Review: How To Disappear

How To Disappear | Ann Redisch Stampler

Published by: Simon Pulse, June 14th 2016

Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Ebook

Source: Simon Pulse, via Edelweiss

This electric cross-country thriller follows the game of cat and mouse between a girl on the run from a murder she witnessed—or committed?—and the boy who’s sent to kill her.

Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she’s pretty sure she can get away with anything...until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette’s house. Which is why she has to disappear.

Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A’s and athletic trophies can’t make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price.

As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices, this tightly plotted mystery and tense love story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, guilt and innocence, truth and lies.

The first line of the summary says it all. How To Disappear really is electric.

Nicolette and Jack have AMAZING chemistry, and made this book seriously, seriously addictive. Their bickering was hilarious and sweet (especially when Nicolette was holding a gun to Jack's head.) The main characters and the interactions made this book amazing, but the plot and the tense, twisty danger made it epic. It kept me guessing the whole way through, and I didn't actually predict the end which was awesome. So many layers and secrets and lies.

Dangerous, romantic, and clever. I loved it.

Characters ★★★★★
Setting/World ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Review: Relic

Relic | Gretchen McNeil

Published by: Epic Reads Impulse, March 8th 2016

Genre: YA, Horror, Mystery

Pages: 293

Format: Ebook

Source: Epic Reads Impulse, via Edelweiss

From Gretchen McNeil, the author of Ten and Possess, comes this teen horror novel perfect for young fans of Stephen King, and Lois Duncan's I Know What You Did Last Summer.

For Annie Kramer, the summer before college is bittersweet—both a last hurrah of freedom and the last days she'll spend with her boyfriend, Jack, before they head off to different colleges. So she and her friends plan one final adventure: a houseboating trip on Shasta Lake, complete with booze, romance . . . and an off-limits exploration of the notorious Bull Valley Mine.

The legends of mysterious lights and missing persons on Shasta Lake have been a staple of sleepovers and campouts since Annie was a kid. Full of decrepit bridges that lead to nowhere, railroad tunnels that disappear into the mountains, and terrifying stories of unexplained deaths and bodies that were never recovered, Bull Valley Mine is notorious and frightening—perfect for an epic conclusion to their high school lives.

The trip is fun and light—at first. But when a deranged stranger stumbles upon their campsite, spouting terrifying warnings and pleas for help, it's clear that everyone is in danger. And when their exploration of the mine goes horribly wrong, Annie and her friends quickly discover that the menace of Bull Valley Mine doesn't stay at Shasta Lake—it follows them home.

As one by one her friends fall victim to this mysterious and violent force, Annie must do whatever it takes to discover the ancient secrets of the mine and save her friends . . . if she's not already too late.

I know this is horror, and there's always going to be a layer of mystery, but I have no idea what I just read. I kind of liked Annie, kind of didn't, and the same goes for Jack and the rest of the characters. I kind of liked the threat and creepy murders, kind of tired of them, and the end was just odd. If you love the genre, you'll probably love this. I will say it's a quick read, and I like the element of the mine, but I'm not sure I liked the rest.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/World ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

ARC Review: The Amateurs

The Amateurs: The Amateurs | Sara Shepard

Published by: Hot Key Books, October 6th 2016

Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Ebook

Source: Hot Key Books, via Netgalley

Everyone's dying to know the truth . . .

When Aerin Kelly was eleven, she idolised her seventeen-year-old sister, Helena, and they did everything together. They made Claymation movies and posted them to YouTube. They made fun of Windmere-Carruthers, the private school they attended, they invented new flavours for their parents' organic ice cream shop, and they dressed up their golden retriever, Buster. But when Helena went into senior year things started to change. Rather than being Aerin's inseparable sister, she started to push her away. Then, on a snowy winter's day, Helena vanished. 

Four years later, Helena's body is found. Wracked with grief and refusing to give up on her sister, Aerin spends months trying to figure out what exactly happened to Helena and who killed her. But the police have no leads. A young, familiar officer named Thomas wants to help and suggests she checks out a website called Case Not Closed. Hesitantly, she posts, and when teenagers Seneca and Maddox show up on her doorstep offering to help investigate she accepts in desperation. Both have suffered their own losses and also posted to the site with no luck, so they are hoping this case might be the one they crack. But as their investigation begins, it seems that maybe it's no accident that they are all together, and that maybe the crimes have something - or someone - in common.

Thank God the next book comes out next summer because I don't think I can wait a full year. Actually, I could easily read another five books in this series right now. The mystery is next level, tense, dangerous, and twisty as hell (I expected nothing less.) 

