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Originally posted on Goodreads. Lord Tobias and his wife Megan have just returned from their honeymoon to the country manor at Treweham, starting their life together among the hijinks of this small town. I hadn’t realized when I picked up this book that it was the second in a series, and the author throws the characters at you pretty quickly. At one point, I was introduced to five different characters within one page (one of which I never really heard much else about), and it was a bit overwhelming to keep up with. As the story goes on, I learned to distinguish the characters, but that was still pretty difficult to do.  The characters all had pretty similar personalities and demeanors, and nothing about any of them really stood out as being interesting. All of the women were hopelessly devoted to the men in their lives, and often seemed as if their opinions and desires weren’t taken as seriously as the men. For example, when Finula, daughter of the local pub owner, goes on a first date with the brooding film director Marcus, she proceeds to get drunk and make a fool of herself and throw herself at him, which seemed completely out of character for her the rest of the book. She is a successful woman and is being mocked on this date, and it was pretty cringy.  I also take some issue with the “romance” aspect of it, as it was usually anything but. Sex was usually on the terms of the heterosexual men. One even asked his girlfriend if he could get a “blowy” which she wordlessly obliged. It was never empowering to the women, and made me more uncomfortable than anything else. I found Sebastian, the gay brother of Tobias, to be the most likable and realistic. Though Sebastian stumbled upon a possible love interest himself, the furthest he ever gets is a hug. It seemed to defeat the point of having a gay character. Lastly, I really think the author did a disservice with her writing style. The story is written in third-person style narrative, but the focus character varied from paragraph to paragraph. When a couple was on a date, we would hear the thoughts of the male character, and the following paragraph would be the response thoughts of the female character. There was no “will they, won’t they” energy, because the reader always knew exactly what every single person was thinking at every moment.

Originally posted on Goodreads. “This was how girls left. They packed up their suitcases and walked away in high heels.”  “It reminded me that there were snakes that stunned their prey with their breath.” “Crickets stroke their legs like pool players lining up shots.” Many years ago, I first watched White Oleander and decided that I would someday be a foster parent. The movie had such an impact on me and has stayed with me through the years.  How poetic and perfect it is that now is when I chose to read this book. My wife and I are currently learning more information about potentially adopting or fostering a child. This book is exactly what I needed at this time.  Astrid is 14 years old when her mother, a poet, is sent to prison for murder. Astrid is sent to her own prison – foster care. In the years that follow, Astrid bounces from one foster house to the next, thanks to a combination of bad decisions and even worse luck. The things she goes through are unimaginable and heartbreaking.  The writing in this novel is so unexpectedly lovely that it is what really drives it forward. The dark and tragic events that take place are a stark contrast to the quiet, lyrical writing style utilized by Fitch. The imagery and descriptions are so magical that they will punch you right in the gut. I’m the type of reader that is very plot-driven. Typically, novels like this with long, flowery descriptions tend to bore me and I find myself skipping over whole paragraphs. Not here. I was hanging onto every letter.  I absolutely loved this work. This isn’t the kind of book that you will love so much that you want to scream it from the mountains and throw it at everyone you know until they start reading it. It’s the kind of soft, quiet heartbreak that you want to hide under your pillow and cherish.

Originally posted on Goodreads.

Oh my heck, did I love this little book. I just finished it during the #24in48 readathon and I just need to dump my brain before exhaustion takes over my love of this book. 

Kim is a part-time grim reaper, full-time cutie. Becka is adorable and enamored. When Becka gets up the courage to ask Kim out for drinks and accidentally follows her through a portal, hijinks ensue. Mix in an octopus, zombies, some of the greatest dialogue I’ve read recently, and the Board of Grim Reapers, and you’ve got a fun, adorable series. Graley’s art is so amazing and the dialogue was sheer perfection. I already can’t wait for the next installment. I will definitely be purchasing this the second I can. 

If you need a quick, fun, light-hearted, diverse read, look no further. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me the opportunity to read and review. 

