Plain Bad Heroines

This book was so different from anything I've ever read before.

My friend, Erin, suggested it to me a few weeks ago and I quickly became obsessed.

This book is told through several different storylines.

One story line follows the unfortunate lives of several girls who attend the Brookhants Boarding School of Girls. Each of these girls meet their ends in a horrific way, which leads students and faculty to believe the schoolgrounds are haunted. But some believe it's the work of a cursed book written by Mary MacLane, since a copy was found with each dead girl.

The other story line is told through the form of Hollywood turning this tragedy into a horror film. Think VHS meets Blair Witch Project, yeah pretty gross. It centers on the actresses who are cast as the soon-to-be-dead girls in The Happenings at Brookhants movie adaptation. Our lead heroines are forced to spend time with the author of said novel, Merritt. Honestly, they're all forced to spend time together to make the movie magic seem more authentic. 

So this book alternates those storylines.

Libbie and Alex, who run the boarding school in 1902. Merritt, Harper, and Audrey running around the Brookhants campus in 20-something. These plots often overlapped because as our actresses were learning their roles, we were seeing the happenings first hand through Libbie and Alex. History has a way of repeating itself.

Oh, and just to throw it out there.....

I don't think there was a single straight character in this book.

The queerness was literally dripping off the pages and I loved it.

Wintergirls

A few years ago, I found Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

 

Then I found this, Wintergirls.

 

TW: Self Harm + Eating Disorders

 

Wintergirls is the story of Lia and her mission to become the skinniest girl in school. The book starts with her old best friend Cassie dying in a hotel room, alone. The two of them struggled with food for years. It wasn't just watching their weight; it was documenting how many calories were in each bite of food, staying strong when they really wanted to lick that icing right off the cupcake, it was taking laxatives and diuretics to expel all those calories, it was sticking their fingers down their throat and vomiting in the roses. It was harmful and dangerous but they were determined to get their weight back down into "dangerland" territory.

The reached to be a zero, a double zero, to weigh less than 80 pounds.

But they couldn't admit they didn't actually want this life.

Lia wanted the pizza, cupcakes, pancakes, waffles.

She wanted the sugary syrup, but she couldn't let herself give in.

This book was very strange to me.

The first half of the book I felt completely unattached to the characters. The second half of the book proved that it did have a good, although dark story to tell. It's heartbreaking to me that these girls wanted help but just couldn't find their voice to ask. They kept marking through the thoughts they believed were harmful to their well-being.

 

It definitely was not the book I was expecting but I am glad that I took the time to read it.

 

Looking for other books by Laurie Halse Anderson?

Speak

The Happiness Project

This was an interesting read.

For a year of her life, Gretchen Rubin started The Happiness Project.

This was a way to make herself and the people around her happier.

She began singing in the morning, saying yes to social events, and stopped complaining about every little thing.

While I don't totally agree with some of her ideas, the overall Happiness Project hit on some good points.

There's a lot of things she begins doing that I've been doing for years.

 

Here's some of my favorites:

 

I read daily.

I got a succulent.

I keep family traditions.

In college, I rescued my dog.

I created my own personal library.

I started an obsession with baking while living in South Korea.

But my favorite...... I started this blog and my bookstagram.

So while I don't think I could ever keep up with a year long happiness project, I think my life is pretty happy. This isn't a book to help cure your depression. It isn't supposed to make your anxiety disappear. But it definitely shows that if you can make small changes in your every day life and not lose sight of yourself, you will be happier in the long run.

This book kind of reminded me of another series my mom introduced me to, The Book of Awesome. Which also started as a blog that shared little things that we take for granted in our every day lives. It encourages you to stop and smell the rain of the pavement, or bask in the shining sun.

Murder of Innocence

Murder of Innocence

Do you ever meet someone and think, "He's a little creepy, but whatever."

TRUST YOURSELF, HE'S PROBABLY CREEPY FOR A REASON.

 

Andrew Luster is one of those people. He's living off a trust fund, which pays for his Cali bungalow and extravagant night life. Is he charming or is he just showing off?

 

There's a lot of red flags when meeting people like this.....I mean, why is a 30 something year old man hanging around the college bars, throwing money around, and hitting on girls more than a decade younger than him? It's weird. 

This case has a few parts to it because Andrew Luster sexually assaulted dozens if not hundreds of young women. Some of which literally did not know until they were shown the tapes of him assaulting them while they were unconscious. What makes this even more insane, is he escaped his house arrest and made it to Mexico where he stayed undetected for almost 6 months.

But a little budding bounty hunter, who we now know as Dog, was determined to track Andrew Luster down and hopefully make a name for himself in the reality television world.

A Murderous Affair

This one made me sick.

 

An FBI agent murdering one of his informants....it was unheard of.

Mark Putnam was a rookie FBI agent who took a job in a Kentucky field office. He moved his family out there, determined to make a name for himself. He had a case waiting for him and just the informant to help him crack it wide open. Susan Smith, a young woman in an abusive relationship looking to make a little money by getting her "friends" to confide their illegal escapades to her. Which is just what a bank robber, Cat Eyes, does while he's living with Susan and her family.

Mark takes her tip very seriously and realizes he actually had a shot working with the FBI. He's grateful to Susan and wants her to know how much he appreciates her flipping on the people who trusted her. But Susan takes his appreciation to be affection and thus begins their illicit love affair.

