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Book Review: Deadly Little Lessons

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Deadly Little Lessons
by Danielle Valentine

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: YA thriller

When Lia Michaels’s foster mom first suggests that Lia start attending Luminary Prep for senior year, she doesn’t agree right away. But she starts to think that maybe the new, experimental school could help with her dream to go to college and get a job she actually likes, both of which are long shots with her juvenile record and poor grades. It’s not long into the first semester, though, before things start to feel off. There are thick walls around the campus and parents aren’t allowed in; her first class features an obstacle course that is lacking in safety features. And then there’s the assembly where they’re told that only 5 of the 50 students attending the school will graduate. Lia is determined to be one of those 5, but when the students that fail out start to disappear under suspicious circumstances, her hope to graduate turns into a need to simply survive.

I don’t know why I keep reading these YA thrillers. They always promise much and deliver little. This one at least gets 3 stars, which is more than most from me, and that’s mostly due to my interest in the mystery about the school. I hoped for some kind of unexpected, dark secret behind the school, and in a way that is what it turned out to be. However, a couple of mysterious elements that are presented early in Lia’s time in the school do not have as satisfactory or exciting of resolutions as I would have liked. And I would have felt more suspense and even emotion from the kids disappearing one by one (or sometimes in larger numbers) if Lia and her friends hadn’t seemed mostly protected through much of the book. The question about what was happening was always in her mind, but it lacked urgency for a while and thus lacked urgency for me too.

It is when the urgency really picks up that a physical attraction starts between Lia and another student, and I really couldn’t have cared less about any of that. It was too physical too quickly for my preference and, in fact, could have been a romance I enjoyed if the author had let the interactions between them stand without throwing in the hormones. Lia herself is a character I could not connect with on really any level, and all of the other characters—from her foster sister to not one, but two, romantic interests—were all weak and underdeveloped. In the climax of the book, a statement uttered by the villain made me think the story was going to go a whole different way, and I was actually really excited about the possibility. But that was my bad, because no, it was really closer to what it was built up to be the entire time after all.

Overall, the unique mystery behind the school kept me turning pages, but the underdeveloped characters and shoehorned romance dragged it down. It’s a decent option if you’re not bothered by the aspects of the book that I mentioned above.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Book Review: The Spy Keeper of Marseille

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The Spy Keeper of Marseille
by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical Christian romance

Zelie Bellarose is second-in-command of a resistance organization in France during the time of Nazi occupation. Marcel Laurent is a famous concert pianist who was recently freed from a POW camp and is tasked with using his contacts and talents to help with the resistance. As the spy network grows, is betrayed from within, and loses members to arrest and execution, Zelie and Marcel lean on each other for support more and more.

As much as I loved White’s The Imposters series, set in Edwardian England, so far her WWII-era books haven’t resonated with me nearly as much. I’m not sure why there would be such a difference, but the plot here dragged for me. I didn’t really care for Zelie as a main character. I liked Marcel more, but honestly, do professional musicians often think in musical terms as much as he does in this book? Also, though I don’t need a Christian book to be heavy on a Christian message by any means, there seems to be an intent to have a message here, but it’s pretty weak. Zelie doesn’t really trust God, but because Marcel does and is kind and says a few nice things about God, she suddenly realizes she needs to trust Him more.

The stakes in this book with a spy network trying to outsmart the Nazis are weirdly high but also not that high. Though people are captured, even executed, I never really felt much of that personally. The climax was fairly intense in this area, at least, which I did appreciate. There are ups and downs in the book that renewed my interest now and then, but overall, it just felt sort of okay. The romance wasn’t necessarily completely front and center, but it still seemed somehow more important in the book than the spying and danger.

