The Housemaid by. Freida McFadden | Audiobook

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: (closed door)

Title: The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)

Author: Freida McFadden

Narrator: Lauryn Allman

Format: audiobook (Libby)

Pages: 329 Listening Time: approximately 10 hours

Publication Date: 4/26/22

Publisher: Bookouture

Categories: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!

Content Warning: gaslighting, torture, body horror

+ The narrator did amazing doing the voices for this story! I like how she had an accent for Millie and a different voice for Nina – it helped me distinguish the main characters.

+ I like how this story was a quick read and it is engaging too! The story starts off with Millie’s perspective. She’s the new live-in housemaid for the Winchester’s but she has a mysterious past – all we know is that she used to be in prison. Throughout the story she’s grateful to have a job and a place to live but Nina, her employer is always gaslighting her! The only person nice to her in the house is Nina’s husband Andy.

+ The second half of the story we get Nina’s perspective and I thought it was a fun twist in this mysterious and suspenseful story. The ending is unexpected but I enjoyed this story a lot.

Final Thoughts:

I wanted to read this before the movie comes out and I’m glad I listened to it as an audiobook because it was really entertaining. I like the build up, the mystery and all the suspense at the end, plus the twist!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Blackthorn by. J.T. Geissinger | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Blackthorn

Author: J.T. Geissinger

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 11/4/25

Publisher: Bramble

Categories: Dark Romance, Mystery, Paranormal, Gothic Romance, Monster Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Bramble for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

ou never forget your first love. Especially when he’s also your worst nightmare.

Twelve years ago, Maven Blackthorn fled her small hometown, leaving behind the wreckage of her mother’s suspicious death. But now, drawn back for her grandmother’s funeral, Maven steps onto Blackthorn soil once more, only to find herself thrust into a fresh nightmare: her grandmother’s body has vanished.

The Blackthorns immediately suspect the Crofts—the ruthless titans of Croft Pharmaceuticals, whose bitter blood feud with the Blackthorns has spanned generations. But when Maven comes face-to-face with Ronan Croft, the son of her mother’s suspected killer and the only man she ever loved, she discovers the forbidden passion they once shared is as alive—and dangerous—as ever.

As long-buried family secrets claw their way to the surface, betrayal lurks behind every whisper, and old vendettas ignite anew. The deeper Maven digs for answers, the more treacherous the game becomes. And the one man she can never seem to escape is hiding a truth that could burn their whole world down.

In a town where the dead won’t stay buried, is love salvation…or the deadliest game of all?

Blackthorn is a page-turning gothic romance with darker themes and scenes that may not be suitable for everyone. Please see the author’s content note at the beginning of the book.

Content Warning: violence, death, occult

+ I felt like this started good – it definitely gave dark, mysterious vibes. Maven is back home in Solstice with her two aunts, it was giving me Practical Magic vibes at first. The wealthy family in town are the Crofts and Ronan Crofts knows Maven is back and he wants her again.

+~ The back and forth romance between Ronan and Maven is tense, and at first purely sexual until we find out more about their past. Clearly he is obsessed with her and stalks her but she can’t stop her feelings for him either. It’s a forbidden romance, because Ronan’s father has told him to stay away from her – he doesn’t know why. And it’s spicy with even a monster spice scene. But there was something about the romance for a moment that made me feel uncomfortable even though it’s resolved later.

+~ There is a mystery going on in this story in that Maven is back in town for her grandmother’s funeral but her body goes missing at the funeral home. Maven sets out to do an investigation and finds out things about some of her mom (who’s passed) and about the Croft family. I don’t know why but I wasn’t immersed into the mystery as much as I was into the romance.

~ I felt like the ending was rushed and the reveals of the mystery was just dropped upon me from nowhere. I was surprised. Is there a part two? I felt like there was no build-up to that ending.

Final Thoughts:

I think this started off well, and I was invested in the romance, but I needed more of the mystery and especially needed more of a build-up to that ending. I was confused about the way it ended, it felt rushed.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

We Fell Apart by. E. Lockhart | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: We Fell Apart (We Were Liars, #3)

Author: E. Lockhart

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 11/4/25

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The invitation arrives out of the blue.