When Mark realizes he's falling for Susan, he knows it's time to go.

His wife is starting to assume he's having an affair and she's absolutely miserable in Kentucky. Sounds like a recipe for disaster and she wants him to transfer immediately. So they pack up the kids and move on down to Florida. But Mark still has a few loose ends to tie up in Kentucky. On a trip back, his ex-partner set up an impromptu meeting between Mark and Susan, during which Susan reveals she's pregnant with his child.

 

Mark couldn't have her getting in the way of his new career, so he did what he had to do.....

 

Over a year later, the Bureau began investing one of their own agents.

That's when Mark led them to what remained of her body.

 

Looking for the rest of the Murder is Forever series?

Murder, Interrupted

Home Sweet Murder

Murder Beyond the Grave

Murder Thy Neighbor

Till Murder Do Us Part

I Killed Zoe Spanos

I bought this book on a whim one day.

I don't know if it was the blue pages that drew me in or maybe it was the girl on the cover. Regardless, this was 100% a cover buy. But oh my god, it was amazing.

Anna Cicconi wants a fresh start.

When the opportunity to nanny for a family in Herron Mills pops up, Anna jumps at the chance. It will help her leave her reckless, partying lifestyle behind. Plus she'd be taking care of an eight year old, so she'll have to start taking on some responsibility.

What Anna didn't know was that 6 months earlier, a girl named Zoe disappeared from this tight knit community. Even weirder, Anna and Zoe share striking similarities. Anna and Paisley's first trip into town brings some wariness among the residents. People constantly doing double takes when they see Anna. She just looks so much like Zoe.....

Weirder still, Anna thinks she might have killed Zoe.

The more time she spends in the area and around the people who knew Zoe best, she begins questioning her entire life. She has detailed memories of how Zoe was killed. She knows the floor plan to Zoe's house. She even knows the exact tiles that line the Spanoses indoor pool. She shouldn't know these things but somehow she does.

Anna tries to convince herself that listening to Missing Zoe, a podcast about her disappearance, and doing google searches on her family has somehow created false memories. There's no way Anna could have killed Zoe, they had never even met.

I love the podcast included in I Killed Zoe Spanos.

It reminded me of Courtney Summer's book, Sadie.

 

The alternating chapters of "then" and "now" definitely added an extra layer of suspense to the overall story. It's honestly one of my favorite reads of 2020.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

 

I'm going to write this while trying not to cry again.

I had a weird reaction reading this book.

It reminds me of something my aunt and I discussed while reading Looking for Alaska. We romanticize the life these women lead. It's dark, it's sad, it's honest. But we can't help wanting to be them.

Breakfast at Tiffany's follows party girl, Holly Golightly.

Better recognized as the iconic Audrey Hepburn.

 

You guys probably remember bits and pieces from this novella and movie. Things like the allure of New York City, the fashion, the glamorous parties....but I think many of us missed the overall theme of the book. Instead of giving an actual review, this is going to be an analysis, I guess you could say.

Let me start by saying, the novella and movie are VASTLY different.

Some lines are taken directly from the text, but overall it lost the darker theme of the book.

Paul Varjack is actually never named in the novella, and he most definitely is not in love with Holly Golightly. They do become fast friends, but I think their friendship was one that fit perfectly with Truman Capote's writing. The queer undertones of their friendship permeate from the pages, while it's completely cut from the movie. 

 

Holly leads a life of luxury. She makes her living as a call girl and an unwitting messenger for mafia leader, Sally Tomato. The man upstairs is a typical struggling writing trying to make ends meet. He's drawn in by Holly's carefree lifestyle. But he sees Holly for who she truly is. 

 

In my opinion, and it is just an opinion, Holly struggles with Bipolar Personality Disorder (BPD). Her "carefree" lifestyle, her manic episodes, her constant need to stay aloof....they all point to BPD. She avoids settling down anywhere, she's living out of suitcases, she's constantly looking for someone to sweep her off her feet and away from all her problems. 

 

I also believe that Holly may have been pansexual and/or asexual.

Now before y'all jump up about me ruining a classic, hear me out.

Throughout the book she mentions that she enjoys spending time with "dykes". She even goes as far as to move a rather masculine woman into her apartment. Which would make sense why her upstairs neighbor is drawn to Holly, because he's modeled after Truman Capote himself, an openly gay man.

They're drawn to each other because they feel they understand the struggles they're both going through. Another interesting aspect is that Holly hardly ever is seen having sex outside of the gentlemen she was escorting for the night. That could point to the idea that she avoids sexual relationships with men/women because she is afraid of getting attached to someone.

To quote Holly, "You can make yourself fall in love with anyone."

 I honestly loved this novella. All 87 pages of it.

The movie is obviously iconic, but there is a reason Capote hated it and I completely understand why he felt this way. I highly recommending reading this fantastic piece of literature.

Looking for other books by Truman Capote?

In Cold Blood

Other Voices, Other Rooms

The Grass Harp

The Complete Stories of Truman Capote

Music for Chameleons

Answered Prayers

Looking for other books about Truman Capote?

Tru & Nelle (Tru & Nelle #1)

Tru & Nelle: A Christmas Tale (Tru & Nelle #2)

No Saints in Kansas

After the Fire

YA historical fiction loosely based on the Waco Siege?

Oh yeah, count me in.

