Lia Anshar's Honest Pages

  Title: Until the Last Light Goes Out by Courtney Gould Genre: YA Horror Available: November 10, 2026 Rating: 4.0 ⭐ Blurb: Flickering neon lights and hot Miami nights turn deadly in this gothic horror about a daughter investigating her best friend’s disappearance at an abandoned island resort. You may not escape, but the truth will. Twenty-five years ago, the Ripley Memorial High School senior class entered the luxurious Kaleidoscope Key resort deep in the remote Florida Keys. Despite international intrigue and years of investigation, no one truly knows how the 183 students died. And they never will, since the five survivors of the massacre have never spoken a word about what happened to them that night. Paige Keller, daughter of one of the Kaleidoscope Key Massacre’s infamous survivors, has grown up determined to steer her life away from the resort and the unsolved mysteries her ex-best friend, KJ, can’t leave alone. Paige has moved to a fancy new college and it seems that, final...

  Title: The Murder Party by Cindy R.X. He Genre: YA Mystery, Thriller Published: October 13, 2026 Rating: 4.5 ⭐ Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Colored Pages Book Tours for allowing me to be part of this book tour.  After her older sister, Lily, is killed at a secret party that connects to a Murder Club that Lily was in, June isn't convinced it was just an accident. The police close the case, and the school shuts down the club, but June still has too many questions about her sister's death. Determined to find out what really happened, she starts digging into the lives of its members. And when she discovers secrets the club members would rather keep hidden, she decides to bring the Murder Club back. Only this time, she's playing to catch a killer.  I really liked the Murder Club concept! It's such an interesting setup for a murder mystery, and I loved how June used the games as part of her investigation. The mystery was definitely my favorite part. There were so many ...

  Title: Sincerely, Your Murderer by Ravena Guron Genre: YA Mystery, Thriller Published: October 13, 2026 Rating: 4.5 ⭐ Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Colored Pages Book Tours for allowing me to be part of this book tour. Kay is seventeen when she leaves her hometown behind after her friend Ivy passes away. When her parents go on holiday without her, she suddenly has to move back in with her cousin. Her homecoming doesn’t go smoothly at all, though. The very first thing she finds waiting on her bed is a strange, anonymous letter. It lays out a scary countdown. Something bad will happen each day, from Tuesday to Monday. Now Kay has just one week to work out who’s threatening her before time runs out. I honestly didn’t have big expectations when I picked this book up, but I ended up liking it more than I thought I would, and I found myself getting more and more invested the further I read. It quite reminded me of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder with its small-town atmosphere and fe...

  Genre: YA Romance Format: Audiobook Published: May 4, 2021 by Simon & Schuster Audio Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) Liz Buxbaum has had a crush on Michael since forever, and now that he’s back in town, she’s determined to get his attention, even if it means teaming up with Wes Bennet. Her annoyingly handsome next-door neighbor has been her favorite "pain" since they were kids, but when he and Michael become close, she turns Wes into her unlikely ally. As they plot to help Liz catch Michael’s eye, something unexpected happens: she starts looking forward to Wes’s company. And suddenly, she’s questioning everything she thought she knew about love and what a happy ending really looks like. This feels so much more than a standard romance. The banter between Liz and Wes is absolutely perfect! Their relationship builds naturally with slow, comfortable moments rooted in friendship, even though Wes has cared about her for ages. It feels warm and real, not rushed at all. I also really appre...

  Genre: Horror, Mystery, YA Fiction Published: June 28, 2026 by The Book Guild Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) Set in 1952, the Winston family are all back at Timerton Rectory for great-aunt Geraldine’s funeral and will reading. For widower Professor Winston and his two daughters Margaret and Clara, this place is full of hard memories. They’re still hurting from losing their mum and grandparents in the Blitz. The girls are curious kids craving a bit of adventure, and things get interesting when they find out Geraldine had a twin sister who vanished without a trace years ago. Then weird things start happening, there’s a ghostly presence hanging around, and they get pulled into all kinds of old secrets. They dig up clues linking to mysteries that have been swept under the rug for generations. First off, the setting is great, so dark and spooky; it really feels like Timerton is hiding something the whole time. I was hooked right from the start, wanting to know what really went on there. The chara...

  Genre: Horror, Thriller, YA Fiction Expected Publication: August 4, 2026 by Entangled Publishing  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)  16-year-old Georgie is already annoyed enough when her influencer stepmother ships her and her brother Hamish off to some random wilderness reality show. Two weeks in the woods, no phones, constant cameras, and everyone there was basically forced to sign up, some for the money, some because their families didn’t know what else to do with their "troubled child". Then one morning the counselors are just gone. And something’s definitely out there in the dark, watching them, picking them off one by one. And the worst part? It’s not just hunting. It’s playing. This gives me a Hansel & Gretel meets Hunger Games vibe, set in the creepiest woods, and it works so well. It gets weird in the best way: supernatural spooky, tense, and you can tell how dangerous things are straight away. These kids are actually fighting to stay alive and figure out what is going ...