I’ve planned to read some of White’s earlier works, set during WWI, and I think I’ll still give one or two of those a try, but if she releases more WWII-era books, I think I’ll pass. Not that this book was terrible, but not interesting enough to want more like it. However, others liked it more than I did, so if you’re interested, check out other reviews at the link below.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Book Review: Corpse Creek

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Corpse Creek
Bleak Haven #3
by Vincent Ralph

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: YA paranormal horror

The town of Bleak Haven has had more than its share of serial killers, almost as if it’s under a curse. But Ethan’s older brother’s death was ruled an accident, though Ethan has never been able to accept that. Four years after Brody’s death, Ethan still hasn’t found the closure he needs to move on and hopes visiting the creek where Brody died will help. Instead, he seems to have roused the spirit of his dead brother, who now tells Ethan that he can bring Brody back if he’s willing to sacrifice someone else to do so—a life for a life.

After enjoying the first book in this series, which is a straight-up slasher thriller, the next two books have been more of a letdown. They both still involve horror and suspense, but in a different sub-genre from the first book and even different sub-genres from each other. The second book was more of a zombie story, and this book…well, this one is more difficult to define. It has supernatural elements, though it’s difficult to say how much of it is meant to be real and how much imagined. In the end, there’s not a whole lot of plot, and though yes, it does have some creepy moments, it’s much more of a drama showing how grief can eat away at one’s life and relationships than a thriller. The only character I really cared about at all in this book is Ethan’s dad, as I did appreciate his progression through the book. But in the end, the drama side of the book is repetitive and tedious, while the thriller side is confusing and unfulfilling.

I was really interested in this town after reading the first book and hoped for more insight into why it has such a history of serial killers and violence, but none of the later books so far have delved further into that, at least not in any remotely satisfying way. Like the previous books in the series, this one has no sexual content, but I do seem to recall more language this time. It’s really not necessary to have read any of the other books before reading this one—past events in the town are referred to quite a bit here, but none of them were the subject of any previous books. On the other hand, there are a lot of references to the event that the 4th book is named after, which made me wonder if this installment might have any spoilers for the final book. As for recommendations, I’m sure there is an audience for this kind of exploration of extreme grief with horror elements, so if that interests you, you may want to read some of the positive reviews at the link below.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Book Review: Blightfall

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Blightfall
Riftwake #1
by Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Soon after winning a decades-long war against alien oppressors, a team from the planet Detritus is sent to another planet, Blightfall, to make contact with a settlement of humans that had been isolated there during the war. But they can’t possibly guess what awaits them even before they land on Blightfall.

I have not read the series that this is an offshoot of. It wasn’t even until I was around 2/3 into the story that I realized this was a continuation of the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson (though I suppose I should have suspected) and, more directly, a series of side novellas in the same world, written by Janci Patterson. But that means that my perspective will be as a complete newcomer, not a veteran, and as such, I did not have too many issues following the worldbuilding. Yes, I was initially lost with terms like cytonics, aliens that are given only cursory explanations, and people that clearly have backstories that I don’t know. I didn’t feel like it was any more difficult to muddle through the early chapters than any other sci-fi book with worldbuilding that hits the ground running though. By the end, I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of everything I needed an understanding of.

I was caught up in the story and the story world, especially when it became clear that there was something strange going on on Blightfall. I absolutely adored the taynix (slug-like creatures), their way of communicating, and their love of scritches and snuggles. There were a few interludes from the perspective of some of the taynix that made me really curious to know more about the world outside of what we’re shown for this story. I have no idea if any of that is part of the previous books in this world or not. Things got a little strange, though, with a couple of romances that felt awkward and unnecessary. And I really wish fiction writers could understand that having characters with they/them pronouns just makes things confusing in fiction, especially when any kind of action is going on. It was so hard to follow.

