Hallowed Bones by Lucy Smoke

 

My thoughts

This was a first by this author for me. It was a slow burn that heated up big time at the end. In a good way.

The narration of this book was great. There were four Narrators and each did a good job of bringing the character to life. In places I did find it a bit jerky. Not as smooth as it should have been, But for the most part it was excellent!!  

A young lady, Haven Wardwell, is dropped off by her aunt to Ipswich College. She had problems with other schools and this was going to be her last hope. Her aunt, a hateful woman, brought her here to get rid of her. She never wanted her. But after Haven's parents both died in a fire it seems she was stuck with Haven. College was going to be her place. Her salvation. Her place to finally fit in if you will.... 

Haven meets four young men and they quickly learn that she might be their last hope. They are witches (I always thought male witches were called warlocks). They need Haven. She's the only female in a few hundred years and their coven needs her. Also they all want her for other purposes too. 

A lot is going on. A few deaths, murders actually. Monsters roaming around. Horrific dreams that Haven can't understand or seem to escape. Each of the men, Cameron, Reyes, Ezra, and Lyall, have different powers. They are all friends and the last of the witches in Salem it seems. If Haven is who they hope she is they might can exist again. Or not die out. All of their parents are dead. All died on the same day. The same day Haven't parents burned.

This book held my interest. I really enjoy a good witch story. This one had it's moments. It had me gasping in places. Towards the end it did heat up. There is a twist at the end that had me totally open mouthed gasping. I didn't see it coming at all. I can't wait for the next book now. 

Thank you St Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ARCs...

4 stars  

About

The first in The Sons of Salem series, a witchy dark romance by USA Today bestselling author Lucy Smoke.

Four men. One girl. Five families accused of witchcraft. A dark secret they all hide.

Their souls are damaged, hiding secrets and harboring just as much hate as I am.

Ezra Bishop
Cameron Goode
Lyall Corey
Reyes Scott

And me. Haven Wardwell.

They are the monsters hidden in the shadows, but I am no novice when it comes to monsters.

We are all legacies, but there’s one grand difference between us. I am the first female witch born in four hundred years.

Now that I’m here, there’s no telling what the dark gods will ask for in return.

Death and ghosts haunt the corridors of Ipswich Academy. If I’m not careful, I might become one of them.

Tell Two Friends by Ann Garvin

 My thoughts

I can't believe this is my first book by this author. I will be reading more. This book was so good y'all. From the first page to the very last word it had me hooked. It was funny and had me tearing up too. I adored the three main characters. At first I was leary of Truman. I mean, how could I not be...

Jane was keeping her brother's daughter Cricket when he and his wife, Jane's best friend, were away. Jane was divorced from a local man and the whole town blamed her for his infidelity. Go figure.... He was from a rich family. Jane was fairly content with her life but very suspicious of men. After what her ex did you can't blame her. 

Cricket is Jane's fourteen year old niece. She's a treasure. Truly a good kid. She loves her aunt and pretty much minds what she tells her. 

Truman lives next door. He's watching Jane and Cricket. He does things that will have you wondering about his intentions. I liked him but was also very intimidated by him. He was an older man with a lot of tattoos. He was always watching Jane and Cricket. Keeping up with how long they were gone. He went inside their house a couple of times. He also replaced the back door for Jane after he broke the window of the previous one. Who does that if they are not up to know good??

Rob is Jane's ex. He and his family are rich, selfish, pieces of work. I didn't like any of them. 

This book really was a fun one though. You got to know people on a real level. Their thoughts and how they treated each other. I'll never understand how any woman can blame another woman when the husband does such awful things. That will always blow my mind. In this small town though it is what most of the women have done to Jane. 

I think this story is one to keep you thinking. Do you really know your neighbors. The new ones? 

The audio for this is amazing. The narrators did such a good job. They brought each character to life. Made them all the more realistic. 

Grab this book and hold on. You are in for a pleasant read...

Thank you Lake Union and Brillance Publishing for this ARC. 

About 

A wickedly funny and empowering thriller about women, the manipulators who underestimate them, and keeping your dignity while saving the day by the author of I Thought You Said This Would Work.

