Bibliophile Amber's Book Reviews

Title: The Stranger in the Mirror  Author: Liv Constantine  Expected Publication: July 6,2021  Publisher: HarperCollins  Genre: Thriller/ Mystery  Pages: 336 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Addison is like any bride, she is very nervous about her upcoming wedding. She is trying to get her future mother in laws approval but there is one thing that is very different for her. She doesn't know who she is, she has no memory of who she was. Julian  a successful doctor has been a single father for the past two years, he has been looking for his wife after she disappeared two years ago. Both of their lives are on a collision course to turn everything upside down when these two cross each other's paths.  Julian claims that Addison is his missing wife that disappeared two years ago. While Addison finally thinks that she will get the answers that she has been searching for, the twist and turns show that not everything is as it may seem! So this...

Title: Last Call  Author: Elon Green  Expected Publication: March 9, 2021  Publisher: Celadon Books  Genre: True Crime  Pages: 272 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  This is a very eye opening true crime, and it amazed me in a lot of ways and most of them are not soo good! I was born in the 1980's soo by the time I realized there was the LGBTQ community I think people were more accepting and  just took people for how they were. However in the 80's and 90's that was very much not the case. There were a lot of laws against being in LGBTQ community and a lot of resentment, hate and anger towards the community. I was completely and utterly shocked that "gay panic" was an actual excuse to hurt someone and get away with it. Green starts off this true crime with the discovery of a body, a body that was dismembered in a horrible fashion. Once the police start to trace the body of Peter and this starts the trail back to a bar where he was the last n...

Title: Hour of the Witch  Author: Chris Bohjalian  Expected Publication: March 2, 2021 Publisher: Double Day Books  Genre: Historical Fiction  Pages: 368 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Review:  Thought provoking, very thought provoking. 1662 in Boston young Mary is 24 and beautiful! Back in the old world she would have had her choice of a suitor but in the new world she is forced to be the second wife to Thomas Deerfield. This is a major scumbag who is a dangerous and abusive man! Now, Mary really wants to end this marriage but she had to do it in the right way because she is already suspected of being a witch so when she tries to divorce him she is put on trial for her life! During this time divorcing someone just wasn't done so when she does this she is of course thought to have been a witch! The first half of the book sets everything up but the second half of the book was AMAZING, like can't put down at 3 a.m. The one thing that is very thought provok...

Title: We Begin at the End  Author: Chris Whitaker  Expected Publication: March 2, 2021  Publisher: Macmillan Audio and Henry Holt and Co.  Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Contemporary  Pages: 384 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  Review:  ape Haven is a small town in California, where Police Chief Walk is not only trying to keep his small town safe but also he carries a heavy burden on his heart. He carries the guilt of long ago when he turned in his best friend, Vincent for accidentally killing a girl when he was 15 sending him to prison. Then we have Dutchess who is a 13 year old girl who has seen and dealt with much more responsibility that any one 13 year old girl should have. When Vincent King is released from prison, Walk is hopeful for him to still be the same guy he was before he went into prison and he is hoping for a new beginning for him. However his hopes are short lived when he is found at Star's house with her blood on him and she is found ...

Title: Survivor Song  Author: Paul Tremblay  Published: July 7,2020 Published by: William Morrow Books  Genre: Thriller/ Horror  Pages: 320 Pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5  Review:  I enjoyed it! Tremblay's books are usually on the more unusual side but he is very talented at the more extreme and peculiar tales. This one is definitely chilling as well as eerily disturbing read especially during the 2020 year. I'm a fan of Tremblay's work so my review may be biased but this is absolutely hands down the best zombie type of book I've read so far! Ram's is a pediatrician and so when she receives a phone call from her heavily pregnant long time friend Natalie that her husband has been killed by a man with the virus and she was bitten on her arm by the virus she knew she had to help her! Now this virus is a rabies type of virus but with a much faster accelerated rate of moving through the body and attacking the brain much faster and once the virus starts a...

