Bibliophile Amber's Book Reviews

Title: I would Die For You Author: Sadie Jones Expected Publication: March 15, 2025 Publisher: Minotaur Books/ St. Martins Press/ Macmillan Audio Genre: Thriller/ Mystery/Fiction/ Historical/ Suspense/ Mystery Thriller Pages: 320 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: This one was really twisted! It gives a whole new perspective on celebrity fandom and the darker, more obsessive side of fans with major delusions. The story is told across two different periods, which makes it quite interesting. In 2011, we follow Nicole, who lives with her husband and daughter, Hannah. Nicole's life seems normal until a journalist named Zoe shows up at her doorstep, asking questions about a murder that happened in the '80s. Nicole thought she had left that time behind, but suddenly, everything from her past came crashing into the present, haunting her. The second timeline is in 1986 in London, when Nicole was younger. She worked as a bartender and sang during open mic nights at the bar. That's where...

Title: Muted Volume 1 Author: Miranda Mundt Expected Publication:July 7,2025 Publisher: Ten Speed Press Genre: Graphic Novel/ Webtoons/ Fantasy/ Witchy/ Suspense/ Mystery/Horror/ Romance Pages: 320 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: I devoured this book in one sitting! It was amazing and I loved it! This one started with two cousins: Camille and Avaline. Camille's mother and sibling died in a fire that no one has ever figured out what caused. When both cousins reach the age for the ritual coming-of-age summoning, Avaline knocks it out of the ballpark, but Camille, not so much. She was unsure, and hers did not work out how it was supposed to.  However, Avaline returns to New Orleans with her mother, and Camille stays behind to work on her summoning and healing. It was nice to be introduced to the different witch families and learn about their strengths and the different magics associated with them.  The illustrations are on point and the storyline is engaging overall it was a rea...

Title: Our Infinite Fates Author: Laura Steven Expected Publication: March 4,2025 Publisher: Macmillan Audio/ Wednesday Books Genre: Fantasy/Romance/ Romania’s/ Young Adult/ Fiction/ LGBT/ Fantasy Romance/ Fantasy/ Paranormal Pages: 352 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Wow!  I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. It's the ultimate trial of love and death! The story follows two lovers who reincarnate through centuries, finding and loving each other thousands of times. However, their love story is always doomed to end in death on their 18th birthday, where one must kill the other, and the cycle starts over again. Evelyn remembers her past lives and usually tries to hide from Arden, but this time she's fond of her life and wants to help save her sister from cancer. She aims to avoid Arden and live past her 18th birthday. The twist is that Evelyn doesn't know who Arden has reincarnated into, so she's constantly looking for clues to identify him. Sometime...

Title: The Maid’s Secret Author: Nita Prose Expected Publication: April 8,2025 Publisher: Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing Genre: Mystery/ Cozy Mystery/ Thriller/ Fiction/ Contemporary/ Adult/ Mystery Thriller Pages: 336 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: It's another excellent addition to the Maid series.  In this installment, we gain further insight into Gran's upbringing and the events that shaped her life, highlighting her selfless acts to protect not only John but also her entire family.  Gran wrote a diary for Molly so she could learn about Gran's history and everything that happened. She shared about her engagement to the wrong guy, who was an absolutely horrid person. Gran received a Fabergé egg as an engagement present from him, and when she left her childhood home, she took it with her. Eventually, the egg ended up with Molly. This is the same Fabergé egg that Molly was trying to sell with a TV crew and an antiques show when it mysteriously disappeared, spar...

