Blog Tour: The Matchmaker's List by Sonya Lalli

Title: The Matchmaker's List

Author: Sonya Lalli

Genre: Contemportary/Realistic Fiction

Pages: 352 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publication date: February 5th, 2019

Synopsis from The Matchmaker's List's Goodreads page

Raina Anand may have finally given in to family pressure and agreed to let her grandmother play matchmaker, but that doesn't mean she has to like it--or that she has to play by the rules. Nani always took Raina's side when she tried to push past the traditional expectations of their tight-knit Indian-immigrant community, but now she's ambushing Raina with a list of suitable bachelors. Is it too much to ask for a little space? Besides, what Nani doesn't know won't hurt her...

As Raina's life spirals into a parade of Nani-approved bachelors and disastrous blind dates, she must find a way out of this modern-day arranged-marriage trap without shattering her beloved grandmother's dreams.

THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book was just what I needed right now. So much so, that I read it in one sitting. One single sitting. I adored how cute and sweet this book was, but also how sad it was at times.
I loved the characters in this book, as each one of them was interesting and fascinating in their own way. They all had issues of their own, and they all seemed very realistic in their own ways. I loved how they interacted with each other, how they spoke to each other, and how they felt about each other. They all had amazing character development, and I adored them all.
The setting of this book was also super cool! As someone who lives fairly near Toronto, I loved being able to read about places that I am familiar with and places that I have been to. It makes the story much more enjoyable and definitely much more realistic when you have been to the places described in the book, and it makes the story stick with you much more.
I also adored the plot of this book. I felt sad for certain characters and happy for others. I felt their anger and frustration, and the love they had for each other. I felt everything that the characters were feeling, and I understood the reasons why certain characters said and did certain things that they did, (even if I wouldn't do them). The plot itself is sad at times and happy at others, frustrating and beautiful and something that many people will be able to understand and resonate with.
This book is about trying to find yourself, what is important to you, who you want to be and what you want to do with your life, and I'm so glad that I read it at a time in my life that I feel all of these things, and am trying to solve the same issues. This is a beautiful story that I recommend everyone an anyone to read!

Overall - ★★★★☆.5

Q&A With Sonya Lalli!

How did you come up with the idea for The Matchmaker's List?

There wasn’t one particular moment or incident that I can pin down and say led to this book. I’ve always loved writing and now and then had characters and their stories appear in my head. Raina’s came along when I was about twenty-five, and I was at that age where I was done university and had started working. And I was single, and so I was starting to get some ‘looks’ from aunties that I perceived as: tick tock, it’s time to start thinking about marriage. And the rest was history! 

Are any of the characters in your book based on people in your real life?

Absolutely. Nani’s personality is very similar to my real-life grandmother. They are both loving and feisty, sweet and compassionate. And they are great cooks! Actually, I also have a very close bond with my Nani, just like Raina. I also borrowed some personality traits for Shay from a few of my close friends. 

What is your favourite place to write?

I’ve moved around a bit so I’ve actually lived in four (wait, maybe five??) different apartments since I started writing The Matchmaker’s List. I like writing in pyjamas or yoga pants at home, but even if the place I was living at the time had a desk I still  would often write at the kitchen table. I clear it completely and have my laptop right in front of me, a pen and notebook to the left, and a cup of chai to my right. 

How many books do you read in a year? 

That’s very difficult to say. There were times in my life where I was so busy studying or working that I didn’t get to read much for pleasure, and would only read a book or two on holiday. (So maybe, those years, I read six or seven books.) But over the past five years, I really have started to make time to read no matter my schedule. Not only is it relaxing and ensures I have ‘me time’, it’s important for my own writing too. Lately, I probably read a book after week or two. So on average, I’d say about 40. 

Blog Tour: Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers (ARC)

Title: Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology #1)

Author: Robin LaFevers

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 512 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Publication date: February 5th, 2019

Synopsis from Courting Darkness' Goodreads page

Death wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning…

Sybella has always been the darkest of Death’s daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice. But she has a new mission now. In a desperate bid to keep her two youngest sisters safe from the family that nearly destroyed them all, she agrees to accompany the duchess to France, where they quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies. Their one ray of hope is Sybella’s fellow novitiates, disguised and hidden deep in the French court years ago by the convent—provided Sybella can find them.

Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she struggles to remember who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. Her only solace is a hidden prisoner who appears all but forgotten by his guards. When tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands—even if it means ignoring the long awaited orders from the convent.

As Sybella and Gen’s paths draw ever closer, the fate of everything they hold sacred rests on a knife’s edge. Will they find each other in time, or will their worlds collide, destroying everything they care about?

THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to Raincoast Books for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Honestly, I am obsessed with this book.
I first read Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassin trilogy when I was in high school, and I was as obsessed with that then as I am now (that is to say - completely obsessed).
The characters of this book originated in that trilogy, however, you do not need to read the His Fair Assassin trilogy to understand, and to enjoy, this book.
The characters are just as good, if not better, as they were in her first trilogy. They all have amazing depth, resilience, and strength, and I love seeing empowered woman in literature that are just concerned about themselves and their family. Each and every character in this book has a saddening, heart-wrenching backstory, but none of them let that ruin their lives or define who they are. Every character, man and woman alike, are strong and are realistic and wonderful to read about. As a reader, you can connect with each and every one of them, and that is my favourite thing about them.
The setting of this book is also amazing. I am a huge fan of historical fantasy books, and basically anything set in times of knights, warriors, and castles. (and a little bit of magic and gods and goddesses never hurt anyone!). I loved the descriptions of every place the characters went to. Even places like barns where the characters spent a night were so realistic, it felt like you were actually there with the characters.
I also adored the plot of this book. The entire story, and each characters' story, was very interesting and I loved seeing how they progressed throughout the story. Each one of the characters, from minor to small, plays some important role in the story, and I love how their lives and stories progressed throughout. I'm very, very much looking forward to reading the next book in the duology and seeing where they all end up!
The only reason this book didn't get a full 5 stars from me is that a fair amount of the beginning of the book is backstory that is known in the His Fair Assassin trilogy, and I felt it was a little slow. Other than that, I absolutely adored it!
After reading the His Fair Assassin trilogy, and now this book as well, I am EXTREMELY invested in these characters, and there is no way that I will not be reading the next book. Not only am I invested, but the books themselves are amazing and I have always recommended them to anyone and everyone who has ever told me they are looking for a strong fantasy read with amazing characters, a compelling plot, and a fascinating storyline.

Overall - ★★★★☆

Blog Tour Schedule

Q&A with Robin LaFevers!!

Q: What is the best advice you can give to aspiring writers?

A: How long do you have? Just kidding!

So, most importantly, 1) Give yourself permission to write. It’s so easy to think we aren’t special enough or our perspective isn’t unique enough or wonder who would ever be interested in what we have to say. Put all that aside—we all have a story to tell. How effectively we are able to tell it depends on the second piece of advice I have.

2) Take the long view of your writing journey and wallow in and enjoy both the act of creating AND your apprenticeship. The ‘overnight success’ is a rare, rare bird. Much more often writers have toiled in silence and ignominy for years to produce a saleable manuscript. But hopefully, you write because you love language or stories, and while talent plays some part, studying the craft plays a far larger role. That and persistence.

3) So be stubborn about this. If you want it, allow yourself to want it and spend time doing it and honing your craft and immersing yourself in becoming a writing nerd. No words are wasted—even the crappy ones that we use in our early manuscript teach us something and bring us closer to the story we are struggling to tell. My caveat to this is to check in with yourself periodically. If writing stops bringing you joy or becomes something that makes you down on yourself, put it aside. It’s okay to try something, then stop. And it’s okay to try something, put it aside, then pick it up again years later.

4) Protect the work—whatever form that might take. By keeping your writing private and not sharing it with those who don’t understand your need to create. Sometimes it can be extremely unhelpful having others poke their nose in: Have you finished anything yet? Gotten an agent? Sold something? It’s okay to not invite others in to your process.

It’s okay to protect your work by keeping your words private until you feel they’re ready to be seen by others. Or perhaps you’ll need to protect the work from your own rush to get published or making a facile writing choice within the story. Time and practice will help you recognize those moments.

