Bibliophile Amber's Book Reviews

Title: Gone Author: Dreda Say Mitchell/ Ryan Carter Published: March 24, 2025 Publisher: Brilliance Audio/ Brilliance Publishing Genre: Fiction/ Mystery/ Thriller/ Psychological Thriller Pages: 292 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Okay, this is an emotional rollercoaster!  Alison's world fell apart ten years ago when she left her brother to watch her sons and niece at the beach so she could go see the musician play at the local pub. However, her world came crashing down when she saw police vehicles going to the beach, and rushing over there, she found that her oldest son, Sam, had been washed out to sea and they couldn't find him. Wracked with guilt over leaving her son on the beach, losing her son drastically changed her life. She lost her marriage, her relationship with her siblings and so much more!  Now, her ex-husband wants to have Sam declared dead. This brings up all the old wounds and then her youngest son Cole brings his new girlfriend home as he takes a break from coll...

Title: First Wife’s Shadow Author: Adele Parks Published: March 18,2025 Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA Genre: Thriller/Mystery Thriller/ Mystery/ Crime/ Fiction/ Psychological Thriller Pages: 368 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Wow!  The first half of the book there was a lot of inner monologue, and Emma meets Matthew. Matthew is a widower, and Emma soon falls in love with him. Their relationship moves very quickly, and beside Emma's friends discouragement and their advice, to be cautious. Emma embarked on the fast romance, continuing with them eloping without her friends or family present.  However, throughout the relationship, Emma feels constantly compared to Matthew's first love, Becky. When mysterious incidents begin happening, Emma is paranoid. Matthew is concerned about her drinking. One night, when everything culminated, a shattering event occurred in Emma's life. But, like most things not all is as it seems.  Matthew is hiding a secret, and that secret...

Title: The Usual Family Mayhem Author: Helenkay Dimon Publication: March 11,2025 Publisher: Avon/Harper Voyager and Avon Genre: Romance/ Cozy Mystery/ Mystery/ Mystery Thriller/ Contemporary/ Cozy Pages: 368 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Kasey is struggling at her new job a friend got her, so when she is put on the spot in a meeting, to pitch an idea. She pitches an idea however, the idea is to market her grandmother and her partner's baking business. When her boss likes the idea, she must return home and try to subtly tell her grandmother what her pitch was, and don't forget her job is on the line.  When she arrives home Kasey doesn't have the heart to tell her grandmother or her partner, however, her teen crush Jackson is at home slowly that spark comes back and they realize they have feelings for one another. However, Jackson's father hates Kasey and doesn't want his son to get involved with Kasey because he has political aspirations for Jackson.  Although with ...

Title: White Line Fever Author: KC Jones Published: March 18,2025 Publisher: Macmillan Audio/ Tor Nightfire Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Fiction/ Mystery/ Suspense/ Supernatural Pages: 368 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Every town has their urban legend, the one horror story that fills childhood nightmares. County Road 951 is that urban legend; fatal wrecks and the demise of many ill-fated adventurers plague that stretch of road. The locals call the stretch of road The Devil's Highway.  Livia was living what the thought was the American Dream, she was a stay at home wife but all of that came crashing down when she found a used condom wrapper in her husband's pocket while she was doing laundry. When he came home she tried to confront him but she left in her car and had an accident and since then He has moved out giving her time to "think". Livia and three of her best friends decide to go on a weekend getaway however, they unknowingly take The Devils Highway as a shortcut. ...

Title: Breaking The Dark Author: Lisa Jewell Expected Publication: March 25,2025 Publisher: Hyperion Avenue Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction, Crime, Marvel, Mystery Thriller Pages: 384 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: I've been a Lisa Jewell fan for a good time now, and this one was a must-read for me!  It did not disappoint! Breaking the Dark" is a one-of-a-kind novel, that blends superhero action and mystery within the Marvel Universe! The story is gripping, inventive, and packed with thrilling action and intrigue. It’s definitely a book I’d recommend! Jessica, a private investigator battling depression, is hired by Amber, a divorced mother whose twins have started acting strangely after visiting their father. Amber wants answers, so Jessica travels overseas to uncover what happened during their stay. Along the way, Jessica discovers she's pregnant. As a superhero, she's torn—her powers could complicate things, and she’s uncertain whether she'll face thi...

