THE HUNTING MOON By Susan Dennard

January 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment

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 HUNTING MOON By Susan DennardThe Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard
Series: The Luminaries #2
Published by Tor Teen on 11/7/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 292
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.

The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.

Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that's killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.

On top of that, following her dad's convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.

Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.

As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary—and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of the last book Winnie Wednesday is basically a local celebrity in Hemlock Falls. She’s known as the girl who jumped or the girl who got bitten. But Winnie doesn’t have time to think about that because the whisperer is still out there killing hunters, but everyone thinks it’s the werewolf and Winnie knows they’re wrong. She’s also dealing with the fact that her dad left her clues about what happened to him and things about the Dianas. Winnie is dealing with a lot but she doesn’t really have anyone she can trust except for Jay, even then she’s wondering if everything she did to become a luminary was worth it.

We’re back in Hemlock Falls and we follow Winnie try to adjust to everything happening around her. Winnie tries to put it past her that everyone seems to want to talk to her now because she has bigger issues to deal with. One of the lead hunters was recently killed and the people in Hemlock seem to think the werewolf did it but Winnie knows there’s something more dangerous out in the forest. Winnie also starts to find things her dad left behind and she needs someone she can trust so she confides in Jay. In this book we get a bit more history about Hemlock Falls and what it actually means to be a Luminary. I did like that we got to learn more about the Dianas but of course I wanted more I feel like we just got to the surface layer and there’s way more at stake than what we saw. The relationships in this book are great. We don’t see much of Winnie’s mom or Darian because they’re trying to make sure that they can keep from being outcasts again. Winnie’s friendships with Fatima, Bretta, and Emma really shine in this book, they’re there for Winnie and are like her support system. We also have Jay who is a romantic interest and he’s also a big support system. I love Jay, he’s making up for not being around the past four years but you can tell he’ll do anything to keep Winnie safe. The ending leaves you wanting more, because there’s more questions that have to be answered. We see Winnie discover that another character has ties to the Dianas and I’m ready to find out what they know.

The Hunting Moon, was a good sequel. This book had more investigating and I feel like because of Winnie’s new status she was able to do the investigating that she needed to do. I’m just looking forward to the next book to see what will happen next and to have more questions answered!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE LUMINARIES By Susan Dennard

January 12, 2024 by Leave a Comment

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 LUMINARIES By Susan DennardThe Luminaries by Susan Dennard
Series: The Luminaries #1
Published by Tor Teen on 11/1/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 291
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Short and Sweet Review

Winnie Wednesday lives in Hemlock Falls, an interesting town you won’t find on the maps and where the forest surrounding the town is filled with nightmares. After Winnie’s dad was found doing spells and associating with witches, Winnie, her brother Darian, and her mom have been exiled by the town. Now that Winnie is 16 she’s allowed to partake in the hunter trials and she’s hoping that this will be the first step in restoring her family’s status. Unfortunately, Winnie learns pretty fast that the forest is filled with a new kind of nightmare that no one is prepared for.

Winnie Wednesday has been exiled for the past four years, and now she has the chance to make up for her father’s mistakes by entering the hunter trials which consists of three different tasks. Winnie goes to the first trial and she ends up seeing a new kind of nightmare in the forest that most of the other hunters don’t know about. They end up calling this nightmare the whisperer and it has the ability to kill other nightmares in its vicinity, on that first trial it ends up killing a banshee and Winnie gets the credit for it. Winnie knows she should come clean but she just rolls with it and she also knows that if the whisperer is what she’s going to be dealing with she needs some serious help. Winnie asks Jay Friday her ex to help tutor her in everything she needs to know about killing nightmares and staying alive in the forest.

This is a fun world. I like that we follow Winnie through each of her trials and she’s an unlikely hero. Winnie isn’t someone who should be traversing the forest but she is. She’s also one of the few people who knows about the whisperer and is trying to make the other hunters aware which is harder said than done. I like how close knit Winnie and her brother and mom are, we also get an insight on how hard it was for all of them to be exiled. I liked learning about the forest and that the nightmares only come out when the sun goes down and are gone are sunrise. The atmosphere is creepy and it’s just strange that they all live in this town surrounded by this forest and they seem fine with it. Anyway I wanted to learn more about Winnie’s dad and his affiliation with the Dianas which are the witches. I feel like more things will be answered in the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found myself wanting more. I loved the short chapters and the pacing of the book. Winnie is a heroine who knows her strengths and she also knows that she shouldn’t be hunting nightmares but she’ll do it to keep people safe. I’m excited to see what will happen in the sequel!

Filed Under: Reviews

LOVE & OLIVES By Jenna Evans Welch

January 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment

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
Buy on Amazon

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.

