Lisa’s Looking Forward To #78 – September 15th, 2020

Posted September 9, 2020 by Lisa Mandina in LLFT / 12 Comments

Once again I’ll be joining up with the Can’t Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  As usual, mid-month weeks have a few less than the first few weeks, so let’s check out what there is.

From my ARC list for September 15th, 2020:

I have an e-galley of this one, and I should hopefully be reading and posting a review this coming Sunday.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Connor Major’s summer break is turning into a nightmare.

His SAT scores bombed, the old man he delivers meals to died, and when he came out to his religious zealot mother, she had him kidnapped and shipped off to a secluded island. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he “changes.” 

But Connor’s troubles are only beginning. At Nightlight, everyone has something to hide from the campers to the “converted” staff and cagey camp director, and it quickly becomes clear that no one is safe. Connor plans to escape and bring the other kidnapped teens with him. But first, he’s exposing the camp’s horrible truths for what they are— and taking this place down.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

This book just has the weirdest sounding synopsis, but it sounds so interesting!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Filled with heart, hope and beautiful prose, The Ninth Life is a wonderful, weird and unforgettable novel for readers looking for something unique, honest and real.

What if your deepest wish came with grim consequences?

At the end of Caesar’s feline life, he makes a deal with the goddess Zosma to rejoin Ophelia, the girl he loves, for his ninth and final life.

However, waking in the body of seventeen-year-old Austin Price isn’t what he anticipates. Neither is Austin’s handsome roommate, Cooper—a boy who moves him in unexpected ways. And coming face-to-face with a messy past he can’t remember living makes being human even harder than he would have thought.

The chaos and wonder of his ninth life urges Austin to get to know Ophelia on human terms and sends him stumbling into complicated friendships that might mean more to him than he ever imagined. But his wish has a price, and even as Austin is pulled in two impossible directions, the very heart beating in his chest is on a countdown of its own—a countdown he has no control over.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I haven’t read this author, but have been meaning to, and I’ve read some really good reviews of this one. Plus, what an awesome cover!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Korey Fields is dead.

When Enchanted Jones wakes with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night, no one—the police and Korey’s fans included—has more questions than she does. All she really knows is that this isn’t how things are supposed to be. Korey was Enchanted’s ticket to stardom.

Before there was a dead body, Enchanted was an aspiring singer, struggling with her tight knit family’s recent move to the suburbs while trying to find her place as the lone Black girl in high school. But then legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots her at an audition. And suddenly her dream of being a professional singer takes flight.

Enchanted is dazzled by Korey’s luxurious life but soon her dream turns into a nightmare. Behind Korey’s charm and star power hides a dark side, one that wants to control her every move, with rage and consequences. Except now he’s dead and the police are at the door. Who killed Korey Fields?

All signs point to Enchanted.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

First off, how creepy is that cover? Of course that is what first drew me in. But then I read the synopsis and it is compared to Stephen King, who used to be one of my all time favorite, auto-buy authors. I don’t think I’ve seen any reviews yet, so that will be something I look for.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

From the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Stephen King and Agatha Christie.

Following her father’s death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone…and more tormented.

As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident “bad seed,” struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane’s mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won’t reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the “storage room” her mom has kept locked isn’t for storage at all–it’s a little girl’s bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears….

Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more…horrid?

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I’ve actually already read this one, and you can read my review HERE. But I really liked the author’s first book, the second one not so much, and this third one really had an interesting premise!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp comes a shocking new thriller about a group of friends tied together by a game and the deadly weekend that tears them apart.

FIVE friends go to a cabin.
FOUR of them are hiding secrets.
THREE years of history bind them.
TWO are doomed from the start.
ONE person wants to end this.
NO ONE IS SAFE.

Are you ready to play?

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

So this one sounded really good! And I think I’ve seen some good reviews. Just have to get my hands on it!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

House Rules:
Do your own dishes
Knock before entering the bathroom
Never look up your roommate online

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet…

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

You guys, I’m so sad on this one because I was lucky enough to get physical ARCs of both the first two in the series, and this is one that I don’t know that they did physical ARCs, and if they did, I didn’t get one to complete my set. I also didn’t even see if it was available on Netgalley or Edelweiss to try to at least get the e-galley. So I don’t know when I’ll get to it. But this is one of my favorite authors that I feel is not as well known as she should be.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

The #murder and mayhem continue in this prequel companion novel to the grisly, campy social media insanity that is #MurderTrending and #MurderFunding. Gretchen McNeil brings her signature wit and merciless kills to this gruesome yet hilarious, wildly topical young adult novel.

Twenty years before Dee Guerra and the Death Row Breakfast Club took down The Postman and Alcatraz 2.0, long before Becca survived The Juggernaut and Who Wants to Be a Painiac?, the murder games first began with the wildly popular “escape room” trend. Specifically, with Escape-Capades, Ltd.?

When seventeen-year-old Persey, along with five other teens, enters the latest escape room game, they’re competing for a grand cash prize. But while most escape rooms are about teamwork and collaboration, this one is all about being cut-throat-literally. When contestants start being killed off, Persey must solve a series of bizarre and gruesome puzzles, riddles, and games to make it out alive. She uncovers secrets about each contestant along the way, learning they’re all mysteriously related-and someone is out for vengeance.

Whether readers are new to the #MurderTrending sensation or hungrily back for more, this wickedly campy prequel companion novel delivers a read you won’t want to escape.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Final Thoughts:

So I ended up with 7 to share this week. Are any of these on your TBR, or have you already read them? If so, which do you recommend? Leave me a link to your post in your comment and I’ll be sure to return the visit!

I’m continuing celebrating my 11th blogoversary a little bit longer this month with a giveaway HERE. You’ve got about a week left to enter!

Also, while you’re here, make sure to go enter my monthly giveaway HERE.

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12 responses to “Lisa’s Looking Forward To #78 – September 15th, 2020

    • Lisa Mandina

      The second one was good too, not quite as good as the first, but still good enough I need this next prequel one. Thanks for stopping by!

  1. The Roommate was one of the best surprises for me. I thought I would like it, but I never expected to love it as much as I did. I am very excited to read the next book in this series

  2. One of my favorite blog days, the one in which my wish list grows a bit more. 🙂 I have been seeing Grown around and am really eager to read it myself at some point. Horrid is also no my radar. I hope you enjoy all of these when you read them! Have a great week, Lisa.

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