Only a Monster by. Vanessa Len | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Only a Monster

Author: Vanessa Len

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 2/22/22

Publisher: Harperteen

Categories: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Time Travel

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero.

Content Warning: Death, Murder, Violence

So of course I wanted to read this because it was getting hype and rave reviews – I didn’t think I would get it so early. I love the cover, the synopsis sounded amazing and word on the street is that it’s good!

Let me say that you cannot think the word Monster in the title is anything literal. There are no grotesque, scary monsters in this story. This a story about humans vs. monsters, but the monsters are basically human (look like them) but have special powers – think…X-Men. They are monsters because they are different from humans and one aspect of their powers (aside from the powers they get from their family line) is to time jump. Time jumping requires taking time from human lives.

Joan is half monster on her mom’s side, half human on her dad’s side and spends a lot of time with her mom’s side every summer. She knew some things about being a monster, but she didn’t know about taking hours/time from a human life until she does herself by accident. But that’s the least of her problems.

I enjoyed meeting all the characters in this story especially when Joan, Aaron and Ruth team up together to save their families. From there we go on a fast-paced chase through London to find out information about saving their families, undoing an event and changing the timeline. But what they learn at the core of their research is that someone has a reason to kill and exterminate monsters but they don’t really know who the mastermind is at end of the book. Joan as the main character is 16, she’s found that her family has been keeping secrets and the boy she’s falling for too. Sometimes she’s so rash in her decision making – I mean she barely knows the ins and outs of the monster world but she was coming up with plans!

As for the romance, I’m unsure if it’s a love triangle. There is a soulmate connection between Joan and Nick (human) but I didn’t feel it. As for Joan and Aaron they are enemies, two families that hate one another – honestly that could be the same for Joan/Nick as well, monster and human hating one another…she’s enemies with both and becomes friends with both. But I felt like we got to know Aaron better and I felt like I’d want her with Aaron instead of Nick. But we shall see what happens there in the sequel. The sweetest love story in this one has to be between Tom and Jamie!

There are a few twists and turns in the story that I really enjoyed. It’s what made it such a fun read. I found the story refreshing and creative. I also like how the story touches upon the question of who is a monster? The monsters taking time from humans, or the humans killing the monsters? It’s something Joan has to wrestle with even more because she’s half of each.

Some issues I had with the story – time jumping is not my favorite to read because I can get lost quick and did I get lost sometimes? YES – not when they were jumping time, but more so about the rules of time jumping or the rules of their powers. As long as I didn’t ponder too long on the details of the rules and trying to fit it together, I was fine. Also…there were some typos and this was not an ARC copy…so I had to pause in a few places and reread the previous sentence – even read it out loud to make sure I wasn’t just speed reading lol. Hopefully that can be cleaned up in the next book?

By the way, since I was a teen in the 1990’s, I thought the time jumping to that time period to be so much fun. I giggled a few times and had good memories of that time period!

The ending was interesting and makes me wonder what direction the sequel will take! I’d love to learn more about the other families and their powers – there are twelve. In this first book we only really get to know four of them. There is so much to uncover in this world.

Why you should read it:

world building: there is time jumping, and 12 families with different powers
lots of action, a heist, betrayal, some romance
it’s fun and fast-paced

Why you might not want to read it:

time travel is not your thing
the monsters aren’t monster in physical appearance – they have abilities but do not physically look different than humans

My Thoughts:

This story was not what I was expecting but I’m glad I went in without reading many reviews on it yet. I found it creative and fresh with the time travel and learning about the “monster” abilities of each monster family in London. I connected to the the themes of family and forbidden love, and the questions of who is really a monster. There is still so much to uncover and secrets to unveil, like finding out who is the mastermind of the events taking place in this story. I hope the author expands on the world building and lets us get to know the other families in the sequel. I enjoyed this one and look forward to book two and hope they catch the typos.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes from the Book:

The Rachel haircut is a time marker…”
― Vanessa Len, Only a Monster

Whatever monsters do, the timeline keeps its basic shape. Important events stay the same.”
― Vanessa Len, Only a Monster

Olivers see. Hunts hide. Nowaks live. Patels bind. Portellis open. Hathaways leash. Nightingales take. Mtawalis keep. Argents sway. Alis seal. Griffiths reveal. But only the Lius remember.”
― Vanessa Len, Only a Monster

