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

WE’RE NEVER GETTING HOME By Tracy Badua

April 6, 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.

WE’RE NEVER GETTING HOME By Tracy BaduaWe're Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua
Published by Quill Tree Books on 4/16/24
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 316
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Jana Rubio and her best friend, Maddy Parsons, have an epic senior year finale queued up: catching their favorite band at the Orchards, an outdoor music festival a two-hour drive away. When a blowup over Maddy’s time-sucking boyfriend exposes a rift that may have already been growing between them, Jana calls off their joint trip and gets a lift to the festival from her church friend Nathan…only to realize Maddy and her boyfriend are along for the ride, too.

All Jana wants is to enjoy the concert and get home as soon as possible. But then Nathan loses his car keys crowd-surfing, and it’s up to Jana and Maddy to find them. As they navigate stolen phones and missing friends, scale Ferris wheels and crash parties, the two of them are forced to reckon with the biggest obstacle of all: repairing their friendship.

Will Jana and Maddy find their way home—and also back to each other?

Short and Sweet Review

Jana and her best friend Maddy are about to see their favorite band at an outdoor music festival two hours away. After the two have a fight Jana has to find another ride to the show, and she ends up asking Nathan a friend from church. Funny enough Maddy and her boyfriend Tyler are also carpooling with Nathan. At this point Jana just wants to go to the concert and go home right after, but after Nathan loses the car keys it’s chaos. Jana and Maddy have to resolve their issues and also look for the keys so that Jana can get home.

Jana and Maddy have been friends since elementary school and just recently Maddy started dating Tyler and Jana feels left out which is the reason for their fight. I get where both girls are coming from and I don’t blame Maddy for the fight in her mind she was trying to include Jana but whenever he was brought up Jana would make excuses to not hangout. I will say that things that Jana perceived weren’t true but she wanted them to be and she came across as a victim. Anyway Nathan his younger brother Everett along with Maddy, Tyler, and Jana head to the festival. It doesn’t take long for Nathan to lose the keys after crowd surfing and that’s when things start to go downhill for Jana. After the festival Jana promised to pick up her dad at a work conference and she feels like she’s letting her parents down so she’s stressed and also determined to find those keys. I think the pressure that Jana feels to make her parents happy shapes her to be the person she is. I found Jana to be someone who wanted to be perfect and was afraid to step one foot out of line but also it was hard for her because she had a friend like Maddy who was able to be a little more carefree. Over the course of the book we see the group try to find the keys and also a whole bunch of shenanigans like Nathan hurting his knee, Jana’s phone being stolen and crashing parties, but the biggest thing is resolving her friendship with Maddy. I feel like Jana did go through some character development but I thought she could have grown some more. The ending wasn’t my favorite mainly because somethings happened so late in the book it felt like the resolution was just solved way too fast.

Overall, I liked the premise of this book and the festival was a fun setting. I do like that Jana ended up learning a lot about herself during the course of the book. I will say that I enjoyed Maddy a lot and I think Jana should have spent more time trying to see things from her perspective. It was a good book and a lot of important lessons were learned.

Filed Under: Reviews

ICARUS By K. Ancrum

March 23, 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.

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
Buy on Amazon

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!

Filed Under: Reviews

UNDER THIS RED ROCK By Mindy McGinnis

March 18, 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.

UNDER THIS RED ROCK By Mindy McGinnisUnder This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 3/19/24
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 331
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Neely’s monsters don’t always follow her rules, so when the little girl under her bed, the man in her closet, and the disembodied voice that shadows her every move become louder, she knows she’s in trouble. With a history of mental illness in her family and the suicide of her older brother heavy on her mind, Neely takes a job as a tour guide in the one place her monsters can’t follow—the caverns. There . . . she meets Mila. Mila is everything Neely isn’t—beautiful, strong, and confident. As the two become closer, Neely’s innocent crush grows into something more. When a midnight staff party exposes Neely to drugs, she follows Mila’s lead . . . only to have her hallucinations escalate.

When Mila is found brutally murdered in the caverns, Neely has to admit that her memories of that night are vague at best. With her monsters now out in the open and her grip on reality slipping, Neely must figure out who killed Mila . . . and face the possibility that it might have been her.

