My SPOILER ALERT Book Reviews!

  📚 Book Review: A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5) Genre: True Crime / Memoir Trigger Warnings: Rape, murder, racism, police brutality, false confession, grief, suicide, capital punishment, trauma 🧠 Overview (Spoiler-Free) A Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder and Its Aftermath is Jeanine Cummins’ deeply personal recounting of a horrific crime that tore through her family in 1991. Her cousins, Julie and Robin Kerry , were raped and murdered on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri, while her teenage brother Tom Cummins barely survived the attack—and was then wrongfully treated as the prime suspect. The book isn’t your standard true crime read. It’s not focused on sensationalizing the killers or unraveling a mystery. Instead, it’s about grief, injustice, and how trauma reshapes a family’s entire world. Cummins chooses to center the victims’ lives and the emotional wreckage left behind. But here’s the thing: while it’s well-written and c...

  ⭐️ Book Review: Deadly Vision by T.D. Severin A medical thriller that had me holding my defibrillator (aka the book) like my life depended on it Rating: 5/5 glowing arteries (*I received an ARC copy of this book. The opinions here are entirely my own.) Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases—at no cost to you. 📚 Spoiler Warning: This review contains major plot spoilers , including the ending. If you're the kind of reader who likes to go in blind, now’s the time to fake a heart condition and click away. Otherwise—grab your SIS suit and dive in. 🔍 What’s Deadly Vision About? It’s Grey’s Anatomy meets Mr. Robot meets House of Cards , but with more robots, more lasers, and way more body-counts-per-page. T.D. Severin delivers a blistering fast-paced medical thriller that unfolds over a mere 10 days (not counting the mic drop epilogue). You’re dropped into a world where heart disease mee...

  🪄 Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab When Will I Learn Not to Read Fantasy? 📚 Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 stars) ☕ Genre: Fantasy (yep… I walked into this one) ⚠️ SPOILER WARNING : This review contains full spoilers, including character fates, plot twists, and portal-hopping chaos. Proceed with magical caution. 🤦‍♀️ First, Let’s Talk About Me Okay. You know what? This one’s on me. I’ve said multiple times that I just don’t like fantasy books. Magic, spells, alternate worlds, weird rules, fifty characters named things like “Holland Vosijk” and “Athos Dane” — not my thing. And yet… I picked up a book called A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC . MAGIC. Right there in the title. Did I notice? No. Did I dive in thinking this was just a cool metaphor or something? Also yes. So to be fair to V.E. Schwab , I admit: I walked into this one like a fool. 😅 🧙‍♂️ Overview: What the Book Is Actually About Published in 2015 , A Darker Shade of Magic is a young adult fantasy ...

  😱 Book Review: Misery by Stephen King 🚑 When Your #1 Fan Turns Into Your Worst Nightmare ✨ Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars) ⚠️ SPOILER WARNING! I am about to go full Paul Sheldon on this plot— everything gets revealed. So if you haven’t read Misery yet and want the pure terror of discovering it for yourself, go grab it now and then come back. I’ll wait. 🪓 👋 Let’s Start with a Confession Stephen King is THE KING for a reason. I mean… HOW DOES HE DO THIS?! The man loves his words (seriously, no one is editing this guy), but wow, does he know how to use them. Misery is slow—but like, glued-to-the-page-even-though-you’re-cringing-and-sweating slow. I don’t usually read horror, but when I do, I want it to be this good. The characters are so alive , they practically climb out of the book and whisper in your ear. When Paul is terrified, I’m terrified. When his foot gets chopped off… let’s just say I found myself physically checking my own feet . 😅 This book is easily a 5 ...

