On The Come Up

I'll admit it: I HATED! THUG. I couldn't even finish it because I couldn't stand it. But I LOVED THIS ONE. I loved Bri--she's awesome and so likable. I loved her support system, even thought they sometimes failed her they were still there. I loved the story: it was written realistically and so well. This book makes me excited for the next one by Angie Thomas. I truly could not put this down and can't recommend it enough. 5/5 stars

Savage Appetities: Four True Stories of Women, Crime and Obsession

Thank you to Edelweiss, Scribner and Simon and Schuster for providing an ARC of this book!

I really liked this book. I am partial to true crime books written about women and crime, so this jumped at me. This was written more like an essay, I thought, but I feel as though that made it easier to read.

I like the research the author did with this book, and I like how she mentions Crime Con as well. I would love to go to Crime Con!

This is a decent read. I would recommend it to other true crime interested friends.

4/5 stars

Descendant of the Crane

Thank you to Edelweiss and Independent Publishers Group (AW Teen) for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this more than I first thought that I would. I really like Chinese fantasy and mythology, and this story was perfect.
It's a quiet novel, but there is definitely some good drama packed in here as well. There were some parts that dragged a bit, but overall I thought the story weaved together well. It was vivid, although I think that if this had been an adult novel it would have done a little better. Parts of the story seemed as though they were being held back because of the younger audience target.
There is a sequel in the works, and I will for sure be reading that!

4/5 stars

Daisy Jones & The Six

I have mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand I did enjoy it. I liked reading about the 70's rock and roll atmosphere and the rise and fall of the band, but I could not connect with any of the characters and most of them annoyed the hell out of me. Plus you could see the break up coming a mile away and when it finally did happen, my only thought was: "That's it?"

For me the large cast of characters was really confusing at times. Obviously you know who the band is and Camila, but with the extra people thrown in it's hard to keep track. They appear throughout different areas of the book, and I would have to go back to figure out who they were again.

As others have said this would have worked much better as an audio book because of it's documentary style. I'm glad I read this, but it didn't blow me away like the majority of people it seems to have. I'm certainly glad I did not buy this; I would not read this again. 

3.5/5 stars

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Thank you to Edelweiss, Penguin Publishing Group and Riverhead Books for providing an ARC for exchange for an honest review.

This was wonderful! It was original and lived up to the "African Game of Thrones" comparison.
I loved everything about this story and I could not put it down. I hope the author continues to write more stories such as this; maybe doing another trilogy along the same lines but of different African mythology.

5/5 stars

Alice & Gerald: A Homicidal Love Story

Thank you to Edelweiss and Prometheus Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

True crime is my favorite go-to genre, so when I saw this for an ARC through Edelweiss I was really excited to have the chance to read it.
I also really like Ron Franscell; I've read other books by him and like the way his stories flow.

Alice & Gerald was an interesting case for a writer to take on. It looks to be on the surface as open and shut and if law enforcement at the time had taken it seriously, it may have been. Instead it was ignored and went completely cold, as did the other murder tied to this.

These two clearly fed off of each other, and this book took a good in depth look at the relationships surrounding the people tied to the cases, not just the cases by themselves. I had never heard of this one before and I started doing research on my own as I was reading. Franscell's narrative is outstanding. Some parts are a little long, but I feel like it did the book justice.

I definitely would recommend this for fellow true crime lovers. It's a very interesting case and worth the read.

4/5 stars

The Beast is an Animal

DNF at about 75%

I just couldn't anymore.

The cover is so beautiful I didn't want to give up on reading this. But holy hell this was starting to become painful.

The first part of this book is really good and suspenseful; dramatic tension is everywhere. But by the second half...gone. Nothing. Flat and drawn out and I didn't care anymore about the characters or where the story was going. I really don't know what happened with the author's writing, but it changes drastically in the second part of the book.

Maybe the author lost interest too?

I have to say this was a first for me. I never have suddenly not cared about the characters in a book so much that I stopped reading this close to being finished.

2.5/5 stars

The Sisters of the Winter Wood

I was initially drawn to this book by the absolutely gorgeous cover. How can you not love this cover?
It certainly set the tone to the story and it did not disappoint.

The story itself was really atmospheric and beautiful. I loved the intertwining of history, cultures and folklore in this. I was captivated by this dark, fairy tale world and I loved every moment being there. I felt the use of Yiddish/Hebrew/Russian words brought an extra something and I liked that they were included so much.

The dual narrative was nice to read too. I liked the way that Laya's telling was written in verse. She was supposed to be the more dreamy of the two and I felt that fit her very well. Liba's narrative was more straight forward, emphasizing the loyalty she felt towards her family.

