REVIEW | At Risk

Series: N/A
Author: S.G. Redling
Genre: adult, mystery, thriller
Publish: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Colleen McElroy grew up wealthy and pampered, the daughter of a prominent society family in Lexington, Kentucky. But her privileged upbringing could not prepare or protect her from her cruel and abusive first husband. Although her calamitous marriage left her with physical and emotional scars that have yet to heal, they haven’t prevented her from doing her best to rebuild her life. 

Charismatic Patrick McElroy has scars of his own from his traumatic childhood in the foster care system, but with his business partner, John, he has built a celebrated, state-of-the-art home for at-risk youths. When one goes missing, Colleen is plunged into a nightmare of uncertainty about the girl’s disappearance. Is she paranoid, seeing disasters where there is just bad luck, or does an unspeakable evil lurk behind the new life she’s made for herself? No longer sure of whom she can trust, Colleen will have to rely on herself to discover the truth. 

REVIEW | Forbidden Birth

Series: Chris Ravello #1
Author: William Rubin
Genre: adult, mystery, thriller
Publish: August 30, 2016
Purchase: Amazon | Kobo

“Deep breaths filled my lungs as I purged the anxiety and fear that clawed at me from within. Who was the serial killer… and why were our vics all missing the same body part?” 

Doctor Christopher Ravello is driven by an unquenchable desire to avenge his mother’s senseless murder. He forsakes a lucrative career in medicine, and plunges headlong into the brutal, unforgiving world of a New York City homicide detective. Head of the new Division of Medical Crimes, Ravello’s first case pits him against a brilliant, sadistic serial killer. Known only as The Giver, he is hell bent on subjecting young women and their unborn babies to his illicit experiments. As the body count rises, New York City is engulfed in fear. Fighting an illness which threatens his job, immersed in turmoil at home due to his radical career change, Ravello struggles to understand who The Giver is and where he will strike next. Just as he discovers the killer’s identity the unspeakable happens, and Ravello is confronted with an agonizing choice: will he play it safe or make the ultimate sacrifice to save his loved ones and the city he is sworn to protect and serve?  

BLOG TOUR | Blood Red Snow White

full tour schedule can be found at: The Fantastic Flying Book Club

Series: N/A
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Genre: young adult, historical fiction
Published: October 25, 2016
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | iTunes | Kobo

It is 1917, and the world is tearing itself to pieces in a dreadful war, but far to the east of the trenches, another battle is breaking out - the Russian Revolution has just begun...  

Blood Red, Snow White captures the mood of this huge moment in history through the adventure of one man who was in the middle of it all; Arthur Ransome, a young British journalist who had first run away to Russia to collect fairy tales.  

Told as three linked novellas, part one captures the days of revolution but retells the story as Russian Fairy Tale, with typical humour and unashamed brutality. Part two is a spy story, set over the course of one evening, as Ransome faces up to his biggest challenge, and part three is a love story, full of tragedy and hope, as every good Russian love story should be.

REVIEW | Savage Reckoning

Series: Backwoods Justice #1
Author: C. Hoyt Caldwell
Genre: mystery, thriller
Publish: Octoer 4, 2016
Publisher: Alibi
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

In the vein of Elmore Leonard’s Justified, C. Hoyt Caldwell introduces a thriller series set in the dark side of the Appalachian mountains—featuring a heroine who’s playing both sides of the law. 

Deputy Dani Savage would like nothing better than to shoot the wife beaters, carjackers, drug dealers, and all the rest of the low-life good ol’ boys that make policing Baptist Flats, Tennessee, near impossible. Instead, she grits her teeth and serves the God-fearing townsfolk without complaint. The “little deputy,” as she’s known, is often overlooked and ridiculed for being a small-statured woman in a big man’s world. But while investigating a cold case involving a missing teen, Dani stumbles onto some disturbing facts that cannot be ignored. 

Soon Dani realizes that this case goes back decades. There’s a history of young women being stolen from the Tennessee hills, and a legacy of corrupt cops looking the other way. Dani’s investigation leads her to the “closeout kings,” a pair of hired killers with a tale to tell—a tale of a missing girl and a crime worse than murder. Somehow these two deranged hit men are Dani’s last, best allies. They know that it’s time for payback—and in the backwoods, justice takes only one form.

UPDATE POST | September book haul + reading slump + future plans

old photo i took that i never shared anywhere :)

Hello,

I've been out for around two or three weeks now. I've been busy with uni. We had an event and I was one of the heads of the event. It turned out okay. Not what I was hoping for but I'm super glad it's done. Then, our thesis deadline was pushed one week earlier than usual so I had to work on it immediately after the event. It was super stressful. And a new problem rose during that time and until now, topic defense done and all, we did not talk about it. I still hope things work out though.

ANYWAY, setting all sad talks aside, let me get on with things.

{ SEPTEMBER BOOK HAUL }

Wuthering Heights (Random House UK, 2016) by Emily Bronte | Wuthering Heights (Penguin Books, 2012) by Emily Bronte | Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie | The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins | Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins | Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins | Seveneves by Neal Stephenson | A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab | The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman | The Last Star by Rick Yancey | Dark Matter by Blake Crouch| Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

This is a suuuuuuuper late book haul post. But better late than never, yes? These are my #MIBF2016 book haul. I mentioned them before but never had the chance to actually post them here :)