Recent Reads and Mini Reviews #2

Welcome to another recent reads and mini reviews! This is my second one and I certainly enjoyed writing the first one. If you missed it, you can check it out here. For today’s post, I will be talking about two books: No Exit and Sadie.

All my thoughts are spoiler free

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Title: No Exit
Author: Taylor Adams
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: William Morrow
Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside, are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?

Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.

But who can she trust?

Whew. Okay where to start? This book is fast paced and definitely a page turner which I enjoyed. It didn’t take long to get to the plot. We meet Darby Thorne who’s driving in the worst conditions ever to see her dying mother, however because it is dangerous to drive, she stops at a rest stop. She meets a few people there and everything seems normal till she’s looking for cell signal and while passing one of the cars, she sees a little girl trapped in a dog crate. Darby is low-key freaking out and at one point even thinks she’s hallucinating till she checks again later on and sees that she isn’t.

My problem with this book were the characterizations and the plot twists. At some points I found Darby to be bland and at others I was routing for her. I’m done with the book and still don’t know how to feel about her. The other characters were also “meh.” I love books that have unreliable or unlikable characters. However, this just felt like neither of the two. I didn’t care about what was going to happen to them. The reason for the girl being kidnapped and all that was behind the plot line was disappointing and I felt like it was incomplete. I asked myself “umm that’s it?” It was just okay to me. I was expecting so much more and I thought there was room for it to be better. It’s as if the author knew what he wanted the book to be about but didn’t execute it all that great.

The writing was well done and good. I liked the narration and how quick this book was. Overall, the book was a solid 3 stars.

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Title: Sadie
Author: Courtney Summers
Genre: YA Mystery
Publisher: Macmillan
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:
Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

This book contains trigger warnings for: sexual abuse, pedophilia, murder, blood, violence, and drug abuse.

This was my first audiobook ever!!! Well the first one to really grab my attention. I’ve tried other audiobooks years ago and couldn’t get into them at all. I found myself constantly bored. However, this one was perfection. It has a full cast. And because this book has chapters of a podcasts, it has all those elements to it which made it even better to listen too.

This book is hard-hitting and sad. We meet Sadie who’s life has never been easy but she’s always been second person to her little sister, Mattie, who is now dead. Sadie goes missing after Mattie’s death to try and avenge her death. She wants justice. When Sadie goes missing, a radio personality hears about the story and decides to go on a mission to find her and get to the bottom of the what happens. This book is told in alternating chapters of Sadie’s POV and “The Girls” Podcast.

From beginning to end this book had me at the edge of my seat. I loved all the characters involved and the way the author portrayed them each. Summers really showed how each of them experienced their own grief and how they handled it. Sadie being unstoppable and getting to the bottom of it, going through lengths.

I liked the plot, the style of the this book, all the emotions it left me with, and the themes of it as well. The realistic theme that people tend to forget about the missing girls, the dead girls, the forgotten girls. Summers didn’t shy from the theme of sexual abuse. I didn’t have to guess it, it was raw and to the point. This story although fiction, rings true. I highly recommend this 5 star read.

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That is all I have for today! Have you read these books? What are you currently reading? Have a great day xo

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Where the Crawdads Sing Non-Spoiler Book Review

Title: Where the Crawdads Sing
Author: Delia Owns
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult, Mystery
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: August 14, 2018
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
A novel about a young woman determined to make her way in the wilds of North Carolina, and the two men that will break her isolation open.

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She’s barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark.

But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten, she has survived on her own in the marsh that she calls home. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life lessons from the land, learning from the false signals of fireflies the real way of this world. But while she could have lived in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world–until the unthinkable happens.

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A contemporary coming of age story sprinkled with some mystery told in a timeline from early 1950s to the 1970s. We follow Kya Clark from the age of 6 and her story to adulthood. Always known as “The Marsh Girl”, life hasn’t been very nice to Kya. She’s had to deal with abandonment since she was 6. Slowly but surely her whole family walks out on her and at the age 10 she has to learn to survive on her own. She becomes familiar with her surroundings and her friends are nature. There have always been stories of “The Marsh Girl” in Barkley Cove, North Carolina. However no one knows that Kya didn’t chose this lonesome path, she craves love and touch and familiarity. She’s just scared that if she gets close, people will leave her again. While reading about Kya, we also learn that in late 1969, Chase Andrews is found dead, and everyone easily suspects Kya Clark, the girl raised from the wild. Jumping timelines, we watch Kya grow and learn about Chase’s involvement in Kya’s life.

