BAD LIKE US By Gabriella Lepore

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.

BAD LIKE US By Gabriella LeporeBad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore
Published by Inkyard Press on 3/5/24
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 281
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Partying with popular classmates they barely know is not what Eva and her BFFs had in mind for their spring break. But things have been off ever since Miles' academic career took a turn for the worse (they don't talk about it), so a trip to a private beach lodge might be exactly what they need. And Eva won’t admit it, but the chance to reconnect with Colton is worth putting up with Piper’s constant livestreams to her thousands of “besties.”

At first, it’s all sand and waves, but tensions run high when an anonymous letter shakes up an already-flailing love triangle.

When someone turns up dead, Eva can’t even trust her closest friends—but she thinks she can trust Colton. As they get closer to the truth, they uncover secrets that upend everything they thought they knew about their fellow spring breakers.

Short and Sweet Review

Eva and some of her close friends head down to a beach lodge for spring break, the only thing is, Eva doesn’t really know everyone that well its just when you’re friends with someone their friends become your acquaintances. Anyway things go well for the first few days, until tensions between a love triangle start to rise and then someone ends up dead. Eva doesn’t know who to trust but she knows she needs to figure out what happened even if it puts herself in harms way.

Eva is one of main characters and we get to read from her POV as well as Colton and Piper. There’s also six other characters in this book who are basically filler characters and in the background. There is a lot of tension within this group and you can tell not everyone is friends. Eva brought her friend Miles along and he’s currently dealing with some academic trouble that he really doesn’t want to talk about. Colton is kind of a bad boy but Eva likes him and is hoping that this time at the lodge will help them get closer together. Colton also likes Eva but after someone is found dead on the beach his main priority is looking out for his brother Danny. There really isn’t much time for romance between Eva and Colton, we see them talk and flirt but once the murder happens they focus most of their attention on that. Piper is an influencer and she livestreams any chance she gets even if she is invading everyone else’s privacy she doesn’t care. Piper used to date Danny but now she’s in a relationship with Javi, and it’s interesting because they should not all be on vacation together, even if they’re saying there’s no hard feelings. When one of our characters ends up dead we see everyone start to turn on each other and try to come up with motives. Eva and Colton are the only ones who actually try to do some investigating. This group of teens had a lot of secrets and uncovering each one was satisfying it also gave the reader a chance to see if a character actually had motive. I enjoyed reading the police interviews and seeing how each character had a different story or if they were trying to cover for someone else. The end was okay the motive for what happened was weak, but believable, honestly people will commit murder for any reason.

Overall, this book was okay, it’s not Lepore’s strongest book but I still enjoyed it. I will say I liked the short chapters and the characters and the further I got in the book the more hooked I was. Even though I said it wasn’t the best of Lepore’s books its still worth the read!

WE GOT THE BEAT By Jenna Miller

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 GOT THE BEAT By Jenna MillerWe Got the Beat by Jenna Miller
Published by Quill Tree Books on 2/20/24
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 347
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Jordan Elliott is a fat, nerdy lesbian and the first junior to be named editor in chief of the school newspaper. Okay, that last part hasn’t happened yet, but it will. It’s positive thinking that has gotten Jordan this far. Ever since Mackenzie West, her friend-turned-enemy, humiliated her at the start of freshman year, Jordan has thrown herself into journalism and kept her eyes trained on the future.

So it’s a total blow when Jordan discovers that she not only didn’t get the editor in chief spot, but she’s been assigned the volleyball beat instead. And who is the star and newly crowned captain of the volleyball team? Mackenzie West. But words are Jordan’s weapon, and she has some ideas about how to exact a long-awaited revenge on her nemesis. Then things get murky when forced time together has Mack and Jordan falling back into their friendship and into something more. And when Mack confesses the real reason she turned on Jordan freshman year, it has Jordan questioning everything—past, present, and future.

If Jordan lets her guard down and Mack in, will she get everything she wants, or will she be humiliated all over again?

Short and Sweet Review

It’s Jordan’s junior year and she wants to be the editor in chief of the school newspaper, but instead she gets the job of writing about the schools volleyball team. It would be a doable job if Jordan’s former friend Mackenzie wasn’t the captain of the team. Jordan and Mackenzie used to be friends until Mackenzie humiliated Jordan Freshman year for reasons she still doesn’t understand. When Jordan starts spending time with Mackenzie it feels like old times, and she eventually learns why Mackenzie did what she did which changes everything. The only thing is, Jordan doesn’t know if she can let Mackenzie back in.

