#cyn balog

[brightbeautifulthings]

Alone by Cyn Balog

"This place is like a snow globe, trapping me inside. And I am drowning here."

Year Read: 2024

Rating: 2/5

About: Seda's mother inherited a crumbling, isolated mansion that used to host murder mystery parties, so she's been living in a literal house of horror for months, dreaming of her life going on without her back home. When a snowstorm strands a handful of teenagers with them, Seda knows it's a terrible idea to let them stay. Something dangerous lurks inside the house, and inside herself… Trigger warnings: parent death, sibling/twin death, potential DID/mental illness, some gore, mild body horror, injury, threats.

Thoughts: I think this is slightly mismarketed as a YA novel because it reads like a Goosebumps book exposed to gamma radiation, complete with eye-rolling cliffhangers at the end of every chapter that typically turn out to be nothing and an equally ridiculous "twist" ending. It's right on that border between middle grade and YA, and I can't say it worked well for me as an adult at all. I was either bored or aggravated through all of it, and the only thing that pushed me through it was wanting to know what was going on-- sorry I did.

Seda is a very standard YA heroine, and aside from her flaky mother, the rest of the characters are cutouts of Family or Love Interest or Jealous Ex. Her narration is largely full of worry over her dead twin brother Sawyer's voice taking over her body (a thread that is never played out to any satisfaction), and pointless repetitions that Something Bad Is Going To Happen. I suspect it's meant to build tension and create an atmosphere of dread, but since nothing bad really happens for 2/3 of the novel, it falls pretty flat. I might have enjoyed the ending if it didn't require abrupt changes in characterization and abandoning half the build-up. The whole thing comes over feeling half-baked at best.

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (June 27th, 2023)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

You Won't Believe Me by Cyn Balog

Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

The Quiet Part Out Loud by Deborah Crossland

Someone You Loved by Robin Constantine

Gloria Buenrostro Is Not My Girlfriend by Brandon Hoàng

Sing Me To Sleep by Gabi Burton

What Happens After Midnight by K.L. Walther

Starlings by Amanda Linsmeier

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson

House Party by Various

Monstrous by Sarah Myer

New Sequels:

Manslaughter Park (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #3) by Tirzah Price

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Happy reading!

[newbookcats]

Annual Reading Review: 2023 | The Good, The Bad, and MCAT Studying in Post-Grad

Good morning to 2024! Although 2024 is halfway done, I still have yet to re-wire my brain to write nor type out the correct year; yet, that doesn't mean we have to stop the celebrations!

This is my review of 2023 and all the posts written this year! Share with me your favorite posts from your blogs, Instagrams, Twitters, Goodreads, TikToks, etc.!

2023's Posts:

12 Questions with Lil' Bro Reviewing The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan | Another Success or a Boring Quest?

Recent Mainstream Popular Books and Authors I Have Not (YET) Read But Are On My TBR | Featuring My Cold Soul and So Many GIFs to Shame Me But I'll Shake It Off

Stacking the Shelves | So You Want to Be a Doctor...

Book Review: SawKill Girls by Claire Legrand | Following Psychic Moths and Throwing Delicious Casseroles at Paranormal Monsters for Feminism

Book Review: Alone by Cyn Balog | Can You Ever Be Truly Alone When You Have Cake? Ft. Murder Mysteries

Book Review: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan || Three Perspectives, Two-Faced Gods, and One Bad Enemy

Book Review: What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera | When a Meet-Cute at the Post Office is Misdelivered

2023's Books:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling- both ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - ⭐⭐⭐

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Clockwork Angel Trilogy by Cassandra Clare - each was ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan - each was ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera - ⭐.5

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand - ⭐⭐⭐.5

Autonomous by Andy Marino - DNF/0

The Revolution of Jack Frost by K. M. Robinson - DNF/0

Figure 1. Fiction vs. Non-fiction Books Read 

Figure 2. Star-ratings of Books Read in 2023

Figure 3. Genres of Read Books

In conclusion, the books I read were mostly a success - although many of them were guaranteed 5-star reads as 12 of these were also re-re-reads.

What Can Be Expected for 2024?

More posts, more books, more Coco-Puffs (in nutritionally balanced cow's milk)!

See you soon,

newbookcats

[happygoosebird]

“I think the zombie was a Jehovah’s Witnesse.”

