My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell- March 10th

I completely underestimated how dark this book was actually going to be. Clearly the title is an indicator. If you didn't catch on from the title well there is clearly a sensational book description that makes it clear what the subject matter was going to be. Yet....I was still deeply disturbed by what I was reading. I can't stress how dark, disturbing and difficult this was to read. That being said, I could not put this down. I am not even sure I can muster the words to give this book the review that it deserves. It was just that powerful.

After reading this I can see why the author specifically stated that this is not a story about herself, or anyone that she personally knows for that matter. It is just about all the girls like Vanessa in the world. I have decided the reason this book was so incredibly hard to read is because it is so real. Somehow this debut author has managed to make Vanessa so damn real that you would swear she was writing her own story. You would swear Vanessa was typing her story furiously onto the pages, perhaps in a diary.

With the whole "me too" movement we have heard many different voices. Yet this story managed to floor me. It was from Vanessa's point of view, that she was not a victim. That she had chosen to get into a relationship with her English instructor Jacob Strane. I had never given this consideration that the victim would not realize they were the victim. She was clearly the victim of this vile, disgusting man that used his power and position to lure Vanessa in. What if the victim doesn't realize it? She sees it as a "love story". She thinks he is kind and caring, impressed that he would take the time to notice her- that she is special.


My emotions were all over the place reading this. This stirred such an array of feelings in me. I was distraught, disgusted, angry and sad. Being a 15 year girl many years ago, I can see how Vanessa was realizing that she had a power over men. How she was just discovering that she could make them look her way. Some of the details are so graphic I considered putting down the book and taking a break from it as I felt I really couldn't endure any more of it. Except I couldn't put it down. I had to know how this ended for Vanessa.

I very rarely get this emotionally involved in a book, but this one destroyed me. That being said- it is a must read! It will be hard to read the graphic details, but it is hard because you know this is the truth. This is what is happening to girls like Vanessa every day. The author spun a story that so uniquely shows a glimpse into the victim's mind. A victim that doesn't even realize she is a victim or is she just telling herself that to protect herself?

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

 
You had me at.... it starts out like The Breakfast Club...I mean yes! Bring it on. Now I am left wondering what took me so long to pick up this book. I loved it. I think I was hesitate to read it due to it being classified as YA and I really have not read many YA. That might have to change!

Bayview High...detention...be there! The Breakfast Club vibe is strong when we start out with a rather unlikely group of kids meeting for detention. This is not your typical bunch of kids that frequent such punishments, in fact I think only one of them has had this joyful experience and that is Nate. I loved how the students were classified into their "groups" they associated with. The beauty, the brain, the criminal and the athlete...I mean we all know these groups really do exist in high school.

What did I love most? As a thriller genre reader, this book was a breath of fresh air. It had such a unique storyline and honestly I did not guess the ending. I had no idea who was to blame for only 4 students making it out alive! Everyone had a reason to want Simon silenced, but who actually silenced him forever?!!

I never thought I was a YA kind of girl but I guess I am 🤷‍♀️I really enjoyed this book ❤️Looking forward to One Of Us Is Next !

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

 
You know that book that you put up on a pedestal and you compare others too? Yep this is one of those for me. First off, I don't read fantasy. I can count the number of "fantasy" books I have read on one hand. Yet I was only half way done with this baby and I was hitting up everyone I know that has read it to ask, what even compares to this book...because I did not want it to end!!!

So why am I literally obsessed with this book???? Look nobody is more shocked than me. First off...when I think fantasy, I think another world, some make believe place. This took place at Yale University....YALE...a real live place that we have all heard of. So bonus points right there. I could relate to it. Then it is filled with secret societies...which we all know exist. Including the very exclusive and infamous Skull and Bones.  Extra bonus points in my book for that. I mean who isn't interested in what would go on there? Then ghosts.....everywhere....I LOVE it! I love a story with a ghost and when there is more than one...well...I just can't resist.

Alex Stern got a full ride to Yale and is just starting her freshman semester. Yet a couple of months prior, Alex was found overdosed in a house full of known drug addicts that had been murdered...yet she survived. No money, no family support, a complete mess- how is it that this girl got into Yale? Completely paid ride and accepted into a secret society into a position within it that many yearn for. Something sketchy is going on here!

Many reviewers have stated this was a slow read for them. I personally did not feel that. In fact I wanted more!! I think for me, I got so into this book because I don't skim at all. I read every single word and held onto to. I will admit in the first couple of chapters, I had to google a couple of words that just aren't in my vocabulary...prognostication, Haruspex....to name a few. It was so worth it because my careful reading really drew me into the story. So if you are a skimmer you may miss some vital information. Must like ghosts....because there are lots, and lots and lots of ghosts.

I can't tell you how excited I am for the next book in this series. Meanwhile I will be reading everything I can find by this author. Apparently reading outside your genre sometimes works out so well that you may add it to your all time favorites.

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Wow! What do I even say about a book that has rendered me speechless? This book is a thriller lovers dream come true. First of all, Peter Swanson won me over with The Kind Worth Killing and has never let me down since. I find him and Liz Nugent to be the masters of the dark, twisted thrillers. I often wonder how they come up with this stuff! Can you imagine their computer search history? The stuff that murders are made of!!!

Sooo with that being said listen to this premise...absolute genius...Malcolm Kershaw owns a specialty bookstore- he carries mystery, thriller books that may be hard to come by. He is an expert in classic mystery books and he knows them in and out. People travel from all over the country to visit his little store. When Malcolm publishes an interesting blog post on the bookstore's site about how to commit the perfect murder, he uses 8 different books with plots that in his opinion would be the perfect crime. Not much came of that at the time but years later someone is murdering people and following this list too the tee. Now the FBI is interested...very interested in what Malcolm has to say.

OMG this was a thrill ride from the word go. I devoured and I mean devoured this book in one single day. My internal voice kept saying, this book is so good you should slow down and savor it. Yet I couldn't flip these pages fast enough as I had to know what happened. This book had so much appeal because not only it was a very unique plot, it also had a ring of truth to much of it. My google fingers were going at warp speed as I researched if any of this has really happened. The answer is YES. This was like a history lesson for me of author's gone bad...so fascinating. I also discovered many books that were on the "list" that I want to read!

Add in a fantastic bookstore cat named Nero that has his own Instagram page and what more can you ask for?!! I love a gorgeous cat with a history...my oh my if this cat could talk.

Huge shoutout to William Morrow for providing me this ARC via Edelweiss! Honestly I will be buying a hardback when this comes out! I loved it that much!