The Bright Lands by John Fram

Available July 7, 2020

Buckle up! This is a wild one!

When Joel Whitley’s younger brother leaves him a cryptic text message, he knows it’s time to return home. The hometown that drove him away with it’s bigotry and small mindedness. Bentley, Texas loves it’s football and it’s players are town royalty. Bentley also loves it’s secrets. When Joel’s brother goes missing, he knows there is more going on than his brother running away. Trying to find an ally in Bentley is a complication that Joel doesn’t know if he can handle. Friends from his past have to reckon with their own tragic memories of a similar disappearance and the police seem oddly uninterested in taking any clues seriously. As Joel comes closer to understanding what happened to his brother, a dark and deadly force threatens to tear apart the entire community.  

The Bright Lands is full of twists and turns and small town secrets. It’s a chilling look at the effects of hero worship and allowing young men to get away with horrific behavior solely because their athletic ability provides others with joy. Full of complicated characters, The Bright Lands shows us what happens when everyone has a secret to protect and the lengths they’ll go to protect themselves. 

This has been described as Friday Night Lights meets Supernatural, and while I don’t think it’s quite like that, it’s close. There is a truly dark and threatening force at work in the novel but it’s hard to compare the bigger threat-a supernatural force or unrestrained bigotry and homophobia. Both drive people to shun and kill people for no reason other than to spread hate. How much influence that dark force had over the actions of the characters will be up to you to decide. John Fram crafted a tightly woven tale where every character is important to the overall story. Everyone’s actions will either lead you to the finish or throw you off course. There are just so many, many secrets and each one unravels to create a more complex story. It’s wild, but incredibly entertaining. 

There is a real focus on Joel’s feelings towards his family and the responsibility he feels towards his brother Dylan. We find out pretty early on that Joel was pretty much run out of town and goes to be successful in college and start a high paying and high power career. He basically thumbs his nose at everyone as he parties, does drugs, and spends oodles of money. Throughout this ten years, he doesn’t really every come home or call, or plain have a relationship with his brother so when he receives that cryptic text, he realizes he needs to be a better brother. Unfortunately for book reasons, that doing better looks much different than he planned on. The author really dives into Joel’s feeling of responsibility, even though Joel is his brother, not his parent. I found it a really interesting look at personal responsibility and how that responsibility can go both ways. Joel left town for his own physical and emotional safety and he deserves a happy life and was always under the assumption that Dylan has parents to care for him. That can be true while also stating that he could have picked up the phone a bit more often.

Also, I have mixed feelings about the big reveal of the Bright Lands. It felt really over the top and I hate reading about attacks on children so a lot of it was pretty hard to read. That said, it explains so much of the town’s behavior towards the football team, the high ranking town officials and community members, and also, the overall sense that no one ever says what they actually mean in this town. I wish it had been a small college town? Couldn’t everyone be a little older? But the ages of the kids is important for other reasons so it’s all complicated. It’s just complicated.

Interested in a copy for yourself? You can get one here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links.  I earn from qualifying purchases.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

This July 4th seems so different from previous years’. Maybe it’s the pandemic. Maybe it’s people waking up to thte effects of white supremacy. Maybe it’s the constant dread of “what did he say today.” Whatever it is, it’s another day that seems off. I’m lucky. Through sheer luck I was born white in this country. I have an easy life full of farm babies and a healthy kid. I’m grateful for this county but I acknowledge how much it did wrong. So, at this point you’re acknowledging I’m not a writer. I know. All I ask, is take some time and think about things that make you uncomfortable and start reading more books by people who are not white. Here’s one of my favorites. It blends mythology with a post-climate apocalypse.
Stay safe, stay healthy, happy reading.

