ARC Review: The Birthday Girl

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Birthday Girl

Author: Melissa De La Cruz

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: August 6, 2019

Categories: Adult Fiction, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Ellie de Florent-Stinson is celebrating her fortieth birthday with a grand celebration in her fabulous house in Palm Springs.

At forty, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; two adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career as a well-known fashion designer of casual women’s wear; and a glamorous circle of friends.

Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. This isn’t the first of her birthday parties that hasn’t gone as planned. Something happened on the night of her sweet sixteenth. Something she’s tried hard to forget.

But hiding the skeletons of her past comes at a cost, and all of Ellie’s secrets come to light on the night of her fabulous birthday party in the desert—where everyone who matters in her life shows up, invited or not. Old and new, friends and frenemies, stepdaughters and business partners, ex-wives and ex-husbands congregate, and the glittering facade of her life crumbles in one eventful night.

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for granting my request and giving me a chance to read this eArc.

Told in the present with flashbacks to the past, Ellie de Florent-Stinson is throwing herself a glitzy fortieth birthday party. She is superficial, with mostly superficial friends. Ellie reminds me of a Real Housewives’ character, but she would be the one who thinks being a Real Housewives’ is tacky. She’s desperate to rub elbows with the ultra-rich and be with the “in” crowd. Ellie is living a lie and trying to impress her millionaire and billionaire so-called friends even if she goes broke doing it. I felt sorry for her…sometimes.

Ellie may not be very likable, but she has some qualities that made me respect her. She is definitely committed to being The Birthday Girl. She will throw this party come hell or high water. Ellie is ambitious and she clawed her way out of her past and into the life she made for herself. Also, she does love her children and that’s a plus. She’s the kind of woman who will get things done, and I like that.

Everything isn’t going the way she’s planned but it’s not going to stop Ellie from celebrating. Her sad and shocking past comes back to haunt her but it’s something she has to face in order to move forward into her uncertain future. If anything, facing her past made Ellie look closely at her present and future. The party gave her a chance to reflect on her life, the things she had or didn’t have…and I will say I did a lot of that when I approached and then turned forty last year. What is it with forty?! 😂 Mid-life crisis, indeed! Nah, I’m okay, I had fun on my fortieth birthday. ❤️

The story unfolds fairly quickly and there is a twist in this delicious tale. It was something I wasn’t expecting. It was kind of sad actually but it makes you look at Ellie differently in the end. I mean, she’s still superficial but it adds a little depth to her motivations. I felt like I was watching reality tv and I got addicted to this story.

I know Melissa De La Cruz is known more for young adult books but I really enjoyed this adult fiction from her. I hope she writes more in this genre. I couldn’t put this one down.

Get it here: Amazon

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Book Review: Somewhere Only We Know

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Title: Somewhere Only We Know

Author: Maurene Goo

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 328

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, K-Pop

10 00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

11 00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.

This young adult book, Somewhere Only We Know, is such a cute, fun, romantic summer read. I loved it!

I know of K-Pop but I don’t know specific bands, maybe because I’m just older than the crowd that fangirls over them. I remember K-Pop boy bands back in the day and that was late 1990’s! Nowadays, my friends love K-dramas and my mom is addicted to them too but K-pop not so much. Of course I know who BTS is though, who doesn’t?

This story was exactly what I needed! It was light, fluffy and set in Hong Kong. And let me tell you this book made me hungry for everything the characters were eating. Hong Kong, sounds amazing and I need to make a visit there one day. Especially to that night market!

K-Pop star, Lucky, leaves her hotel room searching for a hamburger and runs into Jack. They have a Hong Kong adventure all in one day and yup, fall in love. Realistic? Who knows! Who cares! It’s so stinking cute and sweet. 😍 I like how they bond over expectations and their individual futures. They can relate to one another and in a way push each other to be better. It has a happy ending and left me with a big smile. I really needed this book after reading some heavier things lately.

Pick this one up if you enjoy light, sweet romance novels. It’s the second book I’ve read from Maureen Goo and definitely won’t be the last!

Get it here: Amazon

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Book Review: The Gilded Wolves

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, #1)

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 388

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Historical, Diversity

No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

The Gilded Wolves – wow! I’ve seen a lot of reviews where readers DNF’ed this book. I also saw glowing reviews of it too. The gorgeous cover and the polarizing reviews got me curious enough to read this book.