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PHOENIX FLAME By Sara Holland

January 5, 2024 by Leave a Comment

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.

PHOENIX FLAME By Sara HollandPhoenix Flame by Sara Holland
Series: Havenfall #2
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 3/2/21
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 270
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Maddie Morrow thought her problems were over. She saved the Inn at Havenfall--a sanctuary between magical worlds hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado--from the evil Silver Prince. Her uncle the Innkeeper is slowly recovering from a mysterious spell that has left him not quite human. And there are still a few weeks of summer left to spend with her handsome, more-than-just-a-friend Brekken, even though she can't stop thinking about Taya.

But Maddie soon realizes there's more work to be done to protect the place her family has run for centuries. She must embark on a dangerous mission to put an end to the black-market trading of magical objects and open the Inn's doors to Solaria, the once feared land of shapeshifters.

As she tries to accomplish both seemingly impossible tasks, Maddie uncovers family secrets that could change everything. What if saving everyone means destroying the only home she's known?

Short and Sweet Review

Phoenix Flame picks up where Havenfall left off. Maddie saved the inn and her uncle so everything should be smooth sailing but it’s not. Maddie has to stop the trading of black market items and open the door to shapeshifters before everything is on a track to being okay.

Honestly something was off about this book and I’m going to say it was the pacing. Everything was happening so fast and this book is short, so it felt like everything was shoved into 270 pages. I wanted to like this book but it just felt so disjointed. Maddie recently saved the inn and now she’s dealing with the fact that her brother is alive and not dead and some new antagonist has kidnapped her mom. When Maddie goes through one of the doors to another world I thought we would see more of the world and why each place was so special but that didn’t happen, it was like she was there for two very short chapters. I feel like I can’t say a lot about this book mainly because it was so short and there was too much going on. Maddie isn’t the best at decision making and she put herself in danger most of the time. A lot of questions weren’t answered and when things were resolved it was just a let down.

Overall, this sequel can be described as a let down. I was really excited to read this book but I feel like things were rushed through and it just wasn’t good.

Filed Under: Reviews

YOU WILL BE MINE By Natasha Preston

January 3, 2024 by Leave a Comment

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.

YOU WILL BE MINE By Natasha PrestonYou Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 2/6/18
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 306
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

ROSES ARE RED

VIOLETS ARE BLUE

WATCH YOUR BACK

I'M COMING FOR YOU

Lylah and her friends can't wait to spend a night out together. Partying is the perfect way to let loose from the stress of life and school, and Lylah hopes that hitting the dance floor with Chace, her best friend, will bring them closer together. She's been crushing on him since they met. If only he thought of her the same way…

The girls are touching up their makeup and the guys are sliding on their coats when the doorbell rings. No one is there. An envelope sits on the doormat. It's an anonymous note addressed to their friend Sonny. A secret admirer? Maybe. They all laugh it off.

Except Sonny never comes home. And a new note arrives:

YOUR TURN

Short and Sweet Review

Lylah and her friends love to party, but one night when getting ready the doorbell rings and an envelope is left on the doorstep and then one of her roommates ends up missing. The notes keep coming and more of Lylah’s friends are put in danger.

This book was one of those books that makes you wonder if the main character has brain cells. Lylah’s friends are going missing but her and her roomies that are still alive think it’s smart to sneak away from their security detail just to get some alone time. The culprit in this book is cutting out peoples hearts and it’s just a bad plot used from an episode of Criminal Minds. Also Lylah isn’t a Nancy Drew, her and her friends pick one person they think can do it and decide to blame that person for everything and of course they end up being wrong. Anyway the actual culprit was off their rocker and had some real dependency issues going on. While Lylah’s friends are being slaughtered like pigs she’s out and about thinking about her crush Chace and trying to get closer to him because she’s had a crush on him for like ever.

Overall, not a good book. I read most of Prestons books and I don’t love them but I’m always hopeful that one of them will be good enough for me to change my mind and this book just tilted the seesaw to the no don’t read anything else by this author! Anyway, this is like a bad horror movie where the characters make you want to slap your forehead and shout out “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Filed Under: Reviews

THE CELLAR By Natasha Preston

January 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment

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 CELLAR By Natasha PrestonThe Cellar by Natasha Preston
Series: The Cellar #1
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 3/1/14
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 344
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Summer is trapped in a cellar with the man who took her—and three other girls: Rose, Poppy, and Violet. His perfect flowers. His family. But flowers can't survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out...

Short and Sweet Review

Summer is kidnapped by some man calling himself Clover and she’s locked into his cellar with three other girls who he calls Rose, Poppy, and Violet, and Summer becomes Lily.

