Samplers make me so happy yet so sad because now I have 6 brand new books on my TBR that I can not wait to get my hands on!!!
Thank you so much for the little sneak peek!

Thanks again Net Galley for another Minotaur Sampler. I love these small pieces of upcoming books. I’ve read several and usually find something new and interesting. In this case Alex Finlay and Stacy Willingham make the top of my list. I’m looking forward to both their new books.

Parents weekend - while lots of characters, it was nicely laid out and has me wanting to read more

Marguerite by the Lake - decent start but seemed heavily focused more on gardening which I despise yard work 🤣 and not enough to grab me with what was given.

So Happy Together - love a stalker story but it seemed geared towards YA which doesn’t interest me

The Bachelorette Party- Started off like a cheesy slasher turned podcast reporter mystery.

Party of Liars - Seems like a YA book based on description and I didn’t have interest in reading

Forget Me Not - I’m curious about the backstory enough to want to keep reading and see how it all unfolds

I always highly recommend the Minotaur Samplers. They consistently offer such an easy way to decide what books to read. This time there are samples, descriptions and author info on books by Kelsey Cox; Olivia Worley; Camilla Sten; Mary Dixie Carter; Alex Finlay; Stacy Willingham.

Take a few minutes and review this one. What will you want to read? I have definitely added to my own reading list.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur for the sampler! Four of the six books listed are ones I'm excited about the release. After reading this sampler, I have added one more book that I'm excited about!

In order of most excited to least

So Happy Together: This one I didn't have on my radar when reading this sampler and now it's the one I'm most excited for!

The Bachelorette Party: I love isolated islands with a killer on the loose

Parents Weekend: I just love Alex Finlay. I find his works fast paced and love the twists.

Party of Liars: I'm still exicted about this one, but it might be a bit of a slow start

Forget Me Not: This was one of my "I CANT WAIT" books and I just feel like it's a book I've read many times before.

Marguerite at the Lake: This one I was honestly bored with

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the sampler in exchange for an honest review.

I love getting to read a bit of the beginning of books to see if I actually want to dive in or not.

Parents Weekend - I'm 50/50 on this one; I like that it has chapters from multiple characters.

Marguerite by the Lake - I didn't get enough to fully understand it.

So Happy Together - the main character is totally wild, but I’m not into reading about obsession.

The Bachelorette Party - this one caught my attention with its two timelines and the island setting.

Party of Liars - didn’t grab me much; I usually like chapters from different characters, but this one just didn’t do it for me.

Forget Me Not - 50/50 interesting...

I couldn't have downloaded this quicker after seeing 3 of my most anticipated reads on the list. All 6 of the books were intriguing and I would love to continue all of them but there were 3 absolute standouts for me personally -

The Bachelorette Party - Camilla Sten is one of my favourite authors and WOW, what a prologue. This story looks dark, just like the Scandi Noir stories I love and I honestly cannot wait to finish this one!

Parent's Weekend - I love a 'Rich people drama' element in a thriller and the fact that there may be a true crime podcast / TikTok sleuth element coming later in the book makes it even better!

Forget Me Not - You can't go wrong with Stacy Willingham and the premise of this book sounds amazing. I love a cold case and family secrets in a thriller and I am SO ready to read more!

First off, thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the sampler in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, now time for the reviews -

*The Bachelorette Party - 3 ⭐️ - The prologue was exciting and I wish the story would have just continued with those characters instead of changing to other people. I’m unsure how I feel about the main character because she seems so negative but I am curious what she will find out on Isle Blind about the murders. I feel like the characters are typical - Group of girls who are faking they like each other. One is rich and popular, one is an outsider, one is a suck up, etc. etc. I’m not sure I’ll read this one when it is released.

* Marguerite at the Lake - 1 ⭐️- I’m not a major fan of it and even put it down for a few days because I was bored. That’s saying a lot because it’s a sample and I could’ve just toughed it out to finish the few page sample. The writing felt awkward and there was too much emphasis on the flowers and gardening. I love gardening but if I wanted to read a book on plants, I’d buy one on plants. Also, the dialogue writing where several conversations were just bits and pieces of what the character was hearing.. We get it. They were far away and she couldn’t quite hear them. I don’t need that constantly throughout the chapter.

*Parents Weekend - 4 ⭐️ - I’ll read this when it comes out for sure. I liked how we will get different perspectives of what is going on through the different families. I also enjoyed the immediate suspense that someone was missing. There was no annoying build up, just immediate mystery. The only reason I didn’t do 5 ⭐️ is because I’m worried all the characters may muddle the book and make it confusing but I’m hoping not.

*So Happy Together - 5 ⭐️ - The main character is a little bit psycho and I love it. She is the reason I want to read this book.. immediately. She reminds me of Joe Goldberg from “You” and I wanted to know what she was plotting and what she was going to do next. Yes, 5 ⭐️.

