Anna K by Jenny Lee

Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way.

―Jenny Lee, Anna K

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I don't read a ton of retellings. That being said, I haven't read a lot of the classics that spur retellings either. But one classic I really did enjoy was Anna Karenina. I read this back in high school and was surprised at how much I liked the story, even though it was really long. When I saw that Anna K by Jenny Lee was a Book of the Month pick for February, and that it was an Anna Karenina retelling in a Gossip Girl-esque world, I had to choose it.

And that's exactly what it was. Take high society rich kids in NYC and throw in some scandal, make them jaded about life, and you get this book. Definite trigger warnings needed for drug and alcohol use and overdosing, some animal deaths, and sex scandals and sex shaming. Even though this is a YA, I would definitely recommend this for the older end of the genre.

I didn't mind Anna K and Count Vronsky, but I didn't love the characters either. I did love Anna's intense love for animals, and the role that played throughout the story. There were also a ton of side characters and stories that for the most part I just didn't care about. I did enjoy Lolly and Steven's story line, but this was the only one I had any interest in following aside from the main plot. 

Even though I was ok with the length of the original Anna Karenina, by the end of this story I just wished it would hurry up. I don't think it needed to be as long as it was. The ending was different than the ending of the original, so even if you've read the original you won't be spoiled with this plot for the most part. It definitely wasn't a bad read, but I didn't adore it either, so it's getting a solid middle of the road rating from me.

Now I want to go reread the original Anna Karenina!

If you are interested in learning more about Book of the Month, you can click here to get your first box for only $5 (and I'll get a free book too!). I've been a member for years and love that you can skip or cancel at any time. Plus it encourages me to broaden my reading spectrum!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Other People by C.J. Tudor

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So C.J. Tudor is an author that I know a lot of thriller fans love. She has three novels out, and I've had some exposure to all of them. The first was The Chalk Man, which to me was solidly okay, but I only rated 3 stars. The Hiding Place came next which I attempted to read, but unfortunately ended up DNF'ing. When this third book, The Other People, came out, I thought it would help me finally get a good idea of how I felt about C.J. Tudor's work overall. 

The Other People starts with following three main story lines. Gabe's daughter has been taken, but no one believes him. Instead, everyone else believes Izzy to be dead. Not just dead, but murdered. For three years, Gabe trolls the interstate looking for the car he saw stealing his little girl away years ago. Katie works as a waitress in a service station, and often sees Gabe when he comes in. She sympathizes with him, as she too has lost someone unfairly...her father. Fran and her daughter Alice are constantly moving from place to place, running from people that pose a threat to them because of something that Fran knows.

I try to go into thrillers knowing as little as possible. I usually don't even read the synopsis. That's why I was pleasantly shocked to find out that this book prominently featured the dark web. This has always been something I've been intrigued by, and I haven't seen a lot of in thrillers up to this point. This book also had a few, dare I say, supernatural elements to it as well, which were a nice addition. Three story lines were a bit much to follow at first, and I found myself not being drawn to any of them. The book did pick up in the last third or so, but for a while there it was a lot to slog through. The ending was decent, but didn't really take my breath away or shock me.

As much as I had hoped this would give me a true read on my thoughts on this author (ie, I was hoping to absolutely love or absolutely hate this book), it just didn't. Like The Chalk Man, it was a completely middle of the road read for me. I didn't find myself reaching for it, but the story was interesting enough. I guess I'll have to wait and see what she puts out next to really make a determination!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Ballantine Books for a finished copy of this read! The Other People by C.J. Tudor is out now!

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

I decided that in 2020 I wanted to read more adult books and less YA. Not that YA isn't awesome, I just found that I wasn't enjoying the genre overall as much as I used to. One of my favorite adult genres is the thriller genre, so I was eager to pick up this Danish crime thriller as one of my first reads of the year. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg takes place in Copenhagen, and follows detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner as they try to solve the case of young torture and murder victim, Julie Stender.

