STAY WITH MY HEART By Tashie Bhuiyan

December 8, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

STAY WITH MY HEART By Tashie BhuiyanStay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan
Published by Inkyard Press on 1/2/24
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 340
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Liana Sarkar lives and breathes music, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her A&R coordinator father. Maybe if she succeeds, he’ll finally give her the time of day instead of drowning himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing.

When Liana accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band, Third Eye, she makes it her mission to steer them towards success—without them discovering her role in their setback. But as she gets closer to Third Eye, especially their enigmatic leader Skyler Moon, it becomes harder to hide the truth.

With both her heart and their futures on the line, will Liana be able to undo the damage she’s caused?

Short and Sweet Review

Liana’s life revolves around music, which makes sense because her dad is an A&R coordinator for a popular record label. Liana falls for a guy, Thomas, and ends up giving his demo to her dad not knowing that Thomas stole the songs from his former band, Third Eye. Now Liana is determined to make it right with the band and she tries to make her interest in helping them about getting them success without them knowing what she did.

Liana’s life at the moment is very complicated. After the death of her mother, Liana and her father only speak when its about his work which centers around music. It was hard to see this relationship or lack of one play out because you can see Liana reaching out to him but he’s not even trying, and everyone grieves in their own way but to Liana it feels like she’s invisible to him. When Liana gives him the demo and he likes it she feels like he’s finally proud of her which is why when she finds out she’s messed up she’s too scared to tell him in fear that he’ll basically shut her out again. Also because of this big demo mishap Liana tries to fix things with Third Eye without them knowing that she kind of but without wanting to actually helped Thomas get noticed. Liana goes through the trouble of getting the band a place to practice and eventually becomes their publicist. I did like the relationship Liana had with the band members, she even goes on to have a romance with Sky. I did like that Liana had a support system with her cousin Riya and her best friend Evie, it was also nice seeing that the band also became part of her support system. The plot was interesting and even though Liana could have stopped this whole thing by coming clean early I did understand her motives. This book did cover hard topics like anxiety, depression and grief but it did it in a way where it was well explained and not just thrown in the book for the sake of being in there.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was heartfelt and it was fun watching Liana do everything in her power to fix her mistakes. I did also like that each chapter had a song title and the little playlists that were sprinkled around in some of the chapters. I would recommend this book, its a cute romance and the getting to know Liana and Third Eye just made this book that much better.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE REUNION By Kit Frick

December 4, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE REUNION By Kit FrickThe Reunion by Kit Frick
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on 8/29/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 317
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Eleven Mayweathers went on vacation. Ten came home.

It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect:
The peacekeeper: Addison needs a better hiding place.
The outsider: Theo just wants to mend fences.
The romantic: Natalia doesn’t want to talk about the past.
The hothead: Mason needs to keep his temper under control.

It started as a week in paradise meant to bring them together. But the Mayweathers are about to learn the hard way that family bonding can be deadly.

Short and Sweet Review

Addison and Mason’s mom is marrying Theo’s Dad which means a little family vacation so that everyone can get to know each other. The family goes to a resort in Mexico and also invited were Addison and Mason’s aunts and two cousins, Natalia and Mia, and also their uncle Corey and his girlfriend Holly. Addison wants to try to talk to Natalia and Mason about something that happened in the past but they’re avoiding her. Theo is being avoided by Mason and there’s just a lot of secrets that each of the teens know about each other. At some point on the trip one of the Mayweathers ends up dead and only one of them knows what happened.

The Reunion, is a pretty engaging story. There’s eleven Mayweathers on this vacation but we only get the POVs of Addison, Mason, Natalia, and Theo. We immediately get the sense that they each have something to hide and it was interesting trying to figure out what they were all trying to avoid. I will say my least favorite character was Mason, mainly because he had this jock energy about him but his dislike of Theo wasn’t really warranted. Addison also had some things she wanted to talk about but Natalia and her brother were avoiding her and she kind of feels helpless because she’s getting texts about a situation that they were all involved in. Natalia spends her time talking to her boyfriend who she met online and also looking out for her little sister Mia. Theo is just trying to get to know his new family and also defend his dad against Masons misconceptions about him. At the beginning of each section we get to read emails sent by the hotel about a guest that has gone missing, and this is my favorite thing because it also mentions this surf school along the beach that could also be involved. I liked the way everything was unraveled in the end, secrets were exposed and we find out who died and what actually happened.

