Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else. But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Reactions:
My Attention: what is this magic water? 🤔
World Building: Late 80’s California coast inspired – think…Lost Boys. The magic system? Vague.
Writing Style: lyrical
Bringing the Heat: 🔥🔥
Crazy in Love: insta-Love
Creativity: magic water gives drinker powers (at times confusing)
Mood: dark 🌑 and a little nostalgic
Triggers: domestic abuse, drug use, death, killing, toxic relationship
My Takeaway: there is magic in the water and it can make you see things
The cover and title. Love it.
I liked the whole Santa Maria, California beach 80’s vibe in this book. You can definitely tell it is inspired by The Lost Boys. I felt some nostalgia and I haven’t watched that movie in awhile so I can’t compare it side by side, but it definitely got the vibe right.
Roxy and Mayhem’s relationship is complex. They confront many issues like suicide, the family’s past, domestic abuse and drug addiction. I’m glad that Mayhem and Roxy come to terms with their “roots” and their family history. Roxy had a lot of secrets she kept from Mayhem but she was drowning in a lot of her own pain and misery.
This whole story intrigued me because it’s starts off as an abuse story and then…things just get twisted in a strange way that at times worked and then a lot of times that didn’t.
This magical, addictive “water” that was being described in the story was aggravating me a little because of how vague it was. It could make the drinker see who was good and evil and that made the Brayburn bloodline powerful. But at times I was almost hoping this was The Lost Boys remake and vampires were gonna jump out somewhere – that didn’t happen.
They use this magic power basically at the end to stop a serial killer. But there is a lot going on already with Roxy and Mayhem, this killer is just not a focus of the book or it didn’t seem urgent enough to me until the second half of the book.
The insta-love between Jason and Mayhem felt unnecessary. He became her “great love” in a span of days!
Without the magic elements of this book, I found Mayhem’s story gripping as she and her mother try to start over their lives in Santa Maria. The magic water introduction felt a bit weak to me and confusing but I did like the nostalgia of The Lost Boys. Mayhem standing up to her abuser and learning about her family and the magic they have is a powerful message that everyone can learn from.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Bake a chance on love.
Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see her gorgeous Korean unicorn again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out.
When she hears his plan to help save her business, Aubrey knows that spending three weeks in California wine country working with Landon is a sure recipe for disaster. Her head is telling her to take the chance to save her bakery while her heart—and her hormones—are at war on whether to give him a second chance. And it just so happens that Landon’s meddling friends want them to spend those three weeks as close as possible…by sharing a villa.
When things start heating up, both in and out of the kitchen, Aubrey will have to make a choice—to stick it out or risk her heart.
My Sweet Mess is a foodie romance – meaning if you like romance and stories with cooking in it, especially baked goods, then this will be up your alley.
Aubrey is a pastry chef and owns a small bakery in a very small town. A one-night stand with Landon, a well known food critic (except not known to Aubrey), ruins her business when he does an article on her bakery.
To make amends Landon has a plan. Now it’s strictly business between them but their attraction between them is undeniable and gets in the way.
Food! I love a romance story with food in it, most especially when it centers around baked goods – since that is my weakness. So I loved all the cooking references.
It’s a light-hearted romance and a very quick read. The story comes with its share of timely drama and resolves easily into a happy ever after. It’s a cute ending.
I like that it’s main characters are Asian because it’s nice to see more diversity in the romance genre.
The story is very predictable. One-night stand, woman’s life is ruined by a man, man comes into save her business, attraction is still there, conflict, resolution – HEA. So…it’s got all the elements but nothing really stood out to make it wow me.
I didn’t connect to the characters. Their attraction happens in an instant, which is fine, but when things become a problem and they are back together, things almost fall easily into place. There is no real tension between them, I think I wanted more tension.
And this might be the fault of it being a digital arc but some paragraphs were running into each other and I would get thrown off wondering if it was supposed to be a new chapter. So that might just be formatting because it being a digital copy.
