Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Hi readers and writerly friends!
This is a spoiler-free review.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager reminded me of American Horror Story’s Hotel season, where patrons of the hotel go suddenly missing under mysterious circumstances. The Bartholomew was an entity and character of its own and I couldn’t help feeling like I simultaneously wanted to visit the spooky hotel and stay a million miles away from it forever. The unsettling events that occurred behind closed doors were absolutely chilling to the bone. I found myself wishing I could shake the main character and tell her, run Jules, run!
This heart-pounding, breath-catching, page-turner of a thriller kept me hooked start to finish. I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and I was completely enthralled the entire time.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays
No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.
As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.
Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent (Sager 2019).
The entrance to the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. Photo by Encircle Photos.
The Dakota as seen from Central Park west. Photo by Michelle Young.
Something Riley Sager is known for in his books, is the central plot twist—a storytelling element he does very well. I didn’t see the major twist coming and when my original theory was flipped on its head, I was astonished. However, the twist made sense, once all the clues he laid out beforehand were explained.
Sager employs a history, both real and invented to weave a thrilling tale that feels equal part as urgent and realistic as present-day and equal part ancient and enchanting as The Dakota, the upscale apartment building in New York upon which the elegant Bartholomew is based! Lock Every Door is an intoxicating tapestry that is every bit as disquieting as the bizarre wallpaper in Jules’ apartment in the Bartholomew and the unsettling events it has witnessed.
“I wanted the building to be seductive yet sinister, elegant yet also creepy…I wanted people to really want to live there but at the same time, to be terrified while they’re living there.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.
The Bartholomew, the setting of the story, a character as much as the people in the story, evolves as the story progresses, observed initially as sophisticated and whimsical, and eventually becoming increasingly more sinister and mysterious. From elegant, gilded cage elevators that carry patrons from the top floor to the bowels of the building, to watchful gargoyles perched on the exterior, elements of the setting grow more and more unsettling and oppressive as Jules uncovers one dark secret after another.
This story is a gripping read cover-to-cover that teeters precariously between thriller and horror and stupefies readers with a chilling plot twist that doesn’t come completely from left field.
“There’s plausibility in a thriller. No matter how weird they may get, it’s something that could potentially happen in real life… It never gets otherworldly, so to speak…it is always grounded in some sense of reality. With horror, it seems like there’s a tear in the fabric of reality and that inexplicable things are going on and that just makes it even more frightening...I like to walk that fine line between the two.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.
The quotes from Riley Sager about his book is from the “Interview with Best-Selling Author of Lock Every Door: Riley Sager” on the No Thanks, We’re Booked Podcast Hosted by Mollie from Mollie Reads and Katie from Life Between Words. Check out the rest of the interview here.
“Move over Rosemary’s Baby, urban paranoia has a deliciously gothic new address.” —Ruth Ware
This book makes me want to a) read more of Riley Sager’s writing, b) read Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, and c) get into more urban paranoia.
In July of 2019, Paramount Television, Sugar 23, and Anonymous Content announced plans to adapt Lock Every Door into a television series, and I am so stoked to see how it turns out. I cannot wait to draw comparisons between the film adaptation and AHS: Hotel.
And that’s it for my review of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Have you read any of Sager’s other works? I cannot wait to check out Final Girls by Riley Sager to see more of Jules’ story and where it goes from here. Will you be watching the film adaptation? Let me know what you thought of this book and this review in the comments below!
Bibliography:
Hayes, Payton. “Lock Every Door Audiobook on Google Pixel.” (Thumbnail photo), September 19, 2021.
Sager, Riley. Lock Every Door. New York: Dutton, 2019. Amazon.
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Double Book Review: Before The Storm by Christie Golden and Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux
Book Review: Good Morning Good Life by Amy Schmittauer Landino
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—Payton
Book Review: Goodbye Again by Jonny Sun
Goodbye, Again is a profoundly sentimental, immensely reflective, and introspective read. It touches on sensitive subjects such as loneliness, the end of the world, the rat race and losing yourself by getting caught up in the working world, depression, self-care, and the like, but not just for the sake of discussing these difficult topics. Sun handles these subjects with care and grace and carves out a space for the reader to feel less alone in their experience with loneliness, belonging, and burnout.
Hi Readers and writerly friends!
This week in Bookish Things, we’re talking about Jonny Sun’s book, Goodbye, Again, which I read a couple of weeks ago and just loved!
I read this book after watching Katherout’s video on YouTube, “I no longer aspire to have a career” where she discussed the idea of a “dream job” and how she no longer dreams of labor —She is one of many speaking up on this greater discussion about laziness, productivity, burnout, mental health, and being overworked and I’d recommend giving her video a watch.
