Title: 
No More Secrets (The Carter Island Trilogy #3)
Author: 
Cate Beauman

Publication Date:
June 22nd, 2021
Genre:
Contemporary


Synopsis:

Three siblings. One year. Everything changes.


Aussie billionaire businessman and pilot Cade Paxton has struggled to put his life back together after suffering a tragic loss. With his purchase of Carter Island Air and recent move to the small Massachusetts island, he sees his chance for a fresh start. Cade’s sole focus is on growing his investment and avoiding romantic entanglements at all costs. But then he hires Rebecca Carter Interiors’ new assistant designer to help him update the aging airport. Cade quickly finds himself fascinated by the sassy beauty who often speaks her mind, talking to him in a way most people wouldn’t dare.


​Single mother Gwenyth Carter has recently been through hell. She’s starting over after several months of nasty surprises. Newly divorced and nearly broke, she’s rebuilding her life one step at a time. Gwen’s certain she has everything she needs: her sweet baby girl, a supportive family, and her dream career. She’s endlessly grateful when the lucrative airport project falls into her lap. But Gwen soon realizes that her new job comes with unforeseen complications, mainly the amount of time she’s forced to spend with her gorgeous client and his sexy accent. Their mutual attraction is undeniable, yet Gwen tries her best to keep a professional distance, even when she recognizes how wonderful Cade is with her daughter. But it isn’t long before Gwen is dealt another unexpected blow that she struggles to handle on her own. Gwen will have no choice but to turn to the one man she’s determined not to want or risk losing what she loves most.

About the Author:

Cate Beauman is the multi-award-winning, international bestselling author of The Bodyguards of L.A. County series and the Carter Island Trilogy. She is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense and contemporary stories.


Cate's novels have been named Readers' Favorite Five Star books and have won the Booksellers' Best Award, Maggie Award for Excellence, the Holt Medallion Award, two-time Aspen Gold Medal, two-time Readers' Favorite International Gold Medal, three-time Readers' Favorite International Silver Medal, and the Readers' Crown Award.


Cate makes her home in New Hampshire with her family and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack.

“The ultimate goal is expansion—expanding the airport in phases and contracting with a major airline to maximize the island’s summer reach. I’d like to bring in flights from D.C., Atlanta, and Miami.”


Gwen blinked her surprise. “Wow, I didn’t realize that was happening.”


He nodded again. “That’s the long-term plan. Infrastructure needs to catch up before we start bringing more people in for a visit, though. I’d say we’re three years away from the full implementation.”


“I see.” She made notes, not sure how much she liked the idea of Carter Island becoming a massive tourist attraction. They had numerous visitors every summer, but this seemed extreme.


“You don’t have much of a poker face, Gwen.”


Her gaze snapped to his. “I’m sorry?”


“You’re frowning.”


“Oh.” She immediately smoothed her features with a polite smile. “I apologize.”


“You’re not much on the idea, then?”


She shrugged. “We’re not looking to turn Carter Island into a summertime circus. It’s unfortunate if Buzz and the council have given you that impression.”


“There’s plenty of room for growth.”


“As a developer, I’m sure that’s your bottom line, but there’s also a need for conservation. I recognize that Thomas was too stuck in his ways when he was mayor. I also understand that Buzz is moving Sanderson in a new direction, but bigger isn’t always better.”


“I agree.”


She nodded decisively. “Good. Because both of the founding families are on board with careful, well-considered growth, but neither the Sandersons nor Carters will tolerate developing to capacity. As a Carter myself, I can assure you that won’t be happening.”


A grin split Cade’s face.


She felt her frown return. “Why are you smiling? What have I said that’s funny?”

​
“You’ve certainly told me.”
Her temper began heating. “This is my home—my daughter’s home. I have a duty to speak up and protect my birthright.” Never again would she be complacent when something didn’t sit right.
“It’s been quite some time since anyone’s put me in my place. Most people wouldn’t dare.”
She jerked her shoulders. “You don’t frighten me much.”
He roared out a laugh, his head tipping back with the deep sound. “Duly noted.”

Title: 
Six Crimson Cranes
Author: 
Elizabeth Lim

Publication Date:
July 6th 2021
Genre:
Young Adult Fantasy

​
Synopsis:

Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.


Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.

