AGAIN, BUT BETTER By Christine Riccio

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.

AGAIN, BUT BETTER By Christine RiccioAgain, but Better by Christine Riccio
Published by Wednesday Books on 5/7/19
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 377
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal -- but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change -- there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic - the possibilities are endless.

Short and Sweet Review

Shane is about to do a semester abroad in London. Shane is excited for a new start, back home she’s premed which makes her parents happy but here in London she’s about to pursue her passion for writing. Shane is about to do things she hasn’t before like make friends, go on adventures, and maybe find romance. But this new Shane in London is going to have to deal with everything she’s been trying to hide about what her life is really like back home. Things go awry but somehow Shane gets a second chance to try things again and make them better.

We first meet Shane in 2011 on her way to London. She basically lied to her parents about there being a premed track abroad but what’s really happening is Shane is going to take classes and get an internship at a magazine. We meet Shanes roommates and she spends the most time with Babe and Pilot. They go on a lot of trips together and are having the time of their lives. Pilot is Shanes romantic interest and we can tell that they like each other but Pilot actually has a girlfriend so that doesn’t work out. When Shanes parents find out she’s been lying she goes back to New York without the job she really wants, without the boy, and ultimately with unfinished business. We meet Shane again in 2017 and she realizes that she’s not happy and basically wants a do over. She finds Pilot and somehow they’re transported back to 2011 to try everything again. Although those two are happy Shane realizes that she’s been slacking with her internship and starts to rethink things again.

I did like the first half of the book and found myself connecting with Shane and the position she’s in because college is hard especially when you’re going for someone else’s dream instead of your own. When we meet Shane again she kind of forces Pilot to go on this endeavor with her and at first he’s pretty upset but they both realize this is a chance to see where things kind have gone. I think what annoyed me about this is when Shane realizes she’s not focusing enough on the internship she kind of ghosts Pilot. Anyway things do get better in a way, and we can see how things changed from the first time in London to the second. I will say Shanes parents were toxic and I just couldn’t stand them not understanding her position. So romance was good, adventures and roommates were also good. Shane did learn a lot about herself during this time and for that I was happy, but I do think she needed to think things out a bit better.

Overall, this book was good. I did prefer the first half to the second I do think the redeeming quality the second half had was the ending. I would recommend this book its a good representation of coming of age and truly living life for yourself and not those around you.

THE NATURALS By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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 NATURALS By Jennifer Lynn BarnesThe Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Naturals #1
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on 11/5/13
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 321
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn't realize is that there's more at risk than a few unsolved homicides-especially when she's sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Short and Sweet Review

Cassie has the ability to read people and piece together things she notices about them to form a full picture. She’s had this skill for a while but its not anything she’s taken seriously until the FBI comes knocking and offers her the chance to join the naturals, a group of young adults with skills similar to her. Cassie accepts the offer in hopes that she can solve her mom’s cold case. Cassie is sent to live with the other naturals and hone her skills and look over unsolved crimes. There’s a new killer and this one is closer than anyone thought, and the naturals have to come together to solve this new case.

Cassie has the skills of a profiler, think about the FBI agents on Criminal Minds. When Cassie is recruited to join the naturals she meets, Michael, Dean, Lia, and Sloane. Each of these teens has a certain ability that allows them to figure someone out. Dean is another profiler, while Michael can spot someone’s emotions, Sloane is into math and statistics, and I think Lia is able to tell if someone is lying. Anyway they all live in this house together and they have FBI agents who are their mentors Agent Locke and Agent Briggs. I think this is different from other mysteries because of the profiling aspect. We get to see Cassie train and learn how to use her skills to be better. I will say because Dean was another profiler they had a connection but there was a love triangle. I found the love triangle to be unnecessary and I’m glad that by the end of the book we reigned that whole situation in. My least favorite character in this book was Lia, she just seemed like she enjoyed starting problems and for that reason she can go. We see Cassie learn what it takes to be a profiler and also she’s put in danger when someone starts to recreate her mothers murder and it seems like they’re trying to lure Cassie to the same fate. The ending was good but I will say it was kind of predictable but that could just be because I read so many mystery books that not much can surprise me.