Genre:  YA Horror Publishing date:  July 14, 2026 Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  IndieBound Synopsis: A deliciously twisted, fast-paced YA horror, where debutante dreams become bloody nightmares–perfect for fans of House of Hollow and Their Vicious Games.  It’s 1921, and Mrs. Caroline Reginald Kane, the last surviving descendant of a family of oil barons, has invited four young debutantes to visit her at Greystone Manor. There, they’ll compete for the ultimate to become heir to her unspeakably vast fortune. But only one girl can win. And the manor is watching. Dorothea is a thief, and the best liar in the American Northeast. Her mother vanished at Greystone years ago, and she’s determined to find out why–so long as no one uncovers her secrets first. Vaughn isn’t crazy. She was born for this life– and she won’t let anyone come between her and the fortune she deserves.   Birdie doesn’t know why she’s been invited, but she ...

Genre:  YA Fantasy, Romance Publishing date:  July 6, 2026 Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  IndieBound Synopsis: Prepare for a deliciously dark standalone, set in the same world as Of Flame and Fury, where star-crossed enemies gamble with their hearts, their empires, and the fate of a lost god. On an island ruled by pageantry and pain, power comes at an impossible price. Inna is the perfect heiress to the Pallo crime family: poised, cunning, untouchable. Behind this glamorous facade, she hunts for the sinister truth behind her older sister’s death. Despite the cover-up she’s been led to believe, Inna can feel an enemy lurking in the shadows, or perhaps even hiding in plain sight. Rylan has sculpted himself into a talented thief. His heart may be guarded, but his purpose is clear: retribution for his family, murdered by Inna’s mother. Armed with illusion magic, Rylan plans to steal an ancient riddle from the Pallo vault, one that lea...

Genre: Anthology, Fantasy, YA Fiction Coming September 8, 2026 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)  The book opens with a girl running across the desert, fleeing soldiers who destroyed her home. Along the way she meets other refugees, all heading somewhere safe. To get through the hard journey, they take turns telling each other stories, stories about jinn, sibling quests, lands being taken over, and magic everywhere, in caves, deserts, mountains, but most of all in each other. These are not just idle tales, they are fables rooted in the myths and legends of the authors’ diverse cultures, echoing the loss, hope, and struggle they face in the real world.  What makes this book stand out from every other anthology I’ve picked up is how tightly it is woven together. Most anthologies feel like separate pieces placed together, but here, every tale is actually connected and builds into one beautiful whole. It’s a structure I’ve never seen done this way before and I loved it so much!  Mind you, t...

  Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) Genre: YA, Horror Type: Audiobook Published: June 6, 2026 In this story, we meet Quinn Carpenter who is already having the worst day ever, she just got publicly humiliated at school and feels like hiding forever. But her best friend Kirsten won’t let her wallow; instead, she drags Quinn to Meadow Spire Mall for a refreshing and a little payback plan. Too bad their problems are only just starting. A brutal winter storm slams into town, locking everyone inside. Lights start flickering, people vanish, and something old and terrifying that’s been buried under the mall for decades is finally waking up. This is my first interactive audiobook and I love it! You actually get to make choices that change the story, even though I kept picking the wrong options and nearly “died” so many times I just stopped stressing and went with the flow, LOL. It starts a little slow while setting the scene and building tension, but once things get into action, it becomes great. It’s cre...

  My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) "He leaves the boy standing there and is on his way while a voice drones in his head: PRISON-it's a prison, prison, prison."  Set in Palestine, Asad’s Secret by Najlaa Attaalah follows the life of Asad, the eldest of eight children living in a small home. With his father imprisoned, Asad takes on responsibilities far beyond his years, working at a printing press through the summer and stepping up as the man of the house. But this role weighs heavily on him. He feels trapped, resentful, and confused: why must he face life’s hardest sides? Being the eldest brings him no pride, only the burden of caring for his whole family, and he often feels suffocated by it all. It’s only when he meets Um Fawzi, a wise old woman, that he begins to find guidance and a way out of his heavy, brooding thoughts.  The story focuses on everyday moments that dive deep into Asad’s inner world. We see him struggle to balance his duty to his family with his dream of continuin...

