Book Review: "When They Find Me" by Carter Wilson

When more than one Bookstagram friend tells you that this book is “a banger,” you know I had to request an ARC! And they were not wrong—this was fantastic! Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Expanse, Colorado is a tiny town of 313 people. It’s the perfect place for people who are hiding from someone or just want to live off the grid. This is where Annie and her daughter Coral have settled, and Annie has done everything she can to ensure that no one knows where they are.

A few years ago, Annie had to kill someone. She’s been looking over her shoulder ever since. She expects that someone will come looking for her one day and try to get revenge, so she’s determined to keep her and Coral safe.

One day, trouble comes calling in the form of an angry old man who calls himself Coyote, and his two adult children, Boone and Riven. They’ve come to Expanse to find the man Coyote insists destroyed his life and tried to break up his family. Riven is ready to kill this man and finally prove her worth to her father.

Annie isn’t expecting Coyote, Boone, and Riven to show up at her door, and she’s definitely not the person they’re expecting to find. But they get locked in a battle of wills, and both Annie and Coyote will do all they can to protect their children. When truths are uncovered, no one will be left the same.

Carter Wilson is an exceptionally talented thriller writer. This was definitely a book which kept me guessing. There was so much tension, so much simmering anger and violence just under the surface. I wanted to applaud when it was done.

The book will publish 11/10.

Book Review: "Pretty Dead Things" by Kelsey Cox

In the small town of Anhalt, Texas, the Lone Star Princess Pageant is a big deal. The competition is cutthroat—and that’s just among some of the mothers! No one believes their daughter is more deserving than Kennedy Claire, a former winner herself, who will stop at nothing to make sure the crown winds up on her daughter’s head.

Twenty-five years ago, on the night of the pageant, Isabelle Whitmore disappeared. Everyone believed she was murdered by her boyfriend Ben and that her body was buried somewhere on the sprawling Sherman Ranch. Now, Izzy’s twin sister Ingrid has returned to town, just as construction crews are digging up the ranch to build houses.

The pageant reawakens old hurts and resentments. Melanie can’t shake the trauma she experienced after being pranked by her friends; Cat, who has finally gotten sober, is convinced she’s being followed; and Ingrid begins to realize the truths she believed about her sister’s disappearance may not be accurate.

When a major winter storm—nearly unheard of in Texas—strikes Anhalt, all the pageant contestants and their families are stuck together under one roof. But after one death shakes everyone up, the question of who is responsible worries everyone. And that’s not all they’ll need to deal with.

This was a really good thriller. I really didn’t know what was going to happen and who would be the culprit, and Kelsey Cox definitely kept me guessing. There was a lot going on but it never felt overwhelming. I want to go back and read her debut thriller now!

Book Review: "The Lodge" by Kayla Olson

“…once you start falling, it’s nearly impossible to stop—you pick up speed, and you might flail a little to course-correct, but at the end of the day you find yourself in over your head.”

Alix is an entertainment journalist who has just landed a huge job, ghostwriting the memoir of Sebastian Green, one of the lead singers of the hugely popular boy band True North. She used to write about True North when the band was together, and in fact, she was the last person to interview the other lead singer, Jett Beckett, before he disappeared without a trace.

To ensure Alix has a quiet place to write the book as quickly as possible, Sebastian arranges for her stay in a penthouse apartment at a cushy ski lodge in Vermont. She spends hours transcribing Sebastian’s voice memos into a narrative, but she has so many questions and can never reach him to get clarification.

To take a break from writing, Alix starts spending time with her neighbor from the penthouse apartment next door. Tyler, the incredibly sexy, romantic ski instructor, awakens feelings in Alix that had remained dormant since she and her ex-boyfriend broke up. She can’t tell Tyler whom she’s writing about, and it appears that Tyler has some secrets he’s not ready to share either.

When a blizzard hits Vermont—a colossal storm called Yeti—it brings with it a storm of paparazzi and gossip. And while Alix is an excellent writer, even she can’t script the revealing of long-held secrets and hurts that follow.

This was a fun story and a sweet, clean romance. I wasn’t surprised with what transpired but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. While I know her character played a role in advancing the plot, Alix’s sister drove me crazy, and I could’ve done without her completely. But overall, this was a book with characters to root for and a story that made me smile.