Review: My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards

Title: My Secret to Tell

Author: Natalie D. Richards

Genre: YA, mystery thriller, romance

Publication date: October 2015

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: Emerson May is "the good girl." She's the perfect daughter, the caring friend, the animal shelter volunteer. But when her best friend's brother breaks into her room, his hands covered in blood, she doesn't scream or call the cops. Because when Deacon smiles at her, Emmie doesn't want to be good...

The whole town believes notorious troublemaker Deacon is guilty of assaulting his father. Only Emmie knows a secret that could set him free. But if she follows her heart, she could be trusting a killer...

You can't always trust the boy next door.

My rating: ★★★★☆

This book was intriguing from the start. I love a good mystery! I mean, you have Emmie’s best friend’s brother crawling into her bedroom covered in blood?

Review: This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

Title: This Book Kills

Author: Ravena Guron

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: September 3rd 2024

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: eARC for review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis: I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn't even help... Well, not intentionally.

All Jess Choudhary wants is to keep her head down, do her work, and make it through high school without any problems. As a scholarship student—and one of only two students of Indian heritage—her future at the elite school depends on her ability to keep a low profile and spotless record. But when one of the most popular and richest kids in the school ends up dead in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote, Jess unintentionally finds herself at the center of the investigation.

And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.

As rumors run rampant about who the murderer could be, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery herself, she'll finally have something in common with Hugh: she'll be dead too.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

The title of this book is the thing that immediately grabbed my attention when I first came across this book. I was like, uhh...

Review: Have You Seen My Sister? by Kirsty McKay

Title: Have You Seen My Sister?

Author: Kirsty McKay

Genre: YA, mystery

Publication date: September 5th 2023

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: eArc for review form publoisher via Netgalley

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Synopsis: Gaia Gill is the last person in the world anyone would expect to go missing. Beautiful, athletic, and recently accepted to a prestigious college, she has everything to look forward to—but the night of her going-away party at the Moon Mountain ski resort, she disappears.

Gaia's younger sister Esme is supposed to be flying back to England with her family after the party, but she can't leave with Gaia missing—especially because nobody remembers Gaia leaving the party. Or if they do, they're not saying. Everyone at the lodge has their own secrets: the little rich girl, the ex-boyfriend, the ski instructor, the failed reality star.

Esme's out of her depth searching the dark, dangerous forests and icy slopes of Moon Mountain, until she teams up with a local boy who promises to help her. The clock is ticking, and it's down to Esme to piece the clues together and work out who—if anybody—is telling the truth.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I enjoyed this author’s Undead duology as well as her other YA thriller The Assassin Game, so I was excited to get something new from her! And overall, I thought this book was okay.

Review: Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards

Title: Four Found Dead

Author: Natalie D. Richards

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: May 2nd 2023

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: eARC for review from publisher via Netgalley

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Synopsis: At the movie theater where Jo works, the last show has ended. But the nightmare is just beginning.

Tonight, Tempest Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, cleaning up popcorn and mopping floors for the last time.

But after an unexpected altercation puts everyone on edge, the power goes out. Their manager disappears, along with the keys to the lobby doors and the theater safe, where the crew's phones are locked each shift. Then, the crew's tension turns to terror when Jo discovers the dead body of one of her co-workers.

Now their only chance to escape the murderer in their midst is through the dark, shuttered mall. With its boarded-up exits and disabled fire alarms, the complex is filled with hiding places for both pursuer and pursued. In order to survive this night, Jo and her friends must trust one another, navigate the sprawling ruins of the mall, and outwit a killer before he kills again.

My rating: ★★★★★

I really enjoyed this book! The premise of teenagers being stuck in an abandoned mall and being chased by a killer... it sounded like my type of book. And I think it was really well done!

Review: Alone by Cyn Balog

Title: Alone

Author: Cyn Balog

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: November 2017

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: eARC from publisher via Netgalley

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Synopsis: When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they're not going back to the city... or Seda's friends and school.

As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her.

Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality...

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I really loved the premise of this book, what with its potential ghost story. And I ended up really enjoying the ride and the atmosphere. But that ending... um, yikes 😬

Review: The Assassin Game by Kirsty McKay

Title: The Assassin Game

Author: Kirsty McKay

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: August 2016

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: For review by publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Who will be left after lights out?

Tag, you’re it…

It’s 4:00 a.m. when they come for me. I am already awake, strung out on the fear that they will come, and the fear that they won’t. When I finally hear the click of the latch on the dormitory door, I have only a second to brace myself before—

At Cate's isolated boarding school, Killer is more than a game—it’s an elite secret society. Members must avoid being “Killed” during a series of thrilling pranks, and only the Game Master knows who the “Killer” is. When Cate’s finally invited to join the Assassins’ Guild, she know it’s her ticket to finally feeling like she belongs.

But when the game becomes all too real, the school threatens to shut it down. Cate will do anything to keep playing and save the Guild. But can she find the real assassin before she’s the next target?

