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Best Books of the Month: June 2017

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All News & Interviews | Popular this month

Giveaways

Sage Escape: Mars Gambit
by Damian S. Simankowicz (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Feb 15, 2017

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY

Enter for a chance to win a graphic novel copy of SAGE ESCAPE: MARS GAMBIT!

The year 3042. The biggest military provider in the uni ...more

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Format: Print book

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Availability: 1 copy available, 1785 people requesting

Giveaway dates: May 03 - Jul 19, 2017

Countries available: US, CA, and GB more

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Top Reviews This Week

Melissa's review of Final Girls by Riley Sager

" Reminiscent of a slasher flick, Final Girls sticks pretty close to the typical script. All of the required components are there—survivor of a murder spree that’s barely holding it together, dead space where there should be memories, a person or two c Reminiscent of a slasher flick, Final Girls sticks pretty close to the typical script. All of the required components are there—survivor of a murder spree that’s barely holding it together, dead space where there should be memories, a person or two casting doubt, the hair-raising feeling that things aren’t at all what they seem and most importantly, a leading lady that makes a ton of questionable choices.

It’s been ten years since Quincy and a group of friends were attacked in a remote cabin by a knife-wielding psycho and she was the ‘Final Girl’ left standing. As Quincy recovers her lost memories and slowly unravels the truth of what really happened all those years ago at Pine Cottage, it becomes clear there was one major detail that everyone got wrong about that night.

Despite all outward appearances—her baking blog, swanky apartment and relationship with a successful guy—Quincy is a mess. Really though, after what she’s been through, who wouldn’t be? Still haunted by what happened, she's prone to popping Xanax and washing it down with a swig of grape soda. My initial thought was that Quincy was doing the best she could—faking it until she makes it. I would even go so far to say I liked her . . . in the beginning.

Quincy, along with two other women that survived their own separate nightmares, were dubbed ‘Final Girls’ by the media and garnered a ton of attention. Let’s be honest here for a minute though, shall we? With social media making news stories like this so readily available, these chicks would have had their fifteen-minutes of fame and the world would have moved on to the next crime. There wouldn’t be this huge media following 10-14 years later, despite one of the ‘Final Girls’ dying a suspicious death and the other arriving on Quincy’s doorstep. I’d expect some news coverage and maybe a Dateline special, but a front page spread and paparazzi . . . I’d say not. Have I mentioned, I struggle with suspending disbelief?

The author flips the timeline between the present—Quincy and Samantha on a downward spiral together—and Pine Cottage. For me, it was the teens in the woods that held the most interest. I found the present chapters to be a little repetitive and slow; I was constantly waiting for something exciting to happen. A large part of my disdain resided with how unlikable I found Samantha to be and the fact that those feelings started to stain Quincy as well. I didn’t expect her to fall apart quite so easily at the hands of this stranger, who was a complete wreck herself.

The story gained some much needed momentum in the last thirty pages or so, leaving me eager to confirm my suspicions. Despite all of the doubt the author had been casting, I was pretty confident I had in fact figured it all out. I'm happy to admit now, Riley Sager played me. I was completely wrong! Again, the author might have stuck to the proven slasher flick formula by pulling out a surprise ending, but it only helped to redeem the story in my eyes. Had it not been for that ending, my feelings and rating would have been drastically different. I have to disagree with the almighty Mr. Stephen King who declared this book to be the “first great thriller of 2017”. Marketing hype aside, I would say this mild thriller is enjoyable for the most part, but not memorable.

*My first Goodreads Giveaway win! Imagine my surprise when I opened the mailbox and discovered I was lucky enough to snag an advanced reading copy from Dutton. Yay me! ...more "
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Alissa Nutting

Nutting's latest novel is a bawdy look at marriage and monogamy, featuring sex dolls and mind-control chips. In this spirit, the author shares her "funniest bad sex scenes."

5 likes · 2 comments

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