VBT# The Therapy Room - OMJ Ryan - September 2025 There's something deeply unsettling about the idea that the person sitting across from you in therapy might not be who they claim to be. OMJ Ryan's The Therapy Room explores this fear with a premise that immediately grabbed my attention: what happens when grief transforms into calculated vengeance? The story follows Olivia, a woman hollowed out by loss and injustice. When her brother Daniel died and his killer walked free, Olivia's world shattered completely. Years later, she's alone—family gone, purpose lost—until she spots Shelley, the woman she believes destroyed everything. This chance encounter becomes the catalyst for an elaborate revenge plot that had me questioning the ethics of justice versus retribution. OMJ Ryan crafts a compelling cat-and-mouse dynamic as Olivia infiltrates Shelley's therapy group under the false identity of "Jess." What makes this particularly twisted is Shelley's vul...

Book Spotlight : Deceiver on The Levels - David Hodges - September 2025 If you love your thrillers gritty, fast-paced, and packed with emotional punch, then it’s time to meet Detective Inspector Kate Hamblin—one of the most compelling leads in British crime fiction today. In this chilling installment, Kate returns to her old stomping ground at Highbridge CID, freshly promoted and thrown straight into the deep end. Fourteen-year-old Tammy Robinson is missing. She was supposed to be revising with her best friend—but instead, she was secretly meeting someone she called “Gerry,” a mystery man from an online chatroom. When a body turns up in the woods, the tension skyrockets. It’s not Tammy. Which means the clock is still ticking—and the killer isn’t done yet. Written by a former police officer, this series crackles with authenticity. You feel the urgency in every scene, the weight of Kate’s decisions, and the heartbreak of families waiting for answers. Kate herself is a brilliant mix of ...

Review: Echoes from a Missing Generation - Christina Suzann Nelson - August 2025 There's something deeply unsettling about family mysteries—those gaps in our histories that leave us wondering who we really are and where we come from. Christina Suzann Nelson's Echoes from a Missing Generation captures this feeling with remarkable precision, weaving a story that feels both intimately personal and universally relatable. As someone whose own family carries unspoken stories from the Vietnam era, I found myself completely absorbed in Kenzie Danes's quest to uncover the truth about her missing grandfather, Bristol. The dual timeline structure—alternating between 1970 and the present day. Clara, Bristol's young wife is left behind with nothing but questions and community whispers. Her sections of the novel ache with the feelings of the characters whose lives were shaped by a war they couldn't control. The modern-day mystery, driven by court reporter Kenzie's determin...

Review: The Killing Game - JS Carol - October 2016 Reading slumps are the worst. You know that feeling when every book you pick up feels like a chore, when pages blur together and nothing seems to capture your attention? That's exactly where I found myself a few weeks ago, desperately scrolling through recommendations, hoping something would spark that old familiar excitement. That's when I stumbled across "The Killing Game" by JS Carol, and honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time. The premise immediately grabbed me: JJ Johnson, a Hollywood fixer who specializes in making A-list problems disappear, finds herself in the ultimate crisis when what should have been a routine power lunch turns into a deadly hostage situation. When a gunman storms into an upscale LA diner frequented by celebrities, armed with a bomb rigged to his heartbeat, JJ and the other patrons become pawns in a twisted game where fame becomes a target. The entire narrative around the four-...

Review: Golden Hills - Jennifer Weiner - June 2023 I'll be honest – I've been in one of those reading slumps that every book lover dreads. You know the feeling: picking up book after book, only to set them down after a few pages, nothing quite clicking. So when I spotted Jennifer Weiner's "Golden Hills" as an Amazon Original Short Story, it felt like exactly what I needed: something quick, digestible, and from an author I trust to deliver emotional depth without requiring a massive time commitment. What I got was so much more than a slump-buster. "Golden Hills" centers on Ida Berkowitz, a senatorial candidate whose seemingly assured victory gets complicated when her past resurfaces in the form of Marissa Schuyler – her former camp bunkmate and the keeper of a decades-old secret. Weiner masterfully captures that stomach-dropping moment when your carefully constructed adult life collides with the messy realities of who you used to be. Ida and Marissa...

Review: It All Comes Back To You - Melissa Wiesner - August 2023 I'll be honest—I've been in a bit of a romance reading slump lately. After devouring countless meet-cutes and happily-ever-afters, I found myself craving something with more emotional weight. When I stumbled upon Melissa Wiesner's "It All Comes Back to You," the promise of angst and genuine emotion was exactly what I needed to pull me back into the genre. This book immediately reminded me of Cecelia Ahern's "Where Rainbows End" in the best possible way. We first meet Anna at sixteen and Gabriel at eighteen, thrown together for a college project despite being complete opposites. Their unlikely friendship blooms beautifully on the page, and Melissa Wiesner captures that intoxicating feeling of finding your person at exactly the wrong time in life. What follows is a masterclass in second-chance romance spanning nearly two decades. The structure—following Anna and Gabe as they connect, dr...

Review: An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen - January 2019 Sometimes the best books are the ones that catch us at exactly the right moment—even if that moment comes years later than expected. An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen proved this truth to me in the most surprising way. I'll be honest: this wasn't love at first read. When I initially picked up this psychological thriller shortly after its 2019 release, something about it just didn't click. Maybe I wasn't in the right headspace, or perhaps the slow-burn tension felt too methodical at the time. Whatever the reason, I found myself adding it to my dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish) pile—a literary graveyard I rarely revisit. Fast forward a few years, and there it was again, calling to me from a friend's secondhand book sale. Something made me give it another chance, and I'm so glad I did. This time, An Anonymous Girl completely captivated me. The story follows Jessica, a ...

Review: Fake - Book #1 West Hollywood Romance Series - Kylie Scott - May 2021 As someone who's been following Kylie Scott's career since her Stage Dive series , I picked up Fake with high expectations. Kylie Scott has always been one of my favorite Australian authors—her ability to craft swoony heroes and relatable heroines consistently delivers the kind of comfort reads I crave after long days. While Fake doesn't break new ground in the fake dating trope, it offers exactly what you'd expect from a Kylie Scott novel: entertainment without complexity. The premise is deliciously familiar. Patrick Walsh, a scandal-plagued A-lister, needs a reputation makeover fast. Enter Norah Peers, a refreshingly ordinary waitress who's sworn off men entirely. Their arrangement? A no-strings fake romance that pays her bills while salvaging his career. Of course, real feelings complicate everything. What I appreciated most about Fake was Norah's authenticity. Kylie Scott excels ...

  VBT# Blue Arrow Island - Book #1 - Brenda Rothert - August 2025 There are few things in the book world that bring me more joy than discovering an author whose writing consistently delivers, and Brenda Rothert has become exactly that kind of treasure for me. After having the absolute pleasure of meeting her at RT2017—honestly one of my top five life experiences and what I still consider one of my best days ever—I knew she was not only a phenomenal writer but also the kind of genuine, down-to-earth person you'd want to grab coffee with. So when Blue Arrow Island landed on my radar, my excitement was through the roof. From the very first page, I was completely hooked. Brenda Rothert wastes no time throwing readers into a world that feels disturbingly plausible—a dystopian reality born from a virus that decimated most of humanity. As I read about this plague, I couldn't help but think of COVID, imagining this as our world's potential dark future. It's a chilling thought ...