*Party of Liars - 3 ⭐️ - I’ll read this one but I don’t think I’ll jump to read it immediately. I liked the suspense of the haunted house and not knowing what Dani had done four months prior. I also enjoyed the different perspectives of the characters but hope it doesn’t become too overwhelming. This book feels like I’ve read it before though.. New mom starts seeing and hearing things in her house, nobody believes her and calls her crazy.. etc. I hope it doesn’t turn out that way.

*Forget Me Not - 2 ⭐️ - From what I read, it feels like a typical story of a self loathing character who is in a bad position at work, is impulsive, drinks too much and goes home where she will delve into the mystery of her sisters death. I’m pretty sure I read this same book last week but it had a different name. Unfortunately, I probably won’t read this one even though I am a fan of the author.

Such an awesome idea to sneak peak all these stories. Some authors I knew and some I didn't but it was really fun to see what stories captivated me the most.

The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 15 is a thrilling sneak peek into some of the most highly anticipated thrillers coming out in Spring/Summer 2025.

From Alex Finlay's Parent's Weekend, where five families’ lives unravel after their kids go missing during a Parents Weekend, to Kelsey Cox’s Party of Liars, where a sweet sixteen party turns deadly, every story's sample hooked me. As a fellow University of Georgia alum, I’m a huge fan of Stacy Willingham, and I’m particularly excited for Forget Me Not. Her writing is always top-notch and I can’t wait to read the full story!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the sampler.

I have read each of these first few chapters and am so excited for them to come out. I was selected to
Review Parents weekend so I am excited to dive into that one and finish reading it.

Each book has great build up in the first few chapters leaving me wanting to continue reading more.

Thank you for giving me a preview of these books!

I've never given feedback for a sampler before! Suffice to say that all of that it took me a bit to get through just given that there were six books in this. But I truly enjoyed them all! What a fun idea and way to get readers to pick up multiple at once.

This sampler is the perfect intro to monster romance! It gives you a taste of several different books, so whether you're new to the genre or just want to explore more, you'll find something to love. Each story brings its own unique twist, making it an exciting way to dive into this fun subgenre.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read these amazing thrillers. All of them are between four and five stars, and by amazing authors. The suspense in them is real and the twists are amazing! I learned some new authors with this set and now want to go see if they have other books I can read!

I am VERY excited for Stacy Willingham’s Forget Me Not. It will be a great addition to her collection, the 4th title. I am already drawn in from the short teaser that I red!

The absolute perfection of the selection for the books in this sampler is obvious!

Every single one is worthy of a 4-5 star rating, kept me on my toes and the edge of my seat and had me guessing which way the twists and turns would take me!

Thrillers are an immediate add to my TBR. I will read them all. I love that this gives you chance to sample a few up and coming thrillers to see how you vibe with the writing style and subject. Based on the summary and sample chapters I my listed based on which ones I am most excited for to least (read only a little less) excited for below. I can't wait to read these.

The Bachelorette Party - A thriller set on a island with a bachelorette party involved - sign me up!
Parent's Weekend - Admittedly there was a lot going on in the sample chapters and a lot of characters. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.
Party of Liars - The drama of a sweet sixteen with interwoven family issues.
Forget Me Not - Rehashing old crimes? Nothing good will come of it! Wonder what secrets will be revealed.
So Happy Together - I am not quite sure where this story is going and I love it.
Marguerite by the Lake - Driving this down my list is honestly the gardening. While not my area of interest a death with suspicious circumstances definitely is.

ok can we talk about the absolutely perfect selection in this volume?! Some of the most highly anticipated reads by the most anticipated authors all in one sampler?! COME ON NOW! This is the perfect collection for getting you started on a new book and "breaking the ice" which is always the hardest part for me when picking up a new book. This not only helped me get over the "starting a new book" hump but also has me intrigued enough to pick up every single copy within this volume. This needs to be more common with publishers!

Can't wait for volume 16 and beyond!

Wow- there are some big names in this collection of samplers: Alex Finlay, Stacy Willingham, Camilla Sten... These ones look fantastic. I've been lucky before with choosing novels from the samplers - it's a great way to spread the word about new books. Some of these I want RIGHT NOW.

•I’ve already Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay and it was a fantastic thriller that I highly recommend.
•I really enjoyed the excerpt of Marguerite by the Lake by Mary Dixie Carter and joyfully accepted the widget for this wonderful book!
•So Happy Together by Olivia Worley isn’t one I’ll be requesting. Not a trope I’m interested in but it’s well written.
•The excerpt for The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten was suspenseful and I’m looking forward to reading the rest!!
•I really enjoyed the excerpt of Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox and am thankful for the widget!!
•Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham was the best excerpt of all and I really hope the book is listed on Netgalley. I’ve loved every book I’ve read by this author.
Thank you to the publisher/authors for the opportunity to read these complimentary excerpts . Opinions expressed in this review are my own.