NIGHT OF THE WITCH By Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

September 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

NIGHT OF THE WITCH By Sara Raasch and Beth RevisNight of the Witch by Beth Revis, Sara Raasch
Series: Witch and Hunter #1
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 10/3/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Fritzi is a witch. The lone survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she's determined to find her only remaining family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader, the merciless and enigmatic Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger—but that's just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjägers burned his innocent mother alive, and he has been plotting his revenge against the people who tore apart his family ever since. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they've done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other. The reluctant truce fueled by their common enemy takes them from the city at the heart of the hexenjägers' power to the wild and mysterious Black Forest. As old truths come to light and new dangers are revealed, Fritzi and Otto uncover a horrifying magical plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks that leads back to Kommandant Kirch . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

Short and Sweet Review

Fritzi is the only survivor after her coven was brutally murdered by the hexenjägers (witch hunters), and now she’s made it her mission to find her only surviving relative, her cousin Liesel. To accomplish her mission she’ll need to take down their leader, Dieter Kirch. On the other hand we have Otto who is one of the hexenjägers and Dieters second in command. Ever since the hexenjägers killed Otto’s mother he’s been planning his revenge. When Fritzi and Otto meet they’re weary of each other ones a witch and the other is a hunter but they both have a common goal.

I feel like Night of the Witch was predictable, We have Fritzi a witch teaming up with a rogue witch hunter and the villain was just weird and felt like his motive was just to be powerful and in charge. Fritzi encounters Otto and his fellow witch hunters while on the search for her cousin, which is when Fritzi becomes imprisoned herself. When the two have time alone Otto explains that he’s been working to free the other witches that are set to burn and he needs Fritzi’s help to do it. This is where things get weird because we learn how Fritzi and Dieter are connected and then Fritzi escapes with Otto and Liesel and they learn that they’ve been picked to be a Goddess’s chosen one and warrior. We also learn that there are different kind of witches, out main character Fritzi uses herbs to cast spells, while her cousin is able to control fire. I didn’t like the romance between Fritzi and Otto mainly because it felt too easy in a sense, they were supposed to be enemies but not really since Otto isn’t who he’s portraying to the world, but the romance between them felt forced and a little to instant for me. Honestly the book was slow and I think it was due to all the world building, but also the villain just seemed too predictable and the ending was ridiculous especially when you read the epilogue.

Overall, I liked that this book did have historical elements in it, but I wish there was more going on to keep my interest and hopefully in the next book there’s more action and character development. Night of the Witch was an okay book and I’m still on the fence of whether I would want to continue the series.

Filed Under: Reviews

IF I HAVE TO BE HAUNTED By Miranda Sun

September 13, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

IF I HAVE TO BE HAUNTED By Miranda SunIf I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun
Published by HarperTeen on 9/26/23
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Cara Tang doesn’t want to be haunted.

Look, the dead have issues, and Cara has enough of her own. Her overbearing mother insists she be the “perfect” Chinese American daughter—which means suppressing her ghost-speaking powers—and she keeps getting into fights with Zacharias Coleson, the local golden boy whose smirk makes her want to set things on fire.

Then she stumbles across Zach’s dead body in the woods. He’s even more infuriating as a ghost, but Cara’s the only one who can see him—and save him.

Agreeing to resurrect him puts her at odds with her mother, draws her into a dangerous liminal world of monsters and magic—and worse, leaves her stuck with Zach. Yet as she and Zach grow closer, forced to depend on each other to survive, Cara finds the most terrifying thing is that she might not hate him so much after all.

Maybe this is why her mother warned her about ghosts.

Short and Sweet Review

Cara is able to see ghost and its rough because on one hand her mom doesn’t want her to but her grandma is also a ghost that she can talk to and lives in their house and gives Cara advice. At school Cara has a rivalry with another student, Zach, and they’re paired up for a project. When Cara goes to meet with Zach she ends up finding his dead body instead. Now Cara is forced to embrace her ghost speaking abilities and try to help resurrect Zach. On their journey they encounter some crazy monsters and Cara starts to understand why her mom would try to keep her away from this world.

