Monthly Archives: March 2024

Book Review: Tiny Threads

21 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by in Book Reviews, Books, California, Fiction, Horror, Lilliam Rivera, Netgalley, supernatural, Tiny Threads

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To be published: September 24, 2024

I have to admit that halfway through this book I felt like I was watching a trainwreck in slow motion as Samara began to spiral more and more out of control. But it turns out that she absolutely needed to do so in order to get her to a place where she both heal and be healed. I don’t know what working in the world of high-power fashion is like, but I imagine as with everything, one does not become famous or make a lot of money with oppressing someone. And despite just how very aware we are of those oppressions these in this day and age, we still can’t seem to fix the system. I love the way Rivera uses supernatural suspense to further open Samara’s eyes and the alcohol she consumes to numb those nightmares only serves to break her down instead. An excellent read!

Lilliam Rivera

GoodReads says:

In this gorgeously sinister novel of supernatural suspense, a young woman gets her dream job working for a famous designer—and discovers the dark side of the glamorous world of fashion. 

Fashion-obsessed Samara finally has the life she’s always dreamed A high-powered job with legendary designer Antonio Mota. A new home in sunny California, far away from those drab Jersey winters. And an intriguing love interest, Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota’s fashion line. But it’s not long before Samara’s dream life begins to turn into a living nightmare as Mota’s big fashion show approaches and the pressure on her turns crushing. Perhaps that’s why she begins hearing voices in her room at night—and seeing strange things that can’t be explained away by stress or anxiety or the number of drinks she’s been consuming. And it may not be just Samara imagining things as her psyche unravels, because she soon discovers hints that her new city—and the House of Mota—may be built on a foundation of secrets and lies. Now Samara must uncover what hideous truths lurk in the shadows of this illusory world of glamour and beauty before those shadows claim her.

Book Review: Society of Lies

12 Tuesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, Lauren Ling Brown, murder, mystery, Netgalley, Society of Lies, Suspense

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Available August 13, 2024

Well, I didn’t see that coming. Oh, the amazing things people will do to protect the lives they are living or desire to live. But there is always karma to deal with in the end. No spoilers but this book is more than just a murder mystery—it’s about privilege and greed and ethics and racism and love and friendship, as well, all in the context of one of the Ivy League schools—Princeton. Ivy League schools are changing but they certainly are renowned for their privilege, and therefore, racism. Also, there are some wonderfully drawn characters and great dialogue. All in all, a wonderful debut novel from the editor of numerous documentary film and television projects for HBO, Netflix, and Disney, among others.

Lauren Ling Brown

GoodReads says:

When a young woman is found dead on her college campus, her sister doesn’t believe it was an accident—and her search for answers leads her closer to home than she ever would have imagined in this thrilling debut novel from an exciting new talent.

Maya can’t wait to return to Princeton for Reunions—it’s been a decade since she graduated, but she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her college days. And this year is even more special because her little sister, Naomi, is graduating.

But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she gets a call no one ever wants—Naomi is dead. The police are saying it’s an accident, but Maya suspects there is more to the story than they are letting on.

As Maya pieces together the months leading up to her sister’s death, she starts to realize how much Naomi hid from her. Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus—the same one Maya belonged to—despite Maya’s warnings. And if she had to guess, she’d say Naomi was also tapped for the secret society within it.

The more Maya uncovers, the more terrified she becomes that Naomi’s decision to follow in her footsteps might have been what got her killed. Because Maya’s time at Princeton wasn’t as wonderful as she always pretended it was—after all, her sister wasn’t the first young woman to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past…and to the secrets she’s kept all these years.

 

Book Review: Thirst

08 Friday Mar 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Marina Yuszczuk, Netgalley, Thirst, vampire hunters, vampires

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Having written my own somewhat different take on the vampire genre in my novel, Redemption, I was eager to see what Marina Yuszczuk’s take on genre would be. It was a very enjoyable read. Her slow, gothic, first-person narrative style is entertaining, and she takes vampirism to a current, very nowtro place, including some LGBTQIAP+ elements. I enjoyed reading about a vampire in both old and current Buenos Aires as it is somewhere I am not familiar with. The combination of Buenos Aires and its Recoleta Cemetery along with the history of the town and vampires along with a young mother/journalist who is also dealing with the impending death of her mother seemed unbeatable to me. The two stories it tells are good—one from the viewpoint of the vampire, the other from the grieving young mother—and when they come together it is a tremendous ending.