This was wonderful with a gorgeous cover to match. I can't wait for the author's next book!

4/5 stars

My Sister, the Serial Killer

This book blew me away.

I loved this mindfuck of a novella. I love the writing style, the way the story flowed, and how relatable it is; relatable in the way that one sibling is so perfect and the other feels left out. One sister is the resentful enabler while the other who is a serial killer content to let her sister clean up her mess and lie for her.

Although this book is a short and quick read, the details are wonderful and the story flows really well. I adore books that are set in Africa and this did not disappoint. I loved this satire by Braithwaite; it is funny in unexpected places and the plot itself was not necessarily predictable. You sympathize with Korede who is stuck, seemingly willingly, in her enabler role, and you don't like or dislike Ayoola. She is seemingly a normal, attention-seeking girl whose only real flaw is that she kills her boyfriends.

I can't wait to read more by this author. If this is her debut, she's going to be amazing.

5/5 stars

Leah on the Offbeat

I loved Simon vs. The Homo Sapien Agenda. I love how Albertalli writes. I am in the minority of not loving this book, but it wasn't a bad book.

Albertalli's story rest heavily on dialogue instead of descriptions, and it works really well. It makes for a quick read and it's very entertaining. For me, I just didn't like Leah very much. Parts of the book I liked her a lot and she was relate-able: like her torn feelings about Abby and how graduating high school really does go by fast. But I just couldn't actually like her.

I feel as though her character was shallow and lacked the depth that went into creating Simon in the previous novel. I felt like I didn't know Leah very well, and just couldn't get behind the character like I had been able to do for Simon. That being said: I will read every book that Albertalli writes no matter what. Her writing pulls you in and doesn't let go, and most of her characters stick with you. This may have not been my favorite, but I'm still glad I read it.

3/5 stars

Paperback Crush

Holy nostalgia!! This book was so fun!

I loved the book covers throughout: there were so many I recognized that I had completely forgotten about, and now I want to find them to read again. The author talked about books I've never heard of, getting into how the 70's YA fiction set the stage.

The history of how these books came to be and the taboo subjects the late 70's and early 80's produced was really interesting to read. Who thought a book about the history of YA books would be so compulsively readable?

It would have been nice to delve a little more on some of the series she mentions, and some sections (like the one on equestrian books) were a little sparse. I personally would have loved to have read a little more about the Thoroughbred series. I was a horse girl and those were my favorite books of all time.

The only thing that really bugged me about the writing was the author's political inserts. Mentioning Trump and Pence in a book about 80's and 90's YA fiction had zero place for that. I'm sure the author was trying to be funny, but that fell super flat and was really weird that it was there at all. Also, the book just ends. No warning, just literally ends with no tie-up or anything at all. I do wish that was done differently; the reader doesn't expect it and it's odd.

I will definitely be buying a copy of this book for myself, however. I truly enjoyed revisiting these books and a time that will never be reproduced. It would be great to go back to when these were sold new and experience it all over again.

4/5 stars

HEX

I'm confused on why this book was hailed as being so chilling.

It was ok...in places. It wasn't scary at all. The idea was great, but honestly I don't get the hype about this book. It's basically just fine.

The fact that you can cover a witch with a dishtowel while she's standing in your house is just dumb. There is no scare factor there, and it took me awhile to really get where the author was going with the curse, since apparently no one is scared of the witch at all. Until that is until the stupid boys begin tormenting her.

Team #witchtit anyone?

Then all hell starts to break loose. The witch finally gets angry and starts to sort of do things. Mostly it's the town population that do the terrible things to each other, not the witch herself. She stands there, waiting to be covered up by the next towel or something.

Honestly the thing for me about this book was how often this author talks about hurting animals in some way or another. I can't deal with that. It's unnecessary and made me skim more of this book that I would have wanted. To whip a calf that's tied down for practice made me sick. That was so unneeded. Hurt people all you want but I never see a reason to hurt animals. I definitely will not be reading this author again. Why he is so decorated is beyond me.

2/5 stars

Baby Teeth

This was so not good.

I don't give many bad reviews...but this one I just couldn't. The premise sounds so good; and it could have been. Instead it's predictable and maddening.

First off, the father is just frustrating as hell. I caught myself saying a few times out loud that I hated him. He's completely clueless; the typical dad who works and only spends fun quality time with his child; thus the child only shows her sweet side to him. He dismisses the mother's concerns about his daughter and her actions toward her mother. He irked me to no end throughout the book; all he did was turn a blind eye and act like the mother was an idiot and is not allowed to have negative opinions of her daughter, when she is the one who is with her the most.

