Andrea Ward

I loved the way the characters come together in this book. The world building is great. We get to see different parts of the kingdom and how they go about their days and the disruption of that. There was plenty of action and drama. Then revelation at the end! Very enjoyable..

He really challenges the definition of everyone. It is easy to write off some people, but as Christians we are not supposed to write people off. So it was a good challenge.

There is a lot want to say, but I am afraid that would be a spoiler. So I will try to be vague. There was a lot of creepy parts that I liked and the use of other documents. The history with the movie added to the creepy factor. There were several parts that were a little too convenient and those took me out of the story. I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. It definitely left me thinking about the story after I finished it. So it's good on that account. Overall I enjoyed the characters and backstory. It felt appropriately creepy.

I love the lake setting and I like how the characters are working through personal issues. The pacing of the mystery, the clues, and the reveal felt off. Rain and Julia were investigating and didn't seem to be getting anywhere until a bunch of stuff came together in the end. They didn't seem to reflect on the information that they found and purposely left Jace out of it. So I didn't really like her investigation style. The solution was well explained and laid out clearly. Overall the mystery just wasn't what I was hoping for, but the interactions outside of that were great.

Another exciting action packed case from Lockwood & Co! Not only did they solve the case, but they are growing as people and a team as well.

Talk about family drama! The sister relationship was strong and powerful. There were so many secrets to uncover as well. All the while fighting off unnatural entities. I really liked the storyline and the characters. The body horror was good as well.

Wow! So much happened in this one. The ‘twist' didn't surprise me, but I didn't need it to because it was well written. The relationships between Briesas and the others in the story were compelling. There were times that the pacing felt slow, but in the end, I think that was on purpose. So I am glad I kept going to the end of the book and now I can't wait to read the next one.

The 1980s setting is really well done. It is done subtly to remind you every so often when it is. The Weinewski family is a wonderful family and Lydia is working hard to keep everyone going. I really appreciate the way people around Lydia support her. The mystery was well done. There weren't that many clues about who it was, but I was pleased by the end of the book. The Polish food and culture was a good interesting addition to set this cozy mystery apart. I really enjoyed this one.

The ending of this book was perfect! The lead up to the ending was tense and I could not have predicted that ending. I like the way hints to the answer of the trunk were sprinkled throughout the book. There were also parts where the pacing was a little slower than I would like. Then a hint would come along and I drawn in all over again. This is a compulsively readable book that will keep you guessing.

This is very meta. We start out reading about how all this got put together and then reading a comic about Mary Tyler Moorehawk and then there are articles about the show and all the behind the scenes drama about it. That is a lot of layers for a graphic novel. It was almost too much, but I also think that maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset to read it. So if you like over the top meta storytelling, then buy a physical copy of this and settle in for a quite a read.

The fall vibes are strong with this one! I was transported to fall in small town Connecticut. It was fabulous!
Then Riley goes to help out at the Inn and gets in the middle of the investigation. There are so many secrets! I like the pacing with how they were resolved. It was not rushed. We found out little by little what the secrets were. The bad guys were caught and then we got a wrap up of how things worked out after that.
I think this is my favorite of the series. So good!

This book is beautiful! The world building is amazing. The characters are wonderful. The writing is lovely. After I finished it, I hugged the book to my chest because I wasn't ready to leave that world yet. I am so glad I took the chance to read this one.

I like the number of suspects. I don't like the portrayal of the victim. I like the hints about the murderer, but the pacing seemed slower than I would like.

This felt like a lovely wonderful and slightly scary fairy tale. The writing was beautiful and definitely made it feel like a fairytale. The downside was that the characters seemed a little flat and hard to connect to, but the writing made that little issue almost forgettable.

I liked the way the relationships develop. Also Angie's brothers are hilarious. The mystery and murderer seemed a little less developed. Overall, the book was enjoyable as is the series.

What a lovely book about growing up and finding your place and your voice! I love the people around Amina and the way they support her.

I didn't like the pacing and didn't connect with the characters like I expected to. It was a fine historical mystery, but not a favorite of mine.

I don't know what took me so long to read this series! It is so good! I like the ambiguous time period and the way the rules of this world are laid out. I like the way Lockwood, George, and Lucy are developing their friendship and working relationships. They are making mistakes and also sticking up for each other. And the ghosts and the mystery! So good.
This might be a new favorite series!

Two thirds of the way through the book I felt like the obvious thing had finally happened and the book could get going. Then 20 pages later, I put the book down and said, “I didn't expect that.” The last third was fast paced and thrilling. It really left me feeling excited about the book. I am glad I kept reading and didn't give up during the slower parts.

This was a good mystery with great characters! I love to see how these characters really care for each other.

There was so much I did not expect about this book! I had heard great things about Grady Hendrix, but this was my first novel of his I read. I expected the formatting to play into the book more, but in the end, I think there was the right balance between looking like a magazine and being a book to read. I expected it to be funnier than it was, but again I felt there was the right balance between humor and horror. Also the horror was better than I expected. I tend to avoid gory horror books and I don't often get creeped out by other kinds of horror. So I can be hard to please with horror novels. This was a good balance of creepy, gory, and a little bit of ‘can't read this in the dark.' I will be reading more Grady Hendrix novels.

Favorite Main Character

From the first sentence, I loved Maggie! She is quirky, often pessimistic, and very introverted. But she is also loyal and determined to protect what she cares about. Add in some romantic tension and you have a great book 1!

I loved the found family aspect and what Wallace does with his knowledge of how to be better. I liked the way the plot wrapped up. But the characters were hands down the best part.
There were a couple digs at Christianity that felt unnecessary, but it might have been an attempt at humor as well.

I think the movie was better. The movie had a better message and wrap up. This felt like a series of events with little purpose.

These characters obviously have a past that makes them feel like a cohesive group, but it didn't make it hard for me to understand even though this is the first book I have read in this series. The characters individually are interesting, but as a group it makes for a compelling read. The mystery was good and the solution had a twist I didn't expect. I like the way the paranormal elements were mixed in with the story. I also appreciated some of the philosophical discussions related to the paranormal as well. This was a unique book and I'm glad I read it.