It did take me a few days to really get into the book. I put it aside for a few weeks and even renewed it once at my library. I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for it, and I wasn’t sure if it was for me after reading a few pages. But I kept reading…and something kept me there. It could be the characters, or my curiosity because I love puzzles, history and artifacts. (Also, I just read Harry Potter – I know, I know, only now?…but I’m a Ravenclaw for sure 😂)

This book has everything in it. Diversity, puzzles, history, secret societies, Paris, attraction, friendship, and a heist! At one point I thought, should I be taking notes? I was confused for the first few chapters because there is a lot of information to take in but the more I pushed through, the more the world gelled together.

I love the diverse cast of characters. Of course, my favorite is going to be Enrique, who is a bisexual Spanish-Filipino young man. I loved that he is super smart about history and artifacts. Also, he was funny and he’s my people! It’s rare to see Filipino characters and it made me feel recognized. ❤️

Another character that spoke to me is Zofia, who is a socially-awkward, Polish-Jew. She is a whiz at Math and Science . My husband is Jewish and so my children are Filipino/Jewish (by way of Russian descent)/and a lot of other European ethnicities thrown into the mix through my husband’s mom’s side. And…my daughter’s name is Layla, and what a coincidence that there is a Laila in this story! It’s like this book was made for me. Laila is a beautiful Indian young woman with a past that is really intriguing! Her skill is to entertain and spy on people.

I enjoyed Hypnos too, he brought fun and lightness to some of these serious characters even though he seemed like a villain at first. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. And then there is Severin and Tristan who grew up together and their bond is special. Severin and Tristan had an interesting upbringing and I hope to learn more about him in the next book.

This story revolves around Severin and his goal to become a patriarch and reinstate House Vanth. The world-building is captivating to say the least. France is ruled by four Houses that are in The Order of Babel. Severin is coerced to take on a mission to help The Order find an ancient artifact. If he succeeds, his wishes will come true.

At times, especially in the beginning I felt like I needed a family tree or map of something to keep the world-building straight in my mind. You have to keep in mind the origins of The Order of Babel. It basically started with the destruction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis/bible), where five fragments scattered and where they scattered, it created civilizations. Where these fragments remained, the art of Forging or creation/creating was possible. Interesting was the tidbit about the West getting their fragments through the Crusade when the Knights Templar got their hands on it.

So the duty of the Order of Babel is to safeguard their fragment in the West or else all the world is doomed. When I read all this in the first chapters…I was like what is this? Forging? What are they forging and for what? What exactly can they make? I had so many questions! Throw in some French words and my brain started to hurt. But in a good way, I think. But I can see why some people DNF’ed this book. Not gonna lie – I thought about it. I think I just needed to be in the mood to read about 19th century Paris.

From there we meet our cast of super smart, different and talented characters who help Severin with this heist. If Severin is made patriarch of his own house then the rest of the crew can reach their own personal goals as well, with his help and backing.

I loved the puzzles, and working out the clues. It had all the stuff that made the Da Vinci Code amazing back in the day. I kept wondering how the author kept all this straight when writing her book! The clues were woven in with a heist, set in this glittering world of Paris during the 19th century. I was impressed just on the information alone. I wanted to google everything.

The writing is wonderful. I was drawn into the bond of friendship-turned-family that these characters share. Their differences make them a tight crew, the interaction between was fun and heart-warming. The action is fun, intense and at one point heart-breaking. The relationships are complicated as each of them try to survive and carryout this heist successfully. I loved their inner dialogues, their troubled pasts and individual stories.

This wasn’t a quick read but the beauty of this book is how the author explores many themes in this story. This book touched on so many issues like colonialism, race and sexuality. So I am glad I didn’t DNF this book! I was even trying to explain this whole book to my husband and said the next book will take place in Russia! 😱 He was like…cool…😅 So I could tell by the way I was blabbing to him about this book soon after I read it, that I really enjoyed it and had to tell someone, right away.

Before book two comes out in 2020 I am going to reread this book again because now that I know what happens I need to read the parts that initially confused me. I need to see if I missed anything. By the way, I was near the end and thought there were more pages to read, and I put the book down to bathe my daughter. When I returned to the book and realized I was looking at the Author’s Note…I was like…wait..it’s done?! 😂 I was ready for more!

