I just signed up for @BookishMarginalia 's #HalloweenGoesPostal #FallBookExchange and I'm so excited! 👻🍁🎃

A wild ride from page one. Every chapter steps you back- a few days here, a few weeks there- walking backwards up the stairs to the start of everything that is Jule and Immie. If you like psychological thrillers and stories about selves and identity- Bourne, the Talented Mr Ripley- add this one to your TBR! 💵🍋

Kidnapped, imprisoned, raped; Laine has three years' worth of memories that she keeps at bay with alcohol and pills. When a young girl goes missing- the spitting image of her younger self- Laine knows the monster in her past is responsible. Can she help save a little girl, or is she too broken to reach the truth? 💊⏳

I flew through this book in a single day. It's a entrancing look into a nightmare, a fascinating story about survival and memories, and a story that is impossible to put down. 🔍❄️

This is a really unique take on magic and Prohibition that had me on the edge of my seat! If you like urban fantasy or period fantasy, this one is for you! 🍸✨

A deeply immersive historical fic set in Europe during WWI and post WWII. Many of the 1915 period characters are drawn from real people who risked their lives to collect and deliver military intelligence, and Quinn brings them back to life in stunning period detail. I highly recommend this one!

Two sisters vanish in the night; three years later, one returns with a story of captivity on an island, pleading with the FBI to rescue her sister. A forensic psychiatrist helps put the pieces of her tale together- but will they add up to the truth?

This is a fantastic story alternating between the girl's perspective and the psychiatrist's; it's a slow burning story of betrayal, love and manipulation. Definitely going to be a big hit this summer!

Avery, an attorney & daughter of a senator, is mistaken for someone else by an elderly resident of a care facility; the woman's forlorn situation sets her on an investigation that pulls her attention from her father & his cancer. Meanwhile we follow Rill in 1939, a "river rat" trying to keep her siblings together & safe when they are stolen from their home & brought to an orphanage to be separated and sold. A well written & heartbreaking book.

Nabbed this ARC at work yesterday! Everything I've heard about it has been bad, honestly, so I figured I'd see for myself.

This is a meandering book that wanders between a number of characters and places, and though it's not poorly written it just never rang true to me. I think the strongest aspect was the characterization of Judith, a trans woman, who is also one of the characters we spend the most time with. It's not really a mystery, and with almost every character being universally disappointed with their lot in life is a bit of a downer.

This was described to me as a Nigerian Harry Potter, and I can 100% agree with that- but at the same time it is so much it's own story. I think I'm a bit older than the intended audience, but it was a great read. I loved the glimpse into Nigerian culture, a world of magic thoroughly it's own entity and not a familiar white European/American one. I wholeheartedly recommend this one, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

A gripping and well written story, but it takes "fucked up family" to a new and nauseating low. It was worth the read, but I feel like I need a shower. TW for incest, miscarriage, suicide.

There is a lot to love about this book; it has some of the most genuine and nuanced character relationships I've ever read. Frankie, the autistic son, is particularly well done. Unfortunately, there's no meat to this novel- nothing much really happens and there's nothing really resolved at the end. It also falls into the trap of a main female character with very modern sensibilities in a period piece. A nice read, but not a great one.

I found this a very intriguing book; the format is unusual, containing a book within a book. Atticus Pünd was an interesting character, and I think I may have enjoyed his portion of the story more than the rest. The first person tense of the "real" part of the book threw me off. All that said, it was an entertaining whodunnit.

(Morgan also approved of it- the ARC is just the right size for napping on!)

A young woman's twin sister dies a sudden, tragic death- and then she starts sending letters, sending her estranged sister hunting for the next clue in a morbid game that reaffirms their bond while still keeping them apart. TW for alcoholism, eating disorders, drugs, and a seriously fucked up family.

Warning: this is apparently the first book of a new series and doesn't necessarily stand alone well. That said, it's a rich and unique magical world with Chinese cultural elements and a geisha-esque world of magic users- the MC Tea accidentally resurrects her brother at his funeral, and her fate as a Dark "asha" is sealed. Many aspects reminded me of the early portions of Kushiel's Dart, and I look forward to getting more answers in the next one!

The titular Antoinette is a young non-verbal autistic girl with a miraculous power; her mother is dying, and her estranged obsessive-compulsive aunt is forced to return to he family flower farm to care for her sister and niece. It's bogged down by a tiresome love triangle and a cast of ultimately forgettable characters. The ending fails to deliver on a major plot point that otherwise could have made for a much more emotional and poignant piece.

A fun alternate universe that is both familiar and surprising, with POV characters that are engaging and very likable, this is a quick and pleasant read. I'm looking forward to rejoining the shapeshifting Grey and his odd collection of friends and allies in the next book!