FORGED By Erin Bowman

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.

FORGED By Erin BowmanForged by Erin Bowman
Series: Taken #3
Published by HarperTeen on 4/14/15
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Gray Weathersby knows the truth about the Laicos Project, the Order, and the Forgeries—and he knows they must be stopped. But each generation of Forgeries is deadlier than the one before, and now even the most familiar faces—including the girl Gray loves—can't be trusted. To make a stand against the Order, Gray will have to risk it all.

Short and Sweet Review

It’s finally time for Gray and his group of rebels to stop Frank and his army of forgeries. Gray has to be on his A game because the forgeries are becoming harder to detect and they’re deadly.

In this final book of the Taken trilogy we follow Gray and his group as they plan on how they’re going to stop Frank. I feel like this book is a lot like the last book and maybe this trilogy should have just been a duology. Because this book is so similar to book two it felt like nothing was really going on, it was slow. The book picks up towards the end which is when the big confrontation occurs. There was a lot of focus on Gray and Bree’s relationship but at this point I thought that should have just gone their separate ways, I don’t think they were good for each other. I do think that Gray was annoying in this book, it’s like he progressively got worse each book. I really don’t have a lot to say about this book that I haven’t said about the first two books. I wish there was more that went on in this book but there wasn’t and because it was the last book we can predict what will happen.

Overall, the ending of the book was good and I liked it. The book as a whole not so great. I do think the series started off strong but it definitely hit a decline as the series went on.

FROZEN By Erin Bowman

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.

FROZEN By Erin BowmanFrozen by Erin Bowman
Series: Taken #2
Published by HarperTeen on 4/15/14
Genres: Action & Adventure, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Gray Weathersby has escaped Claysoot and uncovered the truth behind the Laicos Project and the Order's twisted plans. Determined to fight back, his small group of rebels is on the hunt for more answers and more allies—a search that will take them on a harrowing journey across a frozen wasteland, and even deeper into a world built on the Order's lies.

Short and Sweet Review

Gray has recently escaped Claysoot and has learned about the Orders plans. Gray and the small group of rebels he is with plan on fighting back but first they have to make it to find more allies. The group travels across treacherous land and they find answers but it only leads them to asking more questions about what the Order really has planned.

Frozen takes place after the events of Taken. Gray is traveling with his dad, Bree, Emma, and a few others that he met in the last book. Their goal is to find answers and find allies so there’s a lot of traveling going on in this book and also trying to avoid being caught by the Order. In this book we see Franks forgeries be put to use and some of them have infiltrated the rebel group and some of them are so good at pretending to be the person they look like that the group doesn’t even know that there’s forgeries among them. There’s really not going on in this book to be honest, the group is just trying to find someone to team up with that will eventually help them take out Frank and his army of forgeries. Gray wasn’t my favorite character I didn’t like how he would react to things, people were looking to him to make decisions but most of his decisions were pretty selfish and sometimes put the group in more danger. I will say that the love triangle between Gray, Emma, and Bree was annoying and unnecessary. Gray eventually thinks he should be with Bree but honestly them don’t seem like a great couple, when they’re good they’re good but when things go bad they’re both very reactive and not in a good way. The first 2/3 of the book are actually pretty boring but the last 1/3 of this book are when things start to pick up and there’s a lot of action, there’s also a twist that I wasn’t expecting.

Overall, this sequel was okay. I think the pacing could have been better. I’m hoping with how this book ended the third and final book in this trilogy will be better and leave me more satisfied than this book did.

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!

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!

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.

INTO THE SUNKEN CITY By Dinesh Thiru

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.

INTO THE SUNKEN CITY By Dinesh ThiruInto the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru
Published by HarperTeen on 1/23/24
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 363
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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For Jin Haldar, this life is nothing new—ever since her father died in a diving accident, she’s barely made ends meet for her and her younger sister, Thara.

Enter Bhili: a drifter who offers Jin and Thara the score of a lifetime—a massive stash of gold hidden in the sunken ruins of Las Vegas.

Jin knows it’s too dangerous. She stopped diving after her father’s accident. But when her sister decides to go, Jin’s left with only one choice: to go with her.

A ragtag crew is assembled—including Jin’s annoyingly hot ex-boyfriend. From there, a high-stakes heist ensues that’s beyond even Jin’s wildest fears. Crumbling ruins, sea beasts, corsairs, and a mysterious figure named João Silva all lie in wait. To survive, Jin will have to do what she promised herself she’d never do again: dive.