I’m looking forward to the sequel to see what is the deal with Severin and if they can find the next lost artifact! 😬 If you like a heist story that involves puzzles, romance, friendship, diversity, history and lore – then definitely give this book a chance.

Get it here: Amazon

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Top Ten Tuesday: Fierce Female Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl – definitely check out her awesome website.

This Top Ten Tuesday was a free topic about Characters. I had such a hard time picking a topic. 😫 But eventually I ended up with this one to celebrate some of the badass female characters I’ve read throughout the years. I’ve read SO many books over the past thirty years that I chose the ones at the top of my head. Now this list is mostly from YA Books because it’s what I read most of lately. But this is a super short list folks, and not listed in any ranking at all. There are so many fierce female characters that I love and I keep adding to my mental list.

Feyre Archeron from A Court of Roses and Thorns Series. The first chapter where we meet Feyre, I was like, YASS..this is going to be good. She’s starving, hunting her next meal and dealing with family that don’t appreciate her. She’s a survivor and fighter from beginning to end.

Caelaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass Series – Now before ACOTAR there was Throne of Glass. I thought TOG, the first book was just okay. Wasn’t totally in love with it, thought it was a light fantasy read but the sequels after were pretty amazing. Caelaena is a beautiful, fierce assassin.

MacKayla Lane “Mac” from the Darkfever Series. This one is not YA but Adult Urban Fantasy. Years before any Feyre, Caelaena and anyone on this list came along I was obsessed with Mac. On the chase for her sister’s killer, Mac meets enigmatic Jericho Barrons and she gets introduced to the Fae world. I think Mac’s appeal was she was this Barbie girl who loved bright colorful clothing and she gets thrown out of her comfort zone into this world with Fae and Alpha Males. She learns to fight but still keep her love of all things pink. She’s fierce and still a girly girl and there is nothing wrong with that!

Karou from Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series because she’s like a dream. When I first read this book years ago, it transported me to a magical world with angels and Chimeras and other creatures. Karou was like a unicorn to me with her blue hair, sketching all the time and living in Prague. All of it: the setting, the characters, the wishes, the story was just MAGIC. And Karou was the perfect centerpiece.

Jude Duarte from The Cruel Prince Series. I can’t make this list without Miss Jude Duarte! What can I say about Jude? I love her. She isn’t charming, she’s flawed, she’s bold and brave too. I like how committed she is to her task no matter what happens, she is cold as ice sometimes! She’s smart and fierce and I’m addicted to her and Cardan!

Allison Sekemoto from The Immortal Rules Series. Some characters just stay with you and in a time when vampire stories were about dying out in popularity, Julie Kagawa published this book. This story blew me away – it was a vampire dystopian story and Allison Sekemoto wasn’t only an Asian character I could fangirl about, but she carried a Katana. I mean…YES, please! She’s an Asian vampire who is gritty, snarky, means business and oh so fierce.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Series. The series that started my love of young adult dystopian novels. Katniss had a unique name, so I already knew she was going to be special. How can you not love a character who will take her sister’s place in an event where most people don’t survive? She’s a survivor until the very end.

Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy Series. Speaking of vampire stories, I was obsessed with the Vampire Academy series! Rose isn’t a full vampire, which was nice – she’s a Guardian, basically a bodyguard for vampire royalty. She got some butt kicking skills, and it helps to be trained by a hottie, right? 😅 Rose is fun, brave and totally fierce.

Tea from The Bone Witch Series because a necromancer like her has to be mentioned as a fierce character. And yes she had the power to raise the dead and bond with scary creatures but what was super fierce about her was her love for her brother. Even just thinking about it breaks my damn heart. UGH. 😭💔

Roselle St. Sismode from Secondborn Series rounds up this list. What a fighter in this sci-fi/fantasy world. I love her and though she’s a badass with a fusion blade, she suffered from anxiety as well. Killing and seeing death is traumatic and I liked that she shows vulnerability because we all break down sometime, right? But no matter how many times she gets beaten down she gets back up and keeps fighting.

And that’s my list *whew* that was hard! I love so many characters!

Have you read any of these series? What fierce female characters do you love? Leave me comment below!

ARC Review: T-Minus

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: T-Minus

Author: Shannon Greenland

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: August 6, 2019

Categories: Suspense, Young Adult, Thriller

I am the daughter of the first female POTUS, and today is about to become the longest day of my life…

24 hours—that’s how much time I have to save my mother before terrorists assassinate her. But now my father and brother are missing, too. This goes deeper than anyone thinks. Only someone on the inside would know how to pull this off—how to make the entire First Family disappear.

