Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts

Monday, 25 July 2022

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Review: The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven held up by a white hand in front of rainbow shelves.

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The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven


Published: 7th July 2022 | Publisher: Electric Monkey | Source: Bought
Laura Steven’s Website

A dark and funny YA thriller with a supernatural twist. From the winner of the Comedy Women in Print Prize.

Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors.

Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless student Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual hidden in Carvell’s haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim.

Can Lottie uncover the truth before the North Tower strikes again? Can Alice reverse the ritual before her monstrous alter ego consumes her? And can they stop flirting for literally fifteen seconds in order to do this?

Exploring possession and ambition, lust and bloodlust, femininity and violence, The Society of Soulless Girls is perfect for fans of Ace of Spaces, The Secret History and The Inheritance Games.
From The StoryGraph.

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Saturday, 23 July 2022

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Review: Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp held up by a white hand in front of rainbow shelves.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp


Published: 15th September 2020 | Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire | Source: Won in a giveaway
Marieke Nijkamp’s Website

FIVE friends go to a cabin.
FOUR of them are hiding secrets.
THREE years of history bind them.
TWO are doomed from the start.
ONE person wants to end this.
NO ONE IS SAFE.

For five friends, this was supposed to be one last getaway before going their separate ways―a chance to say goodbye to each other, and to the game they’ve been playing for the past three years. But they’re all dealing with their own demons, and they’re all hiding secrets.

Finn doesn’t trust anyone since he was attacked a few months ago. Popular girl Liva saw it happen and did nothing to stop it. Maddy was in an accident that destroyed her sports career. Carter is drowning under the weight of his family’s expectations. Ever wants to keep the game going for as long as they can, at all costs.

When the lines between game and reality start to blend with deadly consequences, it’s a race against time before it’s game over―forever.

Are you ready to play?
From The StoryGraph.

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Saturday, 25 June 2022

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Review: Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow {#Ad)

A photo of a Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow proof on a Progress Pride flag over the POC chevron, which is at a diagonal, so the chevron is pointing to the bottom right, On top of the proof, on it's right side, is a postcard of the book's final cover - which is different to the proof cover - on a diagonal, top right, to bottom left. There is a rainbow pin on the top left of the proof, and around the book is a white shell, a shiva shell heart, and a small jar of sand and tiny shells.

I was sent this proof for free by Hot Key Books for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow


Published: 28th June 2022 | Publisher: Hot Key Books | Source:
Rebecca Barrow’s Website

With compelling characters, broken friendships and complicated romances, Bad Things Happen Here is the irresistible YA murder mystery thriller: it makes your heart race, your toes curl, and your mind whirl with deadly secrets, dark truths and the innate need to escape a poisonous paradise.

The island of Parris: paradise or poison?

Luca Laine Thomas lives in Parris, the beautiful island plagued by the unsolved deaths of young women - most significantly, Luca's best friend. All Luca wants is to heal from the traumatic loss and leave her feelings of guilt and helplessness behind.

Then Luca comes home to find the police at her house. Her sister, Whitney, is dead.

Luca and Naomi, the new girl next door, decide to take the investigation into their own hands, and along the way their connection deepens. Soon, their casual touches and innocent flirtations become something way more real. But finding out what happened on the night of Whitney's disappearance reveals lie upon lie.

Nothing is as it seems. Will Luca's search finally reveal truth about her sister's murder? And will she unravel and escape the clutches of the curse and survive Parris?
From The StoryGraph.

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Saturday, 11 June 2022

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Review: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (#Ad)

A photo of both editions of Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; the original edition of the book with the navy blue cover at the bottom, vertical, and the one year anniversary edition with the yellow/orange ombre cover on top, at a diagonal, pointing top right. There is a rainbow pin sittong on the top left corner of the original edition, and a ace of spades playing card poking out from under the two books, top left. They're on a rainbow flag, which is on a larger Pride flag, showing the black and brown stripes.

I was sent an ARC of the First Anniversary Edition for free by Usborne for the purposes of providing an honest review.

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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé


Published: Original Edition: 10th June 2021 , First Anniversary Eition: 9th June 2022 | Publisher: Usborne | Source: Gift / Publisher
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Website

A compelling, incendiary, and unputdownable thriller with a shocking twist, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism with this compulsive debut.

