Reading in the Mountains

Where cozy meets chaotic.

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  • Bad Intentions, Iliana Xander

    Bad Intentions, Iliana Xander

    Wow, it’s September 1st. And apparently autumn decided to make an entrance because we woke up to the best possible surprise: a massive thunderstorm, pouring rain, dark skies, and that first little feeling that summer is finally slipping away. My iced coffee genuinely never tasted better. 🍂⛈️☕

    And honestly? Bad Intentions was exactly the kind of thriller I wanted for the first day of September.

    Josie Boots returns to her hometown of Burnville after seriously messing up her life, hoping to take care of her grandmother and somehow get herself back on track.

    Except Burnville has a very long memory.

    Twenty-five years ago, a horrific crime destroyed Josie’s family, and now a stranger is suddenly offering her answers about the secrets buried in her past. Then Josie witnesses a brutal crime right in front of her, and everything she thought she knew about her family starts falling apart.

    Maybe being called the “bad seed” all those years ago meant more than she realized.

    The story introduces its characters one by one, and almost immediately I had questions about everyone. Josie already seems completely exhausted by everything life has thrown at her, while also caring for her grandmother, who has cancer and refuses treatment. And yet, underneath all of that, she’s still fighting for some version of a normal life.

    Then she meets a blue-haired girl who is new to town but somehow already knows things about Josie’s past. There’s also a mysterious man promising to reveal the secrets her grandmother has been hiding, eventually luring Josie toward a house connected to a woman who was once held captive there.

    Like??? WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS TOWN?

    It’s absolutely insane, but it’s also incredibly action-packed, and that is exactly what I want from this kind of thriller.

    And then I finished it.

    OH. MY. GOD.

    I read this entire book in ONE DAY because there was simply no way I was going to sleep without finding out what the hell was happening in Burnville.

    The deeper Josie digs into her family history, the stranger this little town becomes. There’s something almost old-fashioned about the power dynamics in Burnville, with women seemingly holding the town together—and controlling far more than Josie initially realizes. Add a seriously dysfunctional family reunion, decades of buried secrets, killers tangled into the town’s history, and people whose pasts refuse to stay buried, and I was completely hooked.

    But one of the biggest surprises for me was the friendship at the heart of everything. I genuinely didn’t expect to care about it as much as I did, but I loved it.

    This book was chaotic in the best possible way. Secrets on top of secrets, questionable people everywhere, a creepy little town with way too much history, and enough WTF moments to keep me glued to my Kindle.

    Thunderstorm outside. Iced coffee beside me. First day of September. A thriller devoured in one sitting.

    Autumn reading season has officially begun. 

  • God of Ruin by Rina Kent

    God of Ruin by Rina Kent

    Finally, at the end of summer—or, well, mid-August—I’m coming back to finish my beloved Legacy of Gods series by Rina Kent.

    I was left with God of Ruin, which tells the love story between Landon, Brandon’s twin brother, and Mia, the twin sister of Maya and Niko Sokolov. And reading about their parents first made this book even more delicious. Give me family connections, generational trauma, questionable morals, and beautiful psychopaths and I’m seated.

    Mia thinks she’s already gotten her revenge—until she catches the attention of Landon King, a brilliant, wealthy artist who decides to make her his newest target. What starts as a vicious battle of wills quickly turns into a twisted game where every move is calculated, every hit demands retaliation, and neither of them is willing to surrender. And somewhere between revenge, mind games, and undeniable attraction, the line between enemy and obsession starts to disappear.

    I’m about 150 pages in, and honestly? I don’t really know if I’m into Landon and Mia’s dynamic yet. But it is written in true Rina Kent fashion: he hates her for no apparent reason, she hates him right back, he falls in love with her, she’s attracted to him, and BAM—suddenly we’re in the deep end. Insane how this exact dynamic somehow worked for six books, but it kept me reading, right? No complaints here.

    I really love the gothic vibe Landon creates for Mia, especially the way he makes this creepy, haunted environment feel like a place where she can actually feel safe and secure. And the fact that they’re doing all of this in a haunted house that has exactly ONE modern room because apparently his art studio is the only place that matters? I love it.

    Just imagine Mia running around in her panties and Doc Martens while Landon, looking like a Greek god who may or may not be a complete psychopath, is chasing her through a haunted house. And somehow this turns into kinky romance. Amazing. Absolutely ridiculous. Exactly what I came here for.

    I’m starting to really like Landon—not only because of his artsy personality, but because this man FALLS FIRST. And when he falls, he falls HARD. I love that he was actually capable of loving someone this deeply, especially when his entire personality initially screams “emotionally unavailable menace.”