In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood.

Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary.

With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater.

And everyone here is lying.

Content Warning: dementia, death, parental neglect

I read We Were Liars when it first published in 2014 and the tv series just came out on Amazon Prime so I did watch that and it refreshed my memory! I’m glad that show aired because jumping into We Fell Apart was easy as the Sinclair family and Beechwood was fresh in my mind.

We Fell Apart takes us back to Beechwood, just as the event of We Were Liars have concluded. Matilda gets an email from the dad she never knew and he asks her to come meet him at Hidden Beach, where he lives. Matilda has had quite a life with a mom who has basically chosen boyfriends over her – to the point after her mom decides to move away again with another guy, Matilda chooses to stay with her last boyfriend, a really nice guy who doesn’t mind having Matilda around.

Matilda goes to Hidden Beach and learns about this accident that happened with the Sinclairs. She meets her half-brother, his mom, and two other guys living at the run-down house. The summer is going by great but Matilda knows something isn’t right. Where is her dad? Why is the house so run-down? Why is June (Meer, her half-brother’s mom), not taking care of the boys and the house? What is going on at Hidden Beach.

I was sucked into this world again, and honestly love the family secrets in this world the Sinclairs built. The story moves quickly and the reveal in the end is shocking. It makes you question everyone’s motives and choices they’ve made to keep the secret they have been holding. I like Matilda and how she questions what is going on at the house. Also, there is a little romance but that’s not the focus. I thought it was also interesting how June thought she was this carefree, nonconforming wife because she didn’t want to be the Tipper Sinclair kind of housewife but in the end, was trapped in her own partnership with Kingsley. I felt like there were a lot of full circles with this book.

I did think the story moved too quickly though, it felt rushed and some moments – like when Holland (a Sinclair who befriends Matilda at the start of the book) takes her in and explains all about the Sinclairs. It was a lot of telling, and info-dumping.

Final Thoughts:

I actually enjoyed this one a lot because I had just watched the show and I was brought back to this place of summer, sun, family and most of all the secrets. Matilda knows something isn’t right at Hidden Beach and the reveal is devastating for her. I did like that there was a happy ending instead of another tragic one, though there is tragedy. Overall, a good addition to the series.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

We Were Liars by. E. Lockhart ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Middle of the Night by. Riley Sager | Audiobook Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Middle of the Night

Author: Riley Sager

Format: ebook (Libby)

Pages: 376

Publication Date: 6/18/24

Categories: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Paranormal

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.

Content Warning: death, grief, insomnia

+ This is the first Riley Sager book I’ve read and I thought the narrator really did a great job bringing this story to life. I liked how it jumped from the present and to the past where we get to learn of the kids in the neighborhood and the families. The present shows a great picture of how time have past and how things have changed or stayed the same. There were a few factors in this story that made this mystery very interesting.

+ Ethan is an unreliable narrator – he is dealing with trauma from that night his best friend was taken from the tent in his backyard. Because of it he has insomnia and at times in the book think he is losing his mind. I really like how the past is set in 1994 – it was nostalgic for me and I really liked Ashley, Ethan’s babysitter, and how she always looked out for him.

+ I like the mix of paranormal, possible occult rituals, the mysterious academy behind the neighborhood and the different relationships between the guy friends trying to lead us in different directions in the story. But who killed Billy really was a mystery and one I didn’t figure out.

~ It’s a mystery so I felt like the beginning moved slow as Ethan is back in the neighborhood, facing trauma and memories of the past while thinking he was losing his mind.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook version of Middle of the Night! The story picks up more at the halfway mark and from there on, I was hooked. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: The Scammer

Author: Tiffany D. Jackson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 10/7/25

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Grief, Cult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Quill Tree Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another stunning, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, following a freshman girl whose college life is turned upside down when her roommate’s ex-convict brother moves into their dorm and starts controlling their every move.

Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends?

Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.