-Cyn Balog, You Won’t Believe Me

[therealimintobooks]

YOU WON’T BELIEVE ME BY CYN BALOG #bookreview

You Won’t Believe MeCyn BalogThriller, Young AdultSourcebooks FireJune 27th, 2023eBook Willow is alone, confined to a bed with restraints. She can’t remember how she got there…or how long she’s been there. An old lady appears in her room to feed her twice a day. Granny doesn’t talk, but Willow can hear thumping from somewhere beyond her door. It’s not Granny’s shuffling steps. It’s too loud to…

[winningthesweepstakes]

You Won't Believe Me by Cyn Balog

You Won’t Believe Me by Cyn Balog. Sourcebooks Fire, 2023. ISBN: 978-1-7282-6556-8 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4.5 Format: Paperback Genre:  Young Adult Fiction What did you like about the book?  When thinking about what to give a young adult to read, it is important to consider what topics they can relate to. What can they see or have experiences with in their…

[selsorenda]

For day 2, I’ve written a book review. This is first I’ve ever written, and turned out a bit more like a report for high school than a review, but I think it’s a good stepping stone to my next review being better.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Time Spent Reading: 3 hours

Length: 277 pages

This book can be found on Goodreads here.

This review does contain spoilers

“Welcome to the Bismarck-Chisholm House — where murder is only the beginning of the fun!”

“It was just supposed to be a vacation; a quick trip to go up and sell the manor her mother had inherited. Instead, the family is still living there, and it’s beginning to look like they may never leave. Trapped on Solitude Mountain with nobody but her mother and two sets of twin siblings, Seda grows more worried with each passing day. There’s something dark lurking within the manor… or within her.

“I don’t ever worry about ghosts. After all, I have Sawyer, and he is worse.”

Sawyer is Seda’s twin that she absorbed in the womb. He is almost always with her, whispering thoughts into her head. Some simple demeaning comments, other dangerous suggestions such as when he urged her to burn her hand as a kid. Nobody knows that he’s with her, at least not anymore. As a young kid, everybody thought Sawyer was just her imaginary friend. Therefore, Seda led her family to believe she’d simply grown out of him, instead of the daunting truth.

It is clear that her relationship of hearing Sawyer is some sort of mental illness, however it is never fully discussed within the book. There’s the struggle of Seda dealing with him, and the eventual point where she tells another character about still hearing him, but that’s really it. While this book is meant to be a classic YA thriller/horror, not psychological horror, it’s always frustrating to see mental illnesses used as a minor and brushed over way to push the plot along. At the very least, a full conversation between Seda and who she reveals the secret to would have been nice to see.

“Legend has it that everyone who visits succumbs to the disorienting effect of Solitude Mountain. Can you survive the night?”

Every chapter starts with part of a brochure or website article about the murder mystery that used to be hosted at the manor by Seda’s aunt and uncle. Not only are they often fun little quips, but they tend to tie into what happens in the chapter, which is a nice touch. The above quote is from the beginning of chapter 2, in which readers get the first glimpse of most of the characters.

Seda is on a grocery run 20 miles away from the manor when a group of teenagers comes into the shop, bright and full of energy. Seda, having been away from other people her age for quite a while at this point, finds herself intrigued by the group, and quite frankly she watches them like a bit of a creep. But that’s okay, because she’ll never see them again, right?

Wrong. On their way to a Halloween party at Funnel Mountain and deciding to take the scenic route, the group of teenagers gets caught in the storm. Heath, the “heartthrob” of the group, is the one that ends up inside the manor, thinking it’s uninhabited. When Seda first gets frightened by him showing up in her kitchen, she briefly thinks it’s her brother Sawyer. Of course, she then remembers that he’s only in her head and so this guy is an intruder. Instead of doing the logical thing and getting him out of her house, Seda has a conversation with Heath that leads to him asking if him and his friends can stay there.

“I want to help. He’s the most life I’ve seen in forever, beautiful, shining, vibrant life.”

Struck with a crush-at-first-sight, Seda decides to let Heath and his friends stay in the carriage house that’s slightly down the mountain. Her hope is that it’s far enough to keep them safe from Sawyer. Which it is, until she brings them hotdogs and a couple medical supplies later that night. It’s then that she finds herself growing fond of the group, and reminded of how all her friends are back in Boston, and she’s stuck here. Sawyer starts to creep in on her, and she promptly exits back to the manor, hoping the group will be gone the next morning.