Goodbye, Again is a profoundly sentimental, immensely reflective, and introspective read. It touches on sensitive subjects such as loneliness, the end of the world, the rat race and losing yourself by getting caught up in the working world, depression, self-care, and the like, but not just for the sake of discussing these difficult topics. Sun handles these subjects with care and grace and carves out a space for the reader to feel less alone in their experience with loneliness, belonging, and burnout.
Goodbye, Again came into my life this spring, after I had failed three out of four of my senior college courses (not because of capability, but rather due to burnout and poor mental heath). I had gotten so caught up in school and producing content online at such a rate that it was unsustainable and quickly doomed to crash and burn. That’s exactly what happened. I lost sight of myself and what I wanted out of life and ended up being forced to take time off to focus on my mental health. All of this to say, that Goodbye, Again arrived just when I needed it to.
Goodbye, again by Jonny Sun. Photo by Jonny Sun.
Until I’d read this book, I never realized that I used productivity to cope with loneliness. Sun strives to "fill the blankness" of weekends in the city; but "instead of turning to people, or to hobbies, or to Going Places or Seeing Things, I find it easiest to turn to doing more work to try to fill, or perhaps keep at bay, that emptiness and that feeling I can't ever fill that emptiness enough," he writes. In a lighthearted tone, he confronts this learned response of coping with loneliness through productivity and invites the reader to do the same. This discussion was initiated through his alien character Jomny in his 2017 graphic novel, Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too — however this time around, he works through burnout in his own voice with his own personal experiences. In this way, his specificity actually gives way to reader relatability.
"Whenever I am in an unfamiliar place, it has become a coping mechanism for me to look for plants that I recognize from elsewhere, and to look for plants that I've never seen before anywhere else but that I can start recognizing as familiar," he writes —his words serving as a metaphor for feeling rooted in his communities and a reminder for what we can learn from them: rest is a necessity; growth takes time; some things don't change —paring these ideas with illustrations of succulents on the joining page.
The layout of the book is divided into six parts which allows the reader to take breaks between any of the stories, should they need to. It’s rare that a book will physically accommodate what the writer himself seeks to accomplish by writing the book —to create a space for the reader to sit with loneliness and burnout, even if it means you’re temporarily leaving his world to do this.
Without sharing too much, I’d like to show you a couple of my favorite sections of the book. In one titled “Playlist For A Funeral” Sun says “The playlist for my funeral is 252 songs long now, and I feel like it’s not done yet. I feel like it’s still missing pieces, or that I haven’t found the perfect single song that I love more than any of these other songs that would render my list obsolete. And I think that means I want to keep adding to it. And I think that mean, that this is some sure sign, that I want to be alive.”
This is a passage that really hit close to home for me, especially recently as I’ve been going through a major depression. Reading this section of the book made me feel validated in my thoughts and feelings and the book overall, made me feel like it was okay to feel lonely. Loneliness is neither a bad nor good emotion —it doesn’t have any particular connotation or denotation attached to it. However, people like to view loneliness as a bad emotion because it doesn’t exactly feel good to be lonely. Solitude on the other hand, is viewed as a good emotion, because it seems like the loneliness is intentional or self-imposed. Lastly, positive solitude is the state or situation of being happy or content to be alone. I’ve learned that the difference between all of these instances of loneliness is mindset. If you no longer look at loneliness as a bad emotion, but just an emotion, like any other that comes and goes, then it becomes easier to sit with it rather than trying to shove it down with substances, distractions, or toxic productivity.
If you’re dealing with depression, struggling to cope with loneliness, or just looking for a lovely book to read, I would highly recommend Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun. Summer is here, bringing with it fun, sun, and warmer weather and the reminder that we should all slow down, take time to rest for the sake of resting, and practice taking care of ourselves. Even as the pandemic comes to a close, there’s no shame in taking a break from reading if you need it, but if you’re feeling ready for a new, meaningful but lighthearted summer read, I suggest starting out with Goodbye Again. Trust me, you won’t regret letting Jonny Sun into your life.
Have you read Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun? What did you think of it? Do you have any recommendations based on this book? What did you think of this review? Let me know in the comments below!
Bibliography:
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—Payton
Book Review: Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentioned or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it wasn’t.
All of the characters —from the circus itself, to the performers and circusgoers— are alluring, multidimensional, complex characters. These morally-grey, deeply flawed characters are relatable, realistic, and easily loveable—a rarity in books like this one, that have a very large cast of characters. The way Morgenstern seemingly effortlessly weaves so many intriguing character arcs into a single story is truly mystifying—every character has a part to play.
Hi readers and writerly friends!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Photo by Payton Hayes.
This week in Bookish Things, I’m sharing my thoughts on Erin Morgenstern’s dazzling novel, The Night Circus. I was wholly and completely enchanted with this stunning young adult fantasy, centered around a mysterious nocturnal, travelling circus.
Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus, the spellbinding New York Times bestseller that has captured the world's imagination.
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
—Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
The first page of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I cover this more in-depth in the Freelancing counterpart to this blog post, “Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel,” but this story is told from multiple points of view and from different story tenses as well. The narrative jumps from past to present to future seamlessly and seemingly magically to give readers a whimsical, realistic, yet ancient-feeling story. It bounces between second person and third person point of view, a storytelling method that makes reader feel like they are watching the character’s stories unfold one moment and walking through the caramel-and-vanilla-laden paths of the circus grounds the next.
While I do wish this book’s romance had been more prominent (because I just love romance and can’t get enough of it) I do appreciate that the romance present in the story both served to drive the plot in an organic, uncontrived way, and added to the whimsy of the circus itself while not taking place within the circus the entire time.
All of the characters—from the circus itself, to the performers and circusgoers—are alluring, multidimensional, complex characters. These morally-grey, deeply flawed characters are relatable, realistic, and easily loveable—a rarity in books like this one, that have a very large cast of characters. The way Morgenstern seemingly effortlessly weaves so many intriguing character arcs into a single story is truly mystifying—every character has a part to play.
The pacing of this novel is just superb. Some complain that it is a bit of a slower read, but I, charmed by the fantasy of the circus, could not devour this story faster! The way the skips through time are entwined with alternating points of view made for a remarkably interesting story structure and a pacing that never felt boring or dull. The Night Circus is a story of hope, wonder, magic, and love. If I had to pick one word to describe it, I would choose Dreamy, because the imagination and spirit of this story continues to leave me spellbound long after I’ve turned the last page.
That’s it for my review of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Would you visit the Night Circus? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Check out my other book reviews!
—Payton
Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Hi readers and writerly friends!
This is a spoiler-free review.
This week, in Bookish Things, I’m doing an in-depth review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and boy, do I have so much to say about this book. So, with out further ado, let’s jump into the review!
[Insert satisfied, yet melancholic sigh here.]
Station Elven by Emily St. John Mandel with votive candles. Photo by Payton Hayes.
For starters, I must admit that reading this pandemic dystopian fiction in 2020 has absolutely influenced my opinion of it. The subject matter and premise felt more tangible and less like words on a page after existing during COVID-19. Station Eleven book will forever hold a special meaning for me because it represents a lot of my worst fears about how the pandemic could potentially spiral into a full-blown apocalypse scenario. This severity doesn’t seem so far-fetched. I think, if everyone read this book when the pandemic began, we’d be in a much better state right about now.
This is your friendly reminder to stay home and wear a mask if you have to go out. Trust me, we don’t want things to play out like they did in the story.
I’ll try and wrangle all my complicated feelings about this novel, but truly I feel awed and speechless. Reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a lot like slowly peeling back the layers of a yellow onion— tearing it away, bit by bit until you’ve reached the center. It’s a little savory, a little sweet and it lingers, but oh, it stings, that tiny sun in your palm. The layers of this story seem to unfold all at once, past and present interwoven together like the wedded roots of a great tree—the way the overlapping storylines finally, finally click into place with the final page.
Hell is the absence of the people you long for.
—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 144, Para 3.
Station Eleven is a story thick with nostalgia both for what once was and for what could have been. It’s a painfully realistic image of what life might be like thirty years after a devastating pandemic, and an economic collapse, people all over the globe desperate to survive. It’s a story of longing, sorrow, isolation, remembrance, and grief, but it’s also a story of preservation and perseverance—hope buzzing like the spark of electricity humming to life in a city just over the horizon, like a well-kept secret unleashed after decades of silence. It’s a story about survival, resilience.
These taken for granted miracles that had persisted all around them.
—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 233, para 1.
The most poignant theme in this story is who and what we take for granted. During COVID-19, I learned I take a lot of mundane people and things for granted—such as grocery stores and the overnight stockers and bag boys. I always hated going out to the store before we were confined to our homes, but nowadays, I find short, necessary outings to my local supermarket (when issues arise with delivery) have become a precious commodity. And with those outings, the backbone of America—the essential workers have, in putting their lives on the line for months, enabled this country’s economy to survive against overwhelming odds.
On silent afternoons in his brother’s apartment, Jeevan found himself thinking how human the city is, how human everything is. We bemoaned the personality of the modern world, but that was a lie it seemed to him; it had never been impersonal at all. There had always been a massive delicate infrastructure of people, all of them working around us, and when people stop going to work, the entire operation grinds to a halt. No one delivers fuel to the gas stations or airports. Cars are stranded. Airplanes cannot fly. Truck remain at their points of origin. Food never reaches the cities; grocery stores close. Businesses are locked and then looted. No one comes to work at the power plants or the substations, no one removes the fallen tress from electrical lines.