Overall, I was glued to this book from the very first page. I liked reading from the different characters POVs and learning more about them and what was going on in their lives, and also trying to figure out who was the one who ends up dying. The Reunion is a fun mystery book and I loved the writing and how everything was eventually revealed.

Filed Under: Reviews

THERE’S NO WAY I’D DIE FIRST By Lisa Springer

December 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THERE’S NO WAY I’D DIE FIRST By Lisa SpringerThere's No Way I'd Die First by Lisa Springer
Published by Delacorte Press on 9/5/23
Genres: Contemporary, Horror & Ghost Stories, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 292
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Noelle Layne knows horror. Every trope, every warning sign, every survival tactic. She even leads a successful movie club dedicated to the genre. Who better to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island?

With some of the top influencers in her school on the guest list, including gorgeous singer-songwriter Archer Mitchell, her popularity is bound to spike. She could really use the social boost for an upcoming brand expansion. Nothing is going to ruin this party.

Except…maybe the low budget It clown she hired for a stirring round of tag. He axes one of her classmates. From the looks of his devilish grin and bag full of killer tricks, he's just getting started.

A murderous clown is out for blood, but Noelle has been waiting her entire life to prove that she’s a Final Girl.

Short and Sweet Review

Noelle loves horror movies, she knows all the tropes, and survival tactics, she’s even in charge of the movie club at school. So Noelle decides to throw a halloween party and invites all the cool kids and even hires a clown. Unfortunately, this clown isn’t for show, he’s there to kill the party guests and even know’s some of their secrets. Noelle know’s she’s going to survive this because she’s final girl material.

This book was not good at all. Noelle loves horror movies and in her head because she has watched so many she thinks that makes her qualified to survive. When this killer clown named Gage crashes her party, well actually she paid for him but he goes off script, anyway she just know’s she’s going to survive hence the title of the book. There was nothing redeeming about this book, Noelle was rich and so were all of her friends but even with that fact Noelle thought she was better than them. I think my biggest problem was when this clown is going around killing everyone and Noelle is just thinking of movie plots and how she was going to survive, honestly there was no sense of urgency from her. The clown? He was ridiculous too. He also had no urgency, he came in to kill these kids but at one point he decides to use the bathroom in a birkin bag. I will say that scene had no business being as detailed as it was and it was just unhinged and from then on I knew this book wasn’t going to get any better… shitting (excuse my language) in a birkin bag?!? Just crazy. Anyway the motives of Gage the clown aren’t original and he could have done better than crashing a party full rich kids with no care, had no effect on them whatsoever. The ending was also trash and I kind of wish Noelle was not the final girl.

Overall, this was not a good book. I’m kind of upset that I’ve read two bad horror books in a row but oh well.

Filed Under: Reviews

SERIOUS MOONLIGHT By Jenn Bennett

November 13, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SERIOUS MOONLIGHT By Jenn BennettSerious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 4/16/19
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.

Short and Sweet Review

Birdie loves mysteries and has an over active imagination mainly due to the fact that her strict grandparents had her isolated and homeschooled. But since her grandmother died Birdie’s grandfather has given her a bit more freedom and now she has a job in Seattle at a hotel. Birdie doesn’t think she’ll know anyone but then she runs into Daniel, a boy she had an awkward encounter with in the past. Now that they’re working together and Birdie is still standoffish, Daniel suggest they solve a mystery together about one of the hotel guest; an author who may be having a romantic relationship.

