Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die – ARC Book Review

Cross My Heart, I hope You Die

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Date published:- will be published on 14th July 2026

Author:- Mallory Arnold

No. of pages:- 352 pages

Genre:- Horror/Thriller

Quick Review:- An absurd book with a weird setting although I actually enjoyed reading this book.

Rating:- 4/5

One isolated cabin. One cheating boyfriend. One plan to get even.

When Nora, Ruby, and Cham discover that they’ve each been dating the same man, what starts as outrage quickly spirals into a plot for revenge. Together they hatch a plan to lure their boyfriend to a romantic getaway in a secluded cabin at the top of a snow-covered mountain.

Only what was meant to be harmless payback soon takes a chilling turn when their not-so-adoring boyfriend is found dead in the cabin. 

Stranded and snowed in, the women begin to look at each other with increasing suspicion. And as tensions rise, hidden motives come to light. To survive, each woman must confront her own demons as they fight to uncover if one of them is the killer, or if something else lurks in the freezing wilderness, waiting to pick them off one by one. 

Three women from different backgrounds, Cham, Nora and Ruby were scammed by their boyfriends–or rather by one person named Jason. The three women began to concoct a plan to lure Jason into this abandoned cabin that Ruby has recently inherited and decided to threaten Jason so they could all get their money back. But when they reached the cabin and when they actually did threaten Jason, someone had already killed Jason. And it is not Cham, Nora or Ruby.

I really like how the story is written in the perspectives of these three women, Cham, Nora and Ruby. Each of these women have different personalities and different jobs coming from different background. I also like the setting of the story, that it is set in deep mountains, where there used to a cult group living in these mountains and that Ruby’s biological parents would have belonged to that cult. The story doesn’t have much twists and turns but then it was quiet enjoyable to read. I like how the friendship developed between the three women and really like the banter between them. The ending wasn’t expected but was good.

Overall, this is a four star rated book and the second book I have read from this author. Looking forward to read more books from this author.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The God and the Gumiho (Fate’s Tale 1) – Book Review

The God and the Gumiho

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Date published:- March 20th 2025

Author:- Sophie Kim

No. of pages:- 432 pages

Genre:- Korean Folklore

Rating:- 4/5

Kim Hani, the once-terrible gumiho known as the Scarlet Fox, spends her days working at a café and trying not to let a certain customer irk her. Seokga, a trickster god thrown from the heavens for his attempt at a coup, spends his days hunting demons and irking a particular gumiho. When a demon of darkness escapes the underworld, and the Scarlet Fox emerges from hiding before quickly vanishing, Seokga is offered a chance at redemption: kill them both, and his sins will be forgiven. But Hani is prepared to do anything to prevent Seokga from bringing her to justice, even trick her way into his investigation.

The God and Gumiho is a story of a fallen god named Seokga who works in the police precinct in New Sinsi. We have Kim Hani who had been killing men and the fate world has named her as “Scarlet Fox”. When Seokga was assigned to find the Scarlet Fox, Kim Hani joins him as his personal assistant so she could make sure he would never find Scarlet Fox. However, another demon entity soon threatens to ruin the city to create Dark World and Kim Hani and Seokga must work together even though they can’t stand each other.

This was actually very interesting story and I am not very much familiar with the Korean folklore but however, I actually enjoyed reading this book. I liked the banter between Kim Hani and Seokga, the story was overall well written. The ending was sad and unexpected but nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book. Worth four stars.

Everything She Didn’t Say – ARC Book Review

Everything She Didn’t Say

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Date published:- will be published on 16th July 2026

Author:- Jane Casey

Genre:- Thriller

No. of pages:- 333 pages

Quick Review:- a fast-paced thriller packed with twists and turns that will keep you up all night.

Rating:- 4.5/5

The perfect place

When Ruth arrives at a cliff-top cottage on the Irish coast overlooking the Atlantic, the last thing on her mind is murder. She and her best friend Maura are spending a month there and she intends to make the most of it.

The perfect crime

But then Ruth wakes up alone, covered in someone else’s blood. Something terrible has happened, and Maura is gone, as if she’d never been there at all.

The perfect witness

Ruth is a suspect, but she’s also the key to finding out what happened. She’s eager to help. But is her version of events the whole story?

Or is the truth everything she didn’t say?

