HOUSE OF ROOTS AND RUIN By Erin A. Craig

July 5, 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.

HOUSE OF ROOTS AND RUIN By Erin A. CraigHouse of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
Series: Sisters of the Salt #2
Published by Delacorte Press on 7/25/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Gothic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 544
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.
When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.
Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.
But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade. . . .

Short and Sweet Review

Its been years since the events of House of Salt and Sorrows took place. Now Verity the youngest sister is seventeen and she still lives in Highmoor with her eldest sister Camille, while the rest of their sisters have left and are scattered about. When Verity gets a letter from her sister Mercy explaining that the Duchess of Bloem wants Verity to come there and paint a portrait of their son Alexander. Verity is excited about the opportunity and wants to go, but Camille gives her a hard no, that’s when Verity learns that she’s able to see ghost. Verity ignores Camilles warning and goes to Bloem anyway and she learns that being at Bloem is more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

Verity has lived at Highmoor her whole life and when she gets Mercy’s letter she knows this is her time to explore the world around her and see what’s out there. Camille immediately shuts down the idea and after they have an argument Camille reveals to Verity that Verity is able to see ghost and she doesn’t want her at Bloem sounding like a mad woman. Verity still feels like she needs to get away and she goes to Bloem with her sisters warning at the back of her mind. At Bloem Verity meets Dauphine, Gerard, and Alex. At first everything seems normal and Verity does her job starting the portrait of Alex. Alex and Verity begin to develop a relationship, these two have a lot in common, mainly how they’ve been sheltered. The Duke Gerard is a botanist and he has some weird plants growing in his greenhouse. Verity sees a lot of weird things at Bloem and she’s having trouble sleeping and she’s hearing things. Verity is determined to find out what’s going on at Bloem and she has to use her ability of talking to ghost to see if she can learn anything. Alex and Verity get engaged and that’s when things really take a turn, more unexplainable things are happening and Verity really has to dig deep to seem like she’s sane.

This book gives off a different feel than the first one, but the writing is hauntingly beautiful. I love the feel of a dark mansion with plants growing everywhere and the ghost also add to the gothic and horror theme. Alex and Verity have a slow burn romance and I also liked the representation of Alex, he’s in a wheelchair, but he does most of the things he wants in life and he’s special. There’s a lot of twists and turns in this book and even if you think you know what’s going to happen there’s another twist. I throughly enjoyed this book and loved seeing the secrets unravel and how Verity dealt with her new found freedom. If you enjoyed the first book, definitely get your hands on the sequel!

Filed Under: Reviews

FAMILY OF LIARS By E. Lockhart

July 3, 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.

FAMILY OF LIARS By E. LockhartFamily of Liars by E. Lockhart
Series: We Were Liars #0
Published by Delacorte Press on 5/3/22
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 294
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.

Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars.

Short and Sweet Review

Family of Liars is the prequel to We Were Liars and our main character is Carrie, Johnny’s mom. We see what Carrie’s life was like on the island during her teenage years. She tells Johnny’s ghost a story of a time she did something really bad and we follow Carrie as she goes back and tells her story. During the summer the family spends time on their private island and it seems like a regular summer until Carrie’s cousin comes and brings along some boys as guests. Carrie tries to be a good hostess but she’s not that good on it, she’s hooked on pills and half the time she feels drowsy and weak, she also sees the ghost of her dead sister Rosemary who drowned a year ago. Carrie ends up falling for one of the boys but unfortunately he has eyes for her sister Penny which enrages Carrie. This is where the story really picks up. Carrie is always comparing herself to her sisters and she usually sees herself as less than. Anyway jealousy is the name of the game and that is mainly Carries whole story for why she ends up doing what she does. I will say that like We Were Liars things don’t pick up in this book until the whole story is revealed and at that point the book is basically over but the reveal makes the book.

Overall, this book has the same feel as the first and the family really is full of liars. I did like the reveal at the end but the pacing is too slow for me when its trying to build up to the climax. These books are entertaining to read and its really the ending that makes them as good as they are, but I’m not sure that small portion makes up for the rest of the story.

