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: Emergency Contact by Mary H.K Choi

Title: Emergency Contact

Author: Mary H.K Choi

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 400 (Paperback)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication date: March 24th, 2018

Synopsis from Emergency Contact's Goodreads page

From debut author Mark H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

For Penny Lee, high school was a nonevent. She got decent grades, had a few friends, and even a boyfriend by senior year but basically she was invisible. Having just graduated from high school, she’s heading off to college in Austin, Texas, and she’s ready for it.

Sam has had a rougher time over the last few years. He grew up in a trailer park and had to bail when he caught his addict mom taking out credit cards in his name to buy more crap from the Home Shopping Network. He gets a job at a café whose owner is kind enough to let him crash on a mattress in a spare room upstairs. He wants to go to film school and become a great director but at the moment he has $17 in his checking account and his laptop is dying.

When Penny and Sam cross paths it’s not exactly a Hollywood meet cute: they’re both too socially awkward for that. But they exchange numbers and stay in touch—almost entirely by text message, a form that allows them to get to know each other while being witty and snarky and intimate without the uncomfortable weirdness of, you know, actually having to see each other in person.

THOUGHTS

I received a finished copy from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review - Thank you so much Simon & Schuster!

You know how every once in a while, you read the perfect book at the perfect time, and you just can't stop thinking about it? Yeah, that's this book for me.
Every single aspect of this book was just absolutely perfect. I was super hesitant going into it, because a lot of BookTubers and bloggers who I regard very highly said that this was an "okay" book. However, when I started it, I was IMMEDIATELY sucked in and I couldn't think straight until I had finished this book.
There were so many amazing things about this book. The characters, the plot, the whole idea itself.
Being a university student, (albeit a couple years older than Penny), I was able to very easily immerse myself in the setting. I know what it's like to be lonely and overwhelmed when starting Uni, and how scary everything can be, and to be drowning in work. I think all of that was done really well, and it all was extremely real and I felt like I was in first year again.
The characters were also very accurate for first year University people. Some are really sweet and endearing, others are shy and awkward, and others still are just plain rude, but you love them all anyways. Every character in this book seemed so real, and I loved that.
The whole idea of this novel itself is amazing - living in a generation where almost everyone I know has some form of social anxiety, or just prefers to be with themselves, I completely understand why Penny and Sam loved to have the ability to talk about everything dark and depressing, and everything that makes them happy, with each other via text. Being able to completely open up with someone is always hard, but it's sometimes easier when it's with someone who you don't know very well. You don't feel judged, and you're not concerned with how they feel about you, because they barely know you. That idea is something that I love; the ability and easiness of just texting someone over having to talk to them face-to-face, especially when it's about very emotional topics.
The ease that they were able to talk, the quirkiness and awkwardness of their conversations, the emotional stuff that they had to deal with, from parents to work and school, to just trying to make a life for themselves - everything was on par, and everything was completely realistic. It was SO good, and it was exactly what I needed right now!
I absolutely loved this book. Everyone, please read it! It deserves ALL the hype.
Overall - ★★★★★

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: Circe by Madeline Miller

Title: Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

Genre: Greek Mythology/Fiction

Pages: 394 (Hardcover)

Publisher: Lee Boudreaux Books

Publication date: April 10th, 2018

Synopsis from Circe's Goodreads page

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

THOUGHTS

I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller last summer, and ever since, it has been one of my all time favourite books. Ever since I read it, I've been waiting and waiting for Circe to come out. Having finished it and taken some time to think about it, I can definitively say that it was worth the wait, and is now ALSO one of my all time favourite books ever.

Circe is another Greek Mythology book, (which is something that I have always loved, having devoured the Percy Jackson books as a kid), and I can easily say that anything Greek by Madeline Miller will be perfect and unbelievably awesome.

Madeline Miller has such a way with word; everything she writes is beautiful, no matter the context. It could be the saddest, or the most gruesome part of the book, and because it's her writing, it's still beautiful.

Her characters are all absolutely perfect. Either because they are perfectly flawed, or they are difficult, or they are just Gods among men (literally and figuratively). She creates her characters so that they are different from what is expected from them from reading Greek myths, but also similar enough that they are easy to distinguish, and their main traits remain consistent.

Her plots are also amazing. I know that a fair amount of her material comes from reading Greek myths and putting her own twist on them, but that makes me even more amazed by her. To be able to do so much research, then change the plot around a bit to make it her own, is something that I have always wished that I could do as well as she does.

Both of her books, The Song of Achilles and, now Circe, are both beautiful and are both perfect, sad, and wonderful in their own ways. I absolutely love both of her books, and I have no qualms about either of them. I love them both, and I know that I will continue to love them both for years to come. Thank you for putting Circe into the world.

Overall - ★★★★★

Review: A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard

Title: A Breath After Drowning

Author: Alice Blanchard

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Pages: 441 (Paperback)

Publisher: Titan Books

Publication date: April 10th, 2018

Synopsis from A Breath After Drowning's Goodreads page

The stunning new psychological thriller from the award-winning author of Darkness Peering and The Breathtaker.

Child psychiatrist Kate Wolfe's world comes crashing down when one of her young patients commits suicide, so when a troubled girl is left at the hospital ward, she doubts her ability to help. But the girl knows things about Kate's past, things she shouldn't know, forcing Kate to face the murky evidence surrounding her own sister's murder sixteen years before, bringing Kate face to face with her deepest fear.

THOUGHTS

I received a finished copy from Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review - Thank you Penguin!