I've always enjoyed books about books, and an unpublished thriller manuscript plays a huge role in this story. It did start off quite slow, but after pushing through the first 100 pages or so I found that it did pick up a little bit. On the flip side of that, I found the ending to be rushed. The reveal was also quite complicated. I did appreciate that I wasn't able to figure it out, since I do find a lot of thrillers to be predictable.

I typically don't read a lot of police-centric thrillers because I usually find the detectives to be pretentious and the plot to be dry. That being said, I loved the duo of Jeppe and Anette in this read! I would have liked to have seen more of Anette's perspective, as the majority of this read was focused on Jeppe and his personal back story. I thought it was a little unbalanced, since he had so many personal things happening in addition to the plot. Maybe since this appears to be the first in a series following the duo, we will get more of Anette's story in the next book. You also got the points of view of a few other characters in this story as well, which helped give further insight into the case.

I don't think I've ever read a Nordic crime fiction before, but from what I've gathered from other people's reviews, they tend to have certain characteristics that are distinctive of the genre. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about them to determine whether or not this book is true to the genre! I can say that the writing flowed well, and I couldn't tell that this book wasn't originally written in English.

Overall it was a solid read, but there were those few things I thought could have been done better.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Scout Press for a finished copy of this read! The Tenant by Katrine Engberg releases TOMORROW, January 14th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

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If you haven't yet read Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, where have you been? I absolutely adored this read when it came out last year so I was really excited to get my hands on an ARC of the next book in the series, Girls of Storm and Shadow. This series is a YA fantasy full of Malaysian influences and great LGBTQ+ representation.

Since this one is a sequel, I can't give too much away in a synopsis. In this world, there are three castes, including humans (paper), demon/human hybrids (steel), and pure demon (moon). The paper caste is the lowliest of them all, and they are frequently mistreated by the castes above them. Something HUGE went down at the end of the first book and the main character Lei is having to deal with the repercussions of that event throughout this second installment. Feel free to check out my review of the first book to get a little more detail on the back story of this world. 

Unfortunately this book just didn't live up to the first one for me, which was a shame since this was one of my most anticipated books of 2019. I felt like not much happened and I didn't like the direction some of the characters started to take. I did like the inclusion of some new characters here, especially Nitta, Bo, and Merrin. The ending of this one was not nearly as gripping as the first book either. It was still good, don't get me wrong. I love this world and Lei's character. But it didn't suck me in like Girls of Paper and Fire did.

There is still one more book to come in this trilogy and even though I didn't love this book as much, I still plan to pick up the third to see how everything plays out. 

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Little Brown/Jimmy Patterson Books for an arc of this thrilling fantasy! Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan just released last week!

The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams

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Like almost everyone else I've seen on social media, I've been gobbling up the creepy reads before Halloween hits. Just the title alone of The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams made this a perfect choice for this spooky season.

On the surface. Esme seems to be just a normal teenager. She loves thrifted clothes and putting together outfits. She has a best friend named Janis and a pit bull named Pig. And she has a babysitter's club. But lately odd things have been happening to her. From cars driving on their own to volleyballs changing direction, Esme doesn't know what's going on. And when the kids she and Janice babysit for appear to be in danger and a mysterious new girl shows up eager to join their club, it's a definite wake up call that something isn't right.

First, can we talk about this cover? That pastel goodness is the stuff of dreams.  The book started out strong for me, but my rating dropped lower and lower as it went on. I really liked the plot of this story, but didn't think it was original at all. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Sitters instead of Slayers, a Counsel instead of a Watcher, etc. The strikingly high amount of similarities was hard to ignore. They even mention Buffy numerous times throughout the book. Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that they kept calling  Esme's mom "crazy" when there are much more appropriate terms to use for mental illness. The story itself felt fairly juvenile even though the main characters were supposed to be seventeen. I really liked all the mentions of the different outfits the girls put together though, and how they themed all their outfits.