This book was different then I thought it would be and I’m not sure why I thought that because I did read the synopsis before going into it. Anyway I thought Cara would find Zach and it’d be like a mystery and they try to find what killed him. Instead we find his body and learn that Cara can help resurrect him and they go on almost a week long adventure through different thresholds, running into different monsters to try to save him. It was a welcome surprise for me because it wasn’t what I was expecting. Cara and Zach have a relationship where they get on each others nerves and they have a reputation for doing this and everyone around them knows it, so this journey they go on gives them lots of time to cozy up to each other. Like I mentioned earlier the fantasy element was more prevalent then I thought it would be, we see our main characters travel to the liminal world which is like another dimension but using places from the real world that the characters recognize. We see different monsters and even a cannibal who was unhinged and very creepy, we even meet a new character. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this character tagging along but in the end I did like her involvement. I will say I’m not completely sure how I feel about this book, there’s things that I loved like seeing Cara embrace her powers for once and realize that the choice to be a ghost speaker is hers alone to make, and also the fantasy elements that were involved. When I didn’t like so much was how Cara and Zach conveniently overcame their years long issues with each other in a week but I guess things do change when someone is dead. I also didn’t like how quickly Cara and her moms problems were solved in the end. Lastly that last chapter didn’t feel necessary if anything that could have been the epilogue or it could have been omitted it was cringey and I didn’t like it. The epilogue did make it seem like this would have more books involved which could be interesting now that Cara is okay with being a ghost speaker and her mom is coming around.

Overall, this book had more good than bad for me but unfortunately I can’t get past the things I didn’t like. I will say this is a good book for the upcoming fall season and I did mostly enjoy it.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE SCARLET VEIL By Shelby Mahurin

September 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

THE SCARLET VEIL By Shelby MahurinThe Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin
Series: The Scarlet Veil #1
Published by HarperTeen on 9/26/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 640
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Six months have passed since Célie took her sacred vows and joined the ranks of the Chasseurs as their first huntswoman. With her fiancé Jean Luc as captain, she is determined to find her foothold in her new role and help protect Belterra. But whispers from her past still haunt her, and a new evil is rising—one that Célie herself must vanquish, unless she falls prey to the darkness.

Short and Sweet Review

Six months ago Célie took her vows and became the first woman chasseur. Now she lives in chasseur tower with her fiancé Jean Luc, and she’s determined to prove herself worthy of the chasseur name. When Célie comes across a murder she sets into action trying to find the killer but darkness by the name of Michal finds her instead.

I loved the Serpent and Dove trilogy but I have a feeling that The Scarlet Veil is going to blow us all away when its finished. I may have liked the witches in the other series but they have nothing on the vampires that are introduced in this book. Célie is now to being a chasseur and she has to prove herself because its hard being the only woman in a place where men think they’re superior and are always in charge. There has been a string of murders around town and Célie is left in the dark about them until she finds one of the victims. This spurs Célie to try to find the killer but instead she meets Michal and his cousins Odessa and Dimitri who basically kidnap her and bring her to the Isle of Requiem. Célie learns that the island is dying and although he may be a brooding vampire Michal needs her help. On the island Célie learns that she can see ghost and that there’s something different about her but she’s not sure what exactly it is.

This book was so good! I haven’t read a book with vampires in a while and was a bit apprehensive but these vampires were serving and it reminded me of the vampires we would see in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Anyway there’s some tension between Célie and Michal and I loved every minute of it especially when one of them would give in. We see a lot of character growth from Célie and she proves that she’s stronger than people give her credit for and that she’s not only there to look pretty. Célie did annoy me a few times in her bid to be morally right mainly because she tried to do the right thing in every situation which is great and all but sometimes it would just be better if she chose the other option which is what other characters would try to get her to understand. We also get to see characters from the past books which was great and interesting to see how they still played a part. The quest Célie goes on here was so much fun the Island of Requiem was like a darker version of wonderland and even included a talking cat and I still can’t get over the vampires. The ending to this book was chaotic but in the best way and I want the next book immediately!

The Scarlet Veil was an amazing book and I could not put it down! If you loved the Serpent and Dove series get ready to fall in love with Célie and the vampires in The Scarlet Veil because they’re unforgettable and will leave you wanting more!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE CHANGING MAN By Tomi Oyemakinde

September 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

THE CHANGING MAN By Tomi OyemakindeThe Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 9/26/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Face front. Watch your back. BE BRAVE.