As her luck would have it though, they weren’t. Even worse, her mother finds her talking to Heath while getting firewood. Before Seda can have any say, the group is being ushered into the manor by her mother like it's some big sleepover that’ll be the greatest party of their lives. Speaking of parties, it’s only a couple days to Seda’s 16th birthday, which causes her mother to have the grand idea to throw a big scavenger hunt for her and their guests. Surprisingly, the group of teenagers decides to go along with it, mainly to console the young sets of twins that are upset at the realization they missed Halloween. After all, what else are they going to do while stranded by the snow?

As Seda’s mother is setting up the grand party with all the left behind props from the murder mystery, Seda grows closer to Heath, the love interest of the story. Like with many YA novels, the romance feels a bit unnatural and rushed, and doesn’t add much to the story other than giving Seda someone to be by her side during the scavenger hunt. It is Heath that she reveals her secret about Sawyer to, and instead of seeming to be concerned, he just kind of shrugs it off.

“...but if I spent time trying to figure out all the mysteries of this place, I’d go insane.”

It isn’t until a couple chapters into the scavenger hunt (over halfway through the book) that the horror plot the blurb promised starts to take form. On a team together, Seda and Heath start to find blood and clues that don’t seem quite as fake as the others. Before they know it, they’re starting to find the dead bodies of Heath’s friends, and it seems like they’re next on the chopping block. Desperate to try and escape with their lives, the two come across an abandoned room… with evidence that Sawyer was alive, and he’s dangerous.

While trying to escape from Sawyer, Seda reveals another secret to Heath; she believes that her twin killed their dad. Up until this point, readers had been led to believe that her father had left because of her mother refusing to sell the house to the first buyer. Now, it is told that Seda found her father's body in the kitchen and fearing that Sawyer had caused her to do it, she’d hid his body in the walk-in freezer and drove his car into the nearby lake, as well as throwing his belongings into it. Again this is a strong indication of Seda being mentally ill, but again it is quickly brushed over when Sawyer shows up in the kitchen and starts to fight her and Heath.

In the struggle, Seda believes she traps Sawyer in the walk-in, until he is in front of her, about to burn her to death. Except, he can’t get the match to light. It is during that time that Seda gets away, running into a room filled with her family, and all of Heath’s friends. None of them dead, all alive and well. It had all been a grand set-up, thought up by her mother. Sawyer isn’t actually alive, and Heath and his friends aren’t teenagers, but seniors in college studying acting. (Which makes the fact that Heath kissed Seda quite unsettling, by the way.)

Endings like this are always so disappointing. I have always hated the “it was all a dream/fake” endings, as they feel like a huge cop-out. This book had potential, and frankly the fake story of Sawyer actually being alive would have been much more satisfying. Or, it even could have been Seda’s father. There were much better options for how the story could be wrapped up, and I’m honestly disappointed that the author chose to end it this way. The only redemption for the ending is when Seda is processing that her relationship with Heath was all a lie, and that he is who she had trapped in the freezer. Upon the realization Seda is ‘talking’ to Sawyer, and together they decide to leave Heath there, which ends the book off on the semi-eerie note that Seda is going down a dark path.

“After all, he knew something bad would happen. And he’s always right.”

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was a quick read, and the references to slasher movies and classic gore (such as fake intestines) were fun. The descriptions and detail and easily the strongest part, and are what kept me reading. All the characters were written well, even if they didn’t get the development they deserved; I found myself especially fond of the young twins. However, since the book doesn’t live up to its promise of horror/thriller until well into the book, and the ending falls flat, this doesn’t come close to being as good as it could have been. If you’re looking for a horror/thriller book, this isn’t for you. But if you just want a fairly light YA book with a hint of gore and thrill, you’ll likely have fun reading this — it could definitely be great for teens looking to dip their toes into horror without diving all the way in. If your library has this book and you have a free afternoon, I’d recommend giving it a look!

[mobilepubliclibraryteens]

When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they're not going back to the city…or Seda's friends and school. As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her. Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality…

[bestbooksnbadkitties]

Newest Reads

The Door That Led to Where by Sally Gardner

It was that week that AJ’s life went from being ordinary to extraordinary in a way he could never have imagined, and like most unusual events, it started with no warning.