The story was fun and the book was an enjoyable read for the most part, but like I said, I felt like I had seen most of this stuff via other mediums before, and anything unique in this read was pretty forgettable. It looks like there is a second book coming out next fall, but I will probably pass on that one. This is really more of a 2.5 star read for me, but since I don't do half stars, I chose to round up just for the nostalgia factor.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

I received an ARC of this read at the ALA Annual Conference. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams is out now!

29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

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Last year, I read Lies by T.M. Logan and really enjoyed it! I decided to pick up 29 Seconds by the same author as my thriller for Spookathon this year, and while I did enjoy it, it wasn't quite as much of a hit as Lies.

A lot can change in 29 seconds. For Sarah, 29 seconds could upend her entire life. After saving the daughter of a mysterious and wealthy man, Sarah is given a favor of sorts in return. Give him a name, any name, and he will make this person disappear. Could this save Sarah from the terrible situation with her disgusting boss, Alan Hawthorne?

There should definitely be trigger warnings for sexual assault and sexual harassment on this one. Unfortunately I didn't like this one as much as Lies. I honestly couldn't stand the main character. While I did absolutely feel for her and her predicament, she spent a lot of the book complaining about other things in her life, like how her kids didn't get along, and I didn't see how any of this was important to the plot. Some parts of the story were extremely unbelievable as well, specifically in relation to how people got away with some of the things they did. 

It was an okay read overall, and the issues addressed in the book are very important in today's society, but it just didn't grab me like I had hoped, which I feel like a thriller really has to do in order to be successful.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

I received an ARC of this read at the ALA Annual Conference. 29 Seconds by T.M. Logan is out now!

The Furies by Katie Lowe

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I've always loved books and movies about witchy girl gangs. I love these groups of powerful women who stick together, fight for one another, and use their powers to try to right the wrongs in the world (or use their powers for evil, which can be even more fun!). That's why when I heard about The Furies by Katie Lowe I knew I had to read it. I will put a trigger warning on this one for rape and child abuse, as well as an animal sacrifice.

When Violet starts at a new school. she is immediately drawn to a group of girls: Alex, Grace, and Robin. When her art teacher Annabel invites her to be a part of a "special advanced course" she is offering, she accepts and discovers that these girls are the only other students. They learn about the occult, the history of the school, mythology, and how all these things are connected to strong females throughout history. But what happens when girls take these "history" lessons to mean more than their teacher implies? What results when the girls begin to perform rites and rituals of their own in the name of those about whom they have learned?

I enjoyed this book just fine, but was really hoping for more. With so many stories about witchy girl gangs out there to consume, I feel like any new stories need to be super inventive and really engaging, and this one sadly wasn't as strong as I'd hoped. I thought all the parts about Violet's past life and her current relationship with her mother were just extremely sad, and not at all that necessary to the plot. I mean I guess it explains why she got unhinged so quickly, but it just made me depressed. Parts of this story were a little too slow for my liking, and pieces of the plot felt a little disjointed in places.

I did love how all the girls were learning about things central to the idea of strong women, and the weird history of their school was really interesting. I also liked how the special course that the girls were taking was passed down through generations. There was some f/f rep in this story as well which I thought was a great little addition. And I really loved Robin's character, even though she was super manipulative.

Basically, this book reminded me a lot of The Craft (which I ADORE!), but wasn't quite as good. Even though this is about teenagers, I think it is technically an adult coming of age book (at least, it reads like one) but I could be wrong.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! The Furies by Katie Lowe is out now!

Graphic Novel Mash-Up Review #3

Time for another graphic novel mash-up review! These three don't have much in common and all attracted me for different reasons. 