As for me . . . a Liu doesn’t need goodbyes. I can see you perfectly even now. I remember every moment that we were together. Every touch. Every conversation we ever had. For me, you’re always here.”
― Vanessa Len, Only a Monster

We believe that if people belonged together in the true timeline, then our timeline tries to repair itself by bringing them together. Over and over and over. Until the rift is healed.”
― Vanessa Len, Only a Monster

Blood Scion by. Deborah Falaye | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Blood Scion

Author: Deborah Falaye

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 3/8/22

Publisher: Harperteen

Categories: Young Adult, Dystopian, Military, Yoruba-Nigerian Mythology, Fantasy

This is what they deserve. They wanted me to be a monster. I will be the worst monster they ever created.

Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.

Under the Lucis’ brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.

Sloane rises through the ranks and gains strength but, in doing so, risks something greater: losing herself entirely, and becoming the very monster that she ahbors.

Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, this deeply felt and emotionally charged debut from Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and Daughter of Smoke and Bone that will utterly thrill and capture readers.

Content Warning: Death, Murder, Violence, Mentions of Rape, Genocide, Sexual Assault, Racism, Colonialism, Self-Harm

I was so excited to be able to borrow this book on Overdrive right away that I pushed all other books aside to read it. I was not disappointed.

First, the cover is what made me want it in the first place. I may need to buy the hardcover one day (add that to my list of all hardcovers I want to buy 😅). And the synopsis was definitely intriguing!

This story is BRUTAL. It gave me The Poppy War and Hunger Games vibes. Sloane wants answers about her mother who went missing a few years ago but the only place she could find it was in the enemy camp. The enemy is the Lucis, who came to their lands, colonized and brutalized her people, committing genocide on anyone who had magic in them, anyone who were Scions like her. Sloane has suppressed and ignored her fire powers all her life, to stay safe, except for times she couldn’t control it which led to deadly consequences. But now she has been drafted to become a Lucis soldier and has a way to find the Book of Records that could give her answers about her mom’s disappearance.

This story gives you no chance to look away from violence. There are kids killing kids, soldiers assaulting girls, soldiers killing people, training that is abusive, punishment that is gruesome and Sloane’s anger and pain resonates in her every action.

I love learning more about the Yoruba-Nigerian mythology and becoming more familiar with their god! I loved learning some of the rituals and chants and the different powers each gods extended to a Scion.

As for the characters – Sloane is 15, but I felt like she was older than that. She acts older and even has a moment with a soldier older than her…so I kind of wish she was 19 instead of 15. But I guess she had to be younger because the point of young people being recruited to be killers. She’s not someone who has experience with knowing her power but she meets other recruits like Izara who helps her. I loved her found family/friendship with Izara, Jericho and Nazanin. But some of Sloane’s decisions were questionable, which made me frustrated – she’s a morally grey character because war has made her that way.

There is action, there is betrayal and the information Sloane learns about her mother really makes me want to read the sequel ASAP. The ending was quite a reveal and I need her to get revenge. Sloane is a like a phoenix rising from ashes! It was quite a powerful ending.

One warning if you read this book: don’t get too attached to the characters. This author has no qualms about killing them off. 😭 Also the heavy topics of genocide and colonialism are throughout the story – the fact that they make teens train to be soldiers to kill their own people is horrendous. But I like how it shows how war is sick and how when you think you’ve gotten rid of the person who started the war…there is someone else waiting in the wings for their turn and their war. When does it end really?

Why you should read it:

it’s got Yoruba/Nigerian mythology
it’s got a heist, action, betrayal – it’s a fast paced story
writing flowed so well, easy to read and I read it in 2 days

Why you might not want to read it:

you are assaulted with brutality throughout the book – see content warnings above

My Thoughts:

I sped through this one because I wanted to see Sloane grow and see if she could be the one to help take down the royals. It’s a fast paced story and I found that refreshing because I’ve been reading a bunch of books that felt a little too long. I love the mythology and the found family Sloane makes. It’s an absolutely brutal read that starts and ends with violence. But taking down rulers is not that easy and Sloane learns a hard lesson about trust and betrayal. There is a lot more story to tell in the next book and I’m looking forward to reading it!

