Book Review: Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries, #1) by Ellery Adams

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Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries, #1) by Ellery Adams is the first book in the Book Retreat Mysteries series and is set in western Virginia at a charming resort called Storyton Hall. This unique resort is designed specifically for book lovers who want to escape, unwind, and immerse themselves in their favorite stories. The resort’s manager, Jane Steward, decides to host a themed “Murder and Mayhem Week” inviting mystery enthusiasts to gather, role-play, and solve fictional crimes. However, the event takes a dark turn when one of the guests is found dead in his suite and a valuable prize goes missing. Jane must uncover which guest is responsible for the murder before the retreat is ruined . Before picking up this novel, I had only read one other book in the series. I decided to start from the beginning as part of my New Year’s resolution to finally read books I purchased years ago. I’m so glad I did. Starting with the first installment allowed me to fully appreciat...
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Book Review: Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine

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Book Review: Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine

YA Horror Book Review of Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine
Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine is the eighth book in the Fear Street Book series. Justine Cameron is throwing a Halloween party for nine specially picked students. The kicker is that none of the nine people really know Justine, and they wonder why they were invited. When the lights go off and come back on, there's a body with a knife in it. Is there a murderer amongst them?

I'm in the process of rereading my way through my childhood, and I decided to read the Fear Street book series again . . . this time in order. I must not have read Halloween Party because I didn't have the book. I purchased the book through ThriftBooks.com, and I have to say that I didn't remember anything about the storyline, with the exception of the nickname for Niki sounding very familiar. 

The Fear Street books are a more mature horror book series than R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book series. I loved reading these books in middle school and high school. Halloween Party was filled with typical high school drama that took me back to my younger days. 

book review halloween party fear street 8 rl stineI loved the fact that the storyline was a "locked room" mystery, and it's the perfect book to read during the Halloween holiday or on a Friday the 13th. I didn't really see the ending coming, but I feel like there were a few plot holes that didn't allow for one to figure out what would happen. As a kid, I would have likely overlooked this and not cared. I also liked the fact that there were characters brought back from previous books in this series. I don't think I noticed this the first time around since I had read them out of order (and read a lot of other books in between).

The only real complaint I have is that I felt like Niki's nickname of "Funny Face" was a bit offensive seeing as the character had a hearing disability. With that being said, I loved the fact that there was a character with a disability represented. I don't remember there being too many characters with disabilities being in books from the 1980's or 1990's.

Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine was a fun and enjoyable read. I don't really have any complaints, and I gave it four out of five stars.

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