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Hex Vet by Sam Davies: This was a little graphic novel I was given at ALA. You can tell right away that this is meant for children, but it was so adorable and right up my alley. Witches and animals? Count me in! This story is about two witch vet interns, Clarion and Annette, who have to save the clinic when trouble breaks out and the adults are out of the office. The art style is adorable and it's all done in fun pinks and purples and blues.  It was a very simple story but again, it's for children, and I still really enjoyed it!
4 out of 5 Stars

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon: This one has been out for a while, but I just now got around to picking it up. I honestly don't understand the hype here. This story was about a dog who befriends a robot, then leaves him on the beach to rust, spending the following year trying to replace him. It was sad and melancholy. This story also had no text, just images. There might be a deeper meaning here somewhere, but I just didn't get it and the story left me feeling depressed. The art was good though. 
2 out of 5 Stars

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Pandora's Legacy by Kara Leopard and Kelly and Nichole Matthews: This was another ALA acquisition! In this story, siblings accidentally open Pandora's Box, releasing a bunch of creatures into the world. Discovering that their family is actually tasked with guarding the box, they team up with Prometheus, who has inhabited their pet cat for the time being, to put the creatures back. I liked the Greek references here, and how it was educational in addition to fun. It did feel very rushed at times. The art style was not what I am normally used to, but I did like it, and would continue this series if there were more. 
3 out of 5 Stars

Naturally Tan by Tan France

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And with this book, my 5 star streak has sadly been broken. I absolutely adore Netflix's Queer Eye. I was a little young for the original version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but this reboot has completely won my heart. When I saw Tan was putting out a book, I had to get my hands on it. Naturally Tan by Tan France is his memoir, going through his childhood, working odd jobs, meeting his husband, getting into fashion, starting his own company, and finally landing the role on Queer Eye.

This was a fun read, and definitely screamed Tan! It was peppered with some amazing illustrations by his husband, Rob France, which I thought added a great touch. There were also little PSAs about fashion, dating advice, and even a face mask recipe! It was very interesting reading about his struggles, not only with his race, but also with his sexuality. My heart broke for him multiple times throughout the book, as his personal experiences really were an eye opener. It really felt like you were just sitting down and having a casual conversation with Tan versus reading a book. I've heard the audiobook is fantastic, and even has interviews with Antoni (swoon!) in it as well!

One big complaint with this read was that it really jumped around a lot. I felt like certain sections were cut really short, while others were unnecessarily drawn out, and the flow of everything wasn't as smooth or linear as I would have liked. Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that at times it felt extremely judgy. For example, in this book Tan comes for bangs, and comes for them HARD. Bangs are my signature look, but seeing them raked across the coals so hard kind of hurt. Yes, not everyone can pull them off, but I feel like I can! He also came for long hair (another one of my own traits!) among other things, and it just felt very contradictory to the Queer Eye message of loving yourself and being authentically you.

This was a solid 3-star read. Some good parts, some bad parts, and overall very middle of the road. 

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! Naturally Tan by Tan France is out now!

Graphic Novel Mash-Up Review #1

I have just been blowing through graphic novels lately. Since these stories are usually shorter and more simple than traditional novels, I thought I would start doing mash-up reviews of a few graphic novels at a time! 

I adore graphic novels and comics, but the downside is that I read them so quickly I always have to ask myself if it's worth the $15-20 to buy them. My answer is always yes though! I feel like it's so important to read comics and graphic novels physically vs digitally to really get to enjoy the artwork. Are you a comic/graphic novel fan? What are some of your favorites? 