“There are some who can live without
wild things, and some who cannot.”

WHAT A WORK OF ART!!!! This book is so lush and every single word captivates you. I even learned about animals, the marsh, the waters, and nature. I loved the added pieces of poetry too.

This book deals with a lot of abandonment and loneliness. And let me tell you that the author knows exactly how to convey that. I felt it all throughout the book, I cried many times while reading this, feeling for our MC Kya. My chest was hollow time after time. The author articulated every little thing perfectly. I found no flaws with the writing and pacing and flow of the book.

This novel was heartbreaking, beautiful, and haunting. Very atmospheric. I cried and rejoiced with the character, I screamed when she screamed, and felt her frustrations. The added mystery to the novel was a plus. It was very well done. I wouldn’t go into this book thinking it’s a Mystery Novel because it’s more so a coming of age story.

I loved how the author didn’t shy away from what was occurring during that time period 1950s-1970s. We see racism (with other characters) and how a whole town had it against Kya. I felt sucked into this timeline every time I picked up this book.

“Don’t go thinking poetry’s just for sissies. There’s mushy love poems,
for sure, but there’s also funny ones, lots about nature, war even.
Whole point of it–they make ya feel something.”

I absolutely loved this novel. Everything, from the characters, the scenes, the stories, the mystery was just written beautifully. From beginning to end, I was engrossed in this book and was left thinking about it even after I finished. Those are good books right? The ones that really mark you and leave you lingering days after? I am so happy to know that it has been picked up for a movie. I know for a fact that I will need a lot of tissues for it. This was such a great debut. The author always transported me to this world when I opened the book. Where the Crawdads Sing is captivating in every which way. I loved all the themes of strength, resilience, hope, desperation, etc. I’m a huge fan of Mother Nature and I felt connected to it through this book as well. I highly recommend!

“I’m sure you know that most stars are too far away for us
to see. We see only their light, which be can be distorted
by the atmosphere. But, of course, the stars are not
stationary, but moving very fast.”

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I’m starting to think that I’ll probably have to check out Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks. First Daisy Jones and now this? Have you read Where the Crawdad Sings?

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Miracle Creek Non-Spoiler Book Review

Title: Miracle Creek
Author: Angie Kim
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: April 16, 2019
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
A literary courtroom drama about a Korean immigrant family and a young, single mother accused of murdering her eight-year-old autistic son

My husband asked me to lie. Not a big lie. He probably didn’t even consider it a lie, and neither did I, at first . . .

In the small town of Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine—a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives” with the hopes of curing issues like autism or infertility. But when the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos’ small community.

Who or what caused the explosion? Was it the mother of one of the patients, who claimed to be sick that day but was smoking down by the creek? Or was it Young and Pak themselves, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? The ensuing trial uncovers unimaginable secrets from that night—trysts in the woods, mysterious notes, child-abuse charges—as well as tense rivalries and alliances among a group of people driven to extraordinary degrees of desperation and sacrifice.

Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek is a thoroughly contemporary take on the courtroom drama, drawing on the author’s own life as a Korean immigrant, former trial lawyer, and mother of a real-life “submarine” patient. An addictive debut novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng, Miracle Creek is both a twisty page-turner and a deeply moving story about the way inconsequential lies and secrets can add up—with tragic consequences.

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Trigger Warnings: Sexual abuse and Suicide

One day in Miracle Creek, Virginia an experimental medical treatment device aka Miracle Submarine explodes out of nowhere and kills two people while injuring others. Now, the mother of a patient is on trial for the murder and attempted murder of everyone involved. Told through different perspectives and following the trial, we will uncover what really happens and the aftermath of the explosion. Are the owners of Miracle Submarine, Young and Pak Yoo, really innocent? Is the mother actually capable of killing her only child? Or have one of the other patients commit the crime? Many speculations, a tense trial, what is really the truth here? And at what cost do they hide that truth?