Overall, this was a light hearted romance novel with love of food present throughout the story. For me I wish I could connect to the characters more but ff you like a love story about food and falling in love then you will enjoy this one.
Categories/Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Time Travel, Death, Illness, Friendship, Family, Black Lead Characters
When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack.
But then Kate dies. And their story should end there.
Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind.
Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do to save the people he loves.
This is a time travel love story that kind of lost me at time travel. 😕
My Reactions:
My Attention: lost it when the time travel kicked in and that’s a ME thing, it doesn’t make the book bad
World Building: it’s Jack’s world and he is in love with Kate
Writing Style: lots of dialogue, so it moves quick
Bringing the Heat: no heat
Crazy in Love: oh, Jack is crazy in love
Creativity: it got creative with the time travel
Mood: mixed feelings
Triggers: death, illness
My Takeaway: “almost” is good enough ❤️ because that meant you still had some time with that person
Jack is the sweetest kid ever. I love his charming personality, I wanted to protect him from heartbreak. He is a nice guy and he has been in love with his best friend, Jillian, since forever until Kate comes along. But he’s an all around good guy, he’s the average nerdy guy, comes from a nice family and has good friends around him.
Friendship is a big deal to Jack and it shows with his two best friends, who are dating, Franny and Jillian.
The dialogue between the characters is really good and I could always tell who was speaking because their voices were distinct.
Jack is so in love with Kate, it’s the sweetest and saddest thing. And the book cover is the cutest and makes a lot of sense after reading the book.
I don’t mind death and illness in a story but darn, the time travel just took me out of it. I thought okay…let’s see what happens, but by the time it starts over again, I felt a disconnect. That’s mostly because I tend to be that way with books with time travel, especially when it keeps repeating itself! I understand why it was in the story though because it shows in each scenario how things could have turned out.
This book revolves around Jack’s love for Kate. And because it is a time travel story, his love for her is on repeat. I think it would have been great to learn more about Kate, not so much his love for her because we all knew he was crazy about her.
Unfortunately the time travel aspect made me disconnect from the story. I loved the beginning, where we meet Jack, Kate and all the people that make up his world but after Kate dies (the first time), I lost interest in the story. I think many people will enjoy this sweet love story though, especially if you don’t mind a story with time travel.
Bree Bozeman isn’t exactly pursuing the life of her dreams. Then again, she isn’t too sure what those dreams are. After dropping out of college, she’s living a pretty chill life in the surf community of Pacific Beach, San Diego…if “chill” means delivering food as a GrubGetter, and if it means “uneventful”.
But when Bree starts a new Instagram account — @breebythesea — one of her posts gets a signal boost from none other than wildly popular self-help guru Demi DiPalma, owner of a lifestyle brand empire. Suddenly, Bree just might be a rising star in the world of Instagram influencing. Is this the direction her life has been lacking? It’s not a career choice she’d ever seriously considered, but maybe it’s a sign from the universe. After all, Demi’s the real deal… right?
Everything is lining up for Bree: life goals, career, and even a blossoming romance with the chiseled guy next door, surf star Trey Cantu. But things are about to go sideways fast, and even the perfect filter’s not gonna fix it. Instagram might be free, but when your life looks flawless on camera, what’s the cost?
Excerpt:
From Chapter Two
“Don’t these books make your purse really heavy? There’s gotta be some app where you can store all this information.”
“Studies show you’re more likely to remember things you’ve written by hand, with physical pen and paper.” She reached across my lap and opened the glove compartment, removing a notebook with an antiqued photograph of a vintage luxury car printed on the cover. “For example, this is my auto maintenance log. Maybe if you’d kept one of these, like I told you to, we wouldn’t be in this predicament right now.”
I loved Natasha, I really did. She was responsible and generous, and without her I’d likely be far worse off than I already was, which was a horrifying thought to consider. But at times like this, I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake the shit out of her.
“A maintenance log wouldn’t have helped me.”
