Kait Layton Reviews The Only One Left : A Novel

altTextKait Layton checking in with a review of The Only One Left : A Novel by Riley Sager, which released this past Tuesday.

“The Only One Left” is a fast-paced thriller with a gothic feel. There is an old house that is atop a cliff that will eventually fall into the sea and the two main characters have family pasts trying to catch up to them.

You get pieces of the past through Lenora’s typed correspondence with Kit, who is the new caregiver from Lenora. Lenora was accused of killing her entire family in the late 20’s when she was a teenager, and Kit was accused of negligence due to leaving medication out while caring for her mother. Her mother took all of the pills and committed suicide. Both of these women have been accused of killing their own families and are brought together towards the end of Lenora’s life. They quickly bond over each other’s pasts and try to uncover the hidden truths of Lenora’s past together.

The first quarter of the book, I burned through. The second quarter began to drop off when Kit and Lenora were building a relationship and beginning to trust each other. But I understand as a caregiver with a new client you need to build rapport, especially one who is unable to speak. Then, you find out what happened to the last caregiver before Kit and things start taking off after that! There was a part when the fourth quarter of the book began and I just thought to myself, “Twist on twist on twist, Sager!”

This is my favorite Sager book since “Home Before Dark”! Thank you to the publishers for the digital ARC!

Official Burb

Bestselling author Riley Sager returns with a Gothic chiller about a young caregiver assigned to work for a woman accused of a Lizzie Borden-like massacre decades earlier.

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume 17-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where her family lived.

Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.

Author Bio:
Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently Survive the Night and The House Across the Lake. A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Interested in buying a copy? Visit our website and choose whether to have it ready for pickup, shipped, or delivered!

Pre-Order In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune and get a signed copy, postcard, and button!

Get ready to enter a peculiar forest and meet an extraordinary family assembled from spare parts in TJ Klune’s latest standalone fantasy adventure, In the Lives of Puppets. This New York Times and USA Today bestselling author takes you on a journey filled with danger, love, and conflicted emotions. In a hidden home built into the trees, live three robots and a human, including a fatherly inventor android, a sadistic nurse machine, and a vacuum desperate for attention. But when a strange android labelled “HAP” is salvaged and repaired, Vic, the human, learns of a dark past shared between Hap and Gio, and their safe haven is no longer safe and Gio is captured. As they journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to save Gio, Vic must confront his own feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, and decide if he can accept love with strings attached. This masterful adventure inspired by The Adventures of Pinocchio and a mix of Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E will leave you on the edge of your seat. Make sure to have a copy on release day by pre-ordering today. In the Lives of Puppets releases on April 25, 2023.

Also, with your pre-order, you will get a copy that is signed, plus a postcard  and button, while supplies last!

NOTE: We will only have 10 signed copies so make sure to get yours in early. We will also be limiting it to 1 order per household.

About In the Lives of Puppets

In the Lives of Puppets CoverSwiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E in the woods in this new standalone fantasy from beloved New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune

New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

Interested in pre-ordering a copy? Visit our website and choose whether to have it ready for pickup, shipped, or delivered!

Calling All Fantasy Fans: We Have Signed Copies of Alexandra Bracken’s Newest Book!

Welcome to a thrilling journey through the world of fantasy and vengeance! #1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken has opened a portal to an epic adventure in her spellbinding novel, Silver in the Bone. With its vividly imagined cast of characters and the captivating landscape of the Savannah, Boston, and Cornwall, you’ll be swept away on a journey you’ll never forget.

Welcome to a thrilling journey through the world of fantasy and vengeance! #1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken has opened a portal to an epic adventure in her spellbinding novel, Silver in the Bone. With its vividly imagined cast of characters and the captivating locales of Savannah, Boston, and Cornwall, you’ll be swept away on a journey you’ll never forget.

