I Know a Place – ARC Book Review

I Know a Place (Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours)

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Date published:- will be published on 5th May 2026

Author:- Nat Cassidy

Genre:- Horror/Thriller

No. of pages:- 512 pages

Quick Review:- I know a Place is a collection of short dark horror stories. While some stories did give you jump scare and made you feel like you are on the edge of the seat, some of the horror stories are OK and maybe little boring. However, overall, this is a highly entertaining horror book you can read in one go

Rating-; 4/5

-Gory and bloody scenes that maybe disturbing to some readers

-disturbing deaths

A diabolical, haunting, and unforgettable horrorshort story collection from USA TODAY bestselling author Nat Cassidy, featuring his unique blend of gleefully terrifying fiction, and including his Bram Stoker Award–nominated novella Rest Stop.

There are locations in this world where the light doesn’t seem to reach. Where, no matter how illuminated the place might be, shadows creep in too strongly to fight back.

A suspiciously empty gas station rest stop in the middle of the night, littered with googley eyes… A doctor’s office, where a bottle of booze and a tear-stained folder wait on the desk… A tech millionaire’s haunted kitchen… A Bible-quoting ventriloquist’s dingy apartment… A yoga retreat in the middle of the desert, silent except for the screaming…

These supernatural and sinister locations are your destination, and bestselling author Nat Cassidy will be your guide. Featuring the Bram Stoker Award–nominated, critically acclaimed novella Rest Stop (one of Esquire’s Best Horror Books of 2024), along with a number of other original short stories, some which have never been published before, I Know A Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours is a travelogue down twisting side streets and through alleyways where the darkness has eyes…and teeth.

Let’s hope you make it home in one piece—if the ghosts, gory visions, and splatterpunk nightmares don’t get you first.

I Know a Place is a collection of short horror stories with supernatural and gory scenes. ThIs is the first time I am reading from this author and I actually quiet enjoyed this book. Some short stories I actually enjoyed but other stories were slightly confusing or I didn’t take much notice of that story.

Here are the short stories I liked

Rest Stop – this is a story about a musician who is on the road and pulls into a gas station. He notices that despite there are vehicles on the the parking lot, the gas station is empty. Then this musician gets the worst nightmare of his life when he gets trapped inside the convenience store, fights off with poisonous spiders and snake and then survived (almost survived) from a deranged serial killer. The atmosphere was tense and scary and I felt like I was on the edge as I read this story.

Meet-Cute #1: The Unluckiest Girl – A man and a woman meet up at the bar and complain about the whole world. The greatest twist was revealed at the end when the man’s last name was mentioned and that woman was really the unluckiest girl in the world (clue–the name is a real name of a real life serial killer)

Generation- this short story is about a gynecologist who had to deal with breaking the news to the parents about the fundamental changes in pregnancies. Not much horror and the story was bit vague which surprisingly I liked it.

Nice- an elf asks a child to become naughty for the Christmas so that the Santa wouldn’t bring any presents as the elf is tired of walking carrying the presents. But the child takes too far and the elf realizes his gravest mistake. A kind of a disturbing horror short.

Laughlines- this is by far my favorite short in the whole book. A girl goes to England to find her biological father but then ends up in a creepy palace with a dark story. Like the format how it was written in the form of email and the twist at the end was unexpected.

Come- a story of a cursed sex-tape going around in high school where whoever watches the tape and have sex later dies in the end. It was kind of funny although the horror element is interesting.

The rest of the other short stories, it was either I didn’t really understand the ending or I didn’t really like the ending much.

Overall, this is a great collection of short horror stories that is mixed with supernatural and gory elements and sometimes there are funny parts in the book as well. If you are looking for a perfect book to read Halloween, check this book out! Overall, this is a four star read!

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

The Wasp Trap – Book Review

The Wasp Trap

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Date published:- September 16th 2025

Author:- Mark Edwards

No. of pages:- 400 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Quick Review:- a fast paced thriller and a page turning thriller. The ending was quiet unexpected as it divides between past that happened in 1999 to the present.

Rating:- 4 stars

A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game when the old friends find themselves held at gunpoint. They are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out The Wasp Trap. This and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

Alternating between the past and present with a colorful ensemble of characters, The Wasp Trap is a fast-paced and twisty thrill ride that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Alice Feeney.

