The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins | Rating: ★★★★★

But then I think, this happens sometimes, doesn’t it? People you have a history with, they won’t let you go, and as hard as you might try, you can’t disentangle yourself, can’t set yourself free. Maybe after a while you just stop trying.

Let's start with one simple fact: this is one of my favourite mystery/thrillers from the last few years. I'm sure you've heard the buzz surrounding it, what-with it's big screen adaptation that came out this fall. A lot of people have been quick to call it out as literature's next Gone Girl. Which is equal parts fair and unfair: there are a great many similarities between the two novels but at the end of the day, it's its own story.

Paula Hawkins unleashed a deep, tangled up tale of mystery and intrigue with The Girl on the Train that won't be for everyone but it certainly was for me. I loved every minute on every page and couldn't help but to get lost in it. For the first time in years, I finished a novel only to reread it again that very week--I couldn't get enough of its inner workings and can honestly say that Hawkins is on the fast-track to being one of the next big authors in the literature world.

The Girl on the Train takes you by storm; weaving you into the minds of three women who all have at least a few things in common. Each voice is unique and full of life that you can't help but to love each of them in different ways. It is their flaws you love. It is their voice you love.

Dark Touch by Aimee L. Slater | Rating: ★★★☆☆

As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Dark Touch is a success in many ways: tackling abuse realistic and holding on to the aftermath it has on the victim, expressing a heart and soul that goes so deeply you almost forget it’s fiction. Aimee L. Slater has a certain sense of honesty in her prose that leads us to a dark and poetic experience and it’s what will ultimately make this release stand out in its genre. Another unique quality to it, is our lead Tully’s ability to transfer what she’s feeling by a simple touch–it adds a supernatural element to it but ultimately it’s not explained enough that you kind of can’t help but wish it had been left out.

That being said, Tully in particular is a great lead. Her voice as a narrator is something that provides us with chills and honesty. She’s easy to relate to and she could very much so be anyone. Although her story–the loss of her mother and then struggles of her home-life with an abusive, alcoholic father–is indeed fictional, it’s an all too real glimpse into many’s life. I physically hurt when I read what she has been subject to go through in the years, and it’s impossible to not want the best for her.

Tully is very broken in a lot of ways due to her upbringing and her past, and seeing all the nods to it and the effects it’s had on her is brutally honest and will surely shatter readers. Especially in the pages leading up to the climax and her own self sabotage. The more we learn about Tully, the more we love and root for her to find some sense of peace and establish a new life for herself.

My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews | Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

"There were shadows in the corners and whispers on the stairs and time was irrelevant as honesty."

In preparation of Lifetime's adaptation of this very book, I've decided to revisit the very first book I'd ever read that disturbed and haunted me in my early teen years. V.C. Andrews is known for her enthralling works of twisted fiction--family sagas twinged with great descriptions and horror, betrayal and rags to riches. All the trigger warnings are necessary for her novels and they certainly aren't for every one. Our biggest trigger would be sexual violence.

Everything about V.C. Andrews and her original catalog is filled with twists, turns and great sums of controversy. For years, her novels have dominated their genre and gone past the decades that have come and gone. This is due primarily to her captivating and disturbing tale of Flowers in the Attic and the novels that followed in the Dollanganger Series. I guarantee you that a good portion of us have all read at least one book by her and loved or hated it due to its content. Andrews isn't for the weak of heart and while she wasn't the greatest author to exist from her generation, or any that have since passed, you've gotta give it to her for standing the test of time.

My Sweet Audrina is one of the most frightening, heartbreaking and twisty turny stories I've ever had the privilege (or misfortune, at times) of reading.

The Devil in the Corner by Patricia Elliott | Rating: ★★★★☆

"If a person suffers dreadful dreams of their past, bad enough to make them terrified to lay their head on the pillow, bad enough to drive them mad, what does Mr Quilter prescribe?"

I have to say, upon seeing this story up on Netgalley and reading the plot summary, I was very intrigued. Based on the description alone, the novel promises to be a dark and mysterious, with its setting in a Gothic historical setting. Immediately, the promise of a good story was strong and I jumped at the possibility of reading it sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, in turn for an honest review, I had the privilege of reading this novel. It is just as dark and suspenseful as you’d hope for it to be, taking place in a beautiful countryside scene. There is plenty of mystery to it, and the guilt felt by one of our narrators (we have two: Maud and John) is truly something you begin to feel.

This story will leave you suspicious of many people and the ending is one that you won’t see coming. The Devil in the Corner has a surprising amount of heart in it, for a novel who’s tagline is “how can the devil be stopped when he lives inside you?” And with a quick pace, this novel is definitely something you may be interested in checking out in your spare time.