 

After the Fire is told in alternating time lines, simply Before and After the fire.

The whole book is told through the eyes of Moonbeam, a seventeen year old survivor. She, and a handful of other child survivors regularly attend therapy to work through everything that went down at The Lord's Legion. They have one on one sessions with their psychiatrists and supervised social interactions with their Brothers and Sisters.

Moonbeam feels partially responsible for all the death her Brothers and Sisters witnessed, all the lives that will forever be altered, all the kids without parents, and it's all her fault. But she plans on keeping that secret close to her heart for a long time. But those secrets will eventually weigh her down. She just needs a little bit of faith and a good bit of trust.

Obviously the therapy takes place during the chapters titled After. Whereas Moon's firsthand account of what happened at the base is told during the Before chapters. Both coincide very nicely with each other. I was a bit skeptical, but the flow of these chapters were almost like following Moon's train of thought.

In Will Hill's Author's Note, he makes the comment that many YA readers have probably never heard of the Waco Siege that left 82 Branch Davidian members dead, as well as 4 law enforcement agents. This attack went on for nearly three months. I highly encourage anyone who does not know about Waco to look into the horrors both parties felt as fire was opened on their own people.

Check this exclusive excerpt of After the Fire!

Looking for other books about The Waco Siege?

Stalling for Time

Waco

Colorblind

This book was absolutely disgusting.

It's not a bad premise, but the execution was terrible.

Let me set the scene.

It's set in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1968.

So yeah, segregation was very much still alive.

The idea is that some black teachers would teach at all white school and some white teachers would teach at all black schools. This process didn't sit well with many of the parents, students, or teachers. However, our main character, Lisa, happens to be the daughter of a lawyer who defends black people in the community. She also has a cleft lip and cleft palate, so she is the most likely person to understand what it's like for her new teacher, Miss Loomis, to be absolutely terrified to begin working at their school. It's a stretch though.

This book literally teaches nothing about racism.

It paints an elder black teacher as a woman who is afraid of her students.

It shows that punk as white boys run this shit show.

It had so many oddly placed racist remarks that are quickly explained away by some vague description that didn't address the root issue.

Honestly, I tried to reason with myself on reading this book.

I really had to push myself to finish it.
I ignored the terrible reviews, the indie publishing house, the countless grammatical errors, and the formatting problems.

I wanted to give this book the benefit of the doubt. But at the end of the day, Leah Harper Bowron choose to make the title of her book Colorblind and then went on to use the same word as a derogatory remark towards the end of the book.

Do not waste your time or money on this.

Murder Thy Neighbor

Murder Thy Neighbor

The latest installment of Murder is Forever, includes this insane story. My mouth was hanging open for 90% of this story. Murder Thy Neighbor tells of the feud between neighbors Ann Hoover and Roy Kirk. Roy has bought eight fixer-upper homes in a very short amount of time. Given the state of disrepair, he bought the houses for rock bottom prices. Being a newly licensed contractor, he's beyond excited to start doing all this work. Ann is grateful that someone has finally bought the derelict home attached to hers. Roy seems to be just the man for the job. Soon he becomes the Home Owners Association's President, and soon after he begins cancelling their meetings as his "work" ceases to a halt.

Ann has tried countless times to give him contacts to help move his work along. She even paid to have the front porch worked on so the front of the houses would match. But Roy's leaky roof becomes a problem when it begin leaking into her home as well. This begins their feud. Roy begins leaving heaping piles of trash and various tools and equipment in the front yard. The trash becomes a rat haven, which results in Ann losing work, as she is an in-home piano instructor.

Ann finally offers, as a last attempt, to buy Roy's home and fix it up herself. She offers to pay exactly what he paid for it, so he won't lost near as much money. She just wants this eyesore removed from the neighborhood. She wants her safe haven back. When this doesn't work, she finally takes Roy to court. Here, he is fined $50,000, stripped of his contractor's license, and ordered to get the work done in a timely fashion. But that isn't what he plans on doing.

He has another idea.

All he needs is sledgehammer, a hacksaw, and a few trashbags.

Murder IRL

Man, this story tripped me out too.

I'll try to keep this review shorter because according to my husband, this is the longest story I've ever told him. So, here it goes!

Jenelle is nearly 30 years old when her family moves from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. She's never really been popular, especially with her intellectual disabilities. Her favorite past-time is scrolling through her Facebook friends' endless posts. Soon, a local drugstore clerk befriends her. Tracy takes Jenelle to meet some of her friends, when Jenelle falls head over heels in love with Tracy's brother Billy. Her Facebook friend list grows, and her confidence does too. She finally has a group of friends to spend time with, she even has a boyfriend, Jamie.

During a BBQ with her new friends, Jenelle notices Billy with another girl. When she spies them holding hands and kissing, she demands to leave the party. As she logs into Facebook that night, she has a mission. Find Billie Jean Hayworth's page and befriend her. Then the cyber-bullying attacks start. Jenelle can't imagine what Billy sees in Billie Jean. A variety of fake accounts begin posting horrible rumors about Billy and Billie Jean, and shouting praise for Jenelle, all in the same post.

Jenelle uses this virtual harassment as a way to manipulate her parents and boyfriend into believing her side of the story. She not only created fake profiles to attack her crush-turned-enemy, but she created a CIA persona to encourage her parents and boyfriend to protect Jenelle at all costs.