—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 178, para 5.
The last line struck a particular chord with me because as I was reading this book, my power went out—a rogue tree limb had fallen on our powerlines submersing my street in complete darkness for the better part of a day. I felt like a forgotten dweller of the Undersea, longing for light and warmth where it seemed none was promised.
Station Elven cover art photo. Found on npr.org.
The scariest thing about this story overall is most certainly the way Mandel explains how the collapse happened— how the pandemic spread across the globe like wildfire, consuming entire cities, and leaving crumbling civilizations in its wake, how phones and the internet went down and then electricity, and finally how gasoline staled and left people with zero communication and zero transportation. But then again, where could they go? The entire world was affected. It’s a very real possibility— a horror story rooted more so in reality than in the fantastical.
It's a story about what we leave behind, what we carry with us—baggage from a life and world before, and new beginning and just what else this awakening world might contain.
And then there’s the unwillingness to comprehend the outbreak and the severity of it, even as it is presented by the news, the unwillingness to comprehend what it meant. The panic. After getting an alarming phone call from his nurse friend Hua, Jeevan rushes to the local store and fills seven shopping carts with groceries before pushing them miles through the snow to his brother’s apartment where they hole up there for weeks. Sound familiar?
He woke at 3:00 in the morning, shivering. The news had worsened. The fabric was unraveling. It will be hard to come back from this, the thought, because in those first days it was still inconceivable that civilization might not come back from this at all.
—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 239, para 2.
Station Eleven is an impeccably cleverly written glimpse into the not-so-far-off future of modern society following a terrible pandemic. The way Mandel lays out the puzzle pieces before the reader so that as the pages turn, the parts fall into place is beyond exceptional. I can typically see plots like this from a mile away and usually have the story figured out by the time I reach the last page. Mandel kept me guessing and wondering what all the interconnecting pieces meant. When it all came together, I was astonished.
And that’s it for my in-depth review of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven! Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it? How do you think it applies to our current circumstances with COVID-19 and 2020? Let me know in the comments below!
Check out my other book reviews!
—Payton
Series Reveiw: The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly
This is a series I have been meaning to read for so long, picked it up in the summer of 2019, and didn’t finish it until just before the end of 2020! After reading Hush, Hush, I needed a new paranormal romance to do with angels and I honestly thought this one was going to be my next fave. I had such high hopes for this trilogy, and even skipped reading Hush, Hush this year, to make sure I knocked it out before 2021!
This is a spoiler-free review.
Hi readers and writerly friends!
Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly. Photo by Payton Hayes.
This week in Bookish Things, I’m doing an in-depth review on L.A. Weatherly’s Angel Trilogy! This is a series I have been meaning to read for so long, picked it up in the summer of 2019, and didn’t finish it until just before the end of 2020! After reading Hush, Hush, I needed a new paranormal romance to do with angels and I honestly thought this one was going to be my next fave. I had such high hopes for this trilogy, and even skipped reading Hush, Hush this year, to make sure I knocked it out before 2021!
“It’s worth it you know,” said Alex, smiling into my eyes.
“What is?” I said.
His thumb moved slowly over my cheek. “All of this. Having you. It’s worth—anything.”
—L.A. Weatherly, Angel
I’m going to start off with my least favorite parts of the series and then end on some positives. This biggest issue I had with the story was the romance. It just didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed the characters and felt like they really meshed well together, but the romance was just lacking and left me wishing we’d gotten to see more of it. However, I understand this series leaned more on the young side of YA Paranormal fiction, than adult.
“There is no greater universe than holding you…”
—L.A. Weatherly, Angel
Secondly, I hated the angels. I know that was the point of the story—they’re not exactly the good guys in this one! But I almost found the passages that had to do with the angels themselves to be unbearable and I often wondered, did we really need to read this? But of course, we did, it was in fact, important to character development and progressing the plot. I just couldn’t hardly stand reading about them because I despised them SO MUCH.
Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly. Photo by Payton Hayes.
On the other hand, though, the characters in this series were SO GOOD. The main character was certainly a refreshing take on the special girl trope, as were her peers. I found myself enchanted and enamored with all of the characters and was often rooting for them. There were times that this series hurt my feelings as I read because the characters would say or do something to each other and I couldn’t help but think, oh, my heart. Did you really have to say/do that? And of course, they did have to say/do that because tension and plot devices.