I can’t trust anyone, so it’s up to me to uncover the conspiracy and stop these madmen. Because little do they know, they picked the wrong person to terrorize.

My name is Sophie Washington, and I will not be a victim. No one, I repeat no one, is taking me or my family down. But the clock is ticking… 

Thank you to Entangled: Teen and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eArc.

If you like shows like 24 and Homeland, then this book is for you. I can’t say I ever watched 24 but Homeland is one of my favorite shows. T-Minus takes place in a span of 24 hours. Right away I get thrown into Sophie Washington’s life and she’s being taken to a safe house because a plot to assassinate her mother, the President of the United States is underway. She’s separated from her mom, dad and brother and doesn’t know who to trust.

But Sophie is no ordinary president’s daughter – she and a bunch of her friends underwent TIA training. Something similar to special ops training but for teens! So yes, she and her friends are skilled at espionage, fighting, hacking, you name it, each of them excels at what they were trained to do.

The clock ticks down as Sophie and her friends have to find out who is behind this plan that is killing people she loves. This story is fast-paced and full of suspense. I sort of suspected early on who the villain was but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. And sometimes it’s unbelievable to think teenagers can be the ones to save the day in a situation like this. But I think Sophie and her friends convinced me they could handle any situation with the training they went through.

I believe this is a standalone novel but I feel like there could be a whole series devoted to Sophie and her friends saving the day. This is an entertaining page-turner with lots of thrilling action to keep anyone engaged

Get it here: Amazon

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ARC Review: No Judgments

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: No Judgments

Author: Meg Cabot

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: September 24, 2019

Categories: Romance, Adult Fiction, Contemporary

The storm of the century is about to hit Little Bridge Island, Florida—and it’s sending waves crashing through Sabrina “Bree” Beckham’s love life…

When a massive hurricane severs all power and cell service to Little Bridge Island—as well as its connection to the mainland—twenty-five-year-old Bree Beckham isn’t worried . . . at first. She’s already escaped one storm—her emotionally abusive ex—so a hurricane seems like it will be a piece of cake.

But animal-loving Bree does become alarmed when she realizes how many islanders have been cut off from their beloved pets. Now it’s up to her to save as many of Little Bridge’s cats and dogs as she can . . . but to do so, she’s going to need help—help she has no choice but to accept from her boss’s sexy nephew, Drew Hartwell, the Mermaid Café’s most notorious heartbreaker.

But when Bree starts falling for Drew, just as Little Bridge’s power is restored and her penitent ex shows up, she has to ask herself if her island fling was only a result of the stormy weather, or if it could last during clear skies too.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eArc.

No Judgments is a lighthearted, sweet, romance revolving around Bree, her love of pets, a hurricane and a love interest, Drew Hartwell.

It took me a few days to finish this one – it’s a perfect summer beach read, but for some reason the story didn’t hook me in immediately and I kept putting it down to read something else. I finished it today though and I thought the latter half of the book was better than the first, only because as a romance, I thought it was going too slowly for my taste.

Sabrina Beckham, Bree, as she’s known in the story is from New York City, fleeing her life there to find her her place on an island in Florida called Little Bridge Island. She loves animals, particularly an old cat she’s adopted. Bree and a few of her friends, decide to weather out the hurricane headed their way.

The story follows Bree before the storm and after it, the actual hurricane hitting the island is glossed over, but the romance picks up as the hurricane is about to hit. For awhile I had to ask myself if this was a romance, because I felt like it was more of a hurricane animal rescue story! I wanted more romance.

I thought the story was cute but I wasn’t attached to any of the characters, except maybe the animals featured in the book. This is definitely a beach read kind of book, perfect for a lazy summer day.

Get it here: Amazon

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My First Audiobook Review

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Childish Spirits

Author: Rob Keeley

Link to Review: Starting Small Reads Blog

My actual review on this audiobook is posted on my children’s book review blog because it’s more for middle grade/young adult. But honestly, I think it would be good for adults who enjoy a mystery as well, hence why I’m cross-posting it.

The book itself is good, but I also wanted to talk about my experience with audiobooks.

Do you like to listen to them?