Overall, this was a solid first book. I do think if you like Criminal Minds you’ll enjoy this book. I’m looking forward to reading the next books in the series just to see more growth from these characters and also to see how well they’ll solve future crimes as a team.

THE WINNER’S KISS By Marie Rutkoski

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 WINNER’S KISS By Marie RutkoskiThe Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #3
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on 3/29/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 498
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He's finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can't quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people-and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that's what he thinks.

But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win?

Sweet and Short Review

War has started between the Valorians and the Herrani and Arin is in the thick of it trying to strategize the best way to win. With everything that he’s dealing with he’s starting to forget Kestrel, someone he thinks he can no longer trust. Meanwhile Kestrel is taken as a prisoner and she wants to escape before she becomes like the other prisoners and forgets who she is. Kestrel and Arin are in between and at this point can anyone really win?

The time it took me to read this book after reading the second book was a good 7 years. Don’t ask me why but I’m not sure. I do think the time in-between reading book 2 and 3 may be the reason my rating for this book is lower than that of book 2. Let’s get into the review. We start off by seeing Arin as he’s one of the main people who is strategizing with the people from the east as his ally on how to go about this war. Kestrel on the other hand is taken to the prison where she is drugged everyday and there’s not much known except that she’s given drugs that have different effects and one of them is memory loss. When Arin realizes that Kestrel didn’t betray him but is alive and in prison he goes off to rescue her. Unfortunately she’s been in the prison so long that she has lost her memory and doesn’t know a lot. I will be honest I thought Arin was annoying he treated Kestrel like she was fragile and I didn’t like how he went from trying to forget her to doing a 180 and trying not to leave her side. I just have a problem when a man tries to tell a woman she can’t do something… Anyway slowly Kestrel regains her memory and understands what her father did. I thought that part of the story was the saddest because she couldn’t understand why he didn’t love her as much as he loved his job. Moving on we see the war go on and that’s about it. I feel like this book was very anti-climatic and the writing wasn’t good in the fact that it was choppy and repetitive with the war strategy and seeing Arin come and go.

Overall, I thought this book would be amazing because I loved the second one so much but I was wrong. I will say the trilogy is good and if you do plan on reading it don’t wait seven years like I did to finish it.

ICARUS By K. Ancrum

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.

ICARUS By K. AncrumIcarus by K. Ancrum
Published by HarperTeen on 3/26/24
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Mythology, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.

Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules.

As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the gilded cage that has trapped both their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall.

Short and Sweet Review

Icarus is a thief and he and his father work together to steal valuable things from Mr. Black and replace them with forgeries. Mr. Black has been the target because of his involvement in the death of Icarus’s mother. To avoid being caught Icarus has to follow his father’s strict rules and that mainly leaves Icarus very isolated. One night while Icarus is in Mr. Blacks house he runs into Helios the son of Mr. Black who is under house arrest and like Icarus is pretty isolated and just wants a friend. This new friendship puts both boys in danger but Icarus is willing to risk it all.

Icarus is our main character and he tries to be a normal kid by day and by night he’s a thief. We see Icarus struggle with balancing these two things and it’s interesting when people at school start to notice. I will say one of the rules his father gave him is not to get close to people so Icarus doesn’t really know what its like to have friends which is why I appreciated when Luca and Celestina became his friend and taught him the meaning of friendship. Icarus is good at a lot of things but he does lack social skills which I will blame on the fact that he isn’t really allowed to have social time. When we meet Helios we see he’s currently being treated like a prisoner in his father’s house so even though he knows Icarus is stealing from his father he welcomes his company. We see Icarus risk his safety to spend more time with Helios and they begin to form a bond. I did like their relationship and how they cared about each other, I do kind of think they trauma bonded. The more time Icarus and Helios spend together they realize that their families hatred for each other is what led them to this very moment. Icarus wants to break the cycle and I liked that he was brave enough to stand up to his father to make a change for him and Helios.

Overall, this book was beautifully written, and the characters were ones you could connect to and want to see a happy ending for. I would recommend this book!

WITH A LITTLE LUCK By Marissa Meyer

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.

