T H R I L L E R 👀 T U E S D A Y S featuring “The Vanishing Hour” by Seraphina Nova Glass!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Rock Harbour is a sleepy vacation town in Maine during its off season. Once the tourists go home for the season, it’s quiet, deserted and peaceful. EXCEPT for the fact that girls keep going missing from skid row (“the Strip”) after 10pm where danger LURKS. The towns people refer to this as “the vanishing hour” because some girls are not to be seen again in this area at night …

Grace Holloway is a survivor who escaped her abductor years ago and now lives at the town’s inn where she can be alone with her secrets and nightmares during the off season. When girls start going missing again she fears that her abductor is BACK … especially since he was never caught.

The small town she continues to hide in is bursting at the seams with secrets and dangerous little lies. Grace finds herself introduced to the mother of a newly missing girl and the son of a missing father who are working together to see if their cases are somehow connected.

The intertwined stories, the gritty atmosphere and the unreliable townspeople make this a gripping thriller that will send chills down your spine!

Thank you kindly to @graydonhousebooks @htpbooks @harpercollinsca @seraphinanovaglass @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on May 30, 2023!

Book: The Vanishing Hour
Author: Seraphina Nova Glass
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing
Pub Date: May 30, 2023

This was everything I was looking for in a thriller. Up until now this author has been a solid 3 star read for me. She tells this story from several points of view. Kira is looking for her daughter Brooke whose gone missing. Aden’s dad has gone missing and he must return to Rock Harbor to help find him. Grace is running a small inn and tries her best to stay to herself. The synopsis of this book only talks about Grace as the main focus but I never felt that way. To me Kira was the dominant and stronger character and you’re going to love her! She is everything and more in a mother looking for her daughter. She is tough and goes full force not letting anyone stand in her way of finding her daughter including her husband Matt. I really felt like this book has a little bit of everything - mystery, suspense, murder and plenty of twists. I read several reviews that said it was predictable but I didn’t feel that way. There were several people who could have been responsible and the author did a good job of keeping you guessing.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is May 30, 2023.

Reading this was like doing a jigsaw puzzle where you can't see the picture you're supposed to create. You are given all these random pieces and have to slowly put it all together. Then as it comes together and you start seeing the big picture you are simply amazed at what it becomes.

This was such an addicting, entertaining read that leaves each chapter in a way that you can't just put it down, you need to know what happens next. It was extremely well crafted and I find myself shocked that this is my first read from this author. She is brilliant at creating such elaborate, detailed mysteries. Four and a Half Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

In the quiet town of Rock Harbor, Maine, young women are disappearing. There one moment and gone the next, word has it they go missing during the "vanishing hour," where witnesses are scarce and the quaint, coastal town is long asleep. Among the community of Rock Harbor is Grace, a young woman with a chilling past who now runs the town's inn and rarely leaves its premises; Aden, whose unexpected return home isn't under the best of circumstances; and Kira, whose young daughter Brooke is the most recent one to be claimed by the vanishing hour.

Little do Grace, Aden, and Kira know, the threads of their stories are far more intertwined than they could ever know. As Kira plunges headfirst into the search for her missing daughter, it becomes clear that something dark is lurking within the limits of Rock Harbor.

And just like that, "The Vanishing Hour" solidifies Seraphina Nova Glass as a permanent auto-buy author for me. After being left breathless by "On a Quiet Street," I had high expectations for her latest novel that it met effortlessly. Fast-paced, expertly-woven, and utterly jaw-dropping, "The Vanishing Hour" accomplishes more in under 300 pages than most thrillers do in far more. Glass's characters are profound, human, and give way to what will surely be one of the best mysteries I'll read this year.

A chilling story of a small town terrorized by a mysterious string of missing persons, "The Vanishing Hour" will leave readers questioning everything, everyone, and every word that lies within its pages. Once you start reading, be warned that it'll be nearly impossible to stop--this is the binge-worthy thriller of the year, mark my words.

I was excited about the premise of this book. Multiple people disappearing and being killed in one town. Heck yes I want to read that.

Then I started the book and thought I know who the killer is early on. Meanwhile, I am reading on hoping for a twist, shock that proves me wrong. That didn't happen. Three people share information with each other and manage to figure out who the killer is. I feel like this part was far fetched as local police had no idea who killer was and totally botched gathering information.

The ending just felt like it was tossed in quickly to wrap everything up. Overall good just nothing to shock or wow me to love it.

