Mini Reviews: The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti and The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee

From Goodreads: A teenage misfit named Hawthorn Creely inserts herself in the investigation of missing person Lizzie Lovett, who disappeared mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend. Hawthorn doesn't mean to interfere, but she has a pretty crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie. In order to prove it, she decides to immerse herself in Lizzie's life. That includes taking her job ... and her boyfriend. It's a huge risk - but it's just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world. 

My Rating: 1 heart 

Thoughts on the Novel: Chelsea Sedoti’s The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett was a book that I decided to read because I was in the mood for a good mystery. It’s too bad then that this book fell far below my expectations. I found the protagonist, Hawthorn, to be really judgemental and seriously weird. Furthermore, the secondary characters lacked depth and the plotline was boring as it revolved around Hawthorn investigating the disappearance of twenty-one year old Lizzie Lovett, a girl who goes missing while on a camping trip with her boyfriend. Obsessed with Lizzie, Hawthorn finally concludes that she turned into a werewolf. Like, WTF?! I thought Hawthorn was kidding, but the high school senior legitimately believed in her ridiculous theory! On top of that, she then hooks up with Lizzie’s twenty-five year old boyfriend, who I thought was really sleazy (since he kept hooking up with girls in high school). 

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett was released on January 3, 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Sourcebooks) for free via NetGalley.

.................................................................................................. 

From Goodreads: Sometimes love is right under your nose. As one of only two aromateurs left on the planet, sixteen-year-old Mimosa knows what her future holds: a lifetime of weeding, mixing love elixirs, and matchmaking - all while remaining incurably alone. For Mim, the rules are clear: falling in love would render her nose useless, taking away her one great talent. Still, Mimosa doesn’t want to spend her life elbow-deep in soil and begonias. She dreams of a normal high school experience with friends, sports practices, debate club, and even a boyfriend. But when she accidentally gives an elixir to the wrong woman and has to rely on the lovesick woman’s son, the school soccer star, to help fix the situation, Mim quickly begins to realize that falling in love isn’t always a choice you can make. 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee had several things going for it. For example, it had an interesting premise since its main character and her mom are able to smell scents that regular humans can’t detect, and then use this information to create elixirs (for free) to help love blossom. Lee also did a phenomenal job of describing various scents (e.g. that of emotions, different flowers, etc.) and the beauty of Mim’s family garden. Unfortunately, I didn’t like The Secret of a Heart Note as much as I thought I would because I didn’t buy the romance in it and got annoyed by Mim making one stupid mistake after another. 

The Secret of a Heart Note was released by Katherine Tegen Books in December 2016. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Mini Reviews: Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace and The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

From Goodreads: Breezy remembers leaving the party: the warm, wet grass under her feet, her cheek still stinging from a slap to her face. But when she wakes up, scared and pulling dirt from her mouth, a year has passed and she can’t explain how. Nor can she explain the man lying at her grave, dead from her touch, or why her heartbeat comes and goes. She doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious - and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. Haunted by happy memories from her life, Breezy sets out to find answers in the gritty, threatening world to which she now belongs - where killers hide in plain sight, and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she discovers is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous. 

My Rating: 1.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace began promisingly with the main character talking about killing a man after rising from her grave, having died under mysterious circumstances. It lost steam after that as it turns out that Breezy isn’t one of a kind – there are, in fact, a whole host of other paranormal creatures that exist in the world, unknown to most humans; and they’re being hunted by a cult group for not being human. Combine that with the very slow pacing, characters that weren’t fleshed out, the plot sometimes becoming confusing, and Breezy knowing how she died but refusing to admit to it; and I was bored for most of Shallow Graves.

Shallow Graves was released by Katherine Tegen Books in January 2016. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harpercollins) via Edelweiss. ..................................................................................................

From Goodreads: Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common- magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen. In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic - and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman ... and bring her Lorelai’s heart. But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected - beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable - and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman - who she likes far more than she should - Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: As someone who loves fairy tale retellings, I was really excited to read C.J. Redwine’s The Shadow Queen, a retelling inspired by Snow White. Unfortunately, The Shadow Queen didn’t turn out to be a very memorable read for several reasons. First, the characters were quite bland, and the romance didn’t make me swoon. Also, despite having mardushkas (i.e. people who can wield magic), ogres, and dragons, the setting in The Shadow Queen seemed like a very generic fantasy setting. Finally, Queen Irina lacked depth as a villain, and never felt truly dangerous. 