Title: Christmas Sweets Author: Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier Published: November 27,2019 Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Mystery/ Cozy Mystery  Pages: 310 pages  Review:  Cute stories! I really enjoyed them! 😁 The first story covers Hannah Swenson's mystery and while this wasn't a murder mystery it definitely was cute with the boys and girls going against one another betting on if one teacher would ask the other teacher to marry them at the bording school. The mystery was cute and short and yes it did have the delicious recipes! Then the Nightmare on Elf street was really cute too! Jaine Austen is trying to get a freelance writing gig and when someone over boasts her credentials she ends up being an elf for the mall Santa. While working as Santa's elf she really starts to despise working for one of the Santa's as he's a drunken tool. Then the other Santa is sweet and kind. Then when Jaine is trying to...

Title: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder  Author: Joanne Fluke  Published: September 1,2006 Published by: Kensington  Genre: Cozy Mystery  Pages: 436 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Loved it! ❤😁 Comedy, mystery, and drama! This is the first of a cozy mystery series, while I have read a few before and not in order but the series is soo cute and good! Hannah is the owner of a cookie shop called The Cookie Jar, she lives in a town called Lake Eden with her almost comedical cat Moishe. When Hannah's dairy delivery is late she decides to see if Ron, a guy she has known for a while, needed help if his car had stalled but then when she got to his truck she found him dead by a gunshot to the chest. With this her. brother in law ahead of the investigation Hannah sets off to help him crack the case. With all the shenanigans and the footwork that Hannah did it was amazing! I am really excited to read more of this series!

Title: The Great Alone  Author: Kristen Hannah  Published: February 6, 2018  Published by: St. Martin's Press  Genre: Historical Fiction  Pages: 435 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Wow! I loved it! Great story! If you are looking for a story that will shatter your heart and make you so angry that you want to literally throw your book across the room then look no further! There are literally no words that I can write to justify this story. It's heartbreaking, the love, the adventure and then the sorrow that follows this story is crazy! In 1974 Leni, then 13 years old, and her family moved to Alaska, her father had inherited a cabin and some land so they decided to move there and make a new start! The thing about her father is I absolutely loathe him completely! The father Ernt, was a Vietnam POW, has PTSD but back then they didn't know what it was and so therefore they really couldn't treat it. So, her fathers paranoia and then his anger fuele...

Title: Something in the Water  Author: Catherine Steadman  Published: June 5,2018 Published by: Ballantine  Genre: Thriller/ Mystery  Pages: 342 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5  Review:  Erin is a filmmaker, she is making a documentary about prison inmates when they are released. Mark is an investment banker with big plans for his future. They are passionately in love and are planning a wedding when the worst type of news hits them. Mark was let go at his work, so trying to fit into a budget the dream wedding and the dream honeymoon was not easy and did create tension between the two. But on their dream tropical vacation they are diving and they find a bag, a bag full of money and diamonds that can absolutely change their life for the better. They ultimately decide to keep the bag and they are in over their heads while trying to move forward and by keeping their eyes over their shoulders looking out for whom they stole from. Okay, I really wanted to...

Title: The Wife Upstairs  Author: Rachel Hawkins  Expected Publication: January 5, 2021  Publisher: St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio  Genre: Thriller/ Mystery  Pages: 304 Pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  I literally kept hearing about this book nonstop in all the book groups and on bookstagram! So I knew I had to read it!! I read it and then I listened to the audiobook and while the book was definitely an experience the audiobook was AMAZING!  If you go the audiobook route the characters and the narrarators match the characters and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Jane is down on her luck, she is trying to hide her past and start a new adventure! Jane is new to the area and so when she starts walking dogs in a very wealthy area of town she is doing pretty well. She keeps adding on new clients to walk their dogs and she's managing to thrift a few things to sell so that she can pay her rent to her tool of a roommate. Now, let's talk about Ed...

Title: Children of Chicago  Author: Cynthia Pelayo  Expected Publication: February 25,2021 Publisher: Agora Books, Polis Books  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Horror  Pages: 320 pages  Review:  The stories that we are told when we are young by our parents in the hope that they will teach us a lesson, an urban legend to warn girls to check their back seats alone or the one about the hookman at the popular makeout spot. We assume that these stories are just that stories, but what happens when these stories aren't just the stories that they are real! Detective Lauren Medina is grieving her late father when she gets called to a case where a young girl is found. Now, background she has a difficult relationship with the public after she shot an offender. Now as they are surveying the scene they find a graffiti tag "PIED PIPER''. While this could just be a new tagger trying to make a name for themselves but Lauren can't help but feeling like this is something mor...

