The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum

Review by Heather Moore

In The Golden Spiral, book two of the Hourglass Door trilogy, Abby’s life has made a 180 degree turn. Her boyfriend, Dante, has disappeared through a time portal, stuck in a between place that’s impossible to reach without the hourglass door. But the door has been destroyed, and Abby has only a small amount of time to create new one.

Problem is, the reality around her continues to change as Zo manipulates time, drastically altering Abby’s life. First it’s her friend, Justin, then her college scholarship. When her family is affected, Abby will take any risk to undo Zo’s destruction. Her friend, Valerie is the only one with answers, but she is under strict surveillance at a mental hospital.

As the second installment of this YA series, The Golden Spiral continues the fascinating and highly creative story of time travel. Mangum’s writing style is fresh, with a strong literary voice, and will draw readers into the psyche of the various characters and their struggles to understand who they can trust and who still holds dark secrets. Intriguing and suspenseful, The Golden Spiral is an engaging sequel, which will both please readers and leave them anxious for volume three, The Forgotten Locket.

Banana Split by Josi Kilpack

Review by Heather B. Moore

If you haven't read Josi S. Kilpack's culinary mysteries, you are in for a huge treat!

Sadie Hoffmiller is NOT at it again. In fact, she is taking a much needed break and living in Kauai for a few months to recover from her recent traumatic events. So when Sadie discovers a dead body in the ocean, she interviews with the police, then puts it out of her mind. It's time to focus on her own healing and working through her crippling anxiety. But when a young boy, Charlie, appears at her doorstep asking if she was his dead mother's friend, Sadie slowly starts to change her mInd. It seems that the case has been closed by the police, yet the answers not really found to the cause of Charlie's mom's death.

Author Josi Kilpack does an excellent job with the setting and creating a believable plot. The Sadie Hoffmiller series continues to be one of my favorites.