We Got the Beat is a cute book. I did enjoy following Jordan’s character. She had a good support system and I liked her best friends Audrey and Isaac, I will say even though Audrey was looking out for Jordan she did overstep at times. The main reason I wanted to read this book was because I wanted to know what caused the falling out between Jordan and Mackenzie. The reveal was pretty good and made sense and I feel like Mackenzie didn’t handle it the best way but she did what she thought was best at the time. I did enjoy the little snippets of Jordan’s articles that would eventually be in the paper. I think the build up to Jordan and Mackenzies new found friendship had a lot of obstacles in the way like Jordan not completely trusting Mackenzie because of what happened in the past and Jordan choosing to believe everyone except for Mackenzie. I’m trying to avoid spoiling what happened between these two because it really makes everything come full circle in the end. The writing was good and had me looking forward to what would happen next. Honestly my only issue was Audrey, who I know had good intentions, but she should really run things past the people who are involved before just making the decisions for people.

Overall, this was a cute book and I loved Jordan and Mackenzie try to figure out how to move forward and get over what happened in the past. It’s a quick and easy read and it has two characters who may be meant to be more than just friends.

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!

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 LIES WE TELL By Katie Zhao

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

THE LIES WE TELL By Katie ZhaoThe Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 11/15/22
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Anna Xu moves out of her parent's home and into the dorms across town as she starts freshman year at the local, prestigious Brookings University. But her parents and their struggling Chinese bakery, Sweetea, aren't far from campus or from mind, either. At Brookings, Anna wants to keep up her stellar academic performance and to investigate the unsolved campus murder of her childhood babysitter. She also finds a familiar face–her middle-school rival, Chris Lu. The Lus happen to be the Xu family's business rivals since they opened Sunny's, a trendy new bakery on Sweetea's block. Chris is cute but still someone to be wary of... until a vandal hits Sunny's and Anna matches the racist tag with a clue from her investigation.

Anna grew up in this town, but more and more she feels like maybe she isn't fully at home here–or maybe it's that there are people here who think she doesn't belong. When a very specific threat is made to Anna, she seeks out help from the only person she can; Anna and Chris team up to find out who is stalking her and take on a dangerous search into the hate crimes happening around campus. Can they root out the ugly history and take on the current threat?

Short and Sweet Review

It’s Annas first year in college and she’s going to Brookings University. Anna is thinking about a lot and she’s living in the campus dorms while her parents bakery is across town and not doing so well, especially since there’s another bakery across the street. College is hard for any first year but Anna goes in with the intention continue getting good grades but also try to solve the murder of her childhood babysitter who died at Brookings. Things start to get dangerous when Anna suspects she has a stalker and there’s a hate crime committed at the other bakery. Now Anna really has to watch her back or face becoming another victim.

I was drawn to this book because I love a good mystery and the fact that Anna was going to go to the same college where her babysitter met her demise and try to solve a cold case is what got me. Anna is a typical college student trying hard to get good grades and just balancing everything in her life in general. Anna tries to make friends on campus which she finds hard but she makes a friend on an app named Jane and they connect and at first Jane seems to be someone Anna can turn to until she gets too weird. At this point Anna cuts her off and Jane is the stalker but it’s like a catfish stalker because Jane isn’t really Jane. I will say when this happened I think Anna should have been smarter and kept the texts between them as evidence. Anna also connects with Chris, whose family actually owns the bakery across from her family’s. Anna isn’t sure if she can trust him but he ends up becoming her best ally. I wasn’t really into the romance I do think these two were better off as friends. We follow Anna as she tries to get clues and avoid getting caught in the crossfire. I did like how it felt like a thriller in the way that Anna had to watch her back and just be aware of her surroundings. Zhao also did a good job representing how Asian hate is still a thing and she did it in a way that shows how it impacts communities and needs to be talked about. The ending was good and I will say satisfying. I was glad that everything was answered and wrapped up.

Overall, this book was great. I enjoyed the premise and the characters. If I had to nitpick at something it would just be Anna’s decision making she wasn’t good at being sly and staying under the radar, other than that this was a solid book.

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.

