Title: The Best Lies Author: Sarah Lyu Genre: Young Adult, Thriller Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: July 2, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Remy Tsai used to know how her story would turn out. But now, she doesn’t even know what tomorrow will look like.
She was happy once. Remy had her boyfriend Jack, and Elise, her best friend—her soulmate—who understood her better than anyone else in the world.
But now Jack is dead, shot through the chest—
And it was Elise who pulled the trigger.
Was it self-defense? Or something deeper, darker than anything Remy could have imagined? As the police investigate, Remy does the same, sifting through her own memories, looking for a scrap of truth that could save the friendship that means everything to her.
Told in alternating timelines, Thelma and Louise meets Gone Girl in this twisted psychological thriller about the dark side of obsessive friendship.
Review:
This was a gripping YA thriller!
There are two alternating narratives in this story. One is in the present, which is right after Jack has died. The other tells the story of Remy and Elise’s friendship. Remy seemed like an unreliable narrator, because she had to lie in her testimony. However, there were reasons for her lies.
Even though I knew how the story ends, with Jack’s death, I was still hooked on the story. There were some other twists before the end that I wasn’t expecting. Elise was a complex character, who went through a lot over the course of the story. She was classified as the “villain,” but I ended up feeling a little sorry for her.
I loved this story!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
When the Truth Unravels by RuthAnne Snow
The Window by Amelia Brunskill
Have you read The Best Lies? 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 5 books from Penguin Random House Canada:
Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan
Bunny by Mona Awad
Wherever She Goes by K.L. Armstrong
Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke
The Empress of Idaho by Todd Babiak
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Simon and Schuster Canada:
Tidelands by Philippa Gregory
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Wattpad:
Cupid’s Match by L.E. Palphreyman
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Graydon House:
Husband Material by Emily Belden
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, Simon and Schuster Canada, Wattpad and Graydon House for these books!
Title: The Death of Mrs. Westaway Author: Ruth Ware Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: May 29, 2018 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the centre of it.
Review:
I was hooked on this story right from the beginning. It was so intriguing. Hal received a letter saying that she was going to receive an inheritance from her grandmother who just passed away, but her grandparents had died years ago. Since she needed money, she decided to play along with the family. However, she ended up getting tangled up in their complicated family.
The story was quite fast-paced. Everything moved quickly with new twists in every chapter. When I thought I had it all figured out, I discovered I was wrong, which kept me in suspense. I also loved that Hal was a tarot card reader. It added to the mystery of the story.
I loved this mystery! I highly recommend it!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Have you read The Death of Mrs. Westaway? 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:
“Jude lifted the heavy practice sword, moving into the first stance – readiness. Get used to the weight, Madoc had told her. You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself that strong. It will hurt. Pain makes you strong.“
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black.
Goodreads synopsis:
You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.
Title: Don’t You Forget About Me Author: Mhairi McFarlane Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Publisher: HarperCollins Source: Publisher event Format: Paperback Release Date: July 2, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to rise again…
The hilarious new heartbreaker from Mhairi McFarlane!
If there’s one thing worse than being fired from the grottiest restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else.
Reeling from the indignity of a double dumping on the same day, Georgina snatches at the next job that she’s offered – barmaid in a newly opened pub, which just so happens to run by the boy she fell in love with at school: Lucas McCarthy. And whereas Georgina (voted Most Likely to Succeed in her school yearbook) has done nothing but dead-end jobs in the last twelve years, Lucas has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but also has turned into an actual grown-up with a business and a dog along the way.
Meeting Lucas again not only throws Georgina’s rackety present into sharp relief, but also brings a dark secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows the truth about what happened on the last day of school, and why she’s allowed it to chase her all these years…
Review:
This book was hilarious and heartbreaking.
I kept laughing out loud at the beginning. Georgina reminds me of a grown-up Georgia Nicolson from the series by Louise Rennison. She has hilarious anecdotes about working in various restaurants and bars. She also has a great outlook on life, which came across in her funny stories.
This story took a dark twist that I didn’t see coming. It happened close to the end. The twist changed the way I thought about Georgina, and made her seem like a much more intense character.
I loved this book!
What to read next:
Who’s That Girl? by Mhairi McFarlane
It’s Not Me, It’s You by Mhairi McFarlane
Have you read Don’t You Forget About Me? What did you think of it?
TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.
My pick this week is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.
Goodreads Synopsis:
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski, this heartfelt and humorous contemporary take on Sense and Sensibility follows two sisters—complete opposites—who discover the secrets they’ve been keeping make them more alike than they’d realized.
For two sisters as different as Plum and Ginny, getting on each other’s nerves is par for the course. But when the family’s finances hit a snag, sending chaos through the house in a way only characters from a Jane Austen novel could understand, the two drift apart like they never have before. Plum, a self-described social outcast, strikes up a secret friendship with the class jock, while Ginny’s usual high-strung nature escalates to pure hysterics.
But this has always been the sisters’ dynamic. So why does everything feel different this year? Maybe because Ginny is going to leave for college soon. Maybe because Plum finally has something that she doesn’t have to share with her self-involved older sister. Or maybe because the girls are forced to examine who they really are instead of who their late father said they were. And who each girl discovers—beneath the years of missing their dad—could either bring them closer together…or drive them further apart.
Review:
This was a great story about sisters.
I flew through this book. I loved the way that Patience narrated it. She was very mature. It sounded like a Victorian novel, though the subject matter wouldn’t have been in a novel in the nineteenth century.
I enjoyed the family dynamic of the story. Their mother was an artist who often had too much on her plate. The house was also an important part of the story, because it was falling apart, which kept interrupting their lives when they had to fix it. The relationship between the sisters was also important. Though they are very close, they kept big secrets from each other, which only come out after they are threatened with a tragedy.
I really enjoyed this story!
Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Who’s That Girl by Blair Thornburgh
Have you read Ordinary Girls? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.
The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen. The release date is July 30, 2019.
Goodreads Synopsis:
A future chieftain
Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.
A fugitive prince
When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.
A too-cunning bodyguard
Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?
Title: The Lost Sisters (The Folk of the Air #1.5) Author: Holly Black Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: NOVL Source: Purchased Format: Ebook Release Date: October 2, 2018 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Sometimes the difference between a love story and a horror story is where the ending comes . . .
While Jude fought for power in the Court of Elfhame against the cruel Prince Cardan, her sister Taryn began to fall in love with the trickster, Locke.
Half-apology and half-explanation, it turns out that Taryn has some secrets of her own to reveal.
The Lost Sisters is a companion e-novella to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince by master writer Holly Black.
Review:
This story comes between The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. It is a great refresher of The Cruel Prince because it gives an overview of what happened in that book from a new perspective.
This story is told by Taryn speaking directly to Jude. It is written in the uncommon second person, because it addresses “you.” I read this story after reading The Wicked King, instead of between the two novels. However, I think I enjoyed it more reading it this way, because Taryn plays a unique role in The Wicked King. This story gave me a different perspective of her character because she was able to tell her side of the story.
I enjoyed this short story. It is great for fans of this series!
What to read next:
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black
Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales #1) by Holly Black
Have you read The Lost Sisters? What did you think of it?