“Yes, it would have. Organization is about more than decluttering your home. It’s about decluttering your mind. Making lists, keeping records—these are all ways to help you get your life in order. If you’d had a maintenance log, this problem wouldn’t have caught you off guard in the middle of your delivery shift. You’d have seen it coming, and—”
“I saw it coming.”
“What?”
“This didn’t catch me off guard. The check engine light came on two weeks ago.” Or maybe it was three.
“Then why didn’t you take it to the mechanic?” She blinked, genuinely confused. Everything was so cut-and dried with her. When a car needed to be serviced, of course you called the mechanic.
That is, if you could afford to pay the repair bill.
Fortunately, she put two and two together without making me say it out loud. “Oh,” she murmured, then bit her lip. I could almost hear the squeak and clank of wheels turning in her head as she tried to piece together the solution to this problem. No doubt it included me setting up a journal or logbook of some sort, though we both knew that would be pointless. The last time she’d tried to set me up with a weekly budget planner, I gave up on day two, when I realized I could GrubGetter around the clock for the rest of my life and still never make enough money to get current on the payments for my student loans. You know, for that degree I’d never finished.
But Natasha was a determined problem solver. It said so in her business bio: “Natasha DeAngelis, Certified Professional Organizer®, is a determined problem solver with a passion for sorting, purging, arranging, and containerizing.” My life was a perpetual mess, and though she couldn’t seem to be able to clean it up, that didn’t stop her from trying. Over and over and over again.
“I’ll pay for the repairs,” she said.
“No.” I shook my head, fending off the very big part of me that wanted to say yes. “I can’t take any money from you.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “Business is booming. I’ve got so much work right now that I’ve actually had to turn clients away. And ever since Al introduced that new accelerated orthodontic treatment, his office has been raking it in. We can afford to help you.”
“I know.” Obviously, my sister and her family weren’t hurting for cash. Aside from her wildly successful organizing business, her husband, Al, ran his own orthodontics practice. They owned a four-bedroom house, leased luxury cars, and took triannual vacations to warm, sunny places like Maui and Tulum. They had a smart fridge in their kitchen that was undoubtedly worth more than my nonfunctioning car.
But my sister wasn’t a safety net, and I needed to stop treating her like one. She’d already done so much for me. More than any big sister should ever have to do.
“I just can’t,” I said.
“Well, do you really have any other choice?” There was an edge to Natasha’s voice now. “If you don’t have a car, how are you going to work?”
“I’ll figure something out.” The words didn’t sound very convincing, even to my own ears. For the past four years, all I’d done was deliver food. I had no other marketable skills, no references, no degree.
I was a massive failure.
Tears pooled in my eyes. Natasha sighed again.
“Look,” she said, “maybe it’s time to admit you need to come up with a solid plan for your life. You’ve been in a downward spiral ever since Rob left.”
She had a point. I’d never been particularly stable, but things got a whole lot worse seven months earlier, when my live-in ex-boyfriend, Rob, had abruptly announced he was ending our three-year relationship, quitting his job, and embarking on an immersive ayahuasca retreat in the depths of the Peruvian Amazon.
“I’ve lost my way,” he’d said, his eyes bloodshot from too many hits on his vape pen. “The Divine Mother Shakti at the Temple of Eternal Light can help me find myself again.”
“What?” I’d been incredulous. “Where is this coming from?”
He’d unearthed a book from beneath a pile of dirty clothes on our bed and handed it to me—Psychedelic Healers: An Exploratory Journey of the Soul, by Shakti Rebecca Rubinstein.
“What is this?”
“It’s the book that changed my life,” he’d said. “I’m ready for deep growth. New energy.”
Then he’d moved his belongings to a storage unit off the side of the I-8, and left me to pay the full cost of our monthly rent and utilities on my paltry GrubGetter income.
I told myself this situation was only temporary, that Rob would return as soon as he realized that hallucinating in the rainforest wasn’t going to lead him to some higher consciousness. But I hadn’t heard from him since he took off on that direct flight from LAX to Lima. At this point, it was probably safe to assume he was never coming back.
