review: the devil crept in by ania ahlborn

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In the small (fictional) town of Deer Valley, OR, Stevie Clark has a not so great life with an abusive stepfather and only one friend--his older cousin. Deer Valley is a place where animals frequently disappear, but no one really discusses the strange occurrences. Then Jude disappears. Stevie is devastated, but just about everyone dismisses his stuttering pleas to help find his cousin. When Jude returns just as mysteriously as he disappeared, The Devil Crept In takes a dark (but fantastic) turn. It turns out there was a very good reason to stay out of the woods. With The Devil Crept In, Ania Ahlborn serves up an excellent horror novel with an ending that absolutely chills. The incorporation of the backstory is also remarkably well done.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Gallery Books.

review: small admissions by amy poeppel

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With two professors for parents, it only seemed natural that Kate Pearson would go on to grad school; instead, she makes plans to go to France with a boyfriend only to be dumped which leads to Kate spending her days on the couch. Her sister and a college friend (who also happens to be the cousin of the boyfriend) are not going to let Kate waste her life away though. Her friend creates a dating profile for Kate and poses as Kate to screen the guys while her sister separately sets Kate up with a job interview. Much to everyone’s surprise (including Kate), she actually lands the assistant director of admissions job at Hudson Day School. Soon Kate’s life is all about wading through the crazy world of school admissions in New York City.

In Small Admissions, Amy Poeppel makes the odd choice to have Kate’s friend be the first person narrator rather than Kate; Poeppel also includes chapters from the perspectives of many minor characters, which distracts from the narrative. While some of those chapters did serve to inform the story, some were entirely unnecessary (such as the acquaintance of Kate’s sister). Despite the distracting minor characters, Small Admissions is a fun (though it does take a very serious turn) look at the school admissions process.

About the audiobook: Small Admissions is read by Carly Robins who does well at keeping the appropriate tone for each character while also making them distinguishable. It was published December 2016 by HighBridge Audio and runs 9.5 hours.
4/5
Review copy provided by Audiobook Jukebox.

review: the shadow land by elizabeth kostova

Elizabeth Kostova sets up two primary mysteries (one in the past and one that is tied to the past) in The Shadow Land. Years after the disappearance of her brother, Alexandra leaves America for Bulgaria where she plans to teach English. But before she even gets settled in, she inadvertently takes an urn from a family she meets while waiting for taxi. This unexpected turn leads Alexandra and her taxi driver on an adventure through Bulgaria as they attempt to track down the family and learn about the man whose cremains they now possess.

Alexandra's Bulgarian adventure is a bit far-fetched, but it is an interesting one with vivid descriptions. Kostova divides the action by having chapters alternate between the past (initially Alexandra's past, then shifting to the life of the deceased man) and present. The past serves to inform the present day, but there were times when it felt the story of Stoyan Lazarov's life should be more at the forefront. By the time it was all through though, the ending felt quite implausible.
4/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.

review: lucky break by deborah coonts

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Lucky’s personal life was going along well (she’s engaged!) until someone who was once very close to her becomes the prime suspect in a murder. Lucky feels compelled to investigate, of course, but that puts her life in danger as she realizes that a man from the past is out of prison and out for blood. The sixth book in the Lucky O’Toole series revisits an old nemesis (from Wanna Get Lucky?), but is missing Lucky’s amazing snark. It seems Lucky has both matured (she’s basically the stepmom to Jean Charles’s son which seems to have changed her) and been worn down by the stresses of her life. And stresses Lucky does have! Lucky Break sees her losing most of her worldly possessions as she tries to clear Teddie's name and capture the real killer. While the previous books in the series concluded each mystery, Lucky Break ends on a cliffhanger that leaves the reader wondering if Lucky can still come out on top.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publicist, Kate Tilton.

review: we are never meeting in real life. by samantha irby

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With an opening dedication to the drug Klonopin, Samantha Irby kicks off We are Never Meeting in Real Life. in hilarious style with her answers to the application to be on The Bachelorette, a show she describes as her “guilty pleasure jam.” Whether musing on reality TV (which she watches a lot of) or reflecting on some of the hardships she’s faced (her father was an alcoholic and her mother had to go into a nursing when Irby was a teenager), Irby shares it all in a markedly funny, self-deprecating fashion. Although graphically detailed at times, this collection is thought-provoking as Irby discusses her various relationships. Irby’s voice shines through on every page.
5/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.

review: the enchantment of emma fletcher by l.d. crichton

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Emma grew up splitting time between her father's house and that of her alcoholic mother. Now that she's an adult, Emma hasn't been to visit the town where her mom lives for a few years even though her best friend still lives there. After being horrifically attacked, Emma returns and immediately reconnects with her old friends. The Enchantment of Emma Fletcher is a tale of friendship, love, and empowerment. Although the plot unfolds exactly as one might expect, L.D. Crichton does an excellent job with the relationships--romantic, platonic, and familial.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Pocket Star Books.

review: the girl from yesterday by kathryn miller haines

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Helen is three years sober, but her life is suddenly falling apart again. It all starts when a detective contacts her about the murder of her best friend from high school—someone Helen hasn’t heard from since Carrie and her family mysteriously took off when Helen was 16. Given her history, Helen becomes something of a suspect. This is compounded by Helen’s attempt to keep Carrie’s death and the investigation a secret from everyone in her life. Helen makes plenty of mistakes, but her determination to get to the bottom of her friend’s disappearance and eventual murder is admirable. The mystery unfolds slowly with Helen uncovering lies from the past while someone in her present continues to frame her. There are plenty of suspects and the twists are fantastic.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Pocket Star Books.