​
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama’s betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she’s been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her.

About the Author:


Elizabeth Lim is the author of the critically-acclaimed and bestselling The Blood of Stars duology (Spin the Dawn and Unravel the Dusk), the New York Times bestseller So This is Love, and the USA Today bestseller Reflection. Forthcoming books include the Six Crimson Cranes duology, expected summer 2021 and summer 2022, respectively. 


Elizabeth grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, “Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that’s kinda cool!” But after one of her teachers told her she had “too much voice” in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English. 


Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and she turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel—for kicks, at first, then things became serious—and she hasn’t looked back since.

​
Elizabeth graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. in music and a secondary in East Asian Studies, and she completed her graduate degrees (MM, DMA) at The Juilliard School. She grew up in Northern California and Tokyo, Japan, and now resides in New York with her husband and two daughters.

What is something only you know about Shiori?

She feels guilty that she doesn’t miss her birth mother more .



If you had to describe Shiori using three songs, what would they be?


Brave by Sara Bareilles, Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys, Rise up by Andra Day.



Which supporting character holds a special place in your heart and why?


I love Kiki! She’s sassy, smart, and is the perfect companion and best friend that Shiori could have. Shiori spends a lot of the book unable to speak, but she can still communicate with Kiki and it was such a joy writing their scenes together.



What did you love the most about writing this book?


Honestly, I loved almost all of it! But if I had to pick a favorite, I loved the scenes where XXX (name redacted for spoilers) tells Shiori that they’ve been searching for the missing princess, and since she’s taken a vow of silence and is under disguise she can’t tell them that she is in fact Shiori. Those scenes have so much angst and emotion, I loved writing them!



According to your author bio, you grew up in both Northern California and Tokyo, Japan. How did that binational experience influence your storytelling style?



I’d have to say that I’m grateful to my parents for having had the chance to live in Asia. Before I moved to Japan, I’d spent my whole life in the United States, and it was really eye-opening to live in a country that focuses on the greater community rather than the individual. I’m not sure how exactly my binational experience influenced my storytelling style, but it definitely shaped me as a person and has made me more appreciative of the cultural values that my parents tried to instill in me (filial piety and respect for elders, societal harmony, working hard and not giving up) and I think those values instinctively show up in my characters and stories.



Have you read any debut authors this year that you feel are writers to watch? If so, who?
​

Yes! Of the debut authors I’ve read for 2021, look out for June Tan (Jade Fire Gold), Xiran Zhao (Iron Widow), and Laura Rueckert (A Dragonbird in the Fern)! 

     'Sairō’s Claw (A Gensokai Novel)' by Virginia McClain is a multiple narrative tale following a split storyline that features sword-wielding lesbians, mind-blowing sea battles, and a grumpy wolf spirit trapped in a sword. The representations are pretty diverse, including a gender-neutral blood mage and what just might be a bit of a grey-ace ship captain (which I LOVE). 

The action-adventure adult fantasy focuses largely on the converging tales of Torako and Kaiyo, encompassing those close to them on each side of the conflict. 

Torako is a walking legend.. bordering on myth. She stalks the valley she calls home, dispatching would-be dangers and protecting the people who share the land. When she runs across a group of bandits who attack her and threaten her daughter, they too join the number she has defeated.. but the katana she loots off one of the corpses turns out to be possessed by a surly wolf kami.

Upon returning home from a confrontation, she finds her wife, Raku.. has been abducted and their daughter, Itachi hiding tearfully nearby. Certain she's somehow angered the spirits, she's nonetheless determined to save the love of her life. With no one to care for the child, Torako launches her campaign carrying their daughter along with her.

Kaiyo is subject to plenty of rumors of her own. As Captain of the Wind Serpent and heir to rule the land she grew up in, she's above all.. someone who follows her admirals orders. She may be rebellious at home where her mother's idea of traditions are concerned, but she's long ago carved out her place in the Kaigun military. Still, when she receives a missive commanding her to abduct a civilian scribe with the help of fifteen of the worst criminals the dungeons hold, she makes her objections known.. but again, follows orders.

This story starts out like still waters before a storm, but that peace is brief. There's a short window of time within which to get to know all the major characters a bit, and then the group is drawn inexorably toward one another. You know there's going to be a serious collision when it happens and you're not left waiting long to see it.

