Young Adult

First Look Friday: Kayla Shares a her First Look at the Upcoming Novel, THE COMPANION

My high school English teacher (and fellow bibliophile) once told me to never buy a book unless I was hooked by the first five pages, and I've never been so HOOKED so quickly in my life. The story begins with our "lucky" first-person narrator, Margot, packing her bags to leave the girls' home she's been… Continue reading First Look Friday: Kayla Shares a her First Look at the Upcoming Novel, THE COMPANION

Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Thriller Thursday: Kayla Read DEFENDING JACOB and It Hurt

★★★★★ Andy Barber has built a happy life for himself and his family. He is a successful assistant district attorney in suburban Massachusetts, he's married to the love of his life, and he's a respected member of the community. Then his fourteen-year-old son, Jacob, is charged with murdering his fellow student, and the evidence against… Continue reading Thriller Thursday: Kayla Read DEFENDING JACOB and It Hurt

Horror, Young Adult

Wildcard Wednesday: Kayla thinks Lois Duncan’s DOWN A DARK HALL is Shamefully Underrated

★★★★ Down a Dark Hall is a young adult novel written by Lois Duncan (author of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Killing Mr. Griffin). The novel’s main protagonist and first-person narrator, Kit Gordy, is one of four girls chosen to to attend the illustrious Blackwood Hall. It’s not really clear why she… Continue reading Wildcard Wednesday: Kayla thinks Lois Duncan’s DOWN A DARK HALL is Shamefully Underrated

Lists, Top Ten

Top Ten Tuesday: Kayla’s Top Ten Audiobook Pick

So, I noticed that several people seemed to enjoy my post about the audiobook, How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps, so I decided to take a few minutes this Tuesday to compile a quick list of my favorite audiobooks. And whew Nelly, was this a difficult list to compile. You see,… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Kayla’s Top Ten Audiobook Pick

Lists

Books you Might not Realized are being Made into Film

These days it seems that there is nothing Hollywood loves more than making books into movies or TV shows or musicals. Sometimes adaptations are great and give us a show like "You" that surpasses the intrigue of the original novel, but most of the time it seems that we end up with big-budget flops like… Continue reading Books you Might not Realized are being Made into Film

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Mystery Monday: Kayla’s Mystery pick this week is LOWCOUNTRY BOMBSHELL

★★★★★ One of my favorite mystery novels that I've read recently is Susan M. Boyer's Lowcountry Bombshell. It is the second novel in her Liz Talbot Mystery series, and this is a series that Becky and I definitely agree is wonderful! Liz Talbot is a private investigator who occasionally sees ghosts--well, at least one ghost.… Continue reading Mystery Monday: Kayla’s Mystery pick this week is LOWCOUNTRY BOMBSHELL

Fantasy, Humor

Kayla’s Review for HOW TO DEFEAT A DEMON KING IN TEN EASY STEPS–my first review for an audiobook!

★★★★★ Do you like videogames? More specifically, have you ever heard of a little game series called The Legend of Zelda? Well, Andrew Rowe certainly has, and he wrote this hilarious novel that both celebrates and parodies the series. It's a sweet little homage that tenderly yet consistently pokes fun at its source material. In… Continue reading Kayla’s Review for HOW TO DEFEAT A DEMON KING IN TEN EASY STEPS–my first review for an audiobook!

Horror, Mystery/Thriller

Kayla read THE PATIENT by Jasper DeWitt and has a lot to say

★★★★ Before I begin this review, let me first point out that this is a horror novel. I think it’s important that I point this out because some reviewers on Amazon and Bookishfirst seem to have missed that. I read a handful of reviews giving this novel one or two stars because it’s “not a… Continue reading Kayla read THE PATIENT by Jasper DeWitt and has a lot to say

Fiction, Magical Realism

BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE is too good to be true

★★★★★ Ruth Emmie Lang’s first novel is one that every first time novelist should envy. As an English teacher, I can assure you that Lang’s use of imagery, allusion, parallelism and her overall prose is absolutely intoxicating. I’ll probably be quoting this book for a while! To say that this is a novel about a… Continue reading BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE is too good to be true

Fiction, Magical Realism

MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE hit Kayla right in the feels

★★★★★ First of all, I don’t often read this genre of “women’s lit,” mostly because it doesn’t include murder, but I’m trying to expand my repertoire. Also, my mother-in-law practically shoved the book at me after she’d finished it, and I’m so glad that she did. I have never before read a book that made… Continue reading MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE hit Kayla right in the feels