Lock the Doors

Lock the Doors

by Vincent Ralph

When Tom, his mother, his new stepfather, and his new stepsister move into their new home, he's the only one who notices or cares that there are tiny little holes on the doors to his and his stepsister's rooms. Confused about why they are there and certain it means something, Tom goes in search of answers to the mystery.

Not long after moving in, a new girl starts at his high school and he realizes that she and her family were the former owners of his house and that they just moved a few houses down the block. Their new home is bigger but they've also added walks, metal spikes, and a security gate. 

Are they keeping people out or in?

With Tom's history and his mother's dangerous ex-boyfriends haunting his thoughts, Tom is determined to make sure no one else should suffer like he has in the past.

What he doesn't realize is that solving this mystery could put more than just himself in danger.

Final thoughts: This is a mild psychological thriller that is more realistic than scary. This is a very slow burn that takes a while to get to the point. There are some logistical errors here and there (or I just missed the explanations for them). The primary narrator is Tom but about 20% of the novel is told from Amy's (the new student) point of view to fill in some blanks. If you like "safe" mysteries/thrillers that don't really cause too much stress, this may be a good pick.

Rating: 3/5

These Deadly Games

These Deadly Games

by Diana Urban

Crystal and her friends are MortalDusk gamers with a streaming following and a real chance at winning the tourney for a cash prize. For Crystal, that prize means helping her mom keep her house so there's a reason she needs to be on that team and win.

Right now, there's a competition within her team to get one of the five spots allowed in the tourney and Crystal is behind. MortalDusk is all she is focusing on.

But all that suddenly doesn't matter when she gets a text on a mysterious app that has appeared on her phone. The app has control of everything and it shows a video of Crystal's little sister tied up in a dark room along with the hand of someone holding a very big knife. 

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

The game starts with a few "innocent" pranks, but soon turns deadly.

Crystal needs to save her sister, but is she willing to risk the lives of her friends and MortalDusk teammates? 

Final thoughts: This horror/thriller YA novel has a solid premise and some good moments, but also some WTF ones. If she's on a timer and needs to get some place fast, why does she suddenly stop and chat with her friends? The provides some exposition and character development, but doesn't fit with the structure overall. The app creator and game "host" is pretty obvious early on and the flashbacks are dead giveaways to the why, but it still has some interesting events. This is another one of those books that feels like it's meant to be sold for screen rights.

Rating: 3/5

ARC from NetGalley

A Bad Day for Sunshine

A Bad Day for Sunshine

by Darynda Jones

Sunshine Vicram has returned to her hometown with her freshman daughter, Auri, in tow. Despite having tried to run as far away as possible (about 30 minutes), she's back and she has somehow become sheriff of Del Sol without even knowing she was running. (How do you win an election you didn't put your name in for?)

On the plus side, she's living in her parents' backyard in an "apartment" they'd had built just for her and her daughter (as if they KNEW she would win that election she didn't enter) and she's got her forever BFF as her deputy.

She also starts her first day with a flasher, a rooster-napper, a car through the window of the sheriff's office building, a kidnapping, and a run-in with the guy she has crushed on since she they were kids.

She'll take on the kidnapping as the easiest of the things to deal with.

At the same time, Auri is at her first day of high school in a new town and she's starting on a bad foot since just a few days prior, her mom's BFF deputy raided the completely secret but known by everyone high school party and confiscated the beer (for himself). Now Auri is suspecting of being a narc and the student body pretty universally hates her. Except for Cruz. He is difficult to read, but doesn't seem to be anti-Auri.

Now both mom and daughter must pool their resources to figure out why someone would take another freshman who looks a lot like Auri and how to stop that freshman's prophetic dreams of dying before her 15th birthday from coming true.