Title: Where Lost Girls Go Author: B. R. Spangler Published: May 15, 2020 Publisher: Bookouture Audio/ Bookouture Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Crime Fiction/Suspense/Detective/ Mystery Thriller Pages: 366 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: I enjoyed it! It’s a mix of a serial killer, kidnapped kids, a human trafficking ring, and a cop in desperate need of a vacation, all wrapped into one! Casey White is a seasoned detective, but she's haunted by her past. When her daughter was a toddler, she was kidnapped during a brief moment when the door was left open, and Hannah wandered into the yard where a car picked her up. Casey never saw her again. This event haunts Casey, and she sees her daughter everywhere. While working a case, she pulled a gun on a cop because she thought she saw the woman who took her daughter, leading her to be given a vacation to clear her head. On this vacation, she stumbles upon a bleeding teenager who looks like she's been through a terrible incident. When Casey tak...

Title: God Of Malice Author: Rina Kent Published: July 10,2022 Publisher: Blackthorn Books LLC Genre: Romance/Dark/ Enemies to Lovers/ College/ Contemporary/ New Adult/ Adult/ Fiction/ Contemporary Romance Pages: 468 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Omg. Let me tell you.  "Killian kisses the top of my head and before I can backpedal, he says the words that go strait to my heart. "I'll make sure you always choose me as much as I choose you."" If you don't enjoy psychos in your books, then this one is NOT for you. Killian Carson, is a man of many talents and most of them include some sort of violence or sex that is until he meets Glyndon. Glyndon is on a cliff where her friend committed suicide earlier and she was visiting the site, she never thought that she would catch the attention of Killian on that cliff. Slowly Killian dives into the world of Glyndon and basically posters her until she starts to have feelings for him. Then, she finds out more information a...

Title: Wild Dark Shore Author: Charlotte McConaghy Expected Publication: March 3,2025 Publisher: Macmillan Audio/ Flatiron Books Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Thriller/Mystery Thriller/ Literary Fiction/ Adult Contemporary Pages: 320 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Not what I was expecting, but an interesting read that I finished in the afternoon because I had to know what happened! Every chapter has action and the pages ALMOST turn themselves because you are so engrossed in the story! Raff washes up on the shore and Dominic and his children take care of her, originally Dominic thought that she was going to die from her injuries but she pulls through! (Our girl is a fighter!) She remains guarded with her heart and feelings while living on the island and while everyone cares for her. While the island is falling apart, Dominic is a single father and his children are his world, but they have fallen apart in the past years and he is struggling to help bring them together again. Raff slowly sta...

Title: A Long Time Gone Author: Joshua Moehling Published: February 3,2025 Publisher: Dreamscape Media/Poisoned Pin Press Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Murder/Police Procedural/ Murder Thriller Pages: 325 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: A family mystery that has been looming over Ben for over thirty years, when he was a kid, his teenage brother disappeared and they never had closure nor did they find out what happened to him. Then, while on court duty, a man attempted to shoot another, so Ben reacted as trained and shot him before he could hurt anyone. The police department placed Ben on leave while they investigated the shooting. While on leave, he starts following leads that he recently received on his brother's case and he finds out a friend of the family had passed away, however, the friend of the family's death was suspicious, so Ben decides to investigate both.  I loved the mystery, the interconnectedness of everything, and the assembly of the pieces. This was a police procedur...

Title: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales Author: Heather Fawcett Published: February 11,2025 Publisher: Ballantine Books/Del Ray Books/ Random House Publishing Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Fiction/Historical Fiction/ Fae/ Adult/ Romantasy/Historical/Fantasy Romance Pages: 368 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Finally, a gratifying conclusion to an exceptional series! The series was phenomenal, and its writer crafted it to feel like the journal of an old friend! I adored this series from the beginning to end, but like most books that are the conclusion of a loved series, the book was too short! The characters are still full of love and mischief!  This time, Emily and Wendell experienced even more romance and love throughout the book. The faerie lore is in full swing still in this book and Emily proves she will still do anything to protect Wendell despite his own tribulations. When they go on the hunt for his stepmother, they find her eventually. When they do like most faerie instances...