Before reviewing this audiobook, I tried two other ones. One of them was with my trial through Audible and I borrowed Sorcery of Thorns. I did not enjoy the ten minutes I listened to. Yes, only ten minutes! I couldn’t concentrate on the scene and the narrator’s voice was not getting me into the mood to listen. I felt so lost and I had heard so many good things about the book, I didn’t want to ruin my experience of it so I stopped.

But I didn’t want to give up on audiobooks. So many people I know enjoy them, I wanted to see if I would like them too. I thought it could help dwindle my TBR list if I could just listen to an audiobook while I drove or while I cleaned the house. I was wrong…

I borrowed another book, not with my Audible credit, since I only had one left. I used Overdrive (online library) and borrowed The Belles. It took a few days just to get to almost half way into the book. My son would listen in on the audiobook whenever he caught me, and he’d start asking question and then my daughter would join in with her babbling. I’d lose concentration and I’d end my session. 😞 Did I finish that book? No…but I remember the main character’s name was Camilla, I think…and there were lots of scenes with fashion and beauty elements. The narrator’s voice did a good job – but I seriously would have finished that book quicker by reading it.

The book above, Childish Spirits was short and the narrator was great. Ghost stories also have an oral history so that helped my frame of mind as well. It was perfect as an audiobook especially for someone like me who apparently has a short listening attention span! Seriously, audiobooks remind me of college lectures – and they put me to sleep. Oh the torture! So maybe I associate audiobooks with sleep and lectures? 😂

My verdict on audiobooks? I think they are great for children’s books or short stories. But for regular young adult and adult fiction, so far it’s not for me. I still won’t say I truly dislike them because someone suggested I listen to a memoir audiobook, like Michelle Obama’s bestseller. I will try it and see if it changes my mind. So far I’m not a big fan of them.

What do you think about audiobooks? Are you a fan? Or not? Any audiobooks you could recommend? Leave me a comment below, I’d love to read your thoughts!

Book Review: Finale (Caraval, #3)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Author: Stephanie Garber

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 478

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

I just finished reading Finale and I’m still processing my thoughts as I write this review. I gave it 4 stars but it’s dropped to 3.5…? And maybe my expectations were a bit high after reading Legendary, but this one fell short for me. I’m bummed that I didn’t love it as much as the other two.

This book picks up right away after Legendary. It is told through Scarlett and Tella, the Dragna sisters. Legend is about to be crowned emperor except the Fates are waking up. And he needs his powers at full force to defeat them, or at least take down their leader, The Fallen Star. He is a new villain that rules and punishes the other Fates to keep them in line. Around this story of taking down The Fallen Star is another game our main characters are playing, but it’s not Caraval.

I don’t hate love triangles in stories. I mostly enjoy them because I like the angst and trying to decide who would be best for our main characters – but by book three, I wanted these Dragna sisters to make a decision on their men. Caraval was a mysterious high stakes game invented by Legend, but the other game being played in this series is the game of love. And they all keep playing it, to the point of distraction.

Scarlett tests Julian’s love by meeting the real Nicolas. Nicolas has a cameo in this book, I don’t even know if he was necessary to the story. Tella tests Legend by running away from him and going to Jacks. This happens, a lot. After awhile, I got weary and I wanted choices to be made.

via Giphy

I liked Tella in Legendary, but she is so indecisive and impulsive in Finale. And yes, she loves the bad boys. That’s fine, I like bad boys myself. She got herself into situations that tested my patience but after awhile I just figured she likes the drama, she likes the game. How else could I explain why Tella keeps going back to these guys who don’t treat her right? Okay so they are good looking and great kissers, but come on…this girl seems to pine for heartache. Also she’s always creeping around trying to find out what Legend is up to in the beginning of the book. 😅 I was like, girl…what are you doing? 🤦🏻‍♀️

via Giphy

Julian and Scarlett at least had a relationship that seemed steadier, maybe because he’s not immortal. But Legend and Tella? I guess Tella did have a valid dilemma, to choose between Jacks the jerk with a literally devastating kiss or Legend the player who could also act like a jerk. 🙄 I was thinking…run away…from both of them! Are there no other options out there for Tella? hahaha…not gonna lie, I was even rooting for Jacks at one point.

via Giphy

This story was also darker than Caraval and Legendary. There are blood vows, obsessions and deceptions. But at least the story tried to point out obsession is not love. I did find it interesting that love was what could kill an immortal. It made some of the characters in this book question what they valued more: love or immortality? We also learn more about Paradise (the Dragna sisters’ mother) and her role with The Fallen Star. As I said, it’s a game of love, a dangerous game at that.

