read Archives

Thirteenth Child, The

“I couldn't have a lifetime, but I could have this moment.” Author: Erin A. Craig Hazel’s parents never wanted her. As a matter of fact, they gave her to The Dreaded End as an infant. Since then, they have none so patiently waited for this thirteenth child of theirs to be taken by the Dreaded End, her supposed godfather. But he never comes. And so Hazel waits for him, year after year, unwanted, unloved, un-celebrated. On her twelfth birthday, after watching her closest brother be given to the dissonant Fractured Ones, The Dreaded End finally comes for Hazel and whisks [...]

Frances Carden2025-09-22T11:22:22-07:00September 22nd, 2025|Tags: book review, botm, fantasy, read, reading|

Dream Hotel, The

“Under the right circumstances, anything can be made into something sinister.” Author: Laila Lalami Sara gets pulled away from her husband and twin infants at LAX, presumably for a routine risk assessment. She is exhausted, angry, irritated. She isn’t at her best. Bad goes to worse when the Risk Assessment Administration decides that her irascibility and their algorithm, which tracks everything from a person’s actions to the content of their dreams, denotes her as a safety risk. She’ll have to go to Madison, a women’s retention center, where she will be monitored for twenty-one days or until the algorithm determines that [...]

Frances Carden2025-09-08T18:37:34-07:00September 8th, 2025|Tags: book review, dream hotel, dystopian, read, reading|

Silent Key

Ghosts and Submarines and Secrets Author: Laurel Hightower He died screaming. His mangled, crushed body still held together enough to show that his last moments were both terrifying and agonizing. No one knows who – or what – killed him. The only clue is the nearly unrecognizable corpse, surrounded by a glut of salt water. Cam is still grieving Tony, her dead husband, but her feelings waver between sadness and hatred. The investigation around his death revealed a long-time mistress, and whatever Tony was involved in, whatever he made angry, is now after Cam and her five-year-old daughter, Samantha. With nowhere [...]

Frances Carden2025-09-07T11:51:00-07:00September 7th, 2025|Tags: book review, ghost, ghosts, horror, read, reading|