Tag: Fiction

Review: Not Like Other Girls

Title: Not Like Other Girls
Author: Meredith Adamo
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: April 30, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A girl risks everything to find her former best friend in this powerful debut mystery about trauma, girlhood, and what we deserve.

When Jo-Lynn Kirby’s former best friend—pretty, nice Maddie Price—comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it’s some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked—and since everyone decided she deserved it. There’s no way Maddie would actually come to her for help.

But then Maddie is gone.

Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can’t shake the feeling there’s more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind—and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo’s with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she’d rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie’s disappearance, she’s left to wonder who she’s really searching for: Maddie, or the girl she used to be.

Not Like Other Girls is a stunning debut that takes a hard look at how we treat young women and their trauma, through the lens of a missing girl and a girl trying to find herself again.

Review:

Jo-Lynn Kirby is a seventeen-year-old junior in high school. Her former best friend, Maddie Price, disappears after asking Jo for help. Jo has been an outcast ever since her private photos were leaked, so she doesn’t know why Maddie would go to her for help. The police decide that Maddie has just run away on her own, but Jo suspects there’s more to her disappearance. She joins together with her former fling, Hudson, to figure out what happened to Maddie, but she ends uncovering her own secrets as well. 

This was such an intense YA thriller. It was so hard to put down. I think readers who love awesome thriller writers like Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson will love this debut thriller!

Thank you Bloomsbury Books US and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book for part of a sponsored campaign. 

Content warnings: sexual assault, rape, gaslighting

Have you read Not Like Other Girls? What did you think of it?

Review: The Only Lonely Fairy

Title: The Only Lonely Fairy
Author: Lana Button, Peggy Collins
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Pajama Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Make-believe + melodrama = comedy as one dramatic little girl learns the new skill of finding a friend Leah is looking for a friend to play fairies. But when her invitation fails to sway her classmates, Leah is left all…ALONE. Poor Lonely Leah! Will she always be the only one standing alone in line? The only one reading fairy tales in the book corner? The AGONY of her SUFFERING is so overpowering that she almost misses the quiet voice trying to get her attention… From the creators of Percy’s Perfect Friend comes an entertaining new journey into social-emotional growth. Author Lana Button is an early childhood educator who has seen firsthand the struggles many kids experience learning to navigate social situations and conflict—especially if pandemic lockdowns were part of their early lives. In The Only Lonely Fairy , she tells a relatable story of someone trying to make friends and missing the mark, while Peggy Collins brings lively humor to the illustrations, letting readers know what Leah doesn’t that she isn’t alone after all.

Review:

Leah wants to find someone to play fairies, but none of her classmates want to play with her. She gives up on asking and gets upset that she’s the only lonely fairy with no one to play with, but she doesn’t notice that there is one girl who does want to play with her.

This is a great picture book about making friends. It can feel so devastating when you’re a kid and can’t find someone to play with. This book captures that feeling. The illustrations are beautiful. I liked that the children in the images were diverse, including children of different races and abilities. 

The Only Lonely Fairy is a beautiful picture book. 

Thank you Pajama Press for sending me a copy of this book!

Have you read The Only Lonely Fairy? What did you think of it?

Review: A Friend in the Dark

Title: A Friend in the Dark
Author: Samantha M. Bailey
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Source: Firefly Books Distributed Lines
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 1, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A digital romance turns deadly…

Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward.

One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over?

Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her.

Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin—and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago—puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.

Review:

Eden Miller is struggling with changes in her life. Her husband suddenly wants a divorce and her seventeen-year-old daughter is barely speaking to her when she moves to college. One night she decides to add her college crush, Justin Ward, on Facebook. He messages her right away and they begin an online relationship. However, something seems off. Justin knows more about her life than Eden has told him. Though Eden is living the fantasy that she imagined over twenty years ago, she has to figure out the truth about Justin before her family is put in danger. 

This was such an intense and suspenseful thriller. It was so creepy, in the way that Justin seemed to know a lot about Eden that she hadn’t told him. It’s scary to think that you might not know who the person really is on the other side of the screen. I liked that Eden was a middle aged protagonist. Protagonists in adult novels are often younger adults, so I liked that Eden was at a different stage of her life, but she was also starting a new chapter on her own. 

A Friend in the Dark is a fast-paced and creepy thriller!

Thank you Firefly Books Distributed Lines for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death, death of parent, abuse, rape, sexual assault, murder, stalking, gaslighting

Have you read A Friend in the Dark? What did you think of it?

Review: The Dark Fable

Title: The Dark Fable
Author: Katherine Harbour
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 30, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Magical heists. Deadly secrets. Come along for the ride . . . if you dare. This heart-stopping, seductive fantasy is perfect for fans of Six of Crows .

Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed . . . until she’s caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts.

Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable’s past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.

No one is who they seem to be and the price of uncovering the Dark Fable’s cryptic history just might be fatal . . .