Blog Tour: The Current by Tim Johnston

Title: The Current

Author: Tim Johnston

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Pages: 406 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Algonquin

Publication date: January 22nd, 2019

Synopsis from The Current's Goodreads page

When two young women leave their college campus in the dead of winter for a 700-mile drive north to Minnesota, they suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives in the icy waters of the Black Root River, just miles from home. One girl’s survival, and the other’s death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town, thawing memories of another young woman who lost her life in the same river ten years earlier, and whose killer may yet live among them. One father is forced to relive his agony while another’s greatest desire—to bring a killer to justice—is revitalized . . . and the girl who survived the icy plunge cannot escape the sense that she is connected to that earlier unsolved case by more than a river. Soon enough she’s caught up in an investigation of her own that will unearth long-hidden secrets, and stoke the violence that has long simmered just below the surface of the town. Souls frozen in time, ghosts and demons, the accused and the guilty, all stir to life in this cold northern place where memories, like treachery, run just beneath the ice, and where a young woman can come home but still not be safe.

THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to Thomas Allen & Son for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I had a hard time at the beginning of this book; I found that I was confusing people and names, however after a few chapters everything started falling into place and I ended up really enjoying it!
The setting in this book I really enjoyed - the way that the author described the towns, and especially how they described the rivers, how they moved, how they froze over in winter, how cold they were - it really gave the book life and made it feel realistic. It made you feel like you were in the book, one of the characters, instead of just reading it. The settings were extremely life-like, and I really enjoy that in a book. When the author can make the reader feel like they are actually there, in the book with the characters, it's been done very well.
The characters in the book were also done very well. I found that they were all different, some good and some evil, some kind and others mean. They all had their quirks, and they all had some issues, but that made them seem more human and more relate-able. I really enjoyed reading about them!
The other thing I enjoyed is just how...sad this book is. These poor girls have so many bad things happen to them, and all of them have so many things that they have to struggle through. Especially the main character - she continuously has so many things to fight through, so many things to deal with and so many problems to face, and none of them are small or easy to deal with. This book is sad, but it is sad in a good way. We see her strength, her resilience, and her abilities through her struggles, and that made this sad book a little less sad.
The only reason this didn't get a full five stars for me was because I wanted everything to be neatly wrapped up at the end, and I feel like a little more could have been added, even an epilogue or something similar a few years or months down the road, just so that all of the loose strings could be tied up neatly. Other than that, I loved this book and I highly recommend it!

Overall - ★★★★☆

TOUR-WIDE GIVEAWAY

The winner will receive 1 hardcover copy of The Current by Tim Johnston!

Giveaway details:

• Canada only (excl. Quebec) - full rules found in the Terms & Conditions on Rafflecopter
• Giveaway begins on January 21st and ends on February 4th at 11:59pm EST
• Winner will be drawn randomly through Rafflecopter, contacted via email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize

Click here to enter!

Get your copy today!

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Amazon.ca

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* Also available to order through your local independent bookstore

Review: Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia (ARC)

Title: Leave No Trace

Author: Mindy Mejia

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Pages: 319 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Publication date: September 4th, 2018

Synopsis from Leave No Trace's Goodreads page

There is a place in Minnesota with hundreds of miles of glacial lakes and untouched forests called the Boundary Waters. Ten years ago a man and his son trekked into this wilderness and never returned.

Search teams found their campsite ravaged by what looked like a bear. They were presumed dead until a decade later...the son appeared. Discovered while ransacking an outfitter store, he was violent and uncommunicative and sent to a psychiatric facility. Maya Stark, the assistant language therapist, is charged with making a connection with their high-profile patient. No matter how she tries, however, he refuses to answer questions about his father or the last ten years of his life

But Maya, who was abandoned by her own mother, has secrets, too. And as she’s drawn closer to this enigmatic boy who is no longer a boy, she’ll risk everything to reunite him with his father who has disappeared from the known world.

THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I loved this book! There were so many things that I loved about it.
The main character has loads of piercings and pink hair, which I adore. You don't see colourful characters like that too often, so when I read a book with them, I get super excited about it.
The entire idea of this book is amazing as well - I love the idea of someone who had gone missing years ago randomly showing up, and they seem perfectly content with the way their life was going. It makes you think about what their life was like, what they were going through, and how they lived.
This book had a lot of very small twists and turns that came out of nowhere which I also really like. You never knew what to expect next!
The entire plot was also very well done. The writing was great, the development was wonderful, and the length of the book was perfect - sometimes thrillers are a little too long or a little too short, but I really liked the length of this one - I read it in two sittings (which is the perfect length for me!)
The ending made me feel a lot of emotions as well, both good and bad. The entire book is about the son trying to get back to his father to save him, and (no spoilers!) but it was a fulfilling, but VERY sad ending. However, I couldn't really think of ending it any other way, as the entire book was leading up to it, so I think it captured the book perfectly.