Short and Sweet Review

Ever since Jin’s dad died in a diving accident, she’s been finding it hard to make ends meet to keep the family in and care for her younger sister Thara. Jin swore she wouldn’t dive again but she will if it means keeping her and Thara together. Bhili is a drifter and she gets a room at the inn and she stays for a long time eventually earning the trust of Thara much to Jins dismay. Bhili ends up bringing trouble to the inn, but her solution is to go to the sunken city of Vegas and have Jin dive to get the gold that’s down there. Jin wants nothing to do with this plan but in a rapid pace Bhili gets a team together one that includes Jin’s ex Taim. Jin knows this will be dangerous but she has to go where Thara goes and the gold would be able to help them out tremendously.

Into the Sunken City was an interesting book, I haven’t read a book where the main character was a diver before. Jin is very head strong and she’s not very trusting of other people which drives her sister crazy, this quality in Jin also drove me crazy because it often led to her getting into arguments with other characters. I would say a majority of the scenes with Jin involve her arguing. Thara on the other hand was just naive and too willing to trust everyone around her. When Jin agrees to go to Vegas it’s because Thara is basically done with Jin calling all the shots and Jin doesn’t want to lose her sister. We see Jin, Thara, and Taim be captured by another pirate group and they end up having to do the Vegas dive for this guy. We don’t really know who to trust in this book and it feels like pirates are great liars. The biggest thing we see in this book is Jin’s love for her sister. I also liked that this world is different in that the states we know are basically under water. I wouldn’t really say there was a romance between Jin and Taim, mainly because Jin is still mad at him for joining the coast guard, also there wasn’t anytime for them to rekindle whatever they had.

Overall, this book was good and different. I think the plot was great but I didn’t jive with the characters, I love how different the world was and it was fun living through it and following Jin on her diving journey.

ESCAPING MR. ROCHESTER

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.

ESCAPING MR. ROCHESTEREscaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney
Published by HarperTeen on 1/16/24
Genres: Historical, LGBT, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.

Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.

On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha’s resilience and Jane’s persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.

When their only chance at safety—and perhaps something more—is in each other’s arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward’s dark machinations close in around them?

Short and Sweet Review

Jane has recently taken a position at Thornfield Hall to be the governess. Jane meets Edward Rochester her new employer who seems charming enough but he has a dark side. Jane spends most of her days with Adele, but one day she comes across Bertha. Bertha is Mrs. Rochester and Edward has her chained upstairs where others are forbidden to go. Jane knows that she has to save Bertha and get Adele out of Thornfield Hall as well, but its going to be hard for all three to make it out alive.

I’m going to be honest, I never read Jane Eyre and I don’t know much about these characters so I dived into this book clueless. We get the POV of both Jane and Bertha. Jane is young and optimistic that this position at Thornfield Hall is going to be a fit for her. It takes a bit for Adele to warm up to her but when she does her and Jane become close and Adele even confides in her about how off Mr. Rochester is and that Bertha is locked up. Bertha on the other hand is trying to stay strong and escape. She’s locked up and the only person that really sees her is Grace when she’s bringing up food. When Jane and Bertha finally meet Jane knows that this whole situation is wrong and is determined to free Bertha. Edward has Bertha locked up only to get her inheritance and he hired Jane for some other nefarious plan he has. Edward isn’t around a lot but when he is in a scene we can tell he’s off he’ll explode and then come back apologizing for his behavior. There’s also a few servants in the house and we know which ones we can’t trust based off of Bertha’s POV but there’s one that seems okay. The pacing is a bit slow but I was okay with it mainly because I think it was done to build everything up. When Jane and Bertha meet there is a bit of a connection. I didn’t particularly enjoy the romance, because I don’t think they knew each other long enough and it was nice that they would exchange letters but it wasn’t enough for me to be like “yeah they totally belong together,” I would have preferred for those two to be friends. I will say Adele was a great character to and for someone only being 10 she was wise beyond her years.

Overall, for a retelling this book was great. I loved the characters and the plot. If you haven’t read Jane Eyre like me it’s okay because everything was easy to follow and it all made sense. You should pick this book up and get transported to a different time and where maybe Jane and Bertha are the one true pair.

THE ATLAS OF US By Kristin Dwyer

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 ATLAS OF US By Kristin DwyerThe Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer
Published by HarperTeen on 1/9/24
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 335
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Atlas has lost her way.