It’s been 26 hours since vacation officially started.   The Kid and I took the pugs on a very slow meandering stroll through the woods, went out to lunch, and I devoured the most badass monster slaying story.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse is the grown-up Buffy* I’ve been dying to read.  When Maggie Hoskie was a child, she survived a horrific attack that awakened her clan powers.  Faster, stronger, and more deadly than any human, she hunts the monsters that roam what is left of the Navajo lands, now known as the Dinétah, after a climate apocalypse.  But it’s not just monsters that wander the earth, so do gods and beings with power.

Drug out of self-imposed seclusion to help rescue a child who was taken by a monster, Maggie  finds more than just a simple case of search and rescue. Seeking out help from her dear friend and local Medicine Man Grandpa Tah, leads to the discovery of deadly witchcraft and a new partner, his grandson Kai Arviso.  Together, they work to find the one responsible for the deadly monsters and confront Maggie’s past in order to survive.

Maybe.  No promises on that one.

This is an amazing book.  Maggie is tough and impressive even without her clan powers-but the clan powers are amazing.  The balance of old myths and legends blending with post apocalyptic droughts and magic is just perfect.  I don’t want to live in that world-Hell. No. But I want to read all of it. Coyote the Trickster is here creating chaos.  There is a magical/mystical dance hall that shows up in the desert on it’s own schedule and is a popular place for all special beings.  Kai puts some silver paint on Maggie’s eyes which allows her to see what everyone looks like without their illusions-I would love to see that on screen or in a graphic novel version.  It’s an amazing part of the book. Many of the people have some animal characteristics-like the Feather People have feathers and the Big Deer People have huge antlers on their heads. The club itself is like the Tardis where space seems to change to fit what is inside and going underground still gives you a view of the sky.  

Maggie has a lot to overcome throughout the book.  Not just the horrible attack that awakens her powers and takes away her family, but also being apprenticed by a demigod during some very formative years and her whole identity being questioned then later on in life.  There are also a lot of relationships that shift and change and with all of her trust issues, it’s a rough ride.

I really enjoyed this book.  Luckily, there is a sneak peek at Book #2 in the back so there will be more.  

Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse is available now.

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*Side note:  We're re-watching the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series and wow is that problematic!*

Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Available Now

I found this book while scrolling through Twitter and I’m not going to lie, an author who not only includes a cover, description, and a buy link will almost always get my money. This was a smoking good deal, and one I wasn’t going to pass up. I’ve been in the mood for a good magical adventure full of secret organizations, demigods, and some serious smooching.

Kira Solomon has been a part of Gilead ever since a childhood tragedy left her orphaned. Unable to touch anyone without draining off their life force, Kira uses her extrasense gifts to fight the Shadow and help preserve the balance between Light and Shadow as a Shadowchaser. A highly trained and deadly fighter, Kira spends her days as an antiquities specialist, cataloging and preserving magical artifacts. When a close friend and business associate suddenly dies, Kira knows the ancient dagger they had recently discussed is at the heart of her friend’s killing.

Khefar, a four thousand year-old immortal warrior is the owner of the mysterious dagger and desperately wants it back. Khefar has been cursed to wander the mortal world until he saves the lives of enough mortals to allow him to finally rest with his family in the Field of Reeds. Discovering he has to save the life of Kira really throws him. She’s more likely to kill him than listen to him and with her life constantly in danger, it makes his job of protecting her extremely difficult.

But work together they do because a deadly Avatar is determined to possess the dagger and allow Chaos to take over the world.

I loved this book! The writing is fantastic with that perfect blend of character development and action-filled fight scenes. The best part, it includes my all-time favorite trope: He’s the only one she can touch! Only him! She can’t touch anyone without draining the literal life out of them, except for Khefar. It’s done so well. So well. I really loved the world Seressia Glass creates with the different demons and enemies, but it all set in modern day Atlanta. I’m a sucker for mystical artifacts, especially when they take the form of a four thousand year-old immortal. And a magic dagger, that was cool too. Anansi makes an appearance as Khefar’s sidekick/guide and his strategically told stories play an important part in the mission.