Short and Sweet Review

Neely has monsters and they don’t always follow her rules. There’s a history of mental illness in her family and she recently lost her older brother Lance to suicide. Neely decides to get a first job where her monsters won’t follow her, so she becomes a tour guide at the caverns. At the caverns she meets Mila who seems to understand her and give her a chance. When the employees have a staff party to get to know each other. Neely ends up trying drugs and her hallucinations seem to go from 0-100. When the staff comes back after the weekend Mila is found dead and Neely has no idea what happened or if she was even the cause of it.

Let me start by saying mental health is really important and our main character Neely is suffering from something that I can’t diagnose but I can tell you guys that she hears multiple different voices in her head, from the girl under her bed to the guy in her closet. It was interesting to see how Neely would deal with this and honestly she would just go with it and have conversations with these voices so she looked crazy to everyone around her especially her coworkers. I think because its a small town and people knew about her brothers suicide it didn’t make it any better that she would be in public having conversations with herself and doing different voices. Neely lives with her grandparents and they know something isn’t quite right with her but I wish they would have gotten her help sooner. I also think because Neely has been so isolated she doesn’t have great social skills so when she does start asking people questions about Mila’s murder she’s not so tactful. The setting of the caverns were pretty cool and I liked that Neely was somewhat okay while she was there. It’s there that she meets Mila and eventually gets a crush on her. I think on Neely’s side it was more of a crush and in her head it could go places but Mila really just saw their interactions as friendship. When Mila dies Neely kind of spirals and I think people take the fact that there’s something wrong with her to pin the murder on her. I think because of this we have a narrator we don’t know if we could trust or not which I liked because we have to think about what could have happened in the caverns that night.

Under This Red Rock, was a great book. I liked McGinnis’s portrayal of mental health and the plot of this book. Neely is a character you want to root for but there’s also seeds of doubt that make you question her. I definitely recommend this book, it was a unique and a captivating read!

Filed Under: Reviews

CURSED CRUISE By Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

March 15, 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.

CURSED CRUISE By Victoria Fulton and Faith McClarenCursed Cruise by Faith McClaren, Victoria Fulton
Series: Horror Hotel #2
Published by Underlined on 3/19/24
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

All aboard...

After their fateful stay at the Hearst Hotel, the Ghost Gang is back with more spooks and more subscribers. They’ve been invited to record onboard the RMS Queen Anne, a transatlantic luxury ocean liner with a colorful past of violent deaths of hundreds of passengers—souls that bought a one-way ticket to the afterlife (and never disembarked).

When Chrissy, Chase, Kiki, and Emma board the ship, they have a funny feeling they’ve been sucked into a ghostly time warp—a theory that takes a frightening turn when Chrissy goes missing on the first night.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Chrissy has been sucked into another time by a passenger who wants the Ghost Gang to know her untimely death was not an accident and the perpetrator is still alive—and on board this ship.

Short and Sweet Review

After their stay at the Hearst Hotel the ghost gang has been invited to set sail on the RMS Queen Anne. The ship has a history of passengers dying violent deaths. While on board it’s Chrissy who realizes the ship isn’t just haunted it is being cursed.

The ghost gang is back and after their last video went viral they’ve gained a lot of subscribers. Now they’re going on the RMS Queen Anne to shoot another video for their channel and maybe even score a TV gig. It doesn’t take long for Chrissy to realize something is different about the hauntings on the ship compared to what she has dealt with before. In the book Chrissy ends up being possessed by one of the passengers who was previously on the ship who was murdered, and she won’t stop her haunting until the truth about her death is revealed. We see Chase, Emma, and Kiki try to learn more about the ship and the passengers who are currently ghost. Emma and Kiki are now an item in this book but they don’t really spend a lot of time together because they have bigger things to worry about. Same with Chase and Chrissy not spending a lot of time together but also Chrissy isn’t herself for most of the book. I did like that this book took place on a ship it had a Titanic feel to it and honestly I could say some of the undead passengers remind me of certain characters from the movie. The book started off a little slow but it really did pick up and I did enjoy following the each of the characters. Its a very quick read and once you get to the hauntings you won’t want to put the book down.

Cursed Cruise, was a good book. I was happy to see that Horror Hotel got a sequel and this book was just as good as the first. I’m hoping there’s going to be another installment in this series! I would recommend this book if you like reading about true stories but with a paranormal ghost twist to them!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE HEDGEWITCH OF FOXHALL By Anna Bright

March 12, 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.