Hello, Niveus High. It's me. Who am I? That's not important. All you need to know is...I'm here to divide and conquer. - Aces

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light.

Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public.

Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.

Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game...
From The StoryGraph.

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Monday, 7 March 2022

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Review: Pine by Francine Toon

A photo of Pine by Francine Toon, half on a wool cream scarf, half on a dark grey, fluffy duvet cover. The book is at an angle so the top of the book faces the top right corner, and the bottom faces the bottom left corner. The book is surrounded by various objects; in a clockwise direction from the top right, there's a pillar candle, a single tarot card, face down, a clear quartz crystal cluster, a bundle of yarrow twigs, two tarot cards, face down, overlapping each other, and a rough blue calcite crystal.

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Pine by Francine Toon


Published: 1st October 2020 | Publisher: Black Swan Ireland | Source: Bought
Francine Toon’s Website

They are driving home from the search party when they see her. The trees are coarse and tall in the winter light, standing like men.

Lauren and her father Niall live alone in the Highlands, in a small village surrounded by pine forest. When a woman stumbles out onto the road one Halloween night, Niall drives her back to their house in his pickup. In the morning, she's gone.

In a community where daughters rebel, men quietly rage, and drinking is a means of forgetting, mysteries like these are not out of the ordinary. The trapper found hanging with the dead animals for two weeks. Locked doors and stone circles. The disappearance of Lauren's mother a decade ago.

Lauren looks for answers in her tarot cards, hoping she might one day be able to read her father's turbulent mind. Neighbours know more than they let on, but when a local teenager goes missing, it's no longer clear who she can trust.

In spare, haunting prose, Francine Toon creates an unshakeable atmosphere of desolation and dread. In a place that feels like the end of the world, she unites the gloom of the modern gothic with the pulse of a thriller. It is the perfect novel for our haunted times.
From The StoryGraph.

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Monday, 14 February 2022

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Review: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (#Ad)

A photo of A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee on a tablet taken from above. The tablet is half on a navy blue scarf with metalic silver stars on it in the top right of the photo, and half on a light grey, fluffy duvet inn the bottom left. The tablet is on a diagonal, with the top of the tablet facing the top right corner, and the bottom facing the top right corner. Around the top right corner of the tablet, a number of tarot cards are fanned, showing the white and pale blue design on the backs of the Modern Witch Tarot Deck cards. To the top left of the tablet is a protection spell jar. Below the spell is the Nine of Swords tarot  card from the Modern Witch Tarot Deck. Along the bottom of the the tablet are some cloves, a black tourmaline crystal, and some star anise. To the bottom right of the tablet is a medium sized pillar candle.

I was received this eProof for free from Titan Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee


Published: 22nd February 2022 | Publisher: Titan Books | Source: NetGalley
Victoria Lee’s Website

If We Were Villains meets The Craft in this page-turning LGBT dark academia thriller.

Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School to finish her senior year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students―girls some say were witches.

Felicity was once drawn to the dark legacy of witchcraft. She's determined to leave that behind her now; but it's hard when Dalloway's occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget it.

It's Ellis Haley's first year at Dalloway. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can't shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can't say no. And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway―and in herself.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.
From Goodreads.

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Monday, 11 October 2021

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Review: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (#Ad)

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

I received this eProof for free from Electric Monkey via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain


Published: 2nd September 2021 | Publisher: Electric Monkey | Source: NetGalley
Ginny Myers Sain’s Website

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something--her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou--a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history--Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.
From Goodreads.

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Saturday, 18 September 2021

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Review: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson


Published: 16th January 2018 | Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books | Source: Bought
Maureen Johnson’s Website

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. "A place," he said, "where learning is a game."

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym "Truly, Devious." It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester.

But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.
From The StoryGraph.

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Monday, 13 September 2021

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Review: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


Published: 3rd September 2020 | Publisher: Penguin | Source: Bought
Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Website

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why - or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.

To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch - and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions.

Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
From The StoryGraph.

