Bibliophile Amber's Book Reviews

Title: The Children On The Hill  Author: Jennifer McMahon  Expected Publication: April 26, 2022  Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press  Genre: Mystery/Thriller/ Horror  Pages: 352 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  OMG! This is epic! I loved it!   Soo Jennifer McMahon is becoming a favorite author! Her methods of spooky, scary, and creepy have me hooked from beginning to the end! Everything that I have read by her I have loved! This is one of those Netgalleys when I requested I felt like I had won the lottery when I was approved! I loved how we were given the perspectives of two different times from Vi or Violet's perspective in 1978 and then Lizzy Shelly in 2019. Vi lives with her grandmother and her brother in the country next to the inn. The inn is basically an asylum, and Vi's grandmother, Gran, is one of the psychologists that work at the Inn. As far as Vi and Eric remember it's always been them and Gran after their parent's wreck that k...

Title: Murder At The Bake Sale  Author: Lee Hollis  Expected Publication: November 30, 2021 Publisher: Kensington Books Genre: Cozy-Mysteries Pages: 314 pages   Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  I have a weakness when it comes down to cozy mysteries! So earlier this month when I was given the first book in this series and I blew through it I knew I needed more and I jumped at the opportunity to read More of Maya and Sandra! Maya, an ex-cop, and Sandra, the wife of a political figure, are partners in a private investigator firm! While they don't always have cases they work hard at the ones that they do have along with the ones that kind of just fall into their laps! Maya's daughter Vanessa's class is having a bake sale to go overseas, while Maya is definitely not a Betty Crocker kind of mom she wanted to show her support and she attempted making cookies for the bake sale. While she is working the bake sale the new Spanish Teacher asks her out on a date, and while...

Title: Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets  Author: Chelsea Ichaso  Expected Publication: April 5, 2022 Publisher: Sourcefire Books  Genre: Young Adult/ Mystery/ Thriller  Pages: 204 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Let me just say this is one of those mystery/ thriller books that you will feel like you are twisting down a rabbit hole with all the whodunits and the mystery behind everything. That being said, if you love a good mystery then this should be your next big read! Piper had an accident on a cliff that is known for suicide, while everyone is convinced because of events that had happened that she tried to commit suicide. Her older sister is racked with guilt because of what she did to her sister earlier that fateful day, she is determined to figure out what actually happened that day because she does not think that it was suicide. Savannah starts trying to put different clues together to unravel the events leading u to Piper's accident and what sh...

Title: Widow Falls  Author: Kiersten Modglin  Expected Publication: December 14, 2021 Publisher: Dreamscape Media  Genre: Mystery/Thriller  Pages: 350 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Wow! This book was definitely a rollercoaster! Sloane is trying to decide her next step in life, she just graduated from college so she takes on a new job. She is a guide at the infamous whitewater rafting camp, which soon after coming to work there she finds out that the guide that she's replacing disappeared without a trace. Plus, she finds out that the property and the river they work on are infamous for people disappearing and urban legends. Sloane is trying to get into the rhythm of the workplace and following all the stories, basically trying to fit into the group she stumbles across the girl she replaced journal. As she is reading the journal it's making her suspicious of everyone and their motives. Sloane is trying to piece together the truth and what is really...

Title: A Far Wilder Magic  Author: Allison Saft Expected Publication: March 8, 2022 Publisher: Wednesday Books  Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy  Pages: 384 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  This was a very unique story and I loved it! This is the first that I've read by this author, and I can guarantee that it will not be the last! Margaret Welty is a very talented archer and  Margaret saw one of the last mystical creatures in the world and she wants to enter the hunt! But, to enter she needs a partner soo she talks Wes to enter with her. I loved how the POV switched between the two. The two characters are soo different but the duo provides an enticing story and it was hooking! While the two grow closer together they do have a slow-building relationship, and the competition is pretty fierce they would have to survive the whole ordeal. When they started considering dark magic but like they would have to survive the hunt!  Margaret does have some flas...

Title: The Hawthorne School  Author: Sylvie Perry  Expected Publication: December 7, 2021  Publisher: Dreamscape Media/ Crookedlane Books Genre: Mystery/Thriller  Pages: 304 pages  Rating: 4⭐ Review:  OMG! I did not know what I was getting into when I requested this book! But, Man oh Man did it deliver! This is a slow-burn thriller and it's definitely worth the hype! Claudia is a normal single mom, she works as a massage therapist and she has a very hyperactive 4-year-old. Henry is having some hyperactive issues at his preschool, and Claudia is having a hard time handling him and while she is doing her best she feels like she is failing. While talking to her friend who lives at her apartment complex she recommends The Hawthorne School to her, and Claudia decides to check it out. While going on the tour Claudia loves it and loves the teaching methods but she is barely making ends meet now. She expresses these concerns to the woman giving the tour...

