The Saturday Review is back! I know, I need to keep up better with this but my reviews keep piling up instead. What have you been reading lately bookdragons?
by Isabel Sterling
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: May 28, 2019
Genre: Young adult, Paranormal, Witches, LGBTQ+
Blurb
Hannah's a witch, but not the kind you're thinking of. She's the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she's ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans.
But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah's concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah's sure it's the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.
While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she's going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem's witches become deadlier by the day.
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I really like the tarot card style theme of the cover. It looks like you placed objects on a purple table cloth and turned it into a book cover. I really like the simplicity.
Summary/Tagline: n/a
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 One of the things that drew me to this book was the LGBTQ+ rep during Pride month and I think the author executed it perfectly. The emphasis of the story isn't on the main character being a lesbian, just that she's a witch who also happens to be a lesbian. Hannah's struggles with her feelings for her ex-girlfriend and her crush on the new girl are relatable to all readers. Overall, the characters are all well developed with distinct personalities.
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I felt like I had stepped onto the streets of Salem while reading this book. It's always been my dream to visit there during the fall and this book really encompassed the small, eclectic town vibe I get from looking at brochures and photos.
Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Again, the theme of this story is not on the character finding out she's a lesbian, its about witches and family pressure, moving on from your exes and starting something new with someone new all while dealing with a witch hunter bent on the deaths of the local witch population. I thought the story was well balanced overall, but I did have to take a star away because I figured out who the witch hunter was about halfway through the book.
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.75 of 5 Stars!
My Rating:
🌟🌟 🌟🌟🌟
4.75 of 5 Stars!
Like A Love Story
by Abdi Nazemian
Published by: Balzar + Bray
On: June 4, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, "Historical Fiction," Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
Blurb:
It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.
Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He's terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he's gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS.
Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating.
Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out and proud teen. He'll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.
As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won't break Judy's heart--and destroy the most meaningful friendship he's ever known.
Review:
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 The cover is the initial thing that drew me to this book. It's gorgeous, it's colorful, and it's the kind of cover that if you saw it on a shelf at the bookstore you'd stop and take a closer look.
Summary/Tagline: N/A
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Do I think each of the three main characters are well-developed, unique voices, and that their struggles were clearly displayed on the page? Yes, yes I do. Unfortunately I just couldn't connect with any of them. Reza was probably the most likable of the three, but his paranoia about getting AIDS just because he had thoughts about other boys was a little melodramatic for me to read. I know that perhaps during the time period people thought they could get the disease from the smallest thing but I just found the paranoia annoying.
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Again, the worldbuilding is well conveyed. You feel as if you have stepped back into the 1980s. Unfortunately for me there were just so many references that I couldn't understand being a 90s baby that I couldn't enjoy the setting and worldbuilding more.
Story: 🌟🌟 I could rate this book higher, but I just couldn't connect with any of it. I went in wanting to get a YA take on the AIDS craze of the 1980s and while it did go into the fears each character had or the connection to people that had the disease, I could have done entirely without the romance between Reza and Art. This book will give you the feels and will tear at your heart, but if you weren't a teenager+ in the 80s you'll miss a lot of the references.
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟 3.75 of 5 Stars!
3.75 of 5 Stars!
Bird Box
by Josh Malerman
Published by: Ecco
On: March 12, 2019
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic
Blurb:
Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar and John Malkovich!
Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world—a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.
Something is out there . . .
Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.
Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?
Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?
Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.
Review:
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Yes, I had to have the media tie-in edition of Bird Box. I'm one of those people. Don't judge me. 🤣
Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 “Something is out there..." - I like it! It definitely gives you an eerie vibe of what's inside.
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 As a main character, Mallorie is definitely a survivor who has become strong because she had no other choice. But she lacks heart. She's so cold toward "Boy" and "Girl" - especially Girl - that you feel sorry for the children. The rest of the characters are a diverse cast of characters who have such differing personalities that you know they would have never crossed path if not for their need for survival.
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Imagine a world in which sight in the outside world can drive you mad. Where survivors will hide behind covered windows and blindfolds. Where those driven crazy do terrible things to themselves and to others. It's this terrifying world that Malerman brings you in Bird Box. It's frightening, it's unexplainable, it's a living nightmare.
Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This book is as good as it is frightening. There's a scene when Tom goes looking for supplies and seeing eye dogs where he comes across a dead person who gauged their own eye out and plucked it into a bowl that is grotesquely but fantastically described that really got to me. And even though I saw the movie first, this book still took turns that gave me chills.
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.6 of 5 Stars!
4.6 of 5 Stars!
