Mini Review: The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston

Title: The Lying Woods
Author: Ashley Elston
Series: Stand Alone
Published By: Disney-Hyperion (November 13, 2018)
Genre: YA Mystery
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4 Stars


Book Description:
Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees' retirement accounts, Owen's father vanished without a trace, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout.

Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he can barely remember despise him for his father's crimes. It's bad enough dealing with muttered insults and glares, but when Owen and his mother receive increasingly frightening threats from someone out for revenge, he knows he must get to the bottom of what really happened at Louisiana Frac--and the cryptic note his father sent him at his boarding school days before disappearing.


Owen's only refuge is the sprawling, isolated pecan orchard he works at after school, owned by a man named Gus who has his own secrets--and in some ways seems to know Owen better than he knows himself. As Owen uncovers a terrible injustice that looms over the same Preacher Woods he's claimed as his own, he must face a shocking truth about his own past--and write a better future. 

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I love a good mystery, especially one that is shrouded in family secrecy and lies. 

The Lying Woods was so much fun. Great characters that were hard to resist and a storyline that flashed back and forth from present day to the past that was just as captivating and shrouded in mystery as the present day mystery. 

I loved how not only the stories but the characters themselves intertwined and came together. With shocking discoveries and revelations, this one kept me turning the pages and on my toes. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Cover Reveal: At the Mountain's Edge by Genevieve Graham

Title: At the Mountain's Edge

Author: Genevieve Graham

Series: Stand Alone

Published By: Simon & Schuster (April 2, 2019)

Genre: Canadian Historical Fiction

Book Description:

From bestselling author Genevieve Graham comes a sweeping new historical novel of love, tragedy, and redemption set during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush.

In 1897, the discovery of gold in the desolate reaches of the Yukon has the world abuzz with excitement, and thousands of prospectors swarm to the north seeking riches the likes of which have never been seen before. 

For Liza Peterson and her family, the gold rush is a chance for them to make a fortune by moving their general store business from Vancouver to Dawson City, the only established town in the Yukon. For Constable Ben Turner, a recent recruit of the North-West Mounted Police, upholding the law in a place overrun with guns, liquor, prostitutes, and thieves is an opportunity to escape a dark past and become the man of integrity he has always wanted to be. But the long, difficult journey over icy mountain passes and whitewater rapids is much more treacherous than Liza or Ben imagined, and neither is completely prepared for the forbidding north.

As Liza’s family nears the mountain’s peak, a catastrophe strikes with fatal consequences, and not even the NWMP can help. Alone and desperate, Liza finally reaches Dawson City, only to find herself in a different kind of peril. Meanwhile, Ben, wracked with guilt over the accident on the trail, sees the chance to make things right. But just as love begins to grow, new dangers arise, threatening to separate the couple forever.

Inspired by history as rich as the Klondike’s gold, At the Mountain’s Edge is an epic tale of romance and adventure about two people who must let go of the past not only to be together, but also to survive.

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About the Author:

Genevieve Graham is the bestselling author of Tides of Honour, Promises to Keep, and Come from Away. She is passionate about breathing life back into Canadian history through tales of love and adventure.

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Review: Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Little White Lies
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: Book One in the Debutante Series
Published By: Freeform (November 8, 2018)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
Genre: YA Contemporary
My Rating: 4.5 Stars!!


Book Description:
"I'm not saying this is Sawyer's fault," the prim and proper one said delicately. "But."

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.


Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.

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I became a huge Jennifer Lynn Barnes fan after reading her Naturals series and then even more so after her Fixer series so it was with little hesitation that I accepted a copy of her latest book. I knew that if anyone could blow me away with a good mystery in the YA genre, it would be her and I wasn't wrong at all. 

Sometimes you can pick up a book and within the very first few pages just know you are going to fall in love with the main character. That you are going to want to be there friend and know them and maybe even be them. That is the talent that Barnes has and that is exactly what happened to me, yet again, when I meet Sawyer. 

Fun, sassy, sarcastic, a little bit sweet and a while lot of fierce and determined, Sawyer was a character that I couldn't help but instantly like and want to know more about.

Throwing this anything but sunshine and smiles girl into a world of fake compliments, even faker smiles and friendship, frilly dresses, and money galore, and you have one heck of a good setting and an even better story. One that will leave you eagerly turning the pages and soaking up every single fascinating ball, scavenger hunt, and elite event in a world that most have never experienced and only dream about. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Review: Gone Hunting by Cecy Robson

Title: Gone Hunting
Author: Cecy Robson
Series: Prequel to the Weird Girls Series
Published: October 24, 2018 
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: ARC Provided by the Author (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4.5 Stars!



Book Description:
Discover Cecy Robson’s sensational Weird Girls series for the first time—or go back to the beginning ...


The rest of the werewolf pack might consider Aric Connor to be omniscient and destined to save the world when evil returns to claim it. But for the most part, fifteen-year-old Aric ignores the confirmations of his powers, taking everything in stride until he meets her.

Celia Wird wasn’t supposed to awaken naked in the mountains of Colorado, not when she was just stalking her prey in a filthy alley several states away. She especially wasn’t supposed to meet Aric, the handsome werewolf who comes to her aid.

As a supernatural tasked with protecting the earth, Aric sympathizes with Celia’s dangerous situation. He’s also struck by her beauty and kindness. Yet, as much as Aric welcomes Celia, her arrival isn’t a peaceful one. 


Dark forces stir in Celia’s presence, resolute on killing her. Aric and his inner beast are adamant about keeping Celia safe and with them. But there's a time and a place for love, and Aric and Celia might not survive long enough to find it.

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The Weird Girls series is one of my all time favorites in the genre. From the very first book I was hooked with it's quirky humor, action packed scenes, swoon worthy romance and male characters, and the uniqueness that truly sets it apart from other urban fantasy series out there. 