Whatever it takes, her daddy is going to protect her.

Looking for the rest of the Murder is Forever series?

Murder, Interrupted

Home Sweet Murder

Murder Beyond the Grave

Murder of Innocence

Till Murder Do Us Part

Kingdom of the Wicked

Oh. My. Goddess.

Kingdom of the Wicked is filled with witches and demon princes.

Oh yeah, all Hell is breaking loose.

Twins, Emilia and Vittoria have had their heads filled with stories of the underworld. Stories like bloodthirsty demons striking bargains with witches and werewolves. Princes of Hell tempting every woman they meet. Grimoire's filled with ancient spells to escape from evil. Their Nonna even has them recharge their protection charms every full moon.

But all those stories go out the window when Vittoria is killed.

Emilia is hellbent on finding the man she saw standing over her sister moments after her death. It's her mission to find him, to find her murderer and make him pay for taking her sister's life. When Emilia gets word that Vittoria isn't the first witch to be killed, but the THIRD, she takes matters into her own hands. This must be the work of the Devil.

In an attempt to find answers for all Vittoria's secrets, Emilia finds herself bound forever with her very own Prince of Hell, Wrath.

Looking for the rest of the series?

Kingdom of the Cursed (KOTW #2)

Kingdom of the Feared (KOTW #3)

Looking for other books by Kerri Maniscalco?

Stalking Jack the Ripper (SJTR #1)

Hunting Prince Dracula (SJTR #2)

Escaping from Houdini (SJTR #3)

Becoming the Dark Prince (SJTR #3.5)

Capturing the Devil (SJTR #4)

Five Total Strangers

Nat Richards latest YA thriller might be my favorite one yet.

Five Total Strangers is a gripping thriller that is told over the course of a dangerous blizzard induced road trip home. I was a little skeptical because my mind kept thinking two things. One, there's no way that much can happen on a road trip. Two, is the car haunted? Obviously, I was wrong for asking both questions.

High school student, Mira, is flying home for the holidays when a massive blizzard grounds all the flights out. But lucky for her, her seatmate, Harper, mentioned renting a car. Desperate to get home to her mother, Mira sets off to find Harper. When she does, Harper introduced her to a few friends; Josh, Kayla, and Brecken. The five of them pile into the SUV Harper rented and set off on a trip that has everyone questioning their sanity by the end of it.

Harper seems like a normal, put together, college student who has the world figured out. Anyone would be lucky to be in Harper's (expensive) shoes. 

Josh has that sleepy, coffee shop vibe about him. He has psychology student written all over him. It doesn't make sense for him to be in a knee brace, no way he plays sports.

Kayla seems to be sleeping her life away. When she's not sleeping, she twitchy and irritable. Possibly going through withdrawal symptoms.

Brecken feels like the boy whose daddy buys him everything he could ever want, as long as he follow directly in his family's footsteps.

Then there's Mira. The aspiring art student who just needs to go home to be strong for her mother.

Everyone just wants to go home. They want to be with their families, work through their family drama, and get back to real life as soon as possible. None of them wanted to be stuck in a rental with 4 total strangers. But when the blizzard starts, they're in for a long ride.

Looking for other books by Natalie D. Richards?

One Was Lost

We All Fall Down

What You Hide

Six Months Later

Gone Too Far

My Secret to Tell

Seven Dirty Secrets

Greenlights

I've been crushing on this man for the last fifteen years.

So you best believe I pre-ordered this book immediately.

Matthew McConaughey has been keeping journals, diaries, and random writings for the past 35 years. Greenlights is all of those writings in one perfect little book. We get to hear about his childhood, his rise to fame, his Hollywood hiatus, his wife and kids, and so much more.

 

I have to say, the first 25% of the book was not the spark I was looking expecting from Matthew McConaughey. I expected to hear crazy sibling antics, stories of growing up in Texas, more about his family. It almost felt like this portion was glossed over. He mentions his brothers and parents, who all appear in more stories down the road. It almost felt like there was a disconnect between who he was as a child and teen, as to who he is now as a fifty year old husband and father of three.

As we approach his rise to fame, we do get stories that are a little crazier.

I mean, who would have thought that Matthew McConaughey had big dreams of becoming a lawyer. But instead found his calling in film school. Many of his early roles embodied the typical attractive party boy. He starred in several of my all time favorite rom-coms (I'm looking at you, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days). But I didn't know that his breakthrough role in Dazed and Confused is the character who gave him the iconic line, "Alright, alright, alright," which was actually improvised by McConaughey himself AND were his first words ever spoken on film.

I never knew he traveled the open road with his pup, Ms. Hud.

I never knew he regularly took backpacking trips all over the world.

I never knew the story of how he met his wife, Camilla.

I never knew any of this, but I'm grateful I do now.

My Secret to Tell

Apparently, Natalie D. Richards is going to set the tone for my spooky season.

This one felt different than the rest of her books.

My Secret to Tell follows sixteen year old Emmie, whose mother dreams of her being a lawyer. Which leads to her working as Joel's assistant at his office. It wouldn't be a teen book without a little romance, so obviously this office overlooks the boat tours, run by none other than Emmie's everlasting crush, Deacon.

It's a cute book with a bit of suspense.