WITH A LITTLE LUCK By Marissa MeyerWith a Little Luck by Marissa Meyer
Series: Fortuna Beach #2
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 2/13/24
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 363
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Jude is determined to fly under the radar. He just wants to draw comics, host D&D night with his friends, work at his parents’ vinyl record store, and escape high school as unscathed as possible. That is, until the night he finds himself inexplicably gifted with a bout of supernatural good luck.

Suddenly, everything Jude has ever wanted is within reach. His art is being published. He helps his friend’s song become a finalist in a songwriting competition. And he wins a pair of coveted concert tickets, which he can use to ask out the popular girl he’s been crushing on since elementary school.

But how long can Jude’s good fortune last? And why does he find himself thinking about Ari, his best friend since forever? If Jude has been dreaming of the wrong girl this whole time, does that mean he's doomed to be unlucky in love forever?

Short and Sweet Review

Jude is okay with staying low-key, he wants to play dungeon and dragons with his friends and draw comics when he has the time, and work at his parents record shop. One day Jude finds a 20 sided dice and he finds himself with a lot of luck. Almost everything Jude has wanted is now in reach and he uses his new found luck to the best of his ability but he doesn’t think about what will happen when his luck runs out.

With a Little Luck is a companion novel to Instant Karma. I didn’t read Instant Karma before reading this book and I don’t think you have to for this one to make sense, but I did realize characters from that book are in this one. Jude is our main character and I feel like he likes to keep a low profile one of those people who’s super nice but likes to stay within his friend group. Judes best friend is Ari and she’s a musician and they spend a lot of time together. When Jude begins to get lucky he decides to ask out Maya a girl he’s had a crush on for a while and it was okay but from the start you could tell that these two were better off as friends. I do think that Jude went for Maya instead of going with his gut and asking out Ari. Anyway we see Jude use his luck to get his artwork published, win concert tickets, and get Ari into a songwriting competition. There’s a lot of things I liked about this book, like seeing Ari’s song lyrics, the D&D game nights, and also seeing Judes artwork.

With a Little Luck, was a cute book and I enjoyed it. I did like Jude as a character and seeing him with all the luck, he didn’t always use it for himself he did think of others. I also liked seeing the romance between Jude and Ari even if it took a while for both of them to realize that they were meant for each other. Overall, this was a fun contemporary romance and I would recommend it!

THE HEDGEWITCH OF FOXHALL By Anna Bright

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 HEDGEWITCH OF FOXHALL By Anna BrightThe Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright
Published by HarperTeen on 3/12/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Magic is fading from Wales—choked off by King Offa’s Dyke, the enemy earthworks that spans the entire border. Even the dragons have disappeared. And now an attack is imminent.

Prince Taliesin would love to watch magic die. Prince Dafydd fears it, and the throne. But when their father promises the crown to whichever son can destroy the dyke and restore magic to Wales, the brothers are forced into an uneasy rivalry.

Ffion works hedgewitch magic for poor folk, not princes. Unlike the power-hungry Foxhall coven, she uses only what nature can spare. But when the coven’s greed costs Ffion everything, she will need power beyond her wildest dreams to get back what she’s lost.

So when Prince Taliesin arrives, begrudgingly seeking a witch’s aid, Ffion agrees to help him—even if it means walking from one end of Wales to the other with the most use-less peacock she’s ever clapped eyes on. Even if it means striking a bargain with Dafydd behind Tal’s back. The fate of Wales depends on their quest . . . and so might the fate of Ffion’s heart.

Short and Sweet Review

In Wales magic is fading and that’s because of King Offa’s dyke which spans the whole border. Ffion is the last hedgewitch and she only uses what nature can spare to conduct her magic, unlike other witches who will sacrifice the whole forest if they have to. Prince Tal doesn’t care if magic is gone forever he doesn’t like it, his brother Dafydd fears magic but tolerates it. When the king orders the princes to destroy the dyke in exchange for the throne the princes set off. Tal ends up seeking a witch in order to complete the quest and he ends up finding Ffion. Ffion agrees because she knows the fate of Wales depends on if they can accomplish this quest.