Filed Under: Reviews

MY WEEK WITH HIM By Joya Goffney

June 30, 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.

MY WEEK WITH HIM By Joya GoffneyMy Week with Him by Joya Goffney
Published by HarperTeen on 7/11/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Nikki can’t wait to leave Texas and follow her dreams of a music career . . . After a painful betrayal by her sister and a heated argument with their mother, Nikki is kicked out and finds herself homeless. She decides to go to California to pursue her singing career. When her best friend, Malachai, discovers her plan to flee Texas, he begs her to spend the remainder of spring break with him. He believes that over the course of a week, he can convince her to stay in Texas, or to at least graduate high school. But their plans are interrupted when Nikki’s little sister Vae goes missing.

Nikki is forced to work alongside her difficult mother as they set off in search of Vae, with Malachai’s support. Will Nikki find a reason to stay in Texas, or will this spring break be the last time she sees them? Through her emotional journey, Nikki ultimately finds the love she’s always been missing and discovers the power of her own voice.

Short and Sweet Review

Nikki is ready to get out of Cactus, Texas and start pursuing her music career. Its spring break and Nikki doesn’t really see a reason to stay so she finds this the perfect time to head to California. When Nikki stops at home she ends up getting in trouble for something her younger sister Vae did and ends up getting kicked out, feeling betrayed Nikki ends up ignoring Vae and continues with her plan to leave. When her best friend Malachai catches wind of her leaving, he convinces her to spend a week with him and see if there’s anyway he can get her to stay in Cactus. When Nikki learns that her sister Vae has run away Nikki knows she has to put her plans on pause and now she has to work with her mom to find Vae.

I have very conflicting feelings about this novel. I liked the rawness and how realistic Nikki’s journey is with being kicked out and feeling like she has no where to go and also wanting to follow her dreams. I think my biggest problem with this book was the romance. So first the family dynamic, Nikki and her mom have a tumultuous relationship, Nikki is literally walking on eggshells around her mom and its always like she can’t do anything right. Which is why Nikki has run away multiple times, and when she does run away she ends up at her friend Malachai’s house. Her sister Vae on the other hand gets treated a little bit better. Nikki wants to pursue her music career and she has an audition to go to in California but her friend Malachai convinces her to stay with him for a week before making what he thinks is a rash decision. The two end up going on a road trip but have to cut it short when they find out Vae is missing. This is when Nikki has to reluctantly work with her mom to find her sister. The two end up being civil with each other but you can definitely sense the tension between the two. I did like how this brought them together but they still had to get to the root of their problem which took time a little time, which was more realistic then everything magically being solved because of Vae running away. Now my problem with the romance, it was just too easy. Nikki and Malachai have always liked each other but haven’t really acted on those feelings, he even gets a girlfriend to make Nikki jealous and then breaks up with the girl when he finds out Nikki is leaving. The two end up spending a week together and it isn’t a slow burn it was instant and it was off-putting to me. I wish their relationship had more time to develop, because it felt like two friends who just got together and were always together, the title of the book also doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Overall, this book was okay but it could have been better. I didn’t enjoy the romance, but I did like seeing the family relationship and how realistically it was portrayed. I do wish we saw more about Nikki’s singing career we saw snippets of it but not as much as I thought there should have been for someone who wants to pursue singing. I feel very indifferent about this book, it wasn’t the great but it wasn’t that bad either.

Filed Under: Reviews

BIANCA TORRE IS AFRAID OF EVERYTHING By Justine Pucella Winans

June 28, 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.

BIANCA TORRE IS AFRAID OF EVERYTHING By Justine Pucella WinansBianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans
Published by Clarion Books on 4/11/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 375
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor’s life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice—succumb to their long list of fears (including #3 Murder and #55 Breaking into a Dead Guy’s Apartment), or investigate what happened.

Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca’s crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13 Beautiful People, #11 Parents Discovering They’re a Raging Lesbian), the trio uncover a conspiracy much larger—and weirder—than imagined. And when the killer catches wind of the investigation, suddenly Bianca’s #1 fear of public sp

Short and Sweet Review

Bianca is a bird watcher and a people watcher. Her habit of people watching ends up in her seeing a neighbors murder. Bianca teams up with her neighbor and currently only friend to try to solve the murder, along the way they also team up with Bianca’s crush, Elaine, who is in the bird watching group Bianca meets up with every week. Bianca and her team of mystery solvers need to figure out who the murderer is because they’re in jeopardy of being next on the hit list.

First of all, this book was amazing! Everything about Bianca was endearing, she’s trying to figure out her gender identity, she has a list of fears, not a lot of friends, and has a hobby of bird and people watching. Bianca has one friend and that’s Anderson, and they both connected over their love of anime and honestly he’s a great friend, he’s ride or die and so supportive of Bianca. One night while people watching, Bianca sees one of her neighbors get murdered and her and Anderson decide to investigate because they know it’s not a suicide like the police are claiming. Unfortunately, this puts both of them in harms way as they become the target of whoever this murderer is. Bianca and Anderson have families that are very supportive and maybe not all for them investigating but they understand what the two are tying to do. Bianca and Anderson learn that the neighbor that was murdered (Mr. Conspiracy) left a clue for them and it has to do with a secret group and birds, so now Bianca is seeing clues everywhere, which is where Elaine comes in to the mix. Bianca and Elaine’s relationship is cute, they both like each other from afar but Bianca who kinda is afraid of everything is afraid of initiating conversation so their interactions are really cute. So now the group that’s investigating is a trio and they learn that this secret group is really coming for them and that they have to solve the clues before they end up like Mr. Conspiracy.

Overall, this book was amazing. I don’t do this often, but this is a book I would reread. The characters are amazing, Bianca especially, I loved seeing her character develop over the course of the book. The side characters are also great and add a lot to the book. The mystery was well written and I loved how different it was, its not everyday you have a main character who’s afraid of everything get pulled into a murder mystery. I definitely recommend this book, its funny, heart-warming, and hard to put down!

Filed Under: Reviews

MURDER ON A SCHOOL NIGHT By Kate Weston

June 26, 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.

MURDER ON A SCHOOL NIGHT By Kate WestonMurder on a School Night by Kate Weston
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 7/4/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 376
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

There’s never a good time to find a dead body, sure. But what about finding a dead body while you’re trying to kiss your crush?

Kerry had different plans for her first high school party—like not going. All she wanted to do was stay home in the safety of retro rom-coms and her strict retainer schedule. Instead her BFF, fiercely outgoing mystery-fanatic Annie, has roped her into going to the party to investigate who’s cyberbullying Heather, the most popular girl in school.

Finding herself getting close with her dreamy crush is odd enough, but when the two of them discover Heather’s second in command, Selena, suffocated with a menstrual cup, things get really weird.

And when a second student turns up dead, this time with a sanitary pad across the eyes, Annie and Kerry—no matter how much she resists—are officially on the case to stop the menstrual murderer . . . period.

Short and Sweet Review

Kerry and her best friend Annie have different ideas about going to their first high school party. Kerry wants to stay home but Annie is determined to go and have a good time. At the party the girls find out that Heather one of the popular girls is being cyber bullied and offer to investigate. Kerry finds herself getting close to her crush but their romantic night ends when they find Heather’s friend Selena dead with a menstrual cup in her mouth. Things only get weirder when another student is found dead with a pad covering their eyes. No matter how hard she tries to resist Kerry knows Annie is right and they have to figure out who the Menstrual Murderer is.

