"Mirrorland" Book Review

 Mirrorland

Written by Carole Johnstone

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

            Mirrorland boasts an incredible premise, taking the tale of two sisters and a suspicious husband and turning it through a fantastic nuanced lens. Carole Johnstone’s newest psychological thriller tells the story of Catriona (Cat) and Ellice (El), two sisters who grew up under surreal and strange conditions, the girls never understanding if their life was real or if they were part of their imagined play world, Mirrorland. They fought pirates, caught monsters, and hid from evil creatures, but as Cat processes her adulthood, she soon recognizes that those monsters were closer to reality than she had remembered. Cat is called back to her hometown and the house they two grew up in, when El disappears. The lead suspect is, naturally, El’s husband, Ross, who the girls both pined and fought for as teens.

 

            The story weaves in and out of the muddled past and back to the jaded present. Unfortunately, I do believe that as great as Johnstone storytelling is, that the past was jarring and uncomfortable to read, leaving for a less than perfect reading experience. As the secrets and truths are revealed, the Mirrorland storyline becomes more clear and even more horrifying. I find that readers who can be sensitive to dark material could become very triggered by this story, as it goes down many frightening paths that I wasn’t expecting. I did enjoy the twisting and ominous tales woven together, but I think it may be one of those books that once you read it, you might feel complacent to not read once more. Additionally, the Ross investigation was interesting, and I felt that it was told in a pleasant and suspenseful way. I do not think the way she unveiled his villainy was incredibly interesting, but I enjoyed how the girls’ love for Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption influenced the full plot.

 

            Finally, I do believe this is a great book. I am glad to have read from this author, and I will continue to follow her new releases. I think that the volume of disturbing and exploitative plot points can detract from the novel, but I do feel that the complete novel was enjoyable. Additionally, the lack of proper mental health help representation was disappointing. However, I urge readers to give this a try.

 

            I rate this novel at four out of five stars.

            Thank you to Scribner Publishing for sending a finished copy for reviewing purposes.

"The New Neighbors"

“The New Neighbors”

Written by Simon Lelic

Review written by Diana Iozzia

I received a free advanced reader’s edition for reviewing purposes. Thank you to Berkley Publicity.

“The New Neighbors” was a novel that was completely different from what I expected it to be. It’s branded as an exhilarating thriller that hinges upon a body found on a back porch, of our two unreliable narrators Jack and Sydney. As we begin their perspectives, we notice a little arguing back and forth, as if they know what the other is saying in this perspective. This does not particularly break the fourth wall, but it leads to a bit of intriguing narration.

“The New Neighbors” is not a thriller to me, in the typical sense of the genre. This is first and foremost a love story, or well, falling out of love story. Jack and Sydney are complicated people in complicated situations. They are busy with their own lives, while they are falling apart. As they move into a weird new house, we learn more about Sydney’s abusive childhood and Jack’s difficult job dilemma. I really enjoyed this story for the parts that weren’t involved in the murder on the back porch. We only really find out the ‘thriller’ aspect during the last 75 percent of the book. Naturally, we read through their unreliable narration, but it’s different to me than regular unreliable narration. Often, we read denial, lies, and it’s clearly overt who is unreliable. Until we reach the climax and resolution, I personally did not distrust either Jack or Sydney.

I think this was a very complex thriller with much more aspects and fragility than I expected. I think this is a hard book to brand, because yes, there is abuse, rape mentions, drug addiction, and murder, but the most interesting aspect is the relationship failure. I beg you to read this; this is absolutely a new favorite.

"Little Darlings"

“Little Darlings”

Written by Melanie Golding

Review written by Diana Iozzia / Bookworm Banter

I received a free advanced reader’s copy in exchange for reviewing purposes.

“Little Darlings” is a fun psychological thriller that blends in dark fairy tales, like that of the Grimm Brothers. We meet Lauren, who believes that her twin boys were almost kidnapped at the hospital on the day of their birth. Her paranoia increases until one day, she shuts her eyes at the park, and the boys are taken.

We are enraptured in a horrific way as we see the eerie fairy tale elements. The dark shadows, the witch-like woman, the singing twins, and more build to a creepy atmosphere, that makes this book reminiscent of “The Babadook” and “The Changeling”. This is an absolutely fun and entertaining psychological thriller. As fun as it is, it’s still written very well with great suspense and well-written characters.

Everyone is suspicious, of someone else or in their own way. We are not sure who to trust. Are the creepy apparitions real or are they imagined by Lauren? Is she crazy? Or is she seeing something that no one else does? Our other main protagonist is police officer Jo who is unraveling the mystery and finding out the truth, as Lauren struggles to keep her head above water and her wits about her.

No big twist ending, but this is a really fun ride! I highly recommend this for those readers who are looking for a little bit of fantasy and supernatural, mixed in with their psychological thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I imagine others will too!

