Another month, another standalones post. I’m still about a year behind myself with the books in this series, but that doesn’t mean I have a year’s worth of posts. I actually only have a couple more months I think. Anyway, this post is super short because I’m ridiculously busy at the moment, sorry!
All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley

If you liked The Haunting of Bly Manor, you will love All the Dead Lie Down. It has creepy manor vibes and also creepy young children. I feel like this book was heavily influenced by that show.
This is a really good thriller with a supernatural twist. The characters are great and the tension is built so well.
Synopsis: The Sleeping House was very much awake . . .
Days after a tragedy leaves Marin Blythe alone in the world, she receives a surprising invitation from Alice Lovelace—an acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin’s mother. Alice offers her a nanny position at Lovelace House, the family’s coastal Maine estate.
Marin accepts and soon finds herself minding Alice’s peculiar girls. Thea buries her dolls one by one, hosting a series of funerals, while Wren does everything in her power to drive Marin away. Then Alice’s eldest daughter returns home unexpectedly. Evie Hallowell is every bit as strange as her younger sisters, and yet Marin is quickly drawn in by Evie’s compelling behaviour and ethereal grace.
But as Marin settles in, she can’t escape the anxiety that follows her like a shadow. Dead birds appear in Marin’s room. The children’s pranks escalate. Something dangerous lurks in the woods, leaving mutilated animals in its wake. All is not well at Lovelace House, and Marin must unravel its secrets before they consume her.
They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody

It took me a little while to get into this because I didn’t enjoy how mean the characters were for no reason. Thankfully, they do grow on you and the fake dating is very cute. I love fake dating where they don’t get on, makes it way funnier.
Synopsis: Jonah and Dylan get along like oil and water. Until a fake dating ploy gives them new perspective, and they realise that “falling for your enemy” isn’t as impossible as it seems.
There are plenty of words Jonah Collins could use to describe Dylan Ramírez. “Arrogant,” “spoiled,” and “golden boy” to name a few. Likewise, Dylan thinks he has Jonah accurately labeled as an attention-seeking asshat who never shuts his filthy mouth. Their friends are convinced Jonah’s and Dylan’s disdain for one another is just thinly veiled lust—a rumor that surges like wildfire when the two wake up in one bed after homecoming. Mutually horrified, Dylan and Jonah agree to use the faux pas to their advantage by fake dating. If they can stay convincing long enough to end their “relationship” in a massive staged fight, they can prove their incompatibility to their friends once and for all. But the more time they spend together, the more their plan begins to fall apart—and the closer they come to seeing each other clearly for the first time.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Kindle Unlimited & Prime Reading #11
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Standalones #11 […]