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 Last Guest House by Megan Miranda.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Littleport, Maine is like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them. Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of – but that’s just what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.
Each summer for a decade the girls are inseparable – until Sadie is found dead. When the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name before the facts get twisted against her.
Title: Saint Anything Author: Sarah Dessen Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Publisher: Viking Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: May 5, 2015 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Peyton, Sydney’s charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion’s share of their parents’ attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton’s increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?
Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.
The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.
Review:
I’m in love with this book. It was an amazing rollercoaster of emotions.
I was fascinated with the premise of this book. It begins with Sydney’s brother being convicted for hitting a boy while driving drunk. This affected her, even more than just losing a brother, because she was suddenly restricted in what she was allowed to do. Her parents wanted to protect her from taking the same path as her brother, but it led to her being restricted so much, it was like she was being punished. Once, after Sydney made a small mistake, all of her privileges were taken away. I was so empathetic for Sydney, because she didn’t deserve her extreme punishments.
There was a character that was creepy right from page one. However, Sydney’s parents, in particular her mother, trusted him. It was sad to see her parents trust him, while he was being inappropriate in many ways. It was upsetting to read, but he ultimately got the justice he deserved.
I was craving so many different foods while reading this book! The food they ate was described in detail. Sydney’s friend, Layla, was a connoisseur of french fries. She had a routine of eating them with different ketchup mixtures. Layla’s family owned a pizza store which sold pizza and garlic knots, which sounded delicious! This is definitely not a book to read if you’re hungry!
I loved this story!
What to read next:
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
Have you read Saint Anything? 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 was approved for a book on NetGalley from Penguin Random House Canada:
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Thomas Nelson:
Coral by Sara Ella
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Oni Press:
The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, Thomas Nelson and Oni Press for these books!
Title: Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts Author: Esta Spalding Genre: Middle Grade Publisher: Tundra Books Source: Library Format: Ebook Release Date: May 3, 2016 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Kim Fitzgerald-Trout took to driving with ease–as most children would if their parents would ever let them try. She had to. After all, she and her siblings live in a car.
Meet the Fitzgerald-Trouts, a band of four loosely related children living together in a lush tropical island. They take care of themselves. They sleep in their car, bathe in the ocean, eat fish they catch and fruit they pick, and can drive anywhere they need to go–to the school, the laundromat, or the drive-in. If they put their minds to it, the Fitzgerald-Trouts can do anything. Even, they hope, find a real home.
Award-winning poet and screenwriter Esta Spalding’s exciting middle grade debut establishes a marvelous place where children fend for themselves, and adults only seem to ruin everything. This extraordinary world is brought to vibrant life by Sydney Smith, the celebrated artist behind Sidewalk Flowers.
Review:
This was such a fun story. I started to read the latest book in this series, but I couldn’t understand it because of the complicated relationships. I’m so glad that I went back to the beginning of the series, because it is a great introduction to the characters.
This story reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Fitzgerald-Trout children live on their own, without their parents. The narrator is also a character in the same way as Lemony Snicket. However, the Fitzgerald-Trouts are not running away from a villain like Count Olaf.
I loved the unconventional family of the Fitzgerald-Trouts. All of the kids think of themselves as brothers and sisters, even though they aren’t all related. They have a mixture of four different parents, with some sharing a mother while others share a father. This family is complicated in an exaggerated way, but it is important to have these kinds of unconventional family structures in novels, especially kids books. Kids who read this story may see their own family reflected in some part of this family.
I loved this story! I’m excited to read the rest of the series!
What to read next:
Knock About with the Fitzgerald-Trouts by Esta Spalding
The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue
Have you read Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts? 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:
“No. No. No. Not the black. Not the choking dark. Not the plastic bag. Panic overwhelms her, forcing the air from her lungs. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. The metallic taste of fear rises in her throat.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… The Mister by E.L. James.