Overall - ★★★★★ 

Review: Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent (ARC)

Title: Lying in Wait

Author: Liz Nugent

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Pages: 310 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada

Publication date: November 27th, 2018

Synopsis from Lying in Wait's Goodreads page

The last people who expect to be meeting with a drug-addicted prostitute are a respected judge and his reclusive wife. And they certainly don't plan to kill her and bury her in their exquisite suburban garden.

Yet Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimons find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

While Lydia does all she can to protect their innocent son Laurence and their social standing, her husband begins to falls apart.

But Laurence is not as naïve as Lydia thinks. And his obsession with the dead girl's family may be the undoing of his own.

THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is not your typical psychological thriller - the book opens with the death of a character, and the description of who killed her - two of the main characters. You know who killer her throughout the entire book, and it is a description of what happens after the girl gets killed.
Most psychological thrillers are someone stalking/trying to kill someone else, and usually ends with a death, or the entire book is a mystery of who killed someone. This book is different - we already know who killed her, and it's the story of what happens after.
This book is very twisted, which seems to me to be something that Liz Nugent is known for (I've read her other book Unraveling Oliver, my review can be found here, and I found it to be just as twisted, which I also loved). I love how the plots are very dark, twisted, and sinister, and how the characters lean into that.
Her characters are also very dark - they have secret agendas, and their minds are very dark.
Another thing I really liked about this book is how we got to see a lot of flashbacks, and hear a lot about the characters lives in the past; this really helped to see how the characters have changed as well as how they have stayed the same.
Her settings are also perfect - they match the vibes of the books perfectly, and the settings really match up with the story lines. Both of the books that I have read by Liz Nugent have both had very powerful settings, and I found that the plot, characters and the overall story line itself has been impacted by the settings.
Overall - powerful, dark and sinister, this book is a great read for those dark winter nights!
Overall - ★★★★☆ 

Review: Herokiller by Paul Tassi (ARC)

Title: Herokiller

Author: Paul Tassi

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 448 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Talos

Publication date: August 7th, 2018

Synopsis from Herokiller's Goodreads page

In the near future, the line between entertainment and brutality has blurred. Mysterious billionaire and entertainment magnate Cameron Crayton is a household name from his questionably legal televised spectacles where death-row inmates fight to the death. But his old shows pale in comparison to the recently announced and eagerly anticipated global event, The Crucible. A gladiatorial tournament open to the general public to enter, the show’s winner is promised unimaginable wealth and fame if they’re able to survive a series of globally-broadcast, fight-to-the-death cage matches. 

Former black-ops operative Mark Wei wants nothing more than to be left alone with his drink after sacrificing everything―including his family―in America's covert war against China, a war won largely because of Mark. But there are rumors that Cameron's background and business dealings involve shady connections to foreign powers, and soon Mark is reluctantly convinced to dust off his training and enter the tournament as an undercover agent. It's the most dangerous assignment he's ever been given―racing to expose The Crucible founder's secrets while navigating the pitfalls of fame from a viral phenomenon where the stakes are literally life and death.

THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to Thomas Allen & Sons who sent me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The only things that I can honestly say about this book is just....wow. So many wows. I finished this book almost a couple weeks ago and it's taken me this long to figure out what to say, because it was AMAZING.

I am a huge Ready Player One fan, so when I heard that this was a mixture of Gladiator and Ready Player One, I was SO here for it. Now, having read it, I can say that that is the most perfect explanation of this book.

Herokiller takes place in the future, and our main character is an ex black op operative, who has struggled with too much for one person to have had to deal with in his life, and he just wants to get through every day. He ends up getting sucked back into the war, after he thought that everything was done. Getting sucked back into the war is the last thing he wanted, but it brings something new to his life - he joins a show that is fight to the death, in order to get close to the celebrity running the show.

This novel was so well thought out, and so well executed. The entire novel was full of a ridiculous number of twists and turns, and every single little puzzle piece fit together beautifully.

The characters were all so well written and created, that they all seemed almost real. They all struggled with something, be it money, alcohol, or just death from their past, and they all had their own demons, but all they wanted to do was to survive and to help each other overcome them. They all had bad things happen to them in the past, but they all were trying so hard to overcome them.