This is Angie Kim’s debut novel and she definitely knows how to write a good book with flushed out characters and knows how to keep you interested in the plot. There are trigger warnings to Sexual abuse which involve a minor with an adult and I’m probably giving away a lot here. However, I was really uncomfortable with the scene because the author didn’t allude to what happened, she wrote out exactly what happened and that was a bit much for me. Therefore, if this is something that you wouldn’t like, please read with caution or don’t read at all. I also felt that suicide was used as a plot twist and that left me feeling “meh.” I really don’t know how to feel about that, I mean we finally learn the truth through this unfortunate event. I was just left with this question of “was that really necessary?”

Because Miracle Creek is about a Korean Immigrant Family, we learn a lot about their culture, them coming to the United States, their language barriers, and what they went through while being here. I really enjoyed those aspects of the book and learning as well. It definitely added to the story and the characters without taking away from the plot of the book.

Angie Kim wrote this book through different character perspectives while still keeping it in 3rd POV which I also found interesting. Usually when books are told through different perspectives, it’s written in 1st person. I thought that for a literary fiction novel, the pacing was great in the first half of the book. However, it definitely dragged and slowed a lot down. We were getting more back story and the characters were frustrating me. There was a lot of back and forth between the characters which is okay, I just thought that it got dragged out for too long. And, I have no problem with unlikeable characters, I usually like them the most but I hated all the characters (except for Elizabeth and Teresa).

I feel like the book was okay and I liked how it concluded. I won’t lie that I started skimming through the book in the last chapters because I wasn’t that much interested anymore. I also do feel like I’m in the minority because it’s gotten tons of hype and buzz.

My favorite parts of this book were the chapters about the Courtroom. Ugh the scenes were so good. This book would do really great as a movie or even a short mini-series like The People v. OJ Simpson. I can definitely see this book becoming that and would probably had preferred it rather than reading it.

There were a lot of characters in this book but they were distinct and I think that’s so important when it comes to books. Even if I had to stop midway through a chapter, once I picked the book up, I wasn’t confused as to who’s characters perspective I was in.

Overall, I would recommend it if you’re into Courtroom Drama and Thrillers.

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Thoughts and opinions? Have you read this book or plan on to? Let’s chat!

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Ink and Bone Non-Spoiler Review

Title: Ink and Bone (#5)
Series: The Hollows
Author: Lisa Unger
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pub. Date: June 7, 2016

Synopsis:
In this explosive psychological thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, a young woman’s mysterious gift forces her into the middle of a dangerous investigation of a little girl’s disappearance.

For as long as she can remember, twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery has been able to see into the future. She dreams about events before they occur and sees beyond the physical world, unconsciously using her power to make supernatural things happen.

But Finley can’t control these powers—and there’s only one person who can help. So Finley moves to The Hollows, a small town in upstate New York where her grandmother lives, a renowned seer who can finally teach Finley how to use her gift.

A gift that is proving to be both a blessing and a curse, as Finley lands in the middle of a dangerous investigation involving a young girl who has been missing for ten months and the police have all but given up hope.

With time running out there’s only so much Finley can do as The Hollows begins to reveal its true colors. As she digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, nothing is what it seems. But one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.

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Main character, Finley Montgomery, can see into the future since a child and needs help. However, the only person who can help Finley lives across the country. So Finley packs her stuff and moves in with her grandmother, Eloise Montgomery, to The Hollows, NY. Finley’s grandmother is a seer and she can teach Finley about her gift. Not only is Eloise a seer, she sometimes helps Detective Jones Cooper with his private investigations. This time though, when a young girl goes missing and things start unraveling, The Hollows demands help from Finley. Jones and Finley team up. Following different perspectives from Finley and the parents of the missing girl, things slowly come together and the truth will reveal what happens next.