    I’m also really curious about who took Mia’s voice, and now I’m even more curious about God of Fury. I’m so into the fact that Landon finally decided to become a better man with the help of his siblings because he didn’t want to lose Mia. I was craving this character development, and now that we’re getting closer to the man who stole her voice, I’m completely invested.

    At this point, I had a feeling this book was going to be five stars.

    And yes, I know myself. It was a five-star read for me, just like the rest of the series.

    I absolutely loved Lan and Mia’s relationship and basically everything about them. The obsession, the chaos, the gothic atmosphere, the insanity—give me all of it.

    Highly recommend, obviously 🖤

  • Pink Ink, Avina St. Graves

    Pink Ink, Avina St. Graves

    I couldn’t stay away from a new-release dark romance for long. Apparently, I have no self-control. And honestly? I’m not even sorry.

    There’s a serial killer stalking the city, carefully staging his murders like disturbing works of art. Our horror-obsessed film student, Reyna, becomes fascinated by the pattern and decides to recreate one of the killings for her film project—only to present it to Professor Maddox Shaw.

    Who just happens to be the actual serial killer.

    And because apparently that isn’t enough of a red flag, she starts sleeping with him.

    Maddox is a famous artist, a professor, a serial killer, and somehow involved with a powerful secret society. When Reyna gets too close to their secrets, things go from forbidden professor romance to people are actively trying to kill me real fucking fast.

    And Maddox? He’s perfectly happy to kill anyone who tries to take her from him.

    Tell me that doesn’t give Dexter vibes. Except, you know… if Dexter were ridiculously fucking hot.

    This book is LONG, but the descriptions are equally as elaborate. It’s incredibly immersive, the kind of story that pulls you deeper and deeper into its world until you forget you’re reading. And even though I’m only around 150 pages in, Maddox already has me completely hooked.

    The way he falls for Reyna. The way he talks about her. The slow fucking burn of this romance when all you want is for it to finally SNAP.

    It’s torture.

    This is my first book by Avena Saint Graves, and apparently I decided to pop my cherry with Maddox Shaw. I’m not mad about it.

    I do hate that Maddox is part of a secret society, that his parents were absolute idiots, and that he’s expected to marry someone from the Order in exchange for saving his brother from them. So technically, he’s more of a paid assassin than a serial killer who simply kills for the love of it—which is what I was expecting going into this. But honestly? The serial-killer vibes are still very much there.

    And then I hit the halfway point and realized…

    Oh. I fucking LOVE this book.

    This is already becoming one of my favorites, and I’ve read the Holy Trinity of dark academia/dark romance: Gothikana, Nocticadia, and Enigma.

    Maddox falling for Reyna is so fucking artistic that somehow I’m falling right along with him. I’ve gone to bed after 2 a.m. for two nights in a row because I keep devouring his words—and then lying there thinking about them like I’m slowly, accidentally falling in love too.

    There is something about a man who falls first, knows exactly what he wants, and makes absolutely no secret of it.

    I eat that shit up.

    And when Maddox says his new favorite hobby is eating Reyna’s pussy?

    I’m dead.

    What a man. Truly a good sport.

    The story itself is fascinating because there are SO many pieces still moving. Reyna is still searching for her father. Maddox hasn’t told her that he’s the killer. He hasn’t told her that he’s supposed to marry someone else. There’s the secret society, the Order, his brother, the murders, and whatever the hell is going to happen when all of these secrets finally collide.

    The book is definitely on the longer side, but I never found myself bored. If anything, I became increasingly curious about how this entire insane situation is going to end.

    Oh, how much I loved this dark romance.

    I genuinely wish I could have attended Maddox’s class because… Professor Shaw, I am available. And those nighttime crime-scene rendezvous? Yeah. Reyna was one lucky girl.

    Pink Ink is dark, obsessive, atmospheric, sexy, and completely addictive. It’s the kind of book that makes you say “just one more chapter” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m. and you’re lying in bed thinking about a fictional serial killer.

    Highly recommend.

    And not just for Halloween.

  • What Happened Next, Edwin Hill

    What Happened Next, Edwin Hill

    A quiet New Hampshire lake. A murder from twenty-five years ago. A missing father. And a town full of people who seem to know more than they’re willing to say.

    I loved this book. It’s the kind of thriller where you keep turning pages without realizing how much you’ve read because there is always something else happening. Secrets, lies, complicated relationships, family drama, debts, buried truths—and somehow, Edwin Hill manages to keep all of it moving.