McClain does a beautiful job painting the textures of her characters with detailed strokes. There's incredible tenderness in some and a cool, calculating method to others. Each of the supporting characters has a fleshed-out identity, which helped me to connect with them easily and made them distinctively memorable. I definitely became quickly invested with people on both sides of the conflict.

Her action sequences are visually exciting, without being overstimulating to the point you don't even know what's happening. At times, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat watching a scene play out, hoping for certain things to occur.. or in some cases, hoping they wouldn't.

Inspired closely by feudal Japan, the world-building is elegant and deeply layered. She even includes a glossary of words either taken directly from the influence or created from it and their translated meanings, though there are also a handful of words spread throughout the book that are more common usage and not specifically defined.

Honestly, I loved this book so much I didn't even want to put it down. The prose is comfortably eloquent, but not flowery. As with everything, McClain seems to walk that fine line down the middle with ease.. giving us enough to be immersive and never throwing anything at us that will kick us out of the story and leave us head-scratching. I'm eager to see where she goes from here and highly recommend giving this a chance if you like multi-cultural adult fantasy.

Author Info:

Virginia McClain is an author who masqueraded as a language teacher for a decade or so. When she’s not reading or writing she can generally be found playing outside with her four-legged adventure buddy and the tiny human she helped to build from scratch.

She enjoys climbing to the top of tall rocks, running through deserts, mountains, and woodlands, and carrying a foldable home on her back whenever she gets a chance. She’s also fond of word games, and writing descriptions of herself that are needlessly vague.

    I am so thrilled Tor Teen and Sarah Henning granted me this interview, just in time for Pub Day!

Henning is the bestselling author of The Princess Will Save You. Her newest offering, book two in the series.. The Queen Will Betray You, releases today! 

Title:
The Queen Will Betray You
(The Kingdoms of Sand & Sky Trilogy)

Author:
Sarah Henning

Publication Date: July 6th 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Synopsis:

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE CROWN…

After a thousand years of political stability, the realm of The Sand and Sky is up for grabs. Four kingdoms, four rulers vying for the ultimate prize, sovereignty over the entire continent: A ruthless old king spinning webs, whose schemes encompass generations. A widowed queen whose only credo is all kings must die. A runaway queen whose unexpected return upends everyone’s plans. And a prince-in-waiting determined to wait no more.

Standing against them are a dispossessed princess and her stableboy love with a surprising claim of his own. Their only hope in the face of unspeakable betrayals, enemies hidden in the shadows, and insurmountable odds is the power of true love...


The Kingdoms of Sand & Sky Trilogy
Book 1: The Princess Will Save You
Book 2: The Queen Will Betray You
Book 3: The King Will Kill You (forthcoming)

About the Author:

SARAH HENNING is the author of Sea Witch, Sea Witch Rising, Throw Like A Girl, and The Princess Will Save You.

She is a recovering journalist who has worked for Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star, and Associated Press, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department.

Of the three series you're in the midst of, which character is most challenging to write and why?


While writing The Queen Will Betray You, I actually found Luca’s point-of-view scenes the most difficult. It’s funny because in the first book I identified with him most (we’re both non-confrontational morning people!) but in the second book most of his journey is really him learning to grow into who he is. It’s very personal to him, yet means very much to those with him that he steps up to all the expectations he faces. I found it much easier to write those changes in him externally, through other character points of view. I rewrote his scenes over and over again during the course of writing this book. At once point, I even pulled his whole arc of chapters out of the main manuscript so I could interface with them without the rest of the story around. Even though it took so long to get him right, it was worth it in the end!


What would you say is Amarande's greatest motivator?


Love is definitely her motivation. For Luca, for her people, for the other women in the continent held down by the extreme patriarchy that rules the Sand and Sky.


If you had to describe Amarande and Luca's journey so far with three images, what would they be and why?


This is a hard one because their journey isn’t over! (The King Will Kill You is out in summer 2022). I would say:
1. Clasped hands — because true love!
2. Horses in sand — because of their journey!
3. Artfully spilled blood — because, well, yeah.


Can you share something about Amarande and Luca that isn't in the books?


Luca very much enjoys making errands at the market and knows nearly every vendor by name. And though she tries to act annoyed with having to dress up and wear jewelry and get her hair done, Amarande actually really likes being pampered, especially after hours of training.


Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what might be on the soundtrack for The Queen Will Betray You?


I don’t listen to music while I write but I listen to music around my writing sessions, like when I go running or when I’m in the car. I create a playlist for each book, and in the case of The Queen Will Betray You, I simply added to the playlist I already had for The Princess Will Save You because even though the story is different, the characters and their feelings are still pretty solidly the same. Taylor Swift’s last three albums each had music I added to the playlist I had going for these characters. In particular, “The Man,” “The Archer,” “Mad Woman” and “Epiphany” were all really songs that were big for me with Queen!


I read that you were a sports journalist before becoming a novelist, but if you weren't writing or running competitively, what do you think you'd be doing?


I was a sports journalist—I’m a sucker for a good athlete narrative of someone who puts in the hard work, survives everything that’s thrown at them, and then wins! Honestly, many of my journalism school friends became lawyers, so perhaps I would’ve gone on to do that. But for me writing was always it!


What was the first book you read that made you want to be an author?


I feel like I always wanted to be an author, so this is a little bit of a tough question. But the book I remember reading and then forcing into the hands of others was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.


I know you've said you have written adult crime fiction, as well as your young adult fantasy and contemporary novels. Do you have a genre preference?


I actually don’t have a preference—I just want to tell a good story! I’ve been very fortunate that the industry has allowed me to write broadly so far. I haven’t been pigeonholed into one area or another, and I appreciate that. I want to write broadly and challenge myself. It makes me a little more difficult to market, I suppose, but I definitely appreciate variety. I see it sort of like being an actor—I’m someone who doesn’t want to always play the same type of part if I can help it.

Blood Like Magic
Liselle Sambury
Publication Date: June 15th 2021
Genre: Dark Urban Young Adult Fantasy

​
Synopsis:
Content Warnings: Whipping scene within the context of slavery, gun/police violence, discussion of and character with an eating disorder, blood/gore/violence, death, substance abuse/addiction, mentions of child neglect.


A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.


After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees—and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.


Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy—and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc—how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?

​
With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything.

Author Bio:

Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian-Canadian author who grew up in Toronto, and her brand of writing can be described as “messy Black girls in fantasy situations.”

​In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to helping demystify the sometimes complicated business of being an author.

​She is represented by Kristy Hunter at The Knight Agency.

What's the most surprising thing you discovered about Voya while writing this book?


I had an interesting experience where during edits with my publisher, I realized that I had her internal motivation wrong. I thought she wanted one thing from her life but came to understand that she wanted something very different. It was surprising because I had done so many edits by then, you would think I would have her down, but that was something new I discovered and am happy I was able to correct.


How did writing Blood Like Magic change you?


I definitely learned a lot about my personal history during the creation of the novel. Ancestry is such a core theme, and I finally pushed myself to find out some of the story of where I came from. I think I have more appreciation for asking family members those sorts of questions now.


Where did your love of storytelling come from?


Since as long as I can remember, I have always told myself stories in my head well before I was ever reading them. I feel like that mostly came from being an only child, to be honest. You really have to rely on yourself for entertainment and that was how I entertained myself. Once I started writing them down, I really enjoyed the escapism of it and being able to see a physical representation of my stories that I could look back on.


How does your life inform your writing?


I do very naturally incorporate things that occur in my life into my writing. If I’ve had an impactful experience, I tend to want to discuss and explore that in prose. I also find that it tends to work out better if I put some of myself into the work, even if it’s just constantly setting my stories in Canada.


What's your favorite under-appreciated novel?


I think every novel I’ve read and loved has had some sort of acclaim, but one that I thought was wonderful and wish people would talk about more is Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour. It’s just so beautifully written and emotional, and such an interesting twist on a ghost story. I think it also really speaks to a longing desperation to belong, which I loved.


If this story had a playlist, what would be on it?


I did actually make a playlist! Some songs I have on it are Togetherness by Alison Hinds, which is a song that I remember fondly from when I went to Caribana as a child and is kind of perfectly fitted to the book. I also included Past Lives by BORNS because of the way that the past and those who come before us affects the characters.


What do you hope readers take away from this book?


I hope more than anything that they enjoy it as an urban fantasy. I think there are messages like feeling that you have the power to control your future that I would love readers to marinate on. But I would also truly love for them to see it as a fun addition to the genre.