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes from the Book:

My world is only half of what it should be, and I am only half of what I really am. I cannot afford to be whole.
― Deborah Falaye, Blood Scion

We are not helpless; we are not broken. Despite what scars they leave behind, our bodies are our own. Everything we feel, everything we are, belongs to us and us alone. Yes, we are girls, but we are not prey.
― Deborah Falaye, Blood Scion

This life, this world, it changes you.”
― Deborah Falaye, Blood Scion

“Children of war are born from war, Sloane. And we are, both of us, a legacy of this ruined world.”
– Deborah Falaye, Blood Scion

The Sisters of Reckoning by. Charlotte Nicole Davis | ARC Review

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Title: The Sisters of Reckoning (The Good Luck Girls, #2)

Author: Charlotte Nicole Davis

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 8/10/21

Publisher: Tor Teen

Categories: Young Adult, Western Dystopian

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

Thank you to Tor Teen for giving me a chance to read this eARC!

The Sisters of Reckoning is the blockbuster sequel to Charlotte Nicole Davis’s alternate Old West-set commercial fantasy adventure.

The Good Luck Girls are free. Aster’s sister and friends have new lives across the border in Ferron, while Aster remains in Arketta, helping more girls escape. But news of a new welcome house opening fills Aster with a need to do more than just help individual girls. And an unexpected reunion gives her an idea of how to do it. From there, grows a wildly ambitious plan to free all dustbloods, who live as prisoners to Arketta’s landmasters and debt slavery.

When Clementine and the others return from Ferron, they become the heart of a vibrant group of fearless fighters, working to unite the various underclasses and convince them to join in the fight. Along the way, friendships will be forged, lives will be lost, and love will take root even in the harshest of circumstances, between the most unexpected of lovers.

But will Arketta’s dustbloods finally come into power and freedom, or will the resistance just open them up to a new sort of danger?

The reason I loved the first book in the series, The Good Luck Girls, was the unique world building, plus the diversity and lgbt representation. We are back in the same world with Aster and her friends but even though they escaped the “welcome house” it doesn’t mean all girls in Arketta are safe. So Aster is back at it, trying to fight the landmasters with the help of the her friends and allies.

I love the way the book brings up issues about women empowerment, PTSD and human trafficking. Aster and her friends are trying to break the wheel that keeps her and others oppressed and it’s a valiant fight.

The lgbt representation is very natural in this story which is what also stood out in the first book, so it stays consistent which is great. I love how the characters are all so very diverse and the story is carried by Aster who is a strong black female. Aster is brave, capable, and she does make mistakes but still tries her best to do the right thing and fight for the cause. The sisterhood between Aster and the other girls is wonderful. They had each other’s backs since book one and it’s why I loved the series in the first place.

Triggers: human trafficking, PTSD, mentions of sexual assault

I wasn’t as engaged in this sequel as I was in the first book. It took me awhile to get into the story. Aster kept getting into some tough situations but it still didn’t hold my attention so I struggled a little through this one.

The ending also seemed rushed but I don’t know if it’s because it’s an arc copy.

This sequel didn’t hold my attention like the first one but the overall series is inspiring. We see these girls break free from being trafficked and make a life for their own, continuing to fight until everyone is free. I don’t usually gravitate towards Westerns, but this series is done really well with its unique world building and brave characters fighting for women’s rights and the oppressed.

📚~ Yolanda

ARC Review | Sting

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Sting

Author: Cindy R. Wilson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: March 3, 2020

Categories: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

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

They call me the Scorpion because they don’t know who I really am. All they know is that someone is stealing from people with excess to help people with nothing survive another day.

But then a trusted friend reveals who I am—“just” Tessa, “just” a girl—and sends me straight into the arms of the law. All those people I helped…couldn’t help me when I needed it.

In prison, I find an unlikely ally in Pike, who would have been my enemy on the outside. He represents everything I’m against. Luxury. Excess. The world immediately falling for his gorgeous smile. How he ended up in the dirty cell next to mine is a mystery, but he wants out as much as I do. Together, we have a real chance at escape.