"Lullaby"

“Lullaby”

Written by Leila Slimani

Review written by Diana Iozzia

As I began to read “Lullaby”, I was drawn in by the first chapter. We instantly know that the child, Adam, is dead, and Lila is dying. Then, we jump back to before our main characters have met this perfect nanny, who has seemingly killed the children and then herself. We meet Myriam and her husband. 

The story is mainly told through a third person omniscient narration, primarily focusing on Myriam. Myriam is a frazzled and bedraggled mother, who is not very happy with her life and her current situation. She decides to go back to work, but to do so, she wants to find “the perfect nanny” to take care of her children.

In comes Louise, who is slightly suspicious and strange. She’s a bit rough with the children, she can say inappropriate things, and she is often just a little eerie. We readers start to wonder if she is not who she says she is, but we also have the knowledge that she might eventually snap and kill the children.

The book is not so much of a whirlwind, but a carefully concocted plot. We still have shocking moments and surprises along the way, but I was quite disappointed in the ending. I am absolutely not so sure of what I have read, and I think this might call for a re-read. I do not understand how we truly jumped from a slightly strange nanny to a cold child killer. I cannot link the connection. 

I enjoyed this book, but the ending left me empty. I’m not so sure about how I feel about it, because it feels like a large chunk of the book was ripped out. I feel like the lack of a cohesive ending was not ambiguous, paying off in a great mystery. Rather, I feel the book had crashed and burned, leaving us with too many questions.

"Sticks and Stones Falling From the Sky"

"Sticks and Stones Falling From the Sky"
Written by Andrew Daniels
Review written by Diana Iozzia 



"Sticks and Stones Falling From the Sky" is a very romantic but mystical book of poetry. When beginning to read this book, I instantly felt connected on a fantasy level, with elements of knights, kings, queens, elves, mythical creatures, vikings, dwarves, giants, different type periods, samurai, and more. I read this book not long after finally watching all of the Lord of the Rings films, so I felt a bit of fantasy connection there. 

Andrew Daniels creates great personification, metaphors, and similes to create his poetry. There is a dream-like quality to his poems, and it's greatly appreciated by me. The cover of this book is beautiful, and the font and layout inside the book are great as well. 

I had many favorite poems in this collection. Here are the poems I enjoyed most:

"Autumn" *
"Grass"
"Waves from a Mermaid Violin" *
"Steel Love and Steel Faith"
"Gardens of Honor and Respect"
"Gift of the Silver Tongue"
"Spring, Summer, Winter"
"The Sunshine Here and the Sunshine There"
"The Sun Dances with the Moon"
"Playing Hardball with God"
"A Ladder to the Moon"
"Dancing to Italy"

I fully recommend this book of poetry. It was a wonderful read for me. I received this book of poetry in partnership to read and review it.

"The Island"

"The Island"
Written by M.A. Bennett
Review written by Diana Iozzia

After reading "S.T.A.G.S." by M.A. Bennett, I was thoroughly excited to read her newest release, "The Island". This book is branded as a mix of a boarding school mystery and "Lord of The Flies". I was intrigued by both counterparts, because one of my favorite genres is dark academia, and I also enjoy readings survival stories. 

Link is our eccentric, self-branded nerd. We learn about him, his hobbies, his interests, and many of his dislikes. I am not a fan of link. I understand the author consulted her teen children and then wrote a perspective based on these thoughts and ideas, but the character feels very manufactured, as in he's an alien or a robot, only spouting out references to video games and current pop culture icons. These references date the book in an uncomfortable way. 

After growing tired of his bullies, Link wants an escape from the school where he doesn't fit in. His parents are flabbergasted, surprised how horribly he was treated, even though from the absolute start, they knew he was terribly bullied. His parents make a deal, that if he can spend two weeks at a summer camp, they will let him withdraw from the school and find one he likes more. He gets on a plane, with the only characters we've known from his school so far. Suspiciously only these characters. His bullies, the girls he likes. The plane crashes on a strange island, but none of the characters can remember the crash. 

We have a large portion of the book where Link establishes power over the group, by first teaching them to hunt, cook, and make shelters. He starts to manipulate those around him, threatening that if they do not obey, they will not eat. 

We eventually find out the major point of the crash, the whole explanation why the story has taken place. It is one of the worst reveals I have read in a book. I understand that this book is for teens and young adults, but as a twenty-two year old, I don't think I'm reading too far out of my age group. My younger brother is eighteen, and he never acted in any way that these teens do. I personally rarely encountered these types of teens. So, I do understand the ending, that this might appeal to teens, but I was exasperatedly unimpressed. 

I do not recommend this book, but I highly recommend "S.T.A.G.S", the first book by this author.

"If We Were Villains"

“If We Were Villains”

Written by M.L. Rio

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 

To write a review of a newly favorite book is a daunting task. To read a book and decide that it is a new favorite is equally as daunting. How do you push hundreds of other books to the side, in favor of this? Will this always be your favorite, or will something new be published and usurp the throne?

I read “If We Were Villains” during a very stormy and cold October week. I did not know much about this book, before I had borrowed it from the library and dug in. I had recorded it down while shopping, because I knew I had to read it. Sadly, I did not realize how much I would have liked it, or I would have bought it then on the spot.