Tamsin and her brother’s story begins with their life on the streets, where they must rely on their thieving foster father to stay alive. But their guardian’s disappearance sets Tamsin on a quest far greater. Rumors are swirling that her guardian carries a legendary ring from Arthurian legend, and Tamsin, with the help of her unexpected ally Emrys, embarks on a dangerous race to find the ring and save her brother’s life. The consequences of their mission, however, are greater than anyone could have expected, and the truth behind the ring’s power will awaken ghosts of the past that could shatter Tamsin’s last chance at hope.

Don’t miss out on the incredible adventure that awaits in Silver in the Bone! Make sure to grab a signed copy of Silver in the Bone which released yesterday, Apr 04!

NOTE: We will only have 9 signed copies so make sure to get yours today! We ship anywhere in the US.

About Silver in the Bone

#1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken cements her status as one of the top fantasy authors writing today in this stunning series opener inspired by Arthurian legend and fueled by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!

Tamsin Lark didn’t ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring.

As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .

Story Locales: Savannah, GA; Boston, MA; Cornwall, UK

Interested in ordering a copy? Visit our website and choose whether to have it ready for pickup, shipped, or delivered!

Kelly McLeod Reviews The House with Good Bones

Kelly McLeod checking in with a review of The House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher, which released on Mar 28. You can find it in our Horror New Releases section.

Kingfisher writes another excellent, absolutely terrifying horror that will have you looking suspicious at some very ordinary objects. Sam comes to stay with her mother when her archaeological dig is put on hold (after she already arranged for a sublet, of course). She arrives to find that her mothers home, normally bright and cheery, has been returned to the sterility and decor that her grandmother preferred when she was alive. Sam’s mother is also exhibiting behavior that is quite unlike her.

Kingfisher managed another book where she transitions from a mundane horror, in this case the horror of an aging parent and the concern over changes in their mental state, and slides right into a more supernatural horror of the most hair-raising variety. I got a little more frustrated with Sam compared to Kingfisher’s previous horror protagonists, but the writing overall is excellent and, just. the HORROR. THE HORROR. Kingfisher just casually sneaks in these monsters that will haunt your dreams. Highly recommended!

About The House with Good Bones

A contemporary Southern Gothic from a master of modern horror that explores the deep, dark roots of family and in which grandma’s ghost haunting your house may be the least of your worries.
Sam Montgomery is worried about her mother. She seems anxious, jumpy, and she’s begun making mystifying changes to the family home on Lammergeier Lane. Sam figures it has something to do with her mother’s relationship to Sam’s late, unlamented grandmother.

She’s not wrong.

As vultures gather around the house and frightful family secrets are unearthed under the rosebushes, Sam struggles to unravel the truth about the house on Lammergeier Lane before it consumes her and everyone else who stands in its way . . .

Author Bio:
T. KINGFISHER writes fantasy, horror, and occasional oddities, most recently including Nettle & Bone and What Moves the Dead. Under a pen name, she also writes bestselling children’s books. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, dogs, and a garden with several rose bushes that she keeps a very careful eye on.

Interested in buying a copy? Visit our website and choose whether to have it ready for pickup, shipped, or delivered!

Pre-Order One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake and get a signed copy

Welcome to the electrifying world of Olivie Blake’s One for My Enemy — a high-stakes, fast-paced story of magical mafia wars where loyalties are tested and no one is safe. This dark and intense YA fantasy will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow the impossible decisions faced by each member of these clashing New York families.

Welcome to the electrifying world of Olivie Blake’s One for My Enemy — a high-stakes, fast-paced story of magical mafia wars where loyalties are tested and no one is safe. This dark and intense YA fantasy will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow the impossible decisions faced by each member of these clashing New York families. Make sure to have a copy on release day by pre-ordering today. One for My Enemy: A Novel releases on Apr 04, 2023.

Also, with your pre-order, you will get a copy that is signed, while supplies last!

NOTE: We will only have 10 signed copies so make sure to get yours in early. We will also be limiting it to 1 order per household.