Title: Another Author: Paul Tremblay Expected Publication: July 22, 2025 Publisher: Quill Tree Books Genre: Horror/ Middle Grade Pages: 256 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: This is perfect for readers who enjoy Mexican Gothic!  This book was a fast and delightful afternoon read! Tremblay captivates your attention, making you eager to discover what unfolds! This middle-grade novel maintains that quality without being too graphic for younger audiences!  Reading this made me nostalgic because it reminded me of my love of the Goosebumps books as a kid! Casey was the victim of a bullying video, also known as "the Zoom Incident", that went viral at the school he was at because of a facial tick he had. While the ones responsible were disciplined he still had a hard time making friends and was often alone. So when his mother receives a phone call one afternoon with the other person on the line asking for Casey's friend to stay with them for a few days he is puzzled. Casey wracks hi...

Title: Daughter of Chaos Author: A. S. Webb Expected Publication: January 13,2025 Publisher: Harlequin Audio/ Mira Genre: Fantasy/ Mythology/ Romance/ Retellings/ Historical Fiction/ Historical Pages: 464 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: This is an exciting debut novel! Engrossing, beautiful and full of all mythology's love and power plays! Danae is a normal girl in town, a fisherman's daughter. Her sister's abduction before her marriage into a wealthy family, followed by Danae's rape, brought misfortune on her family. Later, she discovers she is pregnant, and the city shuns her family for her pregnancy outside of marriage. When the baby boy is born, Danae and her family do what they can to provide for her sister and the child. Then her sister passes away and Danae finds her but she has a vision of a golden apple tree and taking a bite of an apple and wakes up tied up with her mother fearful of her and calling the religious elders because she believes some negative entity...

Title: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave Author: Elle Cosimano Expected Publication: March 4,2025 Publisher: Macmillan Audio/ Minotaur Books Genre: Mystery/ Thriller/ Mystery Thriller/ Fiction/ Cozy Mystery/ Humor/ Romance Pages: 320 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: I believe this is my favorite series so far! I loved it so much!  We begin when police discover a body in the backyard of Finlay's neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, and they suspect her of murder. However, they released her, and she is no longer a suspect. Because her home has no electricity or heat, she is staying at Finlay's house until they fix the heating.  They arrested Finlay's ex-husband for the murder because the wife of the man found buried in her backyard accused him of having an affair with her during his marriage to Finlay. Believing Steven, she starts her investigation of the murder and the curious mishaps of what Mrs. Haggerty is doing and where she is going.  This one was an absolute hoot! I loved the co...

Title: All Better Now Author: Neal Shusterman Expected Publication: February 4,2025 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Genre: Young Adult/ Dystopia/ Science Fiction/ Fiction/ Thriller/ Mystery/ Fantasy Pages: 528 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: After falling in love with the Scythe series, I eagerly read Shusterman's new book! I was not disappointed! Shusterman takes the reader to a new level of a virus. I mean, the virus side effects do not sound terrible! All the negative feelings that affect millions of people daily are gone: greed, anger, stress, and even depression.  The pandemic is in full blow and four different people and how their lives intertwine in surprising ways! Also, how each of the characters thought they were doing the right things, but it did not always work in the best way. I'm trying to decide how I feel about this book, but it's amazing, not only amazing, it's interesting and very thought-provoking! While I loved the storyline and the writing style, Shu...

Title: Veronica Ruiz Breaks The Bank Author: Elle Cosimano Published: November 7,2023 Publisher: Minotaur Books Genre: Mystery/ Fiction/ Mystery/ Thriller/ Cozy Mystery/ Novella/ Contemporary/ Humor/ Short Stories Pages: 107 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: I've enjoyed the series so far but, I have always wondered how Vero and Finlay met and this story did not disappoint! Vero is running from her college sorority because money went missing and they all think that she was the thief, so she's taking a break from the college. She begins looking for a job, and she finds out a bank is hiring. Thinking that it's a bank teller, she goes and talks to the manager, finding out that it's a janitor's job. However, while thinking about applying for the janitor's job, she overhears the manager and the security officer talking about missing money from the bank. She decides to apply for the janitor's job so that she can solve the mystery of who was stealing the money so sh...