AJ doesn’t have much of a life. When he’s offered a job as a junior law clerk he jumps at the chance. What he discovers while working there will change his whole life.

Not a bad read…. a time travel type novel.

 Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog

I’d like to say that was when it began, but no. That was when it was cemented. I was a goner the second I looked into those eyes.

Victoria becomes obsessed with Z, the new boy at school. She also has a boyfriend being homeschooled named Andrew. What happens between the 3 of them is scary. Thought I knew how this was going to end, but I was wrong…so very wrong.

Freaky read!

 Currently Reading: Wonder by Emma Donoghue and Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[fetcharg]

AUGH i used the wrong amount of Ses... pain.... oh well :3 do you read? any book recommendations? -llyr :3

that night by cyn balog is a good book. i lost my copy of it months ago sadly, or else i'd reread it now.

[brightbeautifulthings]

January - May

reviews The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (4/5) The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz (4/5) The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones (4/5) Smolder by Laurell K. Hamilton (4/5) Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz (3/5) The Witch Elm by Tana French (3/5) High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (3/5) Hellbent by Gregg Hurwitz (3/5) Lore Olympus: Volume Three by Rachel Smythe (3/5) Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (3/5) Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning (3/5) What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (3/5) Burden Falls by Kat Ellis (3/5) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (3/5) House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig (3/5) A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (3/5) The Child Thief by Brom (3/5) Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp (3/5) Alone by Cyn Balog (2/5)

rereads I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (5/5) Alice by Christina Henry (5/5) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (5/5) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (5/5) Final Friends: The Graduation by Christopher Pike (5/5) Final Friends: The Party by Christopher Pike (4/5) Final Friends: The Dance by Christopher Pike (4/5) Song of the Wanderer by Bruce Coville (3/5) Sweet Valley High: What Jessica Wants by Francine Pascal (3/5)

[thenorthernraven]

Finally Fall Book Tag!

In Fall, the air is crips and clear. Name a book with a vivid setting: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. This novel (along with the following books in the series) is a spin-off on L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz, which is actually the first novel I read as a child. Dorothy Must Die was able to let me relive my childhood fantasies by transporting me back to the wonderful land of Oz!

Nature is beautiful, but also dying. Name a book that is beautifully written, but also deals with loss and grief: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga. What I love about this book is that, while it deals with mental illness and loss, it also ends with a hint of hope.

Fall is back-to-school season. Share a non-fiction book that taught you something new: Secrets and Mysteries of the World by Sylvia Browne. This fascinated me with its discussion of the unexplained, such as The Bermuda Triangle, Fairies, The Lost Continent of Atlantis, Extraterrestrials, and so much more!

Name a fictional family, household, or friend-group that you want to be a part of: The Institute by Stephen King. Because who doesn't want to be a kid with special abilities on a thrilling adventure?!

The colorful leaves are piling up on the ground. Show us a pile of Fall-colored spines: Dracula by Bram Stoker; If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch; Christine and Firestarter by Stephen King; Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson; Turtles All The Way Down by John Green.

Fall is the perfect time for story-telling by the fireside. Share a book where someone is telling a story: Green Mile by Stephen King. This novel just made me cry sooooo much! By far my favorite King book.

The nights are getting dark and creepy. Share a dark and creepy read: Alone by Cyn Balog. This one made me jump several times and the ending is very unexpected!

The days are getting colder. Name a short, heart-warming read that can warm up someone's cold and rainy day: The Pea Blossom by Hans Christian Andersen. This is actually one of his children's stories, but very heart-warming and hopeful nonetheless. Also one of my favorites as a child.

Fall returns every year. Name an old favorite that you would like to return to soon: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. A post-apocalyptic zombie novel that I read way back in highschool.

I hope I'm not too late with this! I am tagging @a-little-book-wormy @booksiseeloveandread @foreverlostinliterature , but I encourage all bookworms who wish to do this tag!

[newbookcats]

Book Review: Alone by Cyn Balog | Can You Ever Be Truly Alone When You Have Cake? Ft. Murder Mysteries

Also can be read at https://newbookcatsreads.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-review-alone-by-cyn-balog.html

Of course, they don't see the one detail they should be noticing, a hole ripping their perfect little plan so wide apart that their lives will never be the same. 