Another story element that L.A. Weatherly does well in her Angel trilogy is she really created a new, refreshing depiction of angels that I’ve never seen before. In Angel Burn, Angel Fire, and Angel Fever, angels are malicious, otherworldly beings who feed on human life forces and leave the people they’ve fed from irreparably damaged in their wake. In the story, AKs, or Angel Killers hunt angels by shifting their consciousness up through their chakra points so they can see the angel’s halos—their Achille’s heels—and then they shoot them down. The way angels (monsters) and angel killers (monster hunters) are portrayed in the Angel trilogy really give a new presentation of the monster hunter theme often seen in YA paranormal fiction.
The prose was expertly crafted, and the characters voices felt believable and unique. The protagonists garnered reader investment and the villains warranted loathing, as they should have. The story’s premise was a new and refreshing delineation and the mythology easily believable and digestible. The narration alternates between both Alex and Willow smoothly and seamlessly. The romance albeit lackluster aptly served to drive the plot along rather than simply being romance for romance’s sake. Overall, if I had to rate this series on a 5-star scale, I’d give it a 3.5, only for the fact that the romance just didn’t cut it for me. To be fair, I was measuring it up against Hush, Hush, and of course, it didn’t stand a chance in hell (yes, pun intended.)
And that’s it for my in-depth review of the Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly! Have you read this series? What did you think of it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Check out my other book reviews.
Thumbnail photo by Payton Hayes.
—Payton
Book Review: Ghosted By Rosie Walsh
Almost every one of us can relate to the sour feeling and phenomenon of being “ghosted” and what it feels like to never hear from someone again. For those who have read Gillian Flynn’s psychological romantic thriller, Gone Girl, Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce and/or anything by Llane Moriarty, then you may have heard about The Man Who Didn’t Call or Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. This book is a romantic thriller from cover to cover and I devoured this fantastic summer contemporary like it was candy.
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Hi readers and writerly friends!
This is a spoiler-free review.
This week in Bookish Things, we’re discussing Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. This book review was my contribution to the 15th Street News’ special 50th Edition Newspaper! Check them out here.
Almost every one of us can relate to the sour feeling and phenomenon of being “ghosted” and what it feels like to never hear from someone again. For those who have read Gillian Flynn’s psychological romantic thriller, Gone Girl, Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce and/or anything by Llane Moriarty, then you may have heard about The Man Who Didn’t Call or Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. This book is a romantic thriller from cover to cover and I devoured this fantastic summer contemporary like it was candy. Or perhaps, honey is the better word; the prose is so smooth and sweet, and it draws you in and keeps you hooked until the end. I ate up this short 174-page whirlwind of a tragic love story within the span of a single day, if that tells you how truly wrapped up in it, I was.
There’s no better feeling than picking up the perfect book for your current season of life— the ideal read you’re just craving. I nabbed this book just before summer started and left it sitting on my shelf for weeks before I realized what gold lay in store or me within its pages. I picked it up around July and was left hungering for more as soon as I’d put it down. Ghosted was sweet, to be sure, but it was also equal parts heartwarming, and heartbreaking, gushworthy, swoonworthy, and it’s a story I will always look back fondly on.
This contemporary romance has everything you could ever want— complex relationships that make your heart ache, flawed, yet deeply loveable, compelling characters, multiple layers of secrets/intrigue guaranteed to keep the pages turning, a pacing that you’ll find makes you hold your breathe one moment and sigh out of relief the next, and a premise that is just utterly dazzling. The TWIST was so, so good.
“Seven perfect days. Then He disappeared. A love story with a secret at it’s heart” —Rosie Walsh, Ghosted.
An underlying theme in this book, much like Walsh’s other works is the protagonist who is not what he or she seems. Layers of mystery woven together pull readers in ever deeper the longer they read and leaves them eager for more even after the mystery is solved. Walsh makes clever use of Facebook posts and text messages to build suspense— an apt strategy for creating a compelling and relatable read for many readers today.
Although it was hard to break away from the story, I found myself having to put the book down a few times because certain scenes were just so raw and deeply moving to me. And I would chalk this up to personal response, however after a quick glance at other reader’s reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, it’s clear I am not the only one who felt this way.
“I was ready to hate this book. I didn't pick it up for an entire day, not wanting the story to go the way I thought it was. But it called me to just see, just see how it ends. And I couldn't put it down until it was though!” —Angie on Amazon, July 28, 2018.
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I was honestly touched by the unforeseen way mental illness was portrayed and the kind of dysfunctional relationships that can be wrapped up in it. I had a lump in my throat throughout these scenes because Walsh just gets it. It is always refreshing to read an author that is able to examine something from multiple perspectives, especially subjects as complex as mental illness, loss, bitterness, and tragedy. Walsh lovingly and honestly wrote around these sensitive topics with great empathy and care.
This book gets a lot of criticism for having a contrived plot, unrealistic characters, and cringe-inducing writing. I simply have to disagree. From the outside looking in, someone being “ghosted” may seem obsessed, childish, and naïve. However, I implore these readers to think back to when they were treated this way (or imagine it, if they have never experienced this) and consider how painfully unyielding this experience truly is. Closure is never promised and although people joke endlessly about “ghosting” each other on social media, its wound for some, that may never truly heal.
