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Release date: October 24, 2017

Publisher: William Morrow

Genre: Horror/Sci Fi/Fantasy

Blurb:

A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill

“Snapshot” is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by “The Phoenician,” a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.

A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in “Aloft.”

On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. “Rain” explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

In “Loaded,” a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

Review:

This book would not be something that I would normally read, but after having heard from SO many people that Hill is a fantastic author I knew I had to give him a try. A collection of short stories seemed like the perfect way for me to acquainted with his work and overall I’m pretty impressed even though I didn’t love every single story.

I’m going to start with my least favorite and end with my favorite so I can end on a positive note! Snapshot had some parts that I really liked, Michael is an adult and is recounting a series of incidents from when he was twelve in the eighties. I love books set in this era so that was really cool and I liked the conversational style it had. I felt like a friend was telling me a crazy story from their past. I was pretty underwhelmed in the end, I found it predictable and the resolution was meh.

Aloft follows Audrey, an early twenties man who goes skydiving with some friends after one of them passes away to honor her memory. He is the sole focus and I found him to be well drawn for such a short amount of time spent with him. This had such a weird premise, it was pretty out there for me and while I liked it, I didn’t love it.

Rain focuses on an end of days type of event in Colorado and is told by a woman named Honeysuckle. I love a good apocalypse novel and haven’t read one in forever, so I was pretty into this bizarre tale of crystal spikes falling from the sky. This was dark and atmospheric and I really liked Honeysuckle and was invested in her. The ending left a bit to be desired but overall an entertaining read.

Loaded was the strongest in my opinion, maybe because it was so timely, but I thought it was extremely well done. It had a brief period with different timelines, present day, then back to the early nineties and I was impressed by how well this worked in a story that’s only a bit over one hundred pages, I’ve read full length novels that can’t pull this off as well! There are several characters in this story and they’re all linked by a mall shooting and the way things were plotted was smart and came together smoothly in the end.

If you like short story collections and don’t mind supernatural elements in your thrillers, give this a shot. I liked that I could easily read each section in a single setting and appreciated the great sense of place and atmosphere in each story, they were all highly original and engrossing.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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Release date: August 22, 2017

Publisher: Montlake

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.

Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.

But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.

Review:

Before I Knew is the first in a new series following the Cabot family. It’s billed as a romance and it most certainly is, but this wasn’t the lighthearted read I was expecting it to be and unfortunately I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped because of this. I like to escape with a romance as a break from the dark thrillers that make up the majority of my TBR and since much of this one deals with heavy, depressing topics it wasn’t quite the break I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, it was well written and overall an enjoyable read, I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind when I started it.

This focuses on Colby as she’s grieving the loss of her husband Mark and trying to move on with her life. I did like Colby and found her to be relatable and interesting, but everything she’s been through was so heartbreakingly sad I felt emotionally drained myself. This isn’t inherently a bad thing as anytime an author makes me feel something I’m impressed because that’s one of the main reasons I read a book in the first place. Alec had a similarly devastating history as well so there wasn’t much levity to break up the angst they were both experiencing.

Overall this was a well thought out and well written story that was on the darker side compared to most romances I read. I was interested in the characters but not overly invested in them which is a shame. I don’t know that I’ll be continuing with this series as I prefer to keep my romances light and my thrillers dark, but if you want a romance that has depth and darkness without violence and gore try this!

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to Booksparks for my review copy.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: December 12, 2017

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die.

Review:

A couple of months ago I read Stillhouse Lake and really enjoyed it and after the way it ended I was dying to get my hands on a copy of Killman Creek. I ended up liking this one even more than the first, it was exciting, tense and the type of page turner that kept me up way past my bedtime.

WARNING! Stop reading here if you haven’t read book one because there will be some spoilers. So when SL ended Gwen’s sadistic ex husband had managed to escape from prison and she knew he was coming for her and her kids. The intensity throughout this book was incredible since Gwen and her kids were being hunted and as much as I had feared for their safety the first time around, it didn’t hold a candle to my anxiety this time! Knowing that a man as twisted as Melvin Royal was looking for the family made this an epic page turner, and there were SO many creepy moments and great action scenes that I just could not stop reading.

This has a twisty plot so I don’t want to say much more, but this book reminded me of Chelsea Cain in terms of style, it had that same cat and mouse vibe that her books have, which I love. I appreciated that Caine didn’t torture me with another cliffhanger ending and now I’m beyond curious what the story will be for book three?! It’s not out until next fall and there’s not even a blurb yet but you can guarantee that no matter what it’s about, I’ll be reading it!

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: December 5, 2017

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Blurb:

Something has been asleep in forty-year-old cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte for a long time. It all comes back in a rush during a hunting trip, when he’s suddenly attuned to the animals around him, feeling their pain and fear as if it were his own. But the newfound sensitivity of Aiden’s “wake up” has its price. He can no longer sleepwalk through life, holding everyone at arm’s length. As he struggles to cope with a trait he’s buried since childhood, Aiden falls in love with Gwen, a single mother whose young son bears a burden of his own.

Sullen and broken from his experiences with an abusive father, Milo has turned to acting out in violent and rebellious ways. Aiden can feel the boy’s pain, as well as that of his victims. Now he and Milo must sift through their pasts to find empathy with the innocent as well as the guilty, to come to terms with their deepest fears, and to finally discover the compassionate heart of a family.

Review:

There is a certain type of magic in every single Catherine Ryan Hyde book that I’ve read, an underlying feeling of hope that always restores my faith in humanity and leaves me feeling good about the world. It’s odd too, because she’s not afraid to tackle some tough issues that on the surface would seem dark, but the way she handles these issues makes you think, but also leaves you feeling sated.

Aiden is an empath, in case you’re like me and don’t know exactly what that means, it’s that he feels deeper than people normally do and in his extreme case, he actually takes on the feelings of animals. It all starts when he’s forty, he’s hunting as he’s done a hundred times before, but this time he can feel the deers pain, anxiety and fear exactly as if it’s his pain, anxiety and fear. He’s an highly complex character and the “Wake Up” that he experiences is tender, insightful and just so beautiful.

I always say the authors books are effortless reads and I’m going to have to say that again now because there truly isn’t another appropriate way to describe it. They’re more than a page turner, you feel like a dear friend is chatting to you, there’s an intimate quality to her writing style that really speaks to me. This was emotional without leaving you feeling emotionally drained which I think is a tricky thing to master.

I want to mention that there is some animal abuse, more accurately the mistreatment of animals here. But you need to know that the author is a huge animal lover and they always play a role in her books so there is nothing highly graphic and I promise you that it is really important to the storyline and totally necessary.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.