With the sting of betrayal still fresh, Pike and I will seek revenge on those who wronged us. But uncovering all their secrets might turn deadly…

Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

And…I read this in one sitting! It’s been awhile since a book held my attention so much that I did not stop reading.

The city of Victor is divided into two sectors, the Darkside and Lightside. The “lightsiders” live in a world of light and glow in the dark fashion, they have enough to eat and have jobs to live a comfortable life. The “darksiders” live on the outskirts of the light, in the dark, with no food, jobs, and barely surviving. The Scorpion is known as a hero, somewhat like a female Robin Hood, stealing from the Lightside warehouses to bring supplies and food back to her people in the Darkside. But when she gets caught her world is turned upside down. Revenge is on her mind as she plans to take down the city’s leader, Campbell, without losing herself and the people she learns to love along the way.

The pacing of this story flowed so well it took me from beginning to end without stopping and kept me engaged in the story.
The world is set in a place where the poor and wealthy is clearly divided. Tessa, is known as The Scorpion because she builds little bots with scrap pieces and she uses these bots to get information on warehouses she will steal from. But she steals items to give to the poor in the dark side. She is their hero, but to the lightsiders, she is their enemy.
I liked seeing Tessa grow from this anonymous hero hiding under her ball cap, to becoming strong in prison and then changing again when she gets out. She has to transform to achieve her ultimate goal of revenge and exposing Campbell to take him down – and I did wish the scar on her stayed but I think it shows even when that was taken away from her, deep down she was still Tessa, one that was learning about who she was or who she was going to choose to be…but still Tessa.
Tessa and Pike… I loved their relationship. I love how he was level headed where she wanted to rush in with guns blazing. He kept her centered and was a shoulder to cry on. Their relationship grew from friendship and that made me so happy.
I like that everything tied up nicely! It’s been awhile since I read a standalone that just ends on a good note without me questioning so much or leaving an open ending.

I think the biggest thing about the book that might bum readers out…it has a love triangle! I know, I know…a love triangle. 😩 And I don’t mind love triangles, but if you do mind…well…this one has it. Tessa is immediately drawn to her best friend, River in the beginning of the book, like it starts off right away – you know they have history, it’s becoming a friends to lovers thing…and then bam. Things happen. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But then she meets Pike in prison and it isn’t insta-love…she’s confused, she’s dealing with some major emotions and events…she’s definitely allowed to be confused. But there were some parts I was like, no, please, don’t do the back and forth…PLEASE. 😅😩 Thankfully it IS resolved in the end.

I enjoyed this book a lot. From the beginning to the end, it hooked me and I was loving Tessa and Pike’s growing relationship through their hardships, challenges and fears. They made an awesome team and I was so happy for Tessa in the end. There was a lot for me to take away from this story – the importance of hope for people in despair, helping those in need, keeping people you love safe and knowing when enough is enough. Tessa risked a lot to help the darksiders but in the end she also learned there was more to life she wanted than just being a hero. I look forward to reading more from this author.

ARC Review | Selected

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Title: Selected

Author: Barb Han

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia

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

After a polarized nation was broken by the threat of civil war, States have now become countries. And in New Maine, things have gotten worse.

Giving my family a better life is everything. And my selection to attend an elite prep school suddenly offers my family a dramatically different life—food on the table, a roof over their heads, and a fighting chance at a future.

Everything is going great until some of my friends begin ghosting me, and then disappear. Soon it becomes clear this “chance of a lifetime” isn’t the Holy Grail I was promised. And the attention from one of Easton’s elite has me questioning why a boy with a golden future wants to risk it by being seen with me.

But when I find out why I’m really at this school, I may have to trust him if I want to live.

Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Selected is set in a future America where the states are now countries. Tori goes to a private school where the rich kids still rule the school. Tori is smart, gifted and she gets to go to the school because she is sponsored. She falls in love with a boy, Caius who is from a wealthy family and happens to be the hottest guy at school. But while Tori is away at school, her brother Trevor gets into some trouble and she has to find out what it is.

The idea of a future America divided into countries was what intrigued me about this story. Unfortunately we don’t get a lot of world-building in that aspect. But the book cover is great.
I like a high school story where you have the usual hot boy/strange girl hook-up so this was it for the story for a good chunk of it until we get to the part of the story where Trevor (Tori’s brother) gets involved.
Tori is an intriguing character, she’s being sponsored to go to the school and has a high IQ. She dances and seems like a really good kid.

