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!

A TEMPEST OF TEA By Hafsah Faizal

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.

A TEMPEST OF TEA By Hafsah FaizalA Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
Series: Blood and Tea #1
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on 2/20/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 338
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by night, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

Short and Sweet Review

Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and by day she runs a tea shop but by night it becomes an illegal blood house. When the tea house is threatened Arthie comes up with a plan, a heist if you will to save everything she’s worked for. To pull off this heist Arthie asks some of the city’s most skilled outcast to join her crew. During the duration of the heist Arthie unravels secret after secret and eventually realizes that she’s in the middle of a conspiracy that could change everything.

I’m really not sure where to start with this review. The premise for this book sounds amazing and there’s a lot happening in this book some good and some bad and mainly bad because the idea just missed the target. A stranger approaches Arthie with the idea to steal a ledger that will end up taking down the king and Arthie accepts and starts to get her crew together. The crew consists of Jin which is Arthies right hand, Flick a nobles daughter who is trying her hand at criminal mischief, and Matteo a vampire who just showed up one day. This world is full of vampires and that was interesting, what was also interesting was that our main character Arthie is one but even those closest to her don’t know it. Arthie is a strong female lead and she didn’t have it easy growing up so anything she can do to make sure the teahouse which she built from the bottom up will be safe she’ll do it. We do get the POVs of Arthie, Jin, and Flick, I wouldn’t say I preferred one over the other. I feel like we got to see more of the planning of the heist than the actual heist taking place and at that point the story slowed down for me. There were plot twists but even that couldn’t save the book from the downward trajectory. I feel like this book is trying to be like Six of Crows but in that aspect it just fails. I do think the ending was interesting and from what happened in those last 15-20 pages I may be interested in seeing where this story will go.

Overall, the premise for this book sounded amazing, the delivery didn’t quite reach the mark. This wasn’t a bad book but it wasn’t the greatest either, it lands somewhere in the middle for me.

OUT OF BODY By Nia Davenport

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.

OUT OF BODY By Nia DavenportOut of Body by Nia Davenport
Published by Balzer + Bray on 2/6/24
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 271
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Seventeen-year-old Megan Allen has been jumping from friend group to friend group in her high school, trying on identities like outfits. Nothing ever seems to fit—until she meets LC, the adventurous, charismatic girl who appears at her favorite coffee shop one day like magic. Finally, Megan feels like she’s becoming the person she’s meant to be: someone like LC.

On the night of their friendiversary, what was supposed to be a bonding experience ends in a waking nightmare. Suddenly, Megan is no longer herself. Too late, she realizes that LC has secrets—dangerous ones. Betrayed by her best friend, thrust into another girl’s life, and targeted by LC’s enemies, she must claim what makes Megan Megan to get her life back . . . or die trying.

Short and Sweet Review

Megan has bounced around from friend group to friend group until she meets LC. LC is like her friend soulmate. One night Megan and LC celebrate their friend anniversary and get matching piercings and go out to a party. Things seem to be going alright until Megan wakes up the next morning and finds that she’s not in her own body but LC’s and LC is in her body. Megan has no idea what’s going on but she knows things aren’t right, and even worse LC is avoiding her and pretending like she didn’t just do something absolutely out of line and messed up. Now Megan is forced to pretend to be LC and while doing that Megan realizes that LC was running from her enemies. Megan just has to successfully pull off being LC, avoid the people coming for LC, and get back into her own body.

Let me just start off by saying that this book was amazing! We follow our main character Megan as she tries to come to terms that someone she trusted would betray her in the manner they did. We get to see why Megan has such a connection with LC and then we see how hurt she is after LC basically takes over her body and her life like nothing is wrong. Megan then has to pretend to be LC or someone named Jade and then she realizes that she never really knew LC the way she thought she did. While Megan is pretending to be Jade we see how she has to earn the trust of Jades parents and try to get a little freedom in order to be able to get back to LC in a whole different part of town. We also see the actually Jade’s friend Ryan and at first Megan has to pretend that she is Jade but eventually she’s able to confide in him about the body swapping and get his help. We also see Megan get help from someone she used to be friends with who she ended up leaving behind when she became friends with LC. I will say that Megan had a lot of character growth, during her time as Jade or LC she was able to see the way she treated people and try to reconcile. I did like that we got little snippets of what LC was doing and we could kind of see her motive of why she did what she did and we kind of end up feeling for her. There was a lot going on in this book but not so much that you can’t keep up, but in a way that you want to keep reading to see what happens next. We find out that there’s more than just Megan who is involved and I liked that even though people were looking for LC they end up finding Megan and she has to be the one to think of a way to fix everything, I also loved the teamwork that went on towards the end. I do think there’s a bit of a sci-fi element going on in this book, with the body swapping and the technology needed for that it did give me sci-fi vibes and I could see this being a movie.