My rating: ★★★★☆
I loved this author’s other series, Undead, but the funny thing is that I didn’t even realize it was the same author, not until I actually got this book in my hands! Lol. Finding out I’ve read and loved one of this author’s series made me even more excited to read this! And overall, I really liked it!

Review: Relentless (The Hero Agenda #2) by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Title: Relentless

Series: The Hero Agenda #2

Previous book in this series: Powerless

Author: Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Genre: YA, paranormal, superheroes

Publication date: June 2016

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: For review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Revenge is easy, but justice is worth fighting for…

Kenna is tired of being lied to—and hunted by the very allies she once trusted. Unearthing the dark secrets of the superhero world has not only endangered her life, now her boyfriend faces execution for crimes he didn’t commit and her mother is being held captive in a secret governmental prison.

Kenna is determined to stand up for what’s right and save those she loves from unspeakable fates. It’s time for the betrayal to end. It’s time for the real criminals to face justice.

But the truth is even more terrifying than Kenna could imagine. A conspiracy threatens the fate of heroes, villains, and all of humanity. If Kenna’s going to survive, she must draw on her deepest strength: her resilience. Because when Kenna’s pushed to the limit, she doesn’t break down. She fights back.

My rating: ★★★★★
Everything Kenna’s known is a lie. With lying, awful heroes and surprisingly good-hearted villains, her world has been turned upside down. And it only gets worse: her mother was kidnapped, her best friend brainwashed, and her boyfriend is on trial. Now it’s up to Kenna and the rest of the villains to save them from the heroes she once trusted and bring them down for good.

Review: Powerless (The Hero Agenda #1) by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Title: Powerless

Series: The Hero Agenda #1

Author: Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Genre: YA, paranormal, superheroes

Publication date: June 2015

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: For review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Kenna is tired of being "normal". The only thing special about her is that she isn't special at all. Which is frustrating in a world of absolutes. Villains, like the one who killed her father, are bad. Heroes, like her mother and best friend, are good. And Kenna, unlike everyone else around her, is completely ordinary— which she hates.

She’s secretly working on an experiment that will land her a place among the Heroes, but when a Villain saves her life during a break-in at her lab, Kenna discovers there’s a whole lot of gray area when it comes to good and evil and who she can trust.. After all…not all strength comes from superpowers.

My rating: ★★★★★
If you know me at all, you know that I love superheroes. I pretty much watch all the superhero shows out there at the moment. And Marvel? Well...

Review: The Suffering (The Girl from the Well #2) by Rin Chupeco

Title: The Suffering

Series: The Girl from the Well #2

Previous book in this series: The Girl from the Well

Author: Rin Chupeco

Genre: YA, paranormal, horror

Publication date: September 8, 2015

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: For review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Over the last year I've gone against faceless women, disfigured spirits, and grotesque revenants. Some people keep dangerous hobbies; skydiving and driving at monster truck rallies and glacier surfing. Me? I cast my soul into the churning waters of potential damnation and wait for a bite.

It’s been two years since Tark Halloway’s nightmare ended. Free from the evil spirit that haunted him all his life, he now aids the ghostly Okiku and avenges the souls of innocent children by hunting down their murderers. But when Okiku becomes responsible for a death at his high school, Tark begins to wonder if they’re no better than the killers they seek out.

When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan’s infamous ‘suicide forest’, both must resolve their differences and return to that country of secrets to find her.

Because there is a strange village inside Aokigahara, a village people claim does not exist. A village where strange things lie waiting.

A village with old ghosts and an ancient evil – one that may be stronger than even Okiku...

My rating: ★★★★★
The Suffering... Weeeeeee! Not usually something you say about a horror book, but I loved it!

So this is a sequel/companion book to The Girl from the Well that is, this time around, told in the POV of Tark, yay! I loved him in the last book and loved him even more in this one! I also loved that it was a male POV, which I always find refreshing and feel there should be more of... Just saying.

Review: The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

Title: The Girl from the Well

Series: The Girl from the Well #1

Author: Rin Chupeco

Genre: YA, paranormal, horror

Publication date: August 2014

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis:

You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night.

A dead girl walks the streets.

She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.

And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.

Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just kill to get out.

The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as "Dexter" meets "The Grudge", based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.

My rating: ★★★★☆
It's no surprise that I love horror. What is a surprise is that this book was completely off my radar until I saw the sequel. So I immediately fixed that and read Girl from the Well! I heard/saw somewhere that this was kind of like a cross between the movies The Ring and The Exorcist, and I agree! It very much was like them! It's one of the reasons why I was initially drawn to this series, and I'm so glad I read it 'cause it was awesome! One thing I didn't know was that Girl from the Well and The Ring are both based on the same myth/legend! So awesome! Even more great is that this book is told in the POV of the killer ghost! :D It was such a unique perspective that I quite loved and one I wish happened more often. And, okay, before you start freaking out, this ghost only goes after child killers, as she herself was murdered way back when. The concept was just fantastic, to say the least.