Review: Skinny - Book #1 False Reflections Series - Laura L. Smith - October 2008 Cast your mind back with me for a moment. Years ago, one of my absolute favourite genres to curl up with was what I fondly called Edgy YA Christian Fiction - stories that tackled the real, messy, complicated parts of teenage life without shying away from faith. Skinny by Laura L. Smith is exactly that kind of book, and it has stayed with me ever since I first read it. Melissa grows up surrounded by all the good things  a warm, loving Christian family and a tight circle of friends. She's also a dancer, and it's through that world that she begins to see herself as something she isn't: fat. What makes this story particularly compelling is that Melissa doesn't stop eating altogether. Instead, she starts counting calories and restricting, quietly convincing herself that because it isn't that bad, it isn't really a problem. It's that kind of slow, insidious thinking that makes her j...

Review: Half His Age - Jeanette McCurdy - January 2026 Hello everyone, and welcome back to our little corner of the internet! It's your favourite book blogger, The Phantom Paragrapher, curling up on the sofa with a warm cuppa to chat about our latest read. I finally dove into Half His Age by Jeanette McCurdy. After seeing the initial buzz, I was practically vibrating with excitement. Given the provocative title, I went in expecting something gritty and transgressive perhaps something in the vein of Alissa Nutting's Tampa, which famously and chillingly echoed the Mary Kay Letourneau case. I was braced for a dark, psychological deep-dive into the power dynamics of a taboo relationship. Instead, I found something much closer to our teenage TV screens. The story felt less like a heavy literary scandal and far more like a Pretty Little Liars subplot specifically, major Ezra and Aria vibes. The novel follows Waldo as she pursues her Creative Writing teacher, Mr. Korgy, and that ...

Review: Taken from Her Family - Book #3 Detective April Fisher - CJ Grayson - March 2026 There’s something about a story that begins with a parent simply trying to get through the end of a long day that immediately hooks me in. As parents (or anyone who’s ever been responsible for kids), we all know that feeling of exhaustion, the bickering from the backseat, and the temptation to just take the easiest option to keep everyone happy. In Taken from Her Family, C.J. Grayson takes that everyday moment and twists it into every parent’s worst nightmare. Tracy Marley is just popping by the gym to pick up her husband after hours. The kids are restless in the car, the evening feels routine, and when a text arrives inviting her inside, it seems harmless enough. The children are excited, and Tracy gives in. But stepping into that dark building turns out to be a decision that will change everything. Instead of her husband waiting, Tracy walks straight into a robbery in progress , three masked men,...

Review: Circle of Vengeance - Book #2 Star Cavanaugh Cold Case Series - Ramona Richards - October 2022 For fans of cold cases, small-town secrets, and the kind of mystery that slowly unravels like a tangled ball of wool on a rainy afternoon, Circle of Vengeance by Ramona Richards delivers a suspenseful and intriguing read.  Star once again finds herself diving deep into a case that many people would rather keep firmly buried in the past. Twenty-five years ago, a young girl named Hope Marshall vanished without a trace. Months later, tragedy struck again when her mother, Genevieve Marshall, was discovered murdered in the barn on the Turney family farm. The shockwaves of that crime rippled through the community, and the blame ultimately fell on Kevin Turney, who was convicted of the murder despite always maintaining his innocence. Now, decades later, Kevin’s daughter Jill Turney wants the truth uncovered once and for all. She’s determined to clear her father’s name and prove that the ...

Review: The Book Boyfriend - Karli Perrin - November 2017 As a proud bookworm, I’m sure I’m not the only reader who has closed a romance novel and sighed, wishing that book boyfriends could step straight off the page and into real life. You know the type charming, swoon-worthy, and just the right amount of dreamy. Well, in The Book Boyfriend by Karli Perrin, that fantasy gets a cheeky little twist, and honestly, it’s the perfect short read to scratch that romantic itch. This delightful short story introduces us to Zara Hennessy, a woman who has well and truly had enough of the dating scene. After a string of failed relationships, she’s decided that love just isn’t worth the drama anymore. Fair enough, right? Sometimes it really does feel easier to curl up with a good book than deal with real-life heartbreak. When Zara agrees to help her sister at the biggest book signing event of the year, she expects a busy day surrounded by authors, readers, and the usual bookish chaos. What she does...

Review: The Inheritance - Book #1 Happy Endings Resort Series - Jennifer Benson - February 2015 There’s something rather magical about the idea of inheriting a place you never even knew existed. Imagine opening a letter one day and discovering that somewhere out there is a whole resort with your name on it,  a bit like stumbling across a hidden bach at the beach you didn’t know your family owned. That’s the premise behind The Inheritance by Jennifer Benson, the first book in the Happy Endings Resort series. At twenty-six, Rory London is feeling a bit lost in life. She doesn’t have much to show for herself and is pretty much alone in the world. So when she learns she has inherited Happy Endings Resort from a long-lost relative she didn’t even know existed, it feels like the universe has finally thrown her a lifeline. Suddenly she’s the owner of a resort filled with staff, secrets, and a past she never knew belonged to her. Enter Jason Duke, the handsome twenty-eight-year-old attorne...