KILL HER TWICE By Stacey Lee

April 16, 2024 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.

KILL HER TWICE By Stacey LeeKill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 4/23/24
Genres: Historical, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

LOS ANGELES, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically everyone, especially the Chow sisters—May, Gemma, and Peony—Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it’s Lulu when they discover a body one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills home where she lived after her fame skyrocketed.

The sisters suspect Lulu’s death is the result of foul play, but the police don’t seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that point to a cover-up, and powerful forces in the city want to frame the killing as evidence that Chinatown is a den of iniquity and crime, even more reason it should be demolished to make room for the construction of a new railway depot, Union Station.

Worried that neither the police nor the papers will treat Lulu fairly—no matter her fame and wealth—the sisters set out to solve their friend’s murder themselves, and maybe save their neighborhood in the bargain. But with Lulu’s killer still on the loose, the girls’ investigation just might put them square in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded murderer.

Short and Sweet Review

Lulu Wong has become a star and is a familiar face to most but especially those who live in China town. The Chow girls, May, Gemma, and Penelope are former classmates and neighbors of Lulu so when they find a body they instantly know that it’s Lulu. When it becomes apparent that the police aren’t taking the investigation seriously, the girls start to investigate themselves but have to keep their wits about them because a killer is out there.

Kill Her Twice, mainly follows sisters Gemma and May as they try to solve the murder of a former friend Lulu Wong. We alternate between Gemma and May’s POVs as they each take on different clues and follow different leads to try to get closer to the truth. I did enjoy the fact that this took place in the 1930s and in Chinatown the descriptions felt realistic to what would have been going on during that time period. I also learned a lot about the history of Chinatown and during this period the girls are living in what is considered old Chinatown and its about to transition into the new Chinatown which is probably what is currently in LA now. I will say there’s also a lot of people looking down on the girls because they believe there should be a man around, but their father is currently sick and undergoing treatment. In Chinese culture it is believed that the number four is bad luck and their mom is currently pregnant so they’re kind of hoping for a boy. Anyway May and Gemma are two totally different characters and in this case I didn’t prefer one over the other I throughly enjoyed reading from both of their POVs. May is more cautious and as the older sibling she tries to please her parents and also look out for her younger siblings. Gemma is more carefree and she isn’t afraid to let people know what she really thinks about a situation and she happens to find herself in more trouble because of that. We also see a bit of their younger sister Penelope who wants to be a part of the action but is more of a background because she’s at home taking care of their mom but she does have great insights into how to solve mysteries from all of the novels she reads. The family owns a flower shop business which ends up being a good cover for when the girls need to go out investigating. I did like how invested they were to see that Lulu’s killer would be brought to justice. We see Gemma and May take on different angles to the mystery where May ends up going to the studio as an extra to try to learn more about Lulu, where Gemma ends up going to the coroner and meeting a doctor who knew Lulu. I will say I wasn’t sure who the murderer could be and when I got to the reveal I was surprised.

Overall, this was a solid mystery. Gemma and May are by no means detectives but I do love the time and effort they spent to make sure their friend’s case got the attention it deserved. This book was amazing and I loved the historical aspects as well as the cultural elements, I did learn a lot. May and Gemma are great characters basically Yin and Yang. This book was hard to put down and it’s definitely one I would recommend everyone reads!

Filed Under: Reviews

ONE LAST BREATH By Ginny Myers Sain

February 28, 2024 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.

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
Buy on Amazon

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!

Filed Under: Reviews

THESE DEADLY PROPHECIES By Andrea Tang

January 24, 2024 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.

THESE DEADLY PROPHECIES By Andrea TangThese Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 1/30/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Mystery & Detective, Young Adult
Pages: 255
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Being an apprentice to one of the world's most famous sorcerers has its challenges; Tabatha Zeng just didn’t think they would include solving crime. But when her boss, the infamous fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon, predicts his own brutal death—and worse, it comes true—Tabatha finds herself caught in the crosshairs.

The police have their sights set on her and Callum Solomon, her murdered boss’s youngest son. With suspicion swirling around them, the two decide to team up to find the real killer and clear their own names once and for all.