Which was probably for the best. It’s not exactly like Rob was Prince Charming or anything. But being with him was better than being alone. At least I’d had someone to split the bills with.
“Honestly,” she continued, “I can’t stand to see you so miserable anymore. Happiness is a choice, Bree. Choose happy.”
Of all Natasha’s pithy sayings, “Choose happy” was the one I hated most. It was printed on the back of her business cards in faux brush lettering, silently accusing each potential client of being complicit in their own misery. If they paid her to clean out their closets, though, they could apparently experience unparalleled joy.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
She scowled. “It is not.”
“It is, actually. Shitty things happen all the time and we have no choice in the matter. I didn’t choose to be too broke to fix my car. I work really hard, but this job doesn’t pay well. And I didn’t choose for Rob to abandon me to go find himself in the Amazon, either. He made that choice for us.”
I almost mentioned the shittiest thing that had ever happened to Natasha or to me, a thing neither of us had chosen. But I stopped myself before the words rolled off my lips. This evening was bad enough without rehashing the details of our mother’s death.
“Sometimes things happen to us that are beyond our control,” Natasha said, her voice infuriatingly calm. “But we can control how we react to it. Focus on what you can control. And it does no good to dwell on the past, either. Don’t look back, Bree—”
“Because that’s not where you’re going. Yes, I know. You’ve said that before.” About a thousand times.
She took a deep breath, most likely to prepare for a lengthy lecture on why it’s important to stay positive and productive in the face of adversity, but then a large tow truck lumbered onto the cul-de-sac and she got out of the car to flag him down.
Grateful for the interruption, I ditched the casserole on her dashboard and walked over to where the driver had double-parked alongside my car.
“What’s the problem?” he asked, hopping down from the cab.
“It won’t start,” I said, to which Natasha quickly followed up with, “The check engine light came on several weeks ago, but the car has not been serviced yet.”
He grunted and popped the hood, one thick filthy hand stroking his braided beard as he surveyed the engine. Another grunt, then he asked for the keys and tried to start it, only to hear the same sad click and whine as before.
“It’s not the battery.” He leaned his head out of the open door. “When was the last time you changed your timing belt?”
“Uh… I don’t know.”
Natasha shook her head and mouthed, Maintenance log! in my direction but I pretended not to see.
The driver got out and slammed the hood shut. “Well, this thing is hosed.”
“Hosed?” My heart thrummed in my chest. “What does that mean? It can’t be fixed?”
He shrugged, clearly indifferent to my crisis-in-progress. “Can’t say for sure. Your mechanic can take a closer look and let you know. Where do you want me to tow it?”
I pulled out my phone to look up the address of the mechanic near my apartment down in Pacific Beach. But Natasha answered before I could google it up.
“Just take it to Encinitas Auto Repair,” she said. “It’s on Second and F.”
“You got it,” he said, then retreated to his truck to fiddle with some chains.
Natasha avoided my gaze. Instead, she focused on calling a guy named Jerry, who presumably worked at this repair shop, and told him to expect “a really old Civic that’s in rough shape,” making sure to specify, “It’s not mine, it’s my sister’s.”
I knew she was going to pay for the repairs. It made me feel icky, taking yet another handout from my big sister. But ultimately, she was right. What other choice did I have?
The two of us stayed quiet while the driver finished hooking up my car. After he’d towed it away down the cul-desac and out of sight, Natasha turned to me. “Do you want to come over? Izzy’s got piano lessons in fifteen minutes, you can hear how good she is now.”
Even though I did miss my niece, there was nothing I wanted to do more than go home, tear off these smelly clothes, and cry in solitude. “I’ll take a rain check. Thanks again for coming to get me.”
“Of course.” She started poking at her phone screen. A moment later, she said, “Your Lyft will be here in four minutes. His name is Neil. He drives a black Sentra.” A quick kiss on my cheek and she was hustling back to her SUV.
