Monthly Archives: September 2018

#thrillerbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensebooks

Book Alert: The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley

2 Comments

BOOKALERT

81sudsogqkL

First of all, this cover is gorgeous! It makes me want to run away to a deserted, tropical island and just stay there forever. But, I would hope it wasn’t an island full of secrets, or being invaded by hurricane for that matter, just like in The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley. This 2019 release sounds great, definitely my type of read!

What are your thoughts on The Last Resort?
_______________________

Book Summary: Welcome, friends! Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you should all have arrived by 4:00 p.m., and we’ll meet on the Oceanside Terrace shortly after Opening Night. We understand you may be tired from a day of travel, but the inaugural exercise isn’t optional (none of the scheduled activities are). Don’t worry—you’ll have plenty of time to relax tomorrow.

The Harmony Resort, La Hacienda, promises hope for struggling marriages. Run by celebrity couple Drs. Miles and Grace Markell—authors of the bestseller Revering Your Marriage and Renewing Your Love—the “last resort” offers the chance for couples to repair their relationships in a luxurious setting on the gorgeous Mayan Riviera.

Johanna and Ben have a marriage that looks great on the surface, but in reality, they’re deeply alienated from one another. Shell and Colin fight constantly; after all, Colin is a workaholic, and Shell always comes second to his job as an executive at a powerful mining company. As both couples begin Harmony’s intensive therapy program, it becomes clear that Harmony is not all it seems—and neither are Miles and Grace themselves. What are they hiding, and what price will these couples pay for finding out?

As a powerful hurricane descends on the coast, trapping both the hosts and the guests on the resort, secrets are revealed, loyalties are tested and not one single person—or their marriage—will remain unchanged by what follows.

Release Date: June 18, 2019
Publisher: Graydon House
Photo and Summary taken from @amazon

Advertisement
#thrillerbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensebooks

Book Review: Perfect Days by Raphael Montes

1 Comment

81cD1fzlOaL.jpgPerfect Days by Raphael Montes
Reading Level: Thriller
Release Date: February 14, 2017
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 272

Book Summary: A twisted young medical student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a dark and delirious road trip across Brazil in the English-language debut of Brazil’s most celebrated young crime writer.

Teo Avelar is a loner. He lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog in Rio de Janeiro, he doesn’t have many friends, and the only time he feels honest human emotion is in the presence of his medical school cadaver—that is, until he meets Clarice. She’s almost his exact opposite: exotic, spontaneous, unafraid to speak her mind. An aspiring screenwriter, she’s working on a screenplay called Perfect Days about three friends who go on a road trip across Brazil in search of romance. Teo is obsessed. He begins to stalk her, first following her to her university, then to her home, and when she ultimately rejects him, he kidnaps her and they embark upon their very own twisted odyssey across Brazil, tracing the same route outlined in her screenplay. Through it all, Teo is certain that time is all he needs to prove to Clarice that they are made for each other, that time is all he needs to make her fall in love with him. But as the journey progresses, he digs himself deeper and deeper into a pit that he can’t get out of, stopping at nothing to ensure that no one gets in the way of their life together. Both tense and lurid, and brimming with suspense from the very first page, Perfect Days is a psychological thriller in the vein of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley—a chilling journey in the passenger seat with a psychopath, and the English language debut of one of Brazil’s most deliciously dark young writers.

My Review: Who has read YOU? We all love the main character Joe even though he is crazy, right? Well, in regards to Teo in Perfect Days, let’s just say he makes Joe look sane. Teo is one of the most delusional character’s I’ve ever encountered in a story. Words cannot express how badly this guy needs to be strapped to a bed and put away forever. And yet, he is intellectual, charming and highly intelligent, I guess crazy comes in all forms now a days.

Teo is the type of guy who fits the profile of a sociopath. He doesn’t really feel empathy and lacks the ability to connect to people, until he meets Clarice. He is immediately smittened and decides to kidnap her once she rejects him. Well, that’s normal behavior….NOT.

The journey across Brazil, was a twisted whirlwind of entertainment. The moment you think, yup that’s it, he is going to get caught. Boom. The story shifts and takes a different turn. The nonstop, clussterfuck of events made this book an enjoyable and exciting read, right until the end.

Now, I would have loved the story more if it didn’t finish the way it did. I understand it was left open for interpretation, but I was expecting more. Besides that minor hiccup, it was a thrilling ride, with a perfectly crafted protagonist who will be remembered as one dangerous and loony individual. I look forward to seeing more works by Raphael Montes. His fluidity in writing helped sustain the tone throughout the story. It never faltered or lost track of where it was going. I would love to dive into another world of make believe starring one of Raphael’s irrational characters.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

About The Author:

254530
RAPHAEL MONTES was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1990, and is a lawyer and a writer. His short stories have appeared in Playboy and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. His debut novel, Suicides, was published to much acclaim in Brazil in 2010 and was a finalist for the Sao Paolo Literature Prize, among many other accolades. Perfect Days is being published in seven countries. The author lives in Rio de Janeiro.

