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First Date
Author: Gemma Amor
Publisher: Datura
Published:ย February 11, 2026My main takeaways from this book are:
1. I felt cold the entire time I was reading it
2. No one could have survived what the two MCs went through
3. [Spoiler alert]: I am so grateful the author saw fit to dispense with the Lone Diner in the way that she did!
Even with some distance between reading the book and writing this review, I am unsure how I feel about it. The torture of the poor main characters, Amandine and Connor, went on and on. It was excruciating to read, and maybe this reader’s discomfort meant that I identified with the main characters. The feeling of being out in the cold was vivid, especially as I read this as the temperatures dropped outside. It’s a great read for snuggling under a blanket.
If you like your suspense intense, your horror gory, and your characters a little bit (well, a lot) flawed, this one’s for you!
Thank you to NetGalley and Datura for an advance reader’s copy.Background photo courtesy of Markus Spiske @unsplash
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The Better Mother
Author: Jennifer van der Kleut
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published:ย February 10, 2026Birth Announcement (Just kidding! Book Review ๐
Everything is going well for Savannah at last. She’s pretty much over the breakup with her boyfriend, her career looks to be headed on track, and she’s comfy in her new apartment. She’s started dating. And there’s the red flag!
After three years with Jason, Savannah was ready for a baby. The problem: Jason wasn’t. So when she ends up looking at the two blue lines on the pregnancy stick after her casual encounter with Max, her feelings are all over the place. The first thing she does is get in touch with Max to let him know. The second thing that happens totally blindsides her- Max is back with his girlfriend. And now his girlfriend wants to meet her.
Madison seems much too invested in the pregnancy and, if you’re hearing dun dun dun in the background, you heard correctly. Madison is evil. And she has plans for this baby. Plans that don’t include Savannah.
The tension ramps up as we find out who’s gaslighting whom…and how far people are willing to go to protect themselves.
Thanks so much to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Jennifer van der Kleut, for her debut novel. I can’t wait to see what she writes next! -
First Date
Author: Gemma Amor
Publisher: Datura Books
Published:ย February 10, 2026My main takeaways from this book are:
1. I felt cold the entire time I was reading it
2. No one could have survived what the two MCs went through
3. [Spoiler alert]: I am so grateful the author saw fit to dispense with the Lone Diner in the way that she did!
Even with some distance between reading the book and writing this review, I am unsure how I feel about it. The torture of the poor main characters went on and on. It was excruciating to read, and maybe this reader’s discomfort meant that I identified with Amandine and Connor. The feeling of being out in the cold was vivid, especially as I read this as the temperatures dropped outside. It’s a great read for snuggling with under a blanket.
If you like your suspense intense, your horror gory, and your characters a little bit (well, a lot) flawed, this one’s for you!
Thank you to NetGalley and Datura Books for an advance reader’s copy. -
We Were Never Friends
Author: Kaira Rouda
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: February 3, 2026This author’s books are ones I go to when I’ve just come off a series of hard-hitting thrillers or horror books, or a deeply moving nonfiction book. Her writing is just fun, soap opera, housewives of (locality) material. Not a lot for the reader to think about. Just pure devious fictional characters with secrets and lies.
What made this book even more enjoyable for me was the setting. A recently renovated Palm Springs vacation home that reeks of the hotel these sorority sisters stayed in 25 years ago – with disastrous results. Ostensibly a celebration of two of their children’s future marriage to each other, it’s a showcase…and showtime…for Roxy Gentry, the self-appointed “hostess with the mostest”. But when the secrets start being revealed, not one person will come out of the house the same. Some of them may not even come out!
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for indulging my love of thrillers with an advance reader’s copy. -
Murder Manor
Author: Cori Nevruz
Publisher: Masonboro Press
Published:ย February 3, 2026Cori Nevruz is becoming one of my go-to authors for creepy house settings. I read The Unwelcome Guest last year, a locked-room (island) thriller about a family reunion on a remote island. The setting of this, a remote mountain-top retreat, gave me the same creepy vibe.
The Johnson family of five has decided to spend their vacation at Murdoch Manor. They have no idea that it’s been linked to the disappearances of several people throughout the years, starting with the disappearance of Maryanne Maxwell in 1954. The story alternates between the POVs of Rachel and Mia Johnson and the victims of those who went missing over the years. To complicate matters, there is a family that is responsible for cooking and cleaning, BnB style, but their interactions with the family are rather suspect to me!
As much as I try to stay away from paranormal events in stories, Mia’s ability to see spirits is a thread that is important to the story, and it was so well done that it didn’t make me cringe.
