The Phantom Paragrapher

  Review: All the Shiny Things - Book #1 Kate Reid Series - March 2013 You know that feeling when you think you have your life figured out? That's exactly where Kate starts—charity work that fulfills her soul, wedding bells on the horizon with her lawyer fiancé, the whole Pinterest-perfect life package. Then BAM! Dreams start haunting her nights, and suddenly she's tumbling down the darkest rabbit hole imaginable. Robin Mahle doesn't ease you into this psychological thriller—she throws you headfirst into Kate's world when she discovers the unthinkable truth about her past. At six years old, Kate was abducted alongside two other children. She was the sole survivor, her traumatic memories buried so deep that it took another child's kidnapping to unlock them. Talk about a plot twist that'll give you actual chills. What hooked me immediately was how Robin Mahle handles the partnership between Kate and Detective Avery. Their dynamic feels authentic—no forced roman...

Review: Steal My Breath Away - Book #2 Havencrest University Series - Sarah Castille - June 2025 Steal My Breath Away by Sarah Castille just served up everything I didn't know I needed on a silver platter, and honestly? I'm still recovering. Picture this: You're living your best indie singer life, busking on street corners and hosting university radio shows, when BAM—someone tries to kidnap you. Plot twist? Your mom's a senator with a target on her back, and suddenly your childhood crush (who also happens to be your dead brother's best friend) shows up as your personal bodyguard. If that doesn't scream "emotional chaos incoming," I don't know what does. Haley Chapman had me from page one. This girl's got pipes, dreams, and enough stubborn streak to make you want to shake her AND root for her simultaneously. She's not your typical damsel in distress—she's got agency, talent, and a whole lot of unresolved feelings about Ace Murphy. Spea...

Review: Keep Me In Your Heart - Book #2 Next Generation Lancaster Prep Series - Monica Murphy - December 2024 Y'all, I have a confession: I'm absolutely obsessed with reading entire author backlists, and this year Monica Murphy became my victim of choice. What started as an innocent "let me just catch up on Lancaster Prep" turned into a full-blown binge that had me ordering the latest release faster than you can say "book hangover." Keep Me In Your Heart is giving me all the feels, and honestly? I wasn't prepared for the emotional whiplash of watching Crew and Wren's son navigate love the same chaotic way his parents did. Rowan Lancaster is the perfect blend of his father's "too cool for school" facade and his mother's secretly soft heart – and watching him fumble around his feelings for Arabella had me simultaneously wanting to shake him and hug him. Let's talk about Arabella for a hot second. Girl just wants someone to comp...

Review: Always Remember - Cathryn Grant - October 2021 Listen, fellow book addicts – I need to talk to you about Cathryn Grant's Always Remember because this psychological thriller just put me through an emotional blender, and I'm still processing the aftermath. Picture this: Frank drops dead in his own sauna (casual Tuesday, right?), and suddenly his widow Louise decides she's moving in with her son Wyatt and daughter-in-law Kelly. Permanently. No expiration date, no exit strategy – just pure, unadulterated family dysfunction served with a side of murder mystery. Here's where Cathyrn Grant absolutely wrecked me as a reader. Kelly should be our girl – she's the one dealing with an invasive mother-in-law from hell, she's grieving, she's trying to hold her marriage together. But HOLY PLOT TWIST, Batman – Kelly is so insufferably controlling and paranoid that I found myself actually sympathizing with Louise. Yes, you read that right. The manipulative mother-in...

Review: The Fifth Girl - Book #3 Detective Hollie Turner Series - Paul J. Teague - January 2024 The Phantom Paragrapher here, and folks, I'm not kidding when I say this book left me emotionally wrecked in the best possible way. You know that feeling when a cliffhanger grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go? That's exactly what happened after finishing Her Last Cry. Lucky for my sanity (and sleep schedule), I had Her Fifth Girls ready on my Kindle because honestly, who has the willpower to leave a Paul J. Teague cliffhanger hanging ? This third installment doesn't just continue the story—it excavates the soul of it. We finally dive deep into Sister Sophia Brennan's psyche, and wow, what a masterclass in character development. Paul J Teague reveals why she became the nightmare she was to those teenage mothers at the Unwed Mother's Home. Her cruelty wasn't just institutional—it was personal, born from seeing her own traumatic past reflected in every frighten...

