BORROW MY HEART By Kasie West

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.

BORROW MY HEART By Kasie WestBorrow My Heart by Kasie West
Series: Borrow My Heart #1
Published by Delacorte Press on 6/13/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 275
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Wren is used to being called a control freak. She doesn’t care; sticking to the list of rules she created for herself helps her navigate life. But when a cute guy named Asher walks through the door of her neighborhood coffee shop, the rulebook goes out the window.

Asher is cute, charming . . . and being catfished by his online crush. So Wren makes an uncharacteristically impulsive decision—she pretends to be the girl he's waiting for to save him from embarrassment. Suddenly she’s fake-dating a boy she knows nothing about. And it’s . . . amazing.

It's not long before Asher has her breaking even more of her own rules. But will he forgive her when he finds out she's not who she says she is? Wren's not so sure. . . . After all, rules exist for a reason.

Short and Sweet Review

Wren has a list of rules when it comes to who she wants to date, but those go out the window when she overhears a guy get chastised by his friend for being catfished, So Wren takes it upon herself to pretend to be the online crush. Wren is a control freak and likes order, but for some reason being with Asher a boy she knows nothing about puts her at ease, until she realizes that at some point she’s going to have to break it to him that she isn’t the girl he thinks she is.

Borrow My Heart has a main plot which is Wren pretending to be Asher’s online crush, then we have two subplots, one that involves Wren’s absent mother and another in which a dog needs to adopted. It was interesting to see how Wren got herself in the situation, and how she had to adapt to all the things that Asher and his actual online crush messaged each other about. I did like seeing how Wren ended up liking Asher and they were very cute together and bounced off of each other well. I didn’t like that Asher’s friend Dale was around all the time he was one of the worst third wheels. The romance was cute but there’s always some bumps in paradise, and I won’t spoil it, but it was kind of surprising. The subplot with Wren’s mother was good because it showed us why Wren has trust issues, and Wren’s sister is still willing to make things work with their mom but Wren knows to keep her expectations low and that’s how she processes how her mom left them. Wren works at a dog shelter and there’s a dog named Bean who has been a resident at the shelter for a long time, and Wren and Asher team up to get Bean adopted.

Overall the book was cute, there were some points where serious topics were brought up. This whole scenario with Wren jumping in to save the day is very unlike her but Asher brings out a different side of her which is more fun. Asher and Wren were a cute pairing and sometimes you find your person when you least expect it. Also how can you not like someone who works at an animal shelter and is good with pets? This was a match made in heaven.

KISSING LESSONS By Sophie Jordan

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.

KISSING LESSONS By Sophie JordanKissing Lessons by Sophie Jordan
Published by Clarion Books on 6/2/20
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 291
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Wild, beautiful, and (as rumor has it) experienced, Hayden Vargas doesn’t have time for love or relationships. She’s learned the hard way that the only person you can count on is yourself, and she’s hell-bent on earning enough money to leave her small, judgy Texas town as fast as possible. So when nerdy Emmaline Martin offers to pay Hayden for lessons in seduction, the money is so easy, there must be a catch. Enter the catch: Emmaline’s older brother, popular, all-around nice guy™ Nolan Martin, who doesn’t want his sister’s reputation tarnished by the school’s resident bad girl.

But Hayden should know that looks can be deceiving. Nolan may seem like a golden boy, but like Hayden, he has a few secrets of his own. And the more he meddles in her lessons with Emmaline, the more these polar opposites clash—and the more sparks fly. Turns out Nolan may have some lessons to teach Hayden, but only if she’s willing to learn.

Short and Sweet Review

Hayden Vargas is known for her reputation of being experienced. Emmaline Martin is a bit nerdy and has a crush on her older brother, Nolan’s friend, Beau. Emmaline doesn’t know what to do so she turns to Hayden to give her lessons in seduction and she’ll even pay her. Nolan has heard about Hayden’s reputation and he doesn’t want Emmaline hanging out with her but he somehow finds himself falling for Haydens charm.

