19 Souls by J. D. Allen (NetGalley)

                                                  19 Souls (A Sin City Investigation) by J. D. Allen
                                                                   (Novel to be published on February 8th, 2018)
                                                                                     ★★★★☆

I would like to thank Midnight Ink for approving my request to read and review this novel! This was made possible through NetGalley! Now, I will honestly review this book which will be published in February 2018!

First off, it took me a few chapters to actually get into the book. To be quite honest, I was not hooked from the start. However, once the pace started picking up, I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns. The cover of the novel is what enticed me, as well as the summary of the novel. 19 Souls by J. D. Allen is a fast-paced thriller, and a great start to the Sin City Investigation series. 

Sophie has been obsessed with Daniel since her childhood. But due to Sophie being far younger than Daniel, he always brushed her off. That hasn’t stopped Sophie. She will do whatever it takes to be with Daniel, even if it means killing anyone who gets in her way. 

She has had difficulty locating Daniel for a few years, so she hires Jim Bean, a private investigator, to help her find him. She has to make sure the PI doesn’t get suspicious of the reason as to why she wants to locate Daniel. So, Sophie tells Bean that Daniel is genuinely missing, and that he owes his mother a lot of money. How does she go about doing this? She pretends that she’s Dan's sister by killing his real sister and taking her identity. Sophie tells Jim Bean that Daniel is a drug addict and she wants him to go to rehab, rather than jail, so as to ensure that Jim does not get the police involved. Sophie’s hope is that Jim will lead her to Dan, at which point her sinister plans will take heed.

But the story can’t end there……… right? 

Inevitably, Jim figures out that Sophie is not Dan’s real sister, and that she actually means to do harm. What does Jim do to protect Dan? Can he protect him from a psychopath killer? What is Sophie’s next move?

I found Jim Bean, the private investigator, particularly interesting. He is a clever, fast-thinking investigator, which I admire. Sophie, on the other hand, is a manipulative woman who is in fact very intelligent and is at odds with a voice inside her head throughout the novel. She argues with this voice, and has discussions with it regarding the rationality of her actions and decisions. This ‘voice’ added another dimension to Sophie’s character, which definitely made the novel more suspenseful. Will she give in to the voice’s demands?

In conclusion, I definitely enjoyed this book and give it a well-deserved 4/5 stars (as seen above)! You'll love the ending, I am sure! Make sure you get yourself a copy once it comes out on February 8th, 2018! Thanks again to NetGalley & Midnight Ink for an advanced digital copy of this novel.

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                                                                       ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. D. Allen attended Ohio State University where she received a degree in forensic anthropology and creative writing. She had dreams of publishing mystery novels one day, and these dreams have come true as she is set to publish the first novel of the Sin City Investigation series in 2018. She has a significant interest in crime scene investigation, which she speaks about publicly as a member of the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention National board. (This information was taken from J. D. Allen Books, check it out!)

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Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

                                                            Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris
                                                                                   ★★★★☆

Behind Closed Doors was truly a captivating novel. It hooks you from the start and doesn’t let go. It leaves you speechless. B. A. Paris once again wrote a novel that made me stay up late at night to read! It is a very well-written mystery thriller with lots of twists and turns that make it all the more exciting and it honestly messes with your mind, as it's quite horrifying! The book is written in such a way that the chapters switch between the past and present of the married couple’s relationship, and it flows quite nicely. I honestly don’t know how to write a summary for this novel without spoiling it, but nevertheless, I’ll give it a go. 

The story begins at a dinner party hosted by Jack, a successful lawyer who has never lost a case and his wife, Grace, who is a stunning, gentle home-maker. To the outside world, they have the perfect life as they live in a beautiful house and they go on vacation often, and it also seems as though they have the perfect marriage, but looks can be deceiving, as we all know. Why are Jack and Grace inseparable? Why does Grace not have her own cellphone? Why does she not have a job, even though she is a very intelligent woman? 

I found that I did not have to read between the lines to understand what was going on in the book because everything was black and white, or in other words, it was unambiguous. However, this led me to believe that some parts of the book lacked depth, and I kind of wished that there was more to the conclusion of the book, which was my only issue with this novel.