This book was good at points and at other points it was a book that I didn’t want to finish. Kerry and Annie are total opposites, but their friendship works out because opposites attract. Annie is outgoing and Kerry is more of an introvert. The girls are very proud and don’t shy away from the fact that their body positive and sex positive and I got it, it was cool at first but I think they went overboard that it became cringey. Annie and Kerry end up hanging out with Heather and her group of friends after the murder mainly because they think that Annie and Kerry can solve the murder of their friend. Kerry also has a bit of a romance with a guy named Scott, which was okay there wasn’t really sparks flying everywhere in my opinion. The murders are weird and the culprit had a thing for using menstrual items, Kerry and Annie think that they’re the ones who need to solve this murder because they’re able to freely talk about periods and vaginas. Anyway the murder is a cover up for something larger and these girls are in a little deeper than they thought they would be.

Overall, this book was not what I thought it would be. I found the premise interesting, but I think the characters, mainly Annie were off-putting, she just inserted herself everywhere and she was just too much. The body and sex positivity were cool and I can see what the author was going for but it became cringey, it was like someone doing it to get attention and not for the actual cause. Anyway there was a lot of potential for this book to be funny and a good mystery but it ended up being a mess.

Filed Under: Reviews

YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT By Kalynn Bayron

June 23, 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.

YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT By Kalynn BayronYou're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 6/20/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 204
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Charity has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.

But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. As they unravel the bloody history of the real Mirror Lake, Charity discovers that there may be more to the story than she ever suspected . . .

Short and Sweet Review

Charity is working her dream job, she plays the final girl at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests who come to the camp pay to be scared. Charity and her coworkers reenact scenes from the horror film The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. Charity begins to notice that some of her coworkers are disappearing but she brushes it off and thinks its a lack of work ethic. Charity calls up her friend Paige and girlfriend Bezi to come up and help with the final two days of scares and to close down afterwards. But everything at Camp Mirror Lake becomes real when Charity realizes that there actually is a killer who’s coming for her and her friends and now everyone has to figure out how to survive the night.

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight is a horror/slasher film, but in a book version. Bayron did a great job setting up the atmosphere and the creepy vibe. You know a horror book is good when you’re on edge and wondering if you locked the doors, but I’m here to tell the tale because I made it through the night. Charity is one of those people that takes her job very seriously, she’s basically running the operation herself because the owner is never there. This summer is different though, Charity is used to turnover, but she wasn’t expecting to be short people so she invites her friend and girlfriend up to help cover those gaps. Charity starts to notice a mysterious person around camp and even worse her friends start to go missing. Charity finally learns the truth about the camp site and she knows that she has to get out of there. The camp history and the ending was pretty interesting, I’m still not sure what I think about the secret society it honestly threw me off and I’m not sure if it was good or bad, but it did add to the book.

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, is a good horror novel and even though it takes place in the summer I think it’d also be a good read in October during Halloween. I would recommend this book, its short and it definitely delivers on the scare factor!

Filed Under: Reviews

THREE DROPS OF BLOOD By Gretchen McNeil

June 21, 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.

THREE DROPS OF BLOOD By Gretchen McNeilThree Drops of Blood by Gretchen McNeil
Published by Disney-Hyperion on 3/21/23
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 315
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Being an actress, Kate is no stranger to drama. And when her chance at a leading role gets cancelled, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get her acting career back on track even if that means getting a boring office job at her best friend's father's law firm so she can prove to her parents she can to support herself rather than go back to high school. Now, rather than living life on the big screen, she is stuck filing mundane contracts and watching the people in the office across from hers live their equally boring lives. But when Kate sees things heat up between a woman and her assistant, her new source of entertainment take a turn for the worse when she witnesses a double murder. Now, she must get anyone to believe her and find out who this mystery woman is to get answers. But as she learns more and more about the circumstances leading to the gruesome act, she begins to realize there is a bigger mystery under the surface... In this voyeuristic thriller filled with twists and turns, can Kate get anyone to believe her before she becomes the next victim?

Short and Sweet Review

Kate is an actress but after a scandal the show that she’s on gets canceled. Kate is now stuck working an office job its pretty boring, but when Kate sees an office worker and her assistant spice things up she becomes interested. Kate ends up witnessing a double murder, but no one around seems to believe her. Now Kate has to find out who this woman is and get proof that these murders happened.

