Thriller Thursday Reviews: Mothered & What Lies in the Woods
Hi everyone! Sharon here, back with another edition of Thriller Thursday. This week I am reviewing 2 awesome books. Zoje Stages’s, Mothered and Kate Alice Marshall’s, What Lies in the Woods. Zoje Stage is a must read author for me and Kate Alice Marshall is a new author to me. I was looking forward to reading both of these books and I am so happy that they both lived up to the expectations I had set.
Mothered Goodreads Author: Zoje Stage
Publication Date: March 1, 2023
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
I fell in love with Zoje Stage when I read her first book Baby Teeth and I have loved everything she has written, so I was very excited to read her newest book Mothered and I have to say this one is my favorite so far.
Mothered takes place during Covid-19 and follows Grace, a hairdresser who bought her first house before Covid struck. Now that she is not working, due to businesses being shut down, Grace is finding it hard to pay her mortgage and other bills. When her recently widowed mother, Jackie, calls and asks if she can move in with Grace, Grace is apprehensive as she and her mother have a strained relationship, but Grace agrees since having her mother there will help Grace out financially. Not too long after her mother moves in, Grace starts having nightmares about her childhood and her twin sister who died when she was a teenager. These nightmares have Grace questioning what is real and what is not, and she starts to spiral into madness. When Jackie accuses Grace of an unthinkable act, Grace starts to question everything she thought she knew. The ghosts from her past and her mother cause Grace to spiral further into madness and the outcome will be deadly.
All I can say about this book is, WOW! Stage did an amazing job of creating a story that made me question what I was reading. When Grace started having her nightmares, she became such an unreliable character and I loved that. I was not sure what was true or made up in Grace’s mind. I also had a lot of sympathy for Grace as we learned about her childhood. Her twin sister had Cerebral Palsy and it was mostly Grace that took care of her. She loved her sister so much, even though her sister was not very nice at times. There were so many times I just wanted to give her a big hug.
What to say about Grace’s mother, Jackie? There were a few times I thought Grace was being a bit hard on her, but then she would go and do something, and I was like nope. LOL! Jackie clearly liked to cross boundaries, like rearranging things in the house, and when Grace’s best friend, Miguel, was able to come over, Jackie would tell embarrassing stories from when Grace was a child. So yeah, I had a love/hate relationship with her.
Mothered had my adrenaline on full speed with all of the twists and turns, as well as the claustrophobic atmosphere with being in lockdown during Covid-19. I had forgotten what it was like to not be able to leave the house and Zoje Stage did a great job of bringing all those memories back. Mothered was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I am happy to say it did not disappoint! 4 ½ stars
What Lies in the Woods Goodreads Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publication Date: January 17, 2023
Publisher: Flatiron Books
I have never read anything by Kate Alice Marshall, but when Goodreads suggested What Lies in the Woods as a book I would like, I decided to give it a read since it sounded right up my alley. And I am very happy to report that Goodreads was right, I loved this book.
Eleven-year-old Naomi and her 2 best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, loved to spend their summer roaming in the woods playing a game they made up called the Goddess Game. But one day Naomi was attacked and stabbed seventeen times. She miraculously survived and the testimony of all three girls put away a serial killer. They were considered heroes, but they were really liars. Twenty-two years later, the man they helped convict dies in prison. It should be a happy time for them, but the lies they told all those years ago start to unravel. Olivia wants to tell the truth and Naomi wants to find out the truth about what really happened in those woods. But telling and finding out the truth will have a very dangerous outcome.
I loved how broken and flawed Naomi, Olivia and Cassidy were. Their lives were never the same after that summer. Not only did Naomi have physical scars from the attack, but she also had emotional ones as well and rightly so. She was such a strong character. Naomi does not really remember the attack, and even though she identified her attacker, she is now starting to have doubts. As she starts to dig into what happened, she uncovers things that make her doubt everything she thought was the truth. I loved how determined she was in finding out the truth, even if doing so could potentially land her in jail.