Will gets invited to a dinner party at Notting Hill to celebrate and remember their deceased professor, Professor Sebastian. As they share their memories, they soon get locked inside the house was forced to play a sinister game. Out of the six guests, one of them is holding a deep dark secret. The secret goes back to the time in 1999 when all the six guests were students and used as test subjects for Professor’s experiment and one of them ends up getting killed…

The story is told in multiple POVs–we have the main protagonist Will, the story shifts back and forth from the present day to 1999. We also have Mia who was apparently hiding inside the house even though her parents believe that she has gone out. We know most of the characters are unreliable characters including Will and we are all curious as readers to see what the secret was about. The whole story was fast paced and there were some twists and turns in the book and the ending was quiet unexpected.

Overall, this is the first book I have read of Mark Edwards and looking forward to read more books from this author.

Worth four stars.

The Waitress – ARC Book Review

The Waitress

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Date published:- will be published on 17th April 2026

Author:- K.L. Slater

No. of pages:- 298 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Quick Review:- this was in my opinion a disappointing read–not one of K.L. Slater’s best books. Though it was fast paced, I didn’t really like the plot or the characters and who story felt more like an action thriller than a psychological thriller

Rating:- 2.5 stars

Domestic abuse, murder

My job as a waitress means I’m used to watching everything – and used to lying. Soon I’m posing as someone’s girlfriend… But what does he really want from me?

When I slip on my waitress’s uniform I become a different person. And I’m good at what I do. I instantly identify Trent as the most important man in the room, and I catch his eye as I serve canapes to his rich clients. We share a little smile… and later that evening, he asks me to pretend to be his girlfriend.

Of course I accept. It’s the perfect way for me to escape my own past. He just needs me to watch certain people. It seems easy.

Soon I’m living in his opulent home, wearing a new wardrobe of designer clothes. Then I discover there was a woman here before me. Saskia. Nobody will talk about her…

Suddenly I don’t feel safe anymore. If I leave, I’m no longer protected. But if I stay here, in this silent apartment of secrets, will anyone miss me if I disappear?

A completely compelling and twisty page-turner from number 1 bestselling author K.L. Slater. Fans of Lisa Jewell and Freida McFadden will be hooked by The Waitress.

The Waitress is K.L. Slater’s latest book which will be released this month. K.L. Slater is one of the psychological thriller authors that I would definitely read on the whim. She has many books that will keep you on the edge with twists and turns. But her latest book, the Waitress, unfortunately did not live up to my expectations.

Alicia is working as a waitress for an event at Orbit in London. She gets fired from her job but a handsome man named Trent, who claims to own the Orbit. Trent hires her promising her to pay an exorbitant amount for her job–her job is to spy on the man named Steve Brett. Alicia agrees with the job, as she has always dreamed of providing better life for her son Brody and sister Jen. But there’s a problem–Brett also had hired Alicia to spy on Trent. But unlike Trent, Brett has threatened Alicia that if she failed to do her job, he will use any force by means to attack her son and her sister.

This wasn’t boring per-se. The story is fast paced and not boring but I didn’t really like the plot of it. This felt more like an action thriller than a psychological thriller. While in most psychological thrillers, you have unexpected twists and turns and an unexpected turn, this doesn’t really seem to have that much of twists and turns and the who-dunnit part particularly the drowning of a woman who was dating Trent at that time was direct i.e. you know who did it. We do have multiple POVs in the book and the part where Jen accepts her abusive man back into the life seems ridiculous. Overall, this wasn’t K.L. Slater’s greatest book, having read her psychological thriller books. She could have done a bit better. Worth 2.5 stars.

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

New Chapters on the French Riviera – ARC Book Review

New Chapters on the French Riviera

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Author:- Jennifer Bohnet

Date published:- will be published on 15th April 2026

No. of pages:- 378 pages

Genre:- Romance

Quick Review:- a heartwarming love tale, a good story which is quiet unputrownable

Rating:- 4 stars

A BRAND-NEW romantic, Spring getaway book from bestseller Jennifer Bohnet, set in the South of France. Perfect for the fans of Jill Mansell and Fern Britton.

Can a grieving chef and a group of writers find their own happy endings?

Eight months after his wife Jacqueline died in a tragic car accident, Michelin starred chef and proprietor of Villa Celestia Guy Lyon’s life has been in freefall. Consumed by grief and plagued by questions as to why she was in a taxi that fateful day, the doors to Villa Celestia have remained closed.