Serious Moonlight is one of those books where the premise sounds exciting but the execution wasn’t great. Birdie is one of those people that hasn’t had a lot of experiences due to being confined to one place. Now Birdie has a job and she runs into Daniel a boy she had a romantic encounter with that didn’t end well. Daniel tells her about an author that frequents the hotel but comes under a fake name, Birdie is determined to find out the authors true identity. I thought that this book would revolve more around the mystery but we see a lot of Daniel trying to get back on Birdies good side and try to be a romantic interest to her. We also learn what happened between Birdie and Daniel which is pretty funny in a the situation did not call for that kind of way. Anyway I didn’t like the romance between these two, they would have been better off as friends and just seeing the dynamic between the two it didn’t work. I didn’t like Birdie much and its one of those situations where when someone is on such a tight leash and they get some freedom that they’re indecisive and all over the place, that was Birdie. The ending of the book made me mad, I won’t spoil it but Daniel has some nerve and the fact that Birdie thinks she’s in love with him is mind boggling.

Overall, I didn’t like this book. I wanted more mystery but what I got was a sheltered girl experiencing her first romance and being completely clueless and giving us a snooze fest of a book that was 432 pages. I feel like Jenn Bennett has books for me personally that are hit or miss and this was a miss.

Filed Under: Reviews

PRITTY By Keith F. Miller Jr.

November 9, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

PRITTY By Keith F. Miller Jr.Pritty by Keith F. Miller Jr.
Series: Pritty #1
Published by HarperTeen on 11/14/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

On the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be—tough, athletic, and in charge—Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy.

Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn’t about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn’t willing to be the reason Jay’s life is at risk.

Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds—whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother—Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family trauma and regret, Leroy soon discovers that there’s no keeping Jay safe when Jay’s own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard.

Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt—even if the cost might be their own electric connection.

Short and Sweet Review

Pritty centers around two teens, Jay and Leroy. Jay is more soft around the edges and isn’t one to find himself in a lot of trouble. Leroy is more rough around the edges and is one to find himself in trouble even when he isn’t looking for it. Jay seems to think he belongs in the background but Leroy always notices him. We see a group called the Black Diamonds who are dedicated to protect black neighborhoods in Savannah, but someone is coming after them and isn’t afraid to start killing to get what they want. Leroy is closely affiliated with the Black Diamonds as his brother and Aunt currently run it and Leroy knows to keep Jay safe he needs to keep his distance.

Pritty is a deep novel, we have Jay and Leroy and it truly feels like a coming of age novel. Jay has a lot of character development throughout the book, so does Leroy but I thought Jay did a lot of growing. The Black Diamonds are a group that want to protect black neighborhoods but when a reporter ends up dead and someone shoots at Leroy and Jay things change. Taj is Leroy’s brother and the head of the black diamonds and he’s basically an older brother and a father figure for Leroy. Jay has his older brother Jacob who tries to protect him. The book is about Jay and Leroy but also so much more, it includes love, family, and friends. There’s a lot that goes on through the book but I think my favorite part is seeing the effort Leroy puts in to show Jay that he truly does care about him. There is also a bit of a mystery surrounding who is after the black diamonds and I’m interested in seeing how that will play out in the next book.

Pritty is a beautiful book, and its raw and thought provoking. Jay and Leroy are characters that you can connect to and feel for. I loved the integration of the families and seeing Jay and Leroy’s upbringing. Jay and Leroy are different but when they get together the world around them disappears. This is a book I highly recommend.

Filed Under: Reviews

LOVEBOAT FOREVER By Abigail Hing Wen

November 3, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

LOVEBOAT FOREVER By Abigail Hing WenLoveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen
Series: Loveboat,
Published by HarperTeen on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 399
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.

Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned—until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans…and a new image.

Where better to revamp her “brand” than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.

But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat—the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn—and there’s more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor...and a summer that will change her forever.

Short and Sweet Review

Pearl Wong is on her way to being a music prodigy until one of her performances goes viral on Tik Tok for all the wrong reasons. Her invite to an exclusive music program is rescinded, and her manager advises her to lay low. So Pearl decides to go to Taipei and maybe have the same amazing experiences her sister Ever had, while also making a comeback.