LOVE & OLIVES By Jenna Evans Welch

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

LOVE & OLIVES By Jenna Evans WelchLove & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch
Series: Love & Gelato #3
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 11/10/20
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 509
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Liv Varanakis doesn’t have a lot of fond memories of her father, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight. What Liv does remember, though, is their shared love for Greek myths and the lost city of Atlantis. So when Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father explaining that National Geographic is funding a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and will she fly out to Greece and help?—Liv jumps at the opportunity.

But when she arrives to gorgeous Santorini, things are a little…awkward. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. And yet Liv doesn’t want their past to get in the way of a possible reconciliation. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo—her father’s charismatic so-called “protégé”—to witness her struggle.

And that means diving into all that Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the hidden caves, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.

Short and Sweet Review

Olive who prefers to be called Liv hasn’t seen her father in 9 years, when Liv was 8 he moved to Greece in pursuit of finding Atlantis. Now at 17 Liv is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her future and out of nowhere she gets a postcard from her father requesting her help with a project, her mother encourages her to go to Greece, and that’s how Liv ends up in Santorini meeting up with her father after 9 years and helping him make a documentary about Atlantis for National Geographic.

Love & Olives, is apart of the Love & Gelatos series but it’s more of a companion novel and honestly it’s my favorite book of the three. We see Liv arrive in Greece and she hasn’t seen her dad in 9 years so she’s apprehensive and standoffish. Liv thinks her dad has an obsession with finding Atlantis and it doesn’t help that when she gets to Greece she finds out he needs her help with a documentary about it. When Liv’s dad left she thought it was because he wanted to find Atlantis but later on in the book we learn what really happened and I did like the explanation it also shoes how Liv ended up coping with the loss of her father. We meet Theo, who is also helping Liv’s dad with the documentary, he’s the cameraman. There’s some sparks flying between Liv and Theo, but Liv has a boyfriend back home named Dax. Dax is a year older than Liv and I thought he was a dirtbag, he was one of those people only concerned about having things his way. He wanted Liv to go to the same college as him and when she seemed reluctant he got upset with her. I don’t know why she was pining over this guy but I;m glad some time away from him did her some good. Theo is one of those guys that tries to make you see the good in things and sometimes he overstepped but you could always tell he had good intentions. We follow the trio around Greece in their efforts to find evidence of Atlantis and although Liv doesn’t like it she does start to warm up and I liked that her relationship with her dad did flourish. The ending was full of emotions and I loved it. I will say this book was pretty long and I do think it could have been shortened just a bit.

Overall, this was a good book, it kept me reading and wishing that I could experience the beautifulness of Greece myself.

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.

THE INHERITANCE GAMES By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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

THE INHERITANCE GAMES By Jennifer Lynn BarnesThe Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Inheritance Games #1
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on 9/1/20
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 385
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why—or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.

To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch—and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

Short and Sweet Review

Avery doesn’t have the best financial situation going on for her. Avery plans on doing her best in school to get a scholarship to eventually go to college and do better. Things change when Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves a majority of his fortune to Avery, the thing is Avery has no idea who Tobias is. Now Avery is in Texas at the Hawthorne mansion with the family who has it out for her, but the four grandsons grew up believing the fortune would be theirs. Tobias left one last puzzle before he died and now its up to Avery to solve it and also maybe one of the boys will help her.

Avery lives a less than glamorous life like sleeping in her car kind of low. Avery’s older sister Libby takes care of her and honestly she’s one of those guardians who’s super young and has no business taking care of someone younger but this was obviously something she felt she needed to do because Avery is her half sister. Moving on, Avery finds out that Tobias Hawthorne some man she’s never met before has left her his entire fortune and she doesn’t know why. She goes to Texas and her whole life is different it’s almost like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She meets the family, who aren’t thrilled about her existence and she also learns that Tobias liked playing games and that the house is full of tunnels and passage ways. I didn’t enjoy the characters in this book, I don’t feel like Avery had any character development and the love triangle between two of the brothers was not it. I did like that the chapters were short but nothing in this book held my attention. I love mysteries so the thought that Avery had to solve a puzzle was what really got me to read this book but I feel like that plot was just a small part of this book. Let me just make this clear, the whole synopsis played like 20% of this book the other 80% revolved around unnecessary drama with other characters and a love triangle where I wasn’t rooting for anyone.

Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about this book, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. I prematurely bought the rest of the books in the series and I’m hoping they’re better than this first installment. Also, Happy Holidays!