Not only were the characters amazing, the setting was perfect. They travelled all over the place, and each and every new place that they went to, from the setting of the city itself to the design and construction of the buildings they were in were perfectly set to the scene.

The plot itself was also wonderful in every possible way. The characters had to fight to the death, but there was so much love, heartbreak, friendship and loss throughout the way that I was overwhelmed with emotion for so many reasons. Every aspect of the story, from the way the characters were formed from their backstories, to the way they fell in friendship and love, was beautifully written. There was so much suspense, so much anger, so much loss, and so much suffering, but also so much beauty, love, friendship, and hunger for more out of life, that I was able to connect with every single character in some way.

I absolutely adored this book, for so many reasons. If you can get your hands on this, please, do yourself a favour, and read it. It will change your life.

Overall - ★★★★★

Review: Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian (ARC)

Title: Stay Sweet

Author: Siobhan Vivian

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Contemporary

Pages: 368 (Paperback)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication date: April 24th, 2018

Synopsis from Stay Sweet's Goodreads page

A summer read about first love, feminism, and ice cream.

Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery—the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war. Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends. Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. When Molly passes away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to help continue the business…but Grady’s got some changes in mind…

THOUGHTS

I received an ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review - Thank you so much Simon & Schuster!

I've been in a super summery reading mode lately, where I want to read contemporaries and just cute beach reads. When I started this, I really enjoyed it from the very beginning. It was super cute, but also very realistic.
I found the characters to be frustrating at times, but also in a way that they are meant to be. They're teenagers who are graduating high school, so they have a lot of pointless teenage drama, and I absolutely loved it. I loved the drama, the pointless fights, and especially the fights over boys.
Besides that, the characters were also very well done. I was able to see myself in each and every one of them, from the stressed out Grady and Amelia to the fun loving Cate, and I adored all of their relationships.
The setting was also wonderful, it took place in a cute old ice cream stand, and it just made me think of all the times during the summer when I go to the beach and I can get an ice cold ice cream, on one of the hottest days of the year. It just brings back memories from everyone's childhood.
I also really enjoyed the backstories in the book. Meade Creamery was originally founded by Molly Mead, and although she does die in the very beginning of the book, it feels like she lives on throughout it, because Amelia is reading things she has written. So, although we don't get to know Molly for who she is, we do get to know who she was, and that's something that I found to be a great addition to the story, and something that if it was missing, the story would be nowhere near as good as it is.
Overall, I found this to be a super cute, beachy read, and I really enjoyed it!
Overall - ★★★★☆

Review: My Ex-Life by Stephen McCauley (ARC)

Title: My Ex-Life

Author: Stephen McCauley

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Contemporary

Pages: 324 (Paperback)

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication date: May 8th, 2018

Synopsis from My Ex-Life's Goodreads page

David Hedges’s life is coming apart at the seams. His job helping San Francisco rich kids get into the colleges of their (parents’) choice is exasperating; his younger boyfriend has left him; and the beloved carriage house he rents is being sold. His solace is a Thai takeout joint that delivers 24/7.

The last person he expects to hear from is Julie Fiske. It’s been decades since they’ve spoken, and he’s relieved to hear she’s recovered from her brief, misguided first marriage. To him.

Julie definitely doesn’t have a problem with marijuana (she’s given it up completely, so it doesn’t matter if she gets stoned almost daily) and the Airbnb she’s running out of her seaside house north of Boston is neither shabby nor illegal. And she has two whole months to come up with the money to buy said house from her second husband before their divorce is finalized. She’d just like David’s help organizing college plans for her 17-year-old daughter.

That would be Mandy. To quote Barry Manilow, Oh Mandy. While she knows she’s smarter than most of the kids in her school, she can’t figure out why she’s making so many incredibly dumb and increasingly dangerous choices.

When David flies east, they find themselves living under the same roof (one David needs to repair). David and Julie pick up exactly where they left off thirty years ago―they’re still best friends who can finish each other’s sentences. But there’s one broken bit between them that no amount of home renovations will fix.

THOUGHTS

I received an ARC of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review - Thank you Raincoast Books!

Reading the synopsis of this book, I was super excited to get into it. The idea seemed extremely interesting, and it seemed like it would be a fast, funny read.

When I started reading it, I immediately both loved it and had some issues with it. I loved Julie, and I loved the relationship she had with David. I loved being able to see an adult man and woman be in love with being friends with each other, but not IN love with each other. I find that finding relationships like theirs are rarely ever seen in adult contemporary books anymore.