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Monday, 20 January 2020

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Review: Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus (#Ad)

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

I was sent this proof for free by Penguin for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

Published: 10th January 2019 | Publisher: Penguin | Cover Designer: | Source: Publisher
Karen M. McManus' Website

Ellery's never been to Echo Ridge, but she's heard all about it. It's where her aunt went missing at age sixteen, never to return. Where a Homecoming Queen's murder five years ago made national news. And where Ellery now has to live with a grandmother she barely knows, after her failed-actress mother lands in rehab. No one knows what happened to either girl, and Ellery's family is still haunted by their loss.

Malcolm grew up in the shadow of the Homecoming Queen's death. His older brother was the prime suspect and left Echo Ridge in disgrace. His mother's remarriage vaulted her and Malcolm into Echo Ridge's upper crust, but their new status grows shaky when mysterious threats around town hint that a killer plans to strike again. No one has forgotten Malcolm's brother-and nobody trusts him when he suddenly returns to town.

Ellery and Malcolm both know it's hard to let go when you don't have closure. Then another girl disappears, and Ellery and Malcolm were the last people to see her alive. As they race to unravel what happened, they realize every secret has layers in Echo Ridge. The truth might be closer to home than either of them want to believe.

And somebody would kill to keep it hidden.
From Goodreads

Rep: This book features a biracial (half white, half Latina) protagonist, a gay (though no label), biracial (half white, half Latino) secondary character, and a queer, Korean American secondary character.

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Monday, 6 January 2020

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Review: Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew (#Ad)

Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew

I was sent this proof for free as a giveaway prize by the Bloomsbury Raven for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew

Published: 17th October 2019 | Publisher: Raven Books | Source: Won in a giveaway.
Julie Mayhew's Website

For readers of All the Missing Girls and You Will Know Me, Impossible Causes is a gripping thriller about isolation, power, and the lies that fester when witnesses stay silent.

For six months every year, Lark Island is fogged in, its occupants cut off completely from the mainland. The community is small, tight-knit, and deeply religious. Lark seems like a good place for 16-year-old Viola Kendrick and her mother to be alone as they mourn Viola’s father and brother, both killed in a tragic accident.

But the islanders are hiding dark secrets. As the winter fog sets in, Viola gets to know the Eldest Girls—the only three teenagers on Lark—and begins to learn about the island’s twisted history, including an old story of a young girl, whose death the islanders insist was accidental. When a man’s body is found at the end of Viola’s first winter on Lark, Viola finds herself at the center of a murder mystery: one that asks whether the man’s death was a righteous act of revenge, or a cold-blooded killing.

Eerie and menacing, timely and moving, Impossible Causes is an unputdownable thriller that examines the consequences of secrets kept at young women’s expense.
From Goodreads.

Rep: Two lesbian side characters.

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Monday, 9 September 2019

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Review: Heartstream by Tom Pollock

Heartstream by Tom Pollock

Heartstream by Tom Pollock

Published: 4th July 2019 | Publisher: Walker Books | Cover Designer: Maria Solar Canton | Source: Bought
Tom Pollock on Twitter

I just wanted to see you. Before the end.

A taut psychological thriller about obsession, fame and betrayal, for fans of Black Mirror.

Cat is in love. Always the sensible one, she can't believe that she's actually dating, not to mention dating a star. But the fandom can't know. They would eat her alive. And first at the buffet would definitely be her best friend, Evie.

Amy uses Heartstream, a social media app that allows others to feel your emotions. She broadcasted every moment of her mother's degenerative illness, and her grief following her death. It's the realest, rawest reality TV imaginable. But on the day of Amy's mother's funeral, Amy finds a strange woman in her kitchen. She's rigged herself and the house with explosives - and she's been waiting to talk to Amy for a long time. Who is she? A crazed fan? What does she want? Amy and Cat are about to discover how far true obsession can go.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Rep: Lesbian MC, male secondary character who wears make-up.

Continue reading Review: Heartstream by Tom Pollock

Monday, 18 March 2019

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Review: The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown (#Ad)

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

I received this eProof for free from Penguin via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown


Published: 7th March 2019 | Publisher: Penguin | Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Savannah Brown's Website

Sydney's dad is the only psychiatrist for miles around their small Ohio town.

He is also unexpectedly dead.

Is Sydney crazy, or is it kind of weird that her dad-a guy whose entire job revolved around other peoples' secrets-crashed alone, with no explanation?