The mother character is ok. Not great but a little better than the father. I did think however that she came off as very weak when facing off with her daughter. She caved way too easily and did not take the necessary precautions one might when actually fearful of a person, even if that person is a little girl. If my daughter obviously hates the ground I walk on, I'm going to lock doors and be alert and very cognizant of my surroundings. But I guess if don't want to believe what's right in front of you then you do none of those things.

As for Hanna....well....I felt like the author was trying too hard to make her awful. It didn't seem believable. I was not a fan of Hanna's point of view; I felt as though it gave away too much of the story. If it was through the point of view of only the mother (or even the father as much as I did not like him), it would have been constructed much better. There would have been more tension; the reader wouldn't know why the child was starting to act out and getting worse and worse, it would have been more surprising and creepy.

The story did have good parts, but they were few and far between. I was really looking forward to reading this and I'm really disappointed. I get this book is the publishers baby and they are pushing it as much as possible, but they should have read it first.

Cover art is on point though. I wouldn't change anything about that!

2/5 stars

The Black Spider

I really enjoyed this novella. It starts out serene in a nice Swiss village; people are celebrating and there is some of the best sounding food I've ever heard of being served. However it begins to become darker and darker as the peasants of the village are forced to do favors for the knights in the castle, and a deal is struck that will put their lives in jeopardy.

This was written in 1842 and it holds up well. The Christianity theme is quite obvious throughout, but being written by a pastor that's not surprising. It does not come off as preachy, rather as a parable about what can happen if you do not have faith and do not treat others well. 

This translated edition was done very well; I have heard the earlier editions of this translation were not done as satisfactorily, but this one flowed smoothly. This story was engaging and would recommend it for a good gothic horror story.

Solid 4 stars.

The Breakdown

Book received from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review, thank you.


I loved "Behind Closed Doors", and I was so excited to read this book as well. This story is more along the lines of a traditional mystery, which in my opinion is a nice change from the twisty-turny stories as of late, such as "Gone Girl".

"The Breakdown" begins with the main character, Cass, taking a shortcut down a dark road against the advice of her husband. She sees a car by the side of the road with a woman inside. After considering stopping to see if the woman is alright, Cass decides not to and goes home instead. Later on, the woman turns up dead.

Feeling guilty about her decision not to help the woman, Cass then starts to receive phone calls from someone who does not say a word, and she notices a man watching her outside her window. Cass also begins to have trouble remembering things that she does, and she is concerned that because her mother died of early-onset of Alzheimer's, that her memory problems are possibly more significant.

With everything that is going on, Cass just wants to know who killed the woman in the car? Things begin to fall into place, Cass begins to untangle the mystery that she is now apart of.

"The Breakdown" was an intense story that you want to read until the very end. It is enthralling and even though I thought I had it figured out, I still kept reading to see if I was right. I would definitely recommend this book!

4/5 stars

Daughter of Heaven

Book received from Netgalley and Endeavour Press in exchange for an honest review, thank you.


I wanted to like this book more than I did. The subject is fascinating: Wu Chao was a commoner in 7th century China and became the only female emperor China has ever had. This time in history was bloody with not only countries, but families were fighting for power and positions. Within the families there were power plays and hostilities; some committing suicide while others were sent into exile. With all of this being such an important and tumultuous time in history, I was excited where the author would take this. 

In truth, I had a difficult time getting through. There is a lack of organization throughout the book as it wanders from one topic to another, seemingly unaware of the main focus of the narrative for awhile before coming back to its senses and getting back on track. There are many tangents, and the author seems to have the need to follow every one of them. That being said however, it is quite obvious that the research for this book is extensive and includes a lot of outer history and is very detailed. The amount of outer history may be the reason the author became so sidetracked, and he could have very easily done without it. I feel as though the author relied too much on other people's sources (meaning I feel as that he took exactly what they said in a cut and paste fashion), so the story does not feel as though it is his own work. 

For being such a captivating topic, I feel the author could have done much better. This biography does not do the historical figure justice. I would not recommend this book, unless you are a history student that is in need of sources for a paper about Wu Chao.

2/5 stars

The Bone Witch

Book received by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you. 


First and foremost: I love this author. I loved "The Girl From the Well" and devoured it in two days. It was so original that I could not tear myself away. "The Suffering", the sequel to "The Girl From the Well" was just as mesmerizing as its predecessor. Needless to say I was thrilled to have been chosen to review this book.

What I loved about "The Bone Witch" is the geisha element that was tied into it. I thought that was an interesting take and it worked in my opinion. It was creative and different enough to hold its own. I don't think there are any other books out there that have geishas (ashas in the book) that are amazing fighters with magical powers. If there are, I would like to know about them immediately. 