This is my first Lisa Unger book and honestly I’m kind of mad that I didn’t read the other books in this series before. Simply because I felt like there were things mentioned that I didn’t understand. For example, the story of PI Jones Cooper, we meet a character who makes a reference to Eloise helping him before and I just didn’t get it, etc. etc. Maybe if I would’ve read those books, then my enjoyment of this book wouldn’t have felt so empty.

Lisa Unger’s writing style is simple, easy to read. She wrote this Thriller in the way I love to read Thrillers: with different perspectives till it all comes together in the end. We have Finley’s and Merrie’s (the missing girl’s mom) perspectives. In some chapters with Merrie we even jump back to before the investigation and learn how everything came to be with her daughter missing.

The reason why I gave this book a 4 star is because of the pacing. I thought it dragged out more than it should. At some point I said “I don’t care about their past anymore, can we just get into the investigation already?” I was already past the 70% mark and when we did get into the important parts, the author still added parts of the characters background that I thought weren’t necessary during the climax.

I loved the paranormal elements of this book. It felt natural and not something extra. I loved how the author weaved all of that in together perfectly.

I usually add a character section to my non-spoiler reviews. However, I’ll put it simply: I liked them all. I really enjoyed Finley’s character arc. Her independence, her strength but still loving and caring. I loved the grandmother, Eloise, she definitely had all those grandmotherly vibes and always gave out words of wisdom. Merrie and Wolf (husband) were the typical dysfunctional couple and I liked how Lisa Unger wrote them out.

Overall, I did like this book and plan on reading more books from this author. I liked the dark tone of this book and the author really knows how to set the vibe. I was always transported to this world when I opened the book and was kept interested the whole time regardless of the problem I had with it. I would recommend this book for sure!

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So far I feel like I’m doing good with tackling my “books I would like to read this year” TBR. I know I’m super late to the Lisa Unger bandwagon, any other books you would recommend by her? What are your favorite mystery/thrillers?

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Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco Non-Spoiler Review

Title: Stalking Jack the Ripper
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Genre: YA Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

 

 

 

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Set in the late 1800s, the opening pages start with our main character Audrey Rose in a laboratory working on a cadaver. Immediately you get the feel and tone of the book, very mysterious and dark. In a society where misogyny is on a all time high, many people expect Audrey Rose to hide her love for science and all things forensic medicine which includes dead bodies, Audrey Rose has a different take.

To get away from her father’s madness and society’s rules, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory. Audrey has been helping her uncle with the corpses of this madman serial killer, theorizing and trying to figure out who it is and why are they doing this. When trying to go public with help backfires on her, she starts secretly searching for clues and the answers she is searching for will lead to something never expected.

The writing was very well done. I honestly feel that the author wrote this book in a realistic way. Yes, some parts were boring but they felt authentic and necessary. Kerri Maniscalco definitely gets into detail with the mutilation of the bodies and how they were killed, therefore please read with caution if gore isn’t your thing. Definitely do not eat and read this book at the same time. However, I actually loved that the author wrote those scenes in such detail, showing us how dark this book can get without filter.

“the dead speak to those who listen. Be quieter than even them.”

The setting and society were very on point. Maniscalco definitely does not hold back with how misogyny took place in this time, sometimes to the point where it was a burden on our main character, Audrey Rose. It also made me cringe sometimes. It sucks that this was something that was very prevalent in that day and age (we still live through it now just not as heavy), however, Maniscalco took that and made it her own. She wrote scenes that showed us how strong Audrey Rose is.

We meet a few characters throughout the book. Some of my faves including Audrey Rose, Thomas, and the Uncle Dr. Jonathan Wadsworth. All three of these are on the same hunt for the serial killer. Thomas who was pretty much Dr. Jonathan Wadsworth apprentice definitely gave me bad vibes in the beginning of the book due to his quiet sarcastic attitude. There were times when I told myself “booooyyyyyy if you do not stop right now” lol. I loved the banter between him and Audrey though! They had me giggling.

“Science never abandoned me the way religion had that night.”

