ginasbookreport

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros Publisher: Red Tower Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Fantasy / Romantasy Read This If You Love: Fourth Wing / Game of Thrones “I lace my fingers on top of my head and look away, waging war with the grief, the pain, the never-ending guilt, and as usual, I lose.”   Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros and The Empyrean series is the book craze of 2023, for sure. This series is EVERYWHERE. While I typically don’t get drawn into a crowd when it comes to books, I’m fully in for this series. Divided into two parts, Part One of Iron Flame  could have been a complete novel. I loved that section. Part Two faltered a bit for me until the last 100 pages or so. Why? I just don’t enjoy the drippy romance scenes. I’m here for the world-building, the complex relationships, the ‘who will win’ scenes. I found Iron Flame  to have a bit more romance in it (or spicy scenes, as some call them) than Fourth Wing , so I give the edge to Fourth Wing  as my favorite of the two

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose Publisher:  Ballantine Books an imprint of Random House Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Cozy Mystery / Mystery Read This If You Love:  The Maid by Nita Prose / Cozy Mysteries / Agatha Christie / Only Murders in the Building “I’m afraid it’s too late. He’s dead.” In this second book in the Molly the Maid series, we once again find ourselves back at the Regency Grand Hotel. Our favorite maid, Molly, is now Head Maid, and the hotel staff is preparing to host a famous author. The author has a much-anticipated announcement, but before he can reveal the information, he literally drops dead. How does this keep happening to poor Molly!?! She is once again at the center of a homicide investigation where she plays the role of suspect and sleuth. Through flashbacks, we learn more about Molly’s childhood while connections are made to her present. Who exactly is this author and who would want him dead?  Molly will soon uncover the truth along with her cas

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin Publisher: Bantam Books, an imprint of Random House Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense / Gothic Read This If You Love: Fans of Darby Kane books “Most people sweep monsters under the bed. I pull the covers back and let them crawl in.” The Stranger Upstairs hits the ground running and doesn’t let up. Sarah is a therapist and a bit of a self-help guru with an Instagram addiction. She decides to invest all her efforts into renovating Black Wood House, the notorious home where murders were committed. Along the way, she might want to restore her marriage as that has completely crumbled, as well. Everything is turning into a nightmare and nothing is what it seems. This novel is the pinnacle of a haunted house story for those looking for a spooky read. The narrative is woven together via traditional writing, website entries, news articles, and voice/text messages. It all feels very much like a modern day horror story.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James Publisher: New American Library, a division of Penguin Group Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Genre:  Mystery / Psychological Thriller  Read This If You Love: The Sun Down Motel / Lori Rader-Day’s Little Pretty Things “I could not scream. I tried and tried, my mouth open, as I gasped for air; tried and tried to scream, in a terrible pantomime I would relive in my nightmares for months to come. I was frozen, unable to move or run, and an icy grip took my upper arms, and lifted me from the floor.” The Haunting of Maddy Clare  is a ghost story centered around the unsettled soul of Maddy Clare. Alistair Gellis, Matthew Ryder, and Sarah Piper are brought in to help clear Maddy’s ghost from the Clare farm. In doing so, they set out to unravel the mystery of what happened to Maddy in life. Set after World War I, Gellis and Ryder are former soldiers who carry the scars of the war physically and emotionally. Sarah is alone in the world and lookin

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Publisher: Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Genre: Fantasy  Read This If You Love: Harry Potter series / Game of Thrones series “A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.” Fourth Wing  has taken the fantasy and general reading worlds by storm. The first book in the Empyrean series crafts a world where dragons rule the sky. At Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail is reluctantly training to be a dragon rider. As the daughter of a ruthless general who helped to violently squash a rebellion, Violet is immediately a target for many of her mother’s enemies. She must navigate the training, which results in daily death tolls and navigate all those who want her to fail. Who are her friends and who are enemies? Those lines might not be as clear as she first thought. She has a lot to learn about herself, her family, and her world. The world-building that Yarros accompl

When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey Publisher:  Minotaur Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Mystery / Psychological Thriller  Read This If You Love:  A Flicker in the Dark  / Lisa Jewell books “If we find the killer, we find Chloe. If we find the killer, we find Chloe.” When I’m Dead  is the third book in Morrissey’s Black Harbor series. Like the many books and TV series that focus around a small village in the UK, this one is set stateside in a tiny town in Wisconsin that has an astronomical crime rate. (Seriously, they are going to run out of people to murder if this series keeps going.) Against the backdrop of a dark and spooky October night, Rowan (the medical examiner) and her husband Axel (a detective) are called out to investigate the body of their daughter’s best friend. Who could have committed this vicious act and why? Making it all more mysterious, Chloe disappears the same night. From there, it is all about finding the killer to find Chloe. While this book is in a