If it was left to her, Ife Adebola wouldn’t be starting at Nithercott School. Because despite her being in the Urban Achievers scholarship program, her parents can barely afford the tuition. No matter who is trying to be friends with her, like her classmate Bijal, or how much the prestigious boarding school tries to pull her in, Ife is determined not to get caught up in any of it.

But when another student, Malika, begins acting strange, Ife can’t help but wonder if there’s more going on at Nithercott than she realizes. Could there be any truth to the school’s decades-old legend of the Changing
Man? Is there any connection to the missing older brother of her classmate, Ben?

As more questions arise, Ife has no choice but to team up with Ben and Bijal to investigate. But can the trio act quickly enough to uncover who is behind everything, before one—or all—of them is the Changing Man’s next victim?

Short and Sweet Review

Ife is attending Nithercott school, but if she had the choice she wouldn’t be. Her family can barely afford the tuition and Ife doesn’t want anything to do with the other students or the school itself. The school has a legend called the changing man which Ife just considers a story that every school has, but when her friend Malika starts behaving differently she knows something is wrong. Ife teams up with Bijal who seems to know everything about the school, and Ben whose brother has recently gone missing. The more the trio dig the more they realize they’re in over their heads.

This book was not what I was expecting, I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. When I heard the school has a legend called the changing man I thought it would be something supernatural but I was way off on that account. Our main character Ife goes to this fancy school and everyone knows she’s on scholarship so she’s treated differently but she doesn’t care because she doesn’t want to be at the school or even liked by the other kids. Another student, Ben, his older brother goes missing and he believes it was the changing man but Ife doesn’t, not until her friend Malika goes missing and comes back a totally different person. Ife and Ben team up and eventually invite Bijal the know it all to help them. I will say Ife was a hard character to like, I think she didn’t want to get attached but the way she would push people away and the way she talked to Bijal who is one of the sweetest people was off-putting. One of the characters told Ife that she was selfish and only cared about herself and not anyone else involved and I agree, she needed to hear about how awfully she was treating people. I did like Bijal she knew a lot about the school she was like Velma from Scooby-Doo very logical and full of great ideas. I’m not sure what to make of Ben, I think he was light hearted and that was his way of dealing with his brother going missing. I did like how these three would sneak around campus at night and follow clues which would lead them closer to finding out what’s happening to the students. I will say the end result was a bit out of nowhere and not what I thought would happen. If I could describe what really happened I would say its a bit like the X Files.

Overall, this was an okay book. The plot sounded interesting but in the end I felt a bit let down because I was wanting something different. Ife was a character I found hard to connect with and I thought Ben and Bijal were better even thought they were secondary characters. Again, I was excited to read this especially after reading the synopsis but this just didn’t deliver.

Filed Under: Reviews

CHAMPION OF FATE By Kendare Blake

September 4, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

CHAMPION OF FATE By Kendare BlakeChampion of Fate by Kendare Blake
Series: Heromaker #1
Published by Quill Tree Books on 9/19/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 473
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Aristene are an order of mythical female warriors. Though heroes might be immortalized in legends, it’s the Aristene who guide their paths to victory. They are the Heromakers.

Raised by the order after being orphaned, Reed grew up surrounded by her future sisters-in-arms and the incredible stories of their quests. She’s been counting the days until her initiation, and now one final test stands in her way: shepherding her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and her place in the order is secured. Fail, and she’ll be cast out of the only home she’s ever known.

But Reed didn’t count on Hestion, her assigned hero, being both infuriating and intriguing. When their strategic alliance turns into something more, it forces Reed to question the cost of becoming an Aristene. As battle looms and fate hangs in the balance, Reed must make an impossible choice: her hero or her order.

Short and Sweet Review

The Aristene are legendary female warriors who are the ones who guide every hero to their path to victory. Reed was orphaned at a young age and was raised by the Aristene and now its time for her to go on to her final test, guiding a hero to their path to victory on the battle field, if she succeeds she’s earned her place as an Aristene and if she fails she’ll be cast out. Reed’s hero is a prince named Hestion, he honestly has no desire to be a hero and that makes him infuriating to Reed but also she’s interested in him. Being around Hestion makes Reed wonder if she really wants to be an Aristene.