   'Star Eater' by Kerstin Hall, takes place in Aytrium, a dystopian fantasy land where an order of women called the Sisterhood wield all the power. Males and those from non-magical bloodlines are second class citizens, but being a sister isn't necessarily optimal either. 

Elfreda Raughn is just an acolyte. Her best friends are both non-magical, Millie and Finn.. they're also the only family she's got. She wants out of the Sisterhood and all the ritualistic activities they center their lives around.

When a shadowy faction offers her an opportunity to avoid some of the most trying day-to-day duties, she agrees to spy for them. Her tasks give her access to a world she's never seen before. The elegant parties, twisted games, and dangerous interactions that only the leaders amongst her order engage in.. but surviving them may be another story.

Conceptually it's an intriguing story with incredibly dark elements. Not only do the Sisters engage in blood magic, it's quite frankly a brutal existence. Even those at the top have to sacrifice heavily, having more power only enables them to choose between those sacrifices a bit more aggressively and in Aytrium, none of the choices are good.

Hall manages to take some truly horrific acts and make them so palatable that they seem almost acceptable within the structure of the story. Which, isn't to say there isn't an occurrence here and there that's methodically too much even under the expectations she sets.

I enjoyed the multi-tiered conflict. The characters have plenty of internal struggles, but there are also waves and waves of conflicts overlapping and crashing into each other amongst the citizens of Aytrium. Though I did feel the ending was a little anti-climactic for me, the path from about the midway point of the book up to that conclusion hits pretty hard and fast. In fact, there's a moment it the city that is really rough emotionally.

While overall the story was pretty enjoyable, the beginning was a big of a slog. Somehow the author both over-describes and under-describes.. and I've genuinely never seen that before. Meaning, she'll give an eye-view of nearly everything the character comes across, but she doesn't actually describe any of it in enough detail so as to be easily visualized or memorable. The overuse of group names within the order is also a bit out of hand. 

Fortunately, after the first third or so of the novel, that clears up as the plot itself becomes more dense. The book is definitely still worth a read, as it improves considerably from that point on and by the halfway mark or so, I didn't want to put it down anymore. If you're sensitive to graphic scenes, blood, gore, or death.. this book might not be for you. 

  I'm pleased to be participating in the cover reveal for 'Empire of Dragons' by Rachel L. Schade!

Synopsis:

Save the empire...or let it burn.

Revenge failed her...

Three years ago, Lo’laeni Nolanhou did the unthinkable, slaying the empress of the cruel Alrenian Empire and freeing her people, the Forwyn slaves. But the price of revenge wasn’t freedom, only guilt. Vowing to never kill again, Lo dedicated her life to the god Elhani, serving as a nun within the Circle of Serenity to fight against the injustices still wrought against her people in the torn capital of Alrenor.

Then Caesiem, a handsome and mysterious Teramese boy aligned with an underground Forwyn vigilante group, flips her world upside down. The unrest growing within Alrenor is worse than Lo realized. Corruption is everywhere...and the Forwyn vigilantes want an empress slayer.

Revenge fuels her...

For years, Empress Jaliana, Daughter of Karye, has been a captive in her own palace. A prisoner to her mother’s killers. A powerless pawn, alone and unable to take back her throne, her dragons, or her kingdom.
​
Until one night a never-before-seen gift manifests itself within Jalie. It’s terrifying. Brutal. Everything she has ever needed. But the Forwyn won’t give in easily. They task Kovi, a young soldier, to watch over her, and he challenges everything she’s ever believed about her enemies...


One empire. An age-old hatred. Two girls who will risk anything—even their souls—for their people.

Author Bio:

​Rachel L. Schade was born on the first day of summer in a small town in Michigan. She attended The Ohio State University to learn how to write obnoxiously long papers, cite people who use big words, and discuss her passion: books. She has a great love for the color blue, sunshine, chocolate, and not folding her laundry. Currently she lives in Ohio with her husband and surrounds herself with books, coffee, and furry creatures on a regular basis.

   'The Maidens' is the newest release from Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of the debut sensation 'The Silent Patient.' A psychological thriller housed within St. Christopher's College, Cambridge, the author binds mystery and murder to themes of classic Greek mythology.

