Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Settings I’d Like to See More Of. Some of these are popular settings, but I love them so much that I’d like to see even more. Here’s my list:
1. Boarding Schools
2. The Beach
3. Castles
4. Tudor England
5. The Forest
6. Small Towns
7. England
8. Ancient Greece
9. Trains
10. Space
Did you write a Top Ten Tuesday list? What is your list of Settings You’d Like to See More Of?
When it’s your word against everyone else’s–what do you do?
Bree Finch has fallen on some troubled times: her marriage has ended, she’s separated from her young daughter, Charlotte, and she’s haunted by a past she can’t escape. Routine helps, and every afternoon, during her lunch break, Bree goes for a jog in the park near her office. It’s the same every day: the same route, the same mothers with their children, the same people walking their dogs.
One day, during her jog, she spots a young boy a bit older than Charlotte, a boy she saw just the day before with his mother. But his mother is nowhere to be seen now. Nervous, Bree watches the boy as he wanders into the parking lot. And then she watches as a man grabs the boy, forcing him into an SVU. She watches as the boy cries and screams for his mother. She watches as the man slams the door shut, revs the engine and takes off.
She runs after them into traffic, and tries to take a photo, but can’t. The SVU is gone.
Bree can’t deny what she’s seen, and she can’t get the little boy or his screams out of her head. But, she’s the only one who believes that she witnessed the kidnapping of a child. No one else at the park saw the boy or someone snatching him, and she can’t give a detailed description of the child. The police don’t believe her, nor does her estranged husband, with whom she has a tense and complicated relationship. Instead, they begin asking Bree the questions: Why is she always alone in the park? Why does she spend so much time there? Does she realize that she makes the other mothers nervous, with the way she watches them and their children?
Then, days later, a woman is murdered–and Bree is the first person the police talk to.
Not because they think she may have witnessed something.
Not because they believe her about the kidnapped boy.
Because she’s their main suspect.
Review:
This was an amazing new thriller!
I was glued to this book. I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down. It was fast-paced and unpredictable.
Bree was an unreliable narrator, which added to the plot. Even when she would talk about seeing things, I couldn’t really trust her. I was still unsure about some things she said right until the end.
I usually don’t like books that don’t give you enough clues to solve the mystery. I don’t think there was a way to figure out this mystery before the end, but I loved it. It was an exciting story because I was so surprised at the ending.
I highly recommend this gripping thriller.
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Have you read Wherever She Goes? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished Wherever She Goesby K.L. Armstrong.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Titans (Titans #1) by Kate O’Hearn.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Ruby Chernyavsky has been told the stories since she was a child: The women in her family, once possessed of great magical abilities to remake lives and stave off death itself, were forced to flee their Russian home for America in order to escape the fearful men who sought to destroy them. Such has it always been, Ruby’s been told, for powerful women. Today, these stories seem no more real to Ruby than folktales, except for the smallest bit of power left in their blood: when each of them comes of age, she will have a vision of who she will be when she dies—a destiny as inescapable as it is inevitable. Ruby is no exception, and neither is her mother, although she ran from her fate years ago, abandoning Ruby and her sisters. It’s a fool’s errand, because they all know the truth: there is no escaping one’s Time.
Until Ruby’s great-aunt Polina passes away, and, for the first time, a Chernyavsky’s death does not match her vision. Suddenly, things Ruby never thought she’d be allowed to hope for—life, love, time—seem possible. But as she and her cousin Cece begin to dig into the family’s history to find out whether they, too, can change their fates, they learn that nothing comes without a cost. Especially not hope.
Title: My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant Author: Laura Dockrill Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Publisher: Delacorte Press Source: Publisher Format: Paperback Release Date: July 16, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
This honest, laugh-out-loud novel brimming with body positivity, bite-sized nuggets of feminism, and commentary on eating will have readers rooting for sixteen-year-old BB as she navigates her world while maintaining her plucky zest for life even in the most trying of times.
It’s a food diary. I have to tell the truth. That’s the point.
Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, also known as BB or Big Bones, lives her life unapologetically. She loves life! She loves food!
When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.
Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn’t just document what she’s eating, she documents what she’s feeling–and she has a lot to say!
Review:
This story was both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Bluebelle is told that she is obese and needs to lose weight after a serious asthma attack. A nurse gives her a food diary to keep track of her diet. The diary ends up turning into a journal where she talks about everything in her life. It takes a serious accident for her to rethink her life choices.
There was so much delicious food described in this book! This is definitely not a book to read when you’re hungry. There was a paragraph that described toast, which made me crave it. I’ve never read toast described in such detail before!
The only thing that bothered me about this book was the cover. The character is supposed to be so obese that she is unhealthy, or at least that is the way she is described. However, the girl on the cover looks like she’s a healthy body weight. I wish her size was represented with a more appropriate model on the cover.
I really enjoyed this story!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh
Have you read My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
I received a book from HarperCollins Canada:
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Graydon House Books:
The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Bookouture:
No-One Ever Has Sex on Holiday by Tracy Bloom
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Avon Books UK:
The Love Solution by Ashley Croft
I received 6 books from Penguin Random House Canada:
Jackpot by Nic Stone
One of Us is Next (One of Us is Lying #2) by Karen M. McManus
Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon
American Royals by Katharine McGee
Wildfire by Carrie Mac
The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams
Thank you HarperCollins Canada, Graydon House Books, Bookouture, Avon Books UK, and Penguin Random House Canada for these books!
Title: Heartwood Box Author: Ann Aguirre Genre: Young Adult, Thriller Publisher: Tor Teen Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: July 9, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author.
In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She’ll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won’t be exciting, but she’ll cope, right?
Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don’t talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried…
Review:
This book was a combination of genres. It was mostly a young adult thriller, but there were aspects of paranormal fiction, science fiction, and even historical fiction. Though this seems like a large mix of genres, it worked in this story.
The story was quite creepy at the beginning. I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen. It was heartbreaking to see Araceli develop a relationship with a boy from a different time, while knowing that they couldn’t be together. It was strange, the way this story resolved into science fiction. I thought it would just be a paranormal or supernatural story, but it had science behind it.
I really enjoyed this story!
Thank you Tor Teen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman
The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé
Have you read Heartwood Box? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“I’m in the water. Only my eyes are visible, and I blow bubbles to ensure the rest of me stays submerged until the opportune time. Besides the lifeguard watching from his perch, theres a gaggle of girls my age patrolling the beach with younger siblings in tow. They pace in their flip-flops and bikinis, and I wait.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali.
Goodreads synopsis:
Saints and Misfits is an unforgettable debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life…starring a Muslim teen.
How much can you tell about a person just by looking at them?
Janna Yusuf knows a lot of people can’t figure out what to make of her…an Arab Indian-American hijabi teenager who is a Flannery O’Connor obsessed book nerd, aspiring photographer, and sometime graphic novelist is not exactly easy to put into a box.
And Janna suddenly finds herself caring what people think. Or at least what a certain boy named Jeremy thinks. Not that she would ever date him—Muslim girls don’t date. Or they shouldn’t date. Or won’t? Janna is still working all this out.
While her heart might be leading her in one direction, her mind is spinning in others. She is trying to decide what kind of person she wants to be, and what it means to be a saint, a misfit, or a monster. Except she knows a monster…one who happens to be parading around as a saint…Will she be the one to call him out on it? What will people in her tightknit Muslim community think of her then?
Have you read Saints and Misfits? What did you think of it?
Jill's Book Blog 