MYSTERY. SUSPENSE. INTRIGUE.
Today I am taking part in the books on tour and reviewing Best Friends Forever by Shannon Hollinger, published by Bookouture. BOOK DESCRIPTION I emerge from the trees, drenched in sweat, my voice lost as I take in the scene in front of me. The blood. The body. Emma’s eyes meet mine for a second. […]
Best Friends Forever by Shannon Hollinger #BookReview #BooksOnTour #BestFriendsForever #Thriller #Mystery #Suspense #Netgalley @thiswritersays @Bookouture #onceuponatimebookreviews
From Goodreads:
Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.
One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, “None of what’s going to happen is your fault”. Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: “Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world.”
My Review:
I have to say that while my past experience with this author had me expecting a heavy dose of visceral horror, that’s not quite what I got with this one. I’m not quite sure how to describe this book. There’s definitely some horror in it, and parts are horrific, but the frightening bits seemed almost to take a backseat to what seemed to be the focus of the plot, which was, perhaps, a study in existentialism in terms of horror? I don’t know. This was a weird one. I enjoyed it, but it was strange and perhaps a tad unruly in that it’s not at all what I thought I’d be getting.
From Goodreads:
In Furiously Happy, a humor memoir tinged with just enough tragedy and pathos to make it worthwhile, Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest:
“I’ve often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that ‘normal people’ also might never understand. And that’s what Furiously Happy is all about.”
Jenny’s readings are standing room only, with fans lining up to have Jenny sign their bottles of Xanax or Prozac as often as they are to have her sign their books. Furiously Happy appeals to Jenny’s core fan base but also transcends it. There are so many people out there struggling with depression and mental illness, either themselves or someone in their family—and in Furiously Happy they will find a member of their tribe offering up an uplifting message (via a taxidermied roadkill raccoon). Let’s Pretend This Never Happened ostensibly was about embracing your own weirdness, but deep down it was about family. Furiously Happy is about depression and mental illness, but deep down it’s about joy—and who doesn’t want a bit more of that?
My Review:
Whether you suffer from depression, love someone who does, or are just looking for some entertainment, Lawson’s your girl. Her unexpected wisdom, wit, and weirdness are inspiring, endearing, and just plain fun! I can trust that her books will make me laugh out loud while also making me think about common things in an entirely new light!
From Goodreads:
Some doors are locked for a reason…
While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.
Until the day the police arrived at their front door.
Decades later, Nora’s father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.
Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.
Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.
As long as they don’t look in her basement.
My Review:
McFadden has quickly become one of my go-to authors when I need a book that will keep my attention and deliver an intriguing plot with impressive twists. She’s a master at suspense, and I love that no matter what the ‘theme’ of the book, from influencers to camping trips to serial killers, there’s going to be something that feels fresh, inventive, and unexpected in the pages!
From Goodreads:
Promising to be the debut novel of the season The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive…
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….
My Review:
This is one of those books where there’s been so much hype that you know it’s going to fall short of expectations, but because of all the hype, you have to give it a shot to find out what all the fuss is about. However, even though I expected to be let down, I wasn’t! There were several nice twists, and while they weren’t all completely unexpected, some were definitely crafty! Considering that this was a debut book, color me impressed!
From Goodreads:
A new Slayer for a new generation…
Frankie Rosenberg is passionate about the environment, a sophomore at New Sunnydale High School, and the daughter of the most powerful witch in Sunnydale history. Her mom, Willow, is slowly teaching her magic on the condition that she use it to better the world. But Frankie’s happily quiet life is upended when new girl Hailey shows up with news that the annual Slayer convention has been the target of an attack, and all the Slayers—including Buffy, Faith, and Hailey’s older sister Vi—might be dead. That means it’s time for this generation’s Slayer to be born.
But being the first ever Slayer-Witch means learning how to wield a stake while trying to control her budding powers. With the help of Hailey, a werewolf named Jake, and a hot but nerdy sage demon, Frankie must become the Slayer, prevent the Hellmouth from opening again, and find out what happened to her Aunt Buffy, before she’s next.
Get ready for a whole new story within the world of Buffy!
The first in an all-new series by New York Times best-selling author Kendare Blake continues the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer featuring the next generation of Scoobies and Slayers who must defeat a powerful new evil.
My Review:
I’ve been a HUGE Buffy fan since the show premiered when I was in high school, but I’ve always been a purist – I’ve never read any of the fan fiction, graphic mags, etc. – the show was always enough for me. However, when I saw that this was written by Kendare Blake, I knew I had to give it a try!
It’s obvious that Blake knows her Buffy – the details, the backstory, even the personalities of the characters – are all perfection. It did take me a while to get into because, for the most part, the book deals with a new, younger generation of characters, but the plot was just like something that would have been featured on the episode of a show. I think the author did a great job bringing a new cast of characters to life, and while the old cast and TV show will always be my favorite, there was very little to complain about here.
Freida McFadden is one of the new authors that I’ve recently discovered whose work just keeps me glued to the pages. Take this book, for instance – it’s about a wife/mother/YouTuber with secrets. Given the blurb alone, this isn’t something I would have normally picked up. It would have been an easy pass because it’s not the kind of plot I’m normally interested in. And even while reading it, I asked myself what I was doing because, again, this isn’t the type of plot I’m normally interested in, plus, I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and yet – I couldn’t put it down! My eyes literally devoured it at breakneck speed! Bonus points for the nasty little twist she put at the end to sink the dagger of surprise deep between the reader’s shoulder blades. She’s quickly becoming an automatic yes author for me!
Jenny Lawson is a blogger who speaks candidly about her struggles with depression. I’ve never seen or read the blog, but I’ve seen reviews of her books on all my favorite bookish platforms, so when this one made my Kindle daily deals I snatched it up.
I can’t possibly express how much I loved this book! This was the first I’ve read by Lawson, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself with an amazing collection of autobiographical essays – some hilarious, some depressing, but all wonderful and ultimately uplifting in their own right. Lawson is endearing and delightful and honest, the kind of person whom I’d happily welcome into my life (except we’d both probably prefer that to happen at great distance and with minimal actual interaction – but that’s okay!).
….And this is supposed to be her least funny book? Sign me up for the others.
Two girls with no experience camping decide to spend the weekend out in the woods together – alone. The premise alone opens up endless opportunities to terrify both the characters and the reader!
But would two such characters – and their parents – really go for this?
Perhaps. The author presents the situation as arising when two besties are faced with the pending demise of their codependent friendship as college approaches. This semi-plausible plot quickly takes a detour, though, when their weekend goes from bad to worse to downright horrific. I’m a huge fan of YA horror and anything scary that takes place in the woods, so I did ultimately enjoy this book, but if you’re expecting the same strength of plot as Perkins’ previous book, you might be disappointed. This one failed to meet its full potential. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Like many children of the 80s, I grew up an Elvira fan. Even though I’m not a huge fan of biographies,
as soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to get my hands on it.
There’s no doubt that Cassandra Peterson lived a fascinating life, and she’s definitely so much more than the well-known ‘Mistress of the Macabre, Queen of Halloween’ character she created. That said, I wish that the book had focused more on her career and the character of Elvira. Parts read like a who’s who of all the famous people she’s known – I would have preferred more insider details about the aspects of her career that I knew her for. All in all though, an entertaining read with plenty of dirt and Elvira’s long adored wit!
Shannon Hollinger 