I definitely grew a soft spot for Audrey’s uncle because he always meant well and definitely tested Audrey and Thomas’s limits when it came to forensic medicine. I was sad to find out that Dr. Jonathan Wadsworth and Audrey’s father, Lord Edmund Wadsworth were not in speaking terms. In actuality, Lord Edmund hated the thought of her daughter being in that laboratory for reasons the book gets into later on.  Lord Edmund’s paranoia left Audrey and her brother Nathaniel in a state of despair, not knowing what to do. Lord Edmund’ s madness is due to the death of his wife, Audrey and Nathaniel’s mother. I also enjoyed Nathaniel’s character and their sibling relationship. He was very understanding to his sister’s love for the science and curiosity but also very cautious.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the second installment, Hunting Prince Dracula. The character development and the way things flowed was great. Now if you’re wondering as to why I gave the book 4 stars it’s because I found the book to be a bit predictable and some scenes were just boring. Other than that, I really enjoyed Stalking Jack the Ripper.

I loved the characters, the setting, and even the subtle steampunk elements. If you know me, you know I love steampunk. I am also a huge sucker for late 1800s to early 1900s London except for the misogyny of course because we don’t need that. Kerri Mansicalco definitely did a great job with transferring me to this world every time I opened the page.

And that ending??!!?? Although I predicted it, I was still shocked with how some things came about and I kept flipping the pages like nobody’s business. I would highly recommend this!

 

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have you read stalking jack the ripper? what are your thoughts? do any of you anticipate hunting prince dracula? let’s chat in the comments!

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Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel Non-Spoiler ARC Review

Title: Black Bird of the Gallows
Series: N/A
Author: Meg Kassel
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Format: ARC paperback
Release Date: September 5th 2017
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:

A simple but forgotten truth: Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full.

Angie Dovage can tell there’s more to Reece Fernandez than just the tall, brooding athlete who has her classmates swooning, but she can’t imagine his presence signals a tragedy that will devastate her small town. When something supernatural tries to attack her, Angie is thrown into a battle between good and evil she never saw coming. Right in the center of it is Reece—and he’s not human.

What’s more, she knows something most don’t. That the secrets her town holds could kill them all. But that’s only half as dangerous as falling in love with a harbinger of death.

 

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*I want to thank BookCon and Entangled Teen for providing me an ARC!*

Angie Dovage is a teenager trying to live a low-key life where people forget her story and what’s happened with her mom. In small town Pennsylvania where nothing much really happens and everyone lives their day to day life, Angie Dovage is going to meet her new next door neighbor who will drastically change her life. Once her next door neighbor moves in, Reece Fernandez, something supernatural tries to attack Angie. Yet, every time Angie goes through an attack, she notices that Reece is there. Angie is dancing with a harbinger of death and when she finds out out why Reece is really there in this small town Pennsylvania, it’s either saving everyone or staying alive.

I thought the writing was okay, easy to read and understandable. Meg Kassel wrote the setting in present times so there wasn’t much world building. The author really focused on the descriptions of what was a Harbinger of Death, Beekeepers, and the crows. I found that to be a problem (in my opinion) because this is a short book of 308 pages and sometimes she would explain over a few times what these three things do rather than focus on the plot. There was a point where I put down the book and asked myself “is this book part of a series? cause if so that would make more sense as to why she’s giving us much detailed descriptions.” Goodreads didn’t give me anything so I went to her website and found that she’s working on a novella and companion novel.

Meg Kassel also wrote a lot of tropes. If you do not like instalove, then you might want to steer away from this book. There’s also the neighbor who happens to be a supernatural trope, the girl who wasn’t doing much with her life till a guy walked in trope, and many other tropes but I won’t mention it because I don’t want to spoil the book.

We get to meet a few characters throughout this book. We meet both main characters Angie and Reece. Angie Dovage lives with her father and she hasn’t had the best life. Losing a mother to drugs, her life in school isn’t the best because everyone knows of her story. Angie is focused on music and the band she’s in with her two friends, Deno and Lacey. Reece is the new mysterious attractive guy that every girl in school is swooning over. Instead of being the quiet bad boy, he instantly gets a long with everyone in school and get’s into the hockey team. We also meet Angie’s father in the story who happens to be really present in her life and I have to say that I really enjoyed that aspect.