But solving a murder isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when the suspect list is mostly the rich, connected, and magical members of Sorcerer Solomon’s family. And Tabatha can’t quite escape the nagging voice in her head asking: just how much can she really trust Callum Solomon?

Short and Sweet Review

Tabitha is a sorcerers apprentice for Sorcerer Solomon one of the most famous sorcerers. For a while Sorcerer Solomon has been telling Tabitha about the prophecy of his death and it’ll be by someone he loves. When Solomon actually dies Tabitha becomes one of the suspects and she teams up with Callum, Solomon’s son, to figure out who actually killed him because they’re both the biggest suspects.

These Deadly Prophecies, is a book that really pulls you in and I think the biggest reason is Tabitha’s voice, she narrates the book to the reader like we’re friends and she’s telling you a story. It’s almost like those shows where someone breaks the 4th wall, Tabitha is amusing and a bit sarcastic, but she really knows how to tell a story. Anyway Sorcerer Solomon told her if he did die to go seek out Callum, which is what she does. They haven’t really talked much before this but now they’re spending lots of time together trying to figure out who in the family could have killed him or if it was one of his apprentices and why. The pacing was a little slow at first but once we see Tabitha and Callum start investigating things do start to pick up. The magic system here is interesting, Solomon, Tabitha, and Callum were working more with prophecies but we other characters that are able to do kinetics and illusions. The book was interesting because most of the suspects were family members like Solomons two other kids and his wife and mistresses. There’s a lot going on in this book, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how much content you like and how you have to keep up to piece everything together. The added element of magic to a mystery storyline made it even more extraordinary. I will say I wasn’t sure who the culprit was but the ending was satisfying and the mystery was wrapped up nicely.

Overall, These Deadly Prophecies was a fun ride! I definitely recommend this book for people who love mysteries and this one has the added element of magic and also if you enjoyed the movie Knives Out!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE LAST GIRLS STANDING By Jennifer Dugan

November 29, 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 LAST GIRLS STANDING By Jennifer DuganThe Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 8/15/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 315
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Sloan and Cherry. Cherry and Sloan. They met only a few days before masked men with machetes attacked the summer camp where they worked, a massacre that left the rest of their fellow counselors dead. Now, months later, the two are inseparable, their traumatic experience bonding them in ways no one else can understand.

But as new evidence comes to light and Sloan learns more about the motives behind the ritual killing that brought them together, she begins to suspect that her girlfriend may be more than just a survivor—she may actually have been a part of it. Cherry tries to reassure her, but Sloan only becomes more distraught. Is this gaslighting or reality? Is Cherry a victim or a perpetrator? Is Sloan confused, or is she seeing things clearly for the very first time? Against all odds, Sloan survived that hot summer night. But will she survive what comes next?

Short and Sweet Review

Sloan and Cherry worked at a summer camp that was unfortunately attacked by a cult and Sloan and Cherry were the only two survivors. The two girls end up trauma bonding and are now in a relationship. When more news is released about the cult and what their motives may be , Sloan because paranoid and starts to think that Cherry was somehow involved.

I’m not going to lie or sugar coat it, but this book was one painful read. I pick up books based off the synopsis and this one sounded pretty good but I feel like I got hoodwinked, bamboozled, lead astray. We only get Sloans POV but this girl is so messed up it’s hard to root for her or even try to understand why she’s doing what she’s doing, if anything she’s the real villain. Sloan goes to therapy to try to recover her memories from that night and she thinks that Cherry is hiding things from her, but Sloan also tries to make nothing out of something more often than not in this book. Cherry also wasn’t doing herself any favors by hiding things from Sloan with the excuse that she’s trying to protect her. Sloan and Cherry were exhausting, I get that their circumstances brought them closer together but its like they couldn’t go without seeing each other, their relationship was suffocating. There was also a point in the book were Sloan meets up with an old friend which was nice because it was time away from Cherry, but then we never see him again so it was pointless. Also Sloan is determined to learn what happened that night at camp so she meets up with one of the cult members in prison. I think that Sloan was willing to believe anything to make Cherry the bad guy in this situation and nothing was going to change her mind. The ending… I don’t even know what to make of it, but I do know that it was awful but so was the rest of the book.