Loveboat Forever follows Ever Wong’s younger sister Pearl. I loved this book. Pearl is a musician a pianist to be exact and after finding out how cruel people can be on social media she ends up having to stay out of the spotlight and to do that she goes to Taipei. Loveboat is different than when Ever was there, but the kids still want to go out and have fun and at a masked party Pearl ends up kissing someone but she doesn’t know who it is. Honestly, this book follows the same formula as the first book, while Pearl is immersing herself in the culture she also finds herself in a love triangle. Pearl ends up meeting Ethan Kang who is also a musical prodigy in his own right but he’s a bit controlling and doesn’t know how to be himself. Kai on the other hand is hard to get to know and is very judgmental towards her and the other kids at love boat. Ethan and Pearl decide to team up and do a duo for the end of the program talent show which is Pearls chance to get some good publicity. Kai and Pearl on the other hand work together trying to get back Pearl’s great grandmothers pipa and also they play music on the street. I did like Pearl and Kai together mainly because she was allowed to be herself and not worry about the outside world telling her who she needs to be. My favorite part of this book was how we get to see characters from the past books like Ever, Rick, Sophie, and Xavier and honestly their involvement in this book is what upped my rating.

Loveboat Forever, was magical and fun and it just keeps alive the feelings you had from reading the other books. Pearl had a lot of character development throughout the book and I was so happy to follow her journey. We get to see Pearl immerse herself in culture and learn more about her family and also about herself. Definitely check this book out and relive the magic of Loveboat one more time!

Filed Under: Reviews

FINDING MY ELF By David Valdes

November 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FINDING MY ELF By David ValdesFinding My Elf by David Valdes
Published by HarperTeen on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 254
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Escaping to NYU for college didn’t turn out the way Cameron planned—he’s flunking his theater classes, about to lose his scholarship, and he still hasn’t found anyone he can call his “people.” When he gets home for winter break, he’s so desperate to avoid a Conversation with his dad that he takes the first acting job he can get—as a mall elf. Despite how Scroogey he feels, the plus side is that there’s a cash prize for the most festive of Santa’s helpers.

But the competition is fierce—especially from fellow elf Marco. Christmas spirit oozes out of his veins. At first Cam is determined to see him as nothing but a rival, but as they spend more time together, Cam starts to second-guess himself. What if he’s finally found his people here—in the fakest consumerist nightmare place on Earth, where he least expected it?

Short and Sweet Review

After is first semester at NYU doesn’t go as planned Cam is glad to be back in New England for the holidays. Cam was failing theater which is surprising because in high school he was a theater kid, and now he’s on the verge of losing his scholarship, because of this he ends up getting a job at the mall as an elf. The job as an elf comes with a little competition, where guests can vote for their favorite elf and the winner gets $5,000, which would really help Cam at the moment. Cam’s biggest competition is Marco who just embodies the elf spirit, but the more time Cam spends with Marco the more he begins to fall for him.

Finding My Elf is a cute book especially for the holiday season. I just personally didn’t connect to the story or characters. I thought the idea of the competition was great and it was fun to see the different activities the elves would have to complete. I’m not sure if I really liked Cams character, sometimes he would say things that were insensitive and he was also into this guy Leroy who was complete and total trash. This book was short and I think that may be why I had a hard time, I think Cam could have benefitted from some character development. I don’t think I was into the romance either because Marco comes off as a sweet guy but Cam kind of gave him the cold shoulder and then all of a sudden he had a change of heart.

Overall, I don’t think this book was for me, but I do think if you’re into short holiday romance books you should give this novel a shot!

Filed Under: Reviews

CHECK & MATE By Ali Hazelwood

October 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

CHECK & MATE By Ali HazelwoodCheck & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 362
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Short and Sweet Review

Mallory Greenleaf used to play chess growing up, but after her father had a little scandal and rocked the chess world and tore apart their family she’s given it up. When her friend Easton asks Mallory to help her with a charity chess event Mallory reluctantly agrees. At the tournament Mallory ends up defeating Nolan Sawyer the current number one player. Mallory’s rookie status shocks everyone, even more so Nolan who wants to know more about the girl who defeated him.

