Tag: book-reviews

3 star

ARC Review: Keep Your Friends Close by Cynthia Murphy

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Chloe Roberts is on top of the world at Morton Academy. She’s a shoo-in for Head Girl and the lead spot in the school’s secret Jewel and Bone. But then her best friend, Nikhita Patel, betrays her, and life comes crashing down.

Things take a darker turn when Chloe stumbles upon the Book of Crime and Punishment – a record of every misdeed committed by Morton students and the fitting penalty. And it’s not long before entries in the book start to match up with murders of Jewel and Bone members. Anyone could be a suspect.

Can Chloe get to the bottom of this twisted game before she’s next on the killer’s hit list . . . ?

**When We Were Monsters comes out September 2, 2025**

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t been reading a lot of thrillers lately so it’s been nice to jump back into a few in a row. This premise had the makings of something really great, but I think ultimately fell a bit short of 4-star for me with its execution. It was an enjoyable summer read, and had pretty good pacing, but was simultaneously predictable and unpredictable. There’s a surprise twist at the end, but for some reason it was not too impactful? Overall not a bad story but just isn’t one of the greats for me

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3 star

ARC Review: When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

A simmering psychological thriller about a dead teacher at an elite boarding school, the students who had every reason to want her gone, and the tangled web of rivalry and romance concealing the truth—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places.

At an elite boarding school, 8 students are selected for an exclusive program, but only one will walk away with a lifechanging opportunity to realize their creative dreams. 

Effy is piecing together a story about the tragic betrayal that led to her mother’s death. Arlo hopes to publish a novel—but he’s also trying to start a new chapter with Effy after he broke her heart and ghosted 3 years earlier. Everyone has a compelling reason to be there—they all want a big break—but only the most ambitious will prevail as the students are eliminated one by one.

Their mentor is the one and only Meredith Graffam, an enigmatic writer, director and actress, whose unorthodox teaching methods push them past the breaking point. Under Graffam’s tutelage, the students reveal their darkest secrets, take unthinkable risks, and slowly start to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

**When We Were Monsters comes out September 2, 2025**

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

A “simmering” psychological thriller is a pretty apt description. A fairly classic way of starting a thriller, the author reveals who the victim is right away. These kinds of stories usually start then divulging from the beginning, and we slowly have our re-build up to the climax of how the murder happens. However, this book was slightly different.

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4.5 star

Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Legendborn #3

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

I have been long awaiting the end of the trilogy, but guess what? There’s a fourth book coming. Nevertheless, although of course this book ends on a sort-of cliffhanger, in a way it does have a sense of finality to it as well. Many loose ends are tied up and I think it’s in preparation for the finale that will be the fourth book (we’ll see about “finale”).

It was such a long wait though, that I honestly had to Google so many things to catch up on memories I myself had forgotten. However, due to the fandom, there was enough information out there to catch me up without having to resort to re-reading the first two books, though I may want to do that sometime regardless. This was a good third book though, and judging from the review of my second book, I enjoyed this one more.

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