Book Review – ‘The Shape of Night’ by Tess Gerritsen

Title: The Shape of Night
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery/Thriller
Word/Page Count: 288  pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Penguin Random House Australia on October 1st, 2019
RRP: $32.99 AUD (paperback)

When Ava arrives at Brodie’s Watch, she thinks she has found the perfect place to hide from her past. Something terrible happened, something she is deeply ashamed of, and all she wants is to forget.

But the old house on the hill both welcomes and repels her and Ava quickly begins to suspect she is not alone. Either that or she is losing her mind.

The house is full of secrets, but is the creeping sense of danger coming from within its walls, or from somewhere else entirely?

Right from the haunting prologue, Tess Gerritsen effortlessly draws you into the tangled web of mystery, guilt and Gothic horror that ensnares protagonist Ava Collette. Fleeing to a small town in Maine ostensibly to work on writing a long-overdue book, Ava thinks she has found freedom from the burden of a sordid secret which has caused her to isolate herself from friends and family. Instead, the spooky hilltop mansion Brodie’s Watch preys on her vulnerable mind with what appears to be the ghost of Captain Brodie visiting her at night, offering pleasure as well as the pain she deserves for her misdeeds.

ARC Review – ‘Starsight’ by Brandon Sanderson

Title: Starsight
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Word/Page Count: 528 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Hachette Australia on November 26th, 2019
RRP: $29.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing.

Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars–and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.

But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself–and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

If you’re reading this review, I’m assuming that you’ve read Skyward, which is book 1 in this series. And in that case, you’ll recognize that 95% of that blurb is a recap of Skyward…because to say anything else about what happens is a pretty big spoiler!

Which makes this a bit tough to talk about when I really want to flail about how amazing certain plotlines and characters are, but it blew my mind when I read the massive turn that this story took and I want everyone to go into it unspoiled so they can feel the same sheer glee and heart-pounding anticipation as I did (with maybe a teensy bit of agitated  concern for Spensa, haha). :O

ARC Review – ‘Chasing The Shadows’ by Maria V Snyder

Title: Chasing The Shadows
Author: Maria V Snyder
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Word/Page Count: 448 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Harper Collins Australia on November 18th, 2019
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder returns with the next page-turning instalment of the new sci-fi series: Sentinels of the Galaxy

Year 2522.

Lyra Daniels is dead.

Okay, so I only died for sixty-six seconds. But when I came back to life, I got a brand new name and a snazzy new uniform. Go me! Seriously, though, it’s very important that Lyra Daniels stays dead, at least as far as my ex-friend Jarren, the murdering looter, knows.

While dying is the scariest thing that’s happened to me, it morphed my worming skills. I can manipulate the Q-net like never before. But Jarren has blocked us from communicating with the rest of the galaxy and now they believe we’ve gone silent, like Planet Xinji (where silent really means dead).

A Protector Class spaceship is coming to our rescue, but we still have to survive almost two years before they arrive – if they arrive at all. Until then, we have to figure out how to stop an unstoppable alien threat. And it’s only a matter of time before Jarren learns I’m not dead and returns to finish what he started.

There’s no way I’m going to let Jarren win. Instead I’ll do whatever it takes to save the people I love. But even I’m running out of ideas…

I read the first book ‘Navigating The Stars‘ back in January this year (review here) and overall enjoyed the book, praising its heroine in particular. Second time around, the plot is just as fast-paced and constantly keeping the reader on their toes, Lyra (now called Ara) is still irrepressibly snarky and endearing, and the author succeeds in crafting an exciting second book that invigorates the reader rather than artificially stretching out a series that should’ve concluded already.

Book Review – ‘Supernova’ by Marissa Meyer

Title: Supernova
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA Fantasy
Word/Page Count: 560 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Pan Macmillan Australia on October 29th, 2019
RRP: $18.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

All’s fair in love and anarchy…

The epic conclusion to Marissa Meyer’s thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian struggling to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City.

The publisher was kind enough to send me the whole Renegades trilogy, so for the past week, I have lived, breathed and bled Renegades (yes, bled, there was an altercation with my cat who was trying to tear apart my photo setup and dealt me a grievous wound when I had the audacity to intervene). And now that it’s all over, I have the worst book hangover of all time and I don’t quite know what to do with myself. But damn, it was an epic ride while it lasted! ❤

Book Review – ‘People of the Lake’ by Nick Scorza

Title: People of the Lake
Author: Nick Scorza
Genre: Contemporary YA, Thriller/Mystery
Word/Page Count: 312 pages (hardcover)
Publication Date: October 15th, 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Clara Morris is facing an awkward summer with her father in the tiny upstate town of Redmarch Lake. Clara’s relationship with her parents—and with life in general—has been strained since she lost her twin sister, Zoe, when the girls were eight. As a child, her sister had been her whole world—they even shared a secret invented twin language. Clara has managed to rebuild herself as best she can, but she still feels a hole in her life from the absence of her twin, and she suspects she always will.

She soon finds that Redmarch Lake, where her father’s family has lived for generations, is a very unusual place. The townspeople live by odd rules and superstitions. The eerily calm lake the town is named for both fascinates and repels her. The town’s young people are just as odd and unfriendly as their parents. Clara manages to befriend the one boy willing to talk to an outsider, but he disappears during a party in the woods.

The next day, he is found dead in the lake under mysterious circumstances. The townspeople all treat this as a tragic accident. Clara isn’t buying it, but she doesn’t know what to do until she receives a mysterious note hinting at murder—a note written in the language she shared with her twin sister, Zoe.

People of the Lake is a spooky paranormal YA thriller that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but delivers adequately on its premise. This was a fun book to read for Halloween, and especially late at night in bed for additional chills!