The ending was slightly surprising and left a little open so I wonder if the world of Caraval isn’t over. There are some questions left unanswered.

There is no Caraval game in Finale. The game in Finale is love and I think it took the mystery away from what the Caraval series was all about. The grandeur, the element of surprise, the romance, the players, the locations and illusions of Caraval was missing in Finale. Maybe that was the point – Tella had to decide if Legend the person was what she loved, or Legend the illusion. As a series, it is fun, different and enjoyable. As for Finale, the book, it wasn’t my favorite in the series. But it did have a happy ending at least. 😊

Get it here: Amazon

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First Line Fridays

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

It’s been a long week folks, with slower reading time for me. Trying to take my time and not feel the rush to finish up a book in one sitting. I tend to do that and forgo sleep but I needed to rest this week. It’s been hot in Hawaii – has summer weather hit wherever you are?

Okay let’s get there lines down…

Scarlett Dragna’s bedroom was a palace built of wonder and the magic of make-believe. But to a person who’d forgotten how to imagine, it might have just looked like a disaster of dresses.

Can you guess?

🔽

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I’m 75% done so we shall see what happens in the end! 😱 After this book, I have to finish a few I started but have been taking awhile to finish. What are you reading this weekend?

Happy Reading Book Lovers! 😘

Book Review: The Rest of the Story

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Rest of the Story

Author: Sarah Dessen

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 440 (but Exclusive Version has a bonus 13 pages)

Categories: Family Dynamics, Slow Burn Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.

Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family—her grandmother and cousins she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

What is it about Sarah Dessen and summer time? The two go hand in hand! I first read her books in college back when they were first published and I haven’t stopped (23 years later).

It’s also fitting that I finished the book just before the fourth of July, since The Rest of the Story takes place during the height of summer. Emma Saylor, has lost her mom to drug addiction and her dad has remarried. An emergency leaves Emma with no place to stay for the summer, but she ends up heading over to North Lake, where her mom grew up. She meets a whole bunch of family she’s never really known and puts together the missing puzzle pieces of her life.

Sarah Dessen knows how to write about family dynamics in a way that is so relatable. I mean, this book is about summer on a lake – I’ve never done that, but I live on an island, and our economy is tourism. My mom and most of my aunts all worked as hotel housekeepers. I’ve heard complaints time and again, all my life, from my mom and aunts. It’s hard work! Also…try living with a mom who cleans rooms for a living. I’ve inherited cleaning anxiety, I always feel my house isn’t clean enough when my parents come over. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 So once again, different location, different cultures but I could still relate to this book! That’s why Sarah Dessen books are amazing and special.

I love how Emma, who deals with anxiety on a daily basis learns to cope with the Calvanders (her mom’s side of the family). They are a large family – noisy, confrontational at times and basically…family. Emma is an only child and grew up with her dad and Nana so this was out of her comfort zone. I related to the Calvanders so much. They reminded me of my relatives – and I have a lot. Lots of aunts, uncles and cousins.

While Emma is in North Lake she learns about her mom and what she was like growing up. It’s not a pretty picture at times and that’s another reason why I love Sarah Dessen stories. She goes there, in the imperfect places of a character’s past and life but there is always a silver lining in the end.

And then there is the friendship to lovers romance in this book. It’s slow and sweet, and you hope they make it eventually! The romance is never the focus of the book, the family issues are, but it’s nice to see Emma try to find a summer romance, because didn’t we (or some of us) want one at that age? I totally did!

I don’t know if it’s because I’m older now and I just felt more at 18 years old reading her books and relating to her characters, but this time at 40-I can totally understand the parent in the book so much more than Emma. Due to the fact I am a parent myself and in a few years will be dealing with a teenager (I’m scared lol). 😅 But I still understood where Emma was coming from. I was, once upon a time, a teenager too.

I love that Emma gets a chance to figure things out and make mistakes along the way. And just because a story seems over…it isn’t. 😍 I also love that this book shows how families are complicated. This is a Sarah Dessen summer book for sure: light reading, a little romance, lots of family love, a happy ending…and “the rest of the story”. ☀️ 😉

Get it here: Amazon

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