“This plot is focused and squeezes its reader into the manic grip of Sarah’s growing insanity, dragging us on a journey that is both obsessive and dryly comical.” —Kristin on Goodreads, July 9, 2018.
I should also say that I typically see plot twists coming from a mile away. I’m the kind of reader who has to cover the bottom-half of the page with my hand to keep my eyes from darting down as I read, eager to know whether I’ve figured out the twist just before it happens. However, this plot twist shocked me. If you think you know where this story is going, you’re wrong.
Ghosted is a real hold-your-breath-squeal-as-you-read-grit-your-teeth-can’t-stop-smiling kind of book and is absolutely the perfect summer read. (Also great for the fall if you love cozying up with a sweet read and your favorite warm beverage.) If you love Liane Moriarty’s writing, I am confident you will also love Ghosted.
You can find Ghosted by Rosie Walsh here.
Check out the 15th Street News here.
And that’s it for my review of Rosie Walsh’s Ghosted. What do you think of this novel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Read more of my book reviews!
Thumbnail photo by Payton Hayes.
—Payton
Book Review: Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight
It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite some time now, and I fear I might not have seriously picked it up if it weren’t for COVID-19. But I am SO glad that I did, because once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I binged the series in less than a week and found myself highlighting passages because the writing was JUST.THAT.GOOD.
This is a spoiler-free review!
Hi readers and writerly friends! Below is my review of Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight! Check out my other book reviews here!
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Wildfire By Karsten Knight
This book review starts with my first-ever book hunt in my Midwest City Dollar-Tree. I was shopping for some containers and noticed the store had an awful lot of books and many of them I’d either seen before, heard of the authors before, or the covers were just so gorgeous that I couldn’t help myself. I think I left the store with 20+ books. And guess what book just happened to be amidst all those tomes I scurried out of the store with? That’s right—the aforementioned Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I had no clue what this book was about. I’d never heard of the author or the title and the only reason I bought it was because the lovely cover sucked me in, and the punchy writing kept me hooked. It’s true, I totally judge books by the cover.
It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite some time now, and I fear I might not have seriously picked it up if it weren’t for COVID-19. But I am SO glad that I did, because once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I binged the series in less than a week and found myself highlighting passages because the writing was JUST.THAT.GOOD.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
As per the Wildefire Goodreads page:
Every flame begins with a spark.
Blackwood Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for Ashline Wilde. A secluded boarding school deep in the heart of California’s redwood forests, three thousand miles from her old life—it sounded like the new beginning she needed after an act of unspeakable violence left a girl in her hometown dead. But Blackwood is far from the peaceful haven Ashline was searching for. Because terrifying, supernatural beasts roam the forests around campus. Because the murderer from Ashline’s hometown—her own sister—has followed her across the country. Because a group of reincarnated gods and goddesses has been mysteriously summoned to Blackwood...and Ashline’s one of them.
—Karsten Knight, Wildefire, Goodreads.com
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I can confidently say, that if you enjoyed reading ANY of Rick Riordan’s mythological fiction, you would likely love this series. I would categorize it as a mythological thriller because it revolves around reincarnated gods and goddesses from all different kinds of mythologies including Norse, Greek, Roman, Polynesian, Japanese, Mayan, and Aztec, and it was an absolute page turner! Without spoiling, the YA fiction is centered around the main protagonist Ashline Wilde and her newfound friends at Blackwood Academy in Southern California. She and her friends find themselves face-to-face with some unsettling foes—the seemingly nefarious cloak, inky, black creatures with singular blue flames for eyes. They are all given unique quests to carry out as they familiarize themselves with their own newly realized god/goddess abilities and struggle to fit in with their mundane, human classmates. However, school life quickly becomes the least of their worries when Ashline’s treacherous older sister appears out of the blue, other gods force Ashline and her friends to go on the offensive, and schoolmates end up caught in the crossfire.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I of course, don’t want to give too much away because I implore you, dear readers, to please give this series a try. The pacing was fantastic (and kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the night), the characters were compelling as all-get-out, and the prose was simply exquisite.
I can only describe Wildefire by Karsten Knight, through the title—a ruthless wildfire that swept through me, a ravenous hunger to breathe, sleep, eat, and drink in the entire story until I’ve had my fill. Unfortunately, now that I’ve actually finished it, I can’t help but want more. This story was a whirlwind of romance, mythos, angst, and a deep desire to belong. It was a wild ride and I enjoyed every second of it.