During that summer the girls found some bones in a ditch hidden under a boulder. They never told anyone what they found and named these bones, Persephone, the Greek Goddess. Olivia has always had emotional problems, and the events of that summer just escalated them. Olivia figures out who the bones really belong to, and she wants to tell the authorities, but Naomi and Cassidy are against that. Olivia keeps pushing this issue, she has lived with this and the truth about that summer for too long and she just cannot take it anymore. But revealing the truth will put Olivia’s life in danger. I had such sympathy for Olivia. She was just so broken and I just wanted to give her a big hug.
Cassidy was probably the more stable of the girls, but boy did she have secrets. I never warmed up to Cassidy and I didn’t trust her.
I loved the dark creepy atmosphere of this book, as well as all the twist and turns. I thought I had things figured out and then a plot twist would happen to take me in another direction. The ending had me on the edge of my seat and my head spinning as things were revealed. I loved What Lies in the Woods and I definitely want to check out more books by Kate Alice Marshall. 4 stars
Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Authors I Would Love to Meet
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 Bookish People I’d Like To Meet (These can be authors, book characters, book bloggers/influencers, cover designers, cover models, etc.). I decided to keep it simple this week and just share ten authors I would love to meet. This is a topic I often think about since I’ve never actually been to an event where I could possibly meet one of my favorite authors. I could also easily make a list ten times this long because there are so many I’d love to thank for sharing their storytelling gifts with us.
10 Authors I Would Love to Meet
1. KATHERINE CENTER – Katherine Center brings me such joy with her books, but I also love her social media presence. She comes across as kind, humble, and very insightful when it comes to the writing process.
2. ALICE HOFFMAN – Alice Hoffman is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her writing and storytelling abilities are pure magic, and I would love to talk to her about what inspired her to take Practical Magic from one to four books.
3. V.E. SCHWAB – I would just like thank V.E. Schwab for getting me back into reading fantasy with her Shades of Magic trilogy and then making me fall even more in love with the genre with books like Addie LaRue and Gallant.
4. ABBI WAXMAN – I’ve always enjoyed Abbi Waxman’s novels, but recently she has become more active on her instagram account and she is truly hilarious. I just think meeting her would be so much fun.
5. CHRISTINA LAUREN – This duo has brought me so much joy with their rom-coms over the past few years. I’d love to talk to them about their process for co-writing their books. Plus, they both just seem super sweet on social media.
6. COLLEEN HOOVER – I of course have loved everything I’ve read from Colleen Hoover, but she also just seems like she would be fun to meet, at least based on some of her Instagram randomness anyway, haha.
7. T.J. KLUNE – Anyone who can write such magical, feel good books as The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door is someone I want to meet.
8. TAYLOR JENKINS REID – As the person who has created three of my favorite female characters, I would love to meet TJR to thank her and to hear what she’s working on next. And of course to congratulate her on the premiere of the Daisy Jones series which is off to an amazing start this week.
9. ABBY JIMENEZ – I love Abby Jimenez’s books but I also love her sense of humor. Her instagram account, especially when it comes to pet-related shenanigans, is one of my favorites. I think it would be fun to meet her, especially if her dogs, Tess and Stuntman Mike, are there.
10. FIONA DAVIS – Fiona Davis is one of my favorite historical fiction authors and since all of her novels focus on NYC iconic buildings, I’d love to meet her, in New York of course, to thank her for bringing so much history to life in my favorite city and to hear about what other buildings she is considered centering books around.
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Question: Who are some authors you would love to meet?
Reviews: A WITCH’S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING A DEMON & OFF THE MAP
Hey everyone! I’m back today to share two reads that were both just so much fun. If you like witchy rom-coms and road trip books, you’re definitely going to want to check out both of these.
A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon Goodreads Author: Sarah Hawley
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
As a fan of all books with witchy vibes, I knew I had to read Sarah Hawley’s new romcom A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon. I mean, who can resist that fun title?! Well, I’m happy to report that the story itself is every bit as fun as the title and had me laughing out loud from start to finish.
The story follows Mariel Spark, a young witch who is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen for centuries. There’s just one problem – Mariel is a train wreck when it comes to actually using her magic. If she tries to cast a spell, you’re going to want to duck and cover because it’s probably going to be a disaster. Mariel’s mother seems to thrive on pointing out what a failure and a disappointment she is, which only adds to Mariel’s frustration and makes her spell casting even worse. While Mariel’s spell mishaps are hilarious, Mariel is still a very sympathetic character because her mother is just the worst. It is during one of these spell mishaps that Mariel accidentally does something that will forever change her life – she summons a soul-bargaining demon, Ozroth the Ruthless.