 

-BUT-

  

I was fully prepared to make this one of my favorite Nat Richards books, but then she brought the teens-solving-mysteries-before-the-police aspect in and I'm not usually a fan of that. I just can't wrap my head around the logic of kids uncovering a smuggling ring of some sort, AND THEN STEALING THE EVIDENCE AND MOVING IT AWAY FROM THE CRIME SCENE and the the cops are like "Golly, kids, thanks so much we've been working with the FBI on this and couldn't get any leeway, but this backpack filled with stolen goods will definitely help!"

Like, no. Stop.

Regardless, I still devoured this book.

 

Looking for other books by Natalie D. Richards?

One Was Lost

We All Fall Down

What You Hide

Six Months Later

Gone Too Far

Five Total Strangers

Seven Dirty Secrets

We're Going to Need More Wine

Gabrielle Union is an amazing human and we need to protect her at all costs.

I love her. I really, really do. But I am ashamed to say I really didn't know that much about her, other than she played a cheerleader in Bring It On, guest starred on Friends, and played as Chasity in 10 Things I Hate About You.

 

I never knew the struggles she went through, most of which are struggles many kids go through during their childhoods. She really didn't break through in Hollywood until her late teens, early 20's, but looked young enough to snag all the teenager roles. This woman just doesn't age. It's insane. Let me put this into perspective for you. I showed my husband the cover of the book and asked, "How old do you think she is in this photo?" He responded, "Like 25." I then showed him a picture of her in Friends and asked the same question, to which I got the same response. His jaw DROPPED when I told him those pictures were nearly 20 years apart.

Besides her acting roles, Gabrielle Union does loads of other work. She advocates for sexual assault survivors, women's health, mental health awareness, and a variety of others. All of these things have directly affected her life. She, herself was a victim of sexual assault. Her friend, Sookie, passed away from breast cancer. She's also spent years working towards becoming a better version of herself, even if that means cuddling her dog under her bed. All of the things she mentions in this book have happened to her and to countless other women throughout time, specifically women of color.

So next time Gabrielle Union pops up in the news, instead of reading the clickbait, pick up her book and your favorite glass.....because trust me, We're Going to Need More Wine.

 

Looking for other books by Gabrielle Union?

You Got Anything Stronger?

Gone Too Far

My go-to author for YA thrillers is Natalie D. Richards.

I'm obsessed with really anything she writes.

 This year she began releasing her books with updated covers, which means they match all her newer books.....you best believe I've bought all of them.

 

Gone Too Far is told in typical YA thriller fashion.

Piper's running late for her big chemistry test. She spots a notebook on the way in and grabs it with the intent to put it into lost in found. Without time to run to her locker, maybe by some small chance, this notebook is also filled with chemistry notes.....but what she finds is sinister. It's almost like a burn book.

Honestly, the entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking, "Oh my god, this is Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars."

So she finds this notebook filled with gossip about everyone in the school.

But to make it even creepier, all the photos show the students with their eyes gauged out. Pretty weird. But it starts to get under Piper's skin when an unknown number starts texting her. This person is seeking revenge and wants Piper's help. He wants Piper to pick names of students for him to absolutely humiliate in their ultimate take-down. Before long Piper and her partner have exposed a bully, a shoplifter, and a cheater. But when it starts to get personal, Piper wants out.

I loved how twisty this book was.

By the end of it, I was kind of convinced Piper was the mastermind behind the whole thing. Obviously, I was wrong. But either way, this kept me up all night to finish it.

Looking for other books by Natalie D. Richards?

One Was Lost

We All Fall Down

What You Hide

Six Months Later

My Secret to Tell

Five Total Strangers

Seven Dirty Secrets

Closer to Nowhere

Ellen Hopkins has written a beautiful middle-grade novel.

Closer to Nowhere follows cousins, Cal and Hannah.

Both of them have been only children for a very long time, that is until Cal moves in with Hannah's family. Cal's had a rough go of it; his dad is in prison, his mother's cancer just killed her. So the closest relative he was placed with was Aunt Taryn, his mom's identical twin sister. Hannah wasn't ready to share her family, her home, her school, and her friends with Cal. He struggles with PTSD, so some of the other kids think it's funny to pick on him. His explosive episodes aren't something he can control. When things like this happens, his fight or flight kicks in.....so he's either screaming or running to the only safe place he can think of.

Hannah lived a pretty sweet life before Cal came along. School comes easy to her, but gymnastics is where she shines. She has two parents who love her. Friends she can confide in. But it seems like everything begins falling apart when Cal moves in. She knows her cousin has some quirks that he can't control but she doesn't understand why. It's hard to explain PTSD to a child, and even harder for that child to explain it to her friends. 

In typical Ellen Hopkins fashion, she writes about what she knows.

Closer to Nowhere is loosely based on her grandson, whom she currently has custody of. If any of you have read her series, Crank, you know all about the struggle her daughter has had with drugs. "Cal" is one of her babies. I love that Ellen Hopkins doesn't shy away from tough subjects, even this middle-grade novel includes topics such as addiction, adoption, abuse, incarcerated parents, alcoholism, and gun violence.

Looking for other books by Ellen Hopkins?

 

Middle Grade:

What About Will

 

YA Fiction:

Crank Trilogy (Crank, Glass, Fallout)

Flirtin' with the Monster (Crank Anthology)

Burned (Burned #1)

Smoke (Burned #2)

Rumble

Tricks (Tricks #1)

Traffick (Tricks #2)

The You I've Never Known

People Kill People

 

Adult Fiction:

Love Lies Beneath (LLB #1)

 A Sin Such as This (LLB #2)

Triangles

Collateral

 

 Anthologies:

One Death, Nine Stories

Behind the Song

Life Inside My Mind

Dear Justyce

 

This is a message of hope.