Honestly there’s not much to this book. Our main character was kidnapped and now she has to figure out how to survive and escape. Summer is trapped in the cellar with three other girls who have been there longer than her and tell her to play along because if she doesn’t she’ll be killed. We have three POVs Summers, her boyfriend Lewis, and the kidnapper Clover. I will say I enjoyed Summers the most but I did like how Clover’s gave us an insight into why he was doing what he was doing. This book reminds me of a famous case that happened during the 2010s. I will say I enjoyed the ending of this book or at least I think I did, I was on a NyQuil kick when I got to final chapter.

Overall, this book was okay. There wasn’t a lot to it, a majority of the book just follows the girls life in the Cellar and we see Clover find more potential victims and Lewis try to find Summer. I plan on reading the sequel to this book just to see what it has in store.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE INHERITANCE GAMES By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

December 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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
Buy on Amazon

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!

Filed Under: Reviews

DIVINE RIVALS By Rebecca Ross

December 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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.

DIVINE RIVALS By Rebecca RossDivine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Series: Letters of Enchantment #1
Published by Wednesday Books on 4/4/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 356
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

Short and Sweet Review

The Gods are at war and Iris wants to be able to keep her family together but it’s hard when her brother is fighting on the front lines and her mom is struggling with an addiction. Iris wants to win the position of columnist at the Oath Gazette where she works but her rival Roman isn’t going down without a fight. To calm her nerves and worrying, Iris writes letters to her brother and puts them under her wardrobe but unexpectedly she ends up getting a reply. Unbeknownst to Iris, Roman is the one replying. The two continue to write each other and it goes on for months even after Iris ends up leaving Oath.

The writing in this book was incredible, it was so immersive and captivating. Iris and Roman have had a rivalry for a while, but I think that Iris losing her mom and the letters that Roman was getting from her changed a lot for him. Iris on the other hand likes him but she knows they have no chance of being together. Iris leaves Oath and becomes a reporter for the front line and eventually Roman follows her. I did like getting to read the correspondence between the two and the fact that they were the ones with the only two typewriters made by a certain person was great. I did the first part of the book was slow for me personally but part two is when Iris is in her new position and things really picked up from there. Iris is resilient and smart, she’s also very quick on her feet. Roman is one of those guys who plays it cool but there’s more than just one layer to him. I loved seeing the story unfold with these two from working in an office, then sending letters back in forth, to a love story. I do wish I knew more about these Gods and the war that was going on. The book left off on a cliffhanger and I’m ready to see what’s going to happen next.

Overall, this book brings a fantasy and magic element to the prospects of war and also the romance between our two main characters. I loved the writing and just seeing everything play out.

Filed Under: Reviews

WHAT LIGHT By Jay Asher

December 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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.

WHAT LIGHT By Jay AsherWhat Light by Jay Asher
Published by Razorbill on 10/18/16
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 259
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

Short and Sweet Review

Sierra’s parents own a Christmas tree farm in Oregon but around the holidays her family packs up and goes down to California to sell the trees. Sierra feels like she lives two lives the one she’s used to for 11 months a year and the other she lives during Christmas time. This time around in California, Sierra meets Caleb but he has a past that most others won’t forget about and warn Sierra to stay away from him, but Sierra is willing to look beyond what happened in the past.

This is the third holiday book I’ve read and I’m just striking out. My problem with this book is that it’s one note and predictable. Sierra meets Caleb he has a bad reputation, she ends up spending more time with him and learns about what he did but she knows the person he is now so she isn’t trying to focus on the past. We see those closest to Sierra try to warn her against him but she wants to change everyone’s opinions about him. Anyway the plot of this book is something I’ve seen before it wasn’t original and I was bored. I’m glad the book was short because if this went on I don’t know what I would have done. Sierra isn’t a great character, she’s not a girls girl and she becomes obsessed with Caleb after meeting him for a few minutes and after that she can’t stop thinking about him and blows off her friends. Also when you find out what Caleb did it’s not hard to understand why others in this small town are so wary of him. I’m trying to think about something that was good about this book for you all. The only good thing about this book is that people got Christmas trees.

Overall, I don’t want you guys to think I don’t like Christmas or the holidays but the books I’ve been reading haven’t been getting me in the spirit and they’re really not doing it for me and I feel like the grinch. What Light was an attempt at a holiday book about forgiveness and not judging people but it really missed the mark.

Filed Under: Reviews

HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART By Jake Maia Arlow

December 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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

HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART By Jake Maia ArlowHow to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow
Published by HarperTeen on 11/1/22
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 380
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally. With her mom’s Subaru.

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

It could be going better.

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

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

Short and Sweet Review

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

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

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

Filed Under: Reviews