The main character is Tea who does not realize her potential to be an asha. Tea discovers her powers after accidentally resurrecting her brother at his funeral. As luck would have it there is a powerful bone witch that is in Tea's community when Tea conducts this feat, and becomes a teacher and mother figure to Tea while teaching her about the duties of a bone witch. This puts Tea on the path for herself to become a powerful asha. 

The bond between Tea and her brother is awesome to read. I hope in the next book the author expands on this and how they are both affected. 

This book is so wonderfully creative you forget everything else around you for the moment. The settings are gorgeous and although there is A LOT of descriptive writing, I definitely enjoyed it. I think the reason for so much description in this book is because it is setting the reader up for the book to follow. I don't know if this will be only a sequel or a trilogy, but I will for sure read whatever ones that come after this. 

This author has become one of my favorites. I love how she writes and how vivid she makes her settings and characters. I really enjoyed this book. 

5/5 stars

Long Black Veil

I received this book from Netgalley and Crown Publishing, Penguin Random House for exchange for an honest review.

When I began this, I wanted to put it in my DNF pile. The cast of characters is very large and is presented right away. It was a bit confusing, especially since gender wasn't evident by the names given. However, once I got past this and read on I couldn't put this book down. 

I loved it.

This is the story of a group of friends that first met in college. On a dark and stormy night (of course) the stumble into Philly's own Eastern State Penitentiary. It's old, abandoned, creepy, and the group is locked inside. During the night one of the friends, a recent bride, disappears and is not found for a long, long time. 

Years later a skeleton is found stuffed into a tunnel of the prison, prompting the case to be reopened. 

In a separate narrative, Judith Carrigan reveals that she has been keeping a secret from everyone she knows, one that she's terrified will cause her to lose all those that matter to her. She is the only one who can save the suspect in her friends murder from all those years ago in the Penitentiary, and is weighing whether or not to take the risk to do so.

The characters in this story are extremely complex and well drawn. It is written vividly and does not disappoint. The viewpoints go back and forth between the past and present, and Judith's secrets start to fall away one by one. 

This story is original and filled with twists and turns. I thought I had the ending figured out, and was very surprised when I was proved wrong. When I began reading I wasn't sure what I was going to be in for, and after my initial reluctance I'm so glad I kept going. This is one of the better books I've read in awhile. I absolutely would recommend this for anyone who likes a good mystery!

4/5 stars

The Trail of Ted Bundy

Book received from Netgalley in exchange for honest review.

This was a companion book for author Kevin M. Sullivan's The Bundy Murders. I thought this was an excellent book and helped flesh out who Bundy was. If you are not familiar with Ted Bundy, his crimes, or his victims, it is highly recommended you pass on this until you read the previous book. This book is not a biography or a retelling of his crimes; it's additional information that adds layers to an already notorious killer.

The interviews with Bundy's friends I thought were especially good, because it made Bundy seem like a person that anyone could know. The author describes the places were Bundy lived and the places where he abducted his victims. It was interesting to hear how many of these places haven't changed, and what people have done to change some of the others. 

I do think the author should have left out the lines of "I covered this topic in my other book so I won't repeat it here" (not exact wording but close). I feel like he relied on that line a lot and it could have been left out completely. That being said that is really the only criticism I have about a companion book.

I highly recommend this. The research is impeccable and you know you're reading material from an author that has gone above and beyond to gather information about a subject that he's passionate about.

4/5 stars

Mischling

I was thrilled to read this book when I saw it had finally come out. Although there are so many Holocaust stories already, this one sounded as though it might have a different perspective and be told in a way that would be distinctive. 

Told from the viewpoint of twin sisters arriving in Auschwitz, they become part of the horrendous experimentation's performed by Mengele in Mengele's "zoo". I was prepared to be blown away by an emotional read that had so much hype behind it. 

Unfortunately, I was not. At all. Not only did I have a hard time getting into the story, I found that once I had sort of began to be interested in the characters, I was bored. I felt as though I was reading a story that was a high school creative writing assignment, and the words used were found by a thesaurus. I couldn't take the writing seriously. The characters are little girls, and although they are smart, no one talks like this. The writing had me feel somewhat disconnected: it wasn't believable.I felt as though there was no real story, just a lot of pretty words to fill up the pages.

I admit, I did not finish. It wasn't for me and I was too put off by the too flowery language and lack of a plot. Maybe if I had stuck with it the ending would have made up for what I felt I was missing, but I don't think so. I hardly ever stop reading a book.It's like a mission for me: once I start I cannot stop unless it's a dire circumstance. 

I felt this was the case.

I was pretty disappointed in this book. As far as I'm concerned it's not worth the praise it's been receiving. 

2/5 stars