This is the first in a series, so if you loved it as much as I did, there’s more! I also picked up her book Seducing the Jackal that was published as a Harlequin Nocturne title and it was really good. I love shifters and this had both shifters and a witch. And more ancient Egypt. I’ll tell you more about that one later.

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Full disclosure: The links to IndieBound didn’t provide a direct ordering option, and it seemed weird to send you there for these. They are readily available from Amazon and the Harlequin titles can be purchased directly through Harlequin as ebooks for only $2.99. When you purchase through the links, I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Ordering from Harlequin just makes me happy that you bought a new book!

Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay

Available Now

This is a gripping and chilling novel that was so engrossing I finished it one sitting. Elizabeth Kay weaves a story so tense you can’t put the down for fear of restarting the book in a dark place. Told through the eyes of Jane, we learn how she and her best friend Marnie become the very best of friends and grow to have a friendship found only in story books. From a childhood spent so close their own teachers mixed up their names to sharing their first apartment together, Jane and Marnie were inseparable. But all of that changed when Marnie married Charlie, a man that Jane instantly despised. You can’t tell your best friend that her husband is a boring, demeaning, jerk of a man. Instead, you lie and tell you her he’s fantastic. When those lies begin to add up, Jane finds herself in a position found only in her worst nightmares.

As Jane tells her story, whose identity we only learn at the very end, we learn how their friendship became so close. We learn how Jane’s childhood was far from idyllic, and how Marnie’s childhood was equally troubled. It’s through Jane’s memories that we see the incredibly slow build-up to obsession, one lie at a time. Throughout all of this, Jane remains a sympathetic character, and that is almost the more terrifying than the reasons behind her lies.

If you’re into dark, twisty thrillers, this is perfect for you. Jane tells her entire story to an unknown listener and I couldn’t wait to find out their identity. I nearly through it out the window at about 97% so be prepared-the ending is rough, but readable. I really enjoyed the London setting and the descriptions of the dinners that Marnie and Jane share. In many of these psychological thrillers, it’s pretty obvious from the beginning that our narrator is going to be unreliable and troubled. Jane truly gives off the vibe of devoted friend who only becomes more unstable after a series of extremely tragic events.

If you’d like a copy for yourself, you can grab one here:

This another amazing debut so unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for the next book from Elizabeth Kay.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Post includes affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett

Available May 26, 2020

If you are looking for a riveting and gut wrenching memoir, this book is it. Mikel Jollett recounts his childhood growing up as part of a cult, his family's escape, and the turbulent years leading to his adulthood. Told with unflinching honesty, it is both a gripping tale of survival and a heartbreaking story of abuse and neglect.

Mikel Jollett spent his early years a child of Synanon. When his mother became disenchanted at the group's dark turn, she took her two boys and hid with other escaped cult members. After a family friend was brutally assaulted in broad daylight, Mikel and his mother and brother escape again to a new location, out of reach of Synanon. But life was still incredibly difficult. Mikel grew up with an aggressive older brother and a narcissist of a mother. After his father comes back into his life, Mikel and his brother bounce back and forth between the two dramatically different homes. One, controlling and emotionally abusive, and the other, with more freedom and acceptance.

Jollett goes into detail about his family's struggles with substance abuse, emotional abuse, and the effect poverty had on shaping his life. The courage it takes to not only seek help for these struggles, but to share them with the world is extraordinary. Jollett's writing is powerful in it's simplicity. The straightforward way that he describes traumatic experiences from his childhood is almost jarring.

Incredibly powerful and emotional, Hollywood Park is a gripping tale of family, love, and acceptance. If you enjoyed Educated by Tara Westover, definitely give this one a look.

Interested in a copy of Hollywood Park for yourself, you can grab one here:

Mikel Jollett is a member of the indie band The Airborne Toxic Event. You can find their latest album here:

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Thank you to Celadon Books for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions and mistakes are my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Blade so Black by L. L. McKinney

Available Now

Reader Friends, I screwed up. Again. I had access to a smoking good sale last fall and bought a copy of A Blade so Black because the cover was gorgeous and it sounded amazing.