Goodreads synopsis:
The passionate new romance from E L James, author of the phenomenal #1 bestselling Fifty Shades Trilogy
London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face.
But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he’s been hiding secrets of his own?
From the heart of London through wild, rural Cornwall to the bleak, forbidding beauty of the Balkans, The Mister is a roller-coaster ride of danger and desire that leaves the reader breathless to the very last page.
Have you read The Mister? What did you think of it?
Title: Fatal Inheritance Author: Rachel Rhys Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada Source: Publisher Format: Paperback Release Date: June 11, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Get swept away to the enchanting South of France with this suspenseful historical novel, where perilous secrets lurk under the glitz and glam of seaside wealth.
She didn’t have an enemy in the world…until she inherited a fortune.
London 1948: Eve Forrester is stuck in a loveless marriage, isolated in her gray and gloomy house when out of the blue, she receives a letter. A wealthy stranger has left her a mysterious inheritance but in order to find out more, she must travel to the glittering French Riviera.
There, Eve discovers she has been bequeathed an enchanting villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and suddenly, life could not be more glamorous. But while she rubs shoulders with the rich and famous, challengers to her unexplained fortune begin to emerge—challengers who would love to see Eve gone forever.
Alone in paradise, Eve must unlock the story behind her surprise bequest—before her unexpected twist of fate turns deadly…
Fatal Inheritance is an intoxicating story of dysfunctional families and long-hidden secrets, set against the decadence of the Côte d’Azur.
Review:
I was excited to read this new suspenseful, historical fiction novel. It didn’t disappoint.
This story was set in the South of France. I’ve never been there, but I would love to go after reading this book. The setting was incredibly descriptive. It was set in various villas along the coast. Though the story was tense, the setting was calming.
The tension of the story built slowly. The plot began immediately, when Eve was told that she had been given an inheritance by a mysterious man. There wasn’t much progression in that plot until the last third of the story. There were a couple of interesting subplots, that didn’t really have anything to do with Eve’s mystery. The ultimate resolution made sense, and I was happy with where Eve ended up.
This is a great historical read for the summer!
Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys
The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore
Have you read Fatal Inheritance? 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 Into the Water by Paula Hawkins.
Goodreads Synopsis:
‘Julia, it’s me. I need you to call me back. Please, Julia, it’s important…’
In the last days before her death, Nel Abbott called her sister.
Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help.
Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind.
But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped.
And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool…
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, satisfying read that hinges on the stories we tell about our pasts and their power to destroy the lives we live now.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1) Author: Louise Rennison Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Publisher: HaperTeen Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: June 24, 1999 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
There are six things very wrong with my life:
1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.
2. It is on my nose
3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.
4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.
5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.
6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.
In this wildly funny journal of a year in the life of Georgia Nicolson, British author Louise Rennison has perfectly captured the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. In the spirit of Bridget Jones’s Diary, this fresh, irreverent, and simply hilarious book will leave you laughing out loud. As Georgia would say, it’s “Fabbity fab fab!”
Review:
This book quickly became one of my favourites as soon as I started reading it. It is hilarious!
Georgia is an ordinary girl, suffering through her teenage existence. She is so relatable because of her flaws. She documents her life in this journal, including all of her embarrassing moments, such as her first kiss.
One thing that I’ve always loved about this series is that the characters around Georgia are very important to the story. Georgia, like most teenagers, feels like she should be the centre of attention. However, her family and friends are prominent in the story. Her parents deal with problems including her father losing his job. Georgia acts as her friend’s wing woman so she can start dating a boy who works at a grocery store. In my opinion, the funniest character is Libby, Georgia’s toddler sister, because she has no filter when talking!
I love this series! If you haven’t read it yet, you have to pick it up!
What to read next:
On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #2) by Louise Rennison
Have you read Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging? 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 Wilder Girls by Rory Power. The release date is July 9, 2019.
Goodreads Synopsis:
It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.
But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.
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