This is a fun thriller that will keep you guessing! A spate of missing persons in a small town bring together several inhabitants in a mysterious way.

Are the elderly men that disappeared related to the young women that have disappeared recently and through the years?

The Vanishing Hour will keep you guessing until the very end. A bit of suspended belief is necessary but an enjoyable and well written mystery overall. #harlequineTrade #TheVanishingHour #SeraphinaNovaGlass

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, A great who done it, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This one was interesting and the writing style was good, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too familiar. Maybe I am getting to the point that I have read too many thrillers, but this was a bit formulaic for me. Not to say that this was a bad book, it wasn’t at all. It was more like a comfort read instead of a thrilling read.

I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love this book but I would recommend it to others.

I am thankful to the publisher, author, and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This had me HOOKED for the first 60% or so (even though I guessed the twist immediately - I still wanted to see what happened to everyone and how it all played out), but the ending was... not my favorite.

Grace was such a fascinating character - she had some Flora Dane (Lisa Gardner) survivor vibes, but she seemed inconsistent. She was justifiably paranoid and isolated, but then the grocery delivery guy was overwhelmingly present and invasive in a creepy way, and she got all hot to trot over Aden after knowing him for all of five seconds which didn't feel right.

I loved Kira and how she never stopped looking for her daughter and didn't take crap from anyone. Aden was ok - I had a hard time understanding why he was even in contact with his jacked up family, but I guess that's what people do?

There was a lot to like about this book, so I'd encourage thriller fans to give it a whirl even if it didn't 100% work for me. Also, I was a big fan of Glass's book Such A Good Wife, and would happily read more books by her in the future.

I loved this book, the characters, the mystery, the intertwined stories, the emotional content underneath it all. Many psychological thrillers don't end up being at all moving but this one was for me.

This was a very good mystery that weaved multiple stories together. There's Brooke Everett who is searching for her missing daughter, Kira, while the police have no new leads. Grace Holloway, who lives a solitary life owning an inn and has her own secrets. And Aden Coleman whose father is now also missing. Each section is a quick read and ends on a cliffhanger so you have to keep reading to figure out what's going on and how are these stories connected. It was slightly predictable but I would recommend for anyone that likes a good mystery with multiple points of view and short chapters! Just be aware that the story deals with themes of drugs, sex workers and sexual violence.

4.5 stars

Anything this author writes is an automatic purchase, hands down. Domestic thrillers are some of my favorites and she writes them in a way that you’re totally invested, pull for the characters (or despise them, all depending!) and can’t get through the book fast enough. The mystery or suspense is well thought out, unhurried, and you’re left with all the answers. Just the way I like it. Another winner by SNG!!

The themes of sexual violence did make me uncom but I did think the author did a good job of navigating a heavy topic. The secrets and twists were so good, I loved how well blended these stories were. It's definitely a page turner.

The Vanishing Hour is a book where several girls go missing at a certain hour in a particular area of town and how the families deal with this. There's Kira, a mother who refuses to let her daughter's Brooke case go cold and does everything she can to find out what happens. Aden, whose father goes missing, comes to help his mom and brother find out what happened. Grace is an innkeeper, one with her own secrets, where Aden goes to stay while in town. These 3 come together only to realize they have so much in common.

If you can handle the trigger warnings - drugs, sex workers, and kidnapping - then i highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for the ARC for my honest review

When a mystery thriller can keep me guessing until the end, I know it is good! The Vanishing Hour pulled that off marvellously! Nova Glass weaves several stories seamlessly together, sharing just the right amount as the story progresses. I would recommend this title to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, although with a warning that the story deals with themes of sexual violence.

Seraphina takes you on a journey to a small town where multiple go missing or end up dead with a similar method of horror and torture. The way you move through the main characters and how they end up intertwined is riveting. I could not put this one down and did not see the twist and turn ending. Another outstanding novel written eloquently. You must read this one!

Thank you HTP and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest.

Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: ugh

SYNOPSIS

A mother who won't give up searching for her daughter. A man forced to return home after his father goes missing. A woman of indeterminate age hiding from the world. And a series of events that bring them all together.

MY OPINION

This is my first from Seraphina (love that name) and I was quite impressed... for most of it.

I love a multi-pov but I really don't understand why authors use different narratives. In this case, there's two povs in third person, and one in first person. I guess it's a way to point out which pov is the main hoe, but that doens't even apply here because the synopsis is all about Grace, yet Kira's pov is first person??? So??? Anyways, I will say that the first person pov didn't grind my gears, which is a rarity. I usually prefer a third person because I don't really wanna be in their head like that.