Review: Her Last Cry - Book #2 Detective Hollie Turner Series - Paul J Teague - January 2024 You know that feeling when you're in a reading slump so deep you're considering taking up knitting instead? That was me before diving into this series. Romance after romance had left me feeling like I was chewing literary cardboard, until Book #5 reminded me why I fell in love with mysteries in the first place. Naturally, I had to go back to the beginning—and honestly? I wasn't prepared for the emotional gut punch waiting for me. This isn't your cozy mystery where the biggest drama is who stole the church bake sale funds. We're thrust into the aftermath of Sister Sophia Brennan's murder, a crime that unravels the dark secrets of an unwed mothers' home. The story follows Hollie and her sidekick Jeannine as they dig into a conspiracy involving five young women whose babies were illegally adopted out—their lives forever altered by a system that claimed to do "God...

Review: Chloe - Connie Briscoe - March 2025 Friends, we need to talk. And by talk, I mean I need to process what just happened to me over the past few days because honestly? I'm still scratching my head. You know that feeling when you finish a book and immediately wonder if you missed something crucial? Like maybe there were secret pages that explained the actual plot? That's exactly where Connie Briscoe's Chloe left me – standing in my kitchen at 2 AM, staring at the cover like it might reveal the answers to questions I didn't even know I was supposed to ask. Let me paint you a picture. We start with Angel, a private chef who splits her time between summer gigs on some fancy island and working at a high-end restaurant the rest of the year. Standard setup, right? Enter Everett Bruce – successful, Black, billionaire, and conveniently single because his wife Chloe allegedly took her own life. Red flags? What red flags? The romance develops faster than my ability to sus...

Review: He's Lying About Everything - Robin Mahle - June 2025 Robin Mahle's psychological thriller He's Lying about Everything delivers a compelling premise wrapped in marital deception and small-town secrets, though it occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambitions. The story follows Derek, a tenured professor with a notorious reputation for infidelity, whose life unravels when one of his affairs ends in murder. Though cleared as a suspect, the scandal forces Derek, his wife Evie, and their four-year-old son Ben to relocate and start fresh in a new town. Derek secures a position at a local university, and for a moment, it seems the family might finally escape their past. However, their newfound peace shatters when Evie begins receiving threatening notes about Derek's history. The messages suggest that someone knows exactly who they are and what they're running from. Suspicion falls on various newcomers in their lives—suspicious neighbors and even Be...

Review: A Murder for Miss Hortense - Book #1 Miss Hortense Series - Mel Pennant - June 2025 Listen, I thought I knew cozy mysteries. I've devoured every Miss Marple adventure until I could practically recite them in my sleep, and I've got a soft spot for any sleuth who solves crimes between afternoon tea and garden pruning. But Miss Hortense? She's something else entirely, and I'm absolutely here for it. Meet Miss Hortense: retired nurse, cake-baking extraordinaire, and possibly the most observant woman in Birmingham's quiet suburb of Bigglesweigh. This isn't your typical English village mystery, though. Miss Hortense emigrated from Jamaica in 1960, and her sharp eye for detail extends far beyond spotting murderers—she can tell if her turmeric's been watered down before her first bite of beef patty. That's the kind of authenticity that had me grinning from page one. What absolutely hooked me was how Pennant weaves Miss Hortense's investigative prowes...

Review: The Secret Song of Shelby Rey - Rayne Lacko - June 2025 There's something utterly captivating about a protagonist who can literally hear the music in people's souls, and Rayne Lacko delivers this concept with breathtaking emotional depth in The Secret Song of Shelby Rey. From the moment I cracked open this ARC (thanks, Books Forward!), I was completely transported into Shelby's world of supernatural empathy and musical revelation. Set against the glittering yet gritty backdrop of 2008 Los Angeles, this novel follows eighteen-year-old Shelby Rey, whose extraordinary ability to hear people's deepest truths through song feels more like a burden than a gift. After losing her father and being abandoned by her drug-addicted mother, Shelby's life takes an unexpected turn when she encounters chart-topping rock star Zac Wyatt. What unfolds is a mesmerizing tale of fame, addiction, and the dangerous allure of living someone else's truth. If you loved Zoey's ...

Book Spotlight : Forget The Fairy Tale and Find Your Happiness - Deb Miller - July 2025 Sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones that shatter our preconceived notions about how life "should" unfold. Deb Miller's debut memoir, Forget the Fairy Tale and Find Your Happiness , does exactly that—and it's absolutely magnificent. From the moment I saw that enchanting cover with its whimsical butterfly and magical sparkle trail, I knew this wasn't going to be your typical self-help memoir. Miller has crafted something truly special here: part personal growth guide, part motivational memoir, and—as she puts it—all heart. What struck me most was Deb Miller's brilliant use of Disney princesses as metaphors for her own journey. As someone who grew up believing in the Prince Charming narrative (didn't we all?), I found myself nodding along as she traced the evolution from passive Snow White to independent Moana. It's a framework that's both accessible...