Thank you to Book Sirens and Masonboro Press for keeping this author on my radar with an advance reader’s copy. -
This House Will Feed
Author: Maria Tureaud
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Published:ย January 27, 2026I have said I don’t read historical fiction.
I have said I don’t read romance.
I have said I don’t read fiction with supernatural elements.
Dear reader, I lied! Because I absolutely loved This House Will Feed, which has all of the above and more. Horror. Suspense. And plenty of other things that may or may not be triggers for you. Suffice to say, Maria Tureaud has done her research and has opened my eyes to the horror that was The Great Hunger, otherwise known as the Great Irish Potato Famine, when a fungus blighted the potato crops of Ireland.
Reading the author’s note is a must, because while the lack of food stocks caused great hunger, it was the British landowners who ousted tenants and/or confiscated their possessions and land who were responsible for so much suffering. My heart ached, not just for the fictional Maggie O’Shughnessy and her family, but also for the real people of Ireland who lived through that painful era. Come for the gothic horror; stay for the history lesson!
The author includes references, a pronunciation guide, translations/meanings of words in the book, and a reading group guide.
I love Irish fiction and I will read anything Maria Tureaud writes. Thank you to Kensington Publishing for sending me an advance reader’s copy so that I could discover a new favorite author! -
Dead in the Water
Author: John Marrs
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published:ย January 20, 2026I thought I knew where this book was going, but no, I did not!! Oh yes, I guessed the first twist. But I was foolish to think the author was going to stop there. Because, come on, this is John Marrs. He just has to give you another twist…and another…and then the twists just keep coming.
Once Damon has a near-death experience, he can’t stop obsessing over the visions he had. He swears that he is not hallucinating, but seeing the people from those visions in real life. And those people have a message for him. One he must die again to interpret. And again. And again.
Before long, Damon’s compulsion has driven away his ex-wife and her girlfriend, and they’re not even sure they want him to father their child anymore. Because he’s a ghost of who he was before he drowned. And something has changed.
At one point Damon says, “๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ’๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ 97. ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ช๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ, ๐ช๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ.” Oh no, Damon, your life ends at Chapter 39 (IYKYK).
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an advance reader’s copy. -
The Locksmith
Author: Danielle Fear
Publisher: Indie
Published:ย January 27, 2026You can hide in your houses. You can lock your doors. But nothing is keeping The Locksmith out.
Just thinking about someone stealthily lurking around your house, creeping into your bedroom while you’re sleeping, sent shivers down my back. This book began as an investigation into a gruesome serial killer but turned into so much more. It explores the unknown impact our actions may have on others, the obsessions we hold while ignoring what should matter more to us, and the perceptions that blind us to facts.
The author built the story slowly, but by the end, things move so rapidly that you cannot avert your eyes quickly enough to the chaos that is about to unfold.
Thank you to the author, @daniellefearauthor for including me in the ARC group!
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Real Life, Fake Likes
Author: M. Kay
Publisher: Indie
Published:ย December 27, 2025This book answers the question of why we are emotionally attached to social media. It doesn’t attempt to get you to become a digital nomad, but encourages you ask yourself a series of questions to self-analyze your use: ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ-๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ? ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ? ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ?
The author doesn’t assume that you will give up social media, even knowing the ways that the algorithm tricks you into staying engaged (scrolling). They provide some tips to help you use your time online wisely, and more efficiently:
โข Spot the algorithm’s tricks
โข Engage actively, consume passively less
โข Practice the pause
โข Question the urge
There is some repetition, but I love that the tone of the book doesn’t come off preachy – the author admits to her share of scrolling. They used research and provided citations under suggested readings. This may just be the wake-up call you need to become a more informed consumer of social media, and to make you feel better about the time you do spend online.
Thank you to Hidden Gems for the opportunity to read an advance reader’s copy. -
The Invisible Woman
Author: James Patterson and Susan DiLallo
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published:ย January 5, 2026I liked the premise of this book…an FBI agent who is “of a certain age” would be perfect to go undercover as a nanny and spy on the suspect. And that would be great if Elinor had actually acted like a seasoned FBI agent. But there was so much naivety on her part that I just couldn’t get past it. Elinor’s interactions with her small charge were cute, but there was a lot (a LOT) of potty humor.
Was there a real mystery involved? Yes, and the interplay between art dealings and the lives of the families in the privileged neighborhood where Elinor wound up kept me engaged. And, of course, the “advanced” baby Lily was endearing. You may enjoy this book a lot more than I did, for the wittiness and the writing; cozies just aren’t my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advance reader’s copy.
Book Cravings 