Champion of Fate is an amazing fantasy book! We follow Reed who is an initiate for the legendary Aristene, who took her in when her village was slaughtered. Reeds mentor and mother figure is a woman named Aster who happens to have a high ranking. I loved the relationship between the two of them, Aster had a tough love approach but Reed always knew she could count on her. For Reed’s test she has to help Hestion a prince becomes a hero and lead him on a path to glory, but upon meeting him she learns that Hestion really wants to be in the background and he’s okay with his brother Belden being the one to take the credit. We see Reed and Hestion spend a lot of time together and get to know one another and they end up developing feelings for each other, which is easier for Hestion than it is for Reed. Reed knows once the war is finished she can’t stay with Hestion and she’ll have to move on. I did like the dynamic between these two and how for a while Hestion had Reed questioning if she really did want to become an Aristene or maybe stick around and leave that life behind. We follow these characters as they go into war which was pretty cool to see how amazing Reed and her friend Lyonene were at fighting. We also learn something about Reed that ends up changing everything. I loved Reeds character, she was strong and thoughtful, but also she cares a lot for the people she loves, she also has a horse that has a big personality. I also thought it was pretty cool to see one of the queens from the Three Dark Crowns series make an appearance.

The ending was not what I was expecting but in a good way and now all I want is the sequel in my hands. The writing is amazing and it will have you hooked from page one. I think of Reed being the Phil to someones Hercules. Champion of Fate is a fantasy book that will have you blown away and leave you wanting more!

Filed Under: Reviews

A STUDY IN DROWNING By Ava Reid

August 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

A STUDY IN DROWNING By Ava ReidA Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
Published by HarperTeen on 9/19/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Gothic, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Short and Sweet Review

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales, and since she was a young girl she has been haunted by the Fairy King. Her favorite author Emrys Myrddin wrote a book about a mortal falling in love with the fairy king and it just happens to be one of Effy’s favorite books. When Myrddin’s estate puts out a concert to redesign the late authors estates Iffy jumps at the chance. When she gets to Hiraeth Manor, Effy learns that her task is nearly impossible, the house is built near the sea and its close to falling in. She also meets another university student from the Literature college who is planning on exposing Myrddin as a hack but to do that he needs Effy’s help. There’s a lot of forces coming together to stop Effy and Preston, and they have to keep their wits about them to survive.

A Study in Drowning, is a scholarly mystery combined with dark fantasy elements. Effy is a student at the Architecture college and unfortunately she’s the only girl in that college and there’s some rumors or maybe truth to her being with a teacher. Effy is often looked down on because of her gender, so when she’s picked for the contest she’s ready to go and prove herself. Iffy meets Preston the other college student and finds him insufferable but they’re just two very different people who believe in different things which is why I did like this romance, because they took the time to understand each other and see things from the others point of view. Our setting is a decrepit manor on a cliff near a sea and even the writing makes you understand how dark and dreary this place really is. When Preston asks for Effy’s help, we see them both put their selves at risk to discover the truth. Ianto is Emrys’s son and there’s definitely something off with him, we see glimpses of the Fairy king in him. I could never tell whether or not to trust what Effy was seeing. Effy is one of those characters you end up falling in love with, she’s lived a life where a lot of people put her down and don’t always believe her so I’m glad in this book we see Preston coming around and having her back.

This book was an interesting combination of mystery and fantasy and I liked the characters and their determination to uncover the truth. I enjoyed this book and everything it had to offer.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE ONLY GIRL IN TOWN By Ally Condie

August 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

THE ONLY GIRL IN TOWN By Ally CondieThe Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie
Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers on 9/19/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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For July Fielding, nothing has been the same since that summer before senior year.

Once, she had Alex to be her loyal best friend, the one who always had her back. She had Sydney, who pushed her during every cross country run, and who sometimes seemed to know July better than she knew herself. And she had Sam. Sam, who told her she was everything and left her breathless with his touch.