The Last Girls Standing, was a book that I regret purchasing and someone said it best when they described it as “two dysfunctional lesbians arguing for 75% of the book.” I’m hoping that the other books that I have by Jennifer Dugan are better because this book was not it.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON By Ryan Douglass

November 6, 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 TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON By Ryan DouglassThe Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 7/13/21
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Paranormal, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 255
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can't decide what's worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student—the handsome Allister—and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.

Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he's a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.

Short and Sweet Review

Jake Livingston is a medium and can see the dead almost everywhere he goes. Jake doesn’t know what’s worse seeing the dead or having to go to St. Clair prep while being on of the few black students there. But things are looking up when another black student starts attending the school and Jake hits it off with him. Unfortunately, things start to go awry when a vengeful spirit named Sawyer starts to haunt Jake.

This book needs to have a trigger warning at the beginning, we have a teen that wants to commit suicide, talks of rape and abuse, and also a school shooting. Not going to lie this book was a lot more violent than I thought It was going to be, I originally thought it would just be about a medium and trying to get rid of a ghost but it was a lot more than that. Jake goes to a fancy school where most of the teachers and students are racist but he tries to ignore them as he believes that no one cares. He sees ghost and the worst part of it all is that Sawyer Doon a kid who recently killed six kids at his high school and himself is coming for Jake. There was a lot of back and forth between Sawyer and Jake and just seeing Jake try to figure out if he really could best Sawyer or if this was the end for him. We also get Sawyer’s POV and its mainly diary entries and we get to see how he became the way he is. There’s also a bit of romance between Jake and a new student Allistar, which wasn’t completely fleshed out so I can’t say I was the biggest fan of this. I don’t think the world building was complete and some of the things that happened just seemed too abrupt and out of place. The whole thing with Sawyer and Jake was a game of cat and mouse and I think I would have appreciated Sawyer’s POV to also include some of the present to see what exactly he wanted from Jake. I wasn’t into the ending because I get that Jake was trying to trap Sawyer but to let him just possess you and go live out his revenge was a little ridiculous. I did enjoy the fact that Jake and his brother Benji were able to have a heart to heart and that Jake did have friends.

Overall, I’m glad this book covered some tough subjects but it wasn’t for me. I didn’t relate to the characters and some of the scenes were just hard to get through.

Filed Under: Reviews

CHECK & MATE By Ali Hazelwood

October 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

Short and Sweet Review

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

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

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

Filed Under: Reviews

SUDDENLY A MURDER By Lauren Muñoz

August 7, 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.

SUDDENLY A MURDER By Lauren MuñozSuddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 9/5/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Someone brought a knife to the party.

To celebrate the end of high school, Izzy Morales joins her ride-or-die Kassidy and five friends on a 1920s–themed getaway at the glamorous Ashwood Manor. There, Izzy and her friends party in vintage dresses and expensive diamonds—until Kassidy’s boyfriend turns up dead.

Murdered, investigators declare when they arrive at the scene, and now every party guest is a suspect. There’s the girlfriend, in love. The other girl, in despair. The old friend, forlorn. The new friend, distressed. The brooding enigma. And then, there’s Izzy—the girl who brought the knife.

To find the killer, everyone must undergo a grueling interrogation, all while locked in an estate where, suddenly, the greatest luxury is innocence.

Short and Sweet Review

To celebrate the end of high school, Izzy’s best friend Kassidy has invited her and five others to go to Ashwood Manor. There the friends will live like its the 1920’s doing activities and dressing appropriately for that time period. It’s all fun and games until Kassidy’s boyfriend Blaine is found murdered. Now the six teens aren’t allowed off the island and investigators declare that everyone is a suspect, they just have to figure out who had the motive.

