Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Invocations & The New Couple in 5B
/0 Comments/by Sharon
Welcome to another edition of Thriller Thursday with Sharon. This week I am excited to share my thoughts on Krystal Sutherland’s newest YA thriller, The Invocations and Lisa Unger’s newest thriller, The New Couple in 5B. Both of these books were amazing and I loved them both.
The Invocations Goodreads
Author: Krystal Sutherland
Publication Date: January 30, 2024
Publisher: Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books
Krystal Sutherland’s newest YA thriller, The Invocations, is everything I was hoping it would be and more. The story follows three seventeen-year-olds who team up to stop a serial killer who is killing witches and stealing their powers. The Invocations has it all, badass teenagers, witches, magic, murder, and more.
A year ago, Zara Jones’ sister, Savannah, was murdered and Zara wants nothing more than to bring her back to life so she can apologize for the hurtful last words she said to her. Zara is smart and she has been reading up on everything she can find that deals with magic and bringing the dead back to life. But so far nothing has worked.
Jude Wolf is the daughter of a billionaire. Two years ago, she cursed herself and her soul is now tied to demons. Jude is slowly rotting away and is trying anything to find someone who can undo the curse before the demons eat her alive.
Emer Bryne is a witch. Ten years ago, her entire family was killed by witch hunters. Emer has vowed to find those responsible and destroy them. Emer sells spells to women who are in desperate situations, the payment for these spells is that a demon gets part of their soul. Emer was seven years old when her family was killed, and she would have died if not for the demons living in the forest. These demons knew that they needed to keep Emer alive so she could find them souls.
I loved everything about this book. I loved the magic and the demons and the gore when a demon ripped someone apart (Lol). But most of all I loved the characters. Zara, Jude and Emer will always have a special place in my heart. I loved getting to know each of their backstories. And the more I learned about them, the more I loved them. They are so different from each other, but when they finally got together they clicked. They were the piece each other was missing. I loved their banter back and forth. Especially Jude, she had me laughing so many times.
Sutherland did a great job of bringing the magic and demons to life. Especially Bael, who is one of the demons that helped Emer when she was younger. Bael is waiting for Emer to give him her soul, so right now he is just like her own personal bodyguard, and I loved it when she would sick him on someone.
I don’t really want to say much more about what happens and spoil things. But if you like YA stories, badass teenage protagonists, magic, and demons, then you definitely need to check out, The Invocations. 4 ½ stars
The New Couple in 5B Goodreads
Author: Lisa Unger
Publication Date: March 5, 2024
Publisher: Park Row
Lisa Unger’s latest book, The New Couple in 5B, was inspired by Rosemary’s Baby. But this is not a retelling of the horror classic, and Lisa Unger does a great job of giving the Rosemary’s Baby vibes, while creating her own story.
Chad and Rosie Lowan have inherited apartment 5B at 55 Park Ave, called the Windemere, from Chad’s uncle Ivan. Chad and Rosie took care of Ivan while he was dying, but they never thought he would leave them his apartment. Chad is an actor and Rosie is a true crime author. Rosie plans to write a book about the Windemere. There have been many deaths in this building, murders, suicides, accidents, and natural causes. There was a murder/suicide that took place in their actual apartment many years ago when it was owned by Paul and Willa. When they first moved in everyone was so welcoming, but Rosie soon starts to feel that things are not right with this building. The same doorman is always on duty, and Rosie is positive that she has seen the ghost of a small boy in the basement and hallways. The more Rosie digs into the building’s past, the more her life becomes in danger.
Wow! Lisa Unger sure had the hairs on my arm sticking up with this book. I loved the whole supernatural feel this book had, as well as the gothic vibe from the building itself. I will admit that when I was first reading, I thought it was going to be like a retelling of Rosemary’s Baby and I was actually comparing them when I was reading. But I am happy to report that the book took a turn, and I was like “Okay so not the same as Rosemary’s Baby.” LOL!
Lisa Unger did a great job in creating these characters and making them so untrustworthy. I loved that I didn’t know who to trust. Rosie was the only one I trusted, and I liked how she too started not trusting people. I am glad she was not a naïve character that just went along with everything.
I also liked getting chapters from the couple that lived in the apartment years ago, Paul and Willa. These were told from Willa’s POV and getting these chapters added more mystery to what was going on at the Windemere.
The more the story progressed, the more the tension built up, as well as the body count. I had no idea where things were going and when the secrets of the Windemere were finally revealed I was totally surprised. So, thank you for that Lisa Unger.
I definitely recommend The New Couple in 5B. If you are a fan of Lisa Unger and like supernatural stories with gothic buildings, then I really think you will enjoy The New Couple in 5B. 4 ½ stars
Top Ten Tuesday – April Showers: 10 Books With Rain on Their Covers
/17 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is April Showers — Pick your own title for this one to reflect the direction you choose to go with this prompt (books with rain on the cover/in the title, that have rainstorms in the story, or that have anything to do with rain). I decided to go with books that feature raindrops on the cover but also wanted to find some that were still somewhat bright since I associate brighter colors with spring. This was harder than I thought it would be because most of the covers I initially found were stormy and gloomy. I had to dig deeper and there are a couple that I’m not sure are even meant to be raindrops (the Waxman and Mills covers) but I’m counting them anyway since they look like raindrops, haha.