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
Buy on Amazon

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!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE OTHER LOLA By Ripley Jones

March 9, 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.

THE OTHER LOLA By Ripley JonesThe Other Lola by Ripley Jones
Published by Wednesday Books on 3/12/24
Genres: LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 329
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

In the months after Cam and Blair broke their small hometown’s legendary missing-girl story and catapulted to accidental fame, they vowed never to do it again. No more mysteries, no more podcasts, and no more sticking their heads where they don’t belong.

Until Mattie Brosillard, a freshman at their high school, shows up on their doorstep, begging Cam and Blair for help. Mattie's sister Lola disappeared mysteriously five years ago. No trace of her was ever found. Now, she's back--but Mattie is convinced the girl who returned is an impostor. Nobody believes Mattie's wild story--not Mattie's brother, not Mattie's mother, and not even Cam and Blair. But something is definitely wrong in the Brosillard family. And Blair has her own reasons for wanting to know what really happened to Lola while she was gone.

With Cam and Blair still struggling with the aftermath of their first mystery—and with new secrets swirling between them

Short and Sweet Review

Five years ago Mattie’s older sister Lola went missing, and out of the blue someone claiming to be Lola is trying to come back into Mattie’s life. Everyone in Mattie’s life including her older brother and mom believe Lola is back but Mattie knows that this stranger isn’t her sister and that’s when she decides to ask Cam and Blair for help, after all they did solve a case before.

After what happened in Missing Clarissa when Cam and Blair solved the case of Clarissa and shot themselves to fame, they declared they would never do another podcast or solve another case. When Mattie comes to them asking for help Blair is more willing to accept the case but Cam is very adamant she wants no parts of this. We see that the aftermath of the last case really took a toll on Cam, she has nightmares and she realizes that the people closest to her could have gotten hurt, and even worse there’s a whole bunch of internet trolls who keep coming for her and Blair. Cam is sticking to her guns in this book, and at some points her attitude about it is kind of off-putting but I understand where she’s coming from, but because of her attitude I found myself enjoying Blairs POV more. In the last book we saw Blair was the reluctant one but in this book she takes more of a lead. Blairs motivation for solving this case comes from the fact that a publisher from New York called her about a book deal and Blair needed a story and Mattie came at the perfect time. Both Blair and Cam don’t exactly believe Mattie because her story does sound far fetched especially because when Lola went missing Mattie was a little kid so how good is her memory about what happened that night. Cam and Blair are cautious about how they approach this case, they know for sure that their won’t be a podcast but they’re also not sure about what danger is involved. Mattie was an okay character she annoyed me more often than not. I thought of Mattie being more of a hinderance than an asset. Whenever Blair and Cam would suspect someone Mattie would kind of freak out and say no that person couldn’t have done it because they were always nice to me, I just thought she let her feelings dictate what was actually logical.

I found myself enjoying this book a lot more than the first, and I think it’s because in Missing Clarissa they really didn’t know what they were doing with solving mysteries or even starting a podcast. In this book it seems a little more cut and dry, interview people that were with Lola the night she went missing and try to figure out what happened that night. I did like the story and seeing the character development that both Blair and Cam had. The Other Lola is actually a pretty good book and its not often that someone comes back from going missing and isn’t actually the person they’re claiming to be but it does happen so it wasn’t a crazy idea that I couldn’t believe. I think the best thing about this book was that Lola wasn’t immediately accused of being someone else by Cam and Blair but they did have their evidence first.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot! I will say that I think Missing Clarissa needs to be read first just so you can have the background knowledge about why our characters are the way they are now. I truly believe that this book was better than the first and I definitely recommend it!

Filed Under: Reviews

BOOK, BEAST, AND CROW By Elizabeth Byrne

March 5, 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.

BOOK, BEAST, AND CROW By Elizabeth ByrneBook, Beast, and Crow by Elizabeth Byrne
Published by Quill Tree Books on 3/12/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 365
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Anna Kellogg has always felt different. Growing up in Hartwood, New Jersey—where frequent disappearances are attributed to an urban-legend-like beast that dwells in the walled-in swamp at the center of town—can have that effect on people. But for Anna, it’s more than that. Since she was a child, she’s been plagued by episodes where she sees things others can’t see. Feeling different is one thing, but actually being different is another. If it weren’t for her best friend, Olivia, Anna’s not sure where she’d fit in.

