Empty Vessels by Nicholas Williams

3.5 stars rounded down

Empty Vessels is the story of Lucas, his girlfriend, April, and their pal, Scarlet. This YA thriller focuses on the young adults, who work in Lucas' father's biotech firm, which has found a way to produce "vessels" that will eventually serve as bodies for individuals after death. Or not. That part still isn't so clear to me.

This technology is understandably in demand and the thriller part of the story focuses on who is trying to take control of that technology and who stands in their way. Lucas and April find themselves at the center of a weird plot to own the tech and both must try to stay alive long enough to keep the technology out of the hands of those who would manipulate it for their own needs.

The big twist wasn't such a big twist. The second big twist wasn't a big twist either. Subtracted a full star for that. The writing and tech background was top-notch. The ending tidies things up nicely. Overall a good book.

Many thanks to Booksirens for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Read this review on Goodreads or Amazon.

Killing the Girl by Elizabeth Hill

From the publisher: A perfect life, a perfect love – and a perfect murder.

For over forty years Carol Cage has been living as a recluse in her mansion, Oaktree House. Fear is her constant companion. She’s been keeping a secret – and it’s about to be unearthed.

When she receives a compulsory purchase order for her home, she knows that everyone is going to find out what she did to survive her darkest weeks in 1970. She writes her confession so that we can understand what happened because she wasn’t the only one living a lie. The events that turned her fairy-tale life into a living hell were not all they seemed.

She’s determined not to pay for the mistakes of others; if she has to face justice, then they will too.

Carol Cage has a terrible secret … and she’s about to exact retribution on everyone who had abandoned her.

My review:

"Maybe we all need an unattainable lover to keep us tortured but alive."

This is the story of Carol (the girl), a naive teenager who in 1970 falls in love for the first time with an older playboy. Obsessed with Frankie, Carol goes out of her way to impress him and show him she's worthy of his love. Even after she learns of his reprehensible behavior, Carol willingly remains in Frankie's clutches. That bodes well for Frankie, for a time, because what's most important to him is money, and with Carol by his side, he can weasel his way into her newfound inheritance.

Forty years later, Carol tells her story in the form of a diary, a confession she expects to be read when her home is torn down to make way for new roads. When Oaktree House comes down, so too will Carol's decades-long charade.

Killing the Girl is about lies and their consequences. It is about deep, dark secrets, murder and coverups, family and the relationships that feel like family. It is about defining happiness when we have no idea what is most important in life.

With a small-town backdrop and rich, fully-developed characters, Elizabeth Hill weaves a tale that is impossible to stop thinking about long after the story is done. Five well-deserved stars for Killing the Girl.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and BookSirens for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.


Killing the Girl by Elizabeth Hill was published April 14, 2019. Available here.

Who doesn't love books?

Did you know that more than 675 million print books were sold in the U.S. in 2018? U.S. book publishing is a $25.82 billion industry, and 65 percent of U.S. consumers read at least one book a year.

But for those of us who prefer fewer numbers, here's a stat for you: I LOVE books! What's not to like about opening a new book? The sound of a new spine cracking, the smell of newly-printed pages, the knowledge that this book will consume your free time for the next day, week, month. Even e-books hold a special place in our hearts, with the ability to take and read them anywhere, highlight special words or passages, write notes in the "margins" and easily refer back to whenever we feel the need.

My favorite genres are psychological thrillers, apocalyptic and dystopian, but often I find myself reading book club favs, the occasional memoir/biography and classics. My very favorite books include To Kill a Mockingbird, anything by Margaret Atwood and the Harry Potter series, to name a few. 

I've chosen to start this blog as a place to park my reviews and share notes on books in general. And my hope is that one or two of you will enjoy my musings enough to pick up a book or three as a result.

I review Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) for NetGalley, BookSirens and Reedsy. I also review at Goodreads, Amazon and now and then on Barnes and Noble.

Thanks for popping in and enjoy!