Originally posted on Goodreads.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This book. I can’t say truthfully that I read it in one sitting, but I can tell you that I got as close to it as I could. I absorbed this book. I couldn’t wait to get off work so I could go home and read more. I stayed up way too late to read the last 100 pages, and I regret nothing. 

It started with four – Ellory, Ret, Jenni, and Bex. Unseparable forces of nature. Add in a beautiful, soulful, hardworking boyfriend, and Ellory feels like nothing in life could be better. Her world is perfect. If Matthias would just open up more. If Ret would tone it down. 

But now, everything’s changed. Now, it’s just Ellory. No boyfriend. No friends. Alone. 

What happened last year to cause such a drastic change? See All the Stars reveals the beautiful and heartbreaking story that will have you itching to read more. I couldn’t turn pages fast enough. I loved the writing style. I felt like I was back in high school. The fully developed and real characters are what make this debut YA novel so magical. I absolutely loved it and will be buying a copy for my personal collection ASAP. 

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review. 

Originally posted on Goodreads.

TW: Rape

A quick-paced, thrilling novel about a family vacation gone completely and terribly wrong, Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy is the definition of potato-chip reading. Cousins Liv and Nora, along with their families, embark on a cruise for Christmas vacation, wanting an easy no-stress holiday. When an excursion ashore doesn’t go quite as planned, a bad situation quickly gets so much worse. 

I have to say that the pacing of this book could not be more perfect. The shifting perspectives was a gripping way to tell the story. Each chapter was short, but perfectly written. I was struck by the last sentence of each chapter. Meloy would punch you in the gut with a sentence and leave you needing more. 

I listened to the audiobook version, and it was such a treat to have the author read the story. She is definitely the only one that could do justice to the different characters, varying accents and languages, and dialogue emphasis. I really enjoyed the author was reading me the story. 

*** SPOILERS BELOW ***

My only drawback was the use of rape as a storyline. There are a lot of ways that the abuse could have gone, and that is not one that I am comfortable with. Typically, I DNF any book with a rape storyline on principle, and that’s a surprising amount of books. The fact that I continued with this even despite that should say enough about my enjoyment of this book. 

Originally posted on Goodreads. TW: Self harm and blood.  First of all, as someone who has been taking prescription medication for depression and anxiety for many years, I feel that I need to put this out there – it is not weak or giving in or losing yourself to make the decision to use medication to manage any kind of mental condition. There are many kinds of medication on the market and just because one doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean that none of them will. If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone you care about or call 1-800-273-8255.  I wanted to like this story. A ghost story topped with mental illness and an interracial lesbian couple? Sign me up. That rings all my bells. Unfortunately, I just felt that Archival Quality fell short.  Cel is at a turning point in her life. Just coming out of a recent breakdown and looking for a new job, she is doing her best to manage everything on her own without accepting any assistance from medication, therapy, or even her loving boyfriend. We’ve all been there, I get it. That’s when she accepts a position as the archivist for a local small medical museum.  The illustration and coloring is reminiscent of Lumberjanes and Nimona, but a little less crisp. The characters are deliciously diverse and well-developed. I felt that they were all real people that I could imaging being friends with.  Unfortunately, my joy with this novel ends there. I found the ending disappointing and I wanted so much more from Cel. I wanted some serious character development, but I’m not sure that she ever really got there.  This is a short, easy read. If you’re coming off of something deep and need a little brain candy, this will definitely do it. I don’t know that this is something I would purchase or give as a gift, personally, but at the same time I don’t regret spending the time reading this. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Originally posted on Goodreads. Rating 3.5 – bumped up to 4.  I enjoyed this book. It was a read that didn’t take a lot of thought and was a cute and compelling romance. Lincoln is a perpetual student that has taken a job in security – systems security. His job is to read other people’s emails when they are flagged for having some sort of inappropriate content. I have to admit, I would love that job. The voyeuristic nature is so compelling, which is the reason I picked this book up.  Beth and Jennifer know that their email is monitored, but they don’t care too much. Their emails are regularly flagged and Lincoln is sucked into this world.  It was a great premise and great writing, but about three-quarters of the way through the book it just seemed like the author gave up. I was rooting for the characters and then the end just sort of…happened.  I bought this as a beach read, and it served it’s purpose. It’s a forgettable story and even though it’s been less than two weeks since I finished, I had to look up the character’s names.