    Charlie Kilgore returns to his hometown determined to uncover what really happened the night his father allegedly murdered a man, nearly killed his mother, and disappeared. Charlie believes his father may still be alive, and he turns the mystery into a true-crime podcast in an attempt to finally piece everything together.

    And I absolutely loved the podcast element. It gives the story this almost conspiratorial feeling, as Charlie starts pulling at one thread after another and realizes just how many people have something to hide.

    One of my favorite parts of the story is Charlie’s relationship with Seton, the new Chief of Police. There’s already a complicated history between them—especially because Charlie’s father was allegedly responsible for killing Seton’s father that fateful night. Add in Charlie’s feelings for her, his brother’s mounting debts, his mother hiding the truth, a famous actress who has settled in town, and her connection to a powerful police chief… and suddenly this tiny lake town is overflowing with secrets.

    And there are A LOT of secrets.

    Honestly, so much happens in this book, and I was completely here for it. Mystery, action, tangled relationships, family secrets, lies, suspicious characters—I wanted to know everything. It’s the kind of thriller where you reach the end and think, wait, already? I’m not ready to leave this town yet.

    But what made the atmosphere especially special for me was the lake setting. Charlie, Seton, and all these complicated little-town characters completely transported me there. I grew up spending my summers at the lake with my parents, so reading this felt strangely nostalgic. I could almost feel those summers again—and, honestly, I miss them. I miss that feeling, and I miss them.

    The mystery stayed complicated right until the end, and I was genuinely invested in finding out how everything would unravel—and whether Charlie’s podcast would ultimately lead him to the truth.

    I was also very relieved that some of the characters I had grown attached to made it through the chaos okay. 

    This was my first Edwin Hill book, but it definitely won’t be my last. I absolutely loved this one. It had everything I want from a thriller: atmosphere, secrets, messy relationships, twists, and that irresistible feeling that there’s still one more thing you need to uncover.

    Edwin Hill, you’ve got yourself a new reader.

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  • You’ll Be Sorry, Lisa Gardner

    You’ll Be Sorry, Lisa Gardner

    August is still burning hot, my iced coffee is basically a personality trait at this point, and apparently I’ve decided the perfect summer escape is an abandoned mountain lodge where an entire family vanished without a trace. Very on brand. 🏔️🩸☕ I LOVE this vibe for my thrillers!!! Ah, so excited for this new release from Lisa Gardner.

    You’ll Be Sorry follows newlyweds Raquel and Theo, who move to a remote New Hampshire town hoping for a fresh start after tragedy. Except their new home is the infamous Dixon Lodge, abandoned for thirty years after a family of six disappeared one August night, leaving behind nothing but bloody footprints.

    And then a stray dog digs up a human skeleton on their property.

    Now the old mystery is wide open again, the neighbors are suspicious as hell, everyone seems to have something to hide, and Raquel and Theo have secrets of their own.

    A creepy mountain town, a gorgeous abandoned lodge, six missing people, and thirty years of buried secrets? Yeah. Cancel my plans. I need to know what the fuck happened here. 🔦🖤

    The premise is SO good. We have action, mystery, ghost stories, and a foresty lodge in a small town full of curious and weird people. Such a summer vibe!

    I really liked Amanda’s storyline and the fact that she’s trying to solve a crime her father couldn’t solve in his entire lifetime. I NEED that closure. I also think the new, suspicious couple was an interesting addition to the story. I mean, why the hell would you move into a house with such a tragic history? Usually, that kind of energy sticks around, cause we are all energy, right? You know what I mean… I wouldn’t move into a house like that. Everybody needs a good fresh start!

    I think I actually enjoyed the detectives’ storyline the most, especially watching them slowly uncover what really happened. I also liked that the book didn’t rely entirely on the lying-and-secretive relationship between Theo and Raquel.

    That said, the book was a little hard to follow at times because there are, like, 100 characters. Or maybe the fact that I’m reading at my desk at work instead of in the comfort of my own home means I can’t focus properly? Anywaaaaay… I read wherever the fuck I want.

    I loved the forest, ghost stories, witches, Wiccans, and creepy small-town atmosphere, but this book was just way too long for me. It felt like one very long buildup that wouldn’t fucking hit already. Like a foreplay session that goes on forever, and by the time the punch finally comes, you’re already bored.

    I did enjoy some of the twists, but there was simply too much happening for me to stay invested.

    So this one is probably a 3-star read for me. ⭐⭐⭐

    Great premise, fantastic atmosphere, and some twists I genuinely enjoyed—but way too long and ultimately not exciting enough for me.