Despite the fact that I never had a desire to break into any of Sanderson’s epic fantasy/sci-fi works before, I have to admit that this has made me consider starting at the beginning of the series. As I understand it, this book was basically written by Patterson but with some input from Sanderson, which makes me all the more curious to see what his writing is like. (The only other Sanderson book I have read in the past is Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians.) I recommend the book for fans of futuristic, space-themed sci-fi, even if you haven’t read any of the books that precede it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Bark Humbug

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Bark Humbug
Andy Carpenter #34
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

Sometimes pseudo-retired defense attorney Andy Carpenter takes a case willingly, even if reluctantly, and sometimes he’s practically forced or tricked into it. The latter is the case here, as a woman who claims to be doing a magazine story on local celebrities visits Andy and then reveals her true purpose. Her brother is suspected of killing the local mayor, is innocent and prepared to turn himself in, and needs a good lawyer. Andy starts out slow, but the more he digs into the case, the more corruption he uncovers.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I enjoy the formulaic nature of this series, and I love it when the formula is turned on its head. That happens here, and even though I guessed at it way in advance, I still appreciated it and would have felt let down if it had gone a different way. The humor that I have loved all through this series made me chuckle a couple of times in this book, and it’s always great to see the different parts of Andy’s team working together on a case. Even Eddie Dowd, who I specifically mentioned in my review of the previous book seemed like he added little to the stories, was more involved this time.

With this book, I am fully caught up on this series for the first time since I started reading it 2 1/2 years ago. I’ve already started back at the beginning of the series, because I love it so much. More specifically, I love the audiobooks, because Grover Gardner brings Andy to life perfectly. If it’s not clear, I recommend this book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas, but if you’re interested, you should definitely consider starting at the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me a copy of this book to review.
Publication date: October 13, 2026

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Book Review: The Ginghams

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The Ginghams
by T.C. Kemper

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade sci-fi

Best friends Joni and Tyler return home from summer camp to discover that the third member of their trio, May, is acting a little differently. Soon enough they realize that May is not the only one acting differently, and it all seems to stem from the mysterious Thursday night book clubs at the home of the newest family in town, the Ginghams. As the behavior of more and more of their schoolmates, neighbors, and others in the town begins to conform to that of the Ginghams, Joni and Tyler wonder if they can keep their own originality.

Because the book is labeled as horror and mystery, I expected something more thrilling from this book. But the villain is obvious, even if their methods aren’t, and the book seemed to be trying to make a point but missed its mark, at least for me. Although the methods involved are villainous and even horrifying, the ideals espoused by the Gingham family are not all “bad,” so mostly it seems like the author/MCs are trying to convince us that it’s bad to want kids to behave or obey their parents. Individuality/non-conformity seems to be the main theme here, but at the same time, I couldn’t escape the feeling that there was something more that the author was trying to instill in the young readers of this book.

Beyond whatever message the author may or may not have been attempting to put into this book, I found it somewhat boring. Joni and Tyler seem more bothered by the idea of losing their individuality than losing control of themselves in general. I was just never very engaged. The climax involves a disproportionately gruesome action (that I might have misunderstood, because in the end, it didn’t seem nearly as damaging as I imagined), and then there’s the way the villain is dispatched. It all felt a little dark and harsh for middle grade, at least for my preference as well as for the tone of the book up to that point. Though I didn’t enjoy the book, there are many others who did, so if you’re interested in the book, please check out other reviews at the link below.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Book Review: Living Unoffended

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Living Unoffended
by Brant Hansen

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian living

Radio show host Brant Hansen counters the common opinion that Christians are entitled to “righteous anger,” while also making a case about how learning to let go of our “right” to be offended can change our lives.

I read Unoffendable by Brant Hansen 6 years ago and found that it had a lot to offer; it helped me examine a lot in my life, not only about anger and anxiety but also hypocrisy and self-righteousness. As Brant says in the intro to this book, “We need to keep talking about this stuff.” Brant does a good job here of laying out why righteous anger doesn’t really make sense and how anger and worry mean we’re not trusting God like we should. He uses scripture as well as examples from both Christian and secular writers and thinkers to back up his claims, and he does it all with his signature humor. Brant also offers some practical advice for learning to let go of offense, becoming more humble and Christ-like, and trusting God more fully.