Kate wants acting to be her career, but after the cancelation of the show she was on her parents except her to go back to high school and go down the academic path. Kate is determined to get her career on track but in the mean time she ends up working at a law office after hours filing papers. This is when Kate sees the women in the other office live her juicy life and Kate takes interest because it’s not everyday you see someone have an affair, but things take a turn for the worse when Kate witnesses the double murder. The book is interesting because the murders don’t happen until 60% through so Kate basically has to try to convince everyone around her that she’s not crazy. The book mainly focuses on Kates failed acting career, and also the fact that she’s plus sized. We also see the strain between her and her friend Rowan and a romance between Kate and Rowans brother Ty. I would have enjoyed the book more if the murder took place earlier, because the point from when the murders took place and the end of the book everything felt so rushed and a little unbelievable. It was interesting to see what got Kate into the office job but I wish we could have stopped focusing on the acting career because nothing was working out for Kate. The one thing I did like was Kate learning that adulting isn’t easy and neither is show biz.

I usually love books by Gretchen McNeil, but this book was not it. The plot that is introduced in the synopsis doesn’t take place until after the halfway point and the beginning of the book is slow and when things do pick up it seems unrealistic.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE CHEERLEADERS BY Kara Thomas

June 16, 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 CHEERLEADERS BY Kara ThomasThe Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
Published by Delacorte Press on 7/31/18
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 402
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident--two girls dead after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know his reasons. Monica's sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they'd lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it's not that easy. She just wants to forget.

Only, Monica's world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad's desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn't over. Some people in town know more than they're saying. And somehow, Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn't mean anyone else is safe.

Short and Sweet Review

The town of Sunnybrook no longer has cheerleaders. After two died in a car crash and two more were killed by a neighbor and one committed suicide, the team was disbanded. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die and now five years later the faculty at the high school want to remember the cheerleaders they lost, but Monica isn’t sure she can handle all of the pain that comes with remembering. Monica decides to actually look into what happened five years ago and she learns that some people in town know a lot more than they’re willing to share.

There’s a lot of layers to this novel, it deals with a lot of tough topics: abortion, murder, and suicide. Monica is our main character and she’s been through a lot, she lost a sister to suicide and she recently had an abortion. Monica is asked by one of the teachers to participate in a memorial for the cheerleaders who died five years ago and this stirs up something in Monica. Monica starts to do a little digging into her sister Jen’s death and she ends up learning a lot. She finds Jen’s old phone and starts reading through the texts and she also finds some letters in her stepdads office, which leads her to believe that all of the deaths of the cheerleaders are connected. I liked the mystery of it all and also how Monica became friends with Ginny who was willing to help her with all the investigating. There was a lot of twists and turns when it came to Monica learning information about how the cheerleaders died and how what everyone thought was a closed case is actually something that should have been more closely looked at. I liked how real this book was in dealing with the tough topics, but I do wish Monica was able to confide in her friends. I also liked how we did get to see some things from Jens POV and see how she was feeling and what was happening during the time of some of her teammates deaths.

The ending of the book was pretty good and everything did make sense. I was also pretty surprised by the last chapter from Ginny but all in all it was good. The cheerleaders was a good book to read and it kept me engaged from beginning to end.

Filed Under: Reviews

AND BREAK THE PRETTY KINGS By Lena Jeong

June 14, 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.

AND BREAK THE PRETTY KINGS By Lena JeongAnd Break the Pretty Kings by Lena Jeong
Series: Sacred Bone #1
Published by HarperTeen on 6/20/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 447
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae’s beloved older brother is taken—threatening the peninsula’s already tenuous truce.

Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.