This book held my attention until I thought it was about Caius and Tori falling in love and nothing else because that’s what most of the beginning of the book is about. By the time Trevor is in the story I lost interest as to what he would be involved in.
The story was lacking something…suspense? A thrill? Not even the romance between Caius and Tori made my heart melt. I felt nothing! It’s a light dystopian read but maybe I wanted more because most dystopians I read are fast paced and filled with danger.

This one was not for me but I think if you like a light dystopian young adult book, there will be others who will enjoy this better than I did.

BLOG TOUR } Day Zero by. Kelly deVos

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Day Zero

Author: Kelly deVos

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: November 12, 2019

Category: Dystopian, Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense

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

Don’t miss the exhilarating new novel from the author of Fat Girl on a Plane, featuring a fierce, bold heroine who will fight for her family and do whatever it takes to survive. Fans of Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life As We Knew It series and Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave series will cheer for this fast-paced, near-future thrill ride.

If you’re going through hell…keep going.

Seventeen-year-old coder Jinx Marshall grew up spending weekends drilling with her paranoid dad for a doomsday she’s sure will never come. She’s an expert on self-heating meal rations, Krav Maga and extracting water from a barrel cactus. Now that her parents are divorced, she’s ready to relax. Her big plans include making it to level 99 in her favorite MMORPG and spending the weekend with her new hunky stepbrother, Toby.

But all that disaster training comes in handy when an explosion traps her in a burning building. Stuck leading her headstrong stepsister, MacKenna, and her precocious little brother, Charles, to safety, Jinx gets them out alive only to discover the explosion is part of a pattern of violence erupting all over the country. Even worse, Jinx’s dad stands accused of triggering the chaos.

In a desperate attempt to evade paramilitary forces and vigilantes, Jinx and her siblings find Toby and make a break for Mexico. With seemingly the whole world working against them, they’ve got to get along and search for the truth about the attacks—and about each other. But if they can survive, will there be anything left worth surviving for?

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC and inviting me to participate in this blog tour.

Jinx is living during the New Depression. An election recently took place and The Opposition leader, Ammon Carver, won the vote for president. It doesn’t seem like many people in Jinx’s life and in society approved of this choice, most were vying for the leader of The Spark, David Rosenthal, and there are rumors that the election was rigged – does that sound strangely familiar? 🤔 But not only that, they say Jinx’s dad is a major part of the chaos taking place. Jinx’s dad is Dr. Doomsday, a computer science professor and hacker who at one time created a worm that took down servers around the world. Her dad is also known for writing a survival guide book, which people laughed it, but maybe he knew something was coming.

When that “something coming” actually happens, and Jinx’s step-dad is accused of being the person behind it she and her family have to use Dr. Doomsday’s Guide to Ultimate Survival to actually survive life on the run. Will they succeed?

Everything I liked in this book was mostly in the beginning and the end. I liked the build-up of the story. We get a history lesson about this war brewing between The Opposition and The Spark, which sounds way too familiar to our current events right now. The tension between these two sides is very believable. A bombing event occurs and Jinx’s step-dad is the main suspect so Jinx and her family go on the run.
Jinx as a character really interesting. She’s a coder and loves video games and that’s all she really wants to do is play her video games. Her family is a bit broken. She has step-siblings, and she’s never on the same page with her step-sister. Jinx’s mother seems…cold. And her dad is nowhere around or not easily found So she is the main caretaker of her diabetic younger brother Charles. She has to do things in this story to keep her whole family alive by using the drills her father made her do from his survival guide. Jinx is a tough, smart girl and she is pushed to do things in this story to survive.
If you like dystopian stories, you will definitely like this one. It involves technology and coding. Jinx’s dad, Dr. Marshall, is well known for his computer theories, but he was very mysterious and elusive in this book. Jinx is trying to find him and I was like, what is with this guy? Help your kids! But of course, there’s more to it than that. There are some twists in this story that was really good and kept me on my toes.
The world building was good because it’s so close to our own, it’s something I can see happening with the collapse of banks, or how there is a sugar sale permit waiting list…that scares me. 😂 I was like, oh no, how would I get my sugary coffee drink if that happened?! But the whole world hasn’t collapse yet, there are still stores, it was supposed to be a booming town until the New Depression hit, so this world seems like something that could happen to us in the near future! 😱