As you begin reading “If We Were Villains”, you start reading through our narrator, Oliver’s perspective. Oliver is a meek, mild, and quiet young man. He is a student at a prestigious arts college, trying to keep up with the rigorous academia he and his fellow students have to endure. We see him as a man as well, released from prison for a crime he might not have committed. Knowing this allows us to feel suspense until the very moment of the murder.

This book draws very similar comparisons to books in this genre. Book reader communities as of late have created the genre name “dark academia”. The dark academia genre mainly incorporates darker, thriller-like stories, taking place at boarding schools and colleges. Similar titles among this genre are “Dead Poet’s Society”, “S.T.A.G.S.”, “A Secret History”, “Black Chalk”, “Long Black Veil”, and more. This genre is a personal favorite of mine.

The narratives in this book are half-prose, half-poetry. The narrative also takes place over five acts. The characters study art and drama program, which surrounds the work of William Shakespeare. The influence of the Shakespearean tragedy and drama heavily affects the themes, the narrative, and the characters of the story. When I first looked at the description of the book, I was sold on the idea of these characters at a drama school beginning to act more like their characters onstage. This was what I expected, but I received more than just that. The students take place in many plays and scenes from William Shakespeare. They participate in a cut-throat production of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”, “Macbeth”, “King Lear”, and “Romeo and Juliet”. Watching the characters as they prepare for each performance, as they complete each performance, is like reading a play, but imagining it flawlessly in your mind. It’s absolutely incredible to read through this story, if you are a fan of theatre.

To continue, I also found myself enjoying every scene. Like a fantastically well-written book, there are no scenes that seem superfluous. There are no scenes where the only point is a character making breakfast. We have characters in seemingly minor scenes, but the conversations and motives are mysterious and secretive, like a Shakespearean play. I have to admit, if you’re not familiar with the plays, it may help to do a refresh before beginning this book. The symbolism of the Shakespeare, reflected in the characters’ actions is well-implemented and may not be appreciated in the same light, if you do not know much about the plays.

This is not a spoiler-free review. Please do not continue on, if you fear any spoiled plot points.

To begin, we are launched back into time, as Oliver navigates through a tough regime of practicing, strict teachers, and an intriguing friend group. I began reading, not liking Oliver as a character. Something struck me as his character being similar to Nick Caraway’s from “The Great Gatsby”. Oliver seemed conceited and judgmental, as he watched from the sidelines. I believe I misinterpreted this. I quickly stopped disliking Oliver. I was right in thinking he is not the center of attention, but this does not make him an unlikeable character.

To continue, the book has an intensity that is absolutely gripping and draws you in, like quicksand. The characters are well-developed, but they fall into a stereotype which feels natural. I understand these stereotypes, because our characters begin to act like their fictional counterparts. The characters are:

Oliver, the quiet observer

Wren, the quiet, mousy but mysterious character

Richard, the cruel, boisterous bully

James, the sensitive, caring anti-hero

Alexander, the flirty, fun friend, with a drug problem

Filippa, the sweet, caring, mothering friend

Meredith, the seductress

An early surprise is that in conversation with the police officer who arrested Oliver years ago, we read “he” in reference to the murder victim, indicating that Oliver could have killed either Richard, James, or Alexander. Early on, I predicted that James and Richard, two cutthroat rivals, would be involved in the murder. I also correctly predicted that James, the anti-hero, would kill Richard. Out of secret (but not subtle) love for James, Oliver would take responsibility for the crime. James has an accidental violent streak at first, but we seem to watch him build towards a more aggressive but protective hero. The rivalry between James and Richard kick-starts, as James is cast as Macbeth, a surprise.

To be honest, one of my favorite scenes is the Halloween performance of Macbeth. Without a shred of doubt, my mind was transported to this lake, with wooden logs as seats, as our characters perform some of the most vital scenes of the play. It’s intense and uncomfortable, as we start to worry more and more when the murder will occur. Act One eerily culminates in a game of chicken, in which Richard and James fight, Richard holding’s James’s head under the water for too long.

In Act Two, we see Filippa picking up Oliver from prison, after his release. She informs him that Alexander and Meredith are doing well, eliminating Alexander from our list of possible murder victims. This does not dismiss him as a possible murderer, however.

We launch back into the past, to read of the horrific lead-up to “Julius Caesar”. We are absolutely on the edge of our seats, as we see the rivalry between Richard and the other characters continue. Richard seems more abusive towards Meredith, his girlfriend. Richard injures Oliver and James, as they practice the assassination scene from “Julius Caesar”. The play performance of this is absolutely incredible, the reader fearing that there will be an accident on stage, killing Caesar, not just figuratively.

During a cast party to celebrate the finished run of “JC”, the characters get wildly out of hand. Meredith and James become drunk and too flirty. Richard and Wren, who are cousins, had fought. James and Richard begin to argue. Alexander is nowhere to be found. Filippa is all over the place, like always. Act Two concludes with our characters, watching Richard, lethally injured, floating in the lake. His neck appears to be broken, and his face was smashed in.