And then it sat on my YA shelf, looking gorgeous, until this month.

Why do I always wait so long to read these amazing books? The world may never know.

A Blade so Black is an action packed, modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Alice is 17, I think, attends high school, has an extremely tight knit group of friends, and slays Nightmares in Wonderland by night. Slays with swords and daggers. This is by far the most badass retelling of Alice in Wonderland I've ever read. Now, even though Alice has become a tough Dreamwalker, aka Nightmare killer, she still has an equally tough single mother who is incredibly protective of Alice. For good reason-Alice's father passed away leaving her a single mother and an innocent high school girl named Brionne was shot down by the police near their neighborhood. Mama is justifiably stressed.

I really loved how McKinney gives us a look at how complex being the hero can be. Alice is juggling friends, homework, house chores, and saving the universe. She's also ruining her clothes and shoes without an endless Tony Stark budget to replace them. And those friends of hers? Time runs differently when she crosses over to Wonderland which means she is always looking like a flake and missing out on plans. Sometimes, the most important plans get missed.

The world-building is incredible. It was so much fun to read how McKinney reimagines Lewis Carroll's original world. Classic characters come to life in new and exciting ways, and far more inclusive ways. Alice is a gorgeous, cosplaying black girl with a head full of smarts and the Mad Hatter? A hottie who trains her and runs a pub with Maddi, or that sleepy, slightly drunk critter from the original book. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum? Hottie Russian twins. Lots of hotness in this book.

Overall, this book was just what I was needing: an action packed adventure with amazing characters. I loved this retelling and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book because this one had one heck of a cliffhanger!

If you would like a copy for yourself, you can grab one here:

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As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Also, remember any mistakes and opinions are always my own, even if I bought the book with my own money and just read it last night.

Close Up by Amanda Quick

Available Now

Book 4 of the Burning Cove series

I have a longtime relationship with the author that goes by so many names: Amanda Quick, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Jayne Castle. When I learned I was pregnant with my son, I was already off for the summer and took “resting” to a whole new level. I started at the beginning of the Jayne Ann Krentz shelf at the Library and worked my way, one to two books per day, through the Library’s entire collection. When I exhausted that section, I found her other pen names and worked my way through them. When I discovered that she did three book arcs throughout all three pen names, I had to start those over and read them as trilogies. I have an entire shelf in my private library dedicated to signed copies I ordered from Seattle bookstores. She doesn’t know it, but I love her.

I know exactly what I’m getting when I pick up one of her books and this book did not disappoint.

Close Up by Amanda Quick is the fourth installment in the Burning Cove series. Vivian Brazier is a talented photographer with dreams of becoming a famous art photographer. When her wealthy family cuts financial ties with her after walking away from a respectable and lucrative marriage proposal, Vivian is forced to take portrait appointments and crime scene photos to pay the bills. The mysterious Dagger Killer is on the loose and Vivian's crime scene photos provide insight to the local police force but also place Vivian in grave danger. When a private investigator named Nick Sundridge, and his gentle giant of a dog Rex, show up on her doorstep and declare her life is in danger, Vivian is not only shocked, but also not really surprised. With some reassurances from a police detective, Vivian and Nick work together to expose the threat against at Vivian and also, to expose the attraction between them.

I'm a longtime reader of Amanda Quick and have enjoyed all of the different story lines that are woven together to create the Arcane Society world. In Close Up, Quick provides us more clues to the range of psychical gifts found in certain people and the their connections to different members of the Society. Devoted readers of Quick, and her other pseudonyms, will not be disappointed in this high stakes adventure full of 1930's glamour, set in the highbrow world of the arts.

Interested in your own copy? You can get yours here:

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title, all opinions and mistakes are my own.