Okay guys this book sounds cute and fun and full of chess competition, but what I got was a horrible main character and a romance with no spark and was at its core creepy. Mallory hasn’t touched a chess piece since her dad did what he did and since then he’s died but somehow Mallory has become the one to support her mom and two sisters with her minimum wage job. Her sisters are very annoying and always in someone else’s business, and instead of going to their mom with problems they go to Mallory which makes it seem like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Mallory’s mom doesn’t want her to think that she’s the parent which I thought was ridiculous because Mallory was the one who was paying for most of the household needs. Anyway after Mallory does that charity competition for Easton she gets some recognition and starts working with Defne who has a Chess organization. Defne takes a chance on Mallory and gets her into big competitions and although Mallory doesn’t want to compete she knows the prize money could be life changing for her family. Mallory tries to keep her chess life a secret but its hard when she’s gaining a lot of traction and ends up on news articles and on tv. Nolan likes Mallory and is usually at the chess competitions that she’s at and obviously there’s supposed to be a cute romance her but I didn’t see it. As I mentioned earlier Mallory is an awful character, I don’t know if that was intentional or not but I would not want that girl anywhere near me. Mallory is selfish and she likes to lash out at people and she really only cares about herself. I think her lashing out at people is a defense mechanism to push people away before they do it to her but honestly she should see someone about her problems. Nolan on the other hand he just comes across as obsessed with Mallory and it was not cute and I blame that on the dialogue. He keeps telling her how much he wants to play chess with her and how he wishes he lost her job sooner so they could have met sooner than they did, it was weird and it makes me want him on a watchlist. My problems with this book are the characters, Mallory is just trash and Nolan gives off stalker, not socially aware vibes. Also her friend Easton is in like the first chapter of the book and then we don’t see her again until 90% through, what the hell? I honestly think if Mallory had a friend around like Easton to keep her grounded she may have been more likable. My rating for this book is a two and the only two things I liked about this book was when a character came to Mallory’s house and told her about herself, because she really sucks, and learning about chess, kind of makes me want to play but not really.

Overall, this was not what I expected it to be. I knew chess would be involved which was great. The romance, not so great. The characters even worse. I cannot in good conscience recommend this train wreck of a book, I honestly think giving it 2 hearts was exceptionally nice of me.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE ROSEWOOD HUNT By Mackenzie Reed

October 23, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE ROSEWOOD HUNT By Mackenzie ReedThe Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed
Published by HarperTeen on 10/31/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 364
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Lily Rosewood has lived with her grandmother since her dad’s death a year ago. She and Gram have always been close—Gram’s role as chair of their family’s luxury coat business has inspired Lily’s love of fashion, and Lily hopes to follow in Gram’s footsteps one day.

Then Gram dies suddenly, and Lily’s world is upended. Gram’s quarter of a billion dollar fortune is missing, and Lily has been banned from the manor she and Gram shared.

But Gram has always loved games, and even in death, she still has a few tricks up her couture sleeve. When Lily and three other seemingly random teens get letters from Gram sending them on a treasure hunt around Rosetown, they hope the fortune will be the reward. But they’re not the only ones hunting for Gram’s treasure, and soon the hunt becomes more dangerous than they ever could have imagined.

Short and Sweet Review

Lily Rosewood has lived with her grandmother since the death of her father. Iris Rosewood is the Rosewood Inc current chair and all Lily wants is for her grandmother to teach her everything. Unfortunately, Gram dies suddenly and Lily doesn’t know what’s next for her in life, but when its revealed that her Gram’s fortune has gone missing Lily is really lost. Gram used to leave notes with invisible ink on them for Lily and Lily has a feeling that Gram left a few clues behind for her to find the fortune.

