I was hoping to get all of these up individually but with there being only 4 days left in the month, and not wanting to spam everyone, here we go with the mini reviews again! I think it’s a nice format because you get the basics without the reviews getting too long.
Thanks to the mentioned publishers and authors for any gifted copies in exchange for my honest reviews
Mini Reviews – April 2023:
THE SOULMATE – Sally Hepworth (Released April 4th, 2023 – Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy)
Get ready for a thrilling, addictive novel about marriage, betrayal, and the secrets that push us to the edge in Sally Hepworth’s The Soulmate.
There’s a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.
When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral…Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?
And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate…lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.
Mini Review: 5/5 stars – This is the kind of domestic thriller that I needed in my life. While I love the genre, some have felt super repetitive or just not captivating enough. Hepworth kept me glued and I highly recommend this and The Family Next Door! There’s a way that she tells a story that you just can’t put it down and I need to read her other books asap.
JOSEPHINE’S GAME – Clayton Tune (Released October 2nd, 2022 – Thanks to the author for the gifted copy)
It’s your turn.
What happened to Shelby Gray was ruled an accident. But no one knows the real story, and Iylah Maddox is happy to leave it that way.
Now, a year later, family friends beg Iylah to watch their teenage son Cole for the night. Though she fears Shelby’s fate may become Cole’s, she reasons that perhaps things have changed. Maybe it’s really over.
Then the board game appears. Four sides, a sleek black tower, and a single die. It’s a game she’s seen just a handful of times before, and one that fills her with dread. Iylah and Cole have no choice but to roll and face what comes next. Even if it risks another life.
Set both over one night, and ten years, Josephine’s Game is a horror novel about teenage mistakes, sibling rivalries, and learning to say you’re sorry.
Are you ready to play?
Mini Review: 4/5 stars – A YA paranormal spin to Jumanji is probably the best way to describe this book, and yes, it’s just as exciting! I think that @thisisashleyd has a great review you can also check out. I had a lot of fun with this one and there were some really creepy moments. The ending did not disappoint!
THE SCOURGE BETWEEN STARS – Ness Brown (Released April 4th, 2023 – Thanks to Tor Nightfire for the gifted copy)
Ness Brown’s The Scourge Between Stars is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship harboring something terrible within its walls.
As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears’ failed colony on a distant planet.
Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn’s crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion.
Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive.
Mini Review: 4/5 stars – I had been hoping to finish this during the #transrightsreadathon but the time got away from me. Anyone love space horror? I forgot how much I loved this genre until I started reading this stellar debut. Fans of Alien? Well, as much as I love Ripley, she’s got quite the competition in Jacklyn. This small book packs quite the punch and I cant wait to see what Ness Brown releases next.
THE MERRY DREDGERS – Jeremy C. Shipp (Released April 25th, 2023 – Thanks to the author for the gifted copy)
Seraphina Ramon will stop at nothing to find out the truth about why her sister Eff is in a coma after a very suspicious “accident.” Even if it means infiltrating the last place Seraphina knows Eff was alive: a once-abandoned amusement park now populated by a community of cultists.
Follow Seraphina through the mouth of the Goblin: To the left, a wolf-themed roller coaster rests on the blackened earth, curled up like a dead snake. To the right, an animatronic Humpty Dumpty falls off a concrete castle and shatters on the ground, only to reform itself moments later. Up ahead, cultists giggle as they meditate in a hall of mirrors. This is the last place in the world Seraphina wants to be, but the best way to investigate this bizarre cult, is to join them.
Mini Review: 4.5/5 stars – Cults, amusement parks, and horror? Sign me up! This little book packs a punch and it was such a wild ride. From start to finish I was mesmerized by this cult and all the eccentric and creepy followers we meet along the way. There’s so much happening but I felt like it all had a nice flow to it and never got confusing. Now, the ending I can see people being divided on. All depends on if you like things being left open-ended or not. I really enjoyed this and definitely need more from Shipp!
Jessicamap Reviews 