Final thoughts: I LOVE Darynda Jones and all of her snark. There are some very Charley-ish moments here (and a reference, so we're in Charley-land!), but the vibe between mother and daughter brings on a different feel. Plus we get swoons for multiple ages now so RL moms can start sharing this with their older teen daughters. Some of the plot points are obvious and future stories can also be predicted, but Jones weaves a complicated web for all of her characters and this is really a joy to read. The only negative that I had was with the formatting of the Kindle ARC since the two ladies trade off points of view for the story and it sometimes isn't immediately obvious that we've switched with the formatting as it currently appears. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Long May She Reign

Long May She Reign

by Rhiannon Thomas

Freya isn't really in to court life. She'd rather perform experiments in her lab and develop new scientific formulas than dance at the palace. She's got plans to leave home and make her way to places where she can learn and practice, far away from the court. 

She's 23rd in line, anyway; it's not like she'll ever really be needed by the royal family.

But when tragedy strikes the entire court during the king's anniversary on the throne, Freya is suddenly queen and she is definitely not ready.

Can Freya become the queen that her kingdom needs or will she be the next to face a tragic fate?

Final thoughts: Messy. I'm just not sure what to do with this one. It's a new world with new ideas? Or is it a dystopia? Is her father a great guy or a great manipulator? Who can she really trust? Will she ever be able to trust anyone? Will she be a scientist or a queen? Can she be both? None of these questions are really answered anywhere. The whole thing just feels a little off and the ending was just kind of there. It's not necessarily a bad book, it's just kind of bleh. Read it or not. It fills a couple of hours.

Rating: 3/5

The Ghost Files

The Ghost Files

by Apryl Baker

For Mattie Hathaway, every day is a day that she has to work to ignore the ghosts around her. She gained this curse after her mother tried to kill her when she was five and she's be traveling the foster home circuit ever since.

Normally, she just ignores them and they eventually go away.

But this time, she can't.

She can't ignore the ghost standing before her at the party with the gunshot in her head and the gag over her mouth.

She can't ignore her because she's Sally, the other foster girl living at her current home.

Now she's got to find a way to stop the killer before another child is murdered.

And now the murderer knows she's coming.

Final thoughts: This should be my kind of story. I'm a huge fan of stories that feature female characters who can see the dead (see my reading history if you don't believe me). However, Mattie is extremely dull as a character and her flashbacks are more like someone retelling a memory instead of actually seeing it take place. Her relationship with the rookie cop is awkward and makes me think the author is setting up for this to be her brother or something, especially considering the often repeated thoughts and comments about loving each other, but maybe not loving each other romantically and the fact that he was adopted. The end is a little graphic, yet doesn't really stir any emotions. And I'm starting to think this is a Charley Davidson YA knock-off with her seeing ghosts who thinks she's "bright" along with Reaper references. I kind of want to read the next one, only to see if my hunches are correct, not out of any desire to continue the story.

Rating: 2/5

Need

Need

by Joelle Charbonneau

Do you NEED something? Something that you can't get anywhere else? Something that no one else can give you?

Do you have a NEED? Or do you just want something?

Do you NEED an iPad? Or do you just want it?

Do you NEED a home gym? Or do you just want it?

What would you do to get what you want? What would you go through to get what you NEED?

Final thoughts: This was a little messy and confusing. There were too many POVs from too many characters, so there just was no depth to them. Many of the choices made no sense, though that actually kind of makes sense since many high schoolers make very poor choices online. The first half was pretty decent and built up the tension. The second half kind of fell apart. SPOILERS: The idea that the government would conduct experiments that would include multiple murders with no real reason makes no sense. I actually understand the one guy since the government might want an emotionless killer, but what's with killing off everyone else? Why give nuts to the allergic girl? Why change the meds in the cabinet? It makes no sense. END SPOILERS. I can see teens picking this up because of the premise and the cover, but I'm not sure they'll like the last quarter of the book.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase

by Jonathan Stroud

It's been over 50 years since the Problem arrived.

There had always been ghost stories around the world, but a sudden increase in paranormal activity has changed everything. Now adults come in at sunset, line their doorways and windows with salt and iron, and send children out to get rid of the spirits that haunt the land.