Title: A Forgery of Roses Author: Jessica S. Olson  Expected Publication: March 1, 2022 Publisher: Inkyard Press  Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy  Pages: 368 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Loved it!!! This was very unique and I loved the whole aspect of everything! This was a wild ride with all the magical elements that you love in a great fantasy book along with the murder mystery you crave! Soo Maya has this incredible gift of painting, and while that alone is a great gift but her paintings are soo much more! Maya's paintings have a way of coming alive, and while this is an amazing gift. If knowledge to the wrong people of her abilities it would definitely cause an upstir for people wanting to use her gift for power. Now, this is where things get messy. Maya teams up with the governor's son and the governor's wife finds out her gift and basically blackmails her into painting her deceased son. To bring him back to life or the Governor's wife will expose ...

Title: The Wife Upstairs  Author: Freida McFadden  Published: March 23, 2020 Published by: Dreamscape Media  Genre: Mystery/ Thriller  Pages: 272 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Wow! What a thriller! Sylvia has been down on her luck for a while, and she is dealing with an ex that won't let her go, and also she needs a job! So one morning while grabbing coffee she found a lady who was choking and helped her, although the lady insisted that she assaulted her. However, there was a person that was watching the whole scene, and he validated to everyone the server and all that Sylvia saved the woman. The two ended up talking and he offered her a job to come and keep his wife company. The job offer seemed too good to be true but, she took it because she needed the opportunity. Victoria seemed to have it all, she had a promising career, friends, and the most thoughtful boyfriend who soon turned to husband! However, while everything seemed to be picture per...

Title: The Library of the Unwritten  Author: A. J. Hackwith  Published: October 1, 2019 Published by: Ace Books Genre: Fantasy  Pages: 375 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  So originally had the assumption that this book was a horror novel, but when I started the book, and realized that it wasn't. I wasn't mad or anything because this book was sooo good!!! So Claire is the Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing, a place in Hell where the unwritten novels of different authors are stored. Although sometimes the characters of the unwritten novels will escape the library in search of their author, then Claire and her associates will have to go in the chase after them before they destroy their characters or the story they were written in. Now, Claire herself was once an author, and yes her unfinished books are in the library but she is a very strict librarian! So when one of the characters from an unwritten book sneaks out she bands together with her associate ...

Title: Why She Left  Author: Leah Mercer  Expected Publication: December 13, 2021 Publisher: Book Outure & Bookouture Audio Genre: Mystery/ Thriller  Pages: 295 pages Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐  Review:  Great Narrators! I listened to the audiobook and once the story warmed up I loved it! I had a hard time putting it down! Definitely worth the listen! 15 years ago Isobel left her home leaving only a note to her mother saying she was leaving and not to try to find her. Ruth has spent the past 15 years trying to heal and wondering why her daughter, whom she felt like was her best friend, left leaving only the note. Ruth focused on the school that had been in her family for several generations giving the school her full focus and attention. So one night when Isobel and her teenage son, Issac, show up at her door out of nowhere wanting to stay with her because they have no place to go. Of course, Ruth allows them to stay, she wants to get to know her teenage grand...

Title: The Hunger of Crows  Author: Richard Chiappone  Expected Publication: November 9, 2021  Publisher: Dreamscape Media/ Crooked Lane Books Genre: Mystery/Thriller  Pages: 304 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  Wow! What started as a one night stand between a waitress with a desire to be wanted and a man coming home from a job looking for a distraction from the realness of his life, turns into a cat and mouse game all over a picture that would make some very powerful men look very bad! While working in her Arizona waitressing job Carla strikes up a conversation with a customer leading to a one-night stand with Cosmo. While still at Cosmo's house Carla takes a memento (a habit of hers to remember the men she sleeps with) only to find out later that the picture is worth more than 1000 words. The picture puts the man who is running for president along with Cosmo in a very hard spot meeting with individuals of very important military men from other cou...

Title: The Night Shift  Author: Alex Finley  Expected Publication: March 1, 2022 Publisher: Minotaur Books Genre: Mystery/ Thriller  Pages: 368 pages  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review:  I loved Every Last Fear by this author, so when I saw he published another book I knew I had to read it. Then when the synopsis of the book had me hooked from the beginning because it reminded me of a true-crime mystery. On New Year's Eve in 1999 Y2K is predicted to go haywire because it was predicted to be the new apocalypse. At a blockbuster in New Jersey, four teenage girls were attacked ending in 3 being dead and one surviving. While in this case the police quickly suspected one of the girl's boyfriends but, he just disappeared into the wind. Now, 15 years later 4 more girls were attacked at an ice cream parlor, and once again there is only one survivor. I loved that this book was told from three different perspectives: Ella (the lone survivor of the blockbuster murders), FBI ...