The two of them are also absolutely hilarious together, they both had a lot of really funny and enjoyable one-liners, and I found myself laughing at some of their memories and the inside jokes they shared together.

With the amount that I loved them, there were also some things that I didn't enjoy about this book. I feel like the two of them never really were able to grow, as people and as friends. I found them to be stuck in one place, and I feel like they were both the same people at the end of the book as they were at the beginning.

I also wasn't a huge fan of their daughter. Some of her choices were very bad decisions, and I didn't like how she knew that they weren't the right decision to make, and yet still did them any way, and she really had to face the consequences. I didn't like how broken she was at the end of the book, and it really broke my heart to see how she was such a strong, independent girl at the beginning and how she was so broken and sad at the end of the book.

The writing of the book was very well done, and I did really enjoy the setting of the book, however I found the characters to be saddening and I wasn't expecting this book to be as sad as it actually was!

Overall - ★★☆☆☆.5

Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway (ARC)

Title: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Author: Ruth Ware

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384 (Paperback)

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Publication date: May 29th, 2018

Synopsis from The Death of Mrs. Westaway's Goodreads page

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game comes Ruth Ware’s highly anticipated fourth novel.

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.

Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.

Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, this is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

THOUGHTS

I won this book in a giveaway from Simon and Schuster Canada - Thank you so much!

I really enjoyed this book! I am a huge fan of Ruth Ware, and I have now read all four of her books. I love how each one of her books is so different, but her writing is consistent and beautiful, and each book she writes just gets better and better!
I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. Her characters were well written, and each one was wonderful in their own way - they each had a lot of problems and a lot of issues, but that just made them more interesting as characters throughout the entire book.
I also really enjoyed the whole idea of the plot - to have the main character mixed up and believed to be this long lost member of their family, it was a great idea, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!
I also really enjoyed the suspense fullness of the book. Ruth Ware has, in my opinion, always been a master of suspense, and it keeps you up and forces you to read her books in one sitting. I've read almost all of her books in this way, in one single sitting, and every time they always amaze me with how they can be a good sized book, but still manage to be so suspenseful and such easy reads!
The only issue I had with the book was that I found a lot of stuff to be slightly repetitive, and I found that I was mixing up a few of the characters, so a bit more could've been added to make them seem slightly less similar. Other than that, however, I had zero qualms about this book.
Her writing continues to blow me away, and I look forward to her writing more and more books in the future!

Overall - ★★★★☆.75

Review: A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena (ARC)

Title: A Girl Like That

Author: Tanaz Bhathena

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 369 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers

Publication date: February 28th, 2018

Synopsis from A Girl Like That's Goodreads page

A timeless exploration of high-stakes romance, self-discovery, and the lengths we go to love and be loved. 

Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk taker. She’s also the kind of girl that parents warn their kids to stay away from: a troublemaker whose many romances are the subject of endless gossip at school.  You don't want to get involved with a girl like that, they say. So how is it that eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of a highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive on the scene, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is questioned. And as her story is pieced together, told through multiple perspectives, it becomes clear that she was far more than just a girl like that. 

This beautifully written debut novel from Tanaz Bhathena reveals a rich and wonderful new world to readers. It tackles complicated issues of race, identity, class, and religion, and paints a portrait of teenage ambition, angst, and alienation that feels both inventive and universal.

THOUGHTS

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review -- Thank you Raincoast Books!!

When I first started this book, I had no expectations. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean that no one I know had ever even heard of it, so I had no people telling me that it was good, or bad, or mediocre, or just any thoughts whatsoever. I also had very little knowledge, which was a nice change for once. It was nice to be able to go into a book, with no expectations, no thoughts from other people, and no real knowledge of what the book was about.
Saying that, I really enjoyed this book. I don't see a lot of diverse books around - which has been changing lately and I'm super happy about it - but there still aren't a lot of diverse books. It was refreshing to be able to read a beautiful, diverse book, and to be able to submerge myself into a  culture that I know very little about.
Onto the story itself! The plot of this book was beautiful and heart-wrenching, it made me feel happy and sad (mostly sad) to see how some of the girls were treated and to see how Zarin especially was being treated by the other girls in her school. It was heart-wrenching and so sad and made me just want to be friends with Zarin to try and just help her through all of the things that she was going through in her life. At the very least, she did have Porus, who I adored in every single way. He was so sweet and kind, and he was basically Zarin's knight in shining armor, even if she refused to believe it.
The characters were all also amazing, with every single character being believable, from the good ones to the bad ones. It's very hard to create a contemporary character who is a bad person seem not TOO bad, without it being believable, but Tanaz Bhathena did an amazing job of it. Every single character was written perfectly, being believable the whole way through, and the development of every single one of them making them even more so.
The only reason this book wasn't a 5/5 stars for me was because I found Zarin to be a little bit annoying at times (which I completely understand is one of the most important parts of her personality, and is a major influence in the book and the story itself) but it was just a litttleee bit too  much for me. Other than that, it was perfectly written. This was a beautiful, powerful story, and I am privileged to have been able to read it.
A Girl Like That came out just last week, and everyone should read it!
Overall - ★★★★☆

