Month: May 2020

Blog Tour Review: This is How I Lied

Title: This is How I Lied
Author: Heather Gudenkauf
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Park Row
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 12, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Gudenkauf proves herself the master of the smart, suspenseful small-town thriller that gets right under your skin.” —Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny 

Everyone has a secret they’ll do anything to hide…

Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold.

For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep.

Review:

Twenty-five years ago, Eve Knox was found murdered in the caves near her house. She was just fifteen years old. Now, her former best friend, Maggie, is a detective who is assigned to reopen the cold case with new evidence. Eve’s abusive boyfriend was one of the main suspects, though there wasn’t any evidence that he killed her. Eve had a strange younger sister, Nola, who was fascinated by dead animals and their anatomy. Maggie has to investigate this murder, while also keeping her own secrets.

This story was told from three different points of view. Eve’s story was from the day she was killed. Maggie and Nola’s perspectives were in the present, as Maggie investigates the murder. My favourite parts were Maggie’s chapters because those were the ones that really moved the story forward. Eve’s chapters were a little slow because they followed her actions of her final day, and Nola’s were creepy because she was fascinated by dead things.

I loved the unique format of the story. At just over the halfway point of the book, the killer was revealed. Since it only about halfway through, I knew there must be more to the story. There was still loads of tension until the end, when the details of the murder were revealed.

I really enjoyed this thriller!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Still Mine by Amy Stuart

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

About the Author:

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running. 

Have you read This is How I Lied? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – May 18

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 This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – May 17

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 9 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… This is How I Lied

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 This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Gudenkauf proves herself the master of the smart, suspenseful small-town thriller that gets right under your skin.” —Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny 

Everyone has a secret they’ll do anything to hide…

Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold.

For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep.

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Series You Can’t Wait to Read

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Series You Can’t Wait to Read. Here’s my list:

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses series

2. The Mortal Instruments series

3. An Ember in the Ashes series

4. Empirium series

5. Cursebreakers series

6. The Aurora Cycle series

(All book cover images from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: Just a Boy and a Girl in a Canoe (I See London, I See France #2)

Title: Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Sam’s summer isn’t off to a great start. Her boyfriend, Eli, ditched her for a European backpacking trip, and now she’s a counselor at Camp Blue Springs: the summer camp her eleven-year-old self swore never to return to. Sam expects the next seven weeks to be a total disaster.

That is, until she meets Gavin, the camp’s sailing instructor, who turns her expectations upside down. Gavin may have gotten the job just for his abs. Or that smile. Or the way he fills Sam’s free time with thrilling encounters—swimming under a cascade of stars, whispering secrets over s’mores, embarking on one (very precarious) canoe ride after dark.

It’s absurd. After all, Sam loves Eli. But one totally absurd, completely off-the-wall summer may be just what Sam needs. And maybe, just maybe, it will teach her something about what she really wants.

Review:

Samantha and Eli are spending their summer apart, after their freshman year at NYU. He is going backpacking through Europe with his cousin and she is going to work as a counselor at a summer camp that she went to as a kid. They can’t communicate very much because she doesn’t have good cell reception at the camp. Right away, Sam notices a boy from the camp who was there when she went before. Gavin is now the hot sailing instructor. As the summer goes on, Sam starts to wonder if it would really be that bad if she should have a summer fling with Gavin, since Eli is probably having his own fun with girls in Europe.

This book is a sequel to I See London, I See France. It isn’t about the same characters, but some minor characters make an appearance. That book was about girls who backpacked across Europe. They met Eli and Gavin’s girlfriend, Kat. I wasn’t sure how much these books would be connected because it’s been a couple of years since I read I See London, I See France. They could each be read as stand-alone novels. However, since they are connected and happening simultaneously, they may contain spoilers for either book.

This book was actually pretty funny. Sam’s campers in her bunk were young kids, around 7 or 8 years old. They said some funny things when they had no filter. I think this is a great book for right now, since many summer camps will be cancelled. This story can fill that gap in the summer, so we can still read about summer camps. Though there were kids in this book, the audience should be in their late teens, not children. It’s an older young adult, or new adult, book.

I saw some negative reviews for this book for the theme of cheating in the book. What Sam does when she wants a fling with Gavin is wrong, and she acknowledges it. She had a boyfriend, so she shouldn’t have been interested in another boy. At the same time, she’s a teenager, and everyone makes mistakes. It would be unrealistic to say this would never happen. I don’t think this book is condoning that kind of behavior because it is a fiction story, not a how-to book.

I really enjoyed this summer camp story!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

I See London, I See France (I See London, I See France #1) by Sarah Mlynowski

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

Other Books in the Series:

Have you read Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe? What did you think of it?

