Mini Reviews: Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat and Dead to Me by Mary McCoy

From Goodreads: When Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house - complete with her beloved piano - the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life. And it isn’t pretty. Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks.” Hiding the truth from her friends - and the cute new guy in school, who may have secrets of his own - seems like a good idea at first. But when a bad boy next door threatens to ruin everything, Ivy’s carefully crafted lies begin to unravel ... and there is no way to stop them. As things get to the breaking point, Ivy turns to her music, some unlikely new friends, and the trusting heart of her disabled little brother. She may be surprised that not everyone is who she thought they were ... including herself.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: I’m not sure what I was expecting from Sharon Huss Roat’s Between the Notes, but it wasn’t what I got - a story where a formerly rich girl spends the majority of the book pretending to still be rich and looking down at her new neighbours. As a result, I had a tough time connecting with Ivy.

Another aspect of Between the Notes that I struggled with was the unnecessary love triangle. It was clear from the beginning of the novel who Ivy would actually end up with; so, I didn’t see why Roat chose to have Ivy be conflicted over two boys, neither of who were really fleshed out. It also made Ivy’s change of heart at the end with regards to her love life not very believable.  

Between the Notes will be released on June 16, 2015 by HarperTeen.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss. 
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From Goodreads: "Don't believe anything they say." Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her - and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away. When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn't a kid anymore, and this time she won't let anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets - and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie's attacker behind bars - if Alice can find her first. And she isn't the only one looking. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although it had murder, mystery, and blackmail; Dead to Me by Mary McCoy was a book that never felt suspenseful enough to me for several reasons. Firstly, I failed to connect with Alice and didn’t really care much about her sister, Annie. Secondly, I felt the plot was very sequential, and knew things were going to work out for Alice and Annie. Seriously, when was the last time you read a book where the protagonist died or was seriously injured? Finally, the bad guys were revealed much earlier than I anticipated, and so I was simply waiting to see whether the bad guys would be caught in the latter portion of the book. 

Dead to Me was released by Disney-Hyperion in March 2015.  

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