mountains

By Douglas Preston

Coming soon on April 23, 2024

(4.5 / 5)

At a resort in the mountains of Colorado, multiple prehistoric animals have been de-extincted. When a newlywed couple on their honeymoon go missing while camping at the resort, law enforcement is brought in to investigate.

Extinction is the first book I’ve read by Douglas Preston, but it definitely left me wanting to read more by the author. The story was complicated and told from the perspectives of several characters, so we could see it develop from multiple angles. I really loved all the descriptions of the scenes and characters, bringing the story to life. The book takes some really wild turns along the way and was full of action, excitement and mystery. While it mostly follows law enforcement and at its core is a crime thriller, the scientific premise of de-extinction was interesting and something that could be a reality in the near future.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group | Forge Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of Extinction! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

By Leonie Mack

Coming soon on October 20, 2023

(4.5 / 5)

Snow Days With You is a sweet, slow-burn romance that left me with a cozy feeling. It takes place in Chamonix amidst the snow-covered mountains of France, which was an amazing, beautiful setting. There’s a lot of French dialog throughout the book, but it’s done in a way that makes the setting feel more authentic. I don’t know French and didn’t have any issues since most of it was translated or could be figured out from context.

The story’s main characters are Luna and Yannick. Most of the book follows Luna’s point of view but some parts follow Yannick, which I liked so I could see his perspective as well. On the surface, these characters seem completely different from each other: Luna has lived a very sheltered, safe life, while Yannick works as part of a rescue team for the mountains, traversing dangerous terrain that they must access by helicopter. But the characters are also both dealing with a lot of grief from losing loved ones and the ending of serious relationships. Luna travels to Chamonix after she receives a large insurance payout from a man she didn’t know, and it’s almost like fate with how Luna and Yannick’s paths keep crossing with each other. I liked these characters, and I thought they really brought something good out of each other.

The story has a sense of mystery to it, as Luna is trying to figure out why she was the benefactor of the money and also discovering things about her late mother that she never knew. That part of the story took some turns I wasn’t expecting, so it kept things interesting. There was also an “air of excitement” with mountain rescues and mountain climbing being a major theme.

Character development over the course of the story was huge. It was almost like the Luna at the end was a different person from the Luna at the beginning. And Yannick grew over the course of the story as well. The book kept me immersed and interested. I would love to read more books by Leonie Mack now that I’ve had a chance to read one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the free advance copy of Snow Days With You! My review is my own honest opinion of the book.