This book is very true to its name, Hayden Vargas does end up giving Emmaline and her friends kissing lessons. I will say it was interesting reading from four different POVs (Hayden, Nolan, Emmaline, and Beau). When Nolan sees Emmaline hanging out with Hayden, he’s less than pleased and starts to make sure he makes his presence and displeasure known. Hayden and Nolan have an opposites attract kind of connection between them. I did like how Nolan started to see Hayden for who she is and not go off of what people thought of her. Also Hayden has a tough life, she has a mother whose an alcoholic and can care less about being an actual mother to Hayden and at some point her mom brings around an awful guy who ends up making Haydens tough life even worse. Emmaline and Beau were a cute match. They both liked each other but didn’t really act on it until one night the stars aligned and they just happened to let each other know how they felt.

Kissing Lessons, isn’t the best romance book out there, but it wasn’t the worst either. I think it would have been nice to just have Hayden and Nolans POV and see their romance bud, but we did bounce around between them and Emmaline and Beau. It was a book that kept my attention, I do think the ending could have been better, it felt rushed.

THE NIGHT IN QUESTION By Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

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 NIGHT IN QUESTION By Kathleen Glasgow and Liz LawsonThe Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow, Liz Lawson
Series: The Agathas #2
Published by Delacorte Press on 5/30/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 415
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Last October, Alice Ogilvie's ex-best friend, Brooke Donovan, was killed—and if it weren't for Alice's unlikely alliance with her tutor, Iris Adams, and her library of the complete works of Agatha Christie, the wrong person would almost certainly be sitting in prison for the crime. The Castle Cove police aren't exactly great at solving crimes. In fact, they're notorious for not solving crimes.

Which is why, on the night of Castle Cove High's annual Sadie Hawkins dance, Alice takes the opportunity to explore Levy Castle—the site of one of Castle Cove's most infamous deaths. Mona Moody—­the classic film star—died there almost a century ago, and Alice is pretty sure the police got that invest­igation wrong, too. But before she can even think about digging deeper, she walks right into the scene of a new crime. Rebecca Kennedy, on the ground in a pool of blood. And standing over Kennedy? Another one of Alice's ex-friends—Helen Park.

The Castle Cove Police Department thinks it's an open-and-shut case, but Alice and Iris are sure it can't be that simple. Park isn't a murderer—and the girls know all too well that in life, and in mysteries, things are rarely what they appear to be. To understand the present, sometimes you need to look to the past.

Castle Cove is full of secrets, and Alice and Iris are about to uncover one of its biggest—and most dangerous—secrets of all.

Short and Sweet Review

Alice and Iris are back to solve another mystery in The Night In Question. Castle Cove High School’s annual Sadie Hawkins dance is being held at Levy Castle, and Alice thinks this is the perfect time to do some exploring. Levy Castle is where the famous actress Mona Moody died almost a century ago, and knowing Castle Cove police Alice thinks that investigation wrong, but she doesn’t have much time to think about that because she just walked in on Kennedy laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood and Park standing over her. Castle Cove police believe this is an open and shut case, and Park is about to face some serious charges, but Alice and Iris believe they can help her. This case involves more than meets the eye and this time the girls are about to look into the past to help them in the present.

After solving Brooke Donovan’s case, Alice and Iris have learned that the Castle Cove Police aren’t always reliable or competent when it comes to these matters so they decide to offer their new found expertise to try to prove Park’s innocence. Alice and Iris find themselves in dangerous situations that always put me on edge because they’re usually on the right trail but some people don’t want them to be and they end up in more trouble just for thwarting the police. I love how Alice still uses what she has learned from Agatha Christie novels and applies it to solve mysteries. I will say that I do love the friendship between Iris and Alice, they’re an unlikely pair and I think they still have a lot to learn about each other. They do get on each others nerves and still may say things to trigger or set the other one off but they do genuinely care for each other, and we see their friendship grow and evolve. We also get to see our other friends who help with the mystery solving: Raf, Neil, Spike, Zora, and Angelik. All of the characters add something to this book that truly makes it special. I will say this mystery is pretty complex and it not only involves what happened to Kennedy but also Mona Moody. I love the direction that this book took and we see Iris and Alice become better detectives but also learn that this is a dangerous job especially when others don’t want you to succeed. We also get to see a bit more of Alice’s parents in this book and see their relationship and how much their absence has actually affected Alice.

