Tag: party

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#BookReview: The New Year’s Party by Jenna Satterthwaite

No Angels. No Demons. Only Humans. This is one of those tales that has a lot going against it – multiple perspectives, pretty well everyone is “unlikeable” at best, etc. And yet… that is the very *strength* of this particular tale.

I for one enjoy and even embrace tales where humanity is shown in all of its highs – and lows. Where people are shown to be exactly what they are – flawed creatures simply trying to live their lives the best they can. Where no matter how angelic someone appears, there is clearly a demon hiding just under the surface, and no matter how demonic a person appears, there is an angel hiding in there somewhere. (Eh, maybe a fallen angel, but still an angel. 😉 )

That Satterthwaite uses a fairly standard-ish overall plot of high school friends reuniting after several years apart to tell this particular story actually works well to establish expectations… which makes it even better when she actively subverts these very expectations at nearly every turn.

Fans of the particular story type and overall genre will have enough here to sink their teeth into and enjoy, while those like me who enjoy having something “more” will find a fair amount of that here as well.

Indeed, looking back to my review of Satterthwaite’s 2024 debut, Made For You, it seems here that Satterthwaite leaned into the better parts of her storytelling in that tale, threw out the bits that didn’t work so well, and used the remaining time to really tighten up what worked so well there and really do it even better here. Thus, showing strong progression as a storyteller that indeed makes me want to come back for book 3 to see what she has in store for us next, and if she can continue to improve her storytelling and potentially evolve it even further.

Very much recommended.

This review of The New Year’s Party by Jenna Satterthwaite was originally written on November 17, 2025.

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#BookReview: Our Perfect Family by Nicola Marsh

Lots Of Moving Parts Combine For One Explosive Thriller. This is one of those books where you know from Page 1 that little is going to actually be as it seems… and yet Marsh is going to keep you guessing and keep the reveals coming all the way until almost literally the very last words of this just-shy-of-300 page tale.

This is one where pretty well every character has some dark secret they are trying to protect, which is where most of the tension throughout the text comes to bear. Everyone thinks they know everyone and everyone thinks this is a titular “perfect family”, except we know as readers that this is far from what is actually going on.

This does all happen in Australia, and apparently the narrators thus use Australian accents in their reading. I actually explicitly chose an Australian voice on my Text To Speech reader for this book because of the setting and Marsh herself being Australian, and it absolutely worked well for me.

There is also quite a bit of teen/ new adult drama to be had here, including one scene in particular that while some may find distasteful also is and has been far too common. Marsh actually plays the scene well both in what she chooses to actively show – and not – and in how she shows its impact throughout our “perfect” family, which drives a large portion of the narrative here.

Overall truly a fun, twisty family suspense/ thriller with oh so much going on on so many different levels, this really is a great end of summer/ start of the new school year read, and is thus fairly well positioned for its print release on the day after US Labor Day, when even Yankee schools start back. Southern US schools have generally been back for at least a few weeks already by this point, and indeed all of my nephew and nieces started school nearly a full month before the Kindle edition release of this book.)

Very much recommended.

This review of Our Perfect Family by Nicola Marsh was originally written on August 25, 2025.

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#BookReview: One Night by Georgina Cross

Solid “Locked In” Mystery Asks Serious Questions. This is one of those “everyone is trapped in the house, and everyone has secrets” kind of mysteries that classic mystery lovers will love, and newer mystery lovers that are all about the shock value/ twist… eh, your mileage may vary. I personally thought the ending was particularly well done and while not *overly* shocking in *who* was involved, was brilliantly executed in *why* they were involved. Which gets to the whole “asks serious questions” bit, as the “questions” indicated in the description… are *NOT* the only questions raised. This book has a lot of meat there for those who *want* a deeper psychological dive, particularly in probing their own consciences – but it also offers enough directly in the text that if all you want is a few hours of classic mystery escapism… that is all you have to take from this particular tale. Which is usually a sign of a particularly strong storyteller, when they can give both readers what they want in the same story. This was my first book from Cross, and most likely will not be my last. Very much recommended.

This review of One Night by Georgina Cross was originally written on August 1, 2023.

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#BookReview: Our Tribal Future by David R. Samson

Contempt Is The Dissolver Of Unions. Yes, that is a particularly memorable line from the book – and a warning. Here, Samson discusses the history, biology, and sociology of our “Tribe Drive” – ongoing and apparently bleeding edge research in all three fields – and shows how it has brought us to where we are… and how we can better utilize it to achieve a more peaceable and prosperous future for all. Yes, some of this book is a touch… out there… for some, such as Samson’s admitting to basing some of his thinking of this topic on his use of psychedelic mushrooms, peyote, and similar compounds. And yes, there are things here that partisans left and right will likely complain about – some legitimately, some less so. And yes, in ultimately recommending a form of at minimum confederation of federated governments – if not outright anarchism, which he discusses without ever using the term, yet never precludes that the groups he discusses could become official “governments” – perhaps Samson is even a touch idealistic. And yet, the documentation is solid at around 20% of the text (not counting footnote discussions at the end of each chapter, which may bump that to around 22-25% of the text). Further, the book lays bare in scientific terms that which I’ve largely understood and have been advocating at various points for the last 15 years or so, through my own active political activism days and into my efforts to promote reading and literacy now.

Overall an intriguing, thought out book and one that adds greatly to the overall conversation around groups, governments, coalitions, and politics, and thus one that anyone who seeks to truly understand and use these concepts truly needs to read and understand. Very much recommended.

This review of Our Tribal Future by David R. Samson was originally written on April 1, 2023.