Act Three has us wonder if Richard can be saved. Alexander convinces the rest of them to let Richard die. They arrange their stories for the police investigation, that they had all come to the lakeside, and found him floating. I was quite surprised that the book did not take a turn, where the characters buried the body and tried to hide the evidence. The characters’ reaction does not often occur in thrillers.

It appears very clear that James has killed Richard, but our narrator, Oliver is not sure. He is secretly in love with James, and there might be some love requited. However, Oliver is grasping at straws to believe that James is innocent. I absolutely love James, so it hurts me as a reader to imagine that this poor young man could have killed Richard. Like most Shakespearean plays, it does beg the question: is justice served, if the murdered was quite evil? Often, William Shakespeare poses this question. Tybalt, in “Romeo and Juliet”, is ruthless and driven by rivalry, but does that excuse Romeo for killing him? We do not want to empathize, when we suspect James, but we can’t help it. Tell me, would you kill someone who could very likely kill the person you love? I don’t know that I wouldn’t.

We continue reading to see Richard’s memorial. For a moment or two, I was suspicious that Wren could have killed Richard. We receive little red herrings, like her dry eyes, her “tragic” laugh. I soon shook that thought out of my mind, because it wouldn’t make sense for her to kill her cousin, even if he was a terrible bully. Later in act three, we also see some foreshadowing or red herrings for Wren. There is significant mention of “Hamlet”, with a dead sparrow reference. Wren / sparrow / bird. Birds are foreboding messengers of death; this is a red herring done correctly. Her last name is also Stirling, which is close to the bird breed, Starling.

I have to mention that the way the characters are portrayed. As I mentioned, we have our stereotypes. Alexander is gay and a drug addict. However, he is not over the top in any sense. He seems very natural and realistic. If he didn’t speak about seeing the character, Colin, you wouldn’t think he’d be gay at all. This is refreshing, because all too often, we have gay characters that are outrageous and offensively stereotypical. To continue, Filippa is a kind, mothering character. We see her carefully take care of Wren and soothe her as she mourns her cousin.

Act Three concludes as we see the characters perform in the Christmas ball, a fantastic set of scenes. The performance is “Romeo and Juliet”, but it is performed in the audience as well. During the major scene of the ball at the Capulet house, where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, characters dance with audience members and interact on the ballroom floor. I imagine this scene in my mind, and it looks incredible. This entire book would be executed phenomenally, in film form. I would even encourage a dark mini-series.

Act Four begins. We really see the insanity inside James now. He accidentally breaks Oliver’s nose, during a failed combat scene for the killing scene in “King Lear”.  Alexander overdoses, from the stress of the murder and his cocaine addiction. Oliver’s jealousy and equal love for James is completely consuming him.

Act Five shows James absolutely insane. This is a true Shakespearean hero turned villain. He fights with characters, practically drags Wren to bed with him. Oliver discovers a rusted, bloodied boat hook under James’s mattress. Oliver realizes that this weapon could be the weapon that was used for killing Richard. Out of devotion to James and fear for James’s livelihood, Oliver admits to the crime.

Sadly, we find out from Filippa years later, that James had killed himself six years prior to Oliver’s release. However, his body was never found…

Conclusion

As I mentioned earlier, this has become my new favorite book. This book is utterly incredible. I have never read anything that I have liked as much. I can understand why readers of this book can be a bit divided. Like “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, we readers question our own morals. Would we kill out of protection and fear? Would we protect those who we love? How do we protect them? We start sympathizing with the villains in this book, based on our own moral codes. I think that is one of the most fear-inducing elements of this story.

"Bring Me Back"

"Bring Me Back" was a great return to my reading for Goodreads. After a bit of an intermission, I'm back! Similar to the title, hmm? This is the second book I've read by B.A. Paris so I had high expectations, because I flat out loved "The Breakdown" by her. I would say that my first excitement for the book did play out nicely as I expected. 


"Bring Me Back" is one of those English psychological thrillers that has you confused, curious, and intrigued. However, I am one of those readers who enjoys not knowing everything that's going on, that I know no more than the main character does. In receiving multiple perspectives, I find that books lose that touch. "BMB" has three perspectives. Finn, our main narrator, as a younger man, tells his story how he hurt and lost his girlfriend, Layla, at a highway bathroom stop. Layla is presumed dead. We see him having moved on years later with his Layla's sister, Ellen, who is more prim and conservative than Layla who was wild and exciting and free-spirited. 

The book begins with Finn's police statement, which explains the incident at the pit stop, but we start to see his darker side unravel. We question if he is a villain, or if he is (the) villain. I like the before perspective, but he uses the second person perspective, speaking directly to Layla. 

The book worms and twists to allow theories you may have to develop, but then pulls them away and reveals more of the truth. Everyone is suspected, and no one is telling the truth. This is definitely going to be one of those books that I will have to re-read again.