Short and Sweet Review

Mirae is a princess and everyone is looking to her to save the kingdom, but first she needs to pass a series of test before she makes it to her coronation, but unfortunately things go awry. Mirae finds herself with a new power and her brother has gone missing and its up to her and a group to go find him and bring him back home. Mirae is desperate to save her brother, stop an ancient enemy, and stop a war from breaking out.

And Break the Pretty Kings had an interesting concept that involved a setting of historical Korea, characters that had powers, and history and myths. I honestly don’t think everything worked as seamlessly as it could have. Mirae is very head strong and doesn’t listen to advice from those around her. I think the magic system in this book was interesting, Mirae is about to control elements around her and she ends up with a new power, the power to time travel. The time traveling confused me, only because I didn’t understand the jumping around and the things other characters were telling Mirae when she would end up in their time period and what their motives were. This book was very confusing to me and I think it lacked a clear concept, from the synopsis we can see what the intentions were but it fell short. The characters lacked a clear motivation for what they were doing and it was hard to relate to any of them. We’re also introduced to the antagonist of the book and their motives made everything even more confusing for me. I was interested in seeing Mirae use her time traveling powers and learning more about Korean myths. Some of the things that were introduced were fascinating.

All in all I was just confused for 80% of this book. The ending didn’t make anything better, things weren’t wrapped up or answered in a clear way, and I think that was because there’s going to be a sequel. I believe for me to truly understand what was going on in this book, I would have to reread it… and I don’t want to.

Filed Under: Reviews

WE SHIP IT By Lauren Kay

June 12, 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.

WE SHIP IT By Lauren KayWe Ship It by Lauren Kay
Published by HarperTeen on 6/20/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 317
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded.

And the plan is this: a perfect SAT score, a prestigious college, and a straight path towards her dream of becoming a doctor.

The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago.

Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s not: charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have fun...

But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored for so long: about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she thought she understood, and the future she’s always planned.

Short and Sweet Review

Olivia Schwartz has a plan, she wants a perfect SAT score, to go to a good college, and become a cardiologist. But the summer before her senior year her parents tell her the family is going on a cruise and Olivia can see all of her plans unraveling. Olivia tries to comply mainly because before her brother Logans death they both talked about going to Antigua, and one of the stops on the cruise is Antigua. Olivia plans on spending most of her time doing school work but her plans go up in plan when her family connects with old family friends and her old friend Jules convinces her to have a little fun, which is how Olivia meets Sebastian. Over the course of the cruise Olivia learns a lot about herself, and tries to face her past while planning for the future.

Olivia our main character is very focused and she has a plan about what she wants in the future and how she plans on getting there. When her parents tell her about the cruise, Olivia is upset, she’s been working on a big science project which needs to be presented, which would now happen on the cruise. Olivia can be uptight she doesn’t seem to know how to relax and have a little fun. When Olivia gets on the boat she’s determined to work on her project, but she reconnects with Jules who is able to convince Olivia to hangout with some of the other teens on board. I did enjoy the setting of a cruise ship and seeing all of the things that the passengers can do, but my favorite thing was seeing Olivia get out of her comfort zone. Within this friend group Olivia meets Sebastian, and its not love at first sight she thinks he’s making fun of her work ethic but eventually she does start to develop feelings for him and this is the first person she’s able to talk to Logan about. I did feel bad for Olivia, she’s never been in a relationship or with a guy so I don’t think she was able to see the signs the Sebastian didn’t feel the way she did. I will say that it did help Olivia to talk to Logan to someone because her parents usually avoid the subject but over this trip Olivia is finally able to have the hard conversation that has been avoided for years. When Olivia learns the truth everything she thought she knew feels like a lie. I truly think this is the first time Olivia has dealt with an obstacle like this, so much so that it makes her start to rethink everything.

In the end I did like how Olivia was able to over come and start to adjust her plans to things that aren’t as concrete as she once thought they had to be. I did appreciate how the topic of Logans death was handle and how at the end her parents realized that avoiding talking about him wasn’t helping. Olivia learns over the course of this book and I did like seeing how she grew as a character and how important topics were covered. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance novels.

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