Jane Baye is a regular person, good at a lot of things, but identifying the serial killer right in front of her isn’t one of them.

In 1990, college senior Jane wrote to an incarcerated woman because it seemed like a nice thing to do. Thirty-six years later, that felon, actually a man, has moved in next door. He’s watching her every move, with a decades-long plan for Jane that a nice person like her would never see coming.

Especially because Jane is wrapped up in her own a small-town golden boy with talk of forever and a diabolical history of cheating. When she exposes her ex, the entire town of Wonder Lake turns against her.

It’s no wonder she doesn’t see what’s coming on the night of the Norwegian heritage festival.

But woe to those who mistake Jane for a pushover. When celebration becomes a fight for survival, the very qualities that make her ordinary become the weapons she’ll bet everything on.

The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace

 

My thoughts

First I have to say that this book is a first by this author for me. It will not be the last. OMG this book.... It will be in my top twelve for 2026. Possibly number one. It's that good. I loved it. Every hitch of my breath. Every cringe. Every tear. It was magnificent. Heart Pounding. Heart Wrenching. Soul Bounding.... GOOD. It was truly that good. 

The writing is wonderful. The characters hold you captive. The whole story is so good. Each character has a unique quality. A way to pull you in and hold on to your heart. From Angel to Demon to Human. What could these three have in common?? Aurelie is human. She's a warrior. She's a strong young woman. She's to be bonded. Yuria is an angel. He's a warrior also. Fighting demons is what he was raised to do. He's to be bonded. Severin is a demon. He's bad to the bone. He has also discovered a cure for Aurelie's father and any other human who is turned into a demon. But at what cost. He's also bonded to Aurelie. She's bonded with an angel and a demon. What could possibly go wrong.

This book takes you through a lot of emotions. There are secondary characters that you'll love and hate. There are little creatures to hold your heart. There is a big war that will have you wondering who is good and who is truly evil. It has it all. 

I truly adored this book and can't wait for the next book. I can't see how it can be topped but it has to be. Then we find out what happened to the princess..... And who her new husband is... I didn't see that one coming!!!

Thank you Macmillan/FEIWEL Macmillan audio and BOTM 

FIVE big stars. 

About

The Wretched Divine is the heart-pounding adult debut from New York Times and Sunday Times-bestselling author Adalyn Grace, about an ancient war between angels and demons, and the human knight determined to end it at any cost.

Aurelie Chantelune was born to serve. Raised as a knight in a kingdom ravaged by demons, she's spent her life honing her blade, driven by the memory of the monsters who tore her family apart and by the knowledge that she's one of the few who can stop them.

If Aurelie can claim her first kill, she'll inherit a legacy passed down through the Chantelune bloodline: a soulbond with Yuriel, an angel whose power is vital to her kingdom's survival. But when those she loves begin turning into the very monsters she's sworn to destroy, Aurelie is forced to seek help from the last place she ever imagined. Desperate, she forges a second and far more dangerous bond with Severin, a demon she can hardly trust, but who claims to know how to end the war for good.

With their lives and fates entwined, Aurelie, Yuriel, and Severin must team up to hunt down a cure capable of turning demons back into humans. But the more they learn about one another and the deeper their relationships grow, the more Aurelie begins to question the war and her place in it. With both of her bonded on opposing sides, she'll have to make a choice: continue to stand with the angels, or risk everything by trusting a demon.

Daughters of the Wreckage by Stefanie Koens

 

My thoughts

The narrators did a great job with this book. They each kept their part perfect.

While I did enjoy the narrators the actual story was just not for me. I usually love this type of book but this one seems more Christian fiction and I just don’t like that genre.

The author wrote a good story. Kept their two timelines at a good pace and made each character feel realistic. I can’t find any fault with her writing at all. It’s just me. I didn’t enjoy this one near as much as I thought I would.

If you like historical and Christian fiction based on real events, then you will love this one.

Thank you to the publisher, the author, and uplit books for the arcs.

3 stars.

About

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them--and much more--in the wreckage and haunting stories of one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, after years as a hard-working English teacher who never did anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia's remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers--both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies--only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship's taciturn under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia, and Aris--their lives linked by secrets that span generations--carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they may find qualities that echo through faith, acceptance, and love.