A few years ago, I found a copy of Dear Martin at my local library.

I devoured it in a matter of hours.

When Dear Justyce was announced, I immediately pre-ordered it.

 

Justyce McAllister set out on a peace project, which turned into his collection of letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Soon after he concluded this project, he passed these letters on to his friend Quan. Quan is currently spending some time in a detention center, awaiting trial for a crime he didn't even commit. He's been locked away from his family and friends for nearly two years. The only thing getting him through it is his support from Justyce.

 

Justyce becomes a glimmer of hope to Quan. Their letters create a sense of security for Quan; they become a staple in his day-to-day incarceration. Justyce not only writes to Quan, but he helped him find a new legal team. He helped find him representation who actually wanted Quan to see the outside world again. Justyce set him up with a tutor who actually wanted to see Quan graduate. Having a support system who actually wants to see the best in Quan really changed his perspective.

Again, I was not totally impressed by the character development in this book. This was the same issue I had with Dear Martin, as well. It feels like Nic Stone has a great story to tell, but she's just brushing the surface. The topics she chooses to write about are things that happen every single day. The story could be so much deeper. Racial profiling, abusive relationships, incarcerated parents/siblings/friends, tumultuous home lives, all of these things are real issues mentioned in the books. However, I think I would have a stronger emotional connection to these characters if there were more stories that screamed, "THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME."

Looking for the rest of the series?

Dear Martin

Blood & Honey

My heart actually broke while I was finishing Blood & Honey last night.

Do you ever just hit a point in a book where you're like, "She's going to kill my favorite character. The author is going to kill my favorite freaking character." So yeah, at midnight last night I had 30 pages left. I'm sitting there, crying, knowing what's about to happen.

Anyway, Blood & Honey still follows Lou and Reid's whirlwind romance. They're on the run from Morgane who literally just attempted to murder her own daughter. Reid, Lou, Madame Labelle, Coco, Ansel, and Beau are on the run to find allies to defeat Morgane once and for all. They have to mend bridges with their families and enemies. Coco has to face her Aunt Josephine and the rest of the blood witches, knowing she abandoned her people when they needed her. Reid has to face the pack of werewolves whose young cub he killed many moons ago. Beau has to face his father, who is fully prepared to cut him out of the family will for his alliance with witches. But mostly, Lou has to face Morgane. The woman who has been hunting Reid's half-siblings, the woman who bore Louise strictly to become a weapon, the woman who has never cared for anyone other than herself.

But darkness will always follow them.

Darkness will always find them.

Darkness will find a way in.

Looking for the rest of the series?

Serpent & Dove (S&D #1)

Gods & Monsters (S&D #3)

The Project

I was lucky enough to be one of the first 500 NetGalley reviewers to receive a copy of Courtney Summer's new book The Project.

 

 You may be thinking, "Courtney Summers, I know that name."

You definitely do, she wrote one of my all time favorite YA novels, Sadie.

 

Excuse my language, but holy shit this book took me on a trip.

 

The Project follows sisters, Bea and Lo.

The book starts with their parents getting killed in a car accident; Lo is on the brink of death, and Bea just can't handle a world without her in it. Six years have passed since The Unity Project Leader, Lev, performed a miracle. Bea believes wholeheartedly that Lev brought her sister back from the dead, which begins her love affair with the cult. 

Lo has never been the same since the accident. She's been trying to find a way to live through her words, that's why she wants to be a writer. She wants to leave a legacy. But more importantly, she wants her sister back. The Unity Project isolates members from their families, cuts them off from the outside world, and believes they have all been chosen by God, and handpicked by Lev.

 

This book was pure insanity because I felt myself becoming attached to the members of The Unity Project. There were times were I literally had to set my Kindle down and ask myself who the good guys really were. I had to digest that maybe The Project wasn't all bad, maybe Bea really did abandon her sister for a good cause. Maybe Lo understood that her regular life would never amount to a life within The Project. Maybe the bad guys are the good guys and the good guys are the bad guys. To read a story that really flipped the narrative was amazing. 

 

Mark your calendars, The Project hits shelves February 2, 2021!

 

Looking for other books by Courtney Summers?

Sadie

Cracked Up to Be

I'm The Girl

Even If We Break

 

It's time to get SPOOKY!

 

I have been not so patiently waiting for this book.

I absolutely devoured it.

You guys know how much I love a good YA thriller.

Even If We Break has A L O T going on.

Once I got the hang of it and actually stepped into the mindset of each character, I really started enjoying it. This book follows five teens into their very own role-playing-game (RPG). This is their last night playing together before they end the game for good...but could the murders in the game happen in real life? I mean they are in a haunted mountainside cabin and all their RPG's deal specifically with solving murders......

So let's break down the characters.

Ever leads the game. They created this game their freshman year. They never expected Gonfalon to be such a big part of all of their lives three years later. Ever had the unique responsibility of setting up the cabin the night before everyone else made the trek up the mountain. They got to tie in the murderous ghost stories to their secret world. But they never wanted it to end in actual murder.

