Tag: ARCreview

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ARC Book Review: DON’T LET IT OUT by N.A. Betts

First, a big thank you to the author for giving me an ARC  copy of DON’T LET IT OUT to review.  

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Don’t Let It Out

Publish Date: October 13th 2026

Publisher: Legend Forge Press 

Genre: psychological thriller, horror, Eldritch horror, Cosmic horror

The assignment was simple: contain the forest. Don’t let anything out.

FBI Agent Daniela Rojas arrives with a secret mission of her own. To uncover the truth behind Project Greenfall, a classified experiment buried by the Canopy Collective. RCMP Corporal Cade Mercer is there for a different reason. Two years ago, his wife vanished inside these woods. No body. No answers. Only the quiet certainty that something took her.

Now they stand watch at the edge of a quarantined wilderness that shouldn’t exist. The forest is changing. Spreading. Breathing. Time slips. Reality bends. And beyond the fence they are ordered never to cross, someone is calling to them. A woman tied to both of their pasts—a woman who should be dead.

As the pull of the forest tightens, so does the infection taking root beneath the trees. What waits inside isn’t just survival horror, it’s something far more intimate.

Because this forest doesn’t just infect the body. It gets inside you. Learns you. Remakes you.

And by the time Daniela and Cade understand what’s happening to them…it may already be too late to escape it.

REVIEW

Now, let me say, if they rebooted Tales from the Crypt for 2026, I think “Don’t Let it Out” would fit right in. It is the kind of story that has a message at the end. Mother Nature always wins.

Don’t Let It Out is an eco-horror thriller in which we meet our MC (Main Character). Dani Rojas, who was a Ranger assigned to guard a quarantine forest with her group. A forest no one should have gone inside, as Dani is the only one to come out alive. Traumatized, she tried to escape it, hide. She is now in an FBI position, but her past comes back to haunt her, and she is assigned to return there. PTSD kicks in big time, or so she thinks, but her nightmares, visions, and voices might just be real as she partners with Cade Mercer, who has ties to what happened in the woods as well. His wife, Sera, also went missing in those woods back then, too. And when they find her, Dani is shocked because she should not be alive… cause she had been the one to kill her.  Dani is now determined to find out the truth. Sadly, she might not survive even if she learns it.

This book is psychologically fast-paced until we get to the final fallout, where Betts lets it simmer in horrifically tense goodness. The outcome I was shocked yet satisfied, as I love it when an author doesn’t leave everything black and white. The ending is grey, oh so grey is all I can say.

Oh! And working the title of the book into the story, chef’s kiss!  My Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½   out of 5 stars.

DON’T LET IT OUT is set to release on October 13th, 2026

AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N.A. (Nick) Betts is a Canadian author of epic fantasy with a love for timeless storytelling. A Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, he crafts sweeping tales of good versus evil, drawing inspiration from Tolkien and other classic works of the genre. His stories are filled with tropes such as coming of age, self-discovery, and found family, while exploring themes of physical perseverance and mental resilience. When he’s not busy creating new worlds, Nick can be found diving into stories of the unexplained or relaxing with some good jazz. He lives just outside Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and their cats, Bandit, Carter, and Addley. 

Follow him and his books on Instagram @authornickbetts   

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ARC Book Review: I’m Not Sorry by Rissa Blakeley

What could strengthen friendships better than a murder, a funeral, and digging up a body?

I’m Not Sorry

Publish Date: October 14th, 2025

Genre: Mystery/ Supernatural/ LGBTQ+ Mystery/Mystery Thriller/ Mystery Suspense

Pages: 430

Eighteen-year-old Billie-Ashley arrived at Thornes University with a secret and an envelope, containing a promise of a life-changing amount of money and to learn more about her past once she completes a task.

The problem? The task wasn’t stated.

She planned to be a wallflower. But within minutes that plan becomes a tangled mess. She is placed in the room once occupied by the girl who disappeared a couple of weeks prior.

Thanks to a handsome stranger, who is now wearing her iced mocha, Billie-Ashley learns the value of friendships. She intertwines herself within a group of guys while secretly gathering tidbits of information even when a warning turns deadly.

With the threat breathing down her neck, can Billie-Ashley keep her secret and complete the task?

GET IT HERE

REVIEW

When fellow author Rissa Blakeley came asking if I’d do an ARC review of her new book, “I’m Not Sorry,”  I was more than happy to. My kindness almost killed me, though, as I piled too much on my work plate. By some miraculous grace, I did manage to finish the book just in time for its release day tomorrow (October 14th), and oh my gosh, what a book! Blakely writes with a nice contemporary realism that carries you through this suspense thriller mystery. We met a college-age Billy- Ashley. Someone gave her a ton of money to attend the specific Thorne University. It could hold the secrets to her twin sister’s disappearance. Billy-Ashley was just going to be a wallflower while she searched for the truth, but when she was greeted and welcomed by the welcoming Rex and his crew, Billy-Ashley could not help but feel accepted for the first time in a long time. 

Billy-Ashley wasn’t there to make friends, though. When Billy-Ashley investigates the school’s recent mystery of a former student whose room she now occupies, she uncovers a connection to the cold case of her missing sister. Danger ensues for Billy-Ashley and her friends.

“I’m Not Sorry” is beautifully written. A haunting story that will linger in your soul long after you have read it. It’s a mix of a stealth murder mystery thriller with a dash of supernatural, which hooked me instantly. Every character is essential and written to be well-rounded and believable. 

It also made me think. If you read Blakeley’s introduction before reading, you will discover how this story was personal and a struggle for her to write. Keeping this in mind, while reading, I thought I’d see the revelation, but I didn’t. It was not until I read the acknowledgment that I understood why this story was personal to Blakely. Which made me wonder what this means about myself? All I saw was a beautiful story with beautiful characters and an engrossing murder mystery. I did not see this as an LGBTQ themed story. It was just a story, and a darn good one. It’s also a story about friendship and feeling accepted, which I think everyone on earth can relate to, yet we exclude so much in this world.

Therefore, I give “I’m Not Sorry” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  5/5 stars. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rissa Blakeley is the author of a fantasy paranormal series, Corvidae Guard, a post-apocalyptic series, Shattered Lives, and a horror short, Grammy’s Supper.

As a native New Yorker, Rissa is now a Georgia transplant, who is completely addicted to black coffee and La Croix. When Rissa isn’t writing, she can be found procrastinating on social media.

Follow Blakeley and her books at https://www.rissablakeley.com/ and on Instagram @rissa_blakeley