Other than that, I had high expectations for this book after reading The Breakdown by B. A. Paris, and I’m happy to say that my expectations were met! Great novel, by a very talented writer! I know my review is rather short for this one, but honestly, all I can say is that if you’re into psychological thrillers, this one is for you! Let me know if you end up reading this one or if you have already read it! 

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The Breakdown by B. A. Paris (NetGalley)

                                                                The Breakdown by B. A. Paris
                                                                      (Novel to be published on July 18th, 2017)

                                                                                   ★★★★☆

My oh my, what a book! The Breakdown by B. A. Paris was such a suspenseful read that I found myself staying up until the late hours of the night with my eyes glued to my Kindle. I honestly cannot get over how intriguing this book was! I got the chance to read an advanced digital copy through NetGalley, and I would like to extend a huge thank you to St. Martins Press for approving my request to read this book. 

I have yet to read Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris (although it is the next book on my TBR, so stay tuned for a review coming very soon), but I must say The Breakdown truly impressed me. I would say that I’ll take a break from reading after one chapter ends, but I later realized that I’d read multiple chapters, with no intention of stopping. That just goes to show how gripping this novel is! Now, let’s get a bit into what the book is about!

This novel follows Cassandra Anderson, a married woman, who feels guilty for not stopping and helping a motorist, whom she saw on the side of the road one stormy night. Would you stop on the side of a secluded road to help someone who was sitting in their unmoving car in the middle of a thunderstorm? Well, Cassandra does not stop, out of fear that it may be a trap and someone will steal her car or worse, but once she finds out, on the news, that this motorist was actually murdered that same night on the same side of the road, she feels incredibly guilty and responsible for the woman’s murder. 

Ever since the murder, Cassandra starts having problems. She keeps thinking about that stormy night, yet she also begins forgetting things such as where she parked her car, and what she bought from the online shopping channel, as well as the dates on which she said she would meet up with her friends for dinner. At first, I found her forgetfulness to become quite repetitive and rather annoying, but I later came to find out the reason as to why she is forgetting all these things, and that is when I no longer found it repetitive. The book began to get really interesting once she started receiving calls from a silent caller! Although, I would have to say that right from the start, The Breakdown is fast-paced and can easily be read within a couple of days.

B. A. Paris, the author, did a wonderful job describing certain scenes of the novel that I could actually clearly picture exactly what was going on. I find this to be incredibly important as I want to be able to feel like I genuinely know the characters, and what’s going on in their lives. Additionally, I found the characters in The Breakdown to be amazingly captivating, which added immensely to the storyline. 

I shouldn’t say more because I’ll give away too much of this book! Let me just say that you will NOT expect the ending at all!!! It will literally leave you speechless! Everything comes together at the end, and I’m still thinking about the novel, hours after I read the last page.

So clearly, I highly recommend this novel! It was just published yesterday (July 18th, 2017), so you must get your hands on a copy whenever you can! Please leave a comment regarding what you thought of this book! I would love to discuss it, and thanks for stopping by!

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What Doesn't Kill You by Aimee Hix (NetGalley)

                                                          What Doesn't Kill You by Aimee Hix 
                                                                   (Novel to be published on January 8th, 2018)
                                                                                   ★★★★★

Willa Pennington, who is training to become a private inspector, comes across a dead body in someone else’s house. Now what? She was only there to fulfill a favour requested by her family friends to help their daughter Violet leave this home in which she lives with her abusive boyfriend, who is now suddenly dead. With Violet nowhere to be found, Willa gets a creeping feeling that something is most definitely off. I mean, of course she would, she just found a dead man! 

Pennington is an ex-cop, so naturally, she would do what she expects of any individual who comes across a dead body. She called the cops in her capacity as a citizen, as she was not on-duty as a PI when she was heading over to the home to help Violet move out. One would expect that once Willa called the cops and they took over the investigation, her involvement would be over, even though she was the only witness. But her inquisitive, curious nature ensures that this is most definitely not the case. 

