Member Reviews

And now…..

Back to my regularly scheduled dramatic rants on my love for blood, guts, gore, twists and shrills.

Well, lookey on over here for a book that checks off every box on my twisty little soul sucking list.

Drumroll…

The Vanishing Hour

Yes, I read this book twice because it fed my soul . It’s beyond disturbing, twisted, dark and has given me nightmares since the first time I read it. This is my go to book suggestion for anyone who asks for the most traumatic book I have ever read . This is one of those books everyone says they can handle and then the minute they conclude they find their hands shaking in fear . I won’t lie to you. There was no “walks around the neighborhood” after finishing this so

So although you may call yourself a psychological thriller lover please proceed with caution, this is not the book for anyone looking for a boy meets girl and maybe gets annoyed and disappears for a bit kind of thing .

Teaser :

Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets.

But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.

When a surge of disappearances brings the investigation to her door, Grace finds herself unwillingly at the center of it all and doing everything she can to keep her distance. Because Grace knows something…something that could change everything. And when the truth comes to light, getting justice for the vanished might be more than Grace can handle alone…

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I loved On a Quiet Street, so I was beyond excited when @thrillerbookloverpromotions offered me the opportunity to read and review THE VANISHING HOUR.

I enjoyed this mystery thriller with the multiple POV and the atmospheric setting in Rock Harbor, Maine. I connected with Kira’s character, as a mom you would do anything to find your missing child. I wasn’t able to guess any of the twists and I loved how all the storylines came together in the end. I love this author’s writing and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

I flew through this book quickly and it’s the perfect bingeable read at under 300 pages.

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Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. The mystery is there and the details of the disappearance leave you rushing to find out what has happened. The chapters are divided into characters which makes you read each to see how the story is developing with each perspective. Check out this mysterious story and see where it leads.

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Told from multiple points of view, this is a mystery about the disappearance of some people in a town. Some years ago a couple of girls had disappeared for weeks only to be found without their lives, and now two elderly men and a teenager are also gone, everyone in a similar way, from the same region in town and around the same hour. It's a battle against time to find them before they also end up dead.

This was a page turner. The style is easy to read, and the characters, though I feel I still don't know almost anything about them, they were nice enough that you cared for their feelings. However, even before it's over you realize how underwhelming it all is. There is a mystery. I liked the conclusion to it. I was surprised by the plot twists. But the characters were very shallow. I'm not even sure what job one of the main characters have. Or maybe I just know the job of one of them, Grace, who takes care of the inn where the son of one of the disappeared ends up. But you finish the book without understanding how that job even existed.

Likewise, the explanations for things the author needed for the plot were too loose. I need this place in the middle of nowhere. So I just insert it there. And that's just an example, a lot of the book worldbuilding is like a paper background for the stage you shouldn't really look at or it'll be too obviously fake. Only after a while it's hard not to look at it, and the illusion crumbles. And considering it deals with heavier themes like drugs, prostitution, kidnapping, and rape, it deserved more depth.

It's a good thriller to read without thinking, it'll entertain you. I liked the read itself and will recommend to anyone looking for a beach read. In fact, I plan to read more by this author, especially when I'm looking for a page turner. But it's not a solid story as it could have been.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

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4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5 on here)

Thank you @thrillerbookpromotions , @seraphinanovaglass , and @Graydon House for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
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This was my first book by Seraphina Nova Glass, but it will definitely not be my last! This book brought me in immediately and I didn’t want to put it down. It is told in multiple POV and I feel like that helps you really understand the characters and the motivations behind their actions. I also loved a good mystery where the mother doesn’t stop looking for the child and does a lot more than the cops do to help figure out what is going on! I loved the flow of the book and the way it was written. The storyline was just so good and definitely one that I would recommend!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

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In this book two people go missing in apparently two completely unrelated cases - one is a young girl, the other is an old man. But as the mother of the girl goes everywhere and talks to everyone to try to locate her daughter, she founds out some disturbing details about her daughter and about the so called "vanishing hour" that seems to account for several other disappearances in the past. The book is very interesting and kept me engaged up until the end to find out what happened.

