Book Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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Title: Dark Matter

Author: Blake Crouch

Publication Date: July 26, 2016

Number of Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Sci-Fi

Synopsis:

A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy.

Jason Dessen is walking home through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie—when his reality shatters.

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream?

And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human–a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of. Continue reading

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Book Review: Mommy Dearest by Willow Rose

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Title: Mommy Dearest

Author: Willow Rose

Publication Date: July 12, 2017

Number of Pages: 118

Format: E-book

Publisher: Amazon

Genre: Thriller

Synopsis:

Do you really know your mother-in-law? A Spine-chilling Horror novella from the Queen of Scream
We all know a relationship with your mother-in-law can be quite tricky from time to time. We jokingly call them things like Monster-in-law. However, sometimes, there is actual truth to that joke, isn’t there? Some of them do act like true monsters, don’t they?

When Crystal meets her future mother-in-law for the first time, she is excited. She knows it might be a challenge to have her live with them for an entire month, but still. It’s an old woman we’re talking about here. How much trouble can she cause?

Mommy Dearest is a short story thriller from the Amazon #1 Best Selling author Willow Rose. It will NOT improve your relationship with your mother-in-law. Continue reading

Book Review: The Things He Heard by Matt Shaw

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Title: The Things He Heard

Author: Matt Shaw

Publication Date: November 25, 2022

Number of Pages: 68

Format: Paperback
Publisher: Independent

Genre: Horror

Synopsis:

A tragic, violent

The boy didn’t have cancer. He had something else buried deep within which he named “his Cancer”. Others didn’t know it was there, even though he tried telling them. Instead, they said he was “fine” and being “silly” and “melodramatic”. Even when his anger turned to frustration and streams of tears, they continued to say he was okay. He knew he wasn’t though and, the more they doubted him and didn’t listen, the more the “cancer” grew.

He could feel it inside and, it scared him. He knew that, one day, it was going to explode. What he didn’t know was who would be caught up in the explosion.

From award-winning author Matt Shaw, the author of Sick B*stards, The Octopus Trilogy and Roe V. Wade. Continue reading

Book Review: The Boy From the Woods (Wilde, #1) by Harlan Coben

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Title: The Boy From the Woods (Wilde, #1)

Author: Harlan Coben

Publication Date: March 1, 2020

Number of Pages: 384

Format: Paperback
Publisher: Century

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime

Synopsis:

Thirty years ago, a child was found in the woods. He had been living a feral existence, with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. Everyone just calls him Wilde.

Now another child has gone missing – Naomi Pine – who may be playing some sort of disappearing game. No one seems concerned about her whereabouts, not even her father.

No one – except criminal attorney Hester Crimstein, whose grandson knows Naomi is being bullied badly at school and is concerned for her safety. Hester is determined to find Naomi so she calls Wilde – now ex-military and an expert in security issues – and asks him to track her down.

But even Wilde can’t find Naomi. One day passes, then another, then a third.

Four days later a finger shows up in the mail.

And Wilde knows that what may have started as a game has now spiralled into something far, far darker… Continue reading

Book Review: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

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Title: The Mother-in-Law

Author: Sally Hepworth

Publication Date: January 29, 2019

Number of Pages: 352

Format: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Australia

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Synopsis:

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm’s length. Diana is exquisitely polite, but Lucy knows, even after marrying Oliver, that they’ll never have the closeness she’d been hoping for.

But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family. Lucy had wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation. And everyone in the family is hiding something…

From the bestselling author of The Family Next Door comes a new page-turner about that trickiest of relationships. Continue reading

Book Review: Spare by Prince Harry

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Title: Spare

Author: Prince Harry

Publication Date: January 10, 2023

Number of Pages: 410

Format: Audiobook
Publisher: Random House

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Synopsis:

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief. Continue reading

Book Review: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

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Title: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Author: Matthew Perry

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

Number of Pages: 250

Format: Audiobook
Publisher: Flatiron Books

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Synopsis:

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for. Continue reading

Book Review: Never Lie by Freida McFadden

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Title: Never Lie

Author: Freida McFadden

Publication Date: September 19, 2022

Number of Pages: 336

Format: Paperback
Publisher: Amazon

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Synopsis:

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.

But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth. Continue reading

Book Review: You’re That Bitch: And Other Lessons About Being Unapologetically Yourself by Bretman Rock

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Title: You’re That Bitch: And Other Lessons About Being Unapologetically Yourself

Author: Bretman Rock

Publication Date: February 14, 2023

Number of Pages: 272

Format: E-book
Publisher: Harper

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Synopsis:

“This book is hilarious and that bitch made me laugh out loud.”–Chelsea Handler

A chaotically joyous collection of essays from one of the original influencers and the internet’s sweetheart, Bretman The Baddest Rock.

Hilarious and earnest, this collection of essays, drawings, recipes, how-tos and never-before-seen photos goes far beyond what we know of Bretman Rock from social media. Who is Bretman Rock Sacayanan behind the screen and how did he become the original superstar influencer and today’s beloved best friend of the internet?

You’re That Bitch welcomes you into Bretman Rock’s world–from how his childhood in the Philippines, his family, Filipino culture, and being a first-generation immigrant helped shape him into who he is today. Peek into how Bretman became a social media sensation at the precocious age of 14, balancing living a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle on weekends while still serving lunch at his school’s cafeteria, running as a varsity track-star, and making honor roll during the week. With his signature honesty, this is an unfiltered and unprecedented look at what it means to be one of the first digital celebrities and that bitch—from dealing with cancel culture, drama and heartbreak, to what it means to love yourself and your community.

From the funniest and undeniably cutest person on the internet, this is a book for the weirdos and for the bad bitches . . . this book is for you! Continue reading

Book Review: The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

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Title: The Amityville Horror

Author: Jay Anson

Publication Date: September 13, 1977

Number of Pages: 400

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Pocket Star Books

Genre: True Crime, Horror, Supernatural

Synopsis:

The shocking true story of an American dream that turned into a nightmare beyond imagining…

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property – complete with boathouse and swimming pool – and the price had been too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror…

This is the spellbinding, bestselling true story that gripped the nation – the story of a house possessed by spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena too terrible to describe. Continue reading