Top 5 Saturday – Books by Debut Authors

This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Books by Debut Authors. Here’s my list:

1. Iphigenia Murphy by Sara Hosey

2. Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

3. A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandson

4. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

5. Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

(All book covers from Goodreads)

If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!

Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?

Review: The Kingdom of Back

Title: The Kingdom of Back
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Source: Owlcrate
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu comes a historical YA fantasy about a musical prodigy and the dangerous lengths she’ll go to make history remember her—perfect for fans of Susanna Clarke and The Hazel Wood.

Two siblings. Two brilliant talents. But only one Mozart. 

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish—to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she’ll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age—her tyrannical father has made that much clear.

And as Nannerl’s hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true—but his help may cost her everything.

In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

Review:

Nannerl Mozart was the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She was an excellent musician, but since she was a girl, she couldn’t write her own music or perform as a career, like her brother could. One day, she meets a mysterious stranger, Hyacinth, who promises to make her dream come true. If she helps Hyacinth regain his throne in the mysterious Kingdom of Back, he will make it possible for her to be a musician. However, this promise comes at a high price.

This story was based on a real history. Nannerl was the older sister of Mozart, and she was an excellent musician as a child. Since she was a girl, she wasn’t allowed to put her name on any compositions or perform past childhood. It’s scary to think about how many talented people weren’t allowed to practice their talent because of their gender, nationality, or race. I’m glad that Nannerl’s name is known now, but she could have made a contribution to the musical community if she was allowed to follow her dream.

I loved the way the fantasy was mixed into the historical narrative. The Kingdom of Back was like Narnia or Oz, because it was a magical place that the children could travel to through doorways and dreams. The Kingdom of Back is based on a story that Nannerl and Wolfgang made up. It was a great detail about their childhood that was expanded in this fantasy story.

I loved this historical fantasy novel!

What to read next:

The Mozart Girl by Barbara Nickel

The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising #1) by Kiersten White

Have you read The Kingdom of Back? What did you think of it?

Bookish Friday – Genres

This is a weekly meme hosted by Laurie Reads and Niffler Reads. Every Friday, they post a list of bookish things based on the prompt they provided. The prompts for Feb to May can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Genres. Here’s my list:

Young Adult

Middle Grade

Historical Fiction

Science Fiction

Fantasy

Thriller

Graphic Novel

Manga

Romance

Horror

Memoir

Poetry

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a list for Bookish Friday?

Blog Tour Review: Breath Like Water

Title: Breath Like Water
Author: Anna Jarzab
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

“Expansive, romantic, and powerful.” —Gayle Forman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay and I Have Lost My Way 

Susannah Ramos has always loved the water. A swimmer whose early talent made her a world champion, Susannah was poised for greatness in a sport that demands so much of its young. But an inexplicable slowdown has put her dream in jeopardy, and Susannah is fighting to keep her career afloat when two important people enter her life: a new coach with a revolutionary training strategy, and a charming fellow swimmer named Harry Matthews.

As Susannah begins her long and painful climb back to the top, her friendship with Harry blossoms into passionate and supportive love. But Harry is facing challenges of his own, and even as their bond draws them closer together, other forces work to tear them apart. As she struggles to balance her needs with those of the people who matter most to her, Susannah will learn the cost—and the beauty—of trying to achieve something extraordinary.

Review:

Susannah’s dream is to go to the Olympics. She has a tough coach, but she knows he can turn her into an Olympic athlete. In the year before her Olympic trial, another coach is brought into her school with a completely different training method. Susannah meets a boy, Harry, who gives her a life outside of the pool. She also has something happen to her that is potentially life changing. Susannah and Harry both have struggles that they have to balance on her road to the Olympic trials.

I’ve never been an athlete, so stories about sports and athletes are completely new to me. There was so much tension leading up to all of Susannah’s swim competitions. I felt myself getting nervous for her, because I couldn’t imagine myself doing what she did. I found this world of competitive swimming quite scary, both mentally and physically.

The second half of the book was dark and emotional. I don’t want to give away the plot, but there are some possible trigger points about mental health and suicide. These are things that can happen to anyone, not just competitive athletes, so the story isn’t just about sports. It’s also about the pressures with growing up and discovering your place in the world.

This is a powerful and emotional story.

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimura

Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally

About the Author:

Anna Jarzab is a Midwesterner turned New Yorker. She lives and works in New York City and is the author of such books as Red Dirt, All Unquiet Things, The Opposite of Hallelujah, and the Many-Worlds series. Visit her online at annajarzab.com and on Twitter, @ajarzab.

Have you read Breath Like Water? What did you think of it?