Review: Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey (ARC)

Title: Suitors and Sabotage

Author: Cindy Anstey

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 336 (Paperback - ARC)

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Publication date: April 17th, 2018

Synopsis from Suitors and Sabotage's Goodreads page

Shy aspiring artist Imogene Chively has just had a successful Season in London, complete with a suitor of her father's approval. Imogene is ambivalent about the young gentleman until he comes to visit her at the Chively estate with his younger brother in tow. When her interest is piqued, however, it is for the wrong brother. 

Charming Ben Steeple has a secret: despite being an architectural apprentice, he has no drawing aptitude. When Imogene offers to teach him, Ben is soon smitten by the young lady he considers his brother's intended. 

But hiding their true feelings becomes the least of their problems when, after a series of "accidents," it becomes apparent that someone means Ben harm. And as their affection for each other grows—despite their efforts to remain just friends—so does the danger. . .

THOUGHTS

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review -- Thank you Raincoast Books!!

I had never seen or heard about this book before, until I was perusing through the the publishers catalogue, and came across this beautiful cover, and I was immediately interested. I absolutely love cute contemporary books, especially ones that take place in the 1800s. I immediately wanted to read it, and I'm glad I did!
This book is about a young woman in the 1817s who is courting a young man...but somehow begins to fall in love with his younger brother, and the problems that ensue because of it. It's a sweet, beautiful contemporary book with a bit of a mysterious twist to it!
I'm going to start off by saying that I adored the writing style of this book. It was heartfelt and sweet, and it was beautifully written. I found a few small things about this book that bothered me a little bit, but overall I enjoyed it and I'm happy I read it.
I find that sometimes the romance between two characters can be forced in some ways, but this is definitely not the case here! I loved how Imogene and Ben were falling in love slowly, even though they try everything in their power not to. They fall for each other without any warning, and I enjoyed how it didn't feel forced in any way. It felt like they had no control over it, and it was just the way that it was supposed to be. And the ending!! Oh, the ending crushed me in the best way possible.
I also enjoyed how this book was a cute romance story, instead of a steamy one. It was cute and sweet and funny and awkward, which is exactly how young love is supposed to be. I loved how the characters were embarrassed by the little things they did awkwardly, as well as how they were flirting and the build up to the ending. The love story felt real and not forced, and the characters seemed to be the ones controlling the story.
With that said, I found the book to be a bit slow at the beginning, and that there was quite a gap between the actual beginning of the book and the beginning of the story itself. The beginning was a bit difficult to get into, as the action didn't really start until about 50-60 pages in. However, once I hit that point, I flew through the book and read the rest in one sitting.
The book also has a bit of a mysterious aspect to it, as there are "accidents" that keep happening and keep either getting Ben into trouble, or almost killing him. I really enjoyed how the characters reacted to these "accidents" and how the girls were doing everything in their power to try and get to the bottom of them. The only problem I had was that I think that the way the person who was causing these accidents was found out was a bit unrealistic - with them just outright saying that it was them. With the mystery that was being built up through the entire book about these "accidents", I would have enjoyed it better and found it more realistic if one of the main characters had found out who it was and confronted them, or found evidence to prove it, instead of the person doing it out and out saying that it was them.
I did thoroughly enjoy the book with that being said, and I found the characters to be well developed, the conversations to be awkward and sweet, and I loved every single character (even the bad person), and the writing was a perfect fit for the story that was being told. Be sure to check this book out when it comes out in April!
Overall - ★★★☆☆.5