As I watched Natasha drive away, I wished—not for the first time—that I could be more like her: competent, organized, confident enough in my choices to believe I could choose to be happy. Sometimes I felt like she had twenty years on me, instead of only six. So maybe instead of complaining, I should’ve started taking her advice.
Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker with an insatiable case of wanderlust. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of software. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, and planning her next big vacation.
Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Adult, Autism, Fake Dating, Asian Rep
Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position…
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic…
So I read The Bride Test before this book and I ended up liking The Kiss Quotient much more!
My Reactions:
My Attention: read in one night
World Building: Silicon Valley
Writing Style: flowed really well
Bringing the Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 – lots of sexy moments in this one
Crazy in Love: in a good way
Creativity: I love the Asperger’s representation and how Stella propositions Michael instead of the other way around (Pretty Woman reversal!)
Mood: love
Triggers: prostitution
My Takeaway: Get yourself a Michael Larsen. 🤗
The autistic representation is fantastic, just as it was in The Bride Test. We get to see how a character with Aspergers, Stella, functions in a social, sexual, physical and romantic relationship with Michael. I appreciate the insight because it makes me understand people with autism better. I can feel Stella’s desire and despair to try and be “normal” in a romantic relationship, and yay for Michael being super patient with her. It’s exactly what she needed in a partner.
The whole reverse Pretty Woman thing where Michael is the escort is fun. And HOT. I mean some of the scenes where he is trying to help her be comfortable with sex was like…🔥🔥🔥. I mean obviously he has a 5 star rating so he knows what he is doing, but again…his patience is what got me swooning! ❤️
I did like how it went into hot territory with the escort services thing in the beginning and sex lessons to HOLD up..let’s do fake dating. It took their relationship in a new direction where she works on the usually things about a relationship: dating, meeting each other’s family, talking to one another and learning about each other. I enjoyed that!
As for the characters, I loved them both. Stella is smart but has her challenges with being autistic. Michael’s story is heartbreaking is drowning in debt because of his father’s mistake but you know how much he loves his family. And speaking of family…my favorite guy from The Bride’s Test, Quan, made an appearance and seriously, I am SO ready to read his book. Give me Quan!
If the whole escort service thing is not something you like (because it does mean Michael has slept with a LOT of women) then this book may not be for you. But it’s a job to him until Stella comes along.
I enjoyed this book a lot! The chemistry between Stella and Michael is off the charts but also, it’s a sweet love story as well. It left me feeling happy, which is what I expect a romantic novel to do. Now I’m ready for Quan’s book!
Categories: Young Adult, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Black Lives Matter, Bi-racial, Romance, Own Voices
Who is Nevaeh Levitz?
Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom’s family home in Harlem and is forced to confront her identity for the first time.
Nevaeh wants to get to know her extended family, but one of her cousins can’t stand that Nevaeh, who inadvertently passes as white, is too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices they face on a daily basis as African Americans. In the midst of attempting to blend their families, Nevaeh’s dad decides that she should have a belated bat mitzvah instead of a sweet sixteen, which guarantees social humiliation at her posh private school. Even with the push and pull of her two cultures, Nevaeh does what she’s always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.
It’s only when Nevaeh stumbles upon a secret from her mom’s past, finds herself falling in love, and sees firsthand the prejudice her family faces that she begins to realize she has a voice. And she has choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she find power in herself and decide once and for all who and where she is meant to be?
I’m adding more black authors to my reading lists and I knew I had to read this one because it’s about a girl who is half-black and half-Jewish. This story helped opened my eyes to the struggles someone who is biracial could experience.
My Reactions:
My Attention: had my whole attention
World Building: a girl from Harlem and White Plains, New York
Writing Style: main character has such a strong voice, at times story moved slowly
Bringing the Heat: 🔥- Nevaeh’s love story is sweet
Crazy in Love: it wasn’t the focus of the story, which was nice
Creativity: beautifully done with poetry from Nevaeh’s voice
Mood: open minded
Triggers: bullying, racism, divorce, depression
My Takeaway: Nevaeh doesn’t know where she fits in and families, marriage, and people in general – are complicated.