Content Warning: violence, mention of suicide, death, bullying, gaslighting, sexual assault

+ Tiffany D. Jackson is a must-read author for me and this one did not disappoint! What makes this story even more interesting is that this is based on a true story the author saw in the news – she makes a note of it in the beginning of the book. And it made me even more intrigued on how she would write this story.

+ Jordyn has defied her parents wishes and chose to go to Frazier, an HBCU, rather than Yale. She is Black but her parents did not raise her in the culture, and her reasoning to go to Frazier was to do just that and experience a place where she belonged and didn’t stand out according to her skin color. But Jordyn is also dealing with some heavy grief from losing her older brother to suicide. Going to Frazier is her fresh start but though college starts off fun, things start to take a very dark turn when her roommate’s brother, Devonte, who just got out of prison starts to live with them in their dorm room.

+ I didn’t know where this story was going for a minute because I couldn’t believe how Devonte suckered Jordyn and her friends into his conspiracy theories. But it happens quick because Jordyn is a broken person before meeting Devonte. He says the right things, luring these girls into conspiracy theories but it clicks – they fall for his scam fast! And seeing him create this cult, and this hive mentality, was familiar because it’s relatable to the current state of affairs in our world today.

+ Jordyn as a character did keep me on my toes because I believed her to be a smart girl and wondered why she wasn’t questioning Devonte more about the things he made them learn, wear, act, eat. The cult was getting violent too and everything is explained at the end but I thought wow, she put herself in so much danger! There is a twist in the end and I kind of figure some of it out earlier but I had to see it play out. It was definitely more than I was expecting.

+ There’s even a little romance between Jordyn and the only white boy on campus, Nick. He had an interesting background that we got to learn about once he started opening up but I liked that no matter what Jordyn was going through, he was there for her without judging. They were cute together.

~ Throughout the story, I wanted to shake some sense into Jordyn and her friends but it’s also why the story was so gripping. I had to see how at least Jordyn was going to come out of this alive. I was frightened for her and couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she kept going back to the dorm when it was scary to be there. You do have to suspend your belief because why didn’t they just kick this guy out? Also this cult happens in a matter of a few days – weeks! But these are college kids and still impressionable and wanting to belong especially when being away from home. Devonte just got into their heads, which is scary!

Final Thoughts:

I finished this one in two days because it was hard to put down! It’s based on a true story which is actually really frightening. This was a gripping story and I enjoyed the suspense, the mystery, the twist and even the romance. But you do have to suspend your belief a little (even if this is based on a true story!), because Jordyn and her friends fall into this cult mentality so fast and you think how can that be? But this stuff does happen in real life way too much unfortunately.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Weight of Blood by. Tiffany D. Jackson | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Monday’s Not Coming by. Tiffany D. Jackson | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

White Smoke by. Tiffany D. Jackson | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grown | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Coffin Moon by. Keith Rosson | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Coffin Moon

Author: Keith Rosson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 9/9/25

Publisher: Random House

Categories: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Random House for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the author of the “exciting, suspenseful, horrifying” (Stephen King) Fever House, a Vietnam veteran and his adopted niece hunt—and are hunted by—the vampire that slaughtered their family.

It’s the winter of 1975, and Portland, Oregon, is all sleet and neon. Duane Minor is back home after a tour in Vietnam, a bartender just trying to stay sober; save his marriage with his wife, Heidi; and connect with his thirteen-year-old niece, Julia, now that he’s responsible for raising her. Things aren’t easy, but Minor is scraping by.

Then a vampire walks into his bar and ruins his life.

When Minor crosses John Varley, a killer who sleeps during the day beneath loose drifts of earth and grows teeth in the light of the moon, Varley brutally retaliates by murdering Heidi, leaving Minor broken with guilt and Julia filled with rage. What’s left of their splintered family is united by only one desire: vengeance.

So begins a furious, frenzied pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. From grimy alleyways to desolate highways to snow-lashed plains, Minor and Julia are cast into the dark orbit of undead children, silver bullet casters, and the bevy of broken men transfixed by Varley’s ferocity. Everyone’s out for blood.

