Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:22:36 -0600WeeblyThu, 10 Sep 2026 21:34:12 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/possession-islandBy Sarah McCarry
** Publication Date 1 December 2026 **
4 stars


Honestly, I was 10% into this book and thought, this is ridiculous. It had some of the elements of Interview with the Vampire, and some from Twilight, and I thought it was going to be some kind of fan fiction. But as I got more into the story, it became a unique tale of young women, living on an island, trying to find their way in the world.


Angela’s mother was a famous writer. She wrote one novel that became a national sensation. The family moved to Possession Island for her mother to write the novel, and there they stayed. They lived in a drafty old mansion whose original owner was the initial inspiration. One day her mother went out on their boat and never returned. Now Angela lives in this drafty old manse with her alcoholic father and a housekeeper.


Morgan was born and raised on this island. She has no friends, as she’s too goth, too smart, too everything for the people of the island. Like most residents, Mo read Possession Island and is passionate about it. Naturally she is drawn to Angela, and the two become inseparable. 


Until the Raleigh family moves to the island. Father George bought out the old bar that all the locals frequent. Sally and Adrian are the twins. The two were best of friends, but since arriving on the island, Adrian has been hanging with Mo and Angela, drifting away from his relationship with his sister. Eventually Adrian and Mo become a couple, to the derision of both Sally and Angela. 


Adrian becomes possessive, Mo becomes a shell of herself, Sally is simply over it all, and Angela just wants Mo back. When Mo is found murdered and burned in the parking lot of the high school, Angela becomes the prime suspect. Angela needs to find somewhere else to point the finger before she finds herself facing first-degree murder.


Get through the first few chapters before you decide to put this one down. The excerpts of the novel Possession Island are interesting as they are interwoven through this novel. I suppose they are necessary to the plot, but they were difficult at the beginning. As the story goes deeper into Morgan and Angela, and Adrian and Sally, things start to get good. What each one of these people is hiding, what secrets they hold, all make for a good plot. While I did make some connections midway through, the actual climax of the tale is really good reading. I think the story maybe could have gotten away without the novel within the novel segments, but maybe that’s just me. 


Still found this one to be a page-turner and worth the read. Will recommend to those who like dark and twisty tales of young adults. 

]]>Sun, 06 Sep 2026 22:21:14 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/rising-thunderBy Neal Shusterman
** Publication Date 1 December 2026 **
5 stars
​A prequel to Scythe



I’ve been meaning to read the Scythe series forever. So when the prequel landed in my lap, I couldn’t help but read it. Not knowing how things would turn out later is a great way to read a prequel. I have no preconceptions or know anything about the characters, except what is shared in this novel.


So for those of you that have read the other books, forgive my ignorance of the future. I only know what I’ve read here. 


A teenager named Aziz is gifted when it comes to coding, not so much in the social department. He attends a prestigious school where he is a great student. Right up until he creates a little guy, called Perpy, that lives in the corner of his computer monitor. When a friend dares him to release it to the principal’s computer, Aziz does. What Aziz doesn’t realize is that little Perpy is likely going to change not only his world, but the world as a whole. 


Marty is dying. He has a disease called progeria where he ages exponentially faster than the average human. Rather than lose him completely, his parents consign him to a place called Twi-life, where they pretty much halt life and hold it in stasis until a cure comes along. Before that, Marty opens a chat room and asks a pivotal question. 


The chat room fills with others from around the world. Each one special in their own way. This group of people will be the future of the new world, a world of immortality. 


I really can’t wait to read the other books now that I’ve tackled this one. Mostly because I have no idea what happens next. The writing is spectacular. The mix of characters, from a man who forges knives, to a teenage hacker, to a wannabe fashion designer, is crazy. No one would ever imagine these people becoming a group, but here we are. Each character serves a purpose, and I am excited to see where they go from here.


Shusterman has quite the following, I’m sure. Quite the mind, as well, to keep all of this on track. I loved this prequel and look forward to reading the other novels ASAP. 

]]>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:04:39 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/murder-unabridgedBy P.J. Nelson
** Publication Date 1 December 2026**
​4 stars


Somehow I missed the second installment of this series, but I’m so happy I’ve got the third done! The Old Juniper Bookshop series is so good. A cast of amazing characters that somehow keep finding themselves in the middle of murder investigations!


Maddie Brimley took over her late aunt Rose's bookshop several years ago. Since then she’s been part of three murder investigations. All three happened on her property, but none were her fault! This time a stranger appears at her door late one night, claiming to be the man who shot two people in the house back in the 1960s. Shot them right there on the green sofa Maddy is so fond of. 


He says his name is Trilby, and he’s a distant relative of Maddy’s. He’s come to talk to her late aunt, and when Maddy tells him she’s gone, Trilby is overtaken. Maddy invites him in for tea. Then she invites him to stay the night! By late morning, she is concerned that he hasn’t wakened yet. When she knocks on the door of the guest room, sure enough, he’s dead. The coroner (who is not a fan of Maddy’s) says the man was murdered. Murdered! Another mystery to be solved by the women of Enigma, Georgia.


These novels truly are so much fun. Maddy, her aunt Philomena, and the local minister have banded together to solve crimes before, so they are confident they can solve this one. Especially since Maddy is the prime suspect.