And why is June Copeland, homecoming queen and the town's golden child, at his funeral?

As the two girls grow closer in the wake of the accident, it's clear that not everyone is happy about their new friendship.

But what is picture perfect June still hiding? And does Sydney even want to know?

THE TRUTH ABOUT KEEPING SECRETS is a page-turning, voice led, high school thriller.
From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features discussion and description of multiple deaths, discussion of elements of the embalming process, discussion of an abusive relationship: controlling and manipulative behaviour, stalking, abduction, attempted murder, discussion of racism, and homophobia.
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Monday, 11 February 2019

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Review: This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher (#Ad)

This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher

I received this eProof for free from Simon & Schuster Children's Books via NetGalley for the puposes of providing an honest review.

This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher (eProof)


Published: 27th December 2018 | Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books  | Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Chelsea Pitcher's Website

Tell the truth. Or face the consequences.

Clue meets Riverdale in this page-turning thriller that exposes the lies five teens tell about a deadly night one year ago.

One year ago, there was a party.
At the party, someone died.
Five teens each played a part and up until now, no one has told the truth.

But tonight, the five survivors arrive at an isolated mansion in the hills, expecting to compete in a contest with a $50,000 grand prize. Of course…some things are too good to be true. They were each so desperate for the prize, they didn’t question the odd, rather exclusive invitation until it was too late.

Now, they realize they’ve been lured together by a person bent on revenge, a person who will stop at nothing to uncover what actually happened on that deadly night, one year ago.

Five arrived, but not all can leave. Will the truth set them free?
Or will their lies destroy them all?
From Goodreads.

Goodreads

Trigger Warning: This book features child abuse: domestic violence; an abusive relationship: controlling, manipulating, gaslighting and stalking; bullying, violence, discussion of suicide, and suicide ideation.
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Monday, 21 January 2019

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Review: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers


Published: 4th September 2018 | Publisher: Wednesday Books | Source: Bought
Courtney Summers' Website

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she's left behind. And an ending you won't be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.
From Goodreads.

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Trigger Warning: This book features child murder, child abuse/paedophilia, child neglect, attempted sexual assault, alcoholism and drug addiction.
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Monday, 12 November 2018

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Review: Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Broken Things by Lauren OliverNetGalleyBroken Things by Lauren Oliver (eProof) - It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.
From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley for the puposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features animal cruelty, discussion of violent murder, discussion of bad experiences in foster care, implies - though doesn't outright show or say - child abuse.
Continue reading Review: Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Thursday, 18 October 2018

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Review: The Book of Blood & Shadow by Robin Wasserman

The Book of Blood & Shadow by Robin WassermanThe Book of Blood & Shadow by Robin Wasserman (review copy) - It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.

When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn’t speak. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora’s determined to follow the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. But Chris’s murder is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.
From Goodreads.

I was sent this ARC for free by Atom for the purposes of providing an honest review.
Continue reading Review: The Book of Blood & Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Sunday, 8 July 2018

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Mental Illness in YA Month Review: White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock

White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom PollockWhite Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock (proof) - Peter Blankman is afraid of everything and must confront unimaginable terror when his mother is attacked.

Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as well as Ingrid, his only friend.

However, when his mother is found stabbed before an award ceremony and his sister is nowhere to be found, Pete is dragged into a world of espionage and violence where state and family secrets intertwine. Armed only with his extraordinary analytical skills, Peter may just discover that his biggest weakness is his greatest strength.
From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Walker Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger warning: This book features a suicide attempt.
Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Review: White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

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Review: One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus (#Ad)

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManusOne of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

I received this eProof for free from Penguin via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad body Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.
From Goodreads.
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Tuesday, 14 July 2015

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Review: Horns by Joe Hill

Horns by Joe HillHorns by Joe Hill - Once, Ig lived the life of the blessed: born into privilege, he had security and wealth and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more — he had the love of Merrin Williams, a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

Then beautiful, vivacious Merrin was gone - raped and murdered, under inexplicable circumstances - and Ig was the only suspect. He was never tried for the crime, but in the court of public opinion he was and always would be guilty.

But now Ig can hear people's deepest, darkest secrets and means to use this ability to find whoever killed Merrin.

It's time for a little revenge.

It's the time the devil had his due.
From the blurb.
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