Because there's something they don't know: they won't hear him. Not until ut's too late. That freezer door is far too thick.

Seda, the main protagonist, is the surviving half of her mother's first pregnancy.

My mother has a womb for twins.

When I was six or seven, I found a baby name book in my mother's dresser with two names circles: Seda and Sawyer...I feel him in my gut, pushing against my stomach as with the head of an ax, testing to find a way out.

The topic in which a baby or fetus becomes absorbed while still in the womb during multifetal gestation is familiar to me through my studies in biology; however, none of my previously read books have ever grasped me this hard with this spooky of an element. Not even learning the chemical properties of radium could have prepped me for this story. While learning of Seda's situation with Sawyer, I was intrigued to imagine Sawyer's direct influence on Seda's mind, body, and maybe soul. However, as a non-licensed nor non-skilled talker of puppies, I am currently not equipped with the correct magical materials to find that sort of material. 

So, while Seda's life seems normal with her lofty gang of friends, a list of college applications, and doting parents, the creepiness begins to set in after she takes a visit to an old cabin in the woods. Now, I'm not saying that a solitary vacation isn't nice. Just the thought of snow-covered trees, a house with the heat on full-blast, and a library stocked with enough books to last me a century sounds relaxing. However, we cannot forget the lovely cup of peanut butter hot chocolate oatmeal, obviously. 

But, in Seda's situation, she's currently surviving the elements alongside her younger brothers and sisters in a creepy cabin with a creepy backstory including a creepy character with a creepy thought pattern. I mean, "Can it get anymore creepy?"

So, with my logic, I would become a scaredy cat and leave the creeping cabin that I am creeping living in...duh; however, when hot guy shows up, all caution goes to the wind. That's when I bring out the popcorn!

In conclusion, this book is amazing and is filled with several plot twists that knock your socks off with such immense and brute force! This book is suspenseful, and Balog cruises through the story with a perfect pace and puzzles along the way. Reading through Seda's perspective was both insightful and confusing, and I am extremely excited to pop back into another story written by Cyn Balog. Otherwise, if she never publishes again, I will never be sane.

Love,

newbookcats

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of Alone in exchange for a honest review.

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Are you a fan of psychological thrillers, or is right now too late for a book intended for spooky season but read during the holiday/Christmas season? What are some of your favorite mystery or paranormal fiction authors? I recently read Claire Legrand's Paranormal Young Adult Fiction Sawkill Girls and had some mixed feelings about it. Do you think a child from a multifetal gestation can be controlled by their twin or a member of their triplet, quadruplet, etc.? If you could only have one thing while stranded in a snow-covered cabin, what would it be? What books will you be reading before 2023 ends? Converse with me in the comments below or via any social media!

[lisa-lostinlit]

💬 Are you good at solving mysteries? When you read a mystery book, do you often figure out #whodunnit, or are you usually surprised by the outcome? 🕵🏻‍♂️🔎 . I’m quite terrible at figuring out mysteries. 🙈😂 I think that’s why I enjoy them so much. I’m always totally shocked by how things play out. 🙃 . Thank you to @sourcebooksfire for gifting me this copy of That Night by Cyn Balog! This sounds like a very interesting YA mystery! Have you read it? Is it on your TBR? ________________________________________________________ 📖 Summary: Hailey wants to know the truth, but there are some secrets that are best left buried… Hailey is determined to find out all she can about her boyfriend's suicide. She knows Declan wouldn't kill himself, even if she can't remember a lot of what lead up to that fateful night. Kane, Declan's stepbrother and Hailey's best friend, wants to move past what happened—not dig up bad memories. But the more Hailey searches for information, the more she remembers. As the truth begins to unravel, Hailey finds herself unveiling secrets she never could have imagined—secrets that have the possibility of ruining everything... ________________________________________________________ #thatnight #cynbalog #firereadsmidnight #yamystery #sourcebooksfire — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2M9hXKM

[literary-lion]

Contemporary Books with a High School Setting | Top Ten Tuesday

Contemporary Books with a High School Setting | Top Ten Tuesday

The topic this week is Back to School/Learning Freebie!

Many of you are getting ready to go back to high school, college or maybe even elementary school! I don’t have to because I’m an adult, I can’t explain how great that is. Still, high school is the best years of your life or something. Not actually true most of the time in real life but in fiction high school is definitely where all the…