The One that Got Away with Murder by Trish Lundy My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had so much fun reading The One that Got Away with Murder. I read it in a 24-hour period and clearly, it hooked me. It was drama-filled, fast-paced and compelling. Exactly how I like my YA Mystery/Thrillers. I can’t believe this is a debut!? How is that even true?! In this story we follow Lauren. a high school soccer star, just about to enter her Senior year. Sadly, she’s going to be doing that at an all new school, as she has recently moved with her Mom from California to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. Her Mom’s long-dis ..read more

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis My rating: 2 of 5 stars Dead Girls Walking is a recent YA Horror release. One that I had been very anxious to pick up. The publisher’s synopsis, as well as the intriguing cover, had my full attention. It looks like this is a debut novel for author, Sami Ellis, and while I can appreciate the author’s creativity and ambition, the story did not work for me, unfortunately. I considered giving it 3-stars, but I have to be honest about my experience. For me, a 3-star book is something I liked, but that didn’t blow me away and may have minor issues. I just don’t thin ..read more

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson My rating: 4 of 5 stars **3.5-stars rounded up** The first thing that attracted me to The Forest Demands Its Due was the stunning cover. It’s 100% my go-to aesthetic. The colors, the imagery, even the font, I had to know what it was about. After reading the synopsis, I wanted it ASAP. In this story, set in Winslow, a small town in rural-Vermont, we follow Douglas Jones, a recently enrolled student at the prestigious Regent Academy. Douglas differs from the other students. He’s there because his Mom works there and he got in a bit of trouble elsewh ..read more

The Bad Ones: A Novel by Melissa Albert My rating: 4 of 5 stars **4.5-stars** The Bad Ones is the latest from beloved YA-author, Melissa Albert. I was immediately drawn to this stunning cover. It screams beautiful darkness and that’s definitely the mood that this story delivers. The dark atmosphere was a hit for me, as well as the moody, yet fluid and engaging prose. In this story we mainly follow Nora, whose estranged best friend, Becca, goes missing at the very start of our tale. We also learn of some other residents of their town who all go missing on that same night. While many adults in ..read more

The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Obsession is an intense YA-Thriller from one of my go-to authors, Jesse Q. Sutanto. This novel was released in 2021, and I’m so happy I dipped into my backlist for it. Totally worth it! In The Obsession we follow two teens, Delilah and Logan. Logan falls in love with Delilah on sight. She’s perfect. Everything he has ever wanted and he will have her. He learns everything he can about her by doing things such as watching her at school, studying her social media, and aiming a hidden camera at her house. You know, all totally normal t ..read more

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat My rating: 5 of 5 stars **4.5-stars rounded up** A Place for Vanishing is the most recent YA-Horror novel from one of my new go-to authors, Ann Fraistat. I actually recently read Fraistat’s debut, What We Harvest, and was so impressed with the story she created within those pages. It sucked me in from the start and never let up. This story is similar in a lot of ways. The first being it gets started quickly and has a great cast of characters. This feels more gothic though and a bit more cerebral. In this story we follow Libby, who has recently been diagno ..read more

That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally My rating: 5 of 5 stars **4.5-stars rounded up** That’s Not My Name was a great start to a new reading year. If this is what 2024 has in store, I’m a happy girl! I’ve been on a holiday for the past 10-days. My house needed cleaning, I needed to unpack, organize, it was a whole day affair. Thanks to Megan Lally, that day was a breeze. I started this one as soon as I started cleaning this morning and could not stop. It’s super compelling, with fabulous narration for the audio. Before I knew it, it was done. This story follows two perspectives, Mary and Drew. T ..read more

Tag, You’re Dead by Kathryn Foxfield My rating: 2 of 5 stars **2.5-stars** Tag, You’re Dead is a futuristic-feeling YA Thriller with a strong gaming element. Unfortunately, as great as the overall concept is, I wasn’t crazy about the execution. This story features a live-streamed, city-wide game of tag hosted by a well-known, oft-controversial, teenage social media influencer, Anton Frazer. The prize is to become one of his assistants. The teen’s fans are eager to compete, but what about his enemies? Certainly someone as famous and potentially contentious as Anton has many. What would they do ..read more

One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus My rating: 4 of 5 stars One of Us Is Back is the third, and reportedly, final installment to the One of Us Is Lying series by beloved YA Thriller author, Karen M. McManus. First things first, I just want to take a moment and say thank you to the cover designers for McManus’ books. Staying with this theme through all the recent releases, whether they are part of a series or not, is such a great choice. I love how they all look together on the shelf!!! I have loved this series since the very start and have been anxiously awaiting this release. It was so gre ..read more

Monstrous by Jessica Lewis My rating: 4 of 5 stars Monstrous is a dark, YA Fantasy story from Jessica Lewis. I’ve heard incredible things about this author’s first novel, Bad Witch Burning, but haven’t gotten to it yet. After reading this, I know I’ll be picking it up soon. In this story we follow a teen girl, Latavia, who due to some challenges in her home-life, goes to stay with her Aunt in the small town of Sanctum, Alabama. From the start her Aunt institutes a lot of rules: don’t go out after dark, come home directly after church, and definitely don’t stray into the woods… It’s strange ..read more