Month: March 2022

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

Dunmoor

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By: London Clarke

England, 1818. Lady Helena Winters hasn’t seen her husband in over a year—not since he disappeared without a trace. Torn between seeking a new purpose for her life and longing for her husband to return, Helena travels with her father to Dunmoor House for a fundraising ball. Although the estate was once her husband’s ancestral home, it has recently been purchased by Luke Lennox, a gentleman planning to establish a foundling hospital.

Helena quickly finds herself battling memories of life with her husband and searching for answers to what might have happened to him. Even so, she is drawn to Luke Lennox and his dream of saving and educating children—a passion she shares.

Within Dunmoor’s decaying walls lies a long and sordid history, a legacy of evildoers perpetrating unspeakable acts of wickedness. Now, the corridors echo with voices. Vines grow inside the house, and shadowy figures plague the children at night.

But in the dark forest on the edge of the property, a terrible secret awaits, and what Luke and Helena uncover there will endanger both their lives.

NOTE: Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read with the lights ON!

Last night, I sat up reading this book, doing the “just one more chapter” thing until it was well past midnight. I’m a huge fan of gothic horror/suspense/ghost stories and this one was right up my alley. 

I was drawn quickly into this story, into every character and their lives. I love Helena’s strength, charisma, intelligence and compassion. I totally fell for Luke and his wanting to save the world attitude. His friend, Alex, provided comic relief as well as that reckless hero figure. The backstory was wonderful, filled with curses and folklore. I love when folklore is written in such a way that it gives life to inanimate objects. I never look at a tree the same way again!

The settings were very well written. I love when a scene in a story’s setting is cold, damn and chilly and I find myself reaching for a cup of tea and a blanket. It’s the perfect marriage between setting and suspense that leaves me wondering if the chill running down my spine is from terror or from the cold. 

Some potentially triggering moments…I understood the folklore to be very dark, very tragic, and very sinister. However, some of the human suffering factors, especially where the children were concerned, was a bit much. It’s not a hidden fact that orphans in the 1800’s were treated horribly.  That being said, I understand the author is also trying to bring attention to the very real modern day problem of sex trafficking. Kudos to her for doing that so well with this story. 

And that ending!! Woah! I’m already there for the next book and new adventures with Helena and Luke. 

My rating – :star: :star: :star: :star: 

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

The Children on the Hill

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By: Jennifer McMahon

1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when’s she home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.

The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all. 

This book was very unique. 

As a serious nod to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it works well as a mystery/thriller story. 

The hook does grab you and drags you into the story quite quickly. Then, there’s a few bumps and hiccups in the 1st third of the book as you get introduced to the characters, timelines, etc. 

Once you’re there and you know who is who and what is what, the middle lags just a tiny bit I found myself wanting to just get to the good stuff and it took a while. However, as it’s taking a while, you’re treated to chills and such great atmospheric writing, I could almost smell the crisp in the air and the fire burning. 

Then you get to the last third and it’s incredible with a lot of WOWS and OH MY GOODNESSES to keep you sitting on the edge of your seat long after you finish the book. I was exhausted by the time I finished, which was within 24 hours of starting. 

I’m off to find more by Jennifer McMahon. I have to read more of her books!

My Rating: :star: :star: :star: :star: 

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

Half Sisters

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By: Virginia Frankel

A single lie becomes a defining moment in a family’s life in an unforgettable novel of psychological suspense.

After being gone for two decades, Maddy’s half sister, Emily, is back in town to settle their late father’s estate. Emily’s not the troubled girl Maddy remembers from their volatile childhood. Apparently, all is well. It can’t possibly matter anymore that Maddy married Emily’s first love, but the pictures Maddy finds on her husband’s phone tell a different story. Suspicions of an affair are hard to ignore.

Then again, Maddy hasn’t been herself lately. She’s increasingly confused. She’s losing items that are precious to her. She forgets where she’s going. The line between what’s real and unreal has become a blur. Even the damning photos have disappeared. Though her state of mind starts to become everyone’s cause for concern, Maddy refuses to believe she’s losing her grip on reality. But the one thing she can’t deny is the secret from the past that rewrote all their lives—a secret that’s ready to come out. 

NOTE – Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an eArc in exchange for an honest review. 

ALSO NOTE – POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

This book was really, really….odd. 

The synopsis says one lie becomes a defining moment. While one lie might have started the whole ball rolling, it takes several to unravel it. Very strange. 

Let’s talk about the characters. I couldn’t find one character that I could really get behind. But then again, there’s so many lies and twists and turns that I’m not sure we’re really allowed to get to know them. And none of them are likable which was disturbing to me. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I completely disliked every single character in it. Even Maddy’s parents aren’t all that great and we don’t really get too much of them. 

If there is any character development, it’s that they all wound up as even uglier versions of themselves than when the story started. 

The storyline was quite predictable. I knew right away Maddy was being gaslighted. But even if she wasn’t, there was no one in her life who wanted to help her. Everyone immediately took sides and there really was no explanation as to why. That was confusing to me. 

The ending was also confusing. The story ramps up, comes to a climax and then…that’s it! Maddy drives away and it’s all over. It’s almost like the writer just petered out, stopped writing and turned in an incomplete assignment. 

Overall, I can’t recommend this book at all. 

My rating: :star: