1 and I like seeing how they’re doing now.

At 83% – I really have no idea who the bad guy is. I have theories but I’m probably totally wrong seeing as I can never predict these things.

At 100% – Now that I’m done, I had a feeling about who the bad guy was. I liked how the story ended and I also liked how we got to see more into the lives and personalities of the 3 agents.

Man, this was so good. Now it’s time for book 3. I definitely need these books in paperback.

Read in KU – https://amzn.to/4cBBUGX

Crime Fiction, Kindle Unlimited, Part of a Series, Review, Serial Killer

#Review – The Butterfly Garden (The Collector Book 1) by Dot Hutchison

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An Amazon Charts bestseller.

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.

In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

I kept hearing about this book on BookTok and have been intrigued but never picked it up until now and boy am I ever glad I gave it a chance. Was I really in the mood to invest in another series? No. Not really but after reading this one, I know I’m going to have to read the rest of the books in The Collector Series. I’ll also be writing this review in real time as I read through this book.

Part 1 – So we meet Maya and she slowly starts to reveal what she went through at The Garden. She talks about her childhood and upbringing and how her parents didn’t want her. She’s an unhappy girl and rightfully so. I don’t blame her at all really.

Two detectives are trying to find out what happened to the girls, who the killers were and the why for everything that went on. Maya isn’t overly forthcoming but piece by piece, she begins telling the agents about her time at The Garden.

We also learn that The Gardner has butterflies tattooed on each of his girls and gives them names. Not sure why yet. The agents think Maya may be a part of this but again, I don’t know why. I’m very intrigued and can’t wait to read more. Now onto part 2.

One thing I want to add is that I like the way the author gently writes about the abuse scenes. You know what’s happening but it’s not in great detail. Although, I’m not sure if that’s worse cause my imagination doesn’t help any.

Part 2 – I am really liking this book. I like that one part is written in 3rd person and then Maya’s part is written in 1st. It’s unique and I’m quite enjoying it. We’re still learning about Maya and the girls and what they went through at the hands of The Gardener. His oldest son, Avery, is evil and his youngest son, Desmond, is honestly not much better but in different ways.

So I’m reading and reading and thinking certain scenes aren’t that bad (I’m an extreme horror junky, so nothing can top that really) and then BAM. Holy moly. Avery is a MONSTER.

Part 3 – Last part of the book and I am so not ready for the things to come. Maybe Desmond can help but I have a feeling something goes horribly wrong.

I finished the book and I’m left here with a heavy heart but man, was this book ever good. So so good.

But I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to look at butterflies the same way again.

Read in Kindle Unlimited – https://amzn.to/4xeWgyg

Aliens, Demons, Dragons, Fae, Fantasy, Military, Paranormal, Part of a Series, Review, Sci Fi, Shifters, Suspense, Thriller, Vampire, Werewolf, Witches

#Review #Audiobook – Whisper in the Wind (The Fetch Phillips Novels) Book 4 by Luke Arnold

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The fourth installment of Luke Arnold’s Fetch Phillips series, Whisper in the Wind, takes readers to a very different Sunder City. One where government corruption is rampant and tensions are rising.

Fetch is done being a hero. Once a detective, all he wants now is to run his cafe in peace. Sunder City is still recovering from the sudden and violent end of magic, and if one man can’t solve all its problems, he can at least stop some people going hungry. But when a kid on the run shelters in Fetch’s cafe, and a chain of gruesome murders begins among Sunder’s high and mighty, trouble is brought to Fetch’s door.

There’s a word whispered on the wind, and that word is revolution…

 

Goodreads

 

Amazon

Chirp

 

Twinsie Kelly’s Review

The Fetch Phillips Novels have become one of my top favorite series ever! For me, by the time an author reaches the 4th book and beyond, I start to lose interest because what more can you really do with a story? Things start to repeat or things get really far fetched and aren’t enjoyable anymore. That is the furthest thing for this series. I am as hooked to Whisper in the Wind as I was to the first book as I was to the second and third. I also continue to recommend listening to the audio as opposed to reading it. Mr. Arnold does an incredible job with Fetch!

I wasn’t really sure how this was going to pan out because Fetch is more or less trying to “give up” by staying low and just focusing on him and working Georgio’s café. He is controlling what he can control, himself and serving good coffee and food. However, Fetch can’t help it when he sees some teens in trouble because he sees himself. He puts his neck out on the line for them but then ends up being a sort of safe haven for the misfits. But hey, it gives him some purpose. While all this is happening, there is a radical that has been spewing things via propaganda and Fetch finds himself being pulled in all sorts of directions and working for everyone he swore off. I love all the new characters and all the crazy twists and turns. Just when Fetch found his place and realized what he was supposed to do, something changes and he is put on a completely different course. The ending left me with my mouth gaping open. I am anxiously waiting for book 5. Well done, Mr. Arnold, you have my full attention!

 

Luke Arnold

Luke Arnold was born in Australia and has spent the last decade acting his way around the world, playing iconic roles such as Long John Silver in the Emmy-winning Black Sails and his award-winning turn as Michael Hutchence in the INXS mini-series Never Tear Us Apart. When he isn’t performing, Luke is a screenwriter, director, novelist, and ambassador for Save the Children Australia.