Everything about this book was amazing to me. I did end up figuring out who the culprit was but that didn’t ruin anything for me mainly because trying to figure out what their motive was and learning about it was crazy. I love this series, it’s actually one of my favorites and I just can’t get enough of Alice and Iris and their crew of mystery solvers. I’m excited to see what book 3 has in store!

JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS By Maria E. Andreu

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.

JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS By Maria E. AndreuJulieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/16/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Julieta isn’t looking for her Romeo—but she is writing about love. When her summer writing teacher encourages the class to publish their work online, the last thing she’s expecting is to get a notification that her rom-com has a mysterious new contributor, Happily Ever Drafter. Julieta knows that happily ever afters aren’t real. (Case in point: her parents’ imploding marriage.) But then again, could this be her very own meet-cute?

As things start to heat up in her fiction, Julieta can’t help but notice three boys in her real life: her best friend’s brother (aka her nemesis), the boy next door (well, to her abuela), and her oldest friend (who is suddenly looking . . . hot?). Could one of them be her mysterious collaborator? But even if Julieta finds her Romeo, she’ll have to remember that life is full of plot twists. . . .

Short and Sweet Review

Julieta isn’t looking for anyone but she does enjoy writing romantic stories. Julieta is enrolled in a summer writing program and her teacher encourages them to publish their stories online so Julieta does and someone named Happily Ever Drafter decides to collaborate on the story. Julieta doesn’t know who this Happily Ever Drafter is but she begins to think it may be one of the three boys in her life, Lucas, Calvin, or Ryan. Julieta tries to figure out who the mystery writer is but she also remembers that life is full of twists and turns.

Julieta is a promising writer and she loves coming up with stories, so this writing program that she’s enrolled in is a chance of a lifetime. When Julieta post her first story she’s surprised that someone wants to collaborate with her and the story gets a bit spicy which makes Julieta think that this may be someones attempt at trying to date her. Julieta believes this could be her very own meet-cute. There’s Ryan, Julieta’s best friend Ivy’s brother, who is usually her nemesis but since being in the writing program together she’s seeing him in a different light. Lucas is one of Julieta’s oldest friends and he suddenly looks good, but he’s also the safe option. Calvin lives next door to Julieta’s grandma and he makes her feel like she should be more adventurous. We basically have a love square? I didn’t really like any of the romance mainly because Julieta spent so much time bouncing around the three guys trying to figure out if they were Happily Ever Drafter. We see why Julieta would think each guy could potentially be the mystery writer but the amount of time she spends with each of them is pretty minimal that there isn’t much of a connection. I will say I was rooting for one guy more than the others and although it didn’t happen, I was okay with the guy she did end up picking. We have a few subplots about Julieta trying to figure out if she’s a good enough writing, her parents marriage, and their struggling restaurant, and not spending enough time with her friend Ivy. The ending was a little surprising to me, I wasn’t expecting Happily Ever Drafter to be who it was, but I understand why they did what they did.

Overall, the premise was good and I did like Julieta I just wish maybe it was only two love interest instead of three. I also liked seeing snippets of Julietas writing and her ideas for stories. This was a cute romance novel and I enjoyed the little mystery aspect of it.

THE LAST ONE TO FALL By Gabriella Lepore

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 LAST ONE TO FALL By Gabriella LeporeThe Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore
Published by Inkyard Press on 5/9/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 316
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Six friends. Five suspects. One murder.

Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse.

Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.

As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.

Short and Sweet Review

Savana and Jesse have been friends since they were kids, so when he texts her late at night asking her to come to Cray’s warehouse she doesn’t question it. When Savana arrives she sees someone falling from one of the windows, turns out it was murder. Now Jesse, Savana, and three others (Tara, Owen, and Freddie) are being looked at for murder. Everyone has their secrets and Savana has been getting anonymous text messages about what will happen if the wrong person is implicated.