Izzy and Kassidy are best friends but they’re on different sides of the spectrum when it comes to wealth. Kassidy isn’t afraid to throw her money around, which is why she rented the Ashwood Manor for her and her friends for a week. Suddenly a Murder has the same format as most mystery books, I will say that I did like that the characters were reliving the 1920s, it did remind me of clue. The book goes between past and present, in the present we only have Izzy’s POV and in the past we get to see the other characters POVs. Everything is going well at the manor until Blaine gets murdered, which is when the investigators come and start doing their investigations. The past POVs were nice because we see why some of the characters could have motive to want Blaine dead. It was also fun seeing Izzy listening in on the interrogations. I did figure out who the culprit was. I didn’t like the side plot involving Izzy and her dead, I feel like it didn’t add much and was out of place. I do think the book was kind of predictable, I will say the plot twist at the end was exciting, but other than that the ending was basic.

Suddenly a Murder takes place on an island with a luxurious manor and our characters are having fun on their 1920s getaway. The mystery wasn’t too hard to figure out, some things didn’t flow seamlessly, other than that it was a good read and I would recommend it.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE KINGDOM OF BACK By Marie Lu

November 18, 2022 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 KINGDOM OF BACK By Marie LuThe Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 3/3/20
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 332
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Two siblings. Two brilliant talents. But only one Mozart.

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear.

And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything.

Short and Sweet Review

Mozart had an older sister and her name was Nannerl. She was a musician but during the time that this book takes place being a musician is only proper for so long, eventually she needs to focus on getting married and having children. Nannerl wants more in life she wants to be a great musician and she doesn’t want to be forgotten. As years pass by Nannerl’s chances of becoming a musician dwindle but Mozart is starting to become a force to be reckoned with. A stranger from a magical land tells Nannerl he can help her dreams come true but in return she has to help him with a few quests.

This was an interesting book it was historical with some fantasy elements. I did like the bond between Nannerl and Mozart, she is a bit jealous but I think its more about the fact that as a girl she doesn’t get to have the same opportunities as Mozart. The whole idea of Kingdom of Back was different, the siblings meet Hyacinth and he’s from the Kingdom and he wants Nannerl and Mozart to help him. At a point the siblings start to get a weird vibe from Hyacinth and realize maybe he can’t do everything he’s promised to do.

Overall this was a good book. I liked the bond between Nannerl and Mozart they truly care for each other. I still think the whole Kingdom of Back thing was weird and I think this still could have been a good book without it.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE CORPSE QUEEN By Heather M. Herrman

September 15, 2021 by Leave a Comment

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

THE CORPSE QUEEN By Heather M. HerrmanThe Corpse Queen by Heather M. Herrman
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 9/14/21
Genres: Historical, Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Soon after her best friend Kitty mysteriously dies, orphaned seventeen-year-old Molly Green is sent away to live with her "aunt." With no relations that she knows of, Molly assumes she has been sold as a maid for the price of an extra donation in the church orphanage's coffers. Such a thing is not unheard of. There are only so many options for an unmarried girl in 1850s Philadelphia. Only, when Molly arrives, she discovers her aunt is very much real, exceedingly wealthy, and with secrets of her own. Secrets and wealth she intends to share—for a price.

Molly's estranged aunt Ava, has built her empire by robbing graves and selling the corpses to medical students who need bodies to practice surgical procedures. And she wants Molly to help her procure the corpses. As Molly learns her aunt's trade in the dead of night and explores the mansion by day, she is both horrified and deeply intrigued by the anatomy lessons held at the old church on her aunt's property. Enigmatic Doctor LaValle's lessons are a heady mixture of knowledge and power and Molly has never wanted anything more than to join his male-only group of students. But the cost of inclusion is steep and with a murderer loose in the city, the pursuit of power and opportunity becomes a deadly dance.

Short and Sweet Review

Molly Green has lived in an orphanage and soon after the mysterious death of her best friend Kitty, Molly is sent to live with an aunt she’s never meant or heard of. When Molly meets here aunt she learns that she’s wealthy and she became wealthy by robbing graves and selling the corpses to medical students to practice. Molly’s aunt Ava wants her help in getting the corpses, though Molly is hesitant at first she agrees. Molly spends her day exploring the mansion and trying to get a peak at the anatomy lessons that Dr. Lavalle holds at the old church on her aunts property. Molly want’s to join the class but that requires more of her working with the dead than she would have ever expected, and the cost is dangerous especially with a killer on the loose.