Gritty, unforgettable, and emotionally devastating, Coffin Moon asks what will be left of our humanity when grief transmutes into violence, when monsters wear human faces, and when our thirst for revenge eclipses everything else.

Content Warning: violence, murder, death, gore

+ What did I just read? By the way, I did not request this book. Someone from the publisher emailed me saying I might want to try out this book. It did not sound like something I wanted to read BUT I was looking for more thrillers and horror to showcase for fall. And so I downloaded this book – I’m glad I did.

+ This story is set in 1975 – and since I was born in 1978, I could already see it, how things looked back in the day. The clothes, the cars, the people, the music and even the political commentary about war – Vietnam. I did grow up watching Full Metal Jacket and Platoon – so Duane Minor was a character that was not hard to envision and picture at all. But what I love about this setting is that there are vampires in this story and it totally fits! I’ve been reading too many romantasy vampires – but these modern vampires in Coffin Moon – are killers.

+ Duane Minor is a Vietnam vet with PTSD. He and his friends have seen and done horrible things and being back home in America, they have to deal with that the best they can. That means coping with rage by drowning it in alcohol or even taking out that anger out on people. But Duane isn’t a bad man, he’s taking care of his sister-in-law’s daughter, Julia because her mother is in jail for killing her abusive dad. He doesn’t know how to be a dad, but he and his wife Heidi have done their best. I liked Duane a lot and was horrified at what he had to go through. I didn’t expect to be emotional about his predicament but I was rooting for him and Julia so hard.

+ There are a lot of themes in this book like grief, rage, and revenge which I loved. It’s not only a vampire horror book, it’s got depth.

+ This book is a wild ride. It is so gory, gruesome, and John Varley is the most villainous character I’ve ever read this year and I wanted him dead by the end of this book. I was hooked onto this book just to see if it would happen. My face was in a grimace with all the gory scenes in this book. He is a psycho vampire, a sociopath, he relishes blood, bathes in it, heady and aroused by it. I was scared no one would be able to take him down.

~ This isn’t my usual kind of book to read – yes once upon a time in high school I was in a horror phase but I only pick it up once in awhile now and usually during fall because of the vibes. So the gore was almost too much for me! I was scared of John Varley, he seemed invincible.

Final Thoughts:

I’m rating this as someone who hardly reads this genre and I have to say I loved it. It gripped me from the first chapter, and wouldn’t let go! The gore might be just a tad bit too much for me, but it made me want John Varley eliminated as much as Duane and Julia wanted him gone. I was rooting so hard for Duane and Julia. Overall, if you like your modern vampires psychotic, but with a story about grief and revenge – you will enjoy this one!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

House of Hearts by. Skyla Arndt | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: House of Hearts

Author: Skyla Arndt

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 9/2/25

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, Family Curse, Romance, Gothic

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Solving her best friend’s murder means infiltrating a secret society, resisting a forbidden love, and running from a vengeful ghost in this sophomore novel by the author of Together We Rot.

Violet Harper knows her best friend was murdered. Even if everyone else has labeled her death a “freak accident,” Vi is sure she’d been trying to tell her something right before she died. Cryptic messages about her friend’s elite boarding school, her whirlwind romance, and the mysterious secret society she was entangled in all point to a more sinister fate.

So, Violet does what no one else seems willing to do: She transfers to the same fancy school to dig into the society’s murky history and find out what really happened to her friend. She knows the truth might not be pretty, but what she doesn’t bargain for is the handsome boy at the center of it all—Calvin Lockwell, the brother of her prime suspect and descendant of the school’s founder. He’s obnoxious and privileged, and Violet can’t deny their haunting attraction. It soon becomes clear his family is hiding a dark secret that may not be of this world, and suddenly Violet’s following her friend’s doomed footsteps down the rabbit hole. Even as details emerge of a deadly curse plaguing the school, she can’t escape her true feelings for Calvin. But loving him may be the last thing she ever does.

Content Warning: violence, murder, death

+ This is a dark academia story with horror and paranormal events. The setting is a gothic academy for wealthy kids, and Violet is enrolled there through scholarship because she wants answers to her best-friend’s death. She thinks she has it figured out and blames Percy Lockwell, the Headmistress’ son, for her death but while she is at the school she finds out there is more to the story.