The Shadow Queen will be released on February 16, 2016 by Balzer + Bray.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harpercollins) via Edelweiss.

Review: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

From Goodreads: Rule One - Nothing is right, nothing is wrong. Rule Two - Be careful. Rule Three - Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest. Rule Four - Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible. Rule Five - The letters are the law. Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life - the only way of life she has ever known. But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

My Rating: 1 heart 

Thoughts on the Novel: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell was a book that I wish I could say something redeeming about. But I can’t. And since letters play an important role in the book, here’s my letter to Dear Killer.

Dear Dear Killer,

Your premise was utterly ridiculous as it features a teen serial killer who receives mail from people wanting her to kill others. Though Kit (aka the Perfect Killer) has killed over fifty people (since the age of nine) and it appears that everybody seems to know where her mailbox is located, the police have somehow not yet discovered her identity.

I thought you would get better at some point and so continued reading on. You didn’t. Instead, you remained unbelievable. As further proof, you decided to have the police not even realize that their serial killer was a teenager until Kit tells them so. The police then continue to remain inept by not considering Kit a suspect when she has access to information that only the murderer would know, inviting her to a crime scene in the hopes of her providing them with a fresh pair of eyes to the case, etc. It’s not just the police who is incompetent though but the public at large as well because apparently in your version of London, office buildings lack security and cameras. And don’t even get me started on the idea of someone not reporting the identity of the Perfect Killer after she attempts to kill them but is unsuccessful!

Another reason I disliked you Dear Killer was because you had a main character who I felt completely disconnected from. I didn’t like her voice, and I didn’t like her arrogance. And to top it off, she was a crappy murderer! Not only does Kit not fit the psychological profile of a serial killer, but there seemed to be no real reason for her to be killing anybody. Yes, you talked quite a bit about moral nihilism but do you seriously expect me to believe that weak argument?! Furthermore, Kit hardly prepares for how she’ll commit the murder – basically, she relies on good luck – and when she does so, it seems way too easy. Oh, and then she returns to the scene of her crime!

Finally, I found it seriously creepy and disturbing that you tried to create a romance between a much older cop and a teenager.

P.S. The conversation with Diana was weird!

A novel I wish I had DNF’ed, Dear Killer was released by Katherine Tegen Books in April 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I like that the background is a letter.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Mini Reviews: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows and The Stone in Meadow by Karleen Bradford

From Goodreads: Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why. Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame? Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies - human and creature alike - let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows was a book that I thought started off well but ultimately disappointed me in the end. The novel begins with eighteen-year-old Ana finally leaving her home and abusive mother to figure out why she, a Newsoul, was born and how she fits into a world where everybody else but her has been reincarnated over and over again. The world Meadows created was initially fascinating to me, with reincarnation, dragons and sylphs. It later started to feel weak though because it didn’t really seem to have any rules behind it. Things just existed or happened that would simply leave me with more questions.

In terms of the characters, I liked how patient and gentle Sam was with Ana when her past made it hard for her to trust him. However, neither Sam nor Ana stood out in my mind; and when their romance became the focal point of the majority of the book, it distracted Ana from her quest and in my opinion, caused the worldbuilding to suffer as a result. Also, I found the romance to be a little strange because Sam has been a girl in the past and it’s kind of weird to be wearing a girl’s clothes and know that they belong to the guy you’re interested in or be jealous of that guy because he filled out those clothes better than you. 

Incarnate was released in January 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via NetGalley.

..................................................................................................

From Back Cover: The large, black stone in the meadow in Cornwall held a strange, hypnotic fascination for Jenifer. One day she found out why. Was it just a dream? Or could the stone really transport her back in time - a hundred years ... a thousand years ...? If it were a dream, it was so vivid Jenifer knew that as long as she lived she would never forget Perran, that small boy from the past who had shared her adventure. And Fedelm - the Druid priestess who was the image of Jenifer, and who was so frightened of her. But, above all, she would remember Bron, with his blue eyes and flaming hair, who would remain forever her first love. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Karleen Bradford’s The Stone in the Meadow was a short book that took me a really, really long time to read because I kept putting it down to read other books in between. As was the case with Bradford’s The Other Elizabeth, I thought the amount of historical detail in the novel was great but had a difficult time caring about the characters or getting invested in the story. Furthermore, I found the depiction of Bron as being Jenifer’s first love in the synopsis to be misleading because a) Jenifer is only thirteen and b) the two speak different languages and therefore don’t understand each other. First crush, maybe; but saying he’s her first love is taking it a little too far.