I love how layered this story is. Nevaeh is struggling to keep it together while her parents go through a divorce. But she is also having an identity crisis because she feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere. The Black Lives Matter movement has begun and protests have been occurring in the streets of NYC, and she’s living at her aunt’s in Harlem because of the divorce. Living with her aunt has awoken a desire to know about that part of her.
This is an Own Voices story and I respect Neveah’s struggle to accept both sides of her cultures. She’s always been told by her father that she never had to go to Temple…until now. He’s also telling her she is going to have a Bat Mitzvah. So Neveah feels lost with all these changes happening in her life. I felt her stress – I was stressed out for her! I can see why she acted out at times, but I also wanted to sit down and have a talk with her. Neveah expresses herself beautifully with writing poetry which is included throughout this story.
Her romance with Jesus is really cute. I liked that it wasn’t the focus of the book, but that he was there for her.
The divorce is a big part of Nevaeh’s life and her mom goes through severe depression. I like when Nevaeh finds her mom’s diary and we get a glimpse of how she met Nevaeh’s dad.
I love how Harlem comes alive in this story. I can visualize the street, hear the neighborhood and that festival scene was amazing.
We see a lot of instances where prejudice and racism are on display in the streets of New York, and so much at her school with that especially one classmate of hers, Abby. 😒
Both Neveah’s parents neglected her while they are separated and going through a divorce. Her mom is depressed and is in bed a lot, which is understandable and her dad…wow, her dad is barely there for her! And he takes the side of his new girlfriend? Like what was that? That frustrated me so much but I know it is realistic. I just wished he realized how much he hurt Neveah with his actions. He comes through somewhat in the end for her but other than that…😞.
Neveah makes a lot of mistakes and has to check herself at times. People around her are good at telling her things point blank like her aunt, her twin cousins and her best friend, Stevie. She doesn’t always get it right away but that’s part of the struggle she is dealing with.
Neveah is not perfect, she is struggling, but she is also learning so much and most importantly learning to accept the parts of her that don’t feel like her. The characters in this book from Neveah’s mom, Jesus and Neveah experience many instances of racism in this story which is important to see. This book gave me a full experience through Neveah’s eyes and I think that makes it a wonderful Own Voices story.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions about what came before. No history to hold on to. No relative to speak of. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along.
But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she just found the key she needs to get it: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Pointing her home. Only, when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for.
Margot’s mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what’s still there?
The only thing Margot knows for sure is there’s poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she’s there, she might never escape.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Reactions:
My Attention: the mysteriousness of the story pulled me along but I got frustrated at some points
World Building: story takes place on a farm
Writing Style: definitely felt all of Margot’s despair, distrust, and her neglect
Bringing the Heat: it brings literal HEAT, and I mean from a fire 😟
Crazy in Love: nope none
Creativity: okay the truth that is revealed in this story is creative and…strange
Mood: unsettled
Triggers: toxic family relationship, death
My Takeaway: I think I’m still processing this – but my takeaway? Family secrets suck. 🤷🏻♀️ And the truth needs to come out before healing can take place.
This story was different and I didn’t expect the direction it was taking at all. There is an interesting twist in the story that surprised me. The author did such a great job really keeping me guessing until the end.
It definitely had a creepy factor to the story and it kept me on my toes trying to guess what was going on. Grandma was creepy but the horror emerges at the ending of the story. It was more like a mystery/thriller than horror.
Margot is a complicated character. She’s a teenager that has been absolutely neglected by her mother. So when Margot leaves to find out more about her “family”, she realizes there are so many secrets to uncover about her mom’s past. Margot makes many hard decisions in the end, but she had to – the secrets were getting out of hand.
The first half of the book holds all the mystery and it was slow going. I kept wondering what could be happening on this farm? Why is the community so secretive about the Nielsen family? I had many questions. It was frustrating because no one would talk and I felt like the story wasn’t getting anywhere.