But any hopes of having a normal senior year come to a halt when Olivia is attacked in the woods, bitten, and left for dead by a whirling cyclone of claws, fur, and teeth. Though Olivia survives, a sinister entity makes it clear that the mark had been set on Anna…and the miss has set in motion a catastrophic shift that will change Anna and her friends’ lives forever.

Short and Sweet Review

Things in Hartwood, New Jersey, aren’t completely normal. The town has a wall surrounding the swamp to keep out the beast which is either an urban legend or the truth. Anna has always felt different, she could see things no one else could, the only thing that keeps Anna feeling like she fits in is her best friend Olivia. While on a field trip Olivia ends up getting attacked by the beast who was supposed to have Anna as the target. Now Anna and her friends lives are starting to change especially when they have access to a world beyond theirs.

The whole premise of this book sounds great but it’s another case of the execution failing. There was a lot going on but mainly it revolves around Olivia getting bitten and Anna, Alex, and Lou discovering there’s the otherworld and a swamp witch and other things. I wish I could tell you more but I feel like I was a bit lost while reading this and frankly not all there. I don’t think this book held my attention the way I thought it would. The book is just filled with a lot of back and forth between the regular world and the otherworld and trying to learn information about why things are the way they are, like why was there a beast and why did the town sacrifice people? The characters are very one note and not ones that I connected to. Looking back I think the story was very basic and I could see why it would be compared to The Hazel Wood or Stranger Things, but it just didn’t have the wow factor that those two things bring. Like I mentioned earlier there’s a lot going on but I think things could have been better if there was more detail or if things were fleshed out a bit more. It just felt like we were moving along because we had to but there was really no purpose for us moving along.

Overall, this book was okay and usually my okays are like 3 stars but this okay is leaning towards 2.5. I really wished this was a book I loved but unfortunately that wasn’t the case and I won’t be recommending it.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE POISONS WE DRINK By Bethany Baptiste

March 5, 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.

THE POISONS WE DRINK By Bethany BaptisteThe Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 3/26/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 474
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.

Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, Venus's life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians.

As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust…Herself included.

Short and Sweet Review

Venus brews love potions illegally, but she does what she needs to keep her mom and sister afloat. In this book we see a divide between witches and humans. When Venus’s mom Clarissa dies from an iron bullet, Venus’s world is turned upside down, but when Venus is offered the chance to make a difference for witches and get revenge on her mothers killer by the grand Witcher, Venus accepts. All Venus needs to do is brew poisons that will have politicians follow the wishes of the grand Witcher. The further Venus goes on in this scheme the more she realizes that everything around her is corrupt and she doesn’t know who to trust including herself.

This was an interesting take on a book about witches. It takes place in current times but the country is divided and there’s laws that are going to be voted on soon that aren’t favorable to witches. Venus isn’t too worried about that yet, she’s more focused on making potions for customers. We see that Venus cares about her family and after the death of her mother she really feels like she has to keep her sister Janus safe. I think Clarissa’s death sets everything in motion, we see Venus start to work for the grand Witcher and stop the vote against the witches. There’s a lot going on in this book and I thought the pacing was off. There were times where things were picking up and then other times when it was so slow that it made me feel like I’ve been reading this book forever. I was thinking this book could have been a part of a series but its just a standalone and it kind of made sense why it was so long, but thinking back it could have been cut down a bit. I liked seeing the different types of magic that the witches had. Venus has a good support system behind her but we see through the book that Venus starts to lose herself and really has to dig down deep to remember who she is and what she should be fighting for. Venus had a romantic interest, Presley, but I feel like there was really no time for romance in this book. The book is good and you get some glimpses of amazing writing and story telling but there’s points in the book where it drags and you just wonder why everything has slowed down so much. The pacing is almost like a rollercoaster ride and not a fun one when it comes to keeping your attention.

Overall, I did like the story it was interesting and the world is really something different. Venus is a character that will have you rooting for her and just wanting her to be safe and get everything she wants especially with all that she’s been through. The only downfall was the length of the book and again the pacing, but besides that its a good read.

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