Cover Reveal: Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse by Sherrill Joseph

July 9, 2020July 8, 2020 Luxe2 Comments

Book Title: Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse
Author: Sherrill Joseph
Series: A Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries #2 (Each book is a standalone installment)
Expected Release: Fall 2020
Genres: Middle Grade Mystery – 9 to 12 years old (For fans of Nancy Drew type mysteries)

Goodreads

In 1945, Isabela de Cordoba’s great-grandfather, the famous silent movie actor Lorenzo de Cordoba, mysteriously hid a legendary, multimillion-dollar emerald somewhere on the family’s sprawling Eucalyptus Street estate. Seventy years later, the gem remains concealed. Nicknamed the “Green Curse,” the emerald is blamed for the Southern California familia’s numerous, untimely deaths.
On her twenty-first birthday, Isabela receives a secret letter with a cryptic poem. These documents from the long-deceased Lorenzo invite her to hunt for the gemstone. But first, she must decipher the poem’s eight stanzas for clues.
To assist, Isabela hires her thirteen-year-old neighbors, the four Botanic Hill Detectives—twins Lanny and Lexi Wyatt, and their best friends, Moki Kalani and Rani Kumar. Eerie footsteps inside the mansion, unexplained occurrences in the adjacent cemetery, and the mysterious tenant in the backyard casita challenge them. But they ingeniously make progress on the poem’s meaning with startling discoveries. Sliding wall panels, a secret room, and hidden passages reveal much. The detectives aren’t the only ones looking for the emerald. The perilous race for the de Cordoba treasure is on!
“GREEN CURSE is a spooky mystery that starts during a lightning storm in a big empty mansion. The tension ratchets up continuously as the story goes, alluding to ghosts, vampires, tombstones, graves, and a scary old woman that could be a witch. There’s a mystery within the mystery, a broad range of diverse characters, and interesting lore about gemstones of antiquity. My 12-year-old son and I recommend this page-turner that we just had to finish in one day!”
–BEN GARTNER, author of The Eye of Ra series
“This book was shocking, fun, and clever. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. One of the best books I have ever read!”
–LIAM M., age 11, Macungie, PA

Book Review: Secrets, Lies, and Scandals by Amanda K. Morgan

January 27, 2019January 19, 2019 Luxe4 Comments

Book Title: Secrets, Lies, and Scandals
Author: Amanda K. Morgan
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: July 5th 2016
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Amazon Book Depository

In the tradition of I Know What You Did Last Summer and How to Get Away with Murder, five teens must overcome their paranoia in order to keep their teacher’s death a secret in this fast-paced suspense thriller.

Nothing ruins summer vacation like a secret…especially when it involves a dead teacher.

Ivy used to be on top of the social ladder, until her ex made that all go away. She has a chance to be Queen Bee again, but only if the rest of the group can keep quiet.

Tyler has always been a bad boy, but lately he’s been running low on second chances. There’s no way he’s going to lose everything because someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut.

Kinley wouldn’t describe herself as perfect, though everyone else would. But perfection comes at a price, and there is nothing she wouldn’t do to keep her perfect record—one that doesn’t include murder charges.

Mattie is only in town for the summer. He wasn’t looking to make friends, and he definitely wasn’t looking to be involved in a murder. He’s also not looking to be riddled with guilt for the rest of his life…but to prevent that he’ll have to turn them all in.

Cade couldn’t care less about the body, or about the pact to keep the secret. The only way to be innocent is for someone else to be found guilty. Now he just has to decide who that someone will be.

With the police hot on the case, they don’t have much time to figure out how to trust each other. But in order to take the lead, you have to be first in line…and that’s the quickest way to get stabbed in the back.

MY THOUGHTS

I’ve been wanting to pick up this book for a while now. Ever since I saw it on Book Outlet, blurbed as perfect for fans of the TV show How to Get Away with Murder, I knew I had to read it. Fast forward a several months and a Kindle deal later, I finally got to read it.

Secrets, Lies, and Scandals is a fast-paced thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. At least, it had that impact on me. I was reading this non-stop because I just HAD to know what happens next.

The book is told in alternating perspectives of the five main characters: Ivy, Mattie, Kinley, Tyler and Cade. In my opinion, the most well-written character is Tyler. I found that among the five, he was the one I truly felt for. I sympathized with him especially with everything that’s been going on.

Other than that, I loved how each one of them has their own tricks up their sleeves which made their actions quite unpredictable. They were clever and independent on their own, but they couldn’t act brashly because they could all come crashing down. They were all good at manipulating other people and each other.

Also, I can’t resist not sharing the first sentence of the book:

“There should be more blood.”

The moment I read that, I got the feeling that this would be a gripping read. Besides, the promise of having a similar vibe to the hit TV show How to Get Away with Murder delivered, in retrospect. (Well, at least the part where a bunch of students killed someone.) Although I have to say, the means of killing the teacher in the book was a bit underwhelming for me. They could have done with something a bit more gruesome for the drama ~~or maybe that’s just my evil side~~ talking. And lastly, I would just like to say that however forced and instant the romance in this book was, I truly believe that it wasn’t completely unnecessary.