Sadly, the book can be a bit redundant, but I really enjoyed it none the same. A few chapters are just endless and repetitive, but once you get to the exciting sections, it's worth it.

This was a twist I did not expect, could not have predicted, and I really appreciated. I find in psychological thrillers, the endings can be predictable, but often they are just letdowns. I found with "The Breakdown" by B.A. Paris, the ending was very predictable, but it still played off well. "Bring Me Back" had a great ending, and it was an all-around good book.

* I received a complimentary copy for reviewing purposes. *

"The Lies They Tell"

“The Lies They Tell”

Written by Gillian French

Review written by Diana Iozzia of Bookworm Banter

            “The Lies They Tell” follows our main protagonist, Pearl Haskins, as she discovers the mystery of why the house of one of the richest families in town has burned to the ground. Nearly all of the Garrison family perished, except their eighteen-year-old son, Tristan.

            Pearl is stuck in a love triangle, or square, I guess, as she tries to help her father and his alcoholism. Pearl works as a waitress at a country club during the summer, still planning her way out of the town to college in the fall. Pearl befriends a group of rich kids from the club, soon starting to fall for Bridges and Tristan, while still sort of pining for her co-worker, Reese.

            This book reminds me of 90210 meets “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. Who killed the Garrisons? Was it their surviving son? Was it Pearl’s father, who was there working as the caretaker that night? Could it have been someone else entirely?

            I enjoyed some of this book, but not much. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I was younger. As a twenty-two-year-old, sometimes it can be difficult for me to get into the mindset of a teen to read young adult fiction. Most of the characters, barring Bridges, were a little too unrealistic for me. I really enjoyed the dialogue, it is very realistic and representative of teens. Often in young adult fiction, we’re “treated” to talk of Facebook and Snapchat and Instagram and Kim Kardashian, so it was nice to have a break from “teens”.

            There’s a bit of uncomfortable sexual harassment in this book, but the characters did call out the harassment which I appreciated. As for the alcoholic father premise, this pops up in too many teen fiction novels. I’m tired of the teens having to be responsible and fix their parents. The names are very glamorous and of course make sense for the novel. Bridges, Tristan, Hadley, Quinn. They all sound a bit like the author researched wealthy teen names.

            There were scenes that I enjoyed. I enjoyed the boat sailing scenes, because it offered a new location / setting that’s not often incorporated into teen fiction. I felt a little “Talented Mr. Ripley” in some parts, which I liked. The climax and the reveal behind the murders was good, but I don’t think it was a shocking enough plot twist that made the book feel worthwhile. The book is slowly paced, and I don’t mind a slow paced book if it eventually builds to a fantastic reveal, with great little tidbits in the middle. I recommend it for teens, but if you’re above the age of 20, perhaps this book may be a little too young for you.

I received an advanced review copy for my honest reviewing purposes.

"Orphan Monster Spy"

“Orphan Monster Spy”

Written by Matt Killeen

Review written by Diana Iozzia, at Bookworm Banter, @bookwormbanter

“Orphan Monster Spy” is my favorite read of 2018 so far. This book is engrossing, adventurous, and so vivid I can imagine every second of it as a film in front of my eyes. I do not often visualize books as I read in depth the way that I did while reading this book.

For a debut novel from the author, Matt Killeen, I was deeply impressed. The book hits me in all of the best emotion, intrigue, suspicion, fear, adventure, action, breath-stopping, and it can be a bit violent. All of this is completely justified in the pages that unfold. This book reminds me of many different novels and books. I feel reminiscent of “The Book Thief”, “The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo”, “Schindler’s List”, “Never Let Me Go”, “The Golden Compass”, and “Cabaret”. For some reason, I pictured the relationship between Lyra and Lord Asriel and pictured the characters in my mind being played by both actors. The best way I feel to relate this book would be “The Book Thief” at a boarding school with a kickass young girl. The note from the executive editor at Viking Books had actually compared the book to “Inglorious Bastards” for teens, and I can definitely see the similarities, but I hadn’t drawn the conclusions to that myself, nor the ‘“Mean Girls” for Nazis’ from the note as well.

We follow Sarah and her companion, the Captain. They rescue each other on a ferry in Nazi Germany. Sarah is young, but fierce and independent at fifteen. Not often do you read characters who are supposed to be strong, intelligent, and savvy at a young age without them seeming over the top, but I do not feel that way about Sarah. She hits all of the emotional sides that a fifteen-year-old would, but she’s also smart enough to survive an adventurous book as this. Sarah becomes a spy at the Rothenstadt Academy, a boarding school that teaches and trains the sons and daughters of the elite National Socialist Party members. Sarah pretends to be Ursula Haller, as the Captain pretends to be her uncle. As Ursula, she is instructed to spy on and find intel on a young classmate of hers whose father is possibly creating a bomb. I personally love books that take place at certain, slightly unnerving locations, like colleges, private schools, and boarding schools. The narration and the plot lines at the boarding school hit the nail on the head and definitely left me fulfilled with what I was hoping for.

