Bria Lou Reviews

  Alone in her new home, Eve opens the door one night to a man with his family, claiming that he grew up in this very house, asking to look around for old times sake. As a people pleaser, Eve obliges. But once the family enter, strange things start happening, and Eve starts to lose her grip on reality. I feel like every book-tuber mentioned this book last year, and as I'm trying to get more into horror books, it was definitely high on my list. I loved this book. It felt scary from 3 pages in. We get right into the story from the second we open the book, and it pulls us in so well that we become invested immediately. I really liked Eve as a main character. Particularly at the beginning, she's somewhat easy to relate to, and her reactions feel authentic. Not that most people would do what she did in the first place, but you can sympathise with her and root for her. The author makes things feel scary effortlessly. Things are teased out really well, and the overall unsettling atmos...

  When Win and Bo bond over their limb differences at a party, they don't expect things to go any further than a one night stand. But suddenly there are new challenges to face, and they have no choice but to get to know each other before their lives change forever. I'd heard really good things about this book. I really liked the premise, it seemed original, which is something that I particularly look for in romance books. I liked this book. One of the notes I wrote was that this was the quickest I'd liked a book so far this year and that's true, I was locked in almost instantly and my interest never waned. Though at the beginning, as much as I liked it, it definitely moved a bit quickly for me. The turn from chapter 4 to 5 made my head spin! I loved being in Win's head, but I really loved all of the characters, rather than just the main couple. They're all written really well, and in particular, their dialogue is great (except for the sex scenes, where the dialo...

  After picking up a hitchhiker on a deserted road, young newlyweds April and Eddie soon find themselves haunted by a string of unsolved murders. The premise of this book was such an interesting   one that I really couldn't wait to get into it. Before I opened the book, I thought it would make a great movie or series based on the description alone. I really liked another of the author's books, The Sun Down Motel, so this was on my list immediately! Unfortunately the actual story was a bit disappointing. But it was great that we get into things right away. The characters are picking up the hitchhiker in maybe the first chapter and that first section is really intriguing and genuinely creepy. Then from here, things start to go downhill. Rather than staying with the scares and creepiness, the story pivots to 'the police think our heroes are the killers', and it stays here for way too long. I get why it went in this direction, it definitely made the story feel more authenti...

  Screenwriter Misha knows how hard it is to make it in Hollywood. So when he achieves success with an Oscar nomination, it seems like everything is finally going his way. But after refusing to kill the gay characters in his newest TV show, he finds out there's a target on his back, as monsters from his past begin haunting him and his friends. Can he find a way to get the literal and figurative monsters off his back before it's too late? I liked how unique the premise of this book was, and I was really looking forward to it. In my search for horror books, this one seemed both original but also closer to traditional horror, so I wanted to see how it played out. I loved this book! For a start, as a film fan, I loved that it was set within the film industry. Even though Misha is a writer rather than an actor, we get a lot of insight into how Hollywood works, and it felt really authentic. One of my worries about horror books with monsters, particularly original ones, is that it can...

  Maya is 23 and figuring out her life, Conor is 38 with everything figured out. When they become forced together to celebrate Maya's brother's destination wedding, Maya can't help but feel that a summer romance with Conor is exactly what she needs - even if it's problematic. I'd heard good things about this book, and as a Hazelwood fan it was always going to be on my list. That being said, because I didn't love the first book in the series, Not In Love, I was a bit sceptical. Unfortunately I didn't love this one either. That being said, I did like being back with the characters from the first book, particularly because we got to hear more from people who were only mentioned a few times in the first book. Though there were still some supporting characters that I wanted to hear more from. I also really liked the setting. The idea of taking the characters away from academia and work, and seeing a different side to them in a new environment was really interesti...

  Every Summer, best friends and total opposites Poppy and Alex go on holiday together - until two years ago when everything fell apart. Now Poppy has one chance to make things right. One last vacation to fix what broke between them. But can she fix them before her feelings get in the way? I’ve had this book for ages now. I’ve opened it a few times but never went past the first page. So when I heard that a movie had been made and was coming out in January, I suddenly really wanted to read it. I liked this book, but it definitely felt on the more average side of romance novels. I really liked the introduction to the main characters. We fall in love with them and their relationship almost instantly. One thing that took me out of the story was that the timeline felt really odd. The characters were using extremely modern slang during a meeting that took place 11 years ago. And while that isn’t an extremely long time ago, things evolve and it definitely felt like that conversation would...

  When a woman in a small village is murdered, newscaster Anna Andrews and her ex-husband DCI Jack Harper both suspect each other's involvement. But in a town where everyone is lying about something, will the killer be caught before it's too late? This book was at the top of my 2026 reading list, mostly because I was really excited to check out the TV show adaptation (which I've seen and absolutely loved!). I've previously read one of Feeney's books and didn't love it, so I was slightly apprehensive about this one. Thankfully, I loved the book! I liked it from the opening. You get to know Anna really quickly and whether we trust her throughout the story or not, putting us on her side from the beginning is a great way to start things. I loved the dynamic between Anna and Jack. From the second they're together we understand so much about who they were, who they've become, and how explosive the rest of the story will be. Even though we don't trust eithe...