Liva's family own the cabin where this is all taking place. She's loaded, and she knows it. The one redeeming quality she had was creating the costumes for everyone; she knew just what they needed to feel comfortable in their second skin. But, she honestly looks at her "friends" as pet projects. Each one has their own little quirks and she knews just how to break them. Her story was ridiculously predictable, but much darker than expected.

Carter wishes he had the money Liva's family has. He goes to extreme lengths to make it seem like he fits in with her. But watching him lust after Liva's family money was depressing. His presence in the group makes perfect sense. He and Maddy, couple or not, were two of my favorite characters. He would quite literally die for her.

Maddy is a precious angel and needs to be protected at all costs. She honestly felt like an after thought but I think that fit her character so well. Maddy wanted to be normal, to fit in, to not be so overstimulated. Seeing an autistic character being well represented was not something I was expecting in a YA thriller. But it worked. Her anxiety fueled the story for me.

I honestly don't know why Finn was here, I mean other than being a love interest for Ever. He was a boring character that literally just did things out of potential love. Reading in his mindset didn't do as much for me as some of the other characters.

Anyway, this was more of a character analysis than an actual review of the book. It would be very difficult to review this without giving away most of the story. So I hope you guys enjoyed this instead! Definitely a unique book that I would recommend!!

Looking for other books by Marieke Nijkamp?

This is Where it Ends

Before I Let Go

At the End of Everything

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Y'all, I love this book.

Easily in my Top 5 Fav Books of all time.

 

There's so much to love about this book; there's vampires, housewives, bookclubs, and wine. Oh and it's all set in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina in the '90s. If that doesn't instantly draw you in, then I don't know what will.

It warmed my dark, little heart to see a group of women obsessing over true crime books and drinking white wine; aka my typical Tuesday night. I also love that I had read.....most of the books they read in their not-quite-a-booklcub. Maybe it's the true crime books, or maybe it's the dark mysterious neighbor, or maybe it's the random animalistic attacks happening in her very own yard that puts main character, Patricia on edge. But Patricia knows something weird is happening in the area and she sets her sights on finding out what exactly what that something is.

After reading up on vampires, Patricia believes their new neighbor and friend, James Harris, is one of them. James worked his way into all their lives. He befriended husbands, joined bookclub, bonded with their kids, but who really was he and why did he keep changing his backstory?

I know this probably sounds lamer than lame.

But please take a chance on this book.

I love it more than any other book I've read in 2020.

 

Looking for other books by Grady Hendrix?

My Best Friend's Exorcism

Horrorstör

The Final Girl Support Group

We Sold Our Souls

How to Sell a Haunted House

BadAsstronauts

 

Looking to start your own Not-Quite-A-Bookclub?

The Stranger Beside Me

Psycho

In Cold Blood

My Daddy is a Hero

There are no words to express how horrific it was reading the exact details of Chris Watts murdering his entire family; reading that Chris felt ANGRY as he realized his children were still alive after his first attempt at murdering them, that baby Nico was expelled from his mothers body. That Chris legitimately tossed his entire family out like trash.

I started my journey with Chris Watts by reading The Perfect Father by John Glatt. He worked directly with the Watts family while writing the book, as they were the only family who agreed to speak with him. His writing was vastly different from Lena Derhally's My Daddy is a Hero.

 

This book took a psychological approach to the Watts Family Murders.

It detailed the events leading up to the crime, the marital struggles, the affair, the lost love. But what I found most interesting was the psychological break down of Chris's personality that was included at the end of the book. Now, I don't totally agree with some of what Derhally outlines for possible personality disorders, but some of it actually makes a good bit of sense.

 

 I definitely think this was an informative, unique approach to understanding people like Chris Watts who seem to just snap. He went from nice, loving, family man to a cold-hearted family annihilator in less than six weeks. I would highly recommending reading both My Daddy is a Hero and The Perfect Father as reading them together gives a more in depth perspective of how this tragedy came about.

Looking for other books on Chris Watts?

The Perfect Father

Everything I Never Told You

I'm honestly surprised how much I enjoyed this book.

You guys probably know Celeste Ng from her AMAZING book, Little Fires Everywhere. But this lesser known novel is just as good.

Everything I Never Told You follows the Lee family, a mixed Chinese-American family in the '70s. This alternates through several different time periods, which did get kind of confusing because it's not differentiated very well. But regardless, we learn about James and Marilyn. We see the racial tension that follows them throughout their entire relationship. They quickly agreed that they would not talk about serious, heavy issues. They never discussed their backgrounds, they never spoke to or of their families, they tried to live in the moment. But all that changed after they had kids. Marilyn never wanted to play house, this wasn't a life she ever saw for herself, so she left....essentially abandoning her family for her ideal life. 

The childhood flashbacks for Nathan and Lydia are sparse. But they struggled with the lack of diversity at their school, especially Lydia. They were the only two Chinese students. Plus Lydia lucked out and got her mother's bright blue eyes. They struggled when their mother left. They struggled when they were reunited. Lydia prayed and prayed for the day her mother would come back. She swore she'd do anything to keep her mother happy, because that meant she would never leave again.

The present day storyline is where the book begins. Lydia is missing, but quickly found dead in a nearby lake. This turmoil is too much for her family to handle. Nath was getting ready to leave for college. Marilyn can't comprehend how or why her daughter was anywhere near that lake. James can't help but to begin seeing his daughter and her struggles everywhere. And then there's Hannah, she's such a minor character but she's precious. She's wise beyond her years; a little eavesdropping kleptomaniac looking for attention.