About One for My Enemy

A thrilling story of rival witch families in New York City, from New York Times bestselling author and internet phenomenon Olivie Blake.

In modern-day Manhattan where we lay our scene, two rival witch families fight to maintain control of their respective criminal ventures.

On one side of the conflict are the Antonova sisters — each one beautiful, cunning, and ruthless — and their mother, the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants, known only as Baba Yaga. On the other side, the influential Fedorov brothers serve their father, the crime boss known as Koschei the Deathless, whose community extortion ventures dominate the shadows of magical Manhattan.

After twelve years of tenuous co-existence, a change in one family’s interests causes a rift in the existing stalemate. When bad blood brings both families to the precipice of disaster, fate intervenes with a chance encounter, and in the aftershocks of a resurrected conflict, everyone must choose a side. As each of the siblings struggles to stake their claim, fraying loyalties threaten to rot each side from the inside out.

If, that is, the enmity between empires doesn’t destroy them first.

Interested in pre-ordering a copy? Visit our website and choose whether to have it ready for pickup, shipped, or delivered!

Kait Layton Reviews How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix – Also we have signed copies left!

Kait Layton reporting in with a review of How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix which released this past Tuesday!

how%20to%20sell%20a%20haunted%20house.jpgThis is my fourth Hendrix novel and I am a huge fan. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s note at the beginning that states the inspiration behind the story was to get far away from the pandemic and dive into something else. I actually read this book in three days while being in quarantine, so it was exactly the distraction I needed!

I thought it was going to be a ghost story just after reading the title. Then, the main character’s family is very religious and talks about demons and I had just finished “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” and thought, “Oh no, not this story again!” However, that is not how the story ends and I was extremely surprised. It’s one of those stories where you are like, “WTF!” but you keep reading to find out what happens to the family and the house.

My only complaint is that I wish it had more gore. There are tons of creepy moments, but there is only one big scene where the main character and her brother are getting attacked and it was grisly. I just wanted more.

Puppets are creepy, especially when they move around the house independently, leave notes for you, turn the tv on, and start talking. I haven’t read a horror novel that includes puppets before, so thank you, Hendrix, for writing such a creative story that kept me entertained and distracted!

Bret Easton Ellis’s New Novel Releases Tomorrow and We Have Signed Copies!

We only have 8 copies, so if you want one, order a copy online or stop by tomorrow! Also releasing tomorrow  is Grady Hendrix’s new novel, How To Sell a Haunted House and we also have signed copies!

About The Shards: A novel

A sensational new novel from the best-selling author of Less Than Zero and American Psycho that tracks a group of privileged Los Angeles high school friends as a serial killer strikes across the city.

Bret Easton Ellis’s masterful new novel is a story about the end of innocence, and the perilous passage from adolescence into adulthood, set in a vibrantly fictionalized Los Angeles in 1981 as a serial killer begins targeting teenagers throughout the city.

Seventeen-year-old Bret is a senior at the exclusive Buckley prep school when a new student arrives with a mysterious past. Robert Mallory is bright, handsome, charismatic, and shielding a secret from Bret and his friends even as he becomes a part of their tightly knit circle. Bret’s obsession with Mallory is equaled only by his increasingly unsettling preoccupation with the Trawler, a serial killer on the loose who seems to be drawing ever closer to Bret and his friends, taunting them—and Bret in particular—with grotesque threats and horrific, sharply local acts of violence. The coincidences are uncanny, but they are also filtered through the imagination of a teenager whose gifts for constructing narrative from the filaments of his own life are about to make him one of the most explosive literary sensations of his generation. Can he trust his friends—or his own mind—to make sense of the danger they appear to be in? Thwarted by the world and by his own innate desires, buffeted by unhealthy fixations, he spirals into paranoia and isolation as the relationship between the Trawler and Robert Mallory hurtles inexorably toward a collision.