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Books With Rain on Their Covers
1. WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon
2. THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS by Abbi Waxman
3. FUNNY FEELINGS by Tarah Dewitt
4. SHELTERING RAIN by Jojo Moyes
5. THE UPSIDE OF FALLING DOWN by Rebekah Crane
7. THE COLORS OF THE RAIN by R.L. Toalson
8. THE RAIN IN SAPPHIRE by Kayla Rose
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Can you think of any other books that feature rain on their covers?
Romance Reviews: JUST FOR THE SUMMER & THE RULE BOOK
/7 Comments/by Suzanne
Hey everyone! Sorry for dipping out again. I think it’s safe to say that I’m in the midst of a blogging slump at the moment. I don’t know why but I think until I’m on the other side of it, that I’m just going to post when the mood hits me to do so. Today the mood did hit me though because I just finished two of my most anticipated 2024 reads and wanted to share my thoughts with you. Abby Jimenez was already an auto-read author for me, but with The Rule Book, Sarah Adams has also landed on my auto-read list. Both of these books come out next week, so if you like what you read, you can snag copies of these on Tuesday!
Just for the Summer Goodreads
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Abby Jimenez is truly one of the most gifted storytellers I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Each one of her books has left me with a full heart and a smile on my face, and her latest romance, Just for the Summer, has done that and more! It’s my new favorite from Jimenez and I can’t wait for you all to read it because I think you’re going to love it too!
I fell in love with this book from the moment Emma and Justin, the two main characters, meet online through a thread on Reddit that has gone viral. In the thread, Justin is explaining that he is cursed. Every woman he dates goes on to find her soulmate as soon as they break up. Emma is captivated by the Reddit thread and reaches out to Justin because she is similarly cursed. They hit it off right away and eventually come up with a plan to date each other in hopes that their curses will cancel each other out and they’ll finally be able to find their own soulmates.
I thought this was such a fun and unique way to have a meet cute and I was immediately rooting for this curse to bring Emma and Justin together since they clearly had such great chemistry. They do have to overcome one obstacle though – distance. Justin lives in Minnesota, while Emma and her best friend Maddy are traveling nurses who are next slated to go to Hawaii for several months. When Maddy sees how into Justin Emma is, she reluctantly agrees to change their plans and they head to Minnesota instead.
While plenty of fun romcom goodness ensues as Emma and Justin start dating, what really grabbed my heart in this story is Emma’s history — why she has chosen to be a traveling nurse rather than put down roots anywhere and start a family. It becomes clear why when Emma’s toxic mother shows up in Minnesota and threatens the fragile life that Emma has started to build for herself. My heart broke for Emma, but I was so grateful that Maddy and Justin were there for her. Maddy is the ultimate mama bear when it comes to Emma and as soon as she realizes that Justin truly cares about Emma, she educates him on how best to help Emma when her mom makes her feel small. Justin was already serious book boyfriend material, but these moments are what really put him over the top for me.
I also loved how Just for the Summer also brings back several characters from Jimenez’s other books, in particular, Part of Your World. I think this book is a fantastic read even if you haven’t read Part of Your World, but I would personally recommend reading it first because it really does make reading Just for the Summer even more special.
I really don’t have the words to do justice to how wonderful this book is, so all I’ll say is go pick up a copy. You won’t regret it! 5 STARS
The Rule Book Goodreads
Author: Sarah Adams
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
Publisher: Dell
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Sarah Adams is quickly becoming one of my favorite rom-com authors because I can always count on her to deliver cute swoony romances that are full of laughs. Adams does exactly that with The Rule Book, her latest sports romance, which also happens to be a companion novel to another of her books I love, The Cheat Sheet. You don’t need to read The Cheat Sheet to enjoy The Rule Book, but both are fabulous so I say go for it!
Nora Mackenzie has just been promoted to a full-time sports agent. She’s flying high until she learns her first big client is none other than famous NFL tight end, Derek Pender, who also happens to be her college ex-boyfriend. Their break-up was messy, and Derek is still clearly holding a grudge and vows to make Nora’s life hell by being as difficult and high maintenance as possible. He has clearly forgotten how stubborn and tenacious Nora can be though and she gradually starts to win him over.
I absolutely loved everything about this book! I’m a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers story but add in a marriage of convenience and a second chance romance, and I’m in heaven. Adams does a wonderful job getting me hooked on the idea of Nora and Derek rekindling their romance from their very first scene. Even though the tension between them is palpable, the chemistry between Nora and Derek is undeniable. Adams also writes some of the wittiest banter and had me laughing out loud throughout the book. It’s not all laughs though as Nora and Derek also share some moving and heartfelt moments on their journey to forgiveness. I also loved the layer of vulnerability Adams gives Derek by having him struggle with dyslexia. The rep is well done and really made Derek a more sympathetic character.
The Rule Book is the fourth book I’ve read from Sarah Adams and I think it’s my favorite yet. If you’re in the mood for a fun and heartwarming story about forgiveness and second chances, be sure to check this one out! 4.5 STARS