Ozroth the Ruthless, as his name implies, is a legend in the demon world when it comes to bargaining for mortal souls. Only here’s the thing, Ozroth the Ruthless isn’t exactly ruthless anymore. He had a mishap of his own during a bargaining session with a warlock and now Ozroth has a mortal soul in his body. That soul has not only made it more difficult for him to trick mortals into giving him their souls, but it also makes him catch feelings easier, which has all but destroyed his reputation for being ruthless. When Ozroth lands in Mariel’s kitchen, he finds himself in quite a predicament. He can’t leave her side until he secures her soul, but since Mariel accidentally conjured him, she has zero interest in giving up her soul, which leaves them at a hilarious impasse.
This might be the most unique use of the forced proximity trope and I loved every page of it! The chemistry between Mariel and Ozroth was fantastic, even though neither one wanted to admit that they were starting to catch feelings for each other, and their banter as Ozroth tried and failed repeatedly to get Mariel to give him her soul had me just cackling away, as did their attempts to hide Ozroth’s demon identity, both with comical costumes and by pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend. As funny as they were together though, what actually captured my heart here was that they were each the main one who saw the other’s personal worth. Ozroth saw Mariel for so much more than a failed spell caster, while Mariel saw Ozroth as so much more than a failed soul bargainer. The connection that blossomed between them as they try to build each other up just warmed my heart and had me very invested in them finding a way to break this deal so that they could willingly be together.
I would recommend A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon to anyone who enjoys paranormal romances and anyone who loves their rom-coms to be heartwarming, a little steamy, and laugh out loud hilarious 4.5 STARS
Off the Map Goodreads
Author: Trish Doller
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’m a sucker for a good road trip book so I was thrilled to learn that Trish Doller’s new novel Off the Map would feature a road trip across Ireland. As if that wasn’t irresistible enough on its own, I was sold as soon as I saw that cover with the couple sitting on top of an upside down SUV, literally promising me a wild ride!
Off the Map follows Carla Black, who has traveled from Florida to Ireland to attend her best friend’s wedding. Readers of Doller’s Beck Sisters series will recognize Carla’s best friend and her fiancé right away, Anna and Keane from Float Plan. Once Carla arrives in Dublin, the plan is for her to meet up with Keane’s brother Eamon, who will drive her across the country to the wedding destination. That plan goes a bit off the rails, however, when Carla and Eamon hit it off better than anyone else could have anticipated and their trip across the country takes quite an unexpected and possibly life changing turn.
Carla is a bit of a free spirit and has been traveling around the world on her own for the better part of a decade now. She returns to Florida to work just long enough to save up enough money to bulk up her travel funds and then heads out again. Carla doesn’t do relationships and she never goes home. What I love about Doller’s characters though is that they’re complicated and messy. It turns out that Carla doesn’t go home, not because she doesn’t want to, but rather because her beloved dad, who has dementia, has asked her not to. He wants her out there living her life to the fullest, not watching him slowly forget who she is over time. So she’s out there on her own, trying to keep her promise to him. I loved Carla’s free spirit, but it definitely broke my heart to learn the real reason behind her extensive traveling.
Eamon is just as complicated and equally as lovable as Carla. He is struggling because he feels like his life has just stalled out. He makes digital maps so other people can travel, but yet he has been nowhere himself. He is also tired of always being the responsible one in his family and really just wants to cut loose and go on an adventure. Meeting up with Carla turns out to be just the right person at the right time as she encourages him to throw caution to the wind and show her around Ireland rather than driving straight to meet his family.
I really adored this journey for both characters. There were of course lots of fun, shenanigans, and sexy, steamy moments to be had along the way, but the best part was the conversation. Carla and Eamon opened up to each other about their hopes, dreams, fears, and so much more. I enjoyed watching them grow close and I loved that they were each able to get some things off their chests that it seemed like they had been holding in for a long time.
Off the Map is the perfect read for anyone who enjoys humorous romantic adventure stories balanced with weightier, more emotional topics like dementia and loss. 4 STARS