We have a saga, an epic of events that unfold through this book. As Sarah survives the cut-throat, ruthless boarding school, she proves herself to be worthy of the terrible, controlling, and violent classmates. She also befriends a girl everyone calls Mouse, because she’s afraid, but secretly Mouse is spying for her parents. Then, at Christmas time, we find Sarah spying on her classmate’s family and father, and we continue the intrigue. Without giving away any spoilers, the last third of the book, in which Sarah is away for Christmas is incredibly gripping and fascinating.

I’d like to go over some of aspects I enjoyed most about this novel. This book is intriguing. We read through Sarah’s perspective which is riddled with strange narrative devices. We hear her mother’s imaginary voice, we read Sarah’s terrible nightmares from the events leading to and the night of Kristallnacht. In addition, we also have letters, journals, all of the chapter title pages look like old fashioned newspapers or war documents. However, sometimes, her narration can be a bit much. Like an ordinary teen, she repeats certain words or phrases to herself, which can be a bit repetitive, but it didn’t detract from the novel. To continue, I liked the dynamic between Sarah and the Captain. They’re cute and funny and he can be a wonderful father figure to her as he protects her. I appreciated how this was written, although the amount of times she refers to herself as a “dumb slut” can make me gnaw my teeth a little.

As I mentioned earlier, Sarah is extremely clever and intelligent for her young age. We see her navigate many encounters with National Socialists who could easily kill her or arrest her for treason. She can tell from hundreds of feet away from danger how she will make her next move.  We have an incredible race sequence where to prove her trust and loyalty to this clique she joins, she must compete in a race through the woods. It’s thrilling and fascinating, and it’s so beautifully visualized. I can just see every breath she takes as she moves, every branch that she runs past. This would be an incredible film. Sarah can pick locks and find hidden objects, even better than James Bond could. This book can be so intriguing for young readers, perhaps we can have a renaissance of young readers interested in espionage. I like that this book was published by a children’s book company, for young adults, but this book does not feel it’s only for young adults. Lately, I’ve fallen out with young adult books, because they often have too many troubles with relationships or romance or things that I just don’t care to read about anymore at 22. This book could be incredible for all ages.

There’s a fascinating section, in chapter twenty-six that used an amazing level of juxtaposition. Sarah and Elsa, who Sarah is spying on, are riding in the car taking them to Elsa’s home for Christmas time. We have Sarah notice many uncomfortable things, juxtaposed by wonderful luxuries. This is reminiscent of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. Think, Lucy meeting Mr. Tumnus, Edmund being spoiled by the White Witch. Sarah smells the wonderful car, how clean, how cozy with all of the nice warm blankets, but the driver is wearing an SS uniform. Elsa has wonderful sour, delicious sweets that she shares with Sarah. Then, we notice a machine gun sitting on the passenger’s seat. Beautiful books sitting in the back of the car, with wonderful adventure stories. Then, Sarah notices a book that was about warning children of all of the dangers of Jews. This was one of the most memorable scenes, and I think it really stuck with me.

I have a bit of a spoiler section I’d like to include, but I won’t give too many details. I have to mention that in many young adult storylines, there can be plots including sexual assault or harassment. There was a certain section of the plot including this. All too frequently in books lately, I feel very uncomfortable and disheartened when a writer decides to include this in female-driven young adult books, because it feels a cheap way to have a plot be driven, but I’m glad it resolved itself the way it did. Another aspect I need to mention here, I do often also notice that young girls in young adult fiction novels are a little sexualized. This can make me completely distant and start disliking a book, but this only popped up after the racing chapter where Sarah’s “armpits and nipples were rubbed raw”. Not necessary for the narrative at all, but I’m still glad there wasn’t more of this.

Also, I swear this is my last spoiler, but I find in books relating to children and violence, that these books in the action / adventure genres do not have the children feeling sad or disheartened about the negative choice they have to make. For example, when I read the Chronicles of Narnia series as a child, the characters, who were all children (until Peter and Susan grew older), were involved in battles and sadly had to kill. I never felt they regretted or felt sad afterwards about their first kill. This happens all too often in material digested by children and teenagers. In other examples, “The Vampire Diaries”, “Twilight”, “Harry Potter”, quite a few Disney movies, and more. We have a bit of a near death / near kill experience in “Orphan Monster Spy” and I really appreciated Sarah’s response to this.

I think this book would make for a fantastic film as I mentioned earlier. However, I think the best thing in the world would be to have a sequel. I’m so curious to read on to see Sarah’s next move and where she will go after this. We see her make her decision, who she would like to protect.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of “Orphan Monster Spy” to participate in Viking Books’ and Penguin Random House’s book blogger tour! Thank you very much for inviting me to participate. Please consider following me on Instagram, @bookwormbanter   for photographs of books and my beloved doggy, Luna! Thanks for reading!