This was a very interesting book. I enjoyed Ffion as a main character and that she was always willing to help people and do magic as long as it wouldn’t damage the land around her. Tal wants to be the king so he’s determined to complete the quest but also he doesn’t mind that the magic is dying especially because of what he saw the havoc magic caused in his life as a child. Dafydd doesn’t want to be king but he doesn’t have a choice but to go on this quest. We get to read from all three characters POVs, my problem with this was that they didn’t have a distinct voice so sometimes I thought I was reading from one character when it was really another, other times I would have to go back and check which character was narrating. I liked seeing that Ffion had a connection with Dafydd that she didn’t know about but I guess it could be weird because this connection did not come with consent. I do thin the love triangle between Ffion, Tal, and Dafydd was unnecessary because she’s with Tal most of the book so they obviously have a better connection. Anyway the ending was okay, the reveal was lackluster.

Overall, I liked the premise of this book and where I thought it was going. There were moments where I wanted to finish the book in one go and others where the story was dragging and I just wanted to be done. The plot was good but I just wish it was a bit more fleshed out and maybe it would have helped if the chapters for each character was longer. I do think this book is different from other books Bright has written, this book wasn’t my favorite but I would still recommend it!

ONE LAST BREATH By Ginny Myers Sain

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.

ONE LAST BREATH By Ginny Myers SainOne Last Breath by Ginny Myers Sain
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 3/5/24
Genres: LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Mount Orange, Florida, is famous for two things: Cerulean freshwater springs, ideal for free divers who aren't afraid of lurking gators. And the gruesome cold case murder of best friends, Bailey and Celeste, twenty years ago.

Bailey and Celeste's murders cast a permanent darkness over sunny Mount Orange. Tru has always lived in that shadow. Now she's supposed to head to FSU in the fall with her boyfriend, but those unsolved murders -- and the death of her own sister -- invade her every thought. It’s only in the shadowy deep of Hidden Glen Springs that she can breathe.

When a strange girl named Rio rolls into town, hell-bent on figuring out who killed Bailey and Celeste, Tru can't resist entangling herself in the thrill of solving the decades old mystery any more than she can resist her familiar, aching attraction to Rio.

As the summer heat ignites, so does the spark between Tru and Rio...along with their other-worldy connection to Bailey and Celeste. But when someone begins stalking them, the girls become convinced the killer is back in town. And if they keep digging into the past, Tru and Rio know this time, it could be their blood that makes the springs run red.

Short and Sweet Review

Years ago two teen girls, Bailey and Celeste were murdered in Mount Orange, Florida, and since than that’s what the town is famous for. Tru wasn’t even alive when the murders occurred but she feels connected to the girls and can’t get them out of her head. Tru lives in a small town, where everyone knows everyone, so it’s pretty shocking when newcomer Rio comes into town. Tru feels like she has a connection to Rio and it gets even weirder that Rio says she also feels a connection with Bailey in Celeste. Tru and Rio start to dig around for more information but the killer is still out there and they don’t want to be found after all these years.

Our main character is Tru and she hasn’t had the easiest life, her sister died and she blames herself for it, and also her mom has an alcohol problem. Tru usually escapes her problems by going diving with a few people she knows. Tru is dating East which is the mayors nephew. I will say I didn’t like their relationship, it felt like they were together because they’ve known each other since childhood and it’s just something you do. You could also tell that East liked Tru more than she liked him especially when Rio rolled into town. Anyway we learn that Tru has been obsessed over the case of Bailey and Celeste mainly because its a cold case and she really can’t put her finger on why she cares so much. Rio is like an anomaly, she’s new to town, likes diving, and is also very interested in the case. But Rio’s interest in the case makes everyone weary of her and her actual intentions. We see these two spend time together and also try to figure out what happened on the night Bailey and Celeste were killed. I will say I thought their connection of past lives was a little far out there but I guess it could be possible. I think two of my problems with this book were one, Tru going back and forth with whether or not she could trust Rio, and two, both of them not doing the greatest detective work and someone getting hurt because of false accusations. I did like the mystery and it was hard to tell who could have done it. I thought it was interesting that Tru and Rio were using their connection to Bailey and Celeste to find clues about the case and try to piece things together.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that did have some flaws. I do think the idea of two people from a past life reuniting to solve their murder was interesting and it took a while for me to wrap my head around but I can get with the idea. I liked the small town feel of everything, I do think the relationship between Tru and Rio could have been better if there was more trust but looking back at it Tru jumped in real quick with her feelings and it left a lot of room for doubt. This was a good read and I recommend it to anyone who likes cold cases and small town mysteries!