I don’t know why but I lost interest in the middle of the story. Maybe it was moving too fast for me? It was definitely my mood though – it was a tiring week for me, so it was just a personal mood of mine and not anything against the story.
There is a relationship growing between Jinx and Navarro (the guy who was sent by Jinx’s dad to keep an eye on her) but I don’t know if it was needed. It’s not something I would miss if it wasn’t in the story.
Triggers: violence, bombing

If you like a fast-paced survival, dystopian story, you will like this one! It has lots of action, adventure, a family on the run, and twists that will surprise you.

ARC Review | The Good Luck Girls

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Good Luck Girls

Author: Charlotte Nicole Davis

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Categories: Dystopian, Fantasy, Western, Young Adult, Human Trafficking, Addiction

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

Aster, the protector
Violet, the favorite
Tansy, the medic
Mallow, the fighter
Clementine, the catalyst

THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS

The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.

It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

In this dystopian/fantasy western world of Arketta, we have a group of females who are living in a “welcome house”, basically it’s a brothel. They are raised to be sex slaves in The Scab, a mining town in what seems like the worst part of Arketta. But when Clementine, one of the girls, accidentally kills her brag (customer), she, her sister and friends make a run for it. This story then follows these girls on the run from the law, supernatural monster called vengeants, raveners who mess with their minds and other powerful men. What a wild ride this story took me on!

I was so impressed with the world building. I’m not a big fan of westerns so I went into this book just mildly interested. But as I kept reading, I realized this world kept drawing me in deeper. Families in The Scab sell their girls for shine (money) and girls then sell their bodies. ☹️ It’s a tough world for women in Arketta and for the other dustbloods. Dustbloods, are a group of people who had their shadows torn from them because of a debt to be paid. Their children are born with no shadows, and these people are oppressed in a land where landmasters rule. Subject matter wise, it’s a tough one. I got angry about the welcome houses and how the girls are drugged to do their “job”. I was angry at the men and raveners. 😠

But landmasters and raveners are not the only evils out there. Arketta is teeming with vengeants, supernatural like monsters that prowl in the dark. We follow Aster, Clementine, Tansy, Mallow and Violet (yes all named after flowers), as they escape the welcome house. They travel to different towns on horses, navigating dirt trails, camping out at abandoned mines and even catching a ride on a train. Along the way they come across many dangers, meet new people, they plan heists and robberies to survive! All they want is real freedom! 😔 The cast of characters is diverse with people of color and with LGBT+ representation.

I loved Aster, who is the main character and takes a roll as leader of this runaway crew. She’s never been a leader and she makes mistakes along the way but she admits her wrongdoings and tries to fix things. I love how her character leaps off the page. And another thing I enjoyed was finding out the original names of the girls as their journey continues. It was empowering to see them shed their personas from the welcome house and reclaim the names they were born with!

This story is a strong debut from author Charlotte Nicole Davis. It is engaging, exciting and empowering. I look forward to the sequel!

Book Review: The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: Ally Condie

Format: E-book

Pages: 328

Categories: Dystopian, Young Adult, Grief, Revenge

Book Blurb:

There is something Poe Blythe, the seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost’s last mining ship, wants far more than the gold they tear from the Serpentine River.

Revenge.

Poe has vowed to annihilate the river raiders who robbed her of everything two years ago. But as she navigates the treacherous waters of the Serpentine and realizes there might be a traitor among her crew, she must also reckon with who she has become, who she wants to be, and the ways love can change and shape you. Even—and especially—when you think all is lost.

Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched trilogy, returns with an intricately crafted and emotionally gripping story of one young woman’s journey to move beyond the grief and anger that control her and find the inner strength to chart her own course.

MY REVIEW

I have to admit, I borrowed this e-book because I was seeing the title and cover everywhere. I didn’t know what it was about only that it was the same author that wrote the Matched Trilogy.