The Last One to Fall, starts off in a timeline before the murder and we see everything that leads up to what happens. I liked this because we got to see the dynamic between the group of friends. Raf is the teen who gets murdered and he has a pretty manipulative personality and to be honest I’m not surprised one of his friends finally had enough. We alternate between Jesse and Savana’s POV. Jesse has more of a hard home life and Savana is there for him, so when it looks like Jesse is the main suspect Savana tries to help prove his innocence. Savana wasn’t in the warehouse like the others so she isn’t really looked at that closely but she does start to try to unravel everyones stories. It’s not hard to tell that Savana is on Jesses side and she won’t let him go down for something he didn’t do. This book held my attention with all of the secrets and twists. Savana and Jesse were characters you could relate to. I did enjoy seeing the snippets of news articles and the police interviews. When we did get to the timeline after the murder it was interesting to see how everyone started turning on each other. Even after death Raf was still very influential in this group of friends.

The Last One to Fall, held my attention until the very end and the mystery was told very well. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, and this one is full of shocking revelations and twists and turns to keep you guessing!

LYING IN THE DEEP By Diana Urban

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.

LYING IN THE DEEP By Diana UrbanLying in the Deep by Diana Urban
Published by Razorbill on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 382
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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After being jilted by her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Jade couldn't be more ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—11 countries in 4 months, all from the luxurious Campus on Board ship—and to wedge an entire globe between her and the people who broke her heart.

But when Jade discovers the backstabbing couple are also setting sail, her obsession with them grows and festers, leading to a shocking murder. And as their friends begin to drop like flies, Jade and her new crush must race to clear her name and find the killer they're trapped at sea with....before anyone else winds up in body bags.

Short and Sweet Review

Jade recently got dumped by her boyfriend who just so happened to leave her for her ex best friend, Lainey. So now Jade is ready to embark on a campus on board cruise visiting 11 countries in 4 months. What Jade wasn’t expecting was to see that Lainey and Silas have also come along. Jade becomes obsessed with trying to figure out why those two basically did her dirty and soon enough someone on board gets murdered and Jade and her crush Felix try to solve the mystery before one of them is next.

This was a good mystery I wasn’t sure what was going on until the end and then it just all made sense. I will say Jade is not my favorite character, she was too impulsive and just made bad decisions. I will say seeing Jade constantly obsess over Silas and Jade was exhausting. Jade used to date Silas and be friends with Lainey so when she sees that their also on this trip she tries to talk to them and even when they try to avoid her she still doesn’t get it. There was a bit of a romance between Jade and Felix, mainly because Jade was trying to use Felix to make Silas jealous but I guess somewhere in there they ended up liking each other. The first murder doesn’t happen until maybe 100-150 pages in but that’s when things start to get interesting. There’s a boat full of people and Jade is mainly hanging out with the college kids and somehow most of them have ties back to Lainey whether they know it or not. Jade looks guilty mainly because she doesn’t know how to let things go so she looks like a vengeful manic to some of the other people on the boat. I will say the first murder really surprised me but the other two kind of seemed unnecessary.

I liked that the mystery took place on a cruise ship, because there’s really no place for the suspect to run. There were some twists which were interesting, the ending was a little lackluster. I will say overall this was a good mystery but some things could have been better especially our main character Jade.

NIGERIA JONES By Ibi Zoboi

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.

NIGERIA JONES By Ibi ZoboiNigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/9/23
Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 379
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.

Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. ­There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe.

As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

Short and Sweet Review

Nigeria has been raised by her father who is a social justice warrior. He has a Movement that is a black separatist group in Philadelphia. Nigeria runs the youth group for her dad and leads rituals that connect group members to their ancestors. The only thing missing in Nigerias life is her mom, who she’s sure is coming back. When Nigeria learns that her mom wanted a different life for her she starts to question everything she’s learned. Nigeria also learns that her mom wanted to enroll her in a private Quaker school so Nigeria goes to honor her mothers wishes. Everything changes when Nigeria gets to experience a little freedom and wonders if everything she’s learned in the movement is right.