Review:

Evie Wilder is an orphan who usually feels invisible. When she’s caught in a heist to steal a necklace, she catches the attention of The Dark Fable. They are a group of thieves, who ask Evie to join them because she has a special ability to turn invisible. Evie joins them so that she can finally feel like she has a family and she belongs. However, there are many secrets in the Dark Fable’s past, which may be connected to Evie’s own history. She must decide where her loyalty lies, so she can find answers to questions she’s had for years. 

This was a fast paced heist story. Evie was an unreliable character with lots of secrets in her past. The Dark Fable was a mysterious group of thieves with magic powers. Even though the story is called The Dark Fable, the group in the story was referred to by their French name La Fable Sombre. It sounded more mysterious, but I wish it was consistent with the name of the book. There were some great unexpected twists at the end of the story, but they were explained quite quickly. I would have liked to see them revealed a bit earlier so there was more time to see the fallout of these twists. 

The Dark Fable is a great YA fantasy!

Thank you Bloomsbury YA for providing a digital copy of this book. 

Content warnings: death of parents, death of siblings, gun violence, stabbing

Have you read The Dark Fable? What did you think of it?

Review: Yours from the Tower

Title: Yours from the Tower
Author: Sally Nicholls
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Walker Books US
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: January 30, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Bridgerton fans rejoice! This epistolary confection—told in letters among three school friends—is perfect for devotees of gossipy costume drama.

Tirzah, Sophia, and Polly are best friends who’ve left boarding school and gone back to very different lives. The year is 1896, and Polly is teaching in an orphanage, Sophia is scouting for a rich husband at the London Season, and Tirzah is stuck acting as an unpaid companion to her grandmother. In a series of letters buzzing with atmosphere and drama, the friends air their dreams, hopes, frustrations, and romances. Can this trio of very different young women—one industrious, one artful, and one in exile—find happiness and love near the dawn of the Edwardian era? From the award-winning author of the Carnegie Medal–nominated historical romance The Silent Stars Go By comes a playful, feel-good story of friendship and aspiration pitched just right for fans of Jane Austen and her contemporary disciples.

Review:

1896: Tirzah, Polly, and Sophia are friends from boarding school who keep in touch through letters after they’ve finished school and moved on in their lives. Tirzah is living with her strict grandmother. Polly is working at an orphanage. Sophia is staying with her wealthy aunt and uncle for the season to find a husband. All three girls have to deal with tough problems as they move away from their teenage years and become young women.

This was a great epistolary novel. The short letters made the story fly by. It was easy to differentiate the three storylines since the girls were each leading such different lives. Polly was working, Sophia was looking for a husband, and Tirzah was still being treated like a child at home. They all had serious issues to deal with, such as a parent with alcoholism and a parent who abandoned their children. Despite these hardships, the story had a happy ending. 

Yours From the Tower was a great coming of age story. 

Thank you Walker Books US for sending me a copy of this book. 

Content warnings: alcoholism, parental abandonment, death of parent

Have you read Yours from the Tower? What did you think of it?

Review: Rosie and the Dreamboat (The Improbable Meet-Cute #3)

Title: Rosie and the Dreamboat (The Improbable Meet-Cute #3)
Author: Sally Thorne
Genre: Romance, Novella, Contemporary
Publisher: Amazon Original Publishing
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 23, 2024
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

For a hopeful and hopeless romantic, it’s love at first sight—with a little twist.

Rosie Whittaker and her sister are up for some Galentine’s pampering at a day spa. Getting locked inside a flotation tank is so Rosie. Enter a firefighter hero determined to pry this luckless pearl out of her high-tech shell. All Rosie has to go on is a dreamy voice and a flirty sense of humor. Remain calm, Rosie. This could be what you’ve been waiting for. Is this the man she’s waited for her whole life?

Review:

Rosie Whittaker takes her sister to a spa for Galentine’s Day for some pampering. When they go in the brand new flotation tanks, Rosie gets stuck inside. The fire department has to be called in to rescue her, and Rosie listens to the attractive voice of one firefighter as he tries to rescue her. 

This novella was quite short, at just around 40 pages, but it felt like it dragged on. Most of the story was spent with Rosie in the tank, speaking to the firefighter, and not much was happening. The way that Rosie was trapped in the tank was also making me feel claustrophobic, so it didn’t feel like a particularly romantic setting.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this romance novella. 

Content warning: claustrophobia

Other books in the series:

Have you read Rosie and the Dreamboat? What did you think of it?

Review: The Fall of the House of Tatterly

Title: The Fall of the House of Tatterly
Author: Shanna Miles
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 10, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Theo Tatterly’s ability to see ghosts is a useful skill in a house full of dead relatives, but it makes him a loner at school and everywhere else, where ghosts eternally pester him for help. For Theo, life is easier on the periphery. When his first failed exorcism portends an end to the Tatterly line, Theo must bring together his entire family—living and dead—to save the home they’ve lived in for generations . . . and maybe the world.