–Website
–Instagram
–Twitter

I don’t know what cover edition this version is, but I looove it! I will never look at a suitcase the same ever again…

25716724

#thrillerbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensebooks

I Got My Eye On You Feature: Confidential by Ellie Monago

Leave a comment

91HJBxYzaVL

A dead therapist. Three women caught up in lies and murderous motives. Who did it? How mysterious does Confidential sound!? I am very intrigued and curious how this story will turn out. Yet another 2019 thriller I can’t wait to get my hands on, it’ll be released on March 5th, 2019.

What are your thoughts on Confidential?
________________

Book Summary: From the bestselling author of Neighborly comes a twisty novel of psychological suspense about the lies three women tell to survive, and the ones they’d kill to keep hidden.

Everyone loves therapist Michael Baylor. He’s handsome. He’s respected. And he’s provided a safe place for his female patients. Now he’s dead, and a detective is casting a tight net for the murderer—because the good doctor may have done some very bad things with the women who trusted him. That’s if their stories check out.

There’s Lucinda, who struggled to process her childhood trauma even as she was falling in love with Dr. Baylor. Greer, an accomplished career woman who was torn by her sudden desire to have children, so she went to Dr. Baylor for help but may have gotten more than she bargained for. And then there’s Flora, a beautiful former patient who’d been on intimate terms with the man she called Dr. Michael for two years. Some might even say she was obsessed with him.

Three women caught in a tangled web of lies and secrets. And each with a motive for murder. With so much at stake, can any of them be trusted to tell the truth?

Release Date: March 5, 2019
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing @lakeunionauthors @amazonpublishing
Photo and Summary taken from @amazon

#horrorbooks #brother

Book Review: Brother by Ania Ahlborn

3 Comments

 

Brother by Ania Ahlborn
Reading Level: Horror
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 337

Book Summary: Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…

My Review: Beautifully twisted and deliciously appetizing, Brother by Ania Ahlborn is the epitome of horror excellency. From the first chapter, my gut told me that I was going to eat this story up. Ania’s writing ability is like no other. Her imagery and rhythm of story telling, made me fall into a trance like state of reading. As a reader, it was such a treat to be able to get lost in this twisted tale. It was just I and the scum of the Earth family of the Murrows.

The Murrows, where do I even start? This family is so royally messed up, that they make any problem you’re going through look minimal. The murderous urge within a couple of the characters was unsettling. It shook me to my core to see such malice behavior in human beings. The only bright hope within the family was Michael. Poor, tragic, Michael. At times, I wanted to yell at him to grow a pair and then I had moments I felt great sadness for this imprisoned soul.

I don’t want to give away too much because the story speaks for itself. The continuous twists and turns left me gasping for more. And by the climax, I was left with my hand over my mouth, while I exhaled, “no fucking way.”

So, my book friends I leave you with a taste for one hell of a ride! If you’re a fan of thrillers or horror books, then Brother is the way to go. Ania has become one of my favorite authors now, and you bet your ass I’ll be purchasing all her works!

My Rating:  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

About The Author:

51YwLaySwUL._SY600_
Born in Ciechanow Poland, Ania has always been drawn to the darker, mysterious, and sometimes morbid sides of life. Her earliest childhood memory is of crawling through a hole in the chain link fence that separated her family home from the large wooded cemetery next door. She’d spend hours among the headstones, breaking up bouquets of silk flowers so that everyone had their equal share.

–Instagram
–Twitter
–Facebook

#thrillerbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensebooks

I Got My Eye On You: The Better Sister by Alafair Burke

Leave a comment

y648.jpg

The cover definitely sets the mood for The Better Sister by Alafair Burke! I was intrigued by the cake topper on the bottom of the pool, along with the mysterious storyline.

I am adding this to my list of thrillers to look out for next year. April 2nd can’t come fast enough!

What are your thoughts on The Better Sister?
________________

Book Summary:

From Alafair Burke—New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit, The Wife—comes another twisty tale of domestic noir. When a prominent Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters—one the dead man’s widow, the other his ex—must set aside mistrust and old resentments . . . but can they escape their past?

Though Hannah was the younger of the two Taylor sisters, she always seemed to be in charge. She was the honor roll student with big dreams and an even bigger work ethic. Nicole was always restless . . . and more than a little reckless—the opposite of her ambitious little sister. She floated from job to job and man to man, and stayed close to home in Cleveland.

For a while, it seemed like both sisters had found happiness. Hannah earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school and moved to New York City, where she landed a coveted publishing job. Nicole married promising young attorney Graham McIntosh, and gave birth to a baby boy they named Ian. The Taylor sisters became virtual strangers.