This book hit me in a place unexpected and not because of the setting or overall story. Poe Blythe, the main character was recognizable to me, painfully so. This character is a sharp blade whetted by grief and anger. I recognized her as someone I used to know: once upon a time, when I was 29 years old, I was made a young widow unexpectedly. Poe Blythe was me. It was like looking into a mirror. So as I kept reading, I became highly invested in Poe. I understood all her thoughts, her coldness, her detachment, her anger, her paranoia, her obsession with her ship – all the things that made her unlikable as a character. I knew how she became that person and I felt for her.

It’s a dystopian story set in a future when resources are scarce. Poe Blythe is part of the crew on a dredge, a gold mining ship for the Outpost. The world building is sparse, because it only focused on the Outpost, the river and Poe. Her grief is a landscape on its own. She had tunnel vision and seeing Poe struggling to see more outside of her grief was triumphant.

A raider kills the one person Poe loves and she is consumed with grief, hate, and thoughts of revenge. Her grief inspires her to build a dredge ship that is equipped with armor to kill as many raiders as possible. But then she is sent on a mission where everything goes wrong. This mission makes her face her inner demons. There is a lot of action in this story and events that challenges Poe from the get go. The secondary characters are there to put dents into her armor, both her ship’s armor and her own emotional armor. As Poe says, if you understand her ship – you understand her. Poe needs to trust someone eventually – but can she? And who can she trust?

For me, this was a surprisingly quick, intense read. When it ended I was shocked – because I had no expectations of finishing it so fast. I also had no words to describe what I just read, because I was so bound to Poe, I had to decompress a little. This book took me on an emotional and familiar ride down the river of heartbreak, grief and anger. In the end, I needed to know Poe would survive her last voyage…like I did. It’s a stand alone book but I can actually see reading more books set in this world. It was well written, compelling, and it punched me in the heart. It definitely left an impression on me.

Book Review: Defy Me (Shatter Me #5)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Format: E-book

Pages: 352

Categories: Dystopian, Young Adult, Romance

Book Blurb:

Juliette Ferrars isn’t who she thinks she is.

Nothing in her world is what it seemed. She thought she’d finally defeated the Reestablishment. She thought she’d finally taken control of her life, her power, and her pain. But Juliette has only just begun to unravel a lifetime of lies, and she finds herself faced with a familiar choice:

Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

This time, she’s not alone. Stronger, braver, and more resilient than ever, Juliette will fight for life and love with her friends by her side—but first, she has to survive the war being waged against her mind:

She has to remember who she was.

Narrated by Juliette, Warner, and Kenji Kishimoto, this gripping novel perfectly sets the stage for the highly anticipated forthcoming conclusion to the Shatter Me series.

MY REVIEW

Defy Me, is the fifth book that just released in the Shatter Me series. I’m still wrapping my head around the magnitude of what was revealed in this book. This book was wild! It was non-stop twists and turns.

Not going to lie, I’m having a hard time with the name change though. Juliette is really Ella. I’ve invested eight years of love towards this series, haha, so Juliette is now Ella – got it, but my mind is rebelling against it a little. I’m glad Kenji is still allowed to call her “J” though – it makes the transition a more bearable.

We already knew about the abuse Warner and ~~Juliette~~ Ella went through as teenagers but it broke my heart reading about the truth of their earliest years. Yes, I even teared up 😢. It made me want to protect them from their horrible parents.

We get three different perspectives from Juliette, Warner and Kenji. There is a lot of secrets coming to light in the beginning, so there was a lot of talking. And I just have to get this off my chest, has Adam always been this annoying? I’m glad his appearance was very brief. Being in Kenji’s head was great, I enjoyed his perspective the most because we pretty much know what goes on in the minds of Warner and Juliette.

Speaking of Warner and ~~Juliette~~Ella, they finally have the happy moment I was craving for. Yay! It was a bit over extended in the ending, in my opinion, just a few repetitive things, but it’s okay, let them bask in the love, they deserve it.

Some major things happen in the story which I won’t spoil but I felt like this book ended on a good, hopeful note. It wasn’t a cliffhanger so whatever happens in the next and final book would basically, I’m assuming, be about the war they have to fight and more about Emmaline. And maybe we find out if Kenji will get his happy ending too? 😉 I loved Defy Me, it broke my heart and mended it. Now Warner and Ella will be better for it, with the past behind them, they are strong in their present moment and the future looks promising.