GoodReads says:

Across two different time periods, two women confront fear, loneliness, mortality, and a haunting yearning that will not let them rest. A breakout, genre-blurring novel from one of the most exciting new voices of Latin America’s feminist Gothic.

It is the twilight of Europe’s bloody bacchanals, of murder and feasting without end. In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives from Europe to the coast of Buenos Aires and, for the second time in her life, watches as villages transform into a cosmopolitan city, one that will soon be ravaged by yellow fever. She must adapt, intermingle with humans, and be discreet.

In present-day Buenos Aires, a woman finds herself at an impasse as she grapples with her mother’s terminal illness and her own relationship with motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire in a cemetery, something ignites within the two women—and they cross a threshold from which there’s no turning back.

With echoes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and written in the vein of feminist Gothic writers like Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and Carmen Maria Machado, Thirst plays with the boundaries of genre while exploring the limits of female agency, the consuming power of desire, and the fragile vitality of even the most immortal of creatures.

Book Review: I Am Rome

07 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by in Book Reviews, Book Trailer, Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, history, Netgalley

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When the editor from Ballantine Books asked me to read, I Am Rome (Roma Soy Yo), because I had enjoyed The Tainted Cup so much, I was leery. It certainly wouldn’t have been a normal pick for me. But I found myself really enjoying it! Despite the naysayers who say it isn’t factual enough, I learned a lot about Rome and Julius Caesar and many of the other characters in the novel as I was constantly Googling them as I read. So, the book was more than real enough for me. Also, it was a compelling read with plenty of drama. I normally don’t like reading about battles and courtroom scenes, but Posteguillo managed to make those parts interesting to me, as well. Julius Caesar is only twenty-three when this book ends so he has another thirty-three to go before he is assassinated. I am looking forward to reading the translation of Maldita Roma, the continuing saga of Julius Caesar.

Below find an mp4 from the publisher:

I AM ROME

GoodReads says:

The runaway international bestseller–part sweeping historical epic, part legal thriller–following the trial that shaped the life of the young Julius Caesar and gave root to an immortal legacy.

Every legend has a beginning.

Rome, 77 B.C. Senator Dolabella, known for using violence against anyone who opposes him, is going on trial for corruption and has already hired the best lawyers and even bought the jury. No man dares accept the role of prosecutor–until, against all odds, an unknown twenty-three-year-old steps out to lead the case, defend the people of Rome, and defy the power of the elite class. This lawyer’s name is Gaius Julius Caesar.

Masterfully combining exhaustive historical rigor with extraordinary narrative skills, Santiago Posteguillo shows us the man behind the myth of Caesar as never before, taking us to the dangerous streets of Rome where the Senate’s henchmen lurk on every corner, submerging us in the thick of battle, and letting us live the great love story of Julius Caesar and his wife, Cornelia.

After Julius Caesar, the world was never the same. I Am Rome tells the tale of the early events that shaped this extraordinary man’s fate–and changed the course of history itself.

Below is short video with the author, Santiago Posteguillo, talking about the book:

I AM ROME author video

Book Review: The Bad Ones

04 Monday Mar 2024

Posted by in Book Reviews, Books, Death, Horror, Melissa Albert, murder, mystery, Netgalley, supernatural, The Bad Ones, Young Adult

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First, I must say that I really love Melissa Albert’s writing style. It reeled me in right away. And what an imagination! I loved the idea, and I loved the slow revealing of the meaning behind what was thought of as an innocent childhood jump rope rhyme one that had a much deeper and darker genesis—kind of like most nursery rhymes and fairy tales!

When her best and only true friend goes missing along with three other people, Nora finds herself traveling a twisted and rocky path to find out what happened, a path that takes her to some very dark and scary places. Albert’s characters are well drawn, the tale has an intriguing plot, and there is more than one surprise in this wonderful YA book.

GoodReads says:

Goddess, goddess, count to five
In the morning, who’s alive?

In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.

Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local folklore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games…

An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, THE BAD ONES is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief.

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