When a good friend, Sandy Thoreau, asks to rent the villa on the French Riviera for a fortnight to hold a women’s writers retreat after being let down, Guy reluctantly agrees.

All the women at the retreat are looking forward to being inspired. Helena and her friend Mandy are writing debut novels, Isobel is editing a cosy crime story, Liz is desperate to kickstart a new book, self-published author Lorraine is looking for advice and Becky, well Becky is a law unto herself.

Over the course of the next fortnight, two of these women will change the course of Guy’s life forever and new chapters – hopefully with happy endings – will begin for all of them.

The perfect tonic and escapist book to the South of France full of warmth and second chances.

Guy Lyon lost the love of his life in a car accident and since then, he had been in grief, mourning at the loss of his love. He is a Michelin starred chef and owns Villa Celestia but he has no interest or desire to run the villa or cook. So when his good friend Sophie asks Guy’s help to reopen the villa to host the writer’s retreat, Guy reluctantly agrees. The writer’s retreat consists of all women and many aspiring writers–we have Liz who recently went through divorce, Helen and Mandy, Lorraine, Isabel and Becky an influencer. This book talks about finding true love and moving on with the life.

This was a good book to read and perfect to read during the holidays, especially if you are someone who is planning to go to a vacation soon. One unique thing about this book is how realistic the situations are compared to other romances–the grief of getting divorced, losing a loved one etc. The whole setting in Antibes, made me feel like I was actually a part of the writer’s retreat, enjoying the south of France. The writer’s retreat also taught me about the conventional ways of publishing. AI being the most talked topic in this era, I was interested about learning how AI can be used to write a novel. More than that, I like how all the women who attended the retreat started becoming friends with each other–going into bars, enjoying early morning swim at the beach and above all, encouraging each other to write the book. I really like the camaraderie between all the women. I like how the slow romance developed between recently divorced Liz and recently widowed Guy.

I enjoyed this book very much and will look forward to read more books from this author. This book is worth four stars.

Many thanks to Boldwood for inviting me to review this book. Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The Serial Killer Gene – ARC Book Review

The Serial Killer Gene

Check out the Goodreads for more book information

Date published:- will be published on 7th May 2026

No. of pages:- 384 pages

Genre:- Thriller/Mystery

Author:- Alice Hunter

Quick Review:- A gripping, fast paced page turning thriller that will keep you up all night.

Rating:- 4 stars.

Some scenes of domestic abuse

What if murder is in your blood?

The new dark and twisty psychological domestic suspense from the bestselling author of The Serial Killer’s Wife, about compulsion, betrayal, and whether blood really is thicker than water — perfect for fans of Lisa Jewel, K.L. Slater, and B.A. Paris.

Lily thought she was an ordinary woman with an ordinary life. But when a DNA test seems to reveal she carries the ‘serial killer gene’, she is terrified by the thought of passing it onto her future children. She decides to break off her engagement and move back in with her devoted mother, Eva — until unexpected sparks fly with a charismatic journalist, and Lily finds herself diving into a wild, intoxicating new relationship.

Their obsession soon turns toxic, and as they spiral out of control Lily’s traumatic past resurfaces, leaving her questioning everything she thought she knew. Could she be the monster she fears she is?

Confronted with a sudden, horrifying murder, Lily’s only choice is to turn to the one person who has always protected her mother. But Eva is hiding secrets that could destroy them both…

From the bestselling author of The Serial Killer’s Wife, this is a new gripping psychological suspense about compulsion, betrayal, and whether blood really is thicker than water — perfect for fans of Lisa Jewel, K.L. Slater, and B.A. Paris.

Lily believes she is an ordinary woman with a perfect job and seemingly in a perfect relationship. But when she does DNA testing for fun, she finds out that she has what is called a “warrior” gene. Lily researched about the gene to find that people who has “warrior” gene has serial killer gene in their blood. Lily gets out of her engagement, moves in with her mother Eva and enters into a toxic relationship with a woman named Margo. Soon, Margo seems to be controlling her–from coming to her workplace and basically controlling everything, including trying to find more about Lily’s past childhood. Lily is worried that the past might caught up to her. Then an unexpected murder happened and Lily turns to one person she trusts most–her mother Eva.