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang: This graphic novel has been around for a while. The story follows Anda, a girl who gets a little too involved with a game on the internet. But maybe the internet can teach important life lessons, too. I had high hopes for this one. That cover though! But unfortunately I didn't really connect with it as much as I had hoped. The art style is cute, but the story itself was a little simpler than I would have liked. 
3 out of 5 Stars

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Heavy Vinyl Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva: Girl gangs, unite! When Chris gets hired at her local record store, she has no idea she's getting involved with WAY more than just music sales. What she does know is that the girls she works with couldn't possibly be cooler. This story had great f+f rep and a strong female empowerment message. I love a good record store, so this was right up my alley. I do think it was missing something, and too much of this volume was spent setting up the story vs legitimate action, which made me knock off a star.
4 out of 5 Stars

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Giant Days Vol. 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar: This is about three college girls: Susan, Esther, and Daisy. I just adore Esther's gothic little heart! I read a tie-in novel to this franchise a while back and didn't really enjoy it, but I really loved this comic. I was so amused by the messes they got themselves into and am excited to dive into the rest of the volumes of this one (volume 11 is currently available for preorder!). I might even reread that novel now that I know more about the characters! 
5 out of 5 Stars

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small

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The cover of this book about ballerinas is absolutely stunning. Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small follows two aspiring dancers, Marine and Kate, at a ballet academy in Paris. Best friends and equal competition, each girl has her eye set on The Prize, the one female slot in the corps de ballet. But what exactly are Marine and Kate willing to do to win it?

This is told in alternating perspectives of each of the two dancers. Marine dances for her deceased brother, while Kate dances to escape her life back home in the US. As they near the end of their schooling, the competition heats up, sparks fly, and friendships are tested.

This book was just okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It wasn't a struggle to finish it, but I definitely wouldn't pick it up again. I didn't really like either of the characters, and didn't have reason to root for either one of them. I was happy with one part of the ending, but not the other, and almost all the guys in this book were complete jerks. 

I am a former dancer myself, so I really identified with some of the struggles these girls were going through. From your place at the barre to your body image, dancers have so many things to think about in addition to the steps, and ballet is a mental sport just as much as a physical one. To me, this book was Black Swan mixed with Center Stage.

Definite trigger warnings are needed as well for a forced miscarriage, anorexia, drug use, and suicide references. This book got very dark and intense at points, which did a good job highlighting how far these girls were willing to go to achieve their goals, as detrimental as they may be.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

I received an ARC of this read at ALA. Bright Burning Stars is out now!

Author Spotlight: Vera Brosgol

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I love a good graphic novel. They are perfect for getting out of reading slumps, boosting your numbers for your Goodreads challenge, and providing a light respite after trudging through thick and dense reads. I've been obsessed with them recently, so I figured I would do a spotlight on one graphic novelist in particular: Vera Brosgol.

I'd ordered Anya's Ghost from Book Outlet a while ago after hearing great things, but for some reason hadn't ever gotten around to reading it. After getting through The Reading Rush, I just wanted a quick and easy read, so I finally reached for it. I flew through it just like I expected, and really enjoyed the time I spent with this story! After falling down a well, Anya discovers an unexpected and creepy new friend at a time where she desperately wants to fit in. But does her new BFF really have Anya's best interests in mind? This story was really cute, and touched on some important subject matter like embracing your culture and being loyal to the friends that have always been there for you. Brosgol's art style in this was amazing, and even though it was done in a very muted, monochromatic hue, I thought the images were engaging and beautiful. This would be the perfect graphic novel to pick up as Halloween approaches. I gave this one 4 stars.

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

After reading Anya's Ghost, I immediately ran out and purchased Brosgol's newest graphic novel, Be Prepared. This art style was slightly different than Anya's Ghost, and much more colorful (even though the colors were still muted, more colors were used overall). This story is a memoir-esque tale about Brosgol's own time at camp. In the author's note at the end, she notes that some of the story is fabricated, while other elements draw directly from her personal experiences. Excited to finally find a place to fit in, Vera begs her mother to send her to Russian summer camp. But when Vera arrives and still isn't fitting in like she'd hoped, she's unsure if she'll be able to survive the duration of the experience.  I liked this one fine, but not as much as Brosgol's other graphic novel, and it got 3 stars from me.