+ There is a family curse on the Lockwell family, and the remaining siblings Calvin and Sadie are trying to break it and also find their older brother Percy, who disappeared. They create a secret society at school to gather kids who aren’t afraid of the paranormal so that they can solve this mystery about the curse and find their brother. I enjoyed the paranormal and horror aspects of the story a lot! It just added the right amount of creepiness and especially one part gave me chills.

+ The romance between Violet and Calvin is doomed because of the curse but from the start it was dislike mostly on Violet’s part and secret insta-love on Calvin’s though he hid it well. I loved their interactions and was rooting for them!

~ This is an arc but there was a lot of typos that I hope will be fixed by the time of publication. Also I don’t know if it was because the way it was formatted as an e-book but some sections blended into the next and I had to re-read because I was afraid I missed a scene or didn’t understand where I was in the story.

~ This is a quick read, just under 300 pages so I would have like a little more pages focused on the romance to draw out the tension more between them. I did love their romance journey, I just wanted more.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve been reading a lot of dark academia this year but I did love how this one stands out a little bit because of the paranormal and horror elements in the story. I loved the setting, the secret society, the dislike to lovers romance between Violet and Cal, and the family love curse. I had a few issues with typos (but this is an arc) and I did wish it was a tad bit longer just so there was more tension and yearning between Violet and Cal but overall, I enjoyed this one and will make for a thrilling, creepy fall read!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

Together We Rot by. Skyla Arndt | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Executioners Three by. Susan Dennard | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Executioners Three

Author: Susan Dennard

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 8/26/25

Publisher: Tor Teen

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Tor Teen for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard comes The Executioners Three, a mystery filled with rivalry, romance, best friends, and a gruesome curse that dates back centuries.

Freddie Gellar didn’t mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?

Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie’s instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true X-Files aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there’s a murderer at large.

Content Warning: violence, murder, death

+ This was a really interesting book and one I wasn’t quite expecting. This book is set in the 1990’s and the clues was definitely how Freddie loved the X-Files and NSYNC (she LOATHES The Backstreet Boys and hi, I was a BSB fan, not NSYNC 😅). This story gave me Stranger Things vibes minus the demi-gorgon, it was the time period that was similar and the way the characters talked and acted.

+ Freddie is a fun character. She’s trying to investigate something that has been happening in town but also, she’s a prankster. Her and her best-friend Divya are literally hanging with a group of kids at school who does pranks at their rival school. These kids are in high school, so it’s very young adult.

+ Freddie and Theo’s romance is too cute! I loved it.

+ The murder mystery was interesting and I liked how it built. The ending reveal was full of suspense and thrills.

~ I wasn’t sure what I was reading at first and how I felt about it but I’m glad I pushed through because things get dark. But for all it’s darkness because of the murders I felt like there was enough humor to keep things light.

Final Thoughts:

Here is another book you should pick up for the fall season! It’s dark (but fun) with a murder mystery and it has Stranger Things vibes. I thought it was cool it was set in the 1990’s, Freddie and her friends are fun and pranksters, and the romance is really cute.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Whispering Night by. Susan Dennard | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Hunting Moon by. Susan Dennard | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Luminaries by.Susan Dennard | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Spell to Wake the Dead by. Nicole Lesperance | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Spell to Wake the Dead

Author: Nicole Lesperance

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 8/26/25

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Witchcraft, Cult, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Two teen girls must uncover the dark, occult secrets lurking in their Cape Cod town to solve a series of murders—and save themselves from the same fate—in this twisty, witchy thriller.

When Mazzy and her best friend Nora sneak down to the beach one moonlit night to cast a spell, they don’t expect to find a dead body. But as the tide rolls in, it carries the remains of a woman who is missing her hands and teeth.

The girls know they should leave the investigation to the police, but they can’t shake the weird, supernatural connection they feel with the dead woman. Using spellwork and divination, they set out to find answers of their own. But after they uncover a rash of local disappearances stretching back years—and both girls start having occult visions and hearing ghostly, whispering voices—Mazzy worries that she and Nora are in danger.