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When I saw The Vanishing Hour available to request on NetGalley, I was intrigued. I also have never read anything by Seraphina Nova Glass and I love to find new authors! However, I struggled with the layout of the book. Some of it had to do with formatting from NetGalley with my Kindle but I think some of it was also the author's writing style. It just wasn't always clear whose story I was reading. Anyway, there's quite a triangle of action in this book. You have Grace who manages an inn in the small, kind of sleepy town of Rock Harbor, there's Aden who is from the town but doesn't currently live there with the rest of his family and finally there's Kira whose daughter moved to the town the summer before going off to college. The story weaves the 3 main characters together as they try to figure out how the past (Grace's) connects to the present situation of Kira's daughter going missing as well as Aden's father. What exactly happens on The Strip during The Vanishing Hour? Why won't people talk about it? Nothing seems to connect and there are endless possibilities until Grace realizes she might just be the key! The emotions exerted by the main characters are intense and the pace at which things happens is a rollercoaster ride. Will there be a happy ending for anyone?

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4.5 stars rounded up to 5. The beginning was a little hard to keep track of, but as the book went on it started to make more sense and eventually it all came together nicely. The story is told from multiple POVs and you eventually learn how they are all connected. The author did a great job at seamlessly connecting the stories. There were plenty of twists and turns and I didn't predict any of them. As a matter of fact, one of the twists was completely shocking and changed the whole story for me. The story was intriguing and I just had to keep reading until the end to find out what happened. A great thriller read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you to @netgalley and @thrillerbookpromotions for my advance copy of this! I really have enjoyed this author’s work in the past!
This story really grabs you from the beginning. I was intrigued and it had all my “spidey senses” going. It’s told from multiple POVs which is my favorite for thrillers and there are quite a few missing people making is seem there is a serial killer on the loose (again a fav for thrillers)
I liked all three of our POVs which is rare. They all had their own unique personality and issue going on and I like that they all fit together in the end. I also loved the setting-Rock Harbor, Maine. I have read quite a few books set here and I enjoy it. Its dark, gritty and has the best atmosphere for creep factor.
Like I said-I love this author. I just did not like the ending of this one. It felt rushed, there was A LOT going on and it was very over the top. It did still keep me vested until the end, hence the rating. I will most definitely be reading her next!

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The Vanishing Hour did one of my favorite things: It started out with separate storylines, then wove them all together until they end in a fantastic, twisty ending!

I have read many novels of missing girls and their distraught mothers, desperate for answers. But Kira was a different kind of mother: She actually got her butt up and looked for answers herself, but not in an unrealistic way (thank goodness!). She was my favorite character in this book and I loved her nothing-left-to-loose attitude!

As the story unfolds and the other storylines start to mesh together, I was racing to find out where Brooke was and how all these characters were interconnected. The ending actually surprised me, too!! It was twisty but realistic and overall I really enjoyed this fun and fast reading thriller! Great summer reading!

I received a copy of The Vanishing Hour from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

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Told from a few POV’s, this at times can be confusing but that was not the case with this book. The POV’s all intertwined perfectly and left no confusion. Most of the POV’s are known as you are reading except for one; which you find out at the end.
This book was so well written, it felt like a movie playing in my head the entire time. Kidnapping, murder, family betrayal and MORE. Read this book you will NOT regret it!

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There is nothing better than a twisty mystery thriller!! This book is so well written that it keeps you on the edge straight from the beginning.
A mix of characters come together over people who go missing in Rock Harbor Maine. It will keep you constantly re-guessing who dun it all along.
It’s a must read thriller. 4.5 stars

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I wish I could go back in time and read this again for the first time. I absolutely loved it. It sucked me in from the first sentence. Trust me when I say that The Vanishing Hour will be the thriller of the summer.

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Three different lives with three different story’s but somehow they all connect back to the vanishing hour in this small town that is full of secrets. Family betrayal, red herrings and so many thrills, I immediately want to read every other book she has written.

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This book started off kind of slow, but it picked up pace very fast and I read it in one day. I absolutely did not see the ending coming. I will definitely recommend this to my audience, as I love this author and all of her works!