It is one of a kind and one that all fans of the genre really need to try.

When I saw that not only were we going to get a book from 15 year old Aric before he became Alpha of the pack but also a chance encounter meeting with a teenage Celia, I was so all over it.

Aric and Celia are by far two of my most favorite characters. Their story is one that hasn't been easy. They have fought tooth and nail to get where they are and are two of the most loyal and caring characters I think I have ever encountered in a series. They truly are just amazing. To get a little bit more of then, regardless of when it is, was a no brainer.

And this story, it both made me happy and broke my heart how it all had to happen. I just...so many feels.

I love that Cecy gave us this story, it reminded me all over again why I love her writing and why I adore this series. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author. I was not compensated for this review.*

Promotional Post: The Girl From Berlin by Ronald H. Balson

Title: The Girl From Berlin

Author: Ronald H. Balson

Published By: St. Martin's Press (October 9, 2018)

Series: Book Five in the Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart Series
Genre: Historical Mystery

Book Summary:

In the newest novel from internationally-bestselling author Ronald. H. Balson, Liam and Catherine come to the aid of an old friend and are drawn into a property dispute in Tuscany that unearths long-buried secrets

An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten…

Ada Baumgarten was born in Berlin in 1918, at the end of the war. The daughter of an accomplished first-chair violinist in the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, and herself a violin prodigy, Ada’s life was full of the rich culture of Berlin’s interwar society. She formed a deep attachment to her childhood friend Kurt, but they were torn apart by the growing unrest as her Jewish family came under suspicion. As the tides of history turned, it was her extraordinary talent that would carry her through an unraveling society turned to war, and make her a target even as it saved her, allowing her to move to Bologna―though Italy was not the haven her family had hoped, and further heartache awaited.

What became of Ada? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption, and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption, and hope―the ending of which is yet to be written.

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About The Author:

RONALD H. BALSON is a Chicago trial attorney, an educator, and writer. His practice has taken him to several international venues. He is also the author of The Trust, Karolina's Twins, Saving Sophie, and the international bestseller Once We Were Brothers.

Author website: http://ronaldbalson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonaldBalson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronbalson?lang=en

Blog Tour Review: The Lies We Told by Camilla Way

I'm so excited to be a part of this tour because this is one book that all fans of mysteries needs to read, young and adult alike. I had so much fun with it, seriously pick it up and give it a try. 

Title: The Lies We Told

Author: Camilla Way

Published By: Berkley (October 2, 2018)

Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller

Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Book Description:

The highly acclaimed author of Watching Edie returns with a new novel of dark psychological suspense that explores how those closest to us have the most to hide...

When Clara's boyfriend, Luke, disappears, everyone believes that he's left her, but Clara thinks she knows the truth. Recent evidence suggests that Luke had a stalker, and Clara worries that he's been kidnapped. Then Luke's older sister, Emma, who vanished twenty years ago, suddenly reappears.

Emma wants to help Clara with her search for Luke, but she refuses to talk about what happened--even though it nearly destroyed her family when she vanished. And the deeper Clara digs into Luke's mysterious disappearance, the more convinced she is that the two incidents are connected.

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About the Author:

Camilla Way was born in Greenwich, south-east London, and studied Modern English and French Literature at the University of Glamorgan. Her father was the poet and author Peter Way. Formerly Associate Editor of the teenage girls' magazine Bliss, she is currently an editor and writer on the men's style magazine Arena. Having lived in Cardiff, Bristol, Bath and Clerkenwell, she now lives in south-east London

Exciting, intense, thrilling, and enthralling are all adjectives I would use in describing exactly how wonderful The Lies We Told is.

It completely took me by surprise and from the very first chapter had me captivated.

With the back and forth of the past and present slowly unfolding, each mystery had me spellbound until I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I read each page not only as fast as I could but as intently as I can remember reading a mystery in a really long time.

With fascination and slight horror of what would happen next and how the two stories merged, I was so transfixed by the stories that I couldn't even decide which one I liked more and as they slowly, meticulously came together, I decided I liked them both equally for all the same horrifying reasons.

Wonderfully put together and executed, The Lies We Told will leave you chilled to the bone by the very last page and completely in awe over its greatness. 

Review: The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

Title: The Witch of Willow Hall
Author: Hester Fox
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Published By: Graydon House (October 2, 2018)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4 Stars!



Book Description:
Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it.

Take this as a warning: if you are not able or willing to control yourself, it will not only be you who suffers the consequences, but those around you, as well.

New Oldbury, 1821

In the wake of a scandal, the Montrose family and their three daughters—Catherine, Lydia and Emeline—flee Boston for their new country home, Willow Hall.

The estate seems sleepy and idyllic. But a subtle menace creeps into the atmosphere, remnants of a dark history that call to Lydia, and to the youngest, Emeline.


All three daughters will be irrevocably changed by what follows, but none more than Lydia, who must draw on a power she never knew she possessed if she wants to protect those she loves. For Willow Hall’s secrets will rise, in the end…

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Beautifully woven with a dark mysterious gothic feel, The Witch of Willow Hall was a story that was easy to get immersed in and hard to put down.

Rich is history and atmosphere it was easy to picture the lush but sinister woods that Willow Hall sits on  and transports you right into the heat of the summer and then the chilly winds of autumn  as the story progresses and more and more secrets are unfolded and revealed for both the Montrose family and Willow Hall itself. 

With an almost morose feel the house and surrounding woods seemingly take on a life of their own as more and more of the story comes together and secrets are spilled, legends revealed, and mysteries solved.

With just the right amount of romance, intrigue, and scandal, not to mention ghosts and magic, The Witch of Willow Hall was every bit as rich in detail and darkness as it could be idyllic and charming. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*