From start to finish, this book was fast paced and page turner. The concept of having “serial killer” gene is really interesting though I am not sure if it was biologically proven. The story changes between present and past and part of the story is told in Lily’s POV the rest of the story told in Eva’s POV. The story covers sensitive topics, such as domestic abuse, murder etc. The whole story is well written, with snippets of Lily’s childhood shown in the story, to paint a picture of what Lily is actually like during her childhood. Lily’s own toxic and controlling relationship with her girlfriend Margo was well written and described.

There is tension in the whole story and the tension seems to be building gradually throughout the story and I like how the author manage to create that type of tension. The whole story was gripping and intense read and the ending…the twist at the end and the reveal at the end was quiet unexpected.

This is the third book I have read of Alice Hunter and she certainly didn’t disappoint me with this one. This is a unique thriller with a serial killer gene concept and this book will make you feel like you are on the edge.

Overall I give this book a four star reading and looking forward to read more books from this author.

Thank you Avon publishers for inviting me to review this book. Thank you Netgalley for providing the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

It Should Have Been You – Book Review

It Should Have Been You

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Date published:- January 13th 2026

Author:- Andrea Mara

Genre:- Thriller/Suspense

No. of pages:- 386 pages

Quick Review:- This was fast paced and page turning book. Most of Andrea Mara’s books are all fast paced. Though my favorite Andrea Mara’s book will be Hide and Seek, this was a good thriller book which was realistic and will keep you up all night

Rating:- 4.5 stars

Your neighbors have secrets. How far would they go to keep them?

“A simple, ordinary mistake explodes into a suburban nightmare in this hugely compelling, one-sitting read packed full of thrilling moments and genuinely surprising twists. Andrea Mara is at the very top of her game.” —Catherine Ryan Howard

You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it’s meant for your sister. But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead.

As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat.

The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what’s even more chilling is that she had the same address as you – 26 Oakpark – but in a different part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out…

Be careful to whom you are sending the message when you are sending a message! That’s the whole motto in this book. One simple message which was meant to be for someone was sent to the whole group and the story follows how this simple message led to the catastrophe that involved three murders.

Susan was supposed to send a single WhatsApp message to her sister Greta where she complained about a woman named Celeste, how her husband is cheating on her with a woman named Amy and Celester’s daughter Nika is skipping school. But Susan accidentally sends the message to a WhatsApp group and then Susan’s life changes afterwards. She starts receiving threatening messages, including someone breaking her window. But then a woman, whose address is similar to Susan’s was found murdered in the house. Did the murderer got the address wrong and killed the wrong person?

From start to finish, the book was fast paced and a page turner–which you would expect in Andrea Mara’s books. Each chapter has some sort of a cliff hanger that you are thirsty to find more about what is going to happen in the next chapter. There are multiple POVs in this book–though the main character is Susan, we have Celeste, Greta, Nika, Maeve, Venetia but despite having many multiple POVs, the story was easy to follow and it has connections with all the characters to each other. The whole story was gripping, with twists and turns.

The ending of the story was unexpected although I didn’t really fancy the ending as much as I thought I would.

Andrea Mara has written great thrillers such as Hide and Seek and No One Saw It Coming and this is the third book I have read from this author. Compared to the other two books I have read from her, this wasn’t great as Hide and Seek but better than No One Saw It Coming in my opinion.

Worth 4.5 stars.

The Artist of Blackberry Grange- Book Review

The Artist of Blackberry Grange

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Author:- Paulette Kennedy

Date published:- May 1st 2025

Genre:- Paranormal/Horror/Thriller/Historical Fiction

No. of pages:-346 pages

Quick Review:- Mind-blowing paranormal thriller, set in 1920’s, it was fast-paced and a page turner packed with twists.

Overall rating:- 4.5 stars.

Murder, Abandoning a child

For a young caregiver in the Ozarks, an old house holds haunting memories in a ghostly novel about family secrets, sacrifice, and lost loves by the author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport.

In the summer of 1925, the winds of change are particularly chilling for a young woman whose life has suddenly become unbalanced.

Devastated by her mother’s death and a cruel, broken engagement, Sadie Halloran learns that her great-aunt Marguerite, a renowned artist now in the throes of dementia, needs a live-in companion. Grasping at newfound purpose, Sadie leaves her desolate Kansas City boardinghouse for Blackberry Grange, Marguerite’s once-grand mansion sitting precariously atop an Arkansas bluff. Though Marguerite is a fading shell of the vibrant woman Sadie remembers, Marguerite is feverishly compelled to paint eerie, hallucinatory portraits of old lovers—some cherished, some regretted, and some beastly. All of them haunting.

