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The Unquiet Spirit (Spirited Encounters #1)
The Unquiet Spirit (Spirited Encounters #1)
Penny Hampson | 2025 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
couldn't see where this was going!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Once in a while, a review request comes through that is a little out of my normal reads, and the blurb piqued my interest. This is one of those times!

Kate is left a house, and she runs to it, after her love life is left in tatters. As a historian, she can work from home, so moving to Cornwall is no real hardship. That the house has a ghost, however, is another matter. And just what is up with her new neighbour, Tom?

For a long time, I couldn't see where this was going, with the ghost, the diary, the connection between them and Tom's extended family, I really couldn't and I do LOVE being kept on my toes! I really did not see how it was going to come together, and when it did?? So not what I was expecting.

It's well written, the spooky bits come across wonderfully and the blossoming romance is very much faded to black. Not totally clean, but it's all behind closed doors.

BUT

Only Kate has a say and I would love to have heard from Tom at key points along the way. I always want to hear from everyone but I think here, it's needed.

I've not read anything by this author before, I might look at her back list! This is what I love MOST about reviewing: finding new-to-me authors with back lists.

4 very VERY good stars.

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Honor Among Thieves: The Honors Book 1
Honor Among Thieves: The Honors Book 1
Rachel Caine, Ann Aguirre | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
153 of 230
Book
Honor Among Thieves ( The Honors book 1)
By Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

This was a unique story and I really enjoyed it. I liked the concept especially with our current climate I really hope we get some mystery aliens save us from ourselves. I was hooked from the beginning the only thing that knocked me a little of track was I just seemed to lose myself in the middle not sure if that was me or the book seemed a little rushed in the middle. I absolutely love Rachel Caine and with every book I read or reread I feel sad that We will never get a new book and story from her.
  
The Beloveds
The Beloveds
Maureen Lindley | 2018 | Thriller
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Slow-moving thriller with a despicable main character
Betty adores only one thing in her life: her childhood home, called Pipits, and desires nothing else than to live in it. Alone. So when her mother passes away and wills the home to her younger sister Gloria and her husband, Henry, Betty is beyond angry and ruined. She puts Henry and Gloria in a class called the Beloveds; people she deems loved and admired and lucky in love and everything they do. Betty, of course, is on the outside looking in on these Beloved sort. She vows she will do whatever it takes to get Pipits back, at any cost.

This novel features Betty talking to us directly in a conversational style, which I liked. However, sadly, the rest of this one didn't work too well for me. For one thing, it's just maddeningly slow. There is so much talk from Betty and she is so mean, crazy, and cruel. Halfway through the novel, I felt as if nothing had happened, other than her rantings. Beyond her being mentally ill, the whole book is built on her obsession for this house, and it became a bit much for me. I understand that it should be creepy, but it just didn't work for me.

For much of the novel, Betty isn't really even that good at being evil, she's just mean-spirited and a ranting drunk. I kept reading out of a morbid curiosity, but I really wasn't all that interested or engaged or drawn to anyone in the novel. In fact, I just despised Betty completely and couldn't even find myself liking her as a "bad guy." She was just mean. Also, again, I felt somewhat bad despising someone who was so clearly mentally ill, but she was so hateful, and her obsession with this house was just all-consuming and hard to empathize with.

Overall, this one didn't work for me. It was so slow, with such a despicable main character with odd motivations. However, I've read a lot of reviews where others really enjoyed its creepy nature, so it may work for you.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!); more at https://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/.