But the characters! Look, I loved everyone, even That Guy (who I felt BAD FOR when Aerin didn't reciprocate.) Seneca especially - she's awesome and smart and I connect with her a whole lot. Everyone in this book is flawed, and messed up, and they're all the more real for it. Plus, two of them are WOC. Even minor characters have their secrets and are completely dynamic, I'm dying to know what happens to the amateurs next. 

I'm just stunned by how good this book is, and where it went. Holy hell, Sara Shepard, you don't do things by halves.

Characters ★★★★★
Setting/World ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★★

ARC Review: How It Feels To Fly

How It Feels To Fly | Kathryn Holmes

Published by: HarperTeen, June 14th 2016

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mental Illness, Anxiety

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

The movement is all that matters. 

For as long as Samantha can remember, she’s wanted to be a professional ballerina. She’s lived for perfect pirouettes, sky-high extensions, and soaring leaps across the stage. Then her body betrayed her.

The change was gradual. Stealthy.

Failed diets. Disapproving looks. Whispers behind her back. The result: crippling anxiety about her appearance, which threatens to crush her dancing dreams entirely. On her dance teacher’s recommendation, Sam is sent to a summer treatment camp for teen artists and athletes who are struggling with mental and emotional obstacles. If she can make progress, she’ll be allowed to attend a crucial ballet intensive. But when asked to open up about her deepest insecurities, secret behaviors, and paralyzing fears to complete strangers, Sam can’t cope. 

What I really need is a whole new body.

Sam forms an unlikely bond with Andrew, a former college football player who’s one of her camp counselors. As they grow closer, Andrew helps Sam see herself as he does—beautiful. But just as she starts to believe that there’s more between them than friendship, disappointing news from home sends her into a tailspin. With her future uncertain and her body against her, will Sam give in to the anxiety that imprisons her?

There were so many moments when I connected with this book, and it was totally unexpected. So, so happy I picked it up. Here are my thoughts:

- I can't imagine what it feels like for your own body to make your career impossible, or ruin any chance of your dreams coming true.

- I love Samantha, and felt everything she was going through. Her own bravery made me feel really motivated in myself.

- I ADORE the friends Sam made, and their strange relationships and interactions. They'd never be friends ordinarily, but I love how they came together.

- But I did feel icky about the 'romance'. It was really obvious where it was going and it made me so uncomfortable to read it.

- BUT I loved everything else!

- An uplifting, funny, inspiring, emotional book. I want to read it all over again.

Characters ★★★★☆
Setting/World ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

ARC Review: Flamecaster

Shattered Realms: Flamecaster | Cinda Williams Chima

Published by: HarperCollins, April 5th 2016

Genre: YA, High Fantasy

Pages: 535

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperCollins, via Edelweiss

A burning vengeance.

Adrian sul’Han, known as Ash, is a trained healer with a powerful gift of magic—and a thirst for revenge. The son of the queen of the Fells, Ash is forced into hiding after a series of murders throws the queendom into chaos. Now Ash is closer than he’s ever been to killing the man responsible, the cruel king of Arden. As a healer, can Ash use his powers not to save a life but to take it?

A blood-based curse.

Abandoned at birth, Jenna Bandelow was told the mysterious magemark on the back of her neck would make her a target. But when the King’s Guard launches a relentless search for a girl with a mark like hers, Jenna assumes that it has more to do with her role as a saboteur than any birth-based curse. Though Jenna doesn’t know why she’s being hunted, she knows that she can’t get caught.

Destiny’s fiery hand.

Eventually, Ash’s and Jenna’s paths will collide in Arden. Thrown together by chance and joined by their hatred of the king, they will come to rescue each other in ways they cannot yet imagine.

Set in the world of the acclaimed Seven Realms series a generation later, this is a thrilling story of dark magic, chilling threats, and two unforgettable characters walking a knife-sharp line between life and death. 

This is definitely my favourite Cinda Williams Chima book I've read. Much faster paced, exciting, and I connected with the characters better. Here are my thoughts:

- I really love Ash and Lila, and Jenna grew on me. I wanna keep Destin forever.

- REALLY hoped for Jenna/Destin. I wasn't that sold on Jenna/Ash

- The story was complex and exciting. I can't wait to see all elements weave together and the story play out in later books.

- I LOVE the world, especially with the hints about magic on other continents. I feel like the islanders are gonna be awesome. (Though I could do without the 'exotic savages' trope....)

- Kinda cool how Jenna's birthmark is metal and a gem. Not seen that before.

- DRAGONS! YASS! BRING IT ON!

- I have so much hope for this series. Great characters, awesome world, promising story. Excited to read more!

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