whatsleahreading

  Seventeen years ago, the coastal town of Heron Bay, Washington, was wrecked by tragedy. While her parents and others in the community indulged in one of the season's many parties, young Nina Johansen vanished and drowned--in a reflecting pool at the edge of the property.  Nearly two decades later, Astrid has yet to fill the void left by her younger sister's mysterious death. When an unexpected and cryptic call from her Aunt Maude summons her back to Heron Bay after all this time, it becomes clear to Astrid that the truth of that night seventeen years ago refuses to stay buried. And the secrets of Nina's death are closer than she realizes.  "Dreaming of Water" is an absolutely gorgeously-written story of mystery, loss, and suspense. Similar to "In Another Light," Banner's writing is descriptive, transportive, and maintains an impressive veil of intrigue over the entire story without sacrificing pacing or plot details. To reveal too many more details

  June Farrow is living on borrowed time. Well, so history has told her. Even before June's mother Susanna's mysterious disappearance from their small hometown of Jasper, North Carolina, something has been odd about the Farrow women. But trying to put your finger on the Farrow women is like trying to catch smoke in your bare hands.  As June tries to set the murky past behind her and live a normal life, she's haunted by visions--things she's never seen but feel unnervingly familiar; voices she's never heard but stir something deep within her; a red door that seems to beckon her through its passageway. And so June makes a choice one fateful day in the wake of her grandmother's passing.  She opens the door, and she goes. And what awaits her on the other side defies comprehension.  "The Unmaking of June Farrow" is made of the same wondrous, magical, and poignant stuff that "Spells for Forgetting" is, but somehow even more. This is the book, dear

  Ashley Smith is content to spend Christmas alone. With an ocean between her and her home back in the States, her choices for company--aside from her art studies--are few and far between. When out of the blue, the alluring Emma Chapman invites Ashley to her family's grand estate for the holidays, things seem almost too good to be true.  From the Cotswold Manor House to her quarters in Starvehood Hall, Ashley couldn't be more enamored with how her London Christmas has panned out. Until, that is, she meets Emma's handsome brother Adam, and the holidays grow more interesting (and sinister) by the night.  "The Christmas Guest" is a perfectly atmospheric, mysterious novella written to be devoured in a single setting. In its own, dark way, it boasts the kind of coziness readers seek out for wintertime while maintaining both strong plot and prose throughout. Coming in at just over 100 pages, to say much more in this review would be to spoil Peter Swanson's giftednes