I also have to say that these characters weren’t flushed out as I would like. I feel that I’ve read these character arcs repeatedly throughout the years. I didn’t really find them relatable and it would’ve been nice to see them grow naturally but the tropes didn’t really help with the growth because a lot of their (Angie and Reece) decisions were based off emotions.

Overall, I found this book to be very predictable. If you like LUX by Jennifer L. Armentrout and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, then I would definitely suggest you reading this book because it has ALL the same elements.

For this being a short book, I thought there was a lot more descriptions going on rather than plot. The plot really took place in the last few chapters. I know I mentioned this already but I really wish the author would’ve taken more time focusing on the plot, building the characters, and giving us just more of the world.

Angie asked a lot of questions about what the Harbinger of Deaths do and what Beekeepers are, how the Crows are involved in all of this. Yes, those are very important questions, however, Meg Kassel was explaining this way too much. And yes, it is important to the plot and what happens but there wasn’t a flow with plot and getting to know these paranormal elements. Therefore, sometimes the book felt too jumpy instead of an organic flow of things.

There were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way as well when reading this book which I can’t just let slide over without mentioning.

• There was a part in the book when the author compares Cadence (name of town) to Afghanistan. “Cadence is not Afghanistan. It’s southwestern Pennsylvania.” I thought that was very insensitive of the author to write.
• There is also a scene where Angie is drenched in water, she’s unconscious, and Reece stated that she was freezing and in shock. She wakes up and notices that her clothes is hanging on a chair and she was changed into a t-shirt which was alarming to her. She calls it to his attention, she’s asking questions about what happened, and he gets really defensive which I didn’t like at all. We get a character who’s been really nice and cool throughout the book but then when he get’s questioned on what happened while she’s unconscious, he turns into a dislikable person. “You were freezing and in shock. I had to get you warm and dry. I’m not sorry.” He also didn’t apologize which really pissed me off.
• “what are you, suicidal? leave me and go.” this type of sarcasm is a no from me.
• Reece Fernandez so happens not to be latino at all so there went my hopes and dreams of a latinx character being involved.

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that is all for this review. i would love to chat in the comments about your thoughts! if you have any questions, please feel free to ask ❤

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A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab Non-Spoiler Review

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic (Book 1)
Series: Shades of Magic
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

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Once a upon a time, the four Londons co-existed and with it, Antari, magicians that have the ability to travel from London to London. The four Londons are Red, Grey, White, and Black. In present times, a lot of people think that Black London is a myth, a story that you tell your children to scare them. Kell who so happens to be a main character and Antari, was raised in Red London as an adopted son to the King and Queen. He serves the Red London Empire and is used to travel the different Londons per duty. Each London is different in its own way and while traveling to one particular London, Kell finds that he might have to pay for the consequences of his smuggling from London to London. With those consequences comes an adventure to get everything back to the way it’s supposed to be and throughout this back and forth of London’s, Kell meets Lila Bard in a not so pleasant way. However, she might be everything Kell needed to have everything in order. A Darker Shade of Magic is the story of how balance is really important with all four London’s and getting that balance restored.

For those who have been following my blog for a little while now, you all know that Schwab isn’t a new-to-me author. I have read The Archived, Vicious, and Monsters of Verity Duology. I am obsessed with Schwab’s writing style. Schwab has a very distinct way of writing where usually the beginning of each book is a slow build up. By build up, I mean she is building not only the world, Schwab is also letting us get to know the characters she’s created, and what the plot entails.

That is exactly what we get with A Darker Shade of Magic. Through dialogue and scenes, we are meeting the different types of London’s and obtaining their descriptions, we meet characters and where the plot may go. I thought this was perfectly executed because although it was a slow start, Schwab definitely builds everything up for the next books to come. Also, once Schwab sets her world and characters, she runs with the plot without slowing down to give us any descriptions for anything else.

I really loved the cast of characters Schwab presented to us. Even the bad ones were creepy and well done like those Diabolical Dane Twins as I call them from White London. Schwab described them so perfectly that they made me cringe in disgust. They are evil blood suckers who are obsessed with magic and will do anything to get what they want when they want. Since we’re on the topic of White London, we meet Holland who is one of the two Antari’s left. Holland definitely gave me mixed feelings but I won’t get too much into that because I feel like that would be a spoiler.