With each passing night, time itself seems to shift with the shadows at Blackberry Grange. As truth and delusion begin to blur, Sadie must uncover the secrets that hold Marguerite captive to her past before reality—and Marguerite’s life—slips away entirely.

If you like gothic type of historical fiction with a tinge of thriller and horror, then the Artist of the Blackberry Grange is for you.

We have Sadie, who was having an affair with a married man and now her life is nearly ruined when the married man broke up with her. Sadie decides to move in to live with her great-aunt, Marguerite, who used to be a renowned artist but now is on the throes of dementia. The once beautiful mansion is now lonely looking and Sadie decides to become Marguerite’s caretaker. She meets handsome chauffeur Beckett who wants Sadie to leave. Sadie is determined to remain in the mansion. But then, Sadie comes across a mysterious painting her great-aunt had done during her youth–a painting of a man named Weston. And she realizes that Weston’s vengeful spirit is haunting the whole mansion and Sadie might become Weston’s next victim.

I like reading thrillers based in 1900’s and 1880’s–this story goes back and forth between present which is set in 1925 ad 1880’s during Marguerite’s youth days. The supernatural element and the setting of the horror made the whole story more interesting and scarier to read, and I like the theme that Sadie goes back to 1880’s through the painting to get to know Weston and other sisters of Marguerite particularly her grandmother Florence who reportedly was having an affair with Weston. It was fast paced and a page turner.

Overall, I liked this book as it had a gothic horror setting which made the whole story interesting to read. Worth 4.5 stars.

The Red Palace- Book Review

The Red Palace

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Publishing date:- 1st March 2022

Publisher:- Wildfire

Author:- June Hur

No. of pages:- 352 pages

Genre:- Historical Fiction/Thriller/Korean

Quick Review– a fast paced and pager turning thriller that will make you feel like you are on the edge and if you are fan of a good Korean historical drama, this book will be one for you

Rating:- 5 stars

– Blood and gore

-Torture of prisoners

-caste system

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Crane Among Wolves, The Red Palace is an atmospheric historical mystery perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kerri Maniscalco – WITH A BONUS EPILOGUE!

To enter the palace means to walk a path stained in blood…

1758, Joseon. Four women are murdered in a single night and palace nurse Hyeon suddenly finds herself thrust into the dark and dangerous world of court politics, when all she wanted to do was keep her head down.

The prime suspect is none other than, Nurse Jeongsu, Hyeon’s closest friend and mentor. Determined to prove her beloved teacher’s innocence, Hyeon launches her own secret investigation which runs her into the path of Eojin, the young police inspector who has been assigned to the case.

As evidence begins to point to the Crown Prince himself as the murderer, will Hyeon and Eojin be able to reconcile their differences and face the truth?

Set in Joseon 1758, Nurse Hyeon is a palace nurse, one of the highest positions offered to nurses at the time. She is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful lord as well. Nurse Hyeon was one night asked to come into what is Crown Prince’s chamber, only to find that the Crown Prince wasn’t in his chambers and Crown Princess asking Nurse Hyeon and the others to not let anyone know that Crown Prince wasn’t there. As Nurse Hyeon was returning back, she finds out that a massacre had occurred at a local hospital, which involved the murders of four women, one of the victims, a palace court lady. Nurse Hyeon’s mentor became the main suspect in the massacre. Determined to prove her mentor’s innocence and rumors circulating that the Crown Prince might be involved in the massacre, Nurse Hyeon along with a ranking inspector Eojin is determined to investigate the case privately and is immediately thrown into the world of corruption and blood politics.

This book felt like I was watching a Korean historical drama while reading it. The book was told in the POV of Nurse Hyeon and from the beginning of the chapter till the end, I was immersed into the book. The book was fast paced, and a page turner and you actually feel like you are living in the 18th century Joseon when reading this book. Most of the characters–the members of the royal family are real although the story itself is fictional. The book though it’s a work of fiction explores more about living a life as an illegitimate child of a high ranking officer in Joseon period and the hardships some of the characters face through making the whole book realistic.

This is the second book I have read from this author and I personally think this book is one of her best–better than Silence of the Bones, the first book I have read from the author. I am looking forward to read more books from this author.

Worth five stars.