Everything She Didn’t Say is about a woman who named Ruth who wakes up covered with someone else’s blood and her roommate, Maura is missing. Ruth and Maura moved into a cottage near the cliffside to spend a month there but murder was the last thing on Ruth’s mind. Because Ruth was covered in blood, she was the main suspect yet, she recounts the whole story about her life and how she met Maura. But is she hiding parts of the story?

This novel was quiet unputdownable and page turner. I was hooked to the story from the start till the end. There were so many twists and turns, and it was quite enjoyable to read as well. The question of whether Ruth actually killed someone or if her roommate was a psychopathic killer was a burning question in the reader’s mind. I like the characters, particular the two detectives, Bill and Fin and I like the fact that there was a small romance developed between Ruth and Bill briefly.

Overall, this was a great thriller, unputdownable and a page turner. Worth 4.5 stars and looking forward to read more books from this author.

Many thanks to Harper Collins for the invite and Netgalley for providing ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Don’t Let Him In – Book Review

Don’t Let Him In

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Date published:- June 24th 2025

Author:- Lisa Jewell

No. of pages:- 361 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Quick Review:- fast-paced thriller that will keep you up all night.

Rating:- 4.5/5

Three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

This Lisa Jewell thriller was released last year and Lisa Jewell is my go to thriller author–I always buy her books. I must say, this book was so much better than the previous books she had released and I managed to finish this book in a short span of time.

Ash Swain is dealing with her father’s death–her father was pushed to death on the railway tracks by a man. While dealing with the loss, a man, calling himself as Nick Radcliffe sends Ash and her mother Nina a nicely wrapped box and inside the box is what happened to belong to her father’s lighter. Nina and Nick start exchanging notes and eventually, Nick enters into their lives. But Ash feels suspicious of this Nick Radcliffe and begin investigating on him. Meanwhile, in another town, Martha’s husband Alistair disappears frequently and Martha suspects that he is either having an affair or something else…

The story is told in POV of Ash, Martha and of course Nick/con-man. The story is so realistic and it is scary to believe that although this is a work of fiction, this could actually happen in real-life. The story is well written, fast paced and Lisa Jewell has managed to drag the reader into the story. The real name of the con-man is revealed in the end and it scares how it has affected so many lives of the people and breaking the families apart. Initially, the story started out a little slow but then I was hooked into the story towards the middle and couldn’t really put the book down.

Overall, I have to say, this is Lisa Jewell’s one of the best books she has written. Rated 4.5 stars

LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs and The Night She Disappeared.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London with her husband, two teenage daughters and the best dog in the world.

Hot Chocolate on Thursday – Book Review

Hot Chocolate on Thursday

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Date published:- Translated version published 17th February 2026

Author:- Michiko Aoyama

Translated by:- Madison Shimoda

No. of pages:- 208 pages

Genre:- Japanese fiction

Quick Review:- a collection of short stories that deals about emotions and how to overcome them

Rating:- 4/5

Michiko Aoyama was born in 1970 in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. After university, she became a reporter for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney before moving back to Japan to work as a magazine editor in Tokyo. What You are Looking for is in the Library was shortlisted for the Japan Booksellers’ Award and became a Japanese bestseller. It is being translated into more than fifteen languages. She lives in Yokohama, Japan.

Across a bridge in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, a seasonal cherry blossom sits on the river. Nearby is the Marble Cafe, where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favorite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lives of the clientele who frequent this charming little cafe behind the trees…

Without even realizing it, we may touch and change someone else’s life.

Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish… The small, everyday acts that we do can lead to unexpected encounters and reverberate far beyond your own circle and ultimately make a difference in the world.

Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a tapestry of slice-of-life moments that each open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe. What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.

There is an infamous cafe named Marble cafe in Tokyo where a woman writes in her notebook, sitting by her usual seat that faces the cherry blossoms. The young waiter who is working at the Marble Cafe notices the woman who writes by the window and always prepares her favorite drink, hot chocolate. As the story folds, the story mainly is the people around the cafe and their lives spanning from Japan to Australia.

This was a good healing fiction and each short story begins with the color and tells about their emotions and feelings that they are dealing in their lives. This was well written short story, under 300 pages and good for readers who are looking for a quick read.

Overall this is 4 stars.

