Wilde Blog Posts
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Most Recent Posts
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Highgate Cemetery Murder | A Chilling Victorian Mystery by Irina Shapiro
Irina Shapiro’s The Highgate Cemetery Murder delivers everything I love about her writing: atmospheric Victorian mystery, gothic tension, and richly drawn characters. Following Gemma Tate as she investigates her twin brother’s suspicious death, this gripping historical fiction kept me hooked from start to finish. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Stranger Things – One Way Or Another | Caitlin Schneiderhan’s Official Nancy Wheeler Adventure
Caitlin Schneiderhan’s Stranger Things: One Way Or Another delivers a suspense-driven bridge between Seasons 4 and 5, following Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley through a tense investigation that deepens the chaos in Hawkins. Perfect for fans craving more content while waiting for the rest of Season 5 to drop. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Night Guests | Marina Scott’s Gothic Horror Thriller Review
Marina Scott’s The Night Guests blends gothic horror and historical fiction in a chilling tale set in 1903 Omaha. With séances, spiritualism, and creeping deception, this atmospheric thriller keeps readers deliciously unsure of what’s real. A perfect pick for gothic mystery fans! Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: A Flicker in the Dark | Stacy Willingham’s Psychological Thriller Review
Stacy Willingham’s A Flicker in the Dark is a chilling psychological thriller filled with Southern suspense, serial-killer twists, and gripping emotional stakes. Following Chloe’s trauma, family secrets, and unraveling past, this bestselling mystery delivers unforgettable tension and atmospheric crime drama. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: 25 Days | Per Jacobsen Holiday Horror Thriller
As December creeps in, the Gray family’s snowy mountain retreat becomes a terrifying countdown to Christmas — one sinister gift at a time. Told in 25 chapters (one per day), this holiday-horror twist captures the claustrophobia of “family time gone wrong” and the dread of the unknown. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: How to Sell a Haunted House | Grady Hendrix
This novel swept me up in a whirlwind of horror, grief, and twisted sibling rivalry—entangled with haunted toys and a house that refuses to let go. Hendrix’s uncanny blend of camp and genuine emotional stakes made me slow down just to savour every spooky moment. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Killer in the Kitchen | Judy L. Murray Chesapeake Bay Mystery #2
This week I finally got around to a book I’ve been eyeing on my TBR shelf: Judy L. Murray’s Killer in the Kitchen. The second in her Chesapeake Bay Mystery series, it delivers seaside atmosphere, a high-stakes murder in a celebrity chef’s kitchen, and a plucky real-estate sleuth who won’t quit until the truth is served. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Counselors | Jessica Goodman
I picked up The Counselors by Jessica Goodman on a whim at the bookstore and was drawn in by its summer-camp thriller setting. The suspenseful pace, elite-camp backdrop, and underlying secrets kept me turning pages, and the clash of privilege, friendship, and danger lingered with me long after. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Little Women | Louisa May Alcott’s Beloved Coming-of-Age Classic That Shaped Generations
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is a timeless coming-of-age story about four sisters growing up during the Civil War. As a child, I adored this book—especially my illustrated hardcover copy gifted by my mom—and its lessons of love, independence, and family still inspire me today. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Screwtape Letters | A Satirical Masterpiece by C. S. Lewis
For the perfect chilly-autumn read, C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters offers an entertaining and satirical take on how demonic influence weaves itself into the world around us. It isn’t as dark or obvious as one might expect, but rather subtle—sneaky and seemingly innocent, so much so that most people don’t even notice it happening. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Tuck Everlasting | Natalie Babbitt
This week I kicked off a new tradition with my niece—reading together then watching the movie. I chose Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt because it’s age-appropriate and a long-recommended classic. It’s quiet, thought-provoking, and perfect for our age-10/family reading time. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Timeless Tale of Love, Wealth, and the American Dream
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby captures the glamour and heartbreak of 1920s New York, weaving a story of love, wealth, and the elusive American Dream. Through the eyes of Nick Carraway, readers witness Gatsby’s tragic pursuit of Daisy amid opulence and illusion. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho, A Journey of Dreams and Destiny
At age twenty-two and standing on the brink of independence, I returned to The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho—a tale of following one’s “Personal Legend.” The novel’s shepherd-boy journey captured the bittersweet excitement of adulthood. Nostalgia washed over me as I revisited its hope-filled message of listening to your heart and chasing your dream. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: ‘Regretting You’ by Colleen Hoover | A Heart-Wrenching Story of Family, Loss & Forgiveness
Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You explores the complicated bond between a mother and daughter shattered by loss and betrayal. With themes of family, grief, and finding yourself again after heartbreak, this emotional read shows Hoover’s softer side. Perfect for fans of contemporary fiction and family drama. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder | Holly Jackson – Young Adult Mystery Thriller
Sometimes the best mysteries are the ones that feel like they could happen anywhere — even in your average small town. Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder brings that unsettling familiarity to life with a sharp, modern twist on the classic whodunit. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier’s A Gothic Classic of Suspense
This week I revisited Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, a timeless Gothic masterpiece of atmospheric suspense, jealousy and hidden pasts. From the haunting estate of Manderley to a brilliant unveiling of secrets, this novel is a must-read for lovers of literary thrillers and classic ghost-story vibes. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The Disappearance of Darcie Malone | A Chilling Emily Menotti Mystery by Maryellen Winkler
Curling up under blankets with a good mystery novel was exactly what I needed this week—and Maryellen Winkler’s The Disappearance of Darcie Malone delivered. In this first Emily Menotti mystery, a disappearance in 1969 haunts a small town, stirring ghosts, secrets, and a determined sleuth who refuses to let the case rest. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Layla | A Chilling & Romantic Ghost Story by Colleen Hoover
In autumn, there’s nothing better to read than a gripping ghost story … Layla by Colleen Hoover really fits the bill. With a premise that’s chilling and twisty, this is one you’ll want to add to your TBR list this fall. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: Our Perfect Family | Nicola Marsh’s Australian Small-Town Psychological Thriller Review
Craving a page-turning psychological thriller? Nicola Marsh’s Our Perfect Family delivers: today a twisty, domestic-suspense drama set in small-town Australia with unreliable narrators, social-media fallout, and secrets that refuse to stay buried—perfect for fans of John Marrs’ Keep It in the Family. Click here to read my full review!
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Maddie’s Reviews: The First Witch of Boston | A Haunting Tale of Witchcraft, History & Love by Andrea Catalano
Now that autumn is here, I’m drawn to stories with a darker edge—and Andrea Catalano’s The First Witch of Boston fits the bill beautifully. It weaves real-life witch trials, Puritan fear, and a fierce, loving marriage into an atmospheric historical fiction that will haunt readers long after the last page. Click here to read my full review!