"A Penny For Your Thoughts"

“A Penny for Your Thoughts”

Written by Sherrill S. Cannon

Sherrill Cannon’s poetry is beautiful, in the way that your grandmother’s voice sounded as she brushed your hair. I feel like I should be reading this book of poetry while sitting outside and breathing in morning air. I could see how lovely this book would be if read on a vacation in the countryside. This book reminds me of my aunt and her little kitchen with cute chair cushions and the nice decorations.

Mrs. Cannon’s writing is melodic and soothing, like a cup of tea with your favorite relative would be. I love Mrs. Cannon’s personification and metaphors. She often personifies things in nature, how they behave, how they hold meaning to her. I feel that if I wrote poetry, it would be something like this. There are many favorite poems in this collection, so bear with me. I really enjoyed reading these.

My favorite poems in this collection are:

“A Promise”, “A Sign” History”, “I Think of You”, “Proposal”, “The Box”, “To a Holly Tree”, “Thorns”, “Winter’s Nuptials”, “Autumn”, “Brief Meeting”, “Frozen Wasteland”, “Grandfather Clock”, “Flowers”, “My Tree”, “Peter Pan”, “Ready”, “Separation”, “The Fork”, “When Death Comes For Me”, “Winter” 1-4, “A Year”.

* I thank Sherrill deeply and wholeheartedly for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. *

          

"Let Me Lie"

 “Let Me Lie”

Written by Clare Mackintosh

 

          As a person who frequents charity shops, thrift stores, library sales, and many independent book stores, I’ve come across Clare Mackintosh’s name many times. I’ve looked at her books on shelves, considered many times. When I was offered the chance to read her newest book as an advanced reader’s copy, I was very thrilled.

          “Let Me Lie” is a very complex plot, but it begins when a new mother, Anna Johnson, receives mail that seems to insinuate her late parents were murdered, rather than dead by committing suicide. Anna becomes terrified and entangled in this plot, working with Murray, a little old soon-to-be retired police officer.

          See, the great thing about this book is the amount of plot twists and turns. However, this also makes for a really hard line to tread while writing a review. Clare Mackintosh includes about four to five main plot twists. Some of them are surprising, some of them are easy to figure out as the book progresses. I always think that a good mystery lets you find out who can be behind it all, before the main character realizes. This is situational irony, but Mackintosh does a bit more foreshadowing than I would like.

          I liked the characters. The narrative style is very interesting, as it follows four different perspectives, Anna, Murray, and I can’t really tell you who the other perspectives follow. Mainly because they change when you realize more information and it would spoil a bit of the plot. I would recommend if you do not want to be spoiled in reading my review, you should probably not read any further.

          Spoilers now. Anna Johnson is an interesting and likeable character. All too often, the narrator or main character of a psychological thriller can be unlikeable. Think, Amy Dunne of Gone Girl, Rachel of Girl on The Train, (the widow’s name from The Widow. I can’t remember, it’s been at least 8 months since I’ve read it). We also wonder for a bit of time if Mark, Anna’s husband, could possibly be in on it. I have to say there are some great red herrings in this book. Is that person involved, who could actually be behind this? I was very happy that the main person I was concerned about was not actually involved in this suspenseful plot.

          Can I also just say how often I’ve read psychological thrillers where the main characters are Mark, Anna, Claire, Tom? If you’re writing an English psychological thriller, pick something else. I haven’t heard of a recent psychological thriller with a main character named Adam, or Jacob, or Thelonious. I might be a bit cynical, but if I read too many of these books in this genre, I won’t be able to decipher characters, sooner or later.

          I have quite a few points to make that are full of spoilers, so like I said, pleeeease don’t read on if you’re wary of spoilers. I always tab my pages with Sticky Notes or bookmarks, so I will be looking now to see the points that I wanted to make sure were said in my review.

          The plot progresses as expected for a larger psychological thriller. I think that the extra bits about Anna’s life or Murray’s home life are interesting, but sometimes, they feel a bit extraneous. Murray’s wife suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. I know not much of this disorder, but his wife’s storyline is a bit clichéd for my liking. Murray’s plot line makes sense and is necessary to the plot, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it less if his perspective was not included.

          The narrative is separated into three parts, similar to the three act play structure. At the end of part one, we receive a huge shock, whoa, how on Earth did that play out? (It’s really not that shocking, we knew it was happening, but Anna did not, of course). Because we receive perspectives of the villains, we know exactly how each plan is going to be executed. It’s as if we knew the janitor was scaring people away from the school in a werewolf costume the whole time, and now we’re waiting to see how Scooby Doo is going to find that out. I think if we only had Anna’s perspective throughout this story, it would have been more effective, shocking, and compelling. I would definitely have enjoyed it more, because I am not the type of person to enjoy knowing the villains’ intentions the whole time. I like finding out everything as a shock at the end.