Out of Body quickly became one of my favorite books of 2024. The book is fast paced and it definitely keeps you on your toes and wondering what’s going to happen next. I loved Megan as a character and how she was able to adapt to help her situation but ultimately get her to her final goal of getting back into her own body. I recommend this book 100%, go pick it up and be captivated by the writing and the plot!

THE INVOCATIONS By Krystal Sutherland

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 INVOCATIONS By Krystal SutherlandThe Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Published by Nancy Paulsen Books on 1/30/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Three girls, one supernatural killer on the loose . . .

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to consider—that her murdered sister is gone forever and there is nothing she can do about it. Rather than grieving and moving on, Zara decides she will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the grave—even trading in the occult.

Jude Wolf may be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul has been slowly turning necrotic. It’s a miserable existence marred by pain, sickness, and monstrous things that taunt her in the night. Now that she’s glimpsed what’s beyond the veil, Jude’s desperate to find someone to undo the damage she’s done to herself.

Enter Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past and a deadly power, a.k.a. the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s problems. Though Emer lives a hardscrabble life, she gives away her most valuable asset—her invocations—to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for a scrap of power. Zara and Jude are willing, but they first have to find Emer.

When Emer’s clients start turning up dead all over London, a vital clue leads Zara and Jude right to her. If a serial killer is targeting her clients, Emer wants to know why—and to stop them. She strikes a tenuous alliance with Zara and Jude to hunt a killer before they are next on his list, even if she can’t give them in return what Zara and Jude want most: a sister and a soul.

Short and Sweet Review

The Invocations, centers around three girls, Zara, Jude, and Emer. After the death of her sister Savannah, Zara feels as if she has no choice but to believe in magic because she plans on bringing her sister back from the dead. Jude is looking for a witch to undo the damage she did to herself when she unsuccessfully tried a spell to attach her soul to a demon. Emer is a witch and she’s helped plenty of women by giving them invocations, but the women she’s helped are ending up murdered. The three girls end up connecting over their need to believe in something bigger than them and also to stop a killer.

This book is jam packed with action and we have three strong female characters that are at the forefront. Jude is somehow friends with an officer that lets Jude come in and look at some of the crime scenes and consult. Zara ends up finding Jude and together they find Emer who seems to be connected to all of the women being murdered. The three try to piece everything together and end up finding that the person behind this isn’t going to stop and he has it out for witches. I liked how dark this book was tone wise. Jude is dealing with some nasty stuff and because of that she’s been isolated from her family, this is why Jude is seeking out Emer, she needs a curse writer to get ride of the chronic pain she’s in by being tethered to demons. Zara believes that everything will be better if she just has her sister back which is why she also needs Emer. Emer is a talented curse writer and because of that her clients have become targets. Each girl brings something special to the book and they have a different personality. We get to read from all three POVs. This feels like one of those books where the characters start off with rocky family situations but end up finding family with the people who are now surrounding them. It was interesting to see how magic and demons worked in this book, it was also cool that only women were able to do magic.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the dark tone of it. The demons, magic, and characters really brought everything to life.

THESE DEADLY PROPHECIES By Andrea Tang

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
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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!

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.

THE GETAWAY LIST By Emma Lord

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 GETAWAY LIST By Emma LordThe Getaway List by Emma Lord
Published by Wednesday Books on 1/23/24
Genres: Coming of Age, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 314
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List — a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away — will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.

Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young―except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart.

Short and Sweet Review

Riley recently graduated from high school and she feels like she doesn’t really know who she is. She’s spent the last four years trying to be a good kid for her mom but now she just feels like she’s been suppressing herself. Riley decides on a whim to go to New York and visit her friend Tom, who she made a “Getaway List” with. The Getaway list is a list of things Riley and Tom want to do together and now’s their chance to cross somethings off. Riley isn’t sure what to expect after not seeing Tom in a while but they both fall into their same rhythm and even make some friends along the way to help accomplish things.