  Tittle: Firstborn  Author: M.J. Hastings Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance Publication Date: September 01, 2026 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ Firstborn by M.J. Hastings is an epic dystopian romantasy with a premise that immediately hooks you. In this world, your entire life is decided the moment you are born. Firstborns are trained to be soldiers and take up arms, secondborns become scholars and take up books, and thirdborns are taken away. Our protagonist, Bryn Ruelle, is a Firstborn facing her final trial. To graduate and defend her country, she must take a life or face exile. But Bryn has never killed before. Just as the pressure reaches its peak, she uncovers a plot that threatens her youngest sister. To save her, she has to team up with an enemy, she must choose between loyalty to her nation and protecting the family she loves. The concept of society being strictly divided by birth order is brilliant and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed seeing how the government controls info...

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "To care for another person was frightening, vulnerable. It meant another loss for my heart. And now I'd gone and grown fond of someone challenging death itself."  Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai is a story about Kang Siying, a priestess, whose job is to guide the deceased to their final resting places. Unlike most people, she doesn’t fear death, it’s literally her line of work. But when her beloved father falls seriously ill, Siying is forced to face the harsh reality of mortality. Desperate to pay for his medical treatment, she accepts a high-risk, high-reward mission: travel to a dangerous territory to retrieve the body of a missing prince. However, things take an unexpected turn when her reanimation talisman not only moves the corpse, but also brings the prince back to life. Now, Prince Ren is alive but fading fast. To stay anchored to the world of the living, he needs to absorb qi (life force) by purifying evil spirits, and Siying agrees to help him. What ...

"She'd lived deep in the nuances of a world they saw as black and white. They were right about the war. She knew that."  If you’re looking for a historical novel that blends coming-of-age emotions with a rarely explored perspective on the Vietnam War, Sawadika American Girl by Daria Sommers might surprise you in the best way.  Set in 1968 Bangkok, the story follows seventeen-year-old Piper Lewis, the daughter of a USAID officer. As the U.S. military presence expands across Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, Piper finds her once-familiar world shifting in ways she doesn’t fully understand. Her father grows distant and secretive, her stepmother becomes increasingly controlling, and even the piano, once her refuge, feels disconnected from her emotions.  Everything changes when Piper meets Jack, a nineteen-year-old American soldier on leave. Their connection is immediate, intense, and forbidden. Determined to spend his remaining days of leave together, they step into a f...

  "Then I took out my phone and checked my Instagram. The likes were coming in super fast. Thousands of likes. Still, it wasn't enough."  If you’re looking for a short YA thriller that feels intense, eerie, and uncomfortably relevant, Never Leave Me Alone by Crissa-Jean Chappell might be exactly what you’re in the mood for.  This novel pulls you in from the opening chapters and rarely lets go, blending grief, internet fame, and reckless adrenaline into a cautionary tale about how far people will go just to be seen.  Seventeen-year-old Birdie thrives on danger. Through urban exploration, like climbing abandoned hotels, unstable buildings, and forbidden spaces, she chases the perfect shot for social media. The higher the risk, the better the photo. The better the photo, the bigger the attention.  But everything shatters when Micah dies during a dangerous climb. Birdie is left drowning in guilt. And then things get darker. Micah had been involved in a mysterious o...

  "Maybe not all guys were like the immature high school boys who had no respect for the girls they pursued and barely remembered them a year later. And maybe the right person could help you live the life you want... maybe?"  You Only Live Twice by Autumn Allen follows Zakiyyah, a high school senior who wastes no time planning her future. Barely one week into senior year, she’s already mapping out how to skip the rest of high school and head straight to college. Zakiyyah has always been focused, independent, and driven.  But as she dives deeper into her carefully crafted plans, a new thought enters her mind: what if she had someone to share her journey with?  To everyone’s surprise, Zakiyyah decides she wants to get married. Enter Musa. With marriage as their shared intention, they begin getting to know each other. Things seem promising until tragedy strikes Boston. In a moment filled with stress and heightened emotions, Zakiyyah and Musa experience their first major...

  Piglettes by Clémentine Beauvais is a bold, funny, and surprisingly heartwarming young adult novel that tackles online bullying and beauty standards with courage and wit.  The story begins with a social media poll at school that labels three girls, Mireille, Astrid, and Hakima, as the “three ugliest girls” in their year. At first, they're kind of sad about it but not for long. Instead of hiding in shame, the girls decide to take control of their own story. Climbing onto their bikes, they set off on a summer road trip to Paris, to the President’s summer garden party. What follows is an unforgettable bike road trip across the country filled with unexpected friendships, media attention, and moments of both vulnerability and empowerment.  One of the good aspects of this novel is its simple, easy-to-follow plot. The story moves forward clearly and steadily, making it highly accessible for young readers while still being entertaining for adults. The clarity of the narrative ...