Honestly, I had a hard time rating this book. I changed my star rating on Goodreads, like, three times, debating whether it was a 3- or 4-star read. But in the end, I really think this one deserves its 4 stars. This book is jam-packed with secrets, lies and scandals (see what I did there?) that indeed made it such an enthralling story. I recommend this one if you’re looking for a quick thrilling read.

DISCLAIMER: By clicking the Amazon and Book Depository buttons, you will be directed to my affiliate links for the respective sites. If you purchase the book using my link, you have supported me and my blog since I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Cover Reveal: The Haunting of Elmwood Manor by Pamela McCord

January 19, 2019January 19, 2019 Luxe3 Comments

Book Title: The Haunting of Elmwood Manor
Author: Pamela McCord
Series: (a Pekin Dewlap Mystery)
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication Date: March 1st 2019
Genres: Mystery, Middle-Grade

Goodreads

Pekin Dewlap hasn’t seen a ghost since she was twelve.
But she’d do anything to get them back. Starting a ghostbusting business with her two best friends, Amber and Scout, seems like the perfect way to accomplish her goal. Of course, playing with ghosts isn’t high on their wish list, so Pekin has to do some arm-twisting to get them on board.
Once committed, Pekin and her friends find themselves in deep, trying to solve the disappearance of fourteen-year-old Miranda Talbert. Miranda went missing in 1918, and her spirit has wandered the halls of Elmwood Manor for the last hundred years.
In the midst of finding Miranda, discovering her budding feelings for Scout, and consoling a terrified Amber, Pekin is met by an angry ghost set on thwarting her plans. Will the Ghosties be able to help Miranda, or will Pekin’s business die before she solves the mystery?

READY?

There it is!! Doesn’t it look so good? The premise alone sounds fantastic but the cover pretty much sealed the deal. I’m looking forward to possibly reading this sometime soon because the book sounds like something I would really enjoy.

What do you think about the cover/the book? Let’s chat!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pam was born in Arkansas several decades ago. She’s not sure if that makes her a Southern Girl or if moving to Southern California when she was five revokes her Southern Girl card. She started writing later in life when she was challenged by a friend to create a book out of his story idea. Reaching the first 5,000 words was a milestone, but with time and hard work she managed to finish an entire book, much to her surprise. Since then, she’s written several novels, in several genres. Romance, middle grade and paranormal comprise most of her work. Pam has spent over 40 years working as a legal secretary at a law firm in Orange County, California. Aside from writing, she follows the stock market, buying, selling and trading stocks and options. In contrast to that, she loves trips to Las Vegas where she can spend many happy hours at the Pai Gow tables. She shares a condo with her very own My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable.
Website / Facebook

Book Review: Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan

January 13, 2019January 15, 2019 Luxe2 Comments

Book Title: Don’t Get Caught
Author: Kurt Dinan
Series: N/A (Standalone)
Publication Date: April 1st 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Humor, Mystery, Young Adult
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

10:00 tonight at the water tower. Tell no one. -Chaos Club

When Max receives a mysterious invite from the untraceable, epic prank-pulling Chaos Club, he has to ask: why him? After all, he’s Mr. 2.5 GPA, Mr. No Social Life. He’s Just Max. And his favorite heist movies have taught him this situation calls for Rule #4: Be suspicious. But it’s also his one shot to leave Just Max in the dust…

Yeah, not so much. Max and four fellow students-who also received invites-are standing on the newly defaced water tower when campus security “catches” them. Definitely a setup. And this time, Max has had enough. It’s time for Rule #7: Always get payback.

Let the prank war begin.

MY THOUGHTS

This book was so much fun! As students, my friends and I occasionally pull harmless pranks to divert our attention from all the stress that is school. I’ve always been drawn to the art of silly pranking and this book is the epitome of silly pranks. Their antics, however unrealistic, were creative and bold. I really enjoyed reading about how they execute each prank and how they get away with it.

I liked all the characters from the start, even the mean ones like Mr. Stranko, except for one. I won’t tell you who it is just because. 😉 But you’ll know what I mean when you read the book, hopefully. Anyway. I enjoyed reading from the point of view of the main character, Max. He is a funny guy and he has a very kind personality. Also, as the book progresses, his character development becomes more evident. He went from alternating between Just Max (his normal, boring side) and Not Max (his outgoing, brave side) to being himself.

Plot-wise, I didn’t exactly love it. It was quite predictable and that pretty much blew the fun experience a bit for me. With that being said though, I still had fun reading Don’t Get Caught, an entertaining quick read for when you want a little mischief.

Book Review: My Whole Truth by Mischa Thrace

September 15, 2018January 15, 2019 LuxeLeave a comment

Book Title: My Whole Truth
Author: Mischa Thrace
Series: N/A (Standalone)
Publication Date: October 2nd 2018
Genres: LGBT, Mystery, Young Adult
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Seelie Stanton never wanted to kill someone. She never wanted to be invisible in her own family, never wanted to crush on her best friend Alyssa, and she definitely never wanted to know how effectively a mallet could destroy someone’s head.

But the universe doesn’t care what she wants. Shane Mayfield doesn’t care what Seelie wants either. When the former high school basketball star attacks her, she has no choice but to defend herself. She saved her own life, but she can’t bring herself to talk about what happened that night. Not all of it. Not even when she’s arrested for murder.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.