Every one of the characters are carefully constructed. You can clearly tell that Knight took his time fleshing out each character from the names down to their personality traits and compelling developments over the course of the trilogy. Everything was intentional. At times, I saw myself in Ashline Wilde, and at others, she felt like my best friend—as if we’d known each other forever and I was just now embarking on this insane journey with her. Books that achieve this level of relatability in the character-reader relationship can hard to find. Each and every character is meaningful and when some of them leave the story, it comes like a punch to the gut.
If you need more reasons why I LOVED this series, I’ve left a few below:
The writing—duh! Fantastic, believable, well-written prose laced within an excellent premise that upsets me for the sheer fact that I had not come up with it first.
Compelling, relatable characters that make you swoon, cry, and grit your teeth.
Knight’s expert ability to weave and interweave plots within plots to create a constantly enthralling and complex storyline that is guaranteed to keep you turning pages.
The mythology. Like I said, if you enjoyed Percy Jackson or any of Rick Riordan’s prose, you would likely enjoy this series simply for the employment of many different kinds of mythologies. The mythos used in Karsten Knight’s Wildefire is well-researched and expertly infused within believable character development. It doesn’t seem forced at all and where creative license is used, it is minimal and justified.
While it’s a paranormal YA fiction, set (initially) against the backdrop of a boarding school, Knight’s take on centuries’ old mythology and paranormal romance is new, interesting, and refreshing.
But don’t just take my word on it. Read it for yourself here.
And that’s it for my spoiler-free review of Karsten Knight’s Wildefire trilogy. As promised, there’s a personal life update just below here, but I wanted to thank all of you who took the time to read this review. It honestly means the world to me. If you enjoyed this post, please consider signing up for my newsletter here! Tweet me or comment below if you decide to read this book and let me know what you thought of it!
Read more of my book reviews!
—Payton
Book Review: Good Morning Good Life by Amy Schmittauer Landino
Amy Landino Author Photo
Good Morning, Good Life, readers and writerly friends!
This is a spoiler-free review!
When life gives you lemons, you write a book review, right? No? Just me?
In any case, I hope you all are doing well and being safe during this COVID-19 mess and I hope things will start to brighten before long. If you’re new to this site, I encourage you to stick around and check out some of my other blog posts! (You’ll find out pretty quickly that I am part of the Amy-llion club too!) No need to be sour about this book—let’s get into the review! 🍋🍋🍋
If you’ve followed me for any considerable amount of time, then you know I RAVE about Amy Landino. Honestly, I can’t get enough of her and all of the wonderful, actionable advice she puts out into the world. And not to mention—she has SUCH an aesthetic. Like, wow, I’m living for the berry pink and lemon vibes.
Amy Landino is known for her incredibly useful lifestyle-type videos on YouTube—one of which, titled “*ACTUALLY* WAKE UP EARLY | my 7 tips” has garnered her a lot of attention from viewers and aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. She’s an award-winning YouTuber, bestselling author, lifestyle coach, entrepreneur and fabulous podcast host. She claims she’s obsessed with helping people go after the life they want and is also the founder of her own company dedicated to doing so—GATLUW House. She’s helped thousands of people (including myself) redesign their lives their way.
Click here to watch Amy’s video, *ACTUALLY* WAKE UP EARLY | my 7 tips
So, after reading her first book, Vlog Like A Boss, and becoming a lifelong fan/follower of hers, it’s safe to say I was definitely picking up her next book. Good Morning, Good Life released in December of 2019 and now that we’ve all had a few months (and not to mention extra time thanks to COVID-19) to pick up this book and sink our teeth into it, let’s get into the tea—or lemon water if you’re a true fan. 🍋💦
Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino
Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino
I am absolutely obsessed with everything to do with habits, habit-change, productivity, and routines, so when Amy said she was writing a book focused on helping people go after their perfect mornings, I was stoked! I pre-ordered my copy of GMGL, and when it arrived in the mail, I was ready to crack open the cover and get reading. Not only did I get the paperback version, but I also purchased the audiobook as well, so I could read them in tandem. (I have a whole blog post about immersion reading with audiobooks and you can check it out here!)
The book starts off with a behind-the-curtains look at what life was like for Amy before she became the thriving businesswoman, we all know from her YouTube channel. She talks about her experience working a 9-to-5 job, trying out for a marathon race, and the pivotal, aha-moments in her life that pushed her in the direction of her success. Layered on top of this insightful narrative, is Amy’s actionable advice for crafting a truly magical morning.
The book is broken up into five sections—Decide, Defy, Rise, Shine, and Thrive. Throughout these sections, she offers action steps that ask probing questions to get the reader thinking, “What’s a moment that you remember being truly excited about something?” or “On a scale of 1-to-10, how well do you sleep?”. She includes writing exercises to get readers truly motivated and ready to make a difference in their mornings and ultimately, their quality of life. Additionally, she includes “Good morning” stories from her colleagues, and fellow YouTubers to offer up extra insight into the mornings of successful people she’s come to know over the years.