I have very conflicting feelings about this book. Nigeria was raised in a household where their beliefs are taken very seriously, so to see her go to this new school and interact with people who weren’t black was painful. She also holds out hope that her mom is coming back so there was a little mystery about where her mom was and why she would have left the movement in the first place. Nigeria goes to school with an old friend Sage and her cousin Kamau. Nigeria’s dad doesn’t want her going to school, she’s been homeschooled her whole life, but Nigeria knows she needs to go because this is what her mom wanted. There was a lot of layers to this book and I found myself frustrated at some points because they take the movement so seriously and I understand I’m all about making changes but it got too intense and it was crazy. Whenever they talked about the movement, I felt like I was at a black panther meeting, it was almost like Judas and the Black Messiah. Anyway Nigeria and her dad find themselves most of the book and I just felt myself rooting for her to get out from under him and just make a way for herself and experience the world for herself so she can make decisions instead of having them made for her.

The ending makes up for the rest of the book and I was glad to see Nigeria kind of become her own woman. The whole thing with her mom was pretty shocking and I wasn’t ready for it. This book made me really stop and think about my own experiences being black and a woman and I get how Nigeria was raised but I’m glad that I was able to know my history and not having that experience be so restrictive. I enjoyed following Nigeria during her journey even though at some points it was hard but in the end it was rewarding.

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY By Becky Albertalli

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.

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY By Becky AlbertalliImogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 412
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.

She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.

Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in.

Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.

Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.

Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .

Short and Sweet Review

Imogen is very straight but she’s all for being an ally, her younger sister is queer, her best friend Gretchen is bi, and her other best friend Lili is newly out and living her best life at college with her group of queer friends. Imogen is finally visiting Lili at college and she gets to experience all the great things Lili has been talking about. One thing that Imogen wasn’t expecting was to find out that Lili told her friends that Imogen is her ex-girlfriend, but Imogen goes with it because she’s a good friend. Imogen also meets Tessa and it makes her question her identity.

Imogen is used to living her life as a supporter an ally to her queer friends and family. I loved seeing her journey and her character develop throughout the story and seeing her come to grips that she may not just be an ally but she may actually be bi. My favorite thing about this book was seeing Imogen spend a few days on the college campus and expand her horizons, the group of friends that Lili has are so nice and inviting. Tessa and Imogen immediately hit it off, and this is when Imogen discovers she may have a crush on a girl and doesn’t really know how to process everything. Unfortunately for Imogen, her friend Gretchen thinks she knows it all and reassures Imogen that she is most definitely straight. I’m glad that Imogen had other supporters in her circle. Over the course of nine days we see Imogen have fun at the college and then go back home and try to think about everything that has happened. There was a lot of great dialogue and fun characters in this book that really made you wish you were apart of the group.

Imogen, Obviously is a personal one to the author and a statement. I loved Imogen and she’s just someone that readers can relate to and you can’t help but to root for her and hope she has a happy ending. This book was so cute and I enjoyed following Imogen’s story and see her discover who she really is. I would obviously recommend this book!

MY FLAWLESS LIFE By Yvonne Woon

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.

MY FLAWLESS LIFE By Yvonne WoonMy Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 2/14/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 345
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher
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At the most elite private school in Washington, DC., whenever anyone has a problem that they need to go away, they hire Hana Yang Lerner.

Hana is a fixer. She knows who to call, what to say, and how to make sure secrets stay where they belong—buried. She can fix anything. Except her own life, which was destroyed when her father, senator Skip Lerner, was arrested for an accident that left one woman nearly dead.

Now Hana’s reputation is ruined and her friends are gone. So when she gets a job from an anonymous client called “Three” to follow her former best friend, Luce Herrera, Hana realizes this might be her way of getting back her old life.

But the dangerous thing about digging is that you never know what you’ll unearth. As Hana uncovers a dark truth about her supposedly flawless classmates, she’s forced to face a secret of her own.