This novel follows Willa as she tries to figure out what led up to this man’s death. Along the way, we see the recurrence of her good friend, Michael, who passed away while serving his country overseas. We also get to know Michael’s brother, Seth, who has a significant interest in this case, along with a love interest for Willa. 

Willa has a couple of near death experiences which makes her wonder who she can really trust and confide in. Will she decide to solve the man’s mysterious death? Is everything truly as it seems, and should one always do favours for someone they know well? Read this novel for answers to all of these questions! 

I loved Willa’s sassy personality and how she prefers doing things on her own. I loved how much she cares for her younger, highly-intelligent brother Ben, as well as how much she thinks about her old friend, Michael. Her witty personality definitely adds to the novel and makes it far more enjoyable. Additionally, I really liked how all the characters in this novel have some sort of role in furthering the plot. At the end of this novel, I was not left with any unanswered questions! 

What Doesn’t Kill You is an impressive debut novel for the author, Aimee Hix, as I was intrigued from the start! This was my first digital copy reading, and I must admit that I truly enjoyed it. I know that after reading this novel, I will most definitely be reading the rest of the PI Mystery series by Aimee Hix! 

I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers at Midnight Ink for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel, which in no way changes my views of this book! It was an excellent, suspenseful novel and it will be published on January 8th, 2018! Make sure you add this one to your TBR list! My review can also be viewed on Goodreads so please check it out!

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Featured Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

                                                                
                                                              The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

This review was written by my good friend at Armchair by the Fire!

"I actually had to read this book for school. And surprisingly, for once, it was pretty good.

Liesel Meminger is the main character in the book, and her story is told through the perspective of "Death" in Germany during the 30's and the Second World War. She is a young German girl who is fostered by two poor parents and as the story goes on, Liesel grows into a teenage girl. Along the way, she develops family relationships, makes friends, learns valuable lessons, and develops her own values, all while the horrors of Hitler's rise and the war occur. It's a coming-of-age novel that will strike a chord with readers.

Let me start by saying that this book is bursting with literary devices. The entire book is quite literally one giant metaphor, as "Death" tells the story. Every page has a metaphor somewhere, used in some way. You could be talking about poop and there would still be some deep metaphor made by the author. This is really great for analyzing and interpreting the multiple meanings. When I was discussing this book in a seminar, we all interpreted the book differently, and our answers were all reasonable. The descriptions are so detailed and the language used is not complicated and not too easy, which I like in a book."

That's not all! You can continue reading this review at Armchair by the Fire! Stay tuned, she will be uploading more reviews very soon!

Bifocal by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters

                                                       Bifocal by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters 
                                                                                     ★★★☆☆

I am a huge fan of Eric Walters, and when my friend said that this book was her favourite novel ever, I knew I just had to read it! (Check out her blog called Rafia Tasneem, you won’t be disappointed!) 

I’ll admit, I was intrigued from the start, but a few chapters in I was kind of losing interest due to the constant talk about football! I find that since Walters is a Canadian author, he could have somehow incorporated a little bit of ice hockey instead! That would have kept me interested, but to each his own! Nevertheless, when all is said and done, the sport of football should not take away from the main message of this book, and it most definitely did not.

Overall, this book was interesting, although I was left with tons of questions when I finished the book. It was a quick read, as I finished it within two days. I would recommend that you guys read this book and then comment below what you thought of it. Also, let me know whether or not you were left with unanswered questions.

Aside from questioning a few components of this novel, I believe that the message of this book was clear. The message is that there are always two sides, or perspectives, to a story and one needs to hear out both sides before coming to a conclusion, hence the title of this novel. I felt as though the characters could have been further developed to add to the message, and the book would in fact benefit from being a few pages longer than it actually was to have more substance. However, the alternating perspectives of Jay, who is a high school football player, and Haroon, who is a member of the school's trivia team, definitely added to the storyline and made it more interesting.

I do believe that the content in this book is quite relevant to what is going on today in Western countries, such as racial profiling. This novel does shed light on this issue, which I appreciate. Overall, it was a decent book, for which I have mixed feelings about.

Happy reading!