3 Stars —⭐⭐⭐
The novel has been dubbed an Amazon bestseller and has garnered rave reviews from readers across the globe, both on Amazon and Goodreads. However, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in the comments. Many readers have come out saying that the book isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Readers with children argue that Amy’s advice is not really applicable or useful for them since she doesn’t have children herself and doesn’t know what it is really like to try and design a morning around them. In the book, she acknowledges this fact and urges readers to hear her out and set aside any excuses they may have in order to give her advice an honest try.
I personally enjoyed the book on a surface level—knowing it was content that Amy created and by reading it, I was getting to know her better and I was able to support her. However, despite my love of Amy’s style and content, I found the book did not live up to the hype. But before you all come for me, I just want to clarify—if you’ve never seen any of Amy’s work and have never heard her advice, this book is EVERYTHING.
It really does give you a great look into how to design a morning that works best for you, that gives you time for yourself, and ultimately allows you to practice self-love in whatever form it comes. And as a woman in her twenties without children, I found this book to be extremely insightful and useful. But in reading this book, I quickly realized, it had no NEW information to lend readers. With that being said, aside from the actual advise, Amy gives us a little narrative and peek into her life before YouTube and being a business owner which I enjoyed.
My Goodreads review of Good Morning Good Life
You can find me on Goodreads here!
So, what did you think of Good Morning Good Life? Was it helpful to you? What did you think of this review? Do you agree or disagree with anything I said? Let me know in the comments below!
—Payton
Book Of The Year (2019) - Brother By Ania Ahlborn
We don’t have hardly anything.”
“We gotta make do with what the land gives us.”
It Left me Hungry for more…
Okay, maybe not the best way to start out a review over a book that deals with many dark topics such as cannibalism, abuse, abduction, necrophilia, to name a few.
This is a spoiler-free review!
“We don’t have hardly anything.”
“We gotta make do with what the land gives us.”
— Ania Ahlborn, Brother
It left me Hungry for more…
Okay, maybe not the best way to start out a review over a book that deals with many dark topics such as cannibalism, abuse, abduction, and (thoughts of) necrophilia, to name a few. I am probably as astounded as you are to know this was my book choice for my favorite book of 2019 —I don’t know whether or not this says anything good about me as a person, but I couldn’t put the book down. (Okay, in some parts, I HAD to put the book down, especially when some of the more messed up scenes got a little too detailed.)
Brother by Ania Ahlborn is a brutal, bloody, beast of a horror novel that leaves readers considering bleaching their eyes and brains out after reading about some of the dark topics present in the story. (Amazon User Gorilichis)
While the subject matter itself is pretty heavy, the story is really about the relationship between two brothers who through no fault of their own found their way into a family filled with darkness — and their twisted obsession with cannibalism, abduction, and physical abuse. This story is not for the faint of heart, but I have to agree with Publisher’s Weekly in saying that it was nearly impossible to put the book down.
The thriller takes place in the 60’s in the Appalachian woods and is centered around the Morrow family and their youngest son, Michael who never really felt part of his dysfunctional family and their dark, twisted, practices. He desires normalcy and one day he hopes to see what the rest of the world has to offer. He meets a girl named Alice at the local record shop and they hit it off immediately. He almost forgets about his messed-up family and the monster he is, but his older brother Reb, is always there to remind him of the darkness following him in West Virginia.
I too, felt like I needed to cleanse my mental palate after reading some of the passages of this novel, but it was a truly enthralling story. Ahlborn’s ability to share and hold back just the right amount of detail at just the right time is what makes her a phenomenal horror writer. She expertly crafts scenes that make you jump right out of your skin (be careful, Brother characters!) and for good reason. All the awful things that happen in the story are made even scarier by the fact that they’re all completely possible events that could actually happen in real life. Yikes!
I also read Seed by Ania Ahlborn and Lock Every Door by Riley Sager and although they were also pretty creepy in their own rights, neither rivaled the astounding amount of horror, gore, and twisted events present in Brother. I’ve read quite a few horror stories in my life, and so far, this one takes the cake—or rather —the carcass. Too soon?
I would recommend Brother by Ania Ahlborn to anyone who likes getting really scared, but like I said, it isn’t for the faint of heart. I can’t watch surgeries without fainting and this was a rough read in some parts. However, it really is a brilliant psychological thriller, and I have to agree with the general consensus that the twist at the end will leave you saying, whaaaaat?!
And that’s it for my pick of the year—Brother by Ania Ahlborn! What do you think? Have you read this book? Did you have a similar reaction? Did it make it into your top 10? Let me know in the comments below!
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