The Wedding People – Book Review

The Wedding People

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Date published:- July 30th 2024

Author:- Alison Espach

No. of pages:- 367 pages

Genre:- Romance/Contemporary/Chick-lit

Quick Review:- one of the best contemporary genre book I have read. From start to finish, I was hooked into this book

Rating:- 4.5/5

Alison Espach grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut, where she lived for most of her life. She earned her BA from Providence College and her Masters in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, Five Chapters, Glamour, Salon, The Daily Beast, Writer’s Digest, and other journals.

She is currently teaching in New York City.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, without luggage, alone. Everyone in the lobby mistakes her for one of the wedding people at an impending wedding on the site, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t there for the big event.

Phoebe is there because she’s dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe’s plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is a nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

Phoebe Stone, a nineteenth-century literature professor at a university in Missouri arrives to grand Cornwall Inn in Rhode Island, with nothing but just a dress, heels and a bottle of cat’s painkillers. But there is a wedding celebration that is taking place inside the inn and the inn is fully booked for the wedding guests. Phoebe is the only one who is not the wedding guest and she has no interest in taking part in the wedding. Then we have the bride Lila who meets Phoebe in the elevator and the two confide each other about their lives and Phoebe becomes a part of the wedding celebration.

I heard so much raving reviews about this book, so I have wanted to read this book. And yes, this book in my opinion was actually a great read and one of the best books I have read this year. Phoebe is a very interesting character–she could witty, funny, loyal in someway and someone that you would want to hang out with and dwell all your problems to her. Lila, the other main protagonist might be the typical spoilt rich girl and was kind of odd to see friendship brewing between Phoebe and Lila. Then we have other characters like Gary, a doctor who is the groom, Marla, Gary’s sister, Jim, Gary’s ex-wife’s brother.

I like how all the days of the week are divided into wedding preparations. I felt like a part of the wedding preparations as I was reading through this book. There is also a small love triangle set in this book. There were some funny parts in the book that actually made me laugh out loud.

This book lived up to all the hype and I really enjoyed this book. This was the first book I have read from this author and cannot wait to read more from this author. Worth 4.5 stars.

The Man Made of Smoke – Book Review

Title:- The Man Made of Smoke

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Author:- Alex North

Date published:- November 6th 2025

No. of pages:- 400 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Quick Review:- This was fast paced and was actually quiet scary to read.

Rating:- 5/5

he latest gripping serial killer thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Alex North.

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

When Dan Garvie was a kid himself, he managed to escape from an infamous serial killer nicknamed as Pied Piper. However, for years, he was haunted by the image of the boy who was in the bathroom, who seemingly was murdered by the Pied Piper. Now Dan himself is a psychiatrist working with the criminals. He received a call that his father died under unknown circumstances, Dan returns back to the island. As Dan finds out that his father discovered a body of a burned woman in the woods, he realizes that the past has come back to haunt him once again.

This was fast paced and was actually kind of scary to read, particularly the first Prologue part. It felt as if you are watching a horror/thriller slasher movie. I was almost put on the edge of the seat, while reading this book, and the book was so well written that I was instantly absorbed into the story, refusing to put down the book. The story is told mainly in Dan’s POV but we also have Dan’s father’s POV and a boy named James who becomes a victim of Pied Piper in 1998. The way Dan was dealing with emotions and guilt that he experiences that he couldn’t rescue one of the victims he saw that day was too real. Throughout the entire story, I was intrigued and the ending was completely unexpected.

This book in my opinion was better than his Whisper Man which was also a serial killer theme book.

Overall this is worth a five star read.

The Secrets We Hide – ARC Book Review

The Secrets We Hide

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Date published:- will be published on 18th June 2026

Author:- Karin Slaughter

No. of pages:- 416 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:- 4/5

The next thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent Series.

Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.

1601 Iris Drive looks like any other house on the quiet, residential street. But rumors are rampant about the Vickery family, and what goes on behind closed doors.

When gunshots ring out, Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, discover a devastating crime scene. Allison Vickery has been murdered in her own kitchen, and her teenage daughter is bleeding upstairs, left for dead.

Everyone thinks they know what happened. But secrets are buried everywhere in this small town.

And it’s up to Emmy Clifton to uncover the truth…

This is the second book of the North Falls series which will be released on 18th June.