The Getaway List is a book that I found to be slow and unfortunately because of this and how bored I was I didn’t connect to the characters at all. Let’s start with Riley. Riley is our main character and apparently she has a knack for getting into trouble especially when she’s with Tom. Her mom has been keeping her on a tight leash and she’s even been doing her best to keep Riley away from Tom, because of this tight leash that Riley has been on for the past 4 years when she graduates she thinks its time to cut the cord. Riley decides to spend the entire summer in New York City to try to figure out who she is. I think my main issue with Riley is how much her and her mom were arguing over Riley leaving and how Riley felt like she didn’t have any freedom. I dreaded any conversations between the two because it just felt like a dark cloud would pass over the book. Tom on the other hand has been alone because his mom’s scriptwriting career has taken off. Tom felt a bit abandoned and like there wasn’t much of a relationship left between him and his mom, he even thinks of leaving New York to go stay with his aunt at her winery. The funny thing about this book is that Riley and Tom tried to pass it off as if they were just friends but they obviously wanted to explore the next step I just think it was ridiculous that it took them so long. We also meet a few other characters like Mariella, Luca, and Jesse. These three tag along with Riley and Tom to try to help them complete the getaway list. I did like the addition of these characters because they added great insight and they were just fun. What’s also cool is that Mariella and Tom created an app for deliveries so we see Riley complete a few that take her around the city.

Overall, I thought the book was just okay it’s not one that I would rave about. I didn’t connect with Riley or Tom and I kind of found that book to be bland and while reading it I felt like a mindless zombie just trying to get through the book. I did like the elements like trying to finish a adventures on the list and being in New York and their friend group, but the things going on in their personally lives especially Riley weren’t pulled together all that well for me.

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.

SHUT UP, THIS IS SERIOUS By Carolina Ixta

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.

SHUT UP, THIS IS SERIOUS By Carolina IxtaShut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta
Published by Quill Tree Books on 1/9/24
Genres: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 364
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Belén Dolores Itzel del Toro wants the normal stuff: to experience love or maybe have a boyfriend or at least just lose her virginity. But nothing is normal in East Oakland. Her father left her family. She’s at risk of not graduating. And Leti, her super-Catholic, nerdy-ass best friend, is pregnant—by the boyfriend she hasn’t told her parents about, because he’s Black, and her parents are racist.

Things are hella complicated.

Weighed by a depression she can’t seem to shake, Belén helps Leti, hangs out with an older guy, and cuts a lot of class. She soon realizes, though, that distractions are only temporary. Leti is becoming a mother. Classmates are getting ready for college. But what about Belén? What future is there for girls like her?

Short and Sweet Review

Belén just wants to be a normal teenager and have normal experiences but in her life nothing is going right, her father left, she may not graduate, and her religious and studious friend ends up pregnant by a boy she can’t tell her parents about because they’re racist. Soon Belén starts to distract herself by skipping class and hanging out with an older guy but she starts to wonder what the future has in store for her when she sees everyone around her ready to move on.

First and foremost this is one of the best books I’ve read this year! The story follows Belén who’s in high school, she’s not taking school very seriously and has a chance of not graduating. Belén and Leti are best friends, Leti is pregnant and her parents are super religious and also racist which complicates things because Leti’s baby daddy Quentin is black. We follow Belén try to navigate this time during her life, her father left and since then her mom has become more absent and her older sister Ava is almost the mother figure in her life. When Belén, Leti, and Quentin go to a college party, Belén meets a college guy who she spends a lot of time with mainly to distract herself from everything that’s going on in life. My favorite thing about this book was how realistic it is. It also reminds me of those movies where the student is failing but they find a teacher who cares about them who helps them make it to the finish line. I loved the friendship between Belén and Leti, Leti was the more logical one but Belén would balance her out and make her realize she doesn’t have to take everything so seriously. I liked that Belén wasn’t pregnant but that she was the biggest support for Leti and Quentin during this time. This book takes place over a school year and I just loved seeing Belén navigate life and where she started to where she ended, her character made leaps and bounds in the development department.

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone! It’s so realistic and you fall in love with the characters and their stories. Belén was an amazing character that was relatable and showed that even through the hard times you can still find the light at the end of the tunnel.

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
Buy on Amazon

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.