Told primarily through the narrative of Mariana, a group psychotherapist who's a year into mourning for her late husband, the woman is drawn back to the place where their love story began by what is quite likely the only thing that could motivate her to set foot there. A call for help from her niece, Zoe, regarding her best friend's murder.

Drifting between the memories of their courtship haunting her still and the secrets stacking up around her that seem to be held tightly by both the students and faculty members, Mariana struggles to put the pieces together. Strangeness is afoot amongst a select group of students referred to as The Maidens and their darkly charismatic professor, Edward Fosca.

From the opening pages, Michaelides captures grief exquisitely, affixing it to the page with the expertise of a collector.. as if it's a butterfly pinned neatly under glass for the rest of us to study. Above all else, it's the ability to convey those emotions.. so richly textured, that inextricably bound me to this story through its end.

It certainly doesn't hurt that the author himself seems to be well-read. More than once, though I was loathe to put the book down, I found myself pausing in search of referenced writings that I'd never cared enough to read prior. His romantic description behind Tennyson's grief drove me to read the 3,000 line masterpiece, 'In Memoriam.' I researched theses for Antigone, dissertations on Euripides, and though Aristotle is one of my favorites.. this book had me viewing 'The Poetics' through a different lens entirely.

Periodically, snippets of another narrative appear throughout the book. Snippets of what could be diary entries from an individual who has known great suffering and may in fact be inflicting the same on others. Interestingly enough, there are so many choices presented by the author, that it's difficult to even stick with a guess as to who it might be. 

Eloquently penned, the story moves at a steady pace, weaving.. labyrinthine through the lives affected by the murder. Those ripples reaching in some cases much farther than we might anticipate, creating more difficult situations on top of the first. 

Though Michaelides did keep me guessing to the end, my only complaint is that I felt almost cheated. I felt robbed of the moment where I might look back and say to myself, "I should have seen that," because it wasn't there. It wasn't just subterfuge and misdirection, it was a blank canvas. I like to call it the 'Saw' treatment.. and never have I been so infuriated by a film.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the book. In a lesser writer's hands that feeling would have won out, but it's just so beautifully crafted and so emotionally driven.. that I forgive him for taking a path that just personally displeases me. I'm truly grateful for having read this story, I haven't been so immersed in a long time.

If you like tense thrillers with a psychological bent and an elegant, artistic approach.. this is the book for you. 

​'Constellations of Scars' by Melissa Eskue Ousley had such an unusual premise, I just couldn't pass it up. The story follows Amelia, a girl in her early twenties with one incredibly unique attribute. Her body grows pearls.

Every month, a crop of valuable pearls breaks through the skin along her back. Her mother considers it a blessing, but to Amelia it's the opposite. It's painful and humiliating. Each harvest offers a brief respite from the agony of the crop, but the scars left behind are almost as embarrassing as the cause.

Kept hidden, home-schooled, and even locked away at times in the attic to 'keep her safe,' Amelia just dreams of freedom. Having been told since the pearls began growing that if anyone finds out about her gift, she'll be held captive out of greed, she soon realizes she's already in that situation at home.

This is such a strange little story and I mean that in the nicest way. Amelia is not a weak girl, she really suffers with the crops of pearls and she has been through an awful experience with her mother. She's been isolated and controlled for almost half her life, stripped of any semblance of privacy, berated and abused.

Determined to achieve a better existence for herself, she sets goals and pushes hard toward them. She doesn't give up at the first sign of difficulty. Amelia is probably one of the strongest female protagonists I've ever read, without becoming overbearing or being turned into a tough stereotype. She shows moments of vulnerability, but perseveres.. even in the worst of them.

Along the way, she finds a new family.. a group of human oddities that help run a museum on the coast. While she discovers what it's like to be on her own, experiences a lot of firsts, and even begins to form deep, long-lasting relationships.. not everything is sunny in the beachside town. There are dangers lurking that she isn't equipped to recognize.

While I did see part of the twist coming, it still went a completely different direction than I expected and I really enjoyed that. The supporting cast is a bit stereotyped, but they were lovely characters.. especially Gabriel.

If you're looking for something a bit strange, this one is a quick read. There is quite a bit of darkness here, but that just added to the atmosphere. It's not complex storytelling, but I think you'll find it's so intriguing that you won't mind.