This story takes place the few weeks after the first story happens with the funeral of Emmy’s parents. Emmy is investigating the death of a police officer and dear friend Allison and Allison’s daughter Mindy was also shot in the head and is in critical condition. Emmy thinks it’s a case of domestic abuse but Allison has been working as a private investigator and thinks that it got to do something with the case Allison is involved in, which also involved corrupt officers.

This one there are too many suspects in the story which is impossible to find who is actually responsible for the murder, which is good. Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite crime authors and loved reading Will Trent series and so this book is no exception for me. The book is fast paced, too many situations to rule out, and of course we have the banter between Emmy and Jude and the Jude’s secret. Emmy is struggling as there is going to be an election for the next sheriff soon. There are some twists and turns in the book and the ending was actually a satisfying ending that will lead to what is going to be expected in the next book.

Overall, this book is worth 4 stars.

Many thanks to Harper Collins for the invite and Netgalley for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion.

Alchemy of Secrets – Book Review

Alchemy of Secrets

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Date published:- October 7th 2025

Author:- Stephanie Garber

No. of pages:- 324 pages

Genre:- Fantasy/Romance

Quick Review:- As much as I loved reading Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart series, this book gave me mixed feelings–I kind of liked it, kind of didn’t like it. Anyway, the writing was great.

Rating:- 3.5/5

It starts with a class in an old movie theater.

Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.

With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her.

Stephanie Garber’s books always take you to another world–to a fantastical world with so many magical events. I loved Caraval and Once Upon a Broke Hearts series and so I was super excited to get her latest book.

As much as I liked the book, I am having mixed feelings about the book.

Holland St James has only 24 hours to live according to the Watch Man who predicted that she will die in this time of the day. In order to survive to live on the next day, she needs to find Alchemy of Hearts. Holland is then thrust into a world of magic and Hollywood glamor–she remembers taking a class titled Folklore 517 thought by a Professor, a mysterious box that is inside a Bank and of course the others who want to get their hands on the Alchemy of Hearts.

The story at first was interesting. I do love reading about old Hollywood glamour and scandal. This story does have some similarities to the previous two series and Holland St James sounds similar to the main protagonists of the two series (Donatella from Caraval). The overall story is fast-paced, really liked the mystery behind the Alchemy of Hearts. But the ending was not up to a satisfying level, it didn’t feel magical like I felt in Caraval series and the characters weren’t too likable. Nonetheless, I did like and enjoy the book.

Overall this is 3.5 stars.

As Long as Lemon Trees Grow- Book Review

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

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Date published:- September 13th 2022

Author:- Zoulfa Katouh

No. of pages:- 417 pages

Genre:- Historical fiction

Quick Review:- a heart-breaking and emotional story about a courageous young girl fighting for her country and a beautiful written story

Rating:- 5/5

-about the war and images of the injured

-brutal scenes of war and disaster

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.

Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.

But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.

Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.

Salama was a pharmacy student when freedom fights broke off in Syria. Before that, she had her parents, her brother, Hamza who is a doctor, her sister-in-law and best friend Layla who was pregnant.

But now that the unrest happened between freedom fighters and the military, Salama lost her parents and her brother Hamza who is imprisoned in one of the brutal prisons in Syria. Salama volunteers in the hospital, where she sees death and takes care of injured children and people every day. Salama is however desperate to leave Syria with her pregnant sister-in-law although her loyalty lies with the country. This is a story of how Salama tries to find a way to leave Syria while at the same time, hoping for freedom for her country some day.

This story is beautifully written. The author is clearly a Ghibli fan and I like how Ghibli background is mixed in the story despite the sadness and desperation of the story. The story is too heartbreaking, too emotional to read, particularly the way the brutal Assad regime was treating its citizens. Though the story itself is fictional, the fact that the story is based on the real events that took place in Syria was too horrifying–the bombs, the people fighting for freedom and children and women been the target of the war.

The story is mainly about hope for life, love for country and courageous. Salama is a courageous woman who would do anything for her country to fight for freedom against the brutal regime but also must protect her loved ones that she knew she had no choice but to leave Syria for good. I also like the small love story between Kenan and Salama despite the war and desperation that is taking place in the story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious to learn more about Syria’s recent civil war. Overall five star rating for me.