The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb
Series: N/A (Sadly)
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: January 21, 2014

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired…and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

  "No, today the sky is too blue and bright for a tale as dark as that one."
Fun fact about me: if I read a book that scares me, I will run past the windows in my house. It's been like that ever since I was super young - if I watch a scary movie, I run past the windows. It goes both ways - and let me tell you, The Vanishing definitely incurred some window-running. Which in my mind, is always a good thing!

I picked this one up on a whim, and I'm glad I did! Because it turned out to be a fantastic read, with a wonderful atmosphere! It reads like a modern gothic novel, taking place in an old old house. The writing alone was enough to give me chills. (And it did, repeatedly.) I found myself constantly questioning each decision made, and each and every character. I felt like I couldn't trust any of them, so I just... didn't.

The premise intrigued me - a woman who's supposed to be dead, living out in a haunted house, and her son who arranges for a caretaker - who doesn't really appear to be needed. I found Julia to be a rather likable character. She just... aside from seeing things and hearing things, she seems like a fairly normal person. When the house is empty and something talks to her... she runs. Like any sane person in her situation would do! I just nearly clapped when that happened - I was afraid that she might try to go all paranormally and talk to it - but no. She did good.

I also liked the "love interest", Andrew McCullough. He was super adorable, and really very sweet. He was all Scottish and manly and just adorable - I have such a weakness for the Scottish.

I enjoyed Mrs. Sinclair - she was eccentric as all get out, but she had a good heart, even if it was hidden in a delightfully weird packaging. I hope I'm a cool old lady like her - when I get that old, of course. ;)

Serious chills happened with the ghosties, though. Serious chills. There was a moment in the beginning - a little girl, floating, singing. "Sing a song of sixpence / A pocketful of rye". That's pretty much imprinted in my mind. There were several moments that made me freak out - in a good way.

I loved the fact that the whole novel was focused on the build-up, but I feel like the end scene was a little rushed. The epilogue completely made up for it, though. It left me with a sense of not everything adding up - and it was good. It made me wonder how crazy our main character was; and I just didn't want it to end.

All in all, I definitely recommend The Vanishing. I want you all to read it, because I loved it. I tweeted this when I finished, and it definitely still applies.

I am literally terrified right now. @wendykwebb 's The Vanishing is genius you guys, genius. That ending was fantastically creepy. O.o
— Megan@The Book Babe (@MVTheBookBabe) December 10, 2013

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: January 28, 2014

Life. Death. And...Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

History is full of death, and I've had enough of that.

I really liked Heartbeat. I was very hesitant to start it, because I didn't really know much about it... just that it was by Elizabeth Scott, one of my favorite authors! Turns out I should have been worried - I was captured from the very first chapter. There's something about a mother being kept alive to birth a baby that horrifies and interests me at the same time!

Honestly, I feel like understand both sides of the argument - on one hand... it's just kind of sick to keep someone alive artificially so that they can give birth. It skeeves me out a bit, that's for sure! Obviously, it's a part of Dan, and it's a part of her... so he wants the baby. But Emma doesn't - and I understand that as well, because like I said... it's kind of despicable. I long for the days when everything was black and white. There's too much grey in this world!

I liked Emma's character growth throughout this book - obviously she's going through some tough times, but I think she's stronger for that! She's learning how to deal with things her own way, and maybe she isn't always right - but she's growing up, and that's the important part. I especially loved Caleb and her together - my heart just broke for them. I feel like sending them a love hug - they're just so fragile!

Speaking of Caleb... I knew that I would like him from the moment I read his name. He's so broken, but he still such a sweet guy. I mean, he wants people to leave him alone - but I understand that. He was so gentlemanly and kind of chivalrous... I'm not going to lie - I might be a little bit in love with him.

Normally, when I say "I'm lost", it means that I don't understand how I got from one place to another. But in this case, that was actually a good thing - a couple of times, I got so lost in the writing that I just didn't pay attention to where it was going. It was... beautiful, in it's own way.

All in all, I really enjoyed Heartbeat. I loved the romance - and I loved that the characters grew. Handling such a tough subject is hard, but Elizabeth Scott makes it seem easy - as always!

The Moment Before by Suzy Vitello

The Moment Before by Suzy Vitello
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for Blog Tour
Publisher: Diversion Books
Publication Date: January 14, 2014

“Don’t get me wrong. I loved my sister. I never, not once, wished her dead.”

Brady and Sabine Wilson are sisters born eleven months apart, but they couldn’t be more different. Popular Sabine, the head cheerleader dating the high school hunk, seems to have all the luck, while her younger, artsy sister "Brady Brooder" is a loner who prefers the sidelines to the limelight.


After Sabine dies in a horrific cheerleading accident, grief unravels Brady and her family. Once recognized for her artistic talent, 17-year-old Brady finds herself questioning the value of everything she once held dear. Her best friend betrays her. Her parents’ marriage is crumbling. And the boy everyone blames for the accident seems to be her only ally in the search for answers in the wake of her sister’s death. As an unlikely friendship emerges, Brady learns more about Sabine – and love – than she bargained for.

I'm going to jump right into The Moment Before. It's been a few days (between the reading and this writing), but I'm still kind of unsure about what I think. To be honest, I'm more unsure than ever about it. I kind of feel like it could have been a little better, but I definitely didn't hate it. I just didn't love it.

I liked Brady. She was kind of angry at the world, kind of just getting used to no longer being the younger sister of the popular girl. She did some things that made me like her, but she also did lots of things that upset me. I think that my biggest problem with her overall was that she didn't exactly stand up for herself all the time. Sometimes she just let things happen, and I just wanted her to be stronger than that.

But sometimes she just says the most agreeable things. Like when she says she didn't know how her sister could go for a boy who's all angles. I don't really get that either - I'll pick the stouter boy nearly every time. But it's just funny that we agree on that. On a somewhat unrelated note, it so sucked that she kept calling Connor's hands "meaty". For whatever reason, that just bothers the crap out of me!

I liked Brady and Connor together - but there's a twist near the end that sort of upsets me. It was very real life, but pretty sad in my opinion.

MARTHA. Let us speak on the subject of Martha, Brady's "friend". It seems like they're not all that great of friends. It's obvious that they have there ups and downs, but.... I wouldn't be having no ups with her. She's a hypocrite and an annoying little bugger and many other things. I have the terrible feels against her. I didn't like her at all!

All in all, The Moment Before was a pretty true to life book, but it didn't really speak to me on a deep level. I still liked it, though!

About the Author: Connect: Website | Blog | Twitter | Diversion Books | Facebook

As a founding member of what the Oregonian has dubbed Portland’s “hottest writing group” (members include Chuck Palahniuk, Chelsea Cain, Lidia Yuknavitch, Monica Drake and Cheryl Strayed), Suzy’s name has graced the acknowledgement pages of many a book. Her own award-winning writing has appeared in a bunch of journals and anthologies. She holds an MFA from Antioch Los Angeles, and when she’s not writing novels, does freelance copywriting and editing. The Moment Before is her debut novel. Suzy lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Kirk, and son, Carson. Find out more on suzyvitello.com.