Month: July 2023

Review: The Only One Left

Title: The Only One Left
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Thriller, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dutton
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 20, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope 

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life 

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.

“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead 

As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.

Review:

Everyone believes that seventeen-year-old Lenora Hope was responsible for the deaths of her parents and her sister in 1929. Now, in 1983, Kit McDeere is sent to act as a caregiver to Lenora. Kit has to take the job after an incident at her last placement. Kit is a little uneasy about working for Lenora, since she’s suspected to be a murderer. However, Lenora is confined to a wheelchair without the ability to speak. She can only move her left hand. One night, Lenora gets Kit to bring her a typewriter. She tells Kit she will tell her everything about the infamous massacre. Kit is eager to find out, but as more details are revealed, Kit realizes she might be in more danger than she thought. 

This was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. I needed to get to the end as quickly as I could to find out what happened. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say this was such a twisty thriller. There were a couple of things that I suspected throughout the story, but the ending literally made my jaw drop. It’s one of the best endings I’ve ever read!

The Only One Left is an intense and fast-paced thriller!

Thank you Dutton for providing a digital copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parents, stabbing, attempted suicide, stabbing

Have you read The Only One Left? What did you think of it?

Review: Thornwood (Sisters Ever After #1)

Title: Thornwood (Sisters Ever After #1)
Author: Leah Cypess
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A middle grade Sleeping Beauty rewrite about a girl who lives in the shadow of her older sister and the curse that has haunted her from birth.

For years, Briony has lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Rosalin, and the curse that has haunted her from birth–that on the day of her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and cause everyone in the castle to fall into a 100-year sleep. When the day the curse is set to fall over the kingdom finally arrives, nothing–not even Briony–can stop its evil magic.

You know the story.

But here’s something you don’t know. When Briony finally wakes up, it’s up to her to find out what’s really going on, and to save her family and friends from the murderous Thornwood. But who is going to listen to her? This is a story of sisterhood, of friendship, and of the ability of even little sisters to forge their own destiny.

Review:

Briony’s older sister, Rosalin, was cursed at her birth to prick her finger on a spindle on her sixteenth birthday and send the entire castle into a 100 year sleep. Despite trying their best, the curse ends up coming true. When Briony wakes up after 100 years, she rushes to find her sister. She immediately knows something is wrong. The Thornwood, a giant forest of thorns has grown right up to the castle and it continues to grow through the windows and walls. Though Rosalin was woken by the kiss of a Prince, his story isn’t adding up. Briony had to take charge and figure out how to save her sister. 

This was a fun retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It was told by the perspective of her sister who had to live in the shadow of her famous sister. There were a few mysterious elements that were different from the typical Sleeping Beauty story. I really enjoyed this fun twist on the fairy tale!

Thornwood is a great retelling of Sleeping Beauty!

Other books in the series:

  • Glass Slippers (Sisters Ever After #2)
  • The Piper’s Promise (Sisters Ever After #3)

Have you read Thornwood? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – July 25

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

Ghosted by Amanda Quain

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto

House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus

The Legacies by Jessica Goodman

Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Thank you Wednesday Books, Simon and Schuster Canada, Penguin Teen Canada, and Penguin Random House Canada for providing digital arcs of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test

Title: DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test
Author: Hamish Steele
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Young Adult
Publisher: Union Square and Co.
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Barney Guttman’s life has been turned upside down. His family is struggling to fully embrace his trans identity, but thanks to his best friend Norma, he’s just landed a job at Phoenix Parks, a Dollywood-esque amusement park inspired by the long life and career of mysteriously youthful actress and singer Pauline Phoenix. Soon, Barney and his dog, Pugsley, secretly move into the haunted house attraction. Little does Barney know, the house contains a portal to the demonic planes of Hell. When Courtney, Barney’s devilish new roommate, invites a demon king to Earth through the portal, they offer Barney and Norma as flesh vessels for the king, but in a strange twist, Pugsley is possessed instead! It’s a race through the park to save Pugsley—and the world—from the demon king’s reign of terror that leaves Pugsley with strange and magical side effects. With all of this chaos going on, Barney is also discovering he has crush on park employee, Logan, so he must face his biggest fear of all… talking to someone he likes.

Follow the lives of this diverse group of friends in this hilarious and moving graphic novel series, complete with talking pugs, vengeful ghosts, and first love.

Part workplace comedy, part supernatural horror adventure, with a splash of LGBTQ+ romance, The Watcher’s Test is perfect for fans of author Hamish Steele’s TV series Dead End: Paranormal Park who are in search of more adventures, for graphic novel lovers who want more diversity in their reads, or simply as an introduction to the zany, creative, and laugh-out-loud funny world of DeadEndia.