Originally posted on Goodreads.

I absolutely loved this book. I have a soft spot for epistolary novels (thanks, Dear America!) and there aren’t many that I’ve found that are written for adults and done well. This was one of them. I was totally sucked into the story and just thought it was so, so good.

Bernadette Fox is an eccentric, quirky woman at the center of the novel. She is consistently picking fights with the other mothers from her daughter’s school, embarrassing her hot-shot husband, and working as hard as possible to avoid leaving the house – including hiring an online personal assistant from India. The emails that she writes to her assistant caused me endless amusement.

That is, until she’s gone. In the middle of planning a family trip to Antarctica, Bernadette goes missing. She leaves her precocious (but not annoying) daughter Bee and husband Elgin confused. Where had she possibly gone? 

I could not get enough of this book. I wanted to be best friends with Bernadette. Immediately after finishing this, I tried to shove it into the hands of anyone around me that would read it. Five stars and one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year.

Originally posted on Goodreads. Last night, I finished reading The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George. I really enjoyed the book and the diverse perspective that George brought to YA, but there is one thing in particular that has had my mind spinning nonstop ever since I put the book down.  From almost page one, I knew that Jesse was a transgender woman. Now, if you haven’t read the book, this is not a spoiler, because it was never confirmed as true or untrue. I know in my heart of hearts that this is absolutely true. I believe this so hard that I searched through pages and pages of reviews on Goodreads and google and went to the author’s website and could find no confirmation that this is true OR that anyone else read this the same way.  There were three factors that made it 100% clear to me that Jesse is trans.  1. Her name. Jesse is traditional a name given to boys. Girls often go by Jessie (note the i), which is typically short for Jessica. Because this sounds so much like the female nickname, I was under the impression that she chose to keep the spelling of her name. This is not a overtly masculine sounding name so it would not raise any red flags.  2. The bathroom. In the opening scene of the book, Jesse is hiding in the girls’ bathroom in an attempt to avoid attending the pep rally. When she is confronted by some stereotypical mean girls when she is trying to escape, they point out to her that this is the girls’ bathroom. Jesse’s internal monologue explains that this is something that happens to her a lot and she has to explain that she is a girl. Yes, this could potentially be the case based on Jesse’s butch appearance, but I read deeper into this. On top of that, bathrooms play a huge role in the novel. Whether on the third floor of the library or getting busted by the vice principal, most major events in the book happen in a bathroom. Of course this is a place this is so, so significant to the trans community given the political climate right now.  3. When confronted by the mean girls in the opening scene, one of the repeatedly uses masculine pronouns to insult Jesse. It is clear that these are meant to hurt her.  I read the whole book, waiting for some kind of reveal to the reader that Jesse is trans, but it never came. I’m kind of okay with that. It didn’t matter at all to the story, and the fact that it just wasn’t an issue is almost better.

Originally posted on Goodreads. This book is so fluffy, but it was what I needed right now, book wise. 17 year old Paige Townsen is VERY similar to a teenage me – dramatic, aspirational, and loyal. She has a core group of friends, a job at an eclectic local shop, and a dedication to the stage (or camera). So naturally, when a movie studio has an open casting call in her town for a blockbuster movie based on a bestselling novel, Paige is there. This one leap of faith shows changes her life. Before long, she is on the set in Hawaii, flirting with heart throb Rainer Devon, and feels like she’s in a dream. I really enjoyed escaping from my life and entering Paige’s. Recently, I’ve been reading some pretty heavy books and this fluffball was exactly what I needed. I actually listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator was just stellar. I love YA, I love fluffy chick lit, and I really enjoyed this. I bumped the sequel up on my TBR list and will be devouring it as soon as I can get my hands on it. That being said, I did decide to take a shot on the new Freeform show based on this novel. I made it only a few minutes in when I found that Rainer is a dark haired, brooding bad boy, I was out. Sorry, Freeform, that is not Rainer Devon. Good try, though.