Paranoid
by Lisa Jackson
Published by: Kensington
On: June 25, 2019
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Blurb:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a new novel of nerve-jangling suspense as a woman haunted by guilt realizes that nothing can be trusted—not even her own memory …
There are people in Edgewater, Oregon, who think that twenty years ago, Rachel Gaston got away with murder.
Rachel still has no idea how a foolish teenaged game turned deadly—or who replaced her soft pellet air gun with a real weapon. When a figure leapt out at her from the darkness, she fired without thinking. Too late, she recognized her half-brother, Luke, and saw blood blooming around his chest.
Despite counseling, Rachel’s horrifying dreams about that night continue. Her anxiety contributed to her divorce from Detective Cade Ryder, though he blames himself too. But as Rachel’s high school reunion nears, she feels her imagination playing tricks, convincing her that objects in her house have moved. That there’s a hint of unfamiliar cologne in the air. That someone is tailing her car. Watching her home.
She’s right to be scared. And as connections surface between a new string of murders and Luke’s death, Rachel realizes there’s no escaping the past, and the truth may be darker than her worst fears …
Review:
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 This cover is dark, and somewhat simplistic. A decaying set of stairs, faded typography of the title, and an overall creepy vibe.
Summary/Tagline: n/a
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Rachel is a character haunted by a past event that has forever changed her life, her ex-husband Cade is a detective who hates himself for giving into the affair that torpedoed his marriage to Rachel. On top of that, Cade's father is married to one of Rachel's high school friends, a girl whose son is the child of Rachel's late half-brother who died all those years ago. Oh what a tangled web we weave.
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 The beginning of this book reminded me of the setting of Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie's The Rules. I really enjoyed that book so I was hooked on the beginning of this book. Then we move forward twenty years and Rachel is still living in the same small Oregon town. You definitely get the small town feel and the small town mindset, gossip and grudges.
Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 I liked this book, but after reading so many of Lisa Jackson's books you start to realize they all have similar themes; especially when it comes to dark family secrets and bombshell revelations.
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4 of 5 Stars!
4 of 5 Stars!
Finale
by Stephanie Garber
Published by: Flatiron Books
On: May 7, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Blurb:
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…
Review:
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 All of the covers of the books in this trilogy are eye-catching. This one and Legendary are definitely tied for my favorites.
Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 "A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for." - Such a perfect way to sum up this book.
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 I really think Scarlet and Tella grow so much in this final book and I liked having chapters in both their perspectives. Julian was charming as always and I loved seeing more of Jacks (I only wish he would have his own spin off). The only character I wanted more of was Legend. It feels like we mostly encounter him in Tella's dreams.
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 As always, this book has fantastical worldbuilding where the strange and impossible become possible realities on the page. I love the clothing, the locations, and the Fates.
Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I loved Legendary, liked Caraval, but Finale is my favorite of the three. It was a great way for the trilogy to end, the only thing I was missing was the fantastical Caraval games played out in the previous two books.
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.9 of 5 Stars!
4.9 of 5 Stars!
by Helena Hunting
Published by: St. Martin's Press
On: July 16, 2019
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Blurb:
A new standalone, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy by New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting.
Cosy Felton is great at her job—she knows just how to handle the awkwardness that comes with working at an adult toy store. So when the hottest guy she’s ever seen walks into the shop looking completely overwhelmed, she’s more than happy to turn on the charm and help him purchase all of the items on his list.
Griffin Mills is using his business trip in Las Vegas as a chance to escape the broken pieces of his life in New York City. The last thing he wants is to be put in charge of buying gag gifts for his friend’s bachelor party. Despite being totally out of his element, and mortified by the whole experience, Griffin is pleasantly surprised when he finds himself attracted to the sales girl that helped him.
As skeptical as Cosy may be of Griffin’s motivations, there’s something about him that intrigues her. But sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas and when real life gets in the way, all bets are off. Filled with hilariously awkward situations and enough sexual chemistry to power Sin City, Making Up is the next standalone in the Shacking Up world.
Review:
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Ah yes, give me all the sexy man candy!! 😍😍😍
Summary/Tagline: n/a
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 I really loved Cosy and Griffin. Griffin definitely fits into the sexy, mogul, billionaire trope and Cosy is this cool, sassy girl who is used to holding everything together. Together the pages scorch with their chemistry. And I also loved Cosy's sister! Is there any chance she will get her own book or novella someday? She so deserves to find love!
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟.5 The clearest image we get in this book is of the adult store Cosy works in when she and Griffin initially meet. The rest of the book doesn't stand out too much with the fancy set-ups Griffin puts together for Cosy, the diner that Cosy loves, the Grand Canyon, and Cosy's apartment being all pretty standard.
Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This book is so funny and sexy I couldn't get enough of it!
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.4 of 5 Stars!
