Blog Tour | The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon | Review

May 27, 2023 DeAnneLeave a comment

As a therapy exercise, a woman writes a list of people she wants to forgive, and thinks nothing of it when she loses it in an Uber…until one by one the people on the list become victims of freak accidents. Set in Portland, Maine, Hannah Mary McKinnon’s breakout suspense novel THE REVENGE LIST will appeal to fans of Lisa Unger, Joshilyn Jackson, and Tarryn Fisher.

Following an epic run-in with a client who threatened to pull out of a contract at her father’s company if she doesn’t suffer some consequences, Frankie Morgan agrees to go to anger management. With the business struggling with cash-flow and her brother needing help with the medical bills for his sick daughter, she can’t risk harming the business further. But that doesn’t mean she’ll be happy about attending.During the first session, the group is asked to spend some quiet time exploring their pasts and sitting with the emotions that generates, before making a start on a Forgiveness List—a list of people with whom they’re angry and might work on forgiving. She begrudgingly goes along with it and doesn’t worry too much when she forgets the list in an Uber on her way home. It shouldn’t matter—it was just a therapy exercise—except a few days later the first person on that list is injured in a freak accident. When the second person gets hurt, she hopes it’s coincidence. After the third is targeted, she knows it’s a pattern. And she’s in trouble. Because the next name on that list is…hers.

The plot of this one made me eager to pick it up and I’m glad I did. I found this to be a very unique read as we followed Frankie through not only her anger but discovering what happened to her list and what was going on with the people on that list. While she was trying to figure everything out, she was also working through her own internal issues and resentment.

I especially enjoyed that as the story went on, my opinion of Frankie changed over time as she herself grew and moved along in her journey. I think that’s a great thing when the growth of the character can cause your feelings to shift.

Overall I really enjoyed this read and loved that the tension was maintained through most of the book. The ending really surprised me, in a good way. I will definitely check out more of this author’s books in the future.

Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in favor of writing. She now lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons, and is delighted by her twenty-second commute. Connect with her on Facebook, on Twitter @HannahMMcKinnon, and on Instagram @HannahMaryMcKinnon. For more, visit her website, http://www.hannahmarymckinnon.com.

Happy reading!

Review | America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History by Ariel Aberg-Riger

May 9, 2023May 8, 2023 DeAnneLeave a comment

A critical, unflinching cultural history and fierce beacon of hope for a better future, America Redux is a necessary and galvanizing read.

What are the stories we tell ourselves about America?

How do they shape our sense of history,

cloud our perceptions,

inspire us?

America Redux explores the themes that create our shared sense of American identity and interrogates the myths we’ve been telling ourselves for centuries. With iconic American catchphrases as chapter titles, these twenty-one visual stories illuminate the astonishing, unexpected, sometimes darker sides of history that reverberate in our society to this very day–from the role of celebrity in immigration policy to the influence of one small group of white women on education to the effects of “progress” on housing and the environment, to the inspiring force of collective action and mutual aid across decades and among diverse groups.

Fully illustrated with collaged archival photographs, maps, documents, graphic elements, and handwritten text, this book is a dazzling, immersive experience that jumps around in time and will make you view history in a whole different light.

This is exactly the type of book that needs to be in schools and libraries today. Aberg-Riger pulled no punched in their retelling of many different events or trends in American history, and it’s desperately needed right now. While many of the topics explored in this book (eugenics, internment camps, colonization, genocide, racism, homophobia, etc) were known to me in some way, there were some events that I had never heard of or had only seen a brief mention of sometime in my life. Events such as these in American history should be taught and known, it needs to be acknowledged instead of ignored or hidden in order for us to learn.

The visual/mixed media style of this book is another thing I love, it’s eye catching and informative and easy to absorb. I hope to see more books like this in the future rather than less, because honestly, there needs to be. We will never learn from history if we ignore it.

Thanks so much to the publisher for sharing this book with me. Happy reading!

Review | The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill

May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 DeAnneLeave a comment

Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? A middle-grade fantasy graphic novel about passion, duty, and found family.

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what Anya thought it would be?

The nights are cold in the desert and the lunar moths live far from the village. Anya finds herself isolated and lonely. Despite Anya’s dedication, she wonders what it would be like to live in the sun. Her thoughts turn into an obsession, and when Anya takes a chance to stay up during the day to feel the sun’s warmth, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.

K. O’Neill brings to life a beautifully illustrated fantasy world about responsibility to yourself and your community. The Moth Keeper is filled with magic, hope, and friendship.

At this point I will pick up pretty much anything Kay O’Neill writes as I love their whimsical art style and the worlds they create – this story was no different. I loved that this one had a different feel and color palette than previous works, which gave it more of a dreamlike feel. I did find myself wanting a little more background on some of the characters, especially Anya, but the story still felt complete without more detail.

As always I really enjoyed the representation, diversity and lessons that are woven into the story. I appreciated that when mistakes were make, even bad ones, there was support rather than outright anger or blame. It was not only a fantasy story, but commentary on responsibility and community, which I loved to see.

Happy reading!

Review | The Cherished by Patricia Ward

May 7, 2023 DeAnneLeave a comment

For fans of Claire Legrand, Rory Power, and Danielle Vega comes a visceral horror thriller in the vein of Midsommar, as one girl inherits a mysterious house from her estranged grandmother—and a letter with sinister instructions.

Jo never expected to be placed in her absent grandmother’s will—let alone be left her house, her land, and a letter with mysterious demands.

Upon arriving at the inherited property, things are even more strange.

The tenants mentioned in the letter are odd, just slightly…off. Jo feels something dark and decrepit in the old shack behind the house. And the things that her father used to talk about, his delusions… Why is Jo starting to believe they might be real?

But what Jo fears most is the letter from her grandmother. Because if it’s true, then Jo belongs here, in this strange place. And she has no choice but to stay.

With a deadly enemy that cannot be seen, a world that may only be unlocked by a chosen few, and a chilling past that must be unearthed at any cost, The Cherished is an original, hypnotizing contemporary horror—one that will thrill readers of White Smoke, Wilder Girls, and The Hazel Wood.

The premise of this book got me really intrigued and I was excited to pick it up, thinking it was going to be super dark and twisty, but it didn’t quite reach what I was hoping it would. In a lot of books I want to root for or identify with the main character, but in this one it’s hard to do that with the attitude that Jo has most of the book.

I did feel that the book was mysterious and I wanted to see where it was going, but it did seem like a lot of the story was set up in a way. There were also a lot of plot holes that never really god addressed. I almost feel like this was set up with the intent of there being more to the story or further books, but there isn’t.

I wanted to really love this one more than I did, but in the end I was left a little dissatisfied. There were certainly moments where it was fun and I was enjoying it – and I feel with some editing and refinement it could definitely be bumped up higher as the premise was fantastic.

Happy reading!