Now, more than fifteen years later, their lives are drastically different—and Hannah is married to Graham. When he’s murdered by a masked intruder at the couple’s East Hampton beach house, Hannah reluctantly allows her teenaged stepson’s biological mother—her estranged sister, Nicole—back into her life. But when the police begin to treat Ian as a suspect in his father’s death, the two sisters are forced to unite . . . and to confront the truth behind family secrets they have tried to bury in the past.

Release Date: April 2, 2019
Publisher: Harper Books
Photo and Summary taken from Amazon

#thrillerbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensebooks

Book Cover Reveal: The Memory by Lucy Dawson

2 Comments

51Se0dSPlVL.SX316.SY316

I am a huge fan of thriller books published by @bookouture. The cover reveal for Lucy Dawson’s new book, The Memory, came out today. @lucydawsonbooks

I absolutely love it, it’s simple yet chilling! The book will be out on December 6th. The paperback and digital copy is available for pre-order!

What do you think about the cover?
_____________________

Book Summary: She’ll never forget… I’ll never forgive.

People always notice my daughter, Isobel. How could they not? Extraordinarily beautiful… until she speaks.

An unsettling, little-girl voice, exactly like a child’s, but from the mouth of a full-grown woman.

Izzie might look grown-up, but inside she’s trapped. Caught in the day it happened… the day that broke her from within. Our family fell apart that day, and we never could pick up the pieces.

#horrorbooks #insidetheoutside #cultbooks

Book Review: Inside the Outside by Martin Lastrapes

2 Comments

51c+mJxwPoL._SX319_BO1,204,203,200_Inside the Outside by Martin Lastrapes
Reading Level: Horror
Release Date: July 9, 2011
Publisher: Cannibal Press
Pages: 295

Book Summary: Timber has lived her entire life as a cannibal within a cult called the Divinity of Feminine Reproach and, by the time she is fifteen years old, she has already killed three men. When Timber takes an opportunity to explore the Outside, she bears witness to some dark and unsettling truths about the world around her and the integral role she plays in it. In this debut novel, laced with scenes of horrific violence and uplifting humanity, Martin Lastrapes has written a one-of-a-kind story about love, friendship, sacrifice, and cannibalism.

My Review: Inside The Outside by Martin Lastrapes got inside my mind, and made me think outside the box. You ever wonder what goes on in an individual’s mind to be involved in a cult? Well, Martin gives the reader a chance to dive into the mind of Timber, a young lady who was born and raised in a cannibal cult.

Timber, was such a delightful and brave character. With that name, she was destined to knock down whatever obstacles came her way. Even though, I couldn’t necessarily relate to her, I still established a connection with Timber that lasted until the end.

The novel was broken up into three parts. The first part was absolutely fascinating. I loved uncovering the ins and outs of a human flesh eating society. It was gritty, raw and down right chilling. Even in times where I literally said, ew or what the Fuck out loud, it definitely moved me and got under my skin. Now, if that’s not great writing, than I don’t know what is!

By the second part, it kind of took a different turn. It was a little hard adjusting to the change since I was on a heart pacing high from the first part. But, a few chapters in, I got back into it and once again I was biting my nails with anticipation.

All in all, this was my first cult book and I loved it. It hit all the elements I expected to feel while reading about cannibalistic cult members. But, Martin also expressed other themes such as sexuality and gender roles. I don’t know how he managed to cram everything in there without making it confusing. He gave just the right balance to keep everything in sync with the story. I highly recommend this novel if you’re into cults or just horror novels in general!

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

About The Author:

MartinLastrapes
–Website
–Instagram
–Twitter
–Facebook

#fictionbooks #normalpeople #sallyrooney

Book Alert: Normal People by Sally Rooney

7 Comments

BOOKALERT

images
Release Date: April 16, 2019
Publisher: Hogarth / Crown Publishing
Photo and Summary taken from Amazon

You ever find a cover that you instantly fall in love with? The moment I saw Normal People by Sally Rooney, I knew I had to read it.

I do want to start reading more fiction books. Throw some in between my thriller books. Just to open my horizon to more stories.

Has anyone read Sally’s previous book, Conversations with Friends? I heard it’s good. I’ll pick that one up since Normal People doesn’t come out until April 2019.

Book Summary:

At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.

#booktour #marykubica #whenthelightsgoout, #thrillerbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensebooks

Book Launch + Tour: When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

Leave a comment

 

WTLGO-cover-4.26

Mary Kubica’s book tour for When The Lights Go Out officially started on September 2nd. On September 4th, she will be gracing us with her presence in my borough of Brooklyn, at the Powerhouse Arena. She will be in conversation with Kimberly McCreight and it is from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. In addition, the book will be coming out tomorrow, on the 4th, so make sure to grab your copy!

I wish I could go but, the next day is my son’s first day of Pre-K and I have to prepare for it. If any of my followers live in New York, head on over to RSVP!

The event is located at:

Powerhouse Arena
28 Adams St
Brooklyn, NY 11201

If you do not live in New York, see below the rest of Mary’s book tour stops. She just might be visiting your area!