We also meet Lila Bard who I absolutely adored. Lila is from Grey London and she does anything possible to live one more day, even if it’s thieving. Lila’s character arc really struck a chord with me and her backstory touched me. Although we don’t get much of her backstory, Schwab definitely opens up to something…if you know what part I’m talking about, you know what I mean….I really cannot wait to see what happens with her in the next books to come. The banter her and Kell had throughout this magical fantastical world was hilarious. No matter how serious things were, Lila always had me in fits of giggles.

Kell was another character who definitely warmed my heart. A Darker Shade of Magic starts with him, and through him we got to see the different London’s. He is one of the two Antari left in all of the London’s. Kell with his good intentions and good heart always means well and goes beyond to please the King and Queen, plus his brother Rhy who we meet a few times throughout the book. Rhy (pronounced like the word ‘why’) is this beautiful boy who absolutely loves his brother Kell and wants the best for him. Rhy is charismatic and charming. I feel like I’m going to see a lot of growth in the next books to come because although we met him on the surface, Schwab gave us enough to make me think.

I absolutely loved this book! Schwab is an auto-buy author for me and I am sure that I will love the next two books. A Darker Shade of Magic was well built and I know this was only the foundation of what’s to come in the future two books. This world is dark and I love a good dark fantasy. The way Schwab wrote about magic was smooth and understandable to me. The plot was action packed and on point. A Darker Shade of Magic was definitely a page turner with very surprising elements. There were times that I gasped and was on the edge of my seat hoping for the best with some of these characters, except the diabolical dane twins, they can go straight to hell for all I care lol. Schwab created a world where if you do something that’s out of order, there will be consequences which won’t be a nice payout. And I have to admit that although some of the scenes were hard to read because I got attached to characters, I appreciate the raw honesty of it.

Overall, this a great book and this review was probably super vague but I didn’t want to mention too much..if you want to know about Black London, read the book (if you haven’t already lol)!

 

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thank you for stopping by! have you read this or plan on to? what are your thoughts? let’s chat in the comments!

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Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu Graphic Novel Review

Title: Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Genre: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, SciFi
Illustrators: Sana Takeda, Rus Wooten
Publisher: Image Comics
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers.

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*please note that this graphic novel has mature content and not recommended for children

I finally picked up this beauty of a graphic novel and let me tell you that the hype surrounding this one is all worth it! Filled with steampunk elements, witches, darkness, and monsters, this graphic novel is one that I would highly recommend.

Summary/Plot

Monstress follows the story of a teenage girl, Maika Halfwolf. Maika is trying to find answers to her questions in regards to her past and her mother. She is also struggling with a monster that lives within her who has massive power. Maika Halfwolf is trying to fight the monster within, while still trying to keep some of her humanity. In search of her past, she is also being hunted and maybe the answers she’s been looking for is closer than she thinks.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed Monstress, the artwork is stunning and there is a lot of dialogue. Usually, graphic novels take me less than a day to read but since this one had a lot of heavy reading material, it took me about two days. I loved how detailed the art is, I think that is also why I took long to read it because I found myself slowly absorbing at each piece.

Image obtained by the publisher’s website

This graphic novel is rich with elements that I previously mentioned. I felt that although it had all the elements of steampunk, witches, darkness, and monsters, there was balance. We have the Arcanics who are everything opposite of Humans & Witches. Some Arcanics are half animal/half human, some animals who can speak with special abilities, etc.

The world is already built and set once you open to the first page, which I find to be the norm for comics/graphic novels. I enjoyed how at the end of each comic section, there was a page filled with lessons on the culture of this world. So although the world is already set, we get to know how a lot of the culture came to be with the Arcanics and Humans.

We get glimpses of Maika’s past. Therefore, we get a lot of Maika’s life within the pages. I’m a big fan of past and present when done well and I thought it was executed okay here. Some times the author didn’t let us know when we were in the past. So I found myself a little confused at times.