          As a few of the plot twists go, I was okay with some of the reveals, but some of them just seemed extraneous and unnecessary. We find out near the end exactly how everything has occurred, and who are the people behind it all. However, did we have to sit through 150 pages incorrectly wondering how one of the villains is going to come destroy Anna? The bogeyman isn’t so scary when you find out why he’s creeping around. I don’t enjoy reading psychological thrillers where I’m believing something for a large portion of time, and BAM the spoiler is that it’s something else entirely. It feels like a cheap cop out of a plot twist. In addition, we have two little end bits to wrap up Mark’s story and Murray’s story. Murray’s story wrap-up is very expected, but I don’t think it was necessary for this book. A separate book on Borderline Personality Disorder maybe, but it felt like the season finale of “Degrassi” or another teen soap. Mark’s story ending makes a lot of sense for the book, I just wish we cared a little more about him the entire way. I remember reading a psychological thriller over the Christmas break, and I just found myself loving the main love interest, so much that I didn’t really care what happened to the main character. Will her life come to a crazy crashing halt? Nah, just the husband matters. Mark would have been a much more interesting character if Anna involved him in the story.

          Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the last 75 pages or so. Once the climax began, it just kept going through a high-speed car chase, a crazy showdown in an apartment building. The first 2/3^rds of the book weren’t hard to put down, but the last act was. And the best part of the book, the family pet was not murdered. (Why does this always happen in psychological thrillers? Not cool!)

          Last page, I mean come on already, we’re finished up. No cliffhanger wanted or needed, thank you though.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy for reviewing purposes. *

"One of Us Is Lying"

"One of Us is Lying"
Written by Karen M. McManus
Review written by Diana Iozzia


I read this book a couple of days ago, after finding a ruined, beat up copy with the red paint from the pages leaked out all over the cover. Needless to say, I wasn't bothered by the condition. I had heard some negative reviews of this book, and I was curious when I saw it severely inexpensive at a charity shop. 

"One of Us Is Lying" follows four characters who are investigated after their classmate is poisoned in the detention in which they were all in attendance. All are suspects. Simon was the outsider. Bronwyn is the smart, but secretive student. Nate is the bad boy. Cooper is the baseball star. Addy is the pretty princess of the school. Who killed Simon?

This is a very obvious cut and dry young adult mystery in all of the Breakfast Club-soaked stereotypes. There's lots of timely jokes and mentions of popular social media. Tumblr, 4chan, Reddit forums, Instagram, and Facebook are full of curious insiders and intrigue into the mystery. 

I read this in about three hours on an empty afternoon, and it didn't disappoint. There are some irritating bits about sexism and mental illness, but I got over them. You know, "Oh, the boys are more popular in the news, because people like boys more". Okay, whatever, sure. I guess the book has to appeal to some feminists too. 

The ending was more surprising than I figured, but I figured the ending out right about the time that I think everyone else did. Some people I've read reviews by mentioned that they figured it off right off the hat. I felt that when reading "Murder on the Orient Express" in December, my entire focus was solving the murder, rather than soaking up the mystery. With this book, I just enjoyed it and had suspicions towards the killer, but I wasn't too worried about solving it myself. The ending is good, surprising, and necessary. As I mentioned, there are lots of story elements that fit in with the social climate nowadays, lots of political correctness and tropes of the past years, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but it was just a good YA mystery.

"The Couple Next Door"

"The Couple Next Door" 
Written by Shari Lapena
Review written by Diana Iozzia



I have very mixed feelings about this book. I borrowed it from the library, read it last night, and finished it five minutes ago. This book is very complex with many different characters, lies, and plot twists. Are they all fantastic? Well, you see my rating out of five. I enjoyed this for the fast, intriguing pace, but this was predictable. And repetitive. And by the last few pages, the final plot twist just felt normal to me. It's similar to a bag of Halloween candy for me. You eat all of the boring ones first, and by the time you get to your favorite candy, it's really great. Then, you have three more and it doesn't feel special anymore.

Anne and Marco visited their neighbors for a little birthday dinner, leaving their six month-old daughter, Cora, asleep in her crib. They return, she's gone. Wow. I think the best part of this book is the investigation completed by Detective Rasbach. It's very reminiscent of the detectives Boney and Gilpin from "Gone Girl" or the actual crime story of Laci and Scott Peterson. I enjoyed that Detective Rasbach was very thorough and investigated all of the right people, places, and events. It bugs me in books when the detectives aren't that thorough, and they may make mistakes. Rasbach was just the right level of intelligent, where he didn't figure out the entire plot magically.

This book is very well-written, but the story wasn't as impressive as I hoped it to be. We have the scary truth of the kidnapping told to us half-way through, which I appreciated, but it wasn't interesting. The people involved in the kidnapping were very obvious. The eventual main villain in the book wasn't as obvious, but yet again, this wasn't a great reveal. I think I need to stay away from psychological thrillers involving kidnappings of children, because they don't interested me as greatly as other p.t. crimes. I also think this book had a little of a tendency to bite off more than it could chew. Which I don't say lightly. I wasn't impressed by the side characters, I mainly only felt sympathetic towards the women characters, and Anne's dissociative identity disorder seemed all too convenient for the plot and twists. Lastly, I do recommend this, but I just felt a little disappointed. I would definitely read another novel by Shari Lapena in the future. I'll check out "A Stranger in the House" and report back.