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The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop – Book Review

The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

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Publishing date:- 25th May 2025

Publisher:- Harper Collins

Author:-Takuya Asakura

Translated by Yuka Maeno

No. of pages:- 224 pages

Genre:- Fantasy/Magical Realism

Quick Review- this is a short read, about a hidden bookshop that changes the people’s lives.

Rating:- 4 stars

For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, What You Are Looking for Is In the Library, and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop comes an enchanting novel that will linger in your heart long after the last page is turned.

As the last petal falls, the final page is turned…

Welcome to The Cherry Blossom Bookshop, a haven for book lovers that only appears during the fleeting cherry blossom season. Nestled amidst the bloom of delicate petals, you’ll find a sanctuary for those burdened by regrets and past sorrows. Here, Sakura, the mysterious young owner, and her wise calico cat, Kobako, patiently await the arrival of souls in need of solace and healing.

Told over four seasons, each visitor to the bookshop holds a book that bridges their past and present, guiding them towards understanding and acceptance. Within the antique charm of the shop and the soothing aroma of freshly brewed coffee, Sakura and Kobako help their guests confront their lingering sadness through the power of stories, enabling them to move forward with renewed hope.

Lately, I have been reading a lot of Japanese and Korean fiction. A Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop is a healing Japanese fiction, that helps people to move on from their loved ones who passed away.

There are four sets of tales told in this book but the main characters in this book are Kobako, the cat and Sakura the owner of this seemingly mysterious bookshop. Kobako will select a book from the shelf that will tell the tales of the person about the loved ones the person lost so Sakura can make the person move on with their life and find the meaning of their life.

The story is written in a beautiful poetic way and the words captures the reader’s heart and most of those tales lingered in my mind, after finishing with the book. This is actually an emotional and tear-jerking story and some of the tales will actually make me cry.

My favorite tale was about the woman who lost her mother and didn’t really understand her mother much. When the woman came across this bookshop only she found out how much sacrifice her mother had made for both her and her younger brother. Sometimes, losing a parent could have a hard effect on the child overall. Most of the tales were good, dealing about the loss of a loved one but this was my favorite one.

Overall, I rated this book as 4 stars, and highly recommend to people who are looking for healing fiction.

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A Remedy for Fate – ARC Book Review

A Remedy for Fate

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Publishing date:- 12th March 2026

Publisher:- Hodder and Stoughton

Author:-M.A. Kuzniar

No. of pages:- 304 pages

Genre:- Fantasy/Historical Fiction

Quick Review- A bit predictable and slow burn but the characters are lovable and favorable, particularly Jasper.

Rating:- 4 stars

‘Steeped in glorious magic and filled with fantastic friendships and eternal love’ SARAH BETH DURST

CAN SHE RECOVER HER HEART?

Prague, 1769. In the Magic Quarter of the jewel-box city of Prague, Thea runs Stiltskin’s Apothecary. There, she brews potions to chase away nightmares and soothe heartache – and strikes bargains to change her customers’ fates. The only fate she cannot change? Her own.

Seven years ago, Thea bargained away her heart and her memories to the apothecary’s owner, the cold, yet enigmatic Jasper, for reasons she cannot remember, and a reward she cannot recall.

Then one day a stranger arrives with an unusual request. One that will upturn Thea’s entire existence – and offer her a precious chance to recover her heart . . .

Prepare to be enchanted by this spellbinding historical fantasy romance from the author of Midnight in Everwood, steeped in magic, found family and love.

Seven years ago, Thear bargained her heart and memories to a man named Jasper who was a mysterious apothecary owner. Since then, Thea has been living in the Magic Quarter in Prague helping people with their problems and changing their fate if necessary. Then comes the hunters who want nothing but destroy the Magic Quarter.

The story is set in Prague in 1700’s so the descriptions of the city in general made me feel like I was in Prague. The writing was great and the story plot is also great although it was predictable. The ending was predictable as well. This is one of those books where all the characters were favorable and lovable–particularly Jasper and the secondary characters like Talibah and Zofka. I like the fact that the crow named Biscuit is also a part of the story. The only thing is, I found Thea slightly whiny and annoying–understand that she wants to get her memories back and want to know who she really is, but then I actually found the main character annoying.

Nonetheless, this author is new to me and someone to look out for. Definitely I would read more books from her in future.

Worth four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC and the invitation to review the book. This review is solely based on my honest opinion only.

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