Title: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things  Author: Bryn Greenwood  Published: August 9,2016 Published by: Thomas Dunne Books  Genre: Fiction/ Contemporary  Pages: 346 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5  Review:  I am not 100% sure how I feel about this novel. This book did bring up a lot of emotions, some good and some bad. Let's talk about the beginning when Wavy is with the aunt and grandmother. They both had a hard time seeing life from her perspective. Wavy is the daughter of a meth dealer and a junkie. Wavy sees life from a different perspective and her behaviors and things are caused by neglect and abuse. But, when Wavy is in a field and she sees the wreck of a motorcycle and that's how their relationship begins. When the relationship between Kellen and Wavy begins it's more like an older brother type of relationship. He makes sure she has good shoes and takes her to school and such. But, as time progressed it ended up being a more of a romantic i...

Title: The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel  Authors: Renée Nault & Margaret Atwood  Published: March 26, 2019  Published by: Jonathan Cape Genre: Graphic Novel, Science Fiction,  Dystopia  Pages: 240 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  I haven't really had the chance to try the book but, I did get the graphic novel because I kept hearing the great reviews of it and everything! This graphic novel the illustrations and the story are amazing, your interest is kept and the story is blunt and great! I think the message is correctly portrayed and the detail that goes into the novel is incredible! I can't recommend this enough! The Graphic novel is a gateway into the story, hitting the same major points as the TV series. Probably mu favorite Graphic Novel of the year! Thought provoking, attention grabbing and definitely one of its kind! 

Title: The Wife Between Us  Author: Geer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen Published: January 9, 2018 Published by: St. Martin's Press  Genre: Thriller,  Mystery  Pages: 346 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  So, definitely not what I thought! Soo starting the book I originally thought that it was the jealous ex-wife and the new fiance, I was thinking someone was going to get murdered over jealousy! Totally not what happened! I thought that I had the right perspective, knowing who was who and where the story was going but then BOOM!! That first twist and I was completely wrong! The twist and the turns of the book are absolutely crazy, like some where definitely foreseeable but others not so much! I was soo hooked I read this book into the middle of the night! There should be some trigger warnings with this book such as domestic violence but, this book is definitely worth the read! So we are following Nellie as she is getting ready for her wedding, where ...

Title: The Lost Village  Author: Camilla Sten  Expected Publication: March 23,2021 Publisher: Minotaur Books  Genre: Horror  Pages: 352 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Review:  Alice and her crew are making a documentary about a village called Silvertjarn, a town where over 850 residents just disappeared without a trace and when someone did make it to the village there was a woman with mental difficulties stoned to death and a crying infant in the  schools nurse's office in town. Everyone else in the town disappeared into thin air, taking none of their belongings and leaving no indication to where they went. Alice and Tone have personal connections to this village because Tone's mother was the baby found and Alice's family was some of the village to disappear. As Alice and her crew start the documentary Tone ends up spraining her ankle pretty bad when she stepped on a not really stable piece of wood. As time progresses the crew start to get eerie fee...

Title: The Henna Artist  Author: Alka Joshi  Published: March 3,2020 Published by: Mira  Genre: Historical Fiction  Pages: 342 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  I loved how rich, traumatic, raw this story was. This story gives the reader an insight into a different culture and how things can change for a person rather quickly. Lakshmi leaves her arranged marriage because her husband was abusive to her, she leaves with no money in her pockets. Working hard for her clients with her henna art and also her herbal remedies she is able to create a life for herself. She has herself booked and she is very ambitious to help her business grow faster and better. Then, she finds out she has a sister and that her parents whom she had wished to reunite with have passed on. She then has to take on the responsibility of her sister and try to make her business work well along with getting her sister into school and things like that along with keeping up on the payme...