Author Shanna Miles’s story of magical modern-day Charleston crackles with unforgettable characters and pays homage to the city’s rich culture, folklore, and history.

Review:

Twelve-year-old Theo Tatterly can see ghosts, which is useful in his family full of witches. He can communicate with his dead ancestors who live in their house, but he doesn’t have friends outside of the family. When he fails at an exorcism, everything starts to fall apart for his family. The Tatterly family must work together using their unique magical skills to save their family home. 

This was an exciting paranormal story. I love ghost stories, especially middle grade ones. They were my favourite when I was a kid. Theo came from a big family with many aunts and a few cousins, but they each had distinctive powers. He was able to see some older ancestors so he was in a unique position to get their help with problems too. Though Theo didn’t have many connections outside of the family at the beginning of the story, when he started playing basketball, he made some friends. The ending of the story was action packed and a little creepy too. 

The Fall of the House of Tatterly is a fun paranormal middle grade story! 

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

Content warning: death of parent, parental abandonment

Have you read The Fall of the House of Tatterly? What did you think of it?

Review: Whiteout

Title: Whiteout
Author: Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 8, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance—by the same unbeatable team of authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller Blackout!

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm? 

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything.

From the bestselling, award-winning, all-star authors who brought us Blackout—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—comes another novel of Black teen love, each relationship within as unique and sparkling as Southern snowflakes.

Review:

One night, a few days before Christmas, Atlanta has a snowstorm. Everything in the city stops, but Stevie needs to try to win her girlfriend back. She enlists the help of her friends, who do all they can to get around the city and help Stevie, while also finding their own snowstorm romances.

I loved the book Blackout, which was written by the same authors, so I knew I would love this one. It was so fun to read these intertwined stories of different characters who were working towards the same goal, but who also had their own subplots happening at the same time. There was a list of clues at the end of the story to help you figure out who wrote each chapter. I tried to guess which author wrote which characters while I was reading it, and I think I got a couple of them right. 

Whiteout is a fun snowstorm romance!

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

Review: Believe Me

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Title: Believe Me
Author: J.P. Delaney
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher
Release Date: July 24, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In this twisty psychological thriller from the New York Timesbestselling author of The Girl Before, an actress plays both sides of a murder investigation.

A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Then she gets both. But nothing like she expected.

Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions. The rules? Never hit on the mark directly. Make it clear you’re available, but he has to proposition you, not the other way around. The firm is after evidence, not coercion. The innocent have nothing to hide.

Then the game changes.

When the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession.

Claire can do this. She’s brilliant at assuming a voice and an identity. For a woman who’s mastered the art of manipulation, how difficult could it be to tempt a killer into a trap? But who is the decoy . . . and who is the prey?

Review:

This was a great thriller. It had tons of twists!

Claire was an unreliable character. I couldn’t trust what she did or said because sometimes she would lie and I couldn’t tell what was true. It made for a good story since I didn’t know what was happening, but it was frustrating at the same time because I couldn’t trust her.

Halfway through the book, I was sure that I had figured out who killed Stella. But there was a twist in part 3, which completely through me off. I was also wrong with my theory.

The last part of the story was different from the first two. There was less of the mystery because everyone was more settled in their lives. The mystery was resolved at the very end, but it felt rushed to me. I was surprised at how it ended.

This book is great if you love twisty thrillers!

What to read next:

  • A Noise Downstairs

  • Gone Girl

Have you read Believe Me? What did you think of it?

BookCon 2018 – My first time!

Last month, I went to BookCon for the very first time! I absolutely loved it!

It was a little overwhelming at first, because there was so much to do! I went both days, so I was able to go to most of the things that I missed the second day. One thing that was helpful was the guide that was provided. On the second day, we were all given a little magazine that listed all of the highlights and giveaways for the day! It was a huge help and I was able to plan my day that way. I wish something like that had been provided on the first day as well, rather than just the program which listed the exhibits and authors.

I saw the lovely Sandhya Menon on the exhibit floor, so I stopped to speak to her. She’s amazing and I just love her books!

The only autographing session I was able to sign up for was Leigh Bardugo. I love her books so much! She’s an amazing writer. It was such a pleasure to meet her!

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This is one of the shirts I bought. I also purchased the BookCon 2018 shirt with my tickets, but I couldn’t resist this tank!

I didn’t take as many photos the second day, but here’s one of my favourites. My best friend, Marsilda, came with me on the second day (my mom went with me on the first), and we had to get a photo with Peppa Pig! It was a fun moment for us.

And finally, here’s my book haul. I got 22 books in total. My goal for this trip was to get as many free books as possible. I didn’t realize, at first, that I would have to get into long lines for the special ARCs, so I didn’t the highly anticipated books that I wanted. However, I did get a bunch signed by authors on the floor including two books from Quirk Books. I also got the coveted sample of King of Scars!

Overall, it was a great experience. I’m not sure if I’m going next year, but I’m glad I went.

Did you go to BookCon this year or in the past? What did you think of it?