Our Mother's Secret by Alison Ragsdale

 

My thoughts

Alison tends to write very emotional stories. The kind that make you cry hard. They touch your heart also. Make you take a deep breath and think about life. Sometimes her stories touch your life. Or a part of your life. This story is so sweet and so sad but also uplifting and beautiful. 

Mairi and Fiona are twins. Not identical but still twins. They know each other's thoughts. What each are feeling. 

Fiona is sick. She needs a kidney. Since she was a wee child she's suffered from this. Inherited from their mother. Now at thirty Fiona is running out of time. If she doesn't get a match she won't survive.

Mairi would do anything for her sister. Anything. She's not a match for the kidney transplant though. And she's pregnant. After suffering a miscarriage her husband Tom tries in every way possible to ensure that Mairi takes it easy and doesn't do anything that could make her lose this baby. 

When their mother Helen comes and tells Mairi a big secret things change. Mairi and Helen have always had a tumultuous relationship and this just adds more to than she thought possible. Mairi loved her dad more than anyone. He was her rock. When he died she felt the loss in a way she didn't think anyone would understand. And she knows that Fiona is hiding something from her too.

This book is truly a very emotional one. I loved the characters even when they aggravated me to know end. It made me stop and think of what I would do if Fiona had been my sister and I was pregnant. Would I do all that Mairi did. Would I put the baby at risk? I can't honestly answer that. I believe I would do anything to help my sister if she needed me. But risk my unborn child..... I'm glad I didn't have to make that choice.

Alison writes with a flair. A tendency to want you to be in tears. At least that is my opinion. She loves to through a big fat curve into a story that makes you gasp. Yes I did guess two bit things in this story but still.. It was so good. It had me in tears. Lots of tears. I hope my eyes can withstand all of that. 

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this arc. 

5 big stars...  

About

When my sister tells me time is running out for her life-saving transplant, tears roll down my cheeks. But she isn’t crying, she’s staring at our mother, who says words that will change my life forever. ‘It’s time for me to tell you the truth…’

I can barely breathe as my mother tells us there is a possibility that the father we adored might not be our birth father. Before I can process the secret she has kept from us, she takes my hand firmly in hers. ‘You have to find him Mairi, the other man. He is our last chance to save your sister.’

When I tell my husband Tom what my mother has asked me to do, I can see the pain on his face. All he wants is for me to rest and protect the precious life inside of me, the baby we hoped for all these years. How can I put my own happiness ahead of saving my sister’s life?

But finding the man my mother loved all those years ago is only the beginning. Because my sister is also hiding something, and it will change everything I thought I knew about our family. Am I truly prepared for what I will discover when I unravel the secrets of those I love the most? And will I be ready to make the most impossible choice of all?

Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan

 

My thoughts

This book will leave you feeling like you were in the fight of your life. The McKenna family did just that. They fought not only mother nature but men who wanted part of their land. By any means possible. 

Ellen McKenna was a widow. She had just lost her husband a year ago and was determined to keep their farm going. She was dealing with their children growing up and the loss of her husband was almost more than she could take. But Ellen is strong. She's very resilient and a good mother. 

A storm is coming and Ellen knows what all the rain will bring. So much flooding and being stranded. She does not want her children to go anywhere and she's determined to stay home. Her grandmother Penny is busy cooking. She's a stress cooker, so they will have plenty to eat during this storm. Determination though can't seem to keep everyone put. Things happen that makes everyone have to do things that take them away from their farm. Also there is something very wrong in the area. Home invasions are amiss. A man and his dog are shot. 

This story keeps you turning the pages to find out more. Will Avery make it home? Will Bobby be ok?

A family being held hostage. One girl who is wheelchair bound. What do these people want? It's pouring rain and everyone is on edge.  There is a lost cat that Bobby wants desperately to find. He's just a child and the cat seems to only trust him. And it's pregnant..... 

When the bad people come to the McKenna ranch their lives will be changed forever. Not only has someone been sabotaging things but whoever is doing it may be responsible for Ellen's husband's death. The people come to their farm to force Ellen to help save one's brother. She refuses until they let her know that they know where her daughter is. And Ellen is a nurse and just can't watch a person die. 

