Book Review: The Game

It's been a hot minute since I've been in this little corner of the world, but I have been insanely busy. We've had summer school, college program for one kid, another kid working two jobs, trying to clear out unused toys and too small clothes, another round of summer school, rounds of covid, my first dance with lice in a kid, dealing with depression and PTSD with Lucy turning six on Monday, and then trying to keep up with mom duties? It's been....stressful. 

The Game - Scott Kershaw

To save their life, you have to play.

Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.

THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.

To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.

IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.

But what is The Game – and why have they been chosen?

There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING.

Do you remember that show Squid Games? Maybe Squid Games and Saw had a baby and boom, we have The Game. I felt like this book was kind of like that, but also not really? Instead of playing a game for a lifetime of financial stability, these people receive a text saying that in order to save a loved one, they need to play. That makes complete sense, doesn't it? I don't want to give you too many details because you really need to let this unravel the way the author intended. I will say, this book has quite a few characters, and while sometimes I struggle to keep stories like that in order, I had zero issues with this one. Why? Because there is SO much going on that you literally cannot put this down. None of the characters are particularly likeable but that was kind of a key point of the story for me. 

I loved that I couldn't predict where the heck this book was going, there are nonstop twists and turns. The book reads quickly due to the chapters being rather short, so that's pretty great for the reader who maybe doesn't have a ton of time to read or the attention span to read for long periods of time. The only issue I had with this book was the inclusion of the topic of sexual assault (also rape and a dead dog...sorry, friends) and the use of it within the story. I know this is a debut for the author, and while I'm interested in reading his next book, I do hope using a topic such as that is avoided. Interestingly, this book ends with a hint of a book two, so I'm interested to see how that would possibly develop. 

Overall I thought this was a good read, definitely kept me on my toes and entertained. A huge thank you to HQ Stories for sending me a copy for review! 

Book Review: Closer Than You Think

I know that normally I read thrillers and such in the fall, and there isn't a reason for it, it's just how the books come in. I saw this one come up and I just had to read it early. Not sorry. 

Closer Than You Think - Darren O'Sullivan

He’s watching. She’s waiting.

Having barely escaped the clutches of a serial killer, Claire Moore has struggled to rebuild her life. After her terrifying encounter with the man the media dubbed The Black-Out Killer, she became an overnight celebrity: a symbol of hope and survival in the face of pure evil. And then the killings stopped.

Now ten years have passed, and Claire remains traumatised by her brush with death. Though she has a loving and supportive family around her, what happened that night continues to haunt her still.

Just when things are starting to improve, there is a power cut; a house fire; another victim found killed in the same way as before.

The Black-Out Killer is back. And he’s coming for Claire…

Before I even get started I have to tell you that this isn't my first rodeo with Darren O'Sullivan. I've read and reviewed Close Your Eyes and Our Little Secret. One I really liked and one that was just meh for me. I felt like I had to read this one to see if it the great one was a fluke, or maybe the meh one was just me. 

I'm happy to report that I think it was just me or I was just off because I really liked this one! I'm not going to lie it started a little weird, this is the kind of book where you aren't sure if everyone in Claire's life is a suspect or if this is going to be just some random murderer, like a barista who likes her hair or something. I so badly want to tell you who the killer ends up being and I'll tell you full stop, I had no idea. Somewhere on IG I had mentioned I was reading this book and the author replied and said I was either going to LOVE the ending or HATE it so I got a little bit worried. 

I can't spoil it for you but.... its a little bit of both but I can't really tell you why. 

How's that for suspense?!

So much about this book I really liked and I had such a hard time putting it down! The book begins with the killer and its clear he has his sights on Claire. We learn that she is literally the one that got away, but her husband was murdered. He tried ten years earlier and (I can't tell you why/how) she escaped that fate. He never gave up killing though, he honed his skills on several victims over the decade and avoided capture. She may have escaped being murdered but she hasn't lived an easy life since then. Claire has struggled in all aspects of her life. She's relied heavily on her family to get her through and, understandably, her anxiety is pretty awful. She feels as if she is being stalked but its hard to know if its a trauma response or if she is actually being stalked. Of course people think its in her head. 

I am torn on the ending. First, I basically screamed when I found out who the killer was. Screamed because I didn't see it coming at all and that is basically my favorite thing in a thriller. Second, I then had a wave of a MILLION questions that aren't answered. I get that we are supposed to either fill in what we think happened/happens but man..... an epilogue? Could we get an epilogue? Haha!

It has been a long time since I've had a book that made me equal parts proud of a character but absolutely terrified for her. I honestly can't remember the last time I have had a book end quite in that way so because of those? I have to give this one 5 stars. I really enjoyed this one and I really can't wait to read what Darren O'Sullivan gives me next. 

A huge thank you to HQ, Harper Collins, and Darren O'Sullivan for having me on the tour and sending me a copy for review. 

This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: Close Your Eyes

I seem to be on a thriller kick and I'm not hating it.

Close Your Eyes - Darren O'Sullivan

Close your eyes…and count to ten.

He doesn’t know his name. He doesn’t know his secret.

When Daniel woke up from a coma he had no recollection of the life he lived before. Now, fourteen years later, he’s being forced to remember.

A phone call in the middle of the night demands he return what he stole – but Daniel has no idea what it could be, or who the person on the other end is. He has been given one warning, if he doesn’t find out his family will be murdered.

Rachael needs to protect her son. Trapped with no way out she will do anything to ensure they survive. But sometimes mothers can’t save their children and her only hope is Daniel’s memory.

First off, can we talk about this cover? Because I absolutely love it and it looks so good on my shelf! Second off, this story was SO GREAT. I was completely drawn to this one because I have my own memory loss so any time I see a story about memory loss of any kind, I'm all over it. It's just interesting and also scares the pants off of me because it feels real. On Goodreads it was compared to Gillian Flynn and I would agree with that.

In this one, Daniel has amnesia after a pretty awful accident. That's pretty scary but despite it having a rocking start, he was able to slowly rebuild his life into something normal again. Fast forward 15 or so years and one day it all goes to hell. Someone is demanding that he return something but he has no idea what they are talking about. It leaves him scrambling to figure out everything he doesn't remember because the future of his family depends on it.

You guys. I stayed up WAY too late reading this one because I really felt like I could identify with his fear. It is really hard to piece together things about yourself and your life that you don't know and its hard to trust what people are telling you is the whole truth or the truth at all. Interestingly, the story is a dual narrative between Daniel and Rachel (his ex-wife but they are still friendly), so while normally those aren't my favorite, it played really well with this one. I can't tell you more because I will absolutely spoil it but the ending was GREAT. Even though I thought I had maybe worked it out by the time I got there, there was a great twist that made me question things throughout the book. I felt like I had missed everything like Daniel did.

If you really like thrillers and want to be on the edge of your seat, definitely pick this one up. It did not disappoint.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   

Thank you to HQ, Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this for review! This post contains affiliate links.