Title: Something In The Walls Author: Daisy Pearce Publication: February 25,2025 Publisher: Minotaur Books/ St. Martin’s Press Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Mystery/ Fiction/ Mystery Thriller/ Witches/ Historical Fiction/ Paranormal Pages: 304 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Meet Mina: A Woman on the Edge of Something Dark Mina, the book’s protagonist, is a freshly minted child psychologist who’s desperate to prove herself in a field dominated by experts. Instead of feeling empowered by her career choice, she’s stuck—adrift in a stifling heatwave in Britain, trapped in the bubble of her impending marriage to Oscar, a methodical and precise researcher who couldn’t be more different from her. The only solace Mina finds is in attending a local bereavement group, where she wrestles with the grief of losing her brother years ago. Her life is small. Safe. Predictable. That is, until she meets Sam Hunter at the grief group. Sam, a journalist, offers Mina the opportunity of a lifetime—an investigati...

​ Title: The Man Made of Smoke Author: Alex North  Expected Publication: May 14,2025 Publisher: Celadon Books  Genre: Thriller/Mystery/ Mystery Thriller/ Horror/ Fiction/ Suspense/Psychological Thriller/ Murder Mystery/ Crime  Pages: 320 pages  Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review:  "Nobody sees," the man says. "And nobody cares." Dan's chance encounter with a strange man and a little boy at a restroom at a rest stop has haunted him his whole life. Later, they discovered the little boy dead in a camper with an adult, but the situation was more complex than it seemed. It turned out to be a chance encounter with a serial killer who kidnapped and murdered children. Rereading the true crime novel repeatedly until his copy was worn out, Dan showed his interest in the case. However, after going to college, he gradually left it all behind and slowly healed, putting the encounter in his past. Grown Dan is now a psychiatrist at a prison and he knows that there are no monsters, they...

Title: The Secret Detective Agency Author: Helena Dixon Expected Publication: Bookouture Audio Genre: Cozy Mystery/ Mystery Pages: 316 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: This is a new author for me and a brand new series! It's a cozy mystery series involving secret agents. Miss Jane Treen starts the story at her desk, drinking strong coffee, when she receives a report that someone murdered one of her agents. Shortly after, she gets an urgent message about a woman found dead in a lake where none of her agents were supposed to be. Finding a dead woman in the lake near his inherited home upon his early return home surprised Arthur Cilento, to say the least. He's even more shocked to learn that the woman is the tenant who recently rented his property on a short lease while he was away. To solve the mystery and expose Jane's other agents' involvement in an operation, Arthur and Jane must decode a journal and identify the culprit before all the agents are killed and before they b...

Title: The Man Nobody Killed Author: Elon Green Published: March 11,2025 Publisher: Celadon Books/Macmillan Audio Genre: True Crime/Biography/ Nonfiction/ History/ Art/ Biography Memoir Pages: 288 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: On September 15, 1983, Michael Stewart, a young model and artist, died in the hospital after an altercation with the New York Transit Police in New York. Witnesses later recounted the altercation, stating that police choked Stewart with a nightstick and beat him with clubs. Witnesses also recounted the pleas for help and for them to stop went unanswered and their attack continues against him. When they brought him to the hospital, doctors and nurses questioned the police account because his injuries did not match their description of events.  Before the BLM movement, there were a lot of instances of unfair treatment and stereotyping by the authorities, and while this incident will NEVER receive the justice that Michael deserves, this did bring light to ...

Title: I Am The Cage Author: Allison Sweet Grant Published: February 18,2025 Publisher: Penguin Group for Young Readers/Dutton Books Genre: Young Adult, Fiction; Disability; Mental Health; Contemporary Pages: 304 pages Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: This is a story you will have to process. Containing many aspects of the ugly part of being human and the raw emotions that someone who has chronic medical issues deal with on a daily basis.  Elizabeth hides in a cabin away from everyone and anything that would bring up her past. She wants to get away and start over, dealing with many traumas from her past. She doesn’t open up, and she hates showing or feeling any vulnerability to anyone. However, when a massive snow storm occurs, and the power is out, she reluctantly goes to her neighbor, the young new sheriff. After spending time with him and talking some things out with him, she is slowly realizing that she can no longer hide or run from her traumatic past, and to move past it she is going...