We meet a lot of characters in this graphic novel due to the extended plot which is why this part will be kept short. Some of my favorite characters were Kippa (little fox) and Master Ren (cat with 3 tails who talks). These two were cute and hilarious. I loved when Master Ren made references to poets (in their world) and poetry. He has dark humor. Kippa is a child human/fox and his innocence throughout this graphic novel was comforting and admirable.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel but the reason why I bumped it down a star was because I wasn’t surprised with where the plot was going. I guessed a lot of what was going to happen with the plot and certain characters. I still want to read the next one though.

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have you read this or plan on to? what were your thoughts? let’s chat in the comments!

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Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: Eliza and Her Monsters
Author: Francesca Zappia
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Greenwillow – HarperCollins
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

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***Trigger Warning: Suicide and Attempted Suicide

Summary/Plot

When reading the synopsis from this book, I jumped into a few theories of what to expect with his book. We meet Eliza who is a very introverted, shy, friendless teenager in real life. However online when she is LadyConstellation and even Eliza online is very open and talkative. LadyConstellation is the creator of a mega popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, it is so popular that even publishing companies have sought out to obtain it. Eliza has turned it down so many times because she loves the platform of her comic just the way it is.

Eliza’s world is about to change when Wallace Warland transfers to her school and come to find out that he isn’t just a regular fan but a huge fanfiction writer. Everything takes place in slow motion but he eventually helps her get out in the world more. He doesn’t know that she’s LadyConstellation. And things are about to take a huge hit when the secret is out. Not only does this effect Eliza and her mental health but it also affects the world she’s created online, her family, and her relationship with Wallace.

Writing

This is my first Francesca Zappia novel. I actually have been wanting to read Made You Up for so long but I didn’t correlate the two as the same author so I was ecstatic to see she had written this one as well. I loved the writing!! Especially the insert pages of the graphic novel and illustrations. I think for this being a YA book, it was realistic. Francesca wrote some dialogue via instant messenger which I loved. The dialogue between the characters were great and her details were super amazing as well. I appreciate the author writing about mental health and really giving us the readers a lesson per-say through a character at the end of the book.

Characters

I feel like each character in the book played such an important role in Eliza’s life and what was going to happen next. I spoke enough about Eliza but I have to say that she is definitely going through it with her mental health. This is something that the author doesn’t explicitly talk about throughout a lot of the book because it’s not something the character knows about. However, through Eliza’s interactions with her family, people, and just her thought process, you get a feel that there is something deeper. Living a life online one way vs. how her life is in the flesh, and her parents not really knowing much to then the pressures of high school can be hard on a teenager. I know that at least for me, I found Eliza’s character relatable.

We meet Wallace Warland and I thought he was the most adorable soft boy. Once he is presented in the book, I wanted to know him more. His character arc was really well done and when I got to know him on a deeper level, I cried. No lie, I really cried because here is this character who has been through a lot and he’s just taking everything one step at a time.

Eliza’s family; her parents and siblings. Let me tell you something!! I absolutely loved this family because in my opinion, we don’t see much family dynamic. Yet, here you have in Eliza and Her Monsters, parents that are all up on Eliza, super worried about their child and not knowing what to do with her. Which I thought was realistic because a lot of parents don’t know what to do with their first-born, especially during teenage years. We’re like the guinea pigs. You can tell that Eliza’s parents just want the best for her and are trying to steer her in the “right” direction but they don’t really understand her direction. I loved the brothers, their relationship was so great to see and the sibling relationship had amazing representation.

We do get to see other minor characters but I won’t really get into that because if not then I’ll definitely be spoiling the whole book lol.

Thoughts

I am going to keep this really short since I pretty much scattered my thoughts throughout the review in the previous sections. I absolutely loved this book and thought it represented mental health, family dynamic’s/relationship, friendships, and internal battles in a great way. The author definitely takes us through the highs and lows, I had found myself at times just really hoping for the best. Francesca Zappia wrote an amazing novel filled with reality and honesty in a form that everyone can read and still feel warm and happy at the end of it. I would LOVE if the author made Monstrous Sea into an actual graphic novel because everything about it was great. I feel like it would really go far. Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

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and that is the end of the review! have you read this book? or plan on to? what are your thoughts? i would love to chat in the comments!

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