  🍽️ Book Review: Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi 📚 A Memoir Served With Grit, Soul, and a Side of Curry Goat ✨ Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  (4 out of 5) ⚠️ Spoiler Alert! This post contains full spoilers, including how the restaurant ends. But it’s a memoir—so technically, life is the spoiler. 👀 First Impressions Okay, first of all— this guy can WRITE. Like, wow. Before I even comment on the content, let me just say: Kwame Onwuachi has some serious literary chops . Maybe it’s the co-author (shout-out to Joshua David Stein), but I’d read more from this duo in a heartbeat. Honestly, if the chef life doesn’t work out (though I hope it does), they should just keep the books coming. I picked up Notes from a Young Black Chef thinking I was getting a food memoir, and I did—but it’s also way more than that. It’s about identity, survival, ambition, failure, family, and yeah, racism. A lot of racism. And here’s where I want to tread carefully. I’ve experienced racism ...

  🔥 Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 📚 The Hunger Games Book 2 ✨ Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5) ⚠️ Spoiler Alert! This review contains full spoilers, including the ending! And if you haven’t read my post on The Hunger Games , what are you even doing here? Go check that one out here first. I’ll wait. 💭 First Impressions Okay, so Catching Fire was… intense. I loved The Hunger Games so much I basically inhaled it, and even though I don’t usually go for fantasy/dystopian books, it totally blew me away. Naturally, I went into book two with my expectations sky-high and—good news—it’s still a great book. Bad news? It’s kind of all over the place. You’ve got: A rebellion arc ✔️ Another Hunger Games (because apparently trauma is the gift that keeps on giving) ✔️ The Peeta vs. Gale tension turned up to 11 ✔️ …but somehow, it felt a little disjointed. Like Suzanne Collins had three ideas for what should happen in this book and said, “Yes. All of them.” Still, I can’...

 

  ✝️ Book Review: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer ⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Come for the true crime, stay for the wild ride through Mormon history. ⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This review includes major spoilers about the book’s events, including the real-life murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty , as well as historical revelations about the origins of Mormonism . Proceed with caution—or curiosity. 🙋‍♀️ What I Thought Okay. So I went into this book expecting straight-up true crime . You know, a gripping, gritty murder story, courtroom drama, psychological dive—the usual. What I got was part true crime, part deep dive into the founding and evolution of the Mormon religion , and part “Am I reading a college textbook right now?” And honestly? I didn’t hate it. But let’s just say I wasn’t prepared for this to be half history lecture, half murder story . That said, I learned a TON. The history of Mormonism is absolutely wild —and frankly, kind of unbelievable. Like… how is any...

  🦠 Book Review: Severance by Ling Ma ⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5 stars A brilliant premise, a fascinating ride… and then it just... ends? ⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This review includes major spoilers and the full ending. If you haven’t read Severance yet, grab it now and come back when you’re emotionally prepared for the final two pages to be your last. 🧠 What I Thought (The Rambling Honest Part) Have you ever read a book that gets better and better with every page—and you’re totally locked in—because the premise is SO GOOD and you’re thinking “Yes! YES! Where is this going? There are SO many places this can go!!”… …and then it just ends? No big reveal. No satisfying resolution. No ambiguous, clever literary mic drop. Just… done. Like someone tripped over the power cord and said, “Yeah, that’s enough.” That’s how Severance went for me. I was this close to a 5-star rave. And then I had to double check my copy to make sure pages weren’t missing . Sadly, they weren’t. So yeah. 5 stars bec...

  🚍 Book Review: Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig ⭐️ Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars A meandering, quirky road trip with charm—but not a whole lot of urgency. ⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This review includes full plot details and ending spoilers , so if you haven’t read Last Bus to Wisdom and don’t want the journey spoiled, go grab the book first and come back later! 🧭 Quick Summary: Last Bus to Wisdom was the final novel by beloved author Ivan Doig, who passed away before its 2015 release. It’s a coming-of-age story wrapped in a nostalgic, slow-burning 1950s Greyhound adventure . The book is set mostly in Montana and Wisconsin, and it follows 11-year-old Donal Cameron , a redheaded rascal who’s more Huck Finn than Harry Potter. Donal is sent away for the summer when his Gram (the ranch cook) needs surgery. He’s shipped off from Montana to his never-before-met great-aunt Kate in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Let’s just say that goes... poorly. 🧳 Plot Summary (Spoilers Ahead!) 📍 Part 1: Montan...