Now, July is alone. Every single person in her small town of Lithia has disappeared. No family. No Alex or Sydney. No Sam. July’s only chance at unraveling the mystery of their disappearance is a series of objects, each a reminder of the people she loved most. And a mysterious message: GET TH3M BACK.

Short and Sweet Review

July Fielding’s life hasn’t been the same since the summer before her senior year. Now July is the only person in town, she can’t find anyone, including friends and family. Around town July finds a message saying “Get Th3m back”, July follows clues to try to get everyone she loves back.

In this book we follow July try to piece together everything and try to find out why and how everyone disappeared. We alternate from the present and the past. I will say it was kind of hard to follow when we alternated because the chapters are so short that it felt like we didn’t have enough time in one time period. We see in the past what happened during July’s summer which includes the three people who are closest to her, Alex one of her best friends, Syd also a friend and cross country teammate, and Sam a boy she likes and ends up dating. In the present we see July try to use clues that reminds her of people to try to find out what happened but those clues lead her to what happened in the past so everything was a correlation. This book had me hooked I just wanted to know why July was alone in this town. I will say that July did have depression which plays a big part in this story.

Overall, this book makes you think, especially when you get to the end. I liked following July around town trying to find traces of anyone who could still be around, and also seeing how the summer before senior year impacted what’s going on now. The book didn’t end in a way I expected but I think that’s the best thing about it and Condie was able to accomplish what she was trying to with the plot and July. The writing was great and it will have you guessing right up to the end.

Filed Under: Reviews

THOSE PINK MOUNTAIN NIGHTS By Jen Ferguson

August 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

THOSE PINK MOUNTAIN NIGHTS By Jen FergusonThose Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson
Published by Heartdrum on 9/12/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Overachievement isn’t a bad word—for Berlin, it’s the goal. She’s securing excellent grades, planning her future, and working a part-time job at Pink Mountain Pizza, a legendary local business. Who says she needs a best friend by her side?

Dropping out of high school wasn’t smart—but it was necessary for Cameron. Since his cousin Kiki’s disappearance, it’s hard enough to find the funny side of life, especially when the whole town has forgotten Kiki. To them, she’s just another missing Native girl.

People at school label Jessie a tease, a rich girl—and honestly, she’s both. But Jessie knows she contains multitudes. Maybe her new job crafting pizzas will give her the high-energy outlet she desperately wants.

Short and Sweet Review

Those Pink Mountain Nights, follows a trio of teens who work at a local pizza shop. Berlin is an overachiever, Cameron has recently dropped out of high school, but things haven’t been the same for him since his cousin Kiki went missing, and Jessie is known as the rich girl and also a tease but working at the pizza shop is the escape she needs.

In this book we get the POVs of Berlin, Cam, and Jessie, there’s a lot of subplots and layers to this book that climax and get resolved in a bigger plot to save the pizza shop. I did enjoy the characters, they’re an interesting group of teens and I like how they come together and the workers at the pizza shop are a family. Cam and Berlin have a love hate relationship which we see a lot of, and Jessie is the new comer and she truly gets to be herself at work. We see the plot line of Cam’s missing cousin and trying to save the pizza shop from being sold. There’s a lot that goes on in this book and its well written, but there are a lot of hard topics that require a trigger warning which is included at the beginning of the book so that’s a plus.

Overall, this felt like a coming of age novel and I did enjoy all of the elements that were involved. Each of the characters add something different and I liked how all of the subplots eventually came together and everything was wrapped up nicely. There’s a lot to process when reading this book and you’ll still be thinking about it after finishing it. Maybe grab a slice of pizza while reading this book!

Filed Under: Reviews

WHAT STALKS AMONG US By Sarah Hollowell

August 23, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

WHAT STALKS AMONG US By Sarah HollowellWhat Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell
Published by Clarion Books on 9/12/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Best friends and high school seniors Sadie and Logan make their first mistake when they ditch their end-of-year field trip to the amusement park in favor of exploring some old, forgotten backroads. The last thing they expect to come across is a giant, abandoned corn maze.

But with a whole day of playing hooking unspooling before them, they make their second mistake. Or perhaps their third? Maybe even their fourth. Because Sadie and Logan have definitely entered this maze before. And again before that.