Let me just start by saying the premise was far more interesting than the story was maybe because the execution wasn’t the best. Molly wasn’t a great character I found her annoying and her thoughts were all over the place she as a character was all over the place. The plot was just Molly moving in with her aunt and going around getting the bodies for her aunt at night and acting like a high society lady during the day. Molly also has a romance with Tom a guy that works for her aunt and goes with Molly to get the bodies. This romance is lackluster and ridiculous, mainly because he’s known her for less than five seconds but thinks he can tell her what to do with her life. Anyway Molly also learns that there’s this person named the knifeman going around killing people around the area and she wants to find out who it is because this person could have killed her best friend Kitty so that’s a subplot. Moving on Molly also joins Dr. Lavalle’s classes much to the annoyance of the male students in the class. I found Molly to be extremely annoying during the scenes in class, she seemed smart and like she knew what she was talking about but when she was asked to demonstrate she would hesitate and start acting weird and proving the point of the male students that she didn’t belong and then she would huff and puff and get angry. She definitely had a lot of mood swings and I was not into it.

There were things that were confusing in this book and the ending was not the best. I still feel like if things were excited better this book would have been a solid read.

Filed Under: Reviews

LUCK OF THE TITANIC By Stacey Lee

July 31, 2021 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.

LUCK OF THE TITANIC By Stacey LeeLuck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 5/4/21
Genres: Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Valora Luck has two things: a ticket for the biggest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world, and a dream of leaving England behind and making a life for herself as a circus performer in New York. Much to her surprise though, she's turned away at the gangway; apparently, Chinese aren't allowed into America.

But Val has to get on that ship. Her twin brother Jamie, who has spent two long years at sea, is there, as is an influential circus owner, whom Val hopes to audition for. Thankfully, there's not much a trained acrobat like Val can't overcome when she puts her mind to it.

As a stowaway, Val should keep her head down and stay out of sight. But the clock is ticking and she has just seven days as the ship makes its way across the Atlantic to find Jamie, perform for the circus owner, and convince him to help get them both into America.

Then one night the unthinkable happens, and suddenly Val's dreams of a new life are crushed under the weight of the only thing that matters: survival.

Short and Sweet Review

The year is 1912 and Valora Luck has quit her job and is planning on smuggling her way onto the Titanic to find her brother and make a better life for them in America. A part owner of the Ringling Brothers Circus is on board and Valora wants to convince him to allow her and Jamie to become acrobats in the circus. Valora can only keep her ruse so long and she’s not even sure if Jamie wants the life she’s proposing. One night the unsinkable ship is dealt a fatal blow.

Luck of the Titanic starts off with us meeting Valora. She’s determined to get on the ship and reunite with her brother, they only have each other now that both of their parents are dead. Valora doesn’t really have a way on the ship since it was her employer who was the one who had the ticket. So now Valora smuggles her way on the ship, and is pretending to be her dead employer Mrs. Sloane and makes her way to first class. Valora finds her brother in third class with other Chinese laborers. While Valora thinks that her and Jamie should move to America and become acrobats in the circus Jamie is more reluctant and clearly shows he doesn’t like the idea.

This book was okay but not much happened. Valora goes between first and third class and tries not to get caught by the staff. Valora also spends a lot of time trying to convince Jamie to join the circus. There’s a subplot where an aspiring fashion designer, April Hart, wants Valora to wear her designs around the titanic. Anyway that’s all that happened in the book there was a romance, kind of, nothing really happened. I like how Valora was determined at first I felt sorry for her but then she became annoying. It’s like she couldn’t imagine that Jamie might not want the same thing she does. She would not leave Jamie alone even though he’s fine with the life he has now and the new friends he made, it’s almost like she couldn’t wrap her head around that and it was her way or the highway.

Everyone knows what happened on the Titanic and we also see that in the book but the ending was… it was something and I don’t have the right word for it. When the book ended I was relieved, the pacing was slow and when nothing’s happening it just makes for a boring time.

Filed Under: Reviews