Margot’s grandmother…she made me go hmmm all throughout the book!
This story explores the dysfunctional family and secrets that can tear a family apart. I enjoyed it because it was different, strange and the truth that was revealed was horrifying. But I also thought it was just okay and maybe I spent more time trying to make sense of some things that happened in the story? I have mixed feelings about this one but I think many people who enjoy a young adult thriller will enjoy it.
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Royalty
Fiercely independent and smart, Zora Emerson wants to change the world. She’s excited to be attending a prestigious summer program, even if she feels out of place among her privileged, mostly white classmates. So she’s definitely not expecting to feel a connection to Owen, who’s an actual prince of an island off the coast of England. But Owen is funny, charming…and undeniably cute. Zora can’t ignore the chemistry between them. When Owen invites Zora to be his date at his big brother’s big royal wedding, Zora is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, along with her family and friends. Everyone is talking about her, in real life and online, and while Owen is used to the scrutiny, Zora’s not sure it’s something she can live with. Can she maintain her sense of self while moving between two very different worlds? And can her feelings for Owen survive and thrive in the midst of the crazy? Find out in this charming romantic comedy that’s like The Princess Diaries for a new generation.
This book reminds me of The Princess Diaries and the Prince & Me movie with a more urban flavor, which was so much fun!
My Reactions:
My Attention: I read this quick!
World Building: New Jersey to Landerel
Writing Style: loved the humor and dialogue between Zora and Owen, and the writing is so smooth it flowed nicely
Bringing the Heat: 🔥- this one was sweet as can be
Crazy in Love: slow burn, growing relationship
Creativity: Zora’s world at Halstead U is full of diverse characters, but it’s her hometown of Appleton where she shines with her Walk You Home program she created.
Mood: giddy
Triggers: race and socioeconomic issues
My Takeaway: Zora is a strong girl who can handle school, her goals and a real life Prince.
Zora is a strong girl! She has goals and she is doing everything to achieve them. When she gets off track, it’s okay, because she shrugs off the things that don’t matter and gets back on track again! I love how she came up with the idea for Walk Me Home. The love she has for her community comes through in all she does to give back to the kids.
Her friendship with Skye is so cute with their text updates. I love it and it reminds me of my own friendships. I do like that she opened up and made new friends at Halstead U even though she did feel out of place there.
Prince Owen is such a prince – it reminded me of real life Prince Harry and Meghan! He has a British accent – check. He’s polite – check. He’s cute – check. Haha…he and Zora really vibes well together. I thought their first meeting was adorable!
I loved the royal wedding Zora gets to attend. Sadie, a future duchess and Owen’s soon to be sister-in-law celebrates her ancestry at the wedding by having gospel music and African drumming in the program.
The ending was so abrupt I went to the next screen and it was the Acknowledgements and I was like…what? No! I didn’t want it to end just yet. I was having such a good time at the royal wedding!
At times I was wondering if Owen was going to cave to royal pressure and end things Zora because the Queen’s disapproval but I’m glad he chose Zora! He did come off very…placating? Polite? I don’t want to judge the guy and say boring haha…I mean he’s royal and couldn’t get much alone time with Zora with those bodyguards always with them.
I think this book would be perfect for teens who love romance stories about royalty. It has a strong black girl main character, Zora, who is doing everything she can to help her community. She falls in love with a prince, or should I say the prince falls for her first? 😉 It is a quick, fun read that had me smiling and wanting more.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall.
The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans…
Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
Talk about taking me back to the 90’s and basically my childhood! This story which is mostly set in a mall, is all nostalgia and fun. Cassie Worthy, is actually dealing with a few things in her life like breaking up with her boyfriend of two years, not having a place to work and then dealing with her parents divorce. But she finds herself a new job and getting through this disastrous summer by going on a treasure hunt. A treasure hunt in a mall you say? This story is a fun homage to “the mall”, which was our social hub once upon a time, a long, long time ago…in the 1990’s.