There is a lot going on but it's very easy to keep straight. Between the natural disasters and the human ones we wonder what is going to happen to the McKennas. Will everyone be ok. Will Ellen and her brother in law be able to prove what needs to be proven.(I don't do spoilers) 

This was an excellent story. It shows a mother's love also. When Ellen takes her pregnant friend with her to hopefully get her daughter, Avery, you might think she's a bit off. But wouldn't any mother want her child with her. Safe and sound? I sure would. Flood or no I'd want to make sure my baby was ok... That made this one even more realistic.

Thank you St Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the arc. 

Five big stars.. 

About

Allison Brennan delivers a pulse-pounding thriller about one family fighting for their land against both human enemies and Mother Nature.

After the sudden death of her husband, Ellen McKenna is doing everything she can to keep her Texas farm afloat. She and her family hope to expand their operation, but times are tough and making ends meet is more expensive than she imagined, much less trying to grow. Many of their neighbors in Cooke County have thrown in the towel and agreed to sell their farms to a local businessman, but despite similar pressure, Ellen refuses to let her dreams die.

On top of the usual hardships, a series of recent storms has left the region partly flooded, and as the heavy rain begins again one morning, all the members of the McKenna family jump into action to protect their land and animals. Ellen’s oldest son discovers an injured dog—and the dog leads him to a man barely clinging to life, the apparent victim of a brutal home invasion. Then, Ellen’s younger kids go to check on a nearby neighbor and walk into a threat none of them saw coming.

Before anyone can figure out what’s really going on in their idyllic rural valley, the storm picks up again in intensity, and the McKenna kids find themselves in over their heads with no way to call for help. To protect her farm--and her family—Ellen must face down all the forces trying to tear them apart.

Allison Brennan's talent for twisty, tense pacing combines with a deeply drawn family drama and the unforgiving power of nature in this compelling standalone thriller.

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

 

My thoughts

I enjoyed this book very much. To me it was just the thing for this time of year. Maybe even more so if it was October, but right now it's what I needed. 

This is a story told in three parts. In two timelines. A kind of before and after story. One is Willamena's story, 1976, and the other is her granddaughter, Bailey, present day. It's a story of a small town with lots of, in my opinion, snooty people. Not all, but a lot. Especially the kids where Bailey went to high school. 

This has a love story going on too. A marriage of convenience also. There are some ghostly things going on but not in a scary way. 

I absolutely loved Willamena Wester. Her grandmother, Alice Wester, was not on my list of favorite characters at all. I understand that she thought she was protecting Willamena but she went too far. Enough already. Let that girl enjoy her life. Go to college. Marry who she loves.

Bailey was Willamena's granddaughter. Willamena encouraged her to leave. Go do something with your life. Go to college. Fall in love. She was the opposite of Alice. 

Bailey's dad called her home. Alice was not well and they needed to make amends. 

This story was so sweet. It had it's tense moments and there was an almost assault. But overall it was a very pleasant read. I read it pretty quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I also listened to the audio. Narrated by Marin Ireland. She did a good narration. Brought out the voices and kept me enthralled with the story.

Thank you St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

4.75 stars. 

About

Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home.

Every family has its secrets... The Wester women live inside theirs.

For decades, the women of Wester House have unsettled and fascinated their small, timeless North Carolina town. Their home is full of whispers, old griefs, and uncanny knowing. But when Willamena Wester reaches out to the granddaughter she once pushed away, long-buried truths begin to stir.

1976:
Restless young Willamena falls for a stranded musician who brings freedom and the promise of another life to her carefully controlled world. Their brief, incandescent love story promises to escape the pull of the Wester legacy until Willamena makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.

Present Day:
Returning home is the last thing Bailey Wester wants. Yet as she reconnects with Willamena, the grandmother she feared, Bailey begins to understand the love, heartbreak, and impossible choices that shaped the women in her family and realizes the past may not have been trying to haunt them after all.

A luminous novel filled with Sarah Addison Allen’s stunning prose and signature blend of romance, Southern charm, and wonder, Paper Ghosts reminds us that in order to have the future we really want, sometimes we need to live with the past, and not let go of it.