The Sirens by Emilia Hart

 

I enjoyed Hart's first book, Weyward, because of its strong female characters and their connection to nature. The Sirens also features both of these themes and a compelling story. I was instantly engaged in the novel and stayed that way throughout.

The story covers three time periods and two sets of women who share an odd malady: their reaction to the ocean. All suffer an affliction when coming in contact with water, yet they are all drawn to the sea.

In 2019, Lucy, a sleepwalker, awakens to herself trying to strangle her ex-lover. She flees to her sister Jess's house on the Australian coast. Upon arriving, Lucy finds the house unlocked, but no Jess. As the days pass, Lucy becomes aware of the disappearance of eight men over the years on a stretch of coast near Jess's house. With her attraction to the ocean increasing, Lucy tries to find Jess and solve the mystery of the disappearances.

Flashback to 1999. Sixteen-year-old Jess is an odd duck in her small town when her art teacher offers to tutor the budding artist. It becomes apparent that his interest is not just in her drawings, and Jess is also attracted to him.

Both Lucy and Jess are vivid dreamers. Unbeknownst to each other, they dream about twin sisters on a prisoner transport ship in the 1800s. Strangely, these sisters also suffer from the same reaction to water as Jess and Lucy.

Hart does an excellent job of tying together each timeline. The writing is terrific, and the pacing and plotting are good. I loved discovering why the four women have a love/hate relationship with the ocean and their relationship with each other. I saw a twist toward the end coming, but for the most part, I was surprised at how the story unfolded. I highly recommend this book. 

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is April 1, 2025.

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The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve

Time travel is one of my favorite genres. I have my favorite authors, standalone books, and time travel series. I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the genre, so although I was intrigued by this book, I was not prepared to be blown away by The Memory Collectors--but I was. This book is an interesting take that still has me wondering what I'd do if I were in a similar situation as the four characters in this book.

In 2028, Aeon Expeditions develops technology that allows people to spend an hour in their past without changing the future. The company says a person cannot travel to a specific point in time, but four strangers find themselves together four days before August 25, 2025--a date that changed each of their lives. Something goes wrong, and the four find themselves trapped in the past. As their lives intersect, they realize that if they work together, they may be able to change the events of that fateful day.

I read this book in record time. It was thought-provoking, and while it was a bit overly sentimental toward the end, it was still an excellent story. I was caught in the characters' lives and rooted for them to change the events of that August day. Alternating between each character's POV, the author did an excellent job of weaving the lives together and tying the story together. If you want a different take on time travel without the usual hard science that accompanies it, I highly recommend this book. 

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is May 20, 2025.

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Elphie by Gregory Maguire

 

I loved the previous books in this series and was eagerly looking forward to this one. Maybe my expectations were too high, or I wasn't in the right mood, but this latest addition to the Wicked series let me down. Whatever the reason, I had a difficult time staying engaged with it.

Readers of this series are familiar with Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, but how did she become the person we are familiar with? This book focuses on Elphaba's childhood, her relationships with her siblings and parents, and the situations she encountered early in life. Maguire explains Elphie's backstory, which should have been enlightening, but I struggled with it. At times, the writing was disjointed and hard to follow. I put the book down several times, hoping it would get better; it didn't. 

2/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is March 25, 2025.

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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

In this post-apocalyptic world, where global warming has melted all the glaciers and water levels have risen dangerously high, All the Water in the World forecasts a future full of uncertainty.

Thirteen-year-old Nonie, her family, and other scientists have found high ground on the roof of New York's American Museum of Natural History. Using Central Park to grow food and hunt animals, this small group is also cataloging the exhibits with an eye to the future. A hypercane strikes and breaches the flood walls, killing most of the people at the museum. Nonie, her sister, her father, and one scientist survive. Taking a canoe from an exhibit, they head north on the swollen river, hoping to reach the family farm in the Berkshires. It's a trip filled with dangers, both natural and human.