The cover and it’s neon pink color just captures the feel of the book. Love it.
I may be a little biased, but I was a pre-teen/teen in the 90’s! So everything in this book, like the Sam Goody music store 😂 (cassette tapes and cd’s – wow), the food court, ALL of it just took me down memory lane. The mall was the place to be!
I really enjoyed the characters like: Drea Bellarosa, Cassie’s not-so-new summer friend, is pretty awesome. She pops off the page, I could see her in her fashions and hear her honking laugh. They made unlikely friends but they were good for each other. “Sam Goody”, who’s name we don’t know until the end was so reminiscent of my love of all things music back in the 90’s and discovering bands – etc. Love that Cassie had a summer fling with him and Gia’s mom was fantastic too, she had such personality!
The treasure hunt in the book is such an 80’s/90’s adventure – like the movie Goonies. But it added a fun element to the story, and it helped Cassie concentrate on something other than her life seeming to fall apart. It brought Cassie and Drea close together and I’m glad Cassie earned a friend through it all.
Cassie transforms during the summer with Drea’s friendship, the treasure hunt and hooking up with boys. I’m glad she found her backbone when it came to her douche of an ex-boyfriend Troy and the plan. Cassie’s a smart girl and was definitely not someone who was going to sit back and take Troy’s treatment of her, but from a lot of nudging from Drea, she learned to love her true self.
This is a really light-hearted quick read – at times I thought maybe too light hearted but I think the focus on Cassie and Drea’s friendship was the right call. I was more interested in their relationship than Cassie finding a new boy to be a rebound. I like that though she had all these changes during the summer, it never changed her plans for college and her future.
The Mall is a nostalgia filled read for us who grew up in the 90’s. I think for readers today who are fascinated with that decade, this book would definitely give them an insight to our days gravitating to the mall. The book is a fun, quick read and will make the perfect summer read. I could definitely see this as a tv show and I’d totally watch it.
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.
With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
I didn’t read The Kiss Quotient and honestly…I didn’t know I needed to. 😫 But now that I know, I better find it on my online library haha.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book and I was definitely surprised!
Khai is autistic and he is afraid he is incapable of loving someone but his mother has taken it upon herself to help him find a woman. She finds one in Vietnam.
Will Khai and Esme (My) fall in love before her time in the United States is up?
The autistic representation is something I haven’t read in a romance book before. It was so great to get the perspective of a character with autism and in a relationship.
There are sparks between Khai and Esme from the get-go! Obviously they are both attracted to each other because their personal thoughts were pretty steamy. But I thought it was great to be in their thoughts since they both had difficult expressing their feelings. Esme’s first language is not English and she felt shy using the words she did know, whereas Khai has challenges expressing himself because of his autism. They eventually learn how to communicate, but in the beginning it is a challenge.
I liked Quan a lot. 💕 He is patient with Khai and looks out for him when he can. Helps that he is hot and good with the ladies.
The after sex scene was funny yet eye-opening! I love that Khai had to get some advice because when Khai and Esme actually do the deed – it was like…oh. 🤭 Haha…but like I said, it’s a good thing because Khai really did need a talk on the subject.
Arranged marriages are tricky! I know it still happens but wow..poor Khai getting no choice in the matter, his mom just sprung it on him…like surprise, here’s this girl I found! 🤦🏻♀️ I’d be so mad if my parents did that to me. Yet I’m glad he found love with Esme!
At times I thought the chemistry between Khai and Esme lacking but I think because they had their own way of communicating and sometimes it wasn’t resonating with the other person. In the end they compliment each other because Esme learned to respect his boundaries. I mean that’s a good lesson in itself – we all need to respect people’s boundaries. And Khai had to respect her being a capable female.
Trigger: grief
This is the first book I’ve read from Helen Hoang and I am glad to see the autistic representation with Khai and how he navigates being in a romantic relationship. Overall I found the story enjoyable and I look forward to reading Quan’s book for sure!
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 