  Struggling author June Hayward has always been in the shadow of Athena Liu, her much more successful writer friend. So when Athena dies in a freak accident, and June happens to find her unfinished masterpiece, why shouldn't she publish it as her own? It's still helping Athena, right? And when the situation spirals out of control, shouldn't June do whatever it takes to protect her fake reputation? It's been a while since I've written a book review! I was looking forward to reading this book so much, I'd heard great things about it and couldn't wait to get stuck in. I liked this book. I knew the plot but I didn't really know what to expect. The introduction was really great. Not only are we told a lot about Athena, but in the narration about Athena we also found out exactly what kind of person June is. June is a great unlikeable protagonist. Everything she tries to justify makes us as the reader roll our eyes, but we can't stop reading because her vo...

  Bel has always lived in the shadow of her mother Rachel's disappearance. When her family agrees to take part in a true crime documentary about the incident, it brings up feelings that Bel has been avoiding for years - she just wants it to end. But when the impossible happens, and Rachel reappears, Bel finds that the mystery is even more complicated than ever. Why doesn't Rachel's story make sense? Where has she been for 16 years? Why did she really come back? Can Bel uncover the truth behind Rachel's disappearance before it's too late? I tend to really like Holly Jackson's books, so this was one that I was looking forward to, especially because the premise was quite interesting. I liked this book, but I definitely had a few problems with it too. From the beginning, the thing that drew me in was the characters. They were described really well, you could clearly see them, and it didn't take long to get to know them. I don't have a problem with reading bo...

  After facing Frendo for the second time, Quinn has had enough of being hunted. So she decides to take matters into her own hands to finally take down the Frendo followers once and for all. I was looking forward to this book so much! Not only were the first two 5 stars, but the second book in particular was so great! So I was really looking forward to seeing how the series continued. While I liked this book, unfortunately it wasn't as good as the first two. But it started really well. Cesare tends to write really great prologues, and this one is no exception. It set up the story really well, built the right amount of tension and gave us a taste of things to come. The tension is another thing that Cesare excels at. It really takes the story from thriller to horror and keeps you completely engaged. This one removed a lot of the characters we loved from the first two books, and I'm always wary about character changes. For the most part the new characters were great, but there wer...

When a botched bank robbery turns into a hostage situation, a group of anxious people discover connections that change their lives forever. Last year I read 'A Man Called Ove' by Backman and absolutely loved it. I wasn't on the lookout for another of his books but when I saw this and read the premise, I had to pick it up. And again, I absolutely loved this book! For a start, I loved the way the story was told. The way the narrator spoke directly to the reader is really fun and gets you invested in the story really quickly because you feel like you're involved. The best thing about the story is the characters. This is entirely a character-driven story and the characters are amazing. They were really fleshed-out, 3 dimensional real people, and they were written so well. The unexpected connections between them is what makes the story. You make assumptions and think you know things, and then everything you thought completely changes and takes the story to another level. For...

When Lauren goes to pick up her daughter Evie from university, she discovers that not only is Evie not there, she hasn't been there for weeks. As Lauren unravels the mystery of where Evie has gone, she soon finds herself and her family in grave danger. I'm always excited for the next T.M. Logan book. He's my favourite author, and I always pre-order his upcoming books. This one in particular had a really interesting premise so I was a bit more excited than usual. This wasn't my favourite of Logan's novels, but I enjoyed it! It was really engaging from the very beginning. A few chapters in I already really cared about the characters and felt completely invested in the mystery. You get to know the characters really quickly, and that makes everything much more interesting. However, it takes a really long time for anything substantial to happen, and even then there are a lot of red herrings that lead nowhere, which ultimately makes the book feel longer than it is. Though...

  This is the story of an ordinary married couple with a mysterious history and a dangerously dark secret. Every description I've read after finishing this story gives something away or leads you to guess things you otherwise wouldn't, so I've kept my description really simple. I first heard about this book through a YouTube video where I was promised an amazing ending, and that's the only reason I picked it up. But I'm always on the lookout for thrillers so I'm glad I found it! The first chapter is great. It completely sets the tone for the rest of the book, gives us a real insight into our main character and ends perfectly. And only after reading this do you truly understand what the book will be about. The premise is such an interesting one. It was a great idea to put the reader into this character's head. Whether we're supposed to humanise him I don't know, but seeing a story like this from the opposite point of view is really captivating. He...