Vera Brosgol has some children's books out as well, but these are her only two full-length graphic novels. Even though I didn't love the newest one as much as her older work, I am definitely excited to see what she puts out in the future! I especially love the way she intertwines her Russian culture into her work, and think her art style is super cute!

Have you read any of Vera Brosgol's work before?

Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff

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With Stranger Things Season 3 having just been released (it was SO GOOD!) I've been snatching up all the ST books I could find! The first one I read was the YA fiction Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff. This story basically tells the entire plot of Season 2 from Max Mayfield's point of view. If you haven't watched Season 2, make sure to do so before reading this book!

Max is the new girl in town in Hawkins, Indiana. Sporty and a tomboy, she always fits in with the guys more than the girls, so when Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will start spying on her, she thinks she might have found her new group of friends. But the gang has a secret, and secrets are for party members only. Content only to eat lunch with her and invite her trick or treating, the group keeps leaving her out of secret meetings and Max is fed up. What are these boys hiding? Will they ever actually be her friends, or is she bound to wind up friendless in her new town?

In addition to Max navigating a new life in Hawkins, there are also a lot of family dynamics discussed in this book. From her abusive stepfather and timid mother, to her angry, off-the-rails stepbrother Billy, Max has it pretty rough at home. You got a tiny bit of this in the show, but this book really delved deeper into the things that Max has experienced outside of her interactions with the boys.

I did enjoy getting to know Max more as a character, since a lot about her was still an unknown while watching the show. This book was good, but was mostly just a written regurgitation of Season 2. As a huge ST fan, I liked it, since anything ST is good in my book. If you are just meh about the show, this definitely wouldn't give you anything new other than a bit more about Max's family dynamic. 

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

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I really enjoyed Sally Hepworth's last book, The Family Next Door, so I jumped at the chance to get to review this one. The Mother-In-Law is a mystery that opens with the death of Lucy's mother-in-law, Diana, then continues by alternating between the present and the past, detailing both the investigation and the events that led to Diana's passing. While Diana's death appears to be a suicide on the surface, things just aren't adding up. And if it wasn't a suicide, who is responsible? Why does everyone in the family suddenly have something to hide? I would put a trigger warning on this book for miscarriages/failed pregnancies.

I liked this book fine, although unfortunately not nearly as much as The Family Next Door. The plot was good but didn't grab me, and while the ending wasn't quite predictable per se, it wasn't at all surprising either. I just couldn't get invested in this one as much as I was expecting.

I did enjoy the alternating points of view of both Lucy and Diana, as well as how the book incorporated both present day and flashbacks to the past. This really made it clear that you don't always know a person's intentions, and they aren't always as malicious as you think. The characters were fine, but not really memorable, although Diana and her husband Tom completely reminded me of Emily and Richard, the grandparents from Gilmore Girls. Of course I have to mention how much I love the cover.

Overall it was a solid story and I'm glad I read it, but to me it just wasn't as good as Hepworth's last book. 

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth is out TODAY, April 23rd, so be sure to pick up a copy! 

A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel

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I had grabbed this one from the BN Book Haul Sale not really knowing what it was about other than the fact that it addressed mental health. A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel is a YA contemporary that follows Hannah after her friend Agnes had a terrible accident. Obvious trigger warnings are needed for mental illness, including psychosis, depression, and eating disorders.

When Hannah's roommate Agnes falls from their second story window and suffers severe injuries, Hannah finds herself in a mental institution. She sees on her file that she is "a danger to herself and others," but how can she be? Agnes was her best friend. She would never do anything to hurt her. This must all be a big misunderstanding. But as days pass Hannah realizes she might be in there much longer than she anticipates. That's when Hannah gets a roommate, Lucy. And Lucy might be just the person to help her through this ordeal.

There was a pretty good twist in this, and it was a very fast read. Parts of this were incredibly intense and I was really invested in what was going to happen. I don't think Hannah was a likable character, but I don't think she was supposed to be. I also heavily disliked her parents, especially towards the end, but again they were clearly supposed to be disliked.