When they stumble on the corpses in the maze, identical to them in every way (if you can ignore the stab and gunshot wounds)--from their clothes to their hidden scars to their dyed hair, to that one missing tooth--they quickly realize they’ve not only entered this maze before, they’ve died in it too. A lot. And no matter what they try, they can’t figure out what—or who—is hunting them.

Short and Sweet Review

Sadie and Logan are best friends and high school seniors, and instead of going to the end of the year field trip these two decide to stop at a corn maze. Unfortunately, this isn’t an ordinary corn maze, its almost like Sadie and Logan are trapped and the more they wander around they end up finding things like notes with warnings and even dead bodies that may or not be past versions of themselves. Sadie and Logan realize they’ve been in this maze before and have even died in it. They know something is hunting them they just don’t know what it is.

What Stalks Among Us, was different from any book I’ve read before mainly because it takes place in a corn field and its not an ordinary one. Sadie and Logan go into this corn maze thinking it’ll be quick and fun but they can’t get out. Time works differently in the maze and its like there’s different rooms in there. Sadie and Logan meet Helena and Anthony and they’ve been stuck in the maze for awhile, but we don’t know if we can trust them. While in the maze Sadie deals with some of the trauma a guy put her through and I liked that she had to deal with that because once she overcomes it, it helps her realize what to do in the maze. I did like that there wasn’t a romance element to this and that Sadie and Logan were strictly friends. There were important topics covered in this book, the importance of friendship, and confronting your demons and breaking a cycle of abuse.

This book was creepy and definitely full of twist. I love how determined the characters were to get out of the maze and figure everything out, I know if I was in that corn maze after a few attempts I would give in and become one with the corn. This would be a great book to read during the fall season, not only is it creepy but it also covers tough topics.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE NAME DROP By Susan Lee

August 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

THE NAME DROP By Susan LeeThe Name Drop by Susan Lee
Published by Inkyard Press on 9/12/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 273
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

When Elijah Ri arrives in New York City for an internship at his father’s massive tech company, Haneul Corporation, he expects the royal treatment that comes with being the future CEO—even if that’s the last thing he wants. But instead, he finds himself shuffled into a group of overworked, unpaid interns, all sharing a shoebox apartment for the summer.

When Jessica Lee arrives in New York City, she’s eager to make the most of her internship at Haneul Corporation, even if she’s at the bottom of the corporate ladder. But she’s shocked to be introduced as the new executive-in-training intern with a gorgeous brownstone all to herself.

It doesn’t take long for Elijah and Jessica to discover the source of the mistake: they share the same Korean name. But they decide to stay switched—so Elijah can have a relaxing summer away from his controlling dad while Jessica can make the connections she desperately needs for college recommendations.

As Elijah and Jessica work together to keep up the charade, a spark develops between them. Can they avoid discovery—and total disaster—with their feelings and futures on the line?

Short and Sweet

Elijah Ri and Jessica Lee are both in New York for an internship at the Haneul Corporation. The difference is that Elijah is the son of the owner and is expected to one day be the CEO, Jessica is the daughter of an accountant for the company. Elijah is expecting to live very comfortably when he arrives in New York but he’s surprised when he’s in an apartment with 10 other interns for the summer. Jessica ends up in a nice brownstone and now she knows something is wrong. Jessica and Elijah realize that they have the same Korean name and Elijah decides it may be okay to switch places for the summer and if anyone finds out they’ll deal with it when the time comes.

The plot of this book was basically a case of mistaken identity. Jessica and Elijah are very different. She’s hard working and has to work for the things she wants and Elijah lives a life of luxury but he can never make his father happy. When these two decide to switch places we see that Elijah is dedicated to working hard and also being a team player, Jessica on the other hand is hard working but is a nervous wreck about being caught. This book feel flat for me I didn’t like the characters there wasn’t much to them. The plot wasn’t anything to rave about we see them have the same Korean name but them getting away with it at the airport and for most of the summer seemed too far fetched. The romance also felt underdeveloped and I didn’t feel sparks when reading about these two and in the end the romance was rushed.

Overall, this book was okay, it wouldn’t make it on a list of my favorites. Everything in this book let me down from the characters, plot, and romance. I believe this concept would have worked if it was executed better.

Filed Under: Reviews