I have always been a fan of a good murder mystery (I am a die-hard fan of Agatha Christie's books), as well as psychological thrillers. Lately, all I want to read is thrillers! However, I do sometimes find it hard to find a good one that feels different from all the other thrillers that are out there lately. This one is one of those ones that is different, and is really well done!
This book is not a small one - it is a larger thriller, and that made me a bit hesitant going into it. I normally like smaller ones, where there is less details so the details that are there are important. That being said, I FLEW through this book, in 3 days!
I really enjoyed every aspect of this book - I loved how the main character is a child psychologist, and how she slowly starts believing that she is going crazy and losing her mind. I love how we get to see her slow descent into her (supposed) madness (everything makes sense in the end - but there's no spoilers here, so you will have to read the book to find out!)
I also love how the characters were so well thought out; they are all extremely important and there isn't any extra characters sitting around. I love thrillers and mysteries where the author is able to hide the killer in plain sight, not in the background. It really makes the twist at the end more exciting, and more memorable!
The plot itself was also really well done. It was fast-paced and memorable, and every aspect of the plot had some significance. It was very well written, and I loved every part of it.
When I also received this book from Penguin, they sent me a vial with some fake blonde hair in it, as well as a fake hospital bracelet. I was so confused as to why they sent those things, until I read the book, and everything made sense in the end! It really was well thought out to send me those things, because it made me want to get to the end to see why they had sent them to me!
This was my first Alice Blanchard book, and I really want to get my hands on her other books, especially if they are at the same level of amazing as this one was!
Overall - ★★★★☆.5

Review: The Amateurs by Liz Harmer

Title: The Amateurs

Author: Liz Harmer

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 336 (Harcover)

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Publication date: March 21st, 2018

Synopsis from The Amateurs' Goodreads page

PINA, the largest tech company in the world, introduces a product called port. These ports offer space-time travel powered by nostalgia and desire. Want to go back to when your relationship was blossoming? To when your kids were small, or when your parents met? To Elizabethan England? To 1990s Seattle? Easy. Step inside the port with a destination in mind, and you will be transported. But there is a catch: it's possible that you cannot come back. And the ports are incredibly seductive, drawing in those with weaker wills...
Nearly everyone buys the ports, and soon, nearly everyone is gone. Those who are left attempt to sort out how to survive in this world nearly devoid of humans. Animals are increasing in numbers, roads are degrading, the Internet is down, and gasoline is running out. The survivors are also left with numerous unguarded ports, which are as mysterious as they are threatening.
In this world we follow a motley crew camped out in the abandoned mansions and stately church of a former steel-town that has seen its own share of collapse and growth. The group of about thirty adults and children are looting and surviving on what food they can find. But the harsh winter is fast approaching--do they make the choice to head south as a group, or wait to see if their loved ones will return through the ports?
The Amateurs focuses on a thirty-something artist and shopkeeper, Marie. She has never gotten over her ex-husband, Jason, and stubbornly hopes he'll return to her from his new marriage and from the world beyond the port. Meanwhile, in California, life at PINA is breaking down. Brandon, the former head of PR and right-hand man to Albrecht Doors, the mad genius who invented the ports, decides to get out while he still can. He steals a solar-powered car and drives north-east, where he hopes to find his missing mother, and start a new life, maybe a family. And there he meets Marie.

THOUGHTS

I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review -- Thank you Penguin Random House!!

I was SO insanely excited for this book when I saw the possibility of getting a copy for review. I'm a massive science fiction nerd and when I read the synopsis for this book, I was SUPER excited. Not only that, but it takes place in Canada, in Southern Ontario, which is where I'm from! Nothing is cooler than going into a book and when the characters talk about streets and roads and being able to picture them perfectly because you have been to the city multiple times (it takes place in Hamilton!). So that made me have really high expectations, and although I enjoyed the book, it did have some flaws in my opinion.
The Amateurs takes place in the not so far future, and makes the reader contemplate what every character in the book contemplates - if you could go anywhere, any time, where would you go? and, WOULD you go? This book really makes the reader question their beliefs and their values, and that is really refreshing in a science fiction book.
I really enjoyed a lot of the aspects of the story. I loved the setting of the story because I was so easily able to connect with it, because I've been to Hamilton. I loved the way that the author was so descriptive of the buildings and the escarpment, how even little details were very well described, which made it really easy to picture.
I also really enjoyed how the author made some outlandish ideas seem just commonplace. All the tech, PINAphones and other tech devices, were spoken of as though they exist in the real world and we should know exactly what they are. The only qualm I had about this is I wish that she had described them a little better - there were some things I was a little confused about, and other things that my nerdy self wanted a bit more detail of.
I also enjoyed the characters themselves. There were not too many in the story, so it was very easy to keep them all straight and to remember which ones are which. I loved how they all fought and bickered and communicated, but were still families and still were able to work together.
The only problem that I had with the characters were that they didn't seem to develop a drastic amount. I found that only the main male and the main female character developed in any truly noticeable way, and even then, it was really only one major decision by either of them that showed any true development. I wish there had been a bit more from them; I feel like the story could have gone in so many more directions if there had been more monumental moments and decisions from the two main characters.
The plot itself I enjoyed, and the idea of the story itself I absolutely loved. I just wish that there had been more of the time during which the ports were being created and going around the world, when the population had been drastically dropping. The book itself takes place completely after the world's population has been demolished by the ports, and I feel like if there had been more talk and more flashbacks of the time during the ports that more could have happened in the book itself.
Overall, I thought that the book was dark, but enlightening, and that it was bold and one of the most creative books that I have read in a long time!
Overall - ★★★★☆