Lucy Carlyle comes to London after a disastrous ghostly encounter. She wants to get away from the bad vibes and get a job with a company that will respect her talents and instincts.

She finds what she's looking for with Lockwood & Co.. Most of their jobs are pretty small and easy, but they occasionally get a tough one that requires a firm hand. One of those jobs goes more than a little sour and now Lockwood & Co. needs a small miracle to stay in business.

With the necklace of a dead girl in her possession (that happens to be possessed), a ghost head in a jar, a murder mystery to solve, and a big payday on the way, Lucy and her colleagues have one night to clear a manor of some of the most dangerous ghosts ever located... and they also have to survive where no one else has.

Final thoughts: Cute mystery book probably aimed at upper elementary and middle school kids. Has a few great moments, a few good ones, and only a few bad ones.  Nice read. Recommend for preteens.

Rating: 4/5

Wickedpedia

Wickedpedia

by Chris Van Etten

Everyone knows that Wikipedia is awesome!  If you need to get some information for a report, start with Wikipedia.  And if your teacher isn't very tech savvy, you can even lift information straight from the site and into your paper.

When Cole catches his rival (and ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend), Josh, cheating, he decides to play a little prank and make sure that his ex can see what a cheater Josh is.  By simply adding a few paragraphs to an entry on American serial killers, Cole sets a little trap that has Josh doing an oral report on Cereal Killers like Frank N. Berry, the Rise-and-Dine Killer.

After that stunt, Cole decides to go even further and write a few Wikipedia articles on his ex, her boyfriend, and a few more.  In his articles, he depicts them all at their worst and even includes a death for each one.

But everything changes when the first person dies... just like he wrote it.  When the next attack happens, Cole realizes that there are no coincidences.  Now he needs to figure out how to stop the killer before it's too late.

Final thoughts:  This had sooo much potential.  I was really into it.  And then it ended.  Really.  It just ended.  Huge climactic scene and then it just ends.  There's no real resolution.  No denouement.  Nothing.  Maybe there's a problem with my book?  Maybe it's missing the last chapter?  I hope so because otherwise the end is a massive disappointment.  This is an ARC, so there's still potential for that to get fixed, as well as the errors in grammar and a few name mistakes.  I enjoyed the story overall, but that ending... ugh.

On a side note, that book description online is WRONG.  There are things referenced that never happened.  Maybe they got edited out after the description was written.  Bad book jacket descriptions always bug me, so this is a personal pet peeve, but also important for the publisher to fix.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Rating: 3/5 (would have been 4 if not for that ending)

Paper Valentine

Paper Valentine

by Brenna Yovanoff

In January, Lillian died from starvation as a result of anorexia.  It's July and she's still around, haunting her best friend, Hannah.

It's the hottest summer on record and death is everywhere.  Dead birds line the streets and dead bodies are starting to appear.  Young girls aren't making it home alive and they need Hannah to find their killer.

Leaving behind paper valentine hearts and children's toys at each crime scene, the killer is leaving clues though the cops have no leads.  But Hannah has something the police don't: witnesses.  The girls themselves are reaching out to Hannah and begging her to stop the murders.

When the killer gets too close, Hannah runs out of time.

Final thoughts: This was OK.  There was a lot to offer with this story, but I finished it and felt unfulfilled.  I wish that things had been more fleshed out.  I wish the haunting was more explained, especially since it felt like it wasn't even real for so long.  I kept expecting Hannah to realize that there weren't really ghosts and that she was a little crazy.  Maybe some of this was because Hannah kept reading like she was a child herself instead of the high school student she was supposed to be. It wasn't just that she came off as naive; she also seemed childlike in her words, her emotions, and her overall demeanor.  Her younger sister behaved as if she was older.  There were also unanswered questions like the birds and why Finny had such a terrible reputation.  Decent book, but not great.

Rating: 3/5