Review: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here

Read if you like: books that are so good you can't actually explain them.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here | Patrick Ness

Genre: YA Contemporary/Science Fiction/Fantasy/Awesome
Released: October 6th 2017
Pages: 317
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.

THIS is everything I wanted. Why did I take so long to read this? Unforgettable characters and friendships, emotions so strong and raw it's impossible not to feel them, fantasy subplot, anxiety rep, an indie kid chosen one called SATCHEL who is constantly mocked. Honestly, there's nothing not to like about this and I loved every page. (I read 70% in one sitting.) I wish there was more book!!

5 stars

Review: Windfall

Read if you like: contemporary stories with so much heart and love you want to cry.

Windfall | Jennifer E. Smith

Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Released: May 4th 2017
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

So, so, so good. This is everything I needed to read: romantic, sad, hopeful, full of feeling. I love how clever the actual story is, and the relationships between all characters are so honest and real, whether love, friends, or family. Just perfect. Jennifer E. Smith is now an auto-buy author for me.

5 stars

Review: Follow Me

Read if you like: thrillers that leave you guessing, mysteries that throw twist after twist, a seriously strong cast of characters.

Follow Me | Sara Shepard

Series: The Amateurs

Genre: YA Mystery, Thriller
Released: October 5th 2017
Pages: 288
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Everyone knows Chelsea Dawson. Day and night, her tens of thousands of followers on Instagram watch her every move. So when she goes missing from the sunny beachside town of Lafayette, it makes headlines.

The police are searching everywhere for her kidnapper, but when eighteen-year-old Seneca Frazier sees Chelsea's picture, she knows instantly who took her. Chelsea looks exactly like her friend Aerin Kelly's murdered sister - and Seneca's own mother, who was killed five years ago.

Seneca's suspicions are confirmed when the killer contacts her, threatening to hurt Chelsea if Seneca goes to the police with what she knows. Seneca makes the only move she can, reaching out to Aerin and Maddox and Madison Wright, her friends from Case Not Closed, an amateur crime-solving community. Together they go to