Tbh I found the characters were well-done for the most part. I liked Kira's dark humor and I found Aden's dysfunctional family funny (it reminded me of that New Girl episode where Jake goes home for his dad's funeral). Miss innkeeper (Grace) was the weakest of the bunch; she's supposedly super paranoid and doesn't trust anyone, but the she's hella thirsty for Aden immediately after they met and let's Vince invade her private space again and again. The stuff with Aden was sooo eye-roll inducing. We don't need insta-love in a thriller. We don't need sexual tension at all tbh. I'm just gonna pretend like they're Barbie dolls with no parts because we have a sadistic serial killer afoot, now is not the time to give into your neanderthal urges!

So where this really falls apart is the last 25%. This is a citizens gone rogue vibe and it toes the line of ridiculous throughout, but then they just go what line?? at the end and it all goes to shit. I was also confused with one of the timelines and if my thinking is right, then we've also got my least type of unreliable narrator: the liar for funsies. The ending is waaaayyyy OTT – they're pretty much gunning for the moon at that point. So disappointing because it went from a solid 4 (which is hard to come by for a citizens gone rogue thriller) to a very generous 3. More like a 2.5 if I'm feeling like a hard ass.

However, I can see a lot of people liking the ending since ya'll seem to vibe with sh!t like this all the time (no shade). Soooo... enjoy bookstahoes! (fyi - this would make a great Netflix movie/series).

PROS AND CONS

Pros: well-written, 2/3 characters were well-done, good humor in Grace's pov

Cons: predictable (you could see the twist coming even with a blindfold on), ending crumbled like feta cheese, unreliable narrator for funsies, random insta-love between two characters that nobody asked for, Grace's character acted hella illogical

The blurb made me intrigued. But reading this didn't do it for me. Missing people back ab and forth stories that didn't draw me in at all. Boring..the end was good but by then I was uninterested.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

This story follows a few different characters who all have something in common- missing family members from Rock Harbor.

They call it the Vanishing Hour. Over the years, several young girls have gone missing. Most have ended up dead. When Kira’s daughter goes missing, she fits the bill. Kira will leave no stone unturned in trying to find her daughter.

Aden’s father, an elderly man, goes missing around the same time, along with another elderly man in the area- but they don’t seem to fit the bill of all the other missing people. Are all of these cases related?

This was a really quick read that had you turning pages. It was very well written and I truly felt Kira’s anguish. The end was interesting. Overall, worth a read!

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐

In Rock Harbor, Maine, “The Strip” on Hemlock Lane is a shady part of town that people tend to avoid after 10.00 p.m. (dubbed "the vanishing hour” by the locals) that earned its reputation partly on account of separate instances of the disappearance of several people who were last seen that vicinity. The recent disappearance is that of nineteen-year-old, Brooke Everett whose mother Kira is frantically searching for her missing daughter. Another recent disappearance is that of long-time resident, Martin Coleman, whose friend, an affluent businessman who was also reported missing, was recently discovered to have been murdered. The narrative is presented to us from three perspectives – Grace Holloway (third person limited PoV), a kidnapping survivor who is haunted by the traumatic events that occurred eight years ago and leads an otherwise reclusive life save for managing the local inn where Aden rents a room for the duration of his stay, Brooke’s mother Kira Everett (first person PoV) and Aden Coleman(third person limited PoV), who is called back home by his mother when his father disappears.

The Vanishing Hour by Seraphina Nova Glass is a dark, atmospheric and gritty thriller. Having read and loved the author’s "On a Quiet Street", I was eager to read the author’s latest offering. I found the narrative disjointed for the larger part of the story. Perhaps using multiple perspectives wasn’t the best way to tell this story. Though it takes a while to weave the three narratives into a coherent narrative, I did not lose interest at any point and eagerly followed the narrative as the plot progressed. Plenty of red herrings and plot twists kept me engaged. However, I didn’t quite like the ending. As far as the identity of the culprit is concerned, I had my suspicions but I was surprised (which is a good thing) at how we got there. Having said that, I found the ending rushed and more than a tad unconvincing after the suspenseful build-up preceding it. Overall, while I did not dislike this thriller , I didn't enjoy it as much as "On a Quiet Street" .But I do look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. This book is due to be published on May 30, 2023.