In a last-ditch effort to pull her life together, she’s working on a community service program rehabbing trails in the Western Sierras. The only plus is that the days are so exhausting that Atlas might just be tired enough to forget that this was one of her dad’s favorite places in the world. Before cancer stole him from her life, that is.

Using real names is forbidden on the trail. So Atlas becomes Maps, and with her team—Books, Sugar, Junior, and King—she heads into the wilderness. As she sheds the lies she’s built up as walls to protect herself, she realizes that four strangers might know her better than anyone has before. And with the end of the trail racing to meet them, Maps is left counting down the days until she returns to her old life—without her new family, and without King, who’s become more than just a friend.

Short and Sweet Review

Atlas recently lost her dad and life hasn’t been so great. In an effort to finally try to get things back together she signs up for a community service program that focuses on rehabbing trails in the Western Sierra. The thing about this program is that her dad was also once involved. Using real names on the trail is out of the question so Atlas becomes Maps and her and four others, King, Books, Sugar, and Junior, hit the trails. Atlas has spent a lot of time building up these walls after her dad died and now that she’s on the trail she’s realizing that maybe she can trust the others on her team. Atlas also begins to have feelings for King and unfortunately the time they have to spend together before they go their separate ways is limited.

After losing her dad Atlas begins to feel lost in life, she fails to graduate and she loses her job and ends up becoming depressed. Her mom isn’t sure how to help Atlas, but in a last ditch attempt at getting things together Atlas signs up for the trail rehabbing community service which is led by a family friend Joe. Atlas embarks on a journey through the trail with her team and there’s strict rules but she’s also learning skills. Over the course of the book we see the group become closer and learn more about each other. Everyone grieves differently and Atlas didn’t want anyone to know about her dad passing away so she tries to talk about him like he was still around. Eventually Atlas learns that it’s okay to let people in. We see a romance between King and Atlas during the book and I did like it, being in a relationship is against the rules that Joe put forth but these two really felt something for each other.

Overall, this was a great book. Not going to lie I did not cry but I could see why other readers would. Dwyer does a great job at getting the most from these characters and putting their emotions on the page. I did feel for Atlas and what she was going through. I really enjoyed this book and following Atlas through the trails, she was learning more about herself during the process and had a lot of character growth. I also enjoyed the side characters that were involved, without them I don’t think Atlas would have made as much progress as she did. The Atlas of Us, did a beautiful job of portraying grief and the process of healing and lookin g forward to what’s next.

HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART By Jake Maia Arlow

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.

HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART By Jake Maia ArlowHow to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow
Published by HarperTeen on 11/1/22
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 380
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally. With her mom’s Subaru.

Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her monthlong paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.

It could be going better.

But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side—along with the breakup.

Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?

Short and Sweet Review

During the holiday season, Shani decides to take an internship analyzing fish fossils for a month in DC. While making the drive with her mom to DC her mom accidentally hits a girl with her car. Shani and her mom drive away like it was nothing and the girl walks away. Shani ends up taking a dog walking gig and she runs back into the girl her mom hit with the car, May. Shani and May get closer and they even get snowed in on Christmas. Shani wants to make this work but she isn’t so sure especially because she was just broken up with.

This book starts off with our main character Shani arguing with her mom, which is why mom couldn’t keep her eyes on the road and ended up hitting May. Our first introduction to Shani put a bad taste in my mouth from that moment on I had a problem with her. I found Shani to be incredibly rude, to her mom, and just the way she responds to people. When May sees Shani again she isn’t exactly thrilled, because of the whole car thing. The two start walking May’s dog together and start to hit it off, so much so that even at her internship Shani isn’t doing her job she’s just texting the day away. As I mentioned before Shani wants to be with May, but her last relationship left her with some trauma when it comes to having sex. Shani isn’t completely sure but I feel like the book was hinting at her being raped so here’s your warning this is talked about towards the end of the book. I feel like Hanukkah was mentioned because both characters are Jewish but we never got to lean into that aspect, so don’t expect much from that.

I thought this would be a cute book to read during the holiday season but I was wrong. I talk about Shani being rude but quite frankly so is May, but we see much more of it from Shani because we only get her point of view. I don’t think either character was fleshed out and the plot was very predictable. I’m only giving it two stars because of the cute dog and Shani’s mentor who basically told her to get her shit together.