Set against the intensely vivid and nostalgic backdrop of pre-Less Than Zero L.A., The Shards is a mesmerizing fusing of fact and fiction, the real and the imagined, that brilliantly explores the emotional fabric of Bret’s life at seventeen—sex and jealousy, obsession and murderous rage. Gripping, sly, suspenseful, deeply haunting, and often darkly funny, The Shards is Ellis at his inimitable best.

Kait Layton Reviews All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

This book ripped me apart over and over. Stacy Willingham has a way of twisting a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end!

Everyone should read this to find out what happens to Isabelle and her missing son, Mason, but also read this because Isabelle is a strong mamma jamma who deserves some recognition!

all%20the%20dangerous%20things.jpgKait Layton reporting in with a review of All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham which released on January 10th!

This book ripped me apart over and over. Stacy Willingham has a way of twisting a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end!

Isabelle Drake’s toddler son goes missing from his bed in the middle of the night while she and her husband are sleeping. A whole year has gone by and Mason is still missing, Isabelle’s husband has left her, she has not slept a full night since Mason’s disappearance, there has not been a break in the case, and Isabelle’s ex has started a new relationship and seems to have moved on from her and Mason all together.

Isabelle doesn’t give up, though. Even when everyone suspects her, blames her, shames her, and pities her.

Everyone should read this to find out what happens to Isabelle and Mason, but also read this because Isabelle is a strong mama jama how deserves some respect!

Pre-Order Daughters of Victory: A Novel

Local author Gabriella Saab (The Last Checkmate) returns with another fabulous historical fiction: Daughters of Victory, releasing January 24 for $17.99.

Nxq6cnT7MHuyHQF2Nhg5q49Hq6LT2KQJvhMGRIBB5SAAbout Daughters of Victory: A Novel

From the acclaimed author of The Last Checkmate comes a brilliant novel spanning from the Russian Revolution to the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union and following two unforgettable women…their fates intertwined by ties of family and interrupted by the tragedy of war. Perfect for readers of Kate Quinn, Pam Jenoff, and Elena Gerokhova.

Russia 1917: Beautiful, educated Svetlana Petrova defied her stifling aristocratic family to join a revolution promising freedom. Now, released after years of imprisonment, she discovers her socialist party vying for power against the dictatorial Bolsheviks and her beloved uncle, a champion of her cause, was murdered by a mysterious assassin named Orlova. Her signature? Blinding her victims before she kills them. Svetlana resolves to avenge his death by destroying this vicious opponent, even as she longs to reunite with the daughter she has not seen in years.

USSR 1941: Now living in obscurity in a remote village, Svetlana opens her home to Mila Rozovskaya, the eighteen-year-old granddaughter from Leningrad she has never met. She hopes to protect Mila from the oncoming Nazi invasion, but when the enemy occupies the village, Svetlana sees the young woman fall under the spell of the resistance—echoing her once-passionate idealism. As Mila takes up her fight, dangerous secrets and old enemies soon threaten all Svetlana holds dear. To protect her family, she must confront her long-buried past—yet if the truth emerges victorious, it holds the power to save or shatter them. A risk Svetlana has no choice but to take.

Cursed by Marissa Meyer Comes out Tuesday and we have signed copies left!

Snag your copy now so you can come by and get it on Tuesday!

OKsnJEl-TC6RnBTHwImF4Y_CEwycYOmGv34i5XauoPUAbout Cursed

The stunning sequel to Gilded, a young adult Rumpelstiltskin retelling from Marissa Meyer.
Serilda and Gild attempt to break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle before the Endless Moon, when the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and make a wish to return his lover, Perchta, from the underworld. But it soon becomes clear that the Erlking’s hunger for vengeance won’t be satisfied with a single wish, and his true intentions have the power to forever alter the mortal realm. Serilda and Gild must try to thwart his wicked plans, all while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name, freeing the ghosts kept in servitude to the Dark Ones, and trying to protect their unborn child.

Romance, danger, and Serilda’s journey to finding her power as a woman, a mother, and a storyteller make this reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin one that Meyer fans – old and new – will treasure.