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Three storylines merge to form a solid mystery. A woman trying to hide from her past, a son trying to find his missing father, and a woman looking for her daughter who has disappeared like other young girls have. I loved the little nooks and crannies this book had hidden throughout it. the creepy feelings, and the characters that all had to come to uncomfortable realizations about those around them. While ultimately being plot driven, the book managed to include a lot of character development, not only from the three points of view in the narration but also for the missing father and daughter. All combined, the story was engaging and it kept me wondering until the very end. And, for once, I didn't even mind the clean up chapter at the end. It felt appropriate.

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The Vanishing Hour is a slow burn thriller, but a quick read. The multiple narratives keep the story going, and make the eventual connection, a little more surprising. When you initially meet each character, you really wonder why they’re all in the story together. Nothing connects them except the town of Rock Harbor. But of course, things are really not what they seem. The narratives also have have you questioning, who the people closest to us, really are.
Though I did find the story a little repetitive, and full of inner dialogue, I did appreciate the gradual release of clues and distractions. It’s hard not to make multiple points of view repetitive, if you want to connect them. And, each point of view did offer their own addition of clues, so I do think they were important. I just like more flow. I also liked having a victims perspective. I did find Grace a bit meek, and totally unbelievable with her twist. But she definitely added some excitement to the story. The real story is Kira, the mother of the current missing girl. She brings the heart and emotion to the book, and really propels the investigation forward.

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This crime novel turns the typical missing bodies are piling up plot line on its head. Soon after it begins, you find out there are a lot of missing folks -- three girls, two older guys -- in a small town in Maine. You need a scorecard to keep track of the involved families, and they initially are working independently of each other before coming together to share common tips and intelligence on how to figure out what is going on. There are many wounded souls in this novel, which is what makes it interesting. There is the recovering addict. The critical mom. The brother who is trying to make amends. The detached dad. In less capable hands, this motley crew could just be caricature, but here their experience rings true. Everyone has something wrong with them as a result of the missing people -- there are some known murders, and some unsolved cases -- and no, I won't give any spoilers here but it is a delightful read and you get a feel for small town Mainer life. Highly recommended.

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Grace Holloway had nearly died, so she keeps to herself and runs an inn in Rock Harbor, Maine. She's not the only one with something to hide in town, however, and young girls who looked like Grace did when she had been kidnapped are starting to disappear. Grace is drawn into the investigation against her will, but what she knows will change everything.

We get multiple POV's here, because young women are disappearing from the bad part of town, and older men apparently did as well. The determined mother, dedicated son, and Grace are all in town, and there's a growing sense of unease. People disappear in the late evening from the same general street, where the strip club, convenience stores and dive places are. Drug deals and hooking takes place there, increasing the fear that Aden and Kira have regarding what happened to their family. Grace is a shadow of a woman because of her trauma, too close to the missing girls who resemble what she used to look like. The investigation is mostly Kira, but Aden has his fair share of going into the different areas of town to talk to people that might have seen his father. The three of them finally meet and coordinate information, and the perpetrator isn't who you think it is.

The tension in the novel increases, especially in the second half of the novel. It's gripping, and I kept reading to get to the end. I had to stay up late and couldn't do anything else until it was done. This is an intense suspense novel, with a fitting ending that gives hope for the future.

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I devoured this in one sitting!
This had a lot of things I like in a thriller: a Final Girl, a small town with a history of missing persons, and a potential serial killer. There were 3 POV's: Grace (the Final Girl who runs an inn), Kira (her daughter is missing) and Aden (his elderly father is missing). I was glad to have Grace and Aden's POV along with Kira's, as I feel like the frantic mother with a missing kid has been a little over-done in thrillers.
I thought the author did a great job of weaving all three of these characters together. There were plenty of suspects and red herring's that left me guessing - at no point was anything obvious until the very end and even then there were still a few more twists that I did not see coming. The ending and the twists brought this storyline to the next level in my opinion! The epilogue was somewhat satisfying, there were a couple things I would've like to see differently, but that didn't end up taking anything away from this one.
Thank you HTP Books and Graydon House for my advanced copy!

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