Then, Nora finds a second body. And a whispering voice is telling her where to find more. With everything spiraling, Mazzy needs to figure out who to trust and how to sever this supernatural connection—or she and Nora might be the next bodies to wash up on the beach.

Content Warning: violence, murder, death, kidnapping, ritual, possession

+ Mazzy and Nora are best friends and dabble with witchcraft. One night they are doing a spell when they stumble upon a dead body, and then a few others. The girls try to make sense of going on and realize maybe they are next.

+ I loved Mazzy and Nora’s friendship (even with the challenges they faced), also their friend Elliot who Mazzy has a crush on. The story doesn’t focus on the romance, but I like how it’s woven in between the mystery and thrills happening throughout this book.

+ Some mysteries are too slow for me but I liked the pacing in this one because of the witchcraft and then the rumors about a cult in the town that could be behind the murders. The girls get tangled up in all of it and it’s fun to see where it all ends up! It was a nice blend of mystery, horror, suspense and thriller.

+ This book is atmospheric and set in Cape Cod. It captured the small coastal town feel, and even felt creepy especially with these bodies being found in the water. I just love how it blended the witchcraft and coastal vibes.

~ Mazzy already has a crush on Elliot when the book starts and it’s noted something was changed between them so it was just getting to the part of both of them admitting it. I did wish we knew a little more about Elliot because he is helping these girls a lot on figuring out this cult.

Final Thoughts:

This is the perfect book for the fall season when you are looking for something witchy and thrilling to read. I enjoyed it!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Predatory Natures by. Amy Goldsmith | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Predatory Natures

Author: Amy Goldsmith

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 7/8/25

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary Fantasy, Horror

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

Lara Williams is desperate to get away. When she gets a job working aboard the luxury train The Banebury for her gap year, she this is her chance to reinvent herself, after the incident that wrecked her relationships and her college prospects several months ago.

At first, the train is everything Lara expected—a five-star escape from her past, demanding customers and all. Even after she learns that her ex-friend, Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her new coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.

But on the first night of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn when two mysterious carriages, filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants, are attached to the end of the train in the middle of the night. With them come a pair of siblings. Gwen and Gwydion are wealthy, Welsh, and alluring as they are odd–not to mention, incredibly protective of their botanical cargo.

The siblings claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, yet Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something…otherworldly about them. Something that calls to her, night after night, whispering in her dreams.

Soon, Lara will you can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t dig up the secrets of the Banebury, they might just consume her whole…

Content Warning: plant horror, death, possessive relationship

+ I really like the setting of this luxury train on it’s way through Europe and Lara is working on the train meeting knew people and one person from her past, Rhys, is on the train also. They used to be close friends in high school until some things changed.

+ The setting of the train already lends a mystery to the story but then as more people leave and join the journey and Lara finds something in one of the cars – plants, she’s wondering what is going on. I liked the sense of suspicion around the people on the train and the different personalities Lara encounters. I found the plants fascinating and the Welsh mythology tied to it very interesting. As people start getting hurt and dying on the train, Lara and Rhys try to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

+ Lara has a history and there are flashbacks to it throughout the story because she’s on the train with Rhys who is a link to her past. Her story was a parallel to the mythology about the plants so I did like that. In those flashbacks, she’s dating a boy who changes her, molds her into what he wants her to be, is very possessive of her and we see how far Lara has come in her self journey.

~ The beginning was a bit slow because it’s setting the scene and we’re meeting all the workers and passengers on the train, but also because of the flashbacks. I didn’t mind it too much, but it did feel like the story moved slowly because of it. The flashback events do ramp up though and it coincides with what is happening on the train so I did like that.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed the luxury train setting and the mysterious siblings and the plants! I also did like how Lara’s personal situation and growth was a parallel with the Welsh mythology about the goddess of flowers. I think for a young adult thriller, this was enjoyable and if you like trains and some Little Shop of Horrors vibe, you’ll enjoy this one.