“Don’t Breathe a Word is a haunting page-turner that kept me up, spine shivering and enthralled, way past my bedtime.”—Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints“Jennifer McMahon never flinches and never fails to surprise…as [she] weaves a young couple into a perverse fairyland where Rosemary’s Baby could be at home.”—Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Murderer’s DaughtersTwo young lovers find themselves ensnared in a seemingly supernatural web that ties them to a young girl’s disappearance fifteen years earlier in this dark and twisty tale from the New York Times bestselling author of Island of Lost Girls and Promise Not to Tell. Jennifer NcMahon returns with a vengeance withDon’t Breathe a Word—an absolutely chilling and ingenious combination of psychological thriller, literary suspense, and paranormal page-turner that will enthrall a wildly diverse audience including, among others, avid fans of Keith Donohue (The Stolen Child), Laura Lippman (I’d Know You Anywhere), and Tana French.(In the Woods). - from Goodreads.com
This was one heck of a creepy yet suspenseful story. Usually if I am not interested in the story within the first 50-100 pages, I won't finish it. This one started out slow, and somewhere in that page range, I was hooked. The story jumps back and forth over two summers, one at present day, the other fifteen years prior. The early one, a girl became missing: this girl was the sister and cousin of two of the characters.
I'm not going to go into detail, but that earlier summer, the sister, brother and cousin, were all mixed up in a make-believe of there being fairies. Up to the point when the girl comes up missing. Throughout the back and forth from that early summer and present day, the story goes flippin' weird. By the time I got to the last chapter, I had no idea what to think, except that this was a pretty creepy, ugly story, and certainly did not seem to have anything to do with the fantasy and fairies. Then I read that last chapter, and was like .... yeah.
Kudos to the author. I read the book in about two days because I couldn't put it down. Four stars ... only because the creep factor was too high.
These are the untold tales of Jonmarc Vahanian, hero of Gail Z. Martin’s best-selling Chronicles of the Necromancer series.Jonmarc Vahanian was just a blacksmith’s son in a small fishing village before raiders killed his family. Wounded and left for dead in the attack, Jonmarc tries to rebuild his life. But when a dangerous bargain with a shadowy stranger goes wrong, Jonmarc finds himself on the run, with nothing ahead but vengeance, and nothing behind him but blood.Soldier. Fight slave. Smuggler. Warrior. Brigand lord. If you’ve met Jonmarc Vahanian in the Chronicles of the Necromancer and Fallen Kings Cycle books, you don’t really know him until you walk in his footsteps. This is the first segment of his journey. - from Netgalley.com
I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for a review.
It has been several years since reading the Chronicles of the Necromancer, but remember Jonmarc. As I recall it, he attracted my attention more, because Martin never really got into his backstory. This collection of short stories are events in Jonmarc's history to explain some of his skills he has later in the Chronicles. For me it was pretty quick read, though I think there are about 8 of the short stories in all.
Gail Z. Martin's books have always grabbed my attention with her ability to weave together characters with a good story line, and throw in some action as well. I look forward to her 'Ascendant Kingdoms' series to grab my attention just as well.
From the New York Times bestselling author of From a Drood to a Kill comes the next Secret Histories adventure... The name is Drood, Eddie Drood, also known as Shaman Bond. My family has been safeguarding humanity for generations, facing the hidden horrors of the world so you can sleep at night and remain oblivious to the existence of the monstrous nightmares that walk and stalk among us. Speaking of predatory night terrors, there is a man who gets away with murder. A man who specializes in removing the problems from other people’s lives, by killing the people who cause those problems. He operates from the darkest shadows of the hidden world, coming and going unseen. No-one knows who he is, just his nomme du muerte. Dr. DOA. Somehow, this demented doc poisoned me. I don’t know how he did it, when or where, but whatever is coursing through my veins seems to be immune to magic cures and treatments. But that’s not going to stop me from finding him and whoever hired him and give them both a taste of their own medicine... - from Goodreads.com
I received a free ARC through Netgalley.com from the publisher, ROC, in exchange for a review.
This is book ten in the Secret Histories story, which is centered around one Eddie Drood, member of one of the most powerful, and secretive families in the world. As expected, the story is a continuation from the previous book, with just a short clip of time having passed in the story world. Eddie, and his girl, a most powerful witch, Molly, get pulled back into the family matters, only to discover that Eddie has been poisoned .... and the rest you can glean from the short synopsis above.
I have read this complete series (to-date) and though sometimes feels a bit predictable, is still entertaining to read due to the snarkiness and sarcasm the characters share with each other. Though there are links to another series by this author (Nightside) I haven't had the desire to try that series yet.I will say one spoiler ... they left a large opening for more books to follow this one.
The third stand-alone Shannara novel in the Defenders of Shannara series, following The High Druid’s Blade and The Darkling Child, easily accessible to new readers of epic fantasy.The daughter of a reviled sorcerer, Leofur is nothing like her dreaded father. When her life-partner, Paxon Leah, leaves on a dangerous mission, Leofur protects Paxon’s sister. When she is abducted Leofur is forced to choose between saving Paxon from a mission gone badly awry, or hiring the services of the best tracker in the world to go after her life-partner’s sister. - from Goodreads.com
The Shannara series of books have been in my reading lists ever since I was a young teenager. I always loved how each trilogy were connected through the characters over different spans of time, using some of the same relics. This newest trilogy, "The Defenders of Shannara" has not dropped that love of this history.
Needless to say, I jumped on this book in a hurry when I found out I was approved for an ARC. I probably should have posted a review much sooner, but had to take some time to process my feelings about the characters. I don't want to throw out spoilers, but it just took me some time to process. Obviously being a third book, it concludes the storyline for this part of the series. Though it had a truly realistic ending, it just didn't fit what seemingly happens in 'fairy-tale' stories. I felt a bit like I was left to hang. Sometimes that is good though, as it leaves a space for the author to come back and fill ... hopefully soon.
Overall the story is one of Brooks typical Shannara tales, filled with quite a bit of action, self-discovery, and changes to the world. I look forward to the next peek into the world of Shannara Brooks brings about, and hope the new television series doesn't take all of his attention away from writing.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review from the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey, through Netgalley.com.