  Riley and Gianna are best friends who have formed a deep connection over 10 years of friendship. But when a misunderstanding leads to Riley questioning everything she knew about the friendship, she begins to realise just how much Gianna means to her. I picked this one up after hearing amazing things about it, both from BookTubers and through GoodReads reviews. Romance isn't my favourite genre but when they're good, I really enjoy them, so I always make sure I have a few to try throughout the year and I was really looking forward to this one. I liked this one, but unfortunately I didn't love it. One thing I did love was the way the story went back and forth between the past and present, showing the way that Riley and Gianna's relationship develops and changes over the years. It was a great way of letting the reader get to know them. This was a very original way to start a love story. The misunderstanding was fun and created a lot of exciting tension between the charact...

Journalist Ola is set to marry Michael, the love of her life. But when she wakes up a month before the wedding to see a list of anonymous accusations of abuse, the kind of story she'd love to write about, she is horrified to discover that Michael's name is on it. Suddenly Ola's entire life is thrown into question, including whether or not she can marry Michael at all. I had heard so many things about this book before I picked it up. The response seemed to be very mixed, but the sheer volume of people talking about it alone made me want to see what I thought of it. I liked this book, but I definitely understand both the positive and negative reviews. The first thing I noted was how authentic the dialogue sounded. You can tell that the locations the book is set in are familiar spaces to the author, and this is reflected in the dialogue, the locations and the references. Everything feels real. The concept is really interesting, particularly seeing this story from the point of ...

  Rue is happy with her life as a biotech engineer with few friends and no repeat hook-ups until she meets Eli, the extremely attractive man trying to take over the company she works for. Torn between loyalty and an ill-advised connection, can Rue make the right decision to save her company and her heart? I'm a huge fan of Ali Hazelwood, so this book was high on my most anticipated books for this year. She always writes romance really well so, even though there was a disclaimer at the beginning of this book stating that it's different from her other works, I was sure I'd still enjoy it. And while I did enjoy it, I was also disappointed with it. But like all of Hazelwood's books, it was really easy to get into. I picked it up to skim the first page and ended up reading the whole first chapter because I was already hooked. I felt like I knew Rue just from that and really liked being in her head. It was also just an easy read all the way through. Even when I wasn't lik...

  After nearly a year following Tobias Hawthorne's rules, Avery is ready to claim her inheritance. But when a familiar face arrives at the mansion with a mystery to solve, Avery and the Hawthorne brothers must drop everything to play one final game. A game with a deadly consequence. I reviewed the first two books of the series, The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy  and while I liked the second a lot more than the first, neither really grabbed me. But the ending of the second made me curious enough to pick up the third, so that's what I did! Again, while I think this was better than the first book, I didn't love it. For a start, the ending of the second book was a bit convoluted, which made the start of the third book a bit confusing. But thankfully everything was explained well and in an interesting way, rather than the reader just being told what had happened. I really liked that it got right into the action and straight into another mystery. I found it strange ...

A year after the Kettle Springs massacre, Quinn has left the small town to go to college, somewhere where nightmares of clowns don't plague her. But when she is attacked by a familiar clown, while her dad is attacked by another clown in Kettle Springs, she realises that her nightmare isn't over yet. The first Clown in a Cornfield book was my favourite book of last year. I reviewed it HERE , and even though I gave it 4/5 stars, I reflected on it throughout the year and it was probably a 5 star. Either way I absolutely loved it, so much that I bought the two sequels this year. And as I expected, I absolutely loved the second book! For a start, I loved being back with these characters. After a couple of chapters of being in their heads it's like we never left them. I sometimes say that I don't love multiple points of view in books, but these books are the exception - I loved it in the first one and I loved it in this one. Though hearing from some of the new characters real...

  A crazy time in Vegas sees Kat and Liam being step-siblings for a total of 48 hours. Years later after a chance encounter, the pair reunite, discovering both of their scammer parents are working a job that targets the same family. But after a member of this elusive family is shot dead, Kat and Liam must work together to get out of the killer's crosshairs before they become the next victims. One of my favourite parts of a new year is reading the new Karen M. McManus book. It's the way I start every year and I'm always looking forward to it. I absolutely loved this book! I love the characters and stories McManus creates. They are always similar enough that it's clear McManus has created her own style that works for her, but the advantage of them being similar is that they always feel familiar, like catching up with old friends, and I love that. There are things that McManus does in every book, and this book is absolutely classic McManus. Both Kat and Liam's points o...

  After meeting by chance one evening, Amanda and Wendy realise they have something in common - they are both experiencing grief and want to make the men who destroyed their families pay. Knowing they can never exact the revenge they crave, they come up with an idea: if you kill for me, I'll kill for you... The premise of the book is deliberately vague, but I think the main idea of it is enough to give you a flavour of what the story is about. I have mixed feelings about this book. There's so many things about it that I really loved, but there are also a few things that I could have done without. To start off, the first two chapters are absolutely riveting. I feel like it took no time at all to bond and connect with the characters. Not only are the chapters exciting, but they're also really visceral. You feel like you're living in the scenes with the characters. It would have been amazing if the whole book had stayed like this. The story is told from two points of view,...