Review: Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith

Title: Predatory Natures

Author: Amy Goldsmith

Genre: YA, horror

Publication date: July 2025

Published by: Delacorte Press

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

When Lara Williams gets a summer job aboard the luxury train the Banebury, she thinks she’s landed a five-star escape from her past. Even after she learns that her ex-friend Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.

But on the first day of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn. Two mysterious carriages filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants are attached to the Banebury in the middle of the night.

And with them comes a pair of siblings. Wealthy, mysterious, and charismatic, Gwen and Gwydion claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, but Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something . . . otherworldly about the strange blooms. Something that will stop at nothing to ensure the Banebury never reaches its destination.

Soon Lara will learn: You can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t unearth the secrets of the Banebury, they might drag her down for good. . . .

My rating: ★★★★☆

I really enjoyed this book! One of the first things that caught my attention was the setting of the book: on a train! That’s so fun! I hardly read books set on trains! That, plus the fact that there was a potentially killer garden onboard? I was IN!

Review: Five Broken Blades (The Broken Blades #1) by Mai Corland

Title: Five Broken Blades

Series: The Broken Blades #1

Author: Mai Corland

Genre: Adult, high fantasy

Publication date: May 2024

Published by: Entangled: Red Tower Books

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: It’s the season
for treason…

The king of Yusan must die.

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.

He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.

And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.

They can agree on murder.

They can agree on treachery.

But for these five killers―each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal―it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.

Let the best liar win.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I really loved the concept of this book! Just a group of characters with different characters coming together to achieve a mutual goal: kill the king. I’m such a sucker for that sort of stuff!

Review: Lost Coastlines (Five Ghosts Vol. 2) by Frank J. Barbiere

Title: Lost Coastlines

Series: Five Ghosts Vol. 2

Previous book in this series: The Haunting of Fabian Gray

Author: Frank J. Barbiere

Illustrator: Chris Mooneyham

Genre: Adult, comic book, fantasy

Publication date: July 2014

Published by: Image Comics

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: In 'Lost Coastlines', Fabian joins his old flame Jezebel on a trip across the sea to Japan and the mythical Island of Dreams. On their perilous journey they'll encounter pirates and a dark shadow from Fabian's past.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

In this volume, Fabian and Sebastian continue trying to find a way to bring back Silvia. Specifically, they head to an island in search of dreamstone, because that might be the key to bringing her back.

Review: We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Title: We Used to Live Here

Author: Marcus Kliewer

Genre: Adult, horror

Publication date: June 2024

Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Source: Borrwed from library

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Synopsis: As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

My rating: ★★★★☆

Almost everything about the house, from its origin to its chain of ownership, was a mystery.

This book was weird but in the best way possible. Lol.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #462: I Did It

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.