  💓 The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou – Book Review (4.5/5 Stars) 🗣️ “I’ve always heard of Maya Angelou... but I didn’t really know who she was until now.” Same, friend. SAME. And wow — what a way to be introduced. 📚 Affiliate link : Grab The Heart of a Woman on Amazon ⚠️ Spoiler Alert! This review contains FULL SPOILERS , including the ending. I spill all the tea. Read on only if you're okay with that! 💭 First Impressions: Who Knew Maya Angelou Was THIS Funny? Listen. I opened this book expecting, I don’t know… intimidating literary greatness? Instead, I got filthy jokes , sharp observations , and a woman who has LIVED — and writes like it. I’m not exaggerating when I say parts of this had me cackling . Maya’s writing is confident, witty, and unapologetically real. Her ability to tell a story is just chef’s kiss . She curses, she jokes, she sings ( literally — I listened to the audiobook and she sings in it), and she hits you with truth bombs you didn’t even see comin...

  🎤🔥 The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – Book Review (3.5/5 Stars) 🖋️ A coming-of-age novel-in-verse that punches you in the feelings, one poetic stanza at a time. 📚 Affiliate link : Get The Poet X on Amazon ⚠️ Spoiler Alert! This review contains FULL SPOILERS including the ending. Proceed only if you're cool with finding out how Xiomara’s poetic rebellion turns out. 💭 My Thoughts — “Wait… is this nonfiction?” I accidentally wandered into poetry territory , and I’m not even mad about it. The Poet X is written entirely in verse — not the rhyming, Shakespearean kind, but more like slam poetry, straight from the soul and seasoned with teenage angst. And as someone who doesn’t love poetry , I still found myself laughing out loud , raising my eyebrows in admiration, and wondering if Xiomara was a real person (spoiler: she’s not, but it feels that real). That said, I wasn’t completely hooked. While I admired the writing and voice , and I appreciated the realistic take on girlho...

  ⏳🎸 Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore – Book Review (4/5 Stars) 👉 What if you lived your life out of order? Would you change anything? 📌 Affiliate link: Grab Oona Out of Order on Amazon ⚠️ Spoiler Alert! This review contains FULL spoilers — the ending, the twists, the surprises — so if you’re planning to read the book and want to go in blind, bookmark this and come back later! 💭 My Thoughts — A Book That Made Me Reflect on Life Let me just say: What a unique book! I love the premise of living life out of order. It really made me stop and think — if I were jumping through different years of my life randomly, would I try to change anything? Personally? I don’t think I would. Sure, I’ve had bad experiences — like my childhood, which was confusing and at times so painful it left me feeling lost. But I survived, and it shaped who I am. And my fight with cancer? Brutal. But it made me stronger. I believe you need the bad to appreciate the good — without it, you wouldn’t ...

  🏀🦌 The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones – Book Review (0.5/5 Stars) 👉 What in the haunted elk, basketball showdown, fever dream did I just read?! 📌 Affiliate link: If you’re feeling brave, get The Only Good Indians on Amazon ⚠️ Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read The Only Good Indians and you plan to — well, good luck, my friend. But seriously, this review is packed with full spoilers , because I’m not about to leave you hanging like that elk left these poor characters. 😵 Quick Take — My Honest Thoughts I tried. I really did. I was excited to read another book by Stephen Graham Jones because his stories are usually unique, even if his writing style takes me five re-reads and a YouTube explainer to understand. But The Only Good Indians ? I don’t even know where to start. 0.5 stars out of 5. That’s right — my first ever half-star rating. Because what on earth was this? ✔️ The writing: Impossible to follow. ✔️ The plot: Absurd. (An elk ghost... playing basketball...