Lily Rosewood is bold and impulsive and though we don’t see a lot of it in this book it is mentioned that her past behavior led people to believe she was entitled. Though we don’t see a lot of the entitlement we see it in the first seen when she thinks her gram should have left something to her instead of her cousin Daisy. When Gram dies and no one knows where the fortune is Lily becomes confused and starts to investigate. During her investigation she learns that gram has left notes with 3 other people that Lily knows but isn’t exactly friends with. Over the course of a few days we see the four teens work together to try to follow the clues that gram has left around town and find the fortune. But things aren’t so easy especially when the group learns that there’s a group of treasure hunters following them and are willing to kill to get the fortune before they do. This book had more than just a treasure hunt aspect to it. We see a group of teens who may know each other but aren’t friends band together for one common goal. I also loved seeing fractured relationships in this book mended, my favorite one being Lily and Daisy. I did love going around town and trying to decipher the clues, that where left in pretty obscure places. One of the things that surprised me was how close knit the Rosewood family seemed but a lot of things were revealed during the whole book that are surprising but in the end make sense because things get crazy when money is involved.

Overall, this was a fun and adventurous book, and I love how Gram wanted to make a statement that money isn’t the most important thing in the world and the relationships that were forged during the Rosewood Hunt was amazing. This is a book that is worth the read, check it out!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE SPACE BETWEEN HERE & NOW By Sarah Suk

October 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE SPACE BETWEEN HERE & NOW By Sarah SukThe Space Between Here & Now by Sarah Suk
Published by Quill Tree Books on 10/31/23
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy & Magic, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 317
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she'll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee's fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life.

When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom--a moment Aimee has never remembered before--she becomes distraught. Not only was this her longest disappearance yet, but the memory doesn't match up with the story of how her mom left--at least, not the version she's always heard from her dad.

Desperate for answers, Aimee travels to Korea, where she unravels the mystery of her memories, the truth about her mother, and the reason she keeps returning to certain moments in her life. Along the way, she realizes she'll need to reconcile her past in order to save her present.

Short and Sweet Review

Aimee Ro has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, which is a rare condition and for Aimee its triggered by smells. Whenever Aimee smells something that is connected to a memory from the past she’ll be taken back to that memory physically. Her dad thinks this is something she’ll grow out of but Aimee has a fear that just disappearing at random is keeping her from living a semi normal life. When Aimee ends up going into a memory for 9 hours (the longest she’s ever been gone) she realizes that her dad hasn’t been completely honest about why her mom left. Aimee decides to go to Korea to see if she can get some answers and uncover the mystery surrounding her mom leaving.

Aimee has STWS which is pretty interesting and very rare. Aimee is triggered by certain smells and she’ll go back into a memory she will literally disappear from the present which is a bit jarring and go back in time into the past to relive the memory. Aimee hasn’t been able to seek help because her dad thinks she’ll just stop when she wants to and if she really wants to. I did love seeing the advice Aimee was getting from places like reddit or just internet searches. When Aimee goes into a past memory of her mom she realizes that her dads story about why her mom left doesn’t match up to what she just saw. Aimee goes to Korea to find out what happened to her mom and she hopes that her STWS will come in handy to help her find her. I loved Aimee as a character. She’s struggling with something that not a lot of people understand and we see her reliving her past and trying to piece things together. I did like seeing her understand that sometimes the past shouldn’t dictate the future. The relationship with her father starts off strained, they don’t talk much and he’s stuck in his ways but I feel like its a cultural thing. Seeing Aimee and her father mend their relationship was very heartwarming. In Korea Aimee stays with her aunt but she does most of her sight seeing with an old family friend Junho and I did feel some sparks but I liked how they were ultimately just friends. Nikita was also a friend of Aimee’s and she’s very supportive and was even the one to suggest to Aimee that she should go to Korea.

The Space Between Here & Now, is a heartwarming novel about exploring memories and dealing with all of the emotions that come with them but also overcoming them and looking forward to the future and what’s to come. The characters were easy to relate to and so was the subject matter, I would definitely recommend this book!

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