This wonderfully written book depicts a world where the best and worst of human nature and society are displayed. It also shows what might happen if the climate crisis is not addressed. It's a chilling tale that is engrossing and frightening. 

4/5 stars.

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Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben

 I discovered Harlan Coben when I saw some of his books adapted into movies on Netflix. I loved what I saw and decided to try his books. This is the third book I've read, and I can safely say I've become a fan. This is the second book featuring Sami Kierce, Fool Me Once is the first. This book is classic Coben, fast-moving and twisty.

A young Sami Kierce is backpacking with friends in Europe when he becomes enamored with Anna, a woman he meets in Spain. Their brief affair ends when Sami wakes up one morning and discovers Anna dead and his hands covered in blood. A panicked Sami flees the scene.

Flash forward twenty-two years. Sami is now married with a newborn son, working as an investigator for a law firm and teaching night classes. When a woman briefly appears in his classroom, Sami is sure that the woman is Anna. Sami follows her and discovers her name is Victoria, and she is a member of the wealthy Belmond family. Victoria has a mysterious past, and as Sami begins digging, he uncovers secrets the family would rather not have revealed. Determined to solve the Anna/Victoria mystery, Sami soon endangers his own life and that of his wife and child.

This is an excellently plotted thriller with twists I did not see coming. The characters are interesting, and the mystery surrounding Anna and Victoria is compelling. Although one does not need to read Fool Me Once to enjoy this book, I recommend it. Not only is it a good book, but it contributes to Sami's backstory. 

5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is March 25, 2025.

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A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves

 

A Lesson in Dying is the first book in Ann Cleeves's first detective series. Written in the late 1980s, it is the first of six Inspector Ramsay books. Other than the fact that the characters don't have cell phones, the book does not seem dated.

Headmaster Harold Medburn is despised or feared by the faculty and staff at the school he runs in the village of Heppleburn. When he is found hanging in the school's playground, Inspector Ramsay quickly arrests Medburn's wife, Kitty. This does not work well for retired miner and school caretaker Jack Robson. Jack, a widower, is smitten with Kitty and is determined to clear her of the crime. But when he and his daughter begin investigating, they uncover long-held secrets whose exposure threatens their lives.

True to form, Cleeves's Inspector Ramsay is a flawed character. Unlike the police inspectors in her three other series, Stephen Ramsay does not appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. Jack and Jack's daughter, Patty, saved his bumbling investigation by doing most of the investigative work. Cleeves always creates memorable characters, and this book is no exception. The story did get bogged down in places, but overall, this series shows promise. 

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is March 25, 2025.

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The Vanishing Kind by Alice Henderson

I enjoy Alice Henderson's Alex Carter series premise: a wildlife biologist working to save endangered species always finds trouble—usually murder. I learn something and am entertained.

Alex is in New Mexico tracking jaguars at a wildlife preserve. She goes into a small town for supplies, where she encounters a white supremacist group wreaking havoc and harassing the locals. The members wear masks, so law enforcement officers have no idea who they are. In addition to threatening locals, the group targets an archaeological team excavating the gravesite of a sixteenth-century conquistador, whose members include minorities; when the group learns that Alex's research may endanger a wall on the United States/Mexico border, she becomes a target as well. As the violence escalates, Alex's life is in danger, her work threatened, and the jaguar she is tracking is in peril.

What I love most about this series is the facts about endangered species. Henderson's previous books focused on wolverines, polar bears, and mountain caribou, all of which are losing their habitats. Alex is a great character, and I enjoy the situations in which she finds herself. Henderson does a good job of depicting nature and animals. I was caught up in the dangers that Alex faces in this book. The book is suspenseful, and the action scenes are dramatic. I had a problem with how Alex got out of the deadly situation; however,--it was highly improbable. The writing is good, but the dialogue is clunky at times, and the use of exclamation points is distracting. That said, The Vanishing Kind is a good addition to the series. 

3/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is March 4, 2025. 

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