The Will and the Wilds, by Charlie N. Holmberg

 

It was a story that totally engulfed me as I was reading, and when I stopped reading, it took a fraction of a moment for me to come back to the real world.
Unlike many fantasy stories, this one has a small cast and a small world - but it works. It is YA Romance set in a fantasy world, but it reads almost like a fairy tale.
Enna and her father live in a secluded spot at the edge of the woods, where monsters called Mystings lurk and humans must take care. She is bold and unafraid, but when she is attacked by a Gobler Mysting, she decides to summon a mysting that she can bargain with to protect her. But what she gets is more than she bargains for.

I've read several of this author's books and enjoyed them all.

The Murder Machine, by Heather Graham

 There will always be someone who takes something useful and uses it for evil.

Technology is a helpful thing, computerized cars, boats, even homes... but what happens when someone hacks into those computers and wreaks havoc? FBI agent Jude Mackenzie and his team are tasked with finding out how - and why - a hacker has committed a string of murders. Was it a murder for hire? Who are they and who hired them? Will there be more? And what do all these victims have in common?
It kept me reading, and I was surprised by the twist at the end.
I am a big fan of Heather Graham's Krewe of Hunters series, so even though I was excited to read this book, I was a tiny bit disappointed. The story line is good, and I liked the characters, but the dialogue didn't sound like the way people really talk, and there were things added that didn't seem to pertain to the story or add anything of value.
Overall, however, this was an entertaining, quick read.

 
Expected publication April 29, 2025
Thanks to the publisher, Mira, and Netgalley for the ARC version of this book.

The Unlucky Ones, Hannah Morrissey

 

Once again, Hannah Morrissey drops us into the gritty, drug-infested pit that is Black Harbor, where almost no one gets out alive.
We thought Hazel Greenlee had made it out, alive and well in New York. But then her ex, Tommy is murdered, and after seeing the news, Hazel is drawn back to Black Harbor to find out who killed him, and like a moth to a flame, drawn back to her former lover, Sergeant Nikolai Kole.
Will they be able decipher the hierarchy of the murderers and drug lords and still manage to keep themselves alive?
This series has been fast-paced, atmospheric, and well written. Morrissey's characters are relatable in their emotions, if not their actions. The line between the good guys and the bad guys is a hazy, shifting thing, and the city itself is a plague that gets into people's minds.
Every story that comes out of Black Harbor is darker and more complex than the previous one. I hope this will not be the last.
Publication scheduled: March 24, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader's copy of this novel.
@hannahmorrisseywriter

Old Soul, by Susan Barker

 

 

 There is nothing scarier than a subtle horror that quietly works on your mind and makes you look over your shoulder while walking down the street. This book has it in spades.
When Jake and Mariko meet by chance in the Osaka airport, an uncanny connection is discovered. Jake's best friend and Mariko's twin both died in suspicious circumstances, 6000 miles apart, but both had come into contact with a strikingly similar woman in the weeks before their deaths. This sets Jake on a quest to find the woman, and he gathers the stories of other victims. Who is the woman, where did she come from, and how is she connected to the bizarre string of deaths?
These victims each show us a human vulnerability, one the chameleon of a woman exploits for her own twisted purposes.
Can Jake find her and stop her?
The beautiful writing style, so soft and elegant, portraying the horror the woman trails along behind her, was such a perfect contrast. The pace isn't fast, but it never feels bogged down by that. The timing is perfect for the story-line.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Publishing Group for this ARC.