WE GOT THE BEAT By Jenna Miller

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.

WE GOT THE BEAT By Jenna MillerWe Got the Beat by Jenna Miller
Published by Quill Tree Books on 2/20/24
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 347
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Jordan Elliott is a fat, nerdy lesbian and the first junior to be named editor in chief of the school newspaper. Okay, that last part hasn’t happened yet, but it will. It’s positive thinking that has gotten Jordan this far. Ever since Mackenzie West, her friend-turned-enemy, humiliated her at the start of freshman year, Jordan has thrown herself into journalism and kept her eyes trained on the future.

So it’s a total blow when Jordan discovers that she not only didn’t get the editor in chief spot, but she’s been assigned the volleyball beat instead. And who is the star and newly crowned captain of the volleyball team? Mackenzie West. But words are Jordan’s weapon, and she has some ideas about how to exact a long-awaited revenge on her nemesis. Then things get murky when forced time together has Mack and Jordan falling back into their friendship and into something more. And when Mack confesses the real reason she turned on Jordan freshman year, it has Jordan questioning everything—past, present, and future.

If Jordan lets her guard down and Mack in, will she get everything she wants, or will she be humiliated all over again?

Short and Sweet Review

It’s Jordan’s junior year and she wants to be the editor in chief of the school newspaper, but instead she gets the job of writing about the schools volleyball team. It would be a doable job if Jordan’s former friend Mackenzie wasn’t the captain of the team. Jordan and Mackenzie used to be friends until Mackenzie humiliated Jordan Freshman year for reasons she still doesn’t understand. When Jordan starts spending time with Mackenzie it feels like old times, and she eventually learns why Mackenzie did what she did which changes everything. The only thing is, Jordan doesn’t know if she can let Mackenzie back in.

We Got the Beat is a cute book. I did enjoy following Jordan’s character. She had a good support system and I liked her best friends Audrey and Isaac, I will say even though Audrey was looking out for Jordan she did overstep at times. The main reason I wanted to read this book was because I wanted to know what caused the falling out between Jordan and Mackenzie. The reveal was pretty good and made sense and I feel like Mackenzie didn’t handle it the best way but she did what she thought was best at the time. I did enjoy the little snippets of Jordan’s articles that would eventually be in the paper. I think the build up to Jordan and Mackenzies new found friendship had a lot of obstacles in the way like Jordan not completely trusting Mackenzie because of what happened in the past and Jordan choosing to believe everyone except for Mackenzie. I’m trying to avoid spoiling what happened between these two because it really makes everything come full circle in the end. The writing was good and had me looking forward to what would happen next. Honestly my only issue was Audrey, who I know had good intentions, but she should really run things past the people who are involved before just making the decisions for people.

Overall, this was a cute book and I loved Jordan and Mackenzie try to figure out how to move forward and get over what happened in the past. It’s a quick and easy read and it has two characters who may be meant to be more than just friends.

THE SOMEDAY DAUGHTER By Ellen O’Clover

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 SOMEDAY DAUGHTER By Ellen O’CloverThe Someday Daughter by Ellen O'Clover
Published by HarperTeen on 2/20/24
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 335
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Audrey St. Vrain has grown up in the shadow of someone who doesn’t actually exist. Before she was born, her mother, Camilla St. Vrain, wrote the bestselling book Letters to My Someday Daughter, a guide to self-love that advises treating yourself like you would your own hypothetical future daughter. The book made Audrey’s mother a household name, and she built an empire around it.

While the world considers Audrey lucky to have Camilla for a mother, the truth is that Audrey knows a different side of being the someday daughter. Shipped off to boarding school when she was eleven, she feels more like a promotional tool than a member of Camilla’s family. Audrey is determined to create her own identity aside from being Camilla’s daughter, and she’s looking forward to a prestigious summer premed program with her boyfriend before heading to college and finally breaking free from her mother’s world.

But when Camilla asks Audrey to go on tour with her to promote the book’s anniversary, Audrey can’t help but think that this is the last, best chance to figure out how they fit into each other’s lives—not as the someday daughter and someday mother but as themselves, just as they are. What Audrey doesn’t know is that spending the summer with Camilla and her tour staff—including the disarmingly honest, distressingly cute video intern, Silas—will upset everything she’s so carefully planned for her life.