Review:

Barney Guttman’s parents aren’t completely accepting his trans identity, so when he gets a job at a haunted house in an amusement park, he leaves home and moves in there. Barney is working with his best friend Norma and he brought his dog Pugsley to live with him too. He soon discovers that this haunted house contains a portal to Hell. A demonic ambassador named Courtney invited a demon king to Earth which sets off several events including giving Pugsley the ability to speak and do magic. The group of friends go on a series of adventures throughout the amusement park to save Earth. 

This was a hilarious and entertaining graphic novel with some serious moments too. I liked how the story focused on Barney’s present. Since his parents weren’t accepting his trans identity, they didn’t take up space on the page other than him mentioning them a few times. The other characters were fun and diverse. The characters were well developed right from the first page, so the story could focus on the events happening at the amusement park. This is also a beautifully illustrated graphic novel!

DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test is a fun book!

Thank you Union Square and Co. for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: transphobia (mentioned), death, death of dog

Other books in the series:

  • DeadEndia: The Broken Halo

Have you read DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test? What did you think of it?

Review: Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods #1)

Title: Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods #1)
Author: Chloe Gong
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong’s adult epic fantasy debut.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Immortal Longings is a fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.

Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches.

Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.

Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.

Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.

Review:

Every year, the kingdom of Talin hosts a game in the capital city of San-Er which chooses eighty-eight people to fight to the death to win incredible riches. Princess Calla Tuoleimi has been in hiding for the past five years, since she murdered her parents at the palace. She enters the games because the winner gets to meet King Kasa, who she plans to kill. Anton Makusa is an exiled diplomat who also enters the games. The love of his life has been in a coma since their failed attempt to escape the palace, and he wants to win the money to pay off the debt he has incurred by keeping her alive. Calla and Anton form an unexpected alliance in the games, but in the end there can only be one winner who survives. 

This book is one of my favourites of the year! It is a loose retelling of Antony and Cleopatra. There was a fantastic setting with magical jumping between bodies, so not everyone is who they appear to be. I loved the way that this magic created so many twists in the story. I guessed one of the reveals partway through the story, but the ending blew me away. I can’t wait to read the next book!!

Immortal Longings is a fantastic fantasy!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: murder, death of parents, death of siblings

Have you read Immortal Longings? What did you think of it?

Review: Sugar Rush Racers: Victory is Sweet

Title: Sugar Rush Racers: Victory is Sweet
Author: Shari Simpson, Saoirse Lou (illustrator)
Genre: Children’s
Publisher: Disney Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 27, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Vanellope Von Schweetz and the other racers from Sugar Rush are catapulted out of their arcade game and into the world of a young girl named Molly, in this chapter book series.

Molly McGinty is surprised when she comes home from the arcade and Vanellope and her friends are in her tablet! But when she fights with her best friend and needs help with her go-kart she has no one to turn to but the Sugar Rush Racers. Everyone has to work together as a team to accomplish the goals.

Review:

Vanellope Von Schweetz and the other racers from the game Sugar Rush are sent out of their arcade and into a Molly’s tablet. When Molly realizes the characters in her tablet can communicate with her, she uses their help to build a go-cart for a race with her new scouts troupe. However, the racers discover that Molly’s best friend may be betraying her, so they all have to learn what it really means to be a friend. 

Wreck-It Ralph is one of my favourite recent Disney movies. It’s a hilarious movie about arcade game characters. Vanellope is such a fun character, so I was excited to read this book. It has a great message about friendship, and not lashing out just because you suspect someone has done something wrong. Actions can easily be misconstrued, especially if you don’t communicate. 

Victory is Sweet is a great children’s chapter book!

Thank you Disney Books for providing a digital copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

  • Sugar Rush Racers: The Sweet Outdoors

Have you read Sugar Rush Racers: Victory is Sweet? What did you think of it?

Review: The Firefly Summer

Title: The Firefly Summer
Author: Morgan Matson
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The Penderwicks meets The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street in a story about a young girl who gets to know her mom’s side of the family and hunts for hidden treasure over the course of one chaotic summer.

For as long as Ryanna Stuart can remember, her summers have been spent with her father and his new wife. Just the three of them, structured, planned, and quiet. But this summer is different. This summer, she’s received a letter from her grandparents—grandparents neither she nor her dad have spoken to since her mom’s death—inviting her to stay with them at an old summer camp in the Poconos.

Ryanna accepts. She wants to learn about her mom. She wants to uncover the mystery of why her father hasn’t spoken to her grandparents all these years. She’s even looking forward to a quiet summer by the lake. But what she finds are relatives… so many relatives! Aunts and uncles and cousins upon cousins—a motley, rambunctious crew of kids and eccentric, unconventional adults. People who have memories of her mom from when she was Ryanna’s age, clues to her past like a treasure map. Ryanna even finds an actual, real-life treasure map!