Short and Sweet Review

When students at Hana’s elite private school in Washington D.C need a problem to go away they hire her, she’s a fixer. She can fix most of her classmates problems, the one thing she’s having trouble fixing is her own life. After her Senator father was arrested for an accident that nearly left a woman dead, Hana’s reputation was ruined and all her friends left her side. When someone contacts Hana for a job that includes following her former best friend, Luce, she takes it hoping this could help her get her old life back. The more Hana tries to figure out with Luce the more she has to dig into her own past and face everything that has happened.

It took my a while to get into this book, but once I did it really held my attention. I liked seeing how Hana used her contacts to fix problems. We get to see how the events of Hana’s father has affected her life, and how she’s dealing with everything or trying to avoid it. The case that she’s currently working on concerning Luce also involves Hana’s past and Hana knows she has to confront her past in order to solve this case. The plot was interesting and the pacing was great. Hana had a lot of character development and she realized that its never too late to fix your mistakes. Hana also teamed up with James, a friend from childhood and I liked the teamwork between them and seeing them reconnect. It was fun seeing Hana talk to other classmates and following leads, the life of a fixer is very interesting although it seems like a lot of work. I will say that the book went back and forth between the past and present and sometimes it was hard to tell what time period I was reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Seeing Hana take this case that’s really about her and she didn’t even know it was great. There were some things that surprised me but these elements were beneficial to the story and really worked. Hana was a good character and someone to relate to she wasn’t perfect, she had her flaws, but she was willing to work on it. This book was engaging and I would recommend it.


LIAR’S BEACH By Katie Cotugno

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.

LIAR’S BEACH By Katie CotugnoLiar's Beach by Katie Cotugno
Published by Delacorte Press on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Michael Linden—or just Linden to his preppy boarding school pals—doesn’t belong in wealthy, storied Martha’s Vineyard. But when his roommate Jasper invites him to spend the end of summer at his massive beachfront home, August House, Linden tries his best to fit in. Linden wouldn’t call it lying, exactly. Though it turns out August House is full of liars.

Then someone is found unconscious in Jasper’s pool, and everyone has something to hide—Jasper, his beautiful sister Eliza, their older brother Wells, and their friends. The accident is written off as just that—an accident—but Linden begins to wonder...

Enter: Holiday Proctor. Linden’s childhood friend, and the one person on the island who knows the truth about Linden. There’s nothing Holiday loves more than a good old-fashioned mystery and she’s convinced there's a potential killer on the Vineyard. The only question is…who?

Short and Sweet Review

Michael Linden isn’t wealthy, but he tries to keep up appearances for his boarding school friends. Linden is invited to Martha’s Vineyard by his roommate Jasper, which is where he meets, Wells and Eliza, Jasper’s siblings. After a party one night someone is found unconscious in the pool and it is written off as just an accident but Linden begins to wonder if there’s more to what happened than what’s being said. Holiday is one of Linden’s childhood friends and just happens to be staying at Martha’s Vineyard too and has a love for a good mystery. Together they’ll try to figure out if this was an accident or intentional.

Liar’s Beach was a good mystery it’s a new take on the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The plot was engaging and we’re introduced to most of the characters in the first few chapters. After the person is found in the pool we see Holiday and Linden go around the island looking for clues and try to find leads but there wasn’t much for them to find so their theories were mainly speculation. I didn’t like Lindens character, he was too busy trying to fit in that he didn’t realize how awful he treated those around him. Linden was also more concerned about getting with Eliza to realize that she wasn’t exactly perfect. I would have preferred that Holiday was the narrator instead she just seemed more likable and wasn’t quick to jump the gun like Linden. The ending was okay I guessed who the culprit was mainly from the process of elimination but also there was a bit of a cliffhanger. I think it would be interesting to see these characters in another book and hopefully Linden has some more character development.

Overall this was a good beach mystery and it’s great for summer. There were a lot of good elements and some things that didn’t work but I would still recommend it and I’d be interested in seeing a sequel.