Short and Sweet Review

Audrey St. Vrain wasn’t even born when her mother Camilla wrote the novel “Letters to My Someday Daughter” a self-help book for women. That book shot Camilla to fame and she ended up building an empire. Everyone thinks Audrey is lucky to have Camilla as a mother but Audrey has an almost nonexistent relationship with her mother. When the anniversary of the book rolls around Camilla asks Audrey to join her on tour but Audrey declines because she has plans to attend a premed program for the summer. What Audrey doesn’t know is that her mom wasn’t really asking she was telling Audrey that she was going on tour, now Audrey is on tour with a mom she doesn’t know how to communicate with and a tour staff that has her questioning things she thought were set in stone.

Audrey knows what she wants for her future and she has a plan to get there, but her plans get disrupted when she’s forced to go on her mother’s book tour. Audrey and Camilla have a complicated relationship, when Audrey was eleven she was sent to boarding school, so she feels like she doesn’t have this relationship that people who have read Letters to My Someday Daughter would think she would have with her mother, instead Audrey feels like she’s being used. It was interesting to see how their relationship got the way it is and also how during this tour Audrey reveals more about her anxiety and how Camilla dealt with everything. We see Camilla try to understand Audrey and where she’s coming from. I do like how O’Clover is able to write authentic mother daughter relationships. I think my favorite thing about this book was the talk Audrey had with her dad, which shed a light on some of the things in her mom’s past which shaped how she is today. I will say the mother daughter relationship is the biggest focus of this book but the subplot is more romance focused. Audrey has a boyfriend who she was supposed to do the premed program with, but things start to change between them when Audrey doesn’t get accepted for an internship program. Audrey also meets Silas, one of the interns who she ends up having feelings for. I will say Silas is a sweet guy and he cares about Audrey but I feel like their relationship progressed a little too fast. The book is good we follow the team as they travel around the U.S and we see Audrey learn to be more free as she spends more time with the interns. I do think the plot twist could have been handled better but not by the author but by the characters when the twist happened I felt so bad for Audrey.

Overall, I loved this book! This is the second book I’ve read by O’Clover and she just knocks it out of the park. I love her characters and her plots, I will say that this book seemed a little more heartfelt on the mother daughter relationship aspect than Seven Percent of Ro Devereux, but still a solid book that everyone should read!

GLASS SWORD By Victoria Aveyard

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.

GLASS SWORD By Victoria AveyardGlass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen #2
Published by HarperTeen on 2/9/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 459
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Mare Barrow's blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Short and Sweet Review

After barely escaping the arena with her life, Mare is now traveling with the scarlet guard. Mare has a list of names of other people with red blood who have silver abilities and her goal is to find every one of them and start an army to go against Maven. Throughout this journey Mare finds herself having more similarities with Maven and his vindictive ways than she ever thought she would.

This sequel was okay and by saying okay I’m being generous. I think my three star rating on Goodreads for this book was generous. Glass Sword was boring. In the paragraph above I basically told you what went on in the whole book. We follow Mare on her mission to try to find other people with abilities like her so she can form an army to against Maven. Mare’s character development was horrible in this book I feel like she regressed and she began to turn into the monster she wanted to stop. Maven and Mare are playing a game of cat and mouse and also it’s a bit of a race. Maven is trying to catch Mare, but he also knows who she’s looking for and if he gets there first that person is done for, so Mare has to be on top of her game to get what she’s looking for before he has the chance to kill them. The romance between Mare and Cal was lacking. They say they don’t want to be together but they obviously do. Even worse is that she treats Cal horribly and mainly because he tries to be the voice of reason and try to stop her from being reckless. Cal was the only person in this book that seemed to think with their head and not jump before thinking about the consequences. I feel like everyone just followed Mare’s lead which inflated her already big head into thinking she’s more special and better than everyone around her. Most of the book was boring and repetitive but the ending is where all of the action took place.

Overall, this sequel was disappointing. I wish there was more happening and that Mare wasn’t an insufferable main character. I’ve already read 2 out of the 4 books in this series so I feel like I have to be committed but I’m not sure when I’ll get around to book three.