The Stone in the Meadow was released by Starburst Digital Rights International Inc. in September 2011. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher.

original image from thegate.ca

Review: Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

From Goodreads: Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones. Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected. The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan. But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Elisa Ludwig’s Pretty Crooked was an entertaining story that I thought was relatively good while reading it. After reflecting upon it however, I realized that perhaps I overestimated how great it was.

The Robin Hood connection was what made me request Pretty Crooked; but I didn’t like how Willa chose to help the scholarship kids (aka the Busteds because they’re bussed in from a poorer neighbourhood) or her motivations for stealing from the Glitterati. Instead of standing up to her so-called friends, Willa steals from them and justifies it by saying they’re getting what they deserve for cyberbullying. She then buys outfits – yes, this is her way of helping the less fortunate! – for the Busteds and leaves them on their doorstep. Sure, having a flattering outfit can boost your confidence; but at the end of the day, it doesn’t solve the underlying problem of bullying. Also, considering that Willa only manages to buy one outfit for each person that she helps before she gets caught, her method of helping really doesn’t help in the grand scheme of things because I doubt the Busteds plan on wearing the same outfit every single day for the rest of the school year. (Personally, if someone bought me something fabulous to wear, the last place I’d be wearing it is to school.)

Although Willa was a bit stupid for thinking that she could help the Busteds by stealing rather than by not being a passive bystander, I can kind of see where she’s coming from. I think it would be easy for a lot of people to get sucked into the lifestyle that the Glitterati maintain and not want to give it up if they grow up poor and suddenly find themselves as one of the affluent.

Despite the outrageous plot, I actually got annoyed with Pretty Crooked near the end when there was just too much going on and not enough resolution. For example, throughout the book, Willa’s crush Aidan (who came off as a spoiled rich kid) is trying to get expelled and Willa's mom is secretly seeing a man. By the end, Aidan achieves his goal but how he does so remains a mystery – much like the role of the man Willa’s mom is seeing. I understand that Pretty Crooked is the beginning of a series, but it would have been nice if Ludwig had tied up some of those loose ends.  

A book that you can enjoy as long as you don't think about it too much, Pretty Crooked is released by Katherine Tegen Books today! 

Comments About the Cover: It doesn’t really give off a Robin Hood feel, but I still kind of like it because it represents a part in the book. The girl however should be disguised covertly rather than being dressed fashionably. 

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via NetGalley. 

Review: Illegal by Bettina Restrepo

From Inside Jacket: When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, Nora stays behind. She fights to make sense of her loss while living in poverty - waiting for her father's return and a better day. When the letters and money stop coming, Nora decides that she and her mother must look for him in Texas. After a frightening experience crossing the border, the two are all alone in a strange place. Now, Nora must find the strength to survive while aching for small comforts: friends, a new school, and her precious quinceañera. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Bettina Restrepo’s Illegal is the touching story of one illegal immigrant girl’s journey from Mexico to Texas in search of her father to bring him back home and reunite her family.  

I really admired Nora’s determination to find her father and stand up for herself when she sensed she was being taken advantage of. Occasionally though, I felt she was a bit naïve because it seemed like she thought that she and her mother could easily find her father; and that once he was found, all their problems would be solved. However, this also made Nora very relatable because even as you’re growing up, sometimes you can’t help but wish for life to be simple.

While Restrepo does touch upon the hardships faced by many immigrants, I thought it was portrayed somewhat lightly. Although Nora and her mother faced a gruelling trip crossing the border, – I would have expected nothing less since they are illegals – once they arrived in Texas, they were relatively lucky, securing fake papers and decent paying jobs in a short amount of time. This is not the case for many immigrants. The situation of Arturo, Nora’s father, was portrayed more realistically, and it really makes you think about all the sacrifices illegals must make for the chance of an improved life for themselves and their family.

A solid debut that captures the hopes of those who move to a new country and the obstacles they experience while settling, Illegal was released by Katherine Tegen Books in March 2011.

Comments About the Cover: It matches the tone of the book very well. When I look at the cover, I see a girl standing in an empty field, which portrays the poverty of Cedula, Mexico. She’s looking though at some tall buildings in the distance that she believes her father has helped build; and to me, that represents her dreams of a better tomorrow.