P.J. Nelson is supposedly a man, but boy does he write well in the female voice. Maddy is someone I would befriend in an instant. She owns a bookshop, after all. Philomena Waldorp is an older woman who is also a professor at the local college, and she owns part of the bookshop (Rose was her beloved.) Then there is the minister,  , who is quite the joker for a minister! They are a trio to be reckoned with. Add in the local sheriff, Billy, whom Maddy used to babysit, and Jennifer, Maddy’s college-aged store helper, and you’ve got a rocking good time in southern Georgia. 


The books have heart. They have suspense. They have humor. Overall they are just a great read and a quick one at that! No need to read the first two before this one, they can standalone. Once you’ve read one, though, I suspect you’ll want to read another!
]]>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:12:11 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/fallen-beautyBy Astrid Scholte
** Publication Date 3 November 2026 **
4 stars


As the author herself said, this is a gothic novel combined with a fairytale, and she couldn’t be more correct. Fallen Beauty combines all the best things of a fairytale—a beautiful maiden, a handsome prince, a wicked queen—with those elements of a gothic novel—a curse, a castle, a wicked queen and evil king, a villain. 


Thorelea has lived in a high tower all her life. She’s never witnessed the outside. She’s had only her mother for company. Even her mother would disappear now and again, and come back smelling awful. Her mother would tell her that they were in the tower for their own safety. Yet Thorelea longed to leave.


Eventually Thorelea found that her mother was whisked away to paint portraits. Portraits of dead things. Then the paintings would disappear, and her mother would be so tired. One day her mother was taken from the tower forever. Thorelea went on with her painting and her sequestered life. Until one day she, too, was taken from the tower. Then it was all made clear to her. She was to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be the court painter. 


The court painter is rather important to the royalty of Lagonia. On Thorelea’s first night out, she meets Prince Kelter, who is also mortal. During the dinner, the queen is killed by the king. The next morning, Thorelea is taken to a painting room, where the queen sits, alive. It is Thorelea’s job to keep the royal court alive with her paintings, which offer immortality. Only, she will still be a prisoner. Perhaps Prince Kelter will hold the keys to her freedom. 


When I first started this novel, I wasn’t convinced I would enjoy it. Girl locked away in a tower. Mother has a secret. Mother disappears. But as the pages turned, I became more invested in the story, especially once Thorelea left her tower. While this novel definitely has the feel of a fairytale, it is also quite dark and gory. It is a fascinating premise that a painter can keep people alive by painting them back together. Magical, really. But there is such a darkness to this story. The king and queen go beyond evil. The curse that is coming for Lagonia cannot be fought. Overall I have to say I truly enjoyed this one. 


Recommend to those who already like fantasy, romantasy, and a little bit of horror.
]]>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 23:23:54 GMThttp://bookwormishme.com/reviews/please-enjoy-your-stayBy Tara Goedjen
** Publication Date 13 October 2026 **
4 stars
​

Austria seems like a great setting for a murder mystery. Especially when it takes place in a former castle. 


Amelia was just a young girl when her mother passed away from cancer. She was sent to live with her Aunt Iris and her cousin Tristan. Iris was a well-known true crime writer, Tristan, just a teenager himself. Tristan became Amelia’s keeper and best friend. 


They’ve traveled to a small town in Austria, the site of unsolved murders from the late 1960s. At the time that the DeLaney family visits the castle, now a hotel, it is somewhat run-down. It is being run by Augustin Aiglar, the son of the late Gitta Aiglar, victim of the murders. The castle feels haunted and dark. Iris is there to write, Amelia and Tristan are going to spend their summer learning German and hanging out with the landscaper’s children, Matteo and Sabine. Tristan is taken with Sabine, and Amelia with Matteo, even though she’s only 13. 


One night during a fundraising gala at the hotel, Tristan limps out of the castle to go down to the hot springs. He’s on crutches from an injury sustained on his skateboard. Amelia chases after him, but doesn’t reach the springs until Tristan is already lowering himself into the water. Augustin appears and starts an altercation with Tristan, and next thing Amelia knows, Tristan is floating face down in the springs. 


Now Amelia is grown and has changed her name to protect her privacy. She’s now Mia. Working as an EMT in Florida, she worries about her Aunt Iris who has retired in Vienna. When Mia finds a job opening working for the women who is going to reopen the hotel in Austria, Mia thinks this is the perfect thing to get her Aunt Iris out of the slump she’s been in. Mia wants to find out the truth about Tristan’s murder. 


Mia is accepted for the job as a nanny and finds herself on a flight to Austria to the place where her life went sideways. 


This book had me turning pages like crazy, wanting to figure out the person responsible for the murders at the castle/hotel. Mia is written as someone who avoids confrontation, yet she turns out to be the perfect heroine to the story. All of the characters seem suspect in one way or another, as most have worked for the hotel for a very long time. It’s a good novel when you might have a suspicion about the actual killer, but you can’t quite pin it down. Fortunately for us, neither can Mia. 


This is a wild ride from the prologue to the end. Very current with true crime podcasts and media all around. It’s a good one that I definitely will recommend.
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