While I've never been in a mental institution, I don't think the one in the book was very representative of real life. The way that Hannah was isolated, was never able to get clean until she was granted privileges to do so, had to do her business in a bed pan because they hardly ever let her out to use the restroom, and was only given fresh clothes every few days screamed patient neglect. There is an authors note in the back that said the author took liberties with some of these things, but I think it's important to portray all aspects of mental health accurately, so I wasn't a fan of this.

I was also not a big fan of the ending. If it had ended a little sooner in the story, it would have been fine and I would have been satisfied. If it had gone on a little longer, it would have been fine. But where it did stop felt jarring and unfinished, like the author didn't want to let go but didn't have anything else of substance to write.

I liked this book enough, but it definitely wasn't as good as it could have been, and taking liberties with something as serious as mental health really rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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I picked this for my January Book of the Month, expecting a really intriguing mystery/thriller. Unfortunately it just wasn't quite what I had hoped. 

In The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, famous painter Alicia Berenson is in a psych hospital after apparently killing her husband. I say apparently because Alicia refuses to speak. She has not uttered a word since her husband was killed, in her defense or otherwise. Now, psychotherapist Theo Faber has made Alicia his personal pet project, hoping to finally get her to speak and learn the truth about what really happened that day.

There was a pretty good twist in this book, but unfortunately it wasn't enough for me to completely save the rating. This book was very dry, and I was more interested in Alicia's interspersed journal entries than the actual plot parts. I thought it ended way too abruptly. I didn't like any of the characters, and didn't really care what the outcome was. 

I've seen a ton of people giving this really high ratings, but this was far from a 5 star thriller in my opinion. It just wasn't very special, and didn't live up to the caliber of some of my other favorite mystery thrillers. I would have given it 2 stars, except I did really enjoy the twist and didn't see it coming.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

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Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Hearts Unbroken, an own voices YA contemporary by Cynthia Leitich Smith, follows Louise Wolfe, a Native teen navigating the difficult worlds of high school and racism. When her boyfriend makes some inappropriate remarks about Native people, she dumps him through email and moves on with her life. But when inclusion casting for the upcoming school musical The Wizard of Oz stirs up trouble, Louise realizes that racism and hatred go much further in the community than just her ex-boyfriend.

I really wanted to love this book. I think it brings to light a lot of issues and shows how we can all be more educated and do better regarding stereotypes and cultural appropriation (a specific instance mentioned is people dressing up like Native Americans for Halloween). I just think it could have been done better. 

This book tried to tackle so much: racism, cultural appropriation, slut shaming and sexism, bullying, the list goes on. I think the overall message was lost because the author tried to address so much. There were also an insane amount of side characters and subplots. The story often got confusing when the author would cut off a chapter at an awkward place then start the next chapter with something completely unrelated.

I liked the story fine, and enjoyed the main plot overall. This book read extremely quickly, which was good because I'm not sure how much longer I could have handled the awkward, jerky chapter transitions. Even though there were a lot of errors in execution, this book is an important one in the issues it addresses, which is why I'm still giving it a middle of the road rating.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

A big thanks to Candlewick Press for an ARC of this read! Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith is out now!

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I've loved everything I've read by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab thus far. So when I saw she was releasing a creepy middle grade novel, I knew I had to pick it up (even though middle grade normally isn't my thing). Unfortunately, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab didn't quite live up to my (perhaps too high) expectations.

This story follows Cassidy, who travels with her parents to Edinburgh while they film the first episode of their ghost hunting TV show-The Inspectres. Her parents are obsessed with ghosts, but Cassidy can actually see them. In fact, her best friend is a ghost named Jacob who saved her life when she almost drowned. When Cassidy encounters more ghosts in Edinburgh than she knows what to do with, she meets Lara, another girl with the same gift who helps to enlighten Cassidy on her purpose.