Over the course of one unforgettable summer—filled with s’mores and swimming, adventure and fun, and even a decades-old mystery to solve—Ryanna discovers a whole new side of herself and that, sometimes, the last place you expected to be is the place where you really belong.

Review:

Eleven-year-old Ryanna Stuart has always lived with her father, and now his new wife. When she receives a letter from her grandparents, her mom’s parents who she hasn’t seen since her mother’s death eight years ago, she decides to accept their invitation to visit for the summer. She travels to their summer home, a former summer camp called Camp Vam Camp, in Pennsylvania and she’s excited to learn more about her mom’s childhood. However, she’s shocked to find a bunch of cousins, aunts, and uncles, who she didn’t know about, are staying with them too. Almost all of them have memories to share about Ryanna’s mom. While looking through her mom’s old stuff, she stumbles upon a treasure map. This might be their last summer at this camp, but if Ryanna can follow the treasure map, she may be able to save this summer home. 

This was such a fun summer read! Some parts were emotional, such as when Ryanna talked about her mom. Her mom died after being hit by a car when Ryanna was three-years-old, and after that her father kept her away from her mother’s family for a reason she doesn’t know. It was heartwarming to see Ryanna discover things about her mother’s childhood and the ways they were similar. They both loved reading mystery novels, which is what I loved at that age too. I really loved how everything came together at the end of the story, and every piece of the puzzle had a purpose. 

The Firefly Summer is a fun summer middle grade read!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book.

Have you read The Firefly Summer? What did you think of it?

Review: Throwback

Title: Throwback
Author: Maurene Goo
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
Source: Manda Group
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: April 11, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Back to the Future meets The Joy Luck Club in this YA contemporary romance about a Korean American girl sent back to the ’90s to (reluctantly) help her teenage mom win Homecoming Queen.

Being a first-generation Asian American immigrant is hard. You know what’s harder? Being the daughter of one. Samantha Kang has never gotten along with her mother, Priscilla—and has never understood her bougie-nightmare, John Hughes high school expectations. After a huge fight between them, Sam is desperate to move forward—but instead, finds herself thrown back. Way back.

To her shock, Sam finds herself back in high school . . . in the ’90s . . . with a 17-year-old Priscilla. Now this Gen Z girl must try to fit into an analog world. She’s got the fashion down, but everything else is baffling. What is “microfiche”? What’s with the casual racism and misogyny? And why does it feel like Priscilla is someone she could actually be . . . friends with?

Sam’s blast to the past has her finding the right romance in the wrong time while questioning everything she thought she knew about her mom . . . and herself. Will Sam figure out what she needs to do to fix things for her mom so that she can go back to a time she understands? Brimming with heart and humor, Maurene Goo’s time-travel romance asks big questions about what exactly one inherits and loses in the immigrant experience.

Review:

Samantha Kang has never gotten along with her mom, Priscilla Jo. Her mom has bougie goals her family, wanting them to join a country club and for Sam to win Homecoming Queen, but Sam doesn’t care about those things. After a huge fight, Sam is left standing by herself as her mom drives away. She calls a rideshare company, which ends up sending her back to 1995, when Priscilla was in high school and competing to be Homecoming Queen. Since her fight with her mother sparked this time traveling, Sam must figure out how to fix her mom’s Homecoming experience so she can return to her time. 

This story was similar to the movie Back to the Future, which I love! It was such a fun story, especially being a reader who was born in the 90s. The references were fun and authentic. There was one character who Sam met in the past who I really liked seeing her with. I wasn’t sure how that relationship would follow her to her real time, but I loved the twist that made it happen! 

Throwback is such a fun 90s story!

Thank you Manda Group and Zando Young Readers for providing a copy of this book!

Have you read Throwback? What did you think of it?

Review: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)

Title: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: April 4, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

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.

Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

Review:

Eighteen-year-old Iris is struggling with the new war that has broken out between gods. Her brother is missing from the frontlines and Iris is at home with her ill mother. Iris’s goal is to win the columnist position at the newspaper Oath Gazette, but she must compete against the wealthy and privileged Roman Kitt. To bring her comfort, Iris writes letters to her brother, then slides them under the door of her wardrobe where they disappear. She doesn’t know that these letters land in the bedroom of Roman Kitt. Roman writes back to her, anonymously, though Roman knows it’s Iris writing to him, and they develop a pen pal relationship. Their relationship grows, following Iris to a job at the frontlines, until they come to life and death decisions. 

Enemies to lovers is quickly becoming one of my favourite tropes. There was a lot of world building and setting up the story at the beginning. There was some magic in this world, particularly with the typewriters that Roman and Iris could use to send letters back and forth. The characters weren’t all likable at the beginning, but I grew to love them. The ending of this story had my heart pounding. It’s going to be a long wait until the sequel comes out next year. 

I highly recommend Divine Rivals!

Content warnings: alcoholism, war, PTSD

Have you read Divine Rivals? What did you think of it?