I definitely enjoyed reading this book.

A quick beach read for sure!!

Looking for other books by Celeste Ng?

Little Fires Everywhere

Murder Beyond the Grave

I finally got around to reading the third installment of James Patterson's Murder is Forever series! Like the other books, Murder Beyond the Grave features two true crime stories.

Murder Beyond the Grave

This story followed former drug dealer, Danny Edwards, who moved on to bigger things....specifically kidnapping and murder. After letting police wire him up, he throws his supplier under the bus, only to have the entire plan backfire. He knows he needs to give up the drug dealer life, but the money is just too good. Once his girlfriend, Nancy, gives him a push, he eventually agrees to quit selling. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have another scheme cooking.

As he's driving home from his parent's house, he notices a man standing in a yard, watching his children play, while a Ferrari sparkles in the driveway. Danny thinks to himself, "Man I wish that was my life." By complete chance Danny and this man end up at the same boat shop. The cashier lets it slip that the man is Stephen Small, a local millionaire. That's all it took from Danny to set his sights on him.

 

He quickly went to work building what Nancy described as a box big enough to hold a person. Stephen's very own coffin; fitted with a PVC air tube, a gallon of water, and a handful of candy bars. Danny essentially held Stephen for ransom without thinking his contraption through.....

Murder in Paradise

Bonnie Hood wants a project of her own.

Her very own home away from home.

The Hood's bought the lodge Bonnie remembered visiting as a child. Her intention was to fix up the lodge, the hiking trails, even the saloon. She even went as far as to having a swimming pool installed. But none of that mattered to husband, Jim. He was content being a real estate mogul in the city. He could never wrap his head around why Bonnie would want to invest her time and their money in a rundown place like this.

The locals around Camp Nelson Lodge were not impressed with Bonnie from the get-go. She received dozens of death threats in the first few months. She decided it would be best if she lived at the lodge full time and Jim kept their kids in the city during the week. This gave both of them time to start living vastly different lives.

Bonnie may or may not have started sleeping with the groundskeeper at Camp Nelson. Jim may or may not have been the very person behind the death threats she was receiving.

In a turn of events, the killer is revealed in a way I honestly was not expecting but looking back.....it made perfect sense. I think my jaw actually dropped.

Looking for the rest of the Murder is Forever series?

Murder, Interrupted

Home Sweet Murder

Murder Thy Neighbor

Murder of Innocence

Till Murder Do Us Part 

Live in Love

This kind of book is definitely outside of my comfort zone.

I've literally had friends tell me they never imagined I would enjoy a book like this and were genuinely surprised when they saw me with it. But I loved it.

I'm a little biased because I absolutely love Thomas Rhett's music. I, like most people, met his wife Lauren through his music. I quickly followed her on Instagram and Facebook and watched with delight as she chronicled their family life.

So when she announced her book, I knew I had to have it.

What I love most about this book is that she doesn't shy away from anything.

She talks about her childhood, her relationship with God, her struggles to accept the life of a musician's wife, everything. Growing up in a small town in Tennessee, she never expected to be living the life of stardom. It just really struck me how REAL she is.

 

She and Thomas Rhett had real struggles to work through that I think are true of any marriage. But she's honest about it. Thomas Rhett even makes a few appearances in the book to tell his side of the story. Which I think, just talking these things through probably brought them closer together as a couple.

 

Live in Love: Growing Together through Life's Changes was a breezy, relaxing read for me.

In the very beginning, Lauren says she hopes this book will be whatever you need it to be, "a self-help book, a romantic escape, a marriage book, a family guide, a beacon of faith, a behind-the-curtain peek at a country music couple, an inside look at the trails of the international adoption process, or just a light-and-love-filled distraction of the darkness that seems to fill up the news these days."

She did that, all in 300 beautifully written pages.

Capturing the Devil

This is it.

This is the end.

 

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have one last demon to catch before they can finally settle down. One last madman who might have come to America on the very same ship.

 

Like the rest of this YA historical fiction series, Capturing the Devil is loosely based on America's first serial killer, H. H. Holmes. For those who don't know, H. H. Holmes was a dubbed "Devil in the White City." He created a hotel that covered an entire city block. But this hotel really his torture palace. He spent many years torturing and murdering women inside these walls. There was also mass hysteria surrounding the idea that Jack the Ripper was stalking the streets of Chicago. Could it be that Jack the Ripper and H. H. Holmes are the same person?

Alright, let's talk about Cressworth.

I love them.

 

Most of the book surrounded their relationship and their undying love for each other, which kind of made me want to gag but I definitely caught myself grinning like a teenager reading about their love. It's just so raw and intense. After everything they've been through together, and all the twists and turns in this book, they deserve the ending they got. It was magical, honestly.

This really was a perfect ending.

Looking for other books by Kerri Maniscalco?

Stalking Jack the Ripper (SJTR #1)

Hunting Prince Dracula (SJTR #2)

Escaping from Houdini (SJTR #3)

Becoming the Dark Prince (SJTR #3.5)

Kingdom of the Wicked (KOTW #1)

Kingdom of the Cursed (KOTW #2)

Kingdom of the Feared (KOTW #3)