While I chose to get the UK paperback edition (because the cover is just so gorgeous), I'm disappointed that both covers lead the reader to believe that the cat (affectionately named Grim) is a major player in the story. Spoiler alert: he isn't. 

The story itself felt very one dimensional to me. I should have been on the edge of my seat during certain parts of the plot, but I just wasn't. As a fan of any creepy read, I'm normally completely enveloped in these types of stories. I liked the characters enough, but overall something just felt missing. I also would have loved to know more about Lara. Granted, this is a middle grade read, so I might be looking for a depth that just doesn't exist in books for a younger age group. It also took me a lot longer to read than I anticipated.

The story was cute and overall I enjoyed the time I spent with it, but I wouldn't pick it up again, it didn't really stick with me, and I was definitely left wanting more. I think this is supposed to be a duology, and I did like it enough to still check out the second book when it comes out. Hopefully that one will have a little more of what I was looking for!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Born Scared by Kevin Brooks

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Take a peek into the mind of a child who is terrified of everything. In Born Scared by Kevin Brooks, we follow thirteen-year-old Elliot, as he must conquer some of his fears in this book focusing highly on the daily life of someone with anxiety and crippling phobias.

As Christmas approaches, Elliot realizes that he is almost out of his fear pills. After a mix up at the pharmacy, Elliot panics that he might not get them in time, and if he runs out, the fear "beast" will emerge. A plan is developed to get him his pills in time, but suddenly that plan starts falling apart. First, his aunt Shirley who was supposed to bring him his pills never shows, and isn't answering her phone. Fearing the worst, Elliot's mother goes out searching for her in the snowstorm, but when she doesn't return from what should be a short walk, Elliot has to take matters into his own hands.

This book was interesting, because it's hard to imagine being scared of literally everything. I personally struggle with anxiety, so I know what it's like to have irrational fears, but virtually everything Elliot encounters terrifies him. Some of the scenes got pretty intense, and while I was tempted to tell Elliot to just snap out of it, this book is all about understanding that for him, this IS reality and he can't just snap out of it.

This was described as a "terrifying thriller," but the only terrified one after reading this was Elliot. It seemed like more of a journey-based story than a thriller most of the time. I know we were meant to feel Elliot's fear, but I just didn't and never really connected with the story. This was told from multiple points of view, and while I understood why that was necessary, I didn't really like it.

Overall I enjoyed this story, but didn't love it and probably wouldn't read it again. It was a quick read, and something that would be great to pick up during the upcoming holiday season.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Candlewick Press for an advanced copy of this read! Born Scared by Kevin Brooks is out now!

Still Water by Amy Stuart

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Coming at you again with another adult psychological thriller review! In Still Water by Amy Stuart, Sally and her son have disappeared, and Clare is tasked with helping find them. She travels to the town of High River and ends up in a home known for taking in women looking to escape their pasts, a home that Sally previously stayed in before her disappearance. 

Unfortunately with this one, I felt that it started really strong and promising, then fell off as the book progressed. It was very gripping at the beginning, but then I had to struggle some to push through and finish. There also didn't appear to be any real effort involved in solving the mystery, Clare just kind of lucked out by happenstance.

I did very much like Clare as a character, however, and appreciate when characters are flawed and potentially unreliable. But I did have some questions.

Turns out, this was the second book in a series, and I didn't know that going in. While it was okay as a stand-alone, I think knowing the back stories of Clare and Malcolm would have really helped me understand their motivations and relationship more. There were multiple times that I just had no idea why things were happening, and I think that would have been alleviated if I read the first book, Still Mine, before this one.

This was just a middle of the road read for me, didn't love it and didn't hate it. I do think I would have rated it higher if I had known more of the backstory, and also if it wasn't so anticlimactic overall.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Touchstone/Simon & Schuster for a digital copy of this read! Still Water by Amy Stuart is out now, so be sure to pick up a copy if you love thrillers or are a fan of Still Mine!