The book is basically a series of short essays, and some of the content comes from at least 2 of Brant’s other books (Unoffendable and Life Is Hard. God Is Good. Let’s Dance.). I haven’t read the 2nd of those books yet, and fortunately I read the 1st long enough ago that it didn’t feel like a repeat to me. However, if you have read either or both of those books, you may not feel the need to read this one. Not that there isn’t anything new here, but I’m not sure how much is new. I do recommend this book, as well all of Brant Hansen’s books, really, for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Thank you to Netgalley and W Publishing for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Thornbird

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Thornbird
by E. Kennedy

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: YA thriller, romance

Gabrielle Thorn’s father confessed to murdering 6 women, but for 10 years, he refused to reveal where their bodies were. As both the 10th anniversary of his conviction and the date set for his execution approach, Gabrielle returns to the town where the murders took place with a new name and new story. Now she’s Ryan Shipley and even the cousins she’s living with don’t know who she really is. Ryan just wants to live as normal a life as she can before she graduates and leaves town for good, but as the search for the victims’ bodies heats up, she starts to get texts from an unknown sender threatening to reveal her true identity.

I don’t think I’d call this book a thriller, and it’s not much of a mystery either. For one thing, the murders have been solved. The only mystery here is where the bodies are, and Ryan does not spend any remotely significant amount of time in the story trying to figure that out—in fact, she actively avoids it as much as possible. For me, there was some suspense in the book, but that was really mostly due to me thinking there was going to be more going on than met the eye. There really wasn’t. A lot of the book is spent with Ryan feeling guilty, nauseous, etc. over what her dad did, the lasting effect he still has on his victims’ families, and keeping her secret from people she’s getting close to. She constantly does things she thinks are a bad idea, mostly chalked up to hormones, and basically is just carried along by the actions of those around her.

Romance is here in full force, though, albeit a worldly, YA version of romance. Ryan is pursued by the football quarterback, which then turns into a predictable-yet-ridiculous love triangle. In fact, around the 75% mark, when a thriller should be heating up, instead the serial killer side of the story slows way down as the romance heats up, and for a few chapters it seems the only focus is the physical side of this new relationship (which, by the way, is the only side to the relationship). After that, there are some reveals, at least one that could probably be seen as a twist, but I still kept expecting something else exciting or unexpected to happen, but the story played out fairly blandly to the end. So much of what happens in the last several chapters is illogical or just really stupid decisions on Ryan’s part.

So, I don’t really recommend this book to anyone. Younger readers might not be as bothered by the plot holes, terrible characterization, or other things that made me roll my eyes. However, the graphic nature of at least one of the physical interactions between Ryan and her triangle guy is inappropriate for teens. And for once, after reading other reviews, I’m not the only one that felt that it went too far, even amongst reviewers that are less conservative than I am. So let that be a warning to anyone considering reading this, of any age, really.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Library of Forbidden Books

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Library of Forbidden Books
by Mario Escobar

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Historical fiction

Helene Nathan is a librarian in Berlin, one of the first women to hold a management position in a major library in Berlin. As Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, the Nazi party begins to confiscate books that are by authors they don’t like or that are seen as contrary to the German worldview. Helene and her fellow librarians will do what they can to protect as many forbidden books as possible, but it’s not easy to stay ahead of the Nazis.

One of my biggest issues with this book is that it tries to do too much and thus the main plotline suffers. Besides the premise above, Helene’s significant other, Derek, is the 2nd-in-command to Werner von Blomberg, who eventually becomes Minister of War. A lot of the book shares details about pre-war Germany, the Nazi party’s rise to power, and political and military machinations. Helene spends time in a women’s concentration camp, which is also a decent portion of the book. Spanning over 10 years, the narrative dips in to days or moments here and there and then speeds by other times. Though various different aspects of the book are interesting and informative, it wasn’t the kind of story I was expecting to read. I never felt all that connected to Helene, and in the end, I couldn’t help but wonder what the real purpose of the story is. Maybe it’s only meant to warn against the dangers of censorship, but it all felt fairly light, really.

The vast time frame of the story and the fact that Helene Nathan is based on a real person, the book does read like nonfiction, or at least a fictionalized version of a real story. But though of course real details about German before and during WWII were used in the book, very little of the story is real. Every side character that isn’t someone in the Nazi Party is fiction, and Helene’s life beyond her job as librarian and a stint in a Jewish bookstore is made up, including her time in a concentration camp and the hiding of forbidden books. I’m not saying I’m against any of this fictionalization, even with a real person as a starting point, but it brings me back to my issue with there being too much going on in the book. Maybe Escobar felt it would be too convenient if Helene was never arrested or simply wanted to show a concentration camp for part of his story. Maybe there just wasn’t enough for a whole book without the inclusion of these extra things, and it’s true that even feeling bloated, the book isn’t really all that long. I’m not sure there’s much in this book that I haven’t read in other books, fiction or non. Due to the publishing company being Thomas Nelson, I kept hoping for something to come out of Derek starting to have talks with a Christian pastor. But in the end, we’re left with more hopelessness than anything uplifting. The wins, at least to me, outweigh the losses. And sure, I guess that’s realistic, but since Escobar isn’t intending to stay true to a real-life narrative, I would have preferred an ending where the library isn’t the only winner.

Ultimately, this book missed the mark for me, but if you’re interested in the premise, don’t let my preferences dissuade you. Check out positive reviews at the link below and decide for yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Berserkers

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Berserkers
by M.A. Larson

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade adventure

Danny Hall has lived all of his 12 years in Norse Ridge, Minnesota, a small town with a lot of quirks and quirky people. When his favorite teacher disappears and Danny and his friends find evidence that he may have gone to look for treasure in a nearby cave system, it will take a lot of courage (and the right supplies) for Danny and friends to go into the caves themselves to try to find the treasure before the bad guys do.

This book is a lot of fun in a lot of different ways! First off though, if you’re not a fan of metafiction, you might want to steer clear of this book; the author breaks the fourth wall quite a few times to talk to the reader. I usually enjoy that kind of thing, as long as it’s done well, and that is the case here. There is a lot of humor overall in the book, even beyond the meta. There is also a lot of excitement and adventure, helped along by very short chapters. In fact, the author even uses chapter breaks in humorous ways, including one moment that made me laugh out loud.

We have a group of four friends here—Danny, Dolly, Mulch, and Amazon Shawn. The story and dialog all moves pretty quickly, yet I felt that each of these four kids are fairly well-developed, especially for a middle grade book. They’re all given a least a little more background than a shallow starting point, and they’re not your typical stereotypes either. Other than maybe Danny himself, who I can’t recall much about other than that he’s the one who pushes for the adventure and he doesn’t like change. Danny may have been the main character, but I think Amazon Shawn got more “screen time,” to be honest. The friendships between these four kids and the way they interact with each other is really the heart of the book.

I do have to say that I struggled to follow some of the descriptions in the book, especially some areas in the cave. And the climax was the worst place for this, so obviously that detracted a bit from my enjoyment there. And for others who are like me—Christians who take the Bible literally—the book contains a large amount of references to the earth being billions of years old; it’s something to be aware of and at least discuss with kids that might read this book. Also one very minor passing mention of an adult character that is gay. These things didn’t affect my rating, but in a book for kids/pre-teens, I know there are others who would like to know.

This story reminded me so much of books I’ve read by Chris Grabenstein, especially The Smartest Kid in the Universe. I truly enjoyed the adventure, wit, and style here. And it could be a great way to introduce young readers to metafiction that’s done well and used to humorous advantage. I recommend this to readers 10 and up, including adults that like a good middle grade adventure now and then.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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