Hello, Tartlets! I'm so excited to be part of the blog tour for Hidden Pictures. Because I seriously loved this book. (Whew! What a relief. It would've been totally awkward to be part of a blog tour for a book I hated.) Billed as "The Haunting of Hill House meets The Perfect Nanny," this supernatural thriller by Jason Rekulak surpassed all the expectations I had for it. I ripped through Hidden Pictures in just two days. TWO...
The Bone Houses has one of the best first lines I've ever read: "The evening air smelled pleasantly of a fresh grave." I mean, come on. HOW CAN YOU NOT GET SUCKED IN BY THAT? Talk about imagery. Take notes, fellow writers. This is just one example of author Emily Lloyd-Jones's beautiful writing in this young adult historical fiction/ fantasy / horror novel mash-up. What's The Bone Houses about? The Bone Houses follows Ryn, a...
You're getting two books in one with The Plot, Tartlets, with the newest fiction release from Jean Hanff Korelitz. What's The Plot about? The Plot is about fictional novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, who steals an idea from one of his writing course students and uses it to become a bestselling author. Later in his career, Bonner's stalked by someone who wants to reveal "the truth" about the idea behind his life-changing novel....
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was another different type of read for me: fantasy. This creative story by V.E. Schwab is rich and complex; it’s detailed and emotional; it’s sweet and exciting. There are SO many things going on in this behemoth of a novel. What's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue about? The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is about a 1700s French peasant woman, Addie, who makes a deal with a demon to escape an...
"To the Women." Author Liza Rodman dedicated her memoir, The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer, "to the women." I always read dedication pages, and when I saw this phrase at the beginning of the book, I thought the sentiment was sweet. But, that's about it. Because I didn't know yet. I didn't know what I was about to read. By the time I finished reading The Babysitter, the full impact of "to the women" hit me like a brick. ...
Umm, could someone please explain A House at the Bottom of a Lake to me? Because I sure as hell don’t get it. Admittedly, that could just be me. This could be another Bunny situation going on, where I’m just not existential enough to understand what I just read. What's A House at the Bottom of a Lake about? This novella by Josh Malerman (of well-deserved Bird Box fame) is a horror story. Kind of. It's about two teenagers row out...
The Family Upstairs is what you should read if you’re looking for a darn good suspense novel.
What’s The Family Upstairs about?
The Family Upstairs is told through three points of view. There’s Libby, a young woman who receives a huge inheritance on her 25th birthday from the parents she never met. Then, there’s a woman named Lucy, who’s barely managing to live on the streets with her two children. Finally, there’s an unnamed...
I'm not sure how I stumbled across The Girl Who Died. I think author Ragnar Jonasson blurbed another scary book that I'd read and loved. I thought, if I loved that book, I'd probably love books by this author, too. What's The Girl Who Died about? The Girl Who Died, despite its off-putting title, was a really enjoyable read. It's brimming with tension and atmosphere, suspense and mystery. Main character Una spontaneously accepts a...
I never really think of December as a spooky time of year. But, author Cassandra Parkin manages to change that with her book The Winter's Child. What's The Winter's Child about? The Winter's Child is full of twists and turns, ghostly premonitions and ghastly visions as main character Susannah waits for her long-lost -- and possibly deceased -- son to return to her on Christmas Eve. Soon, Susannah starts seeing things that...
N0S4A2 is a Christmas book in the way that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It's a horror novel that just so happens to be centered around Christmas. There are all the entrancing, alluring elements of the holidays that we love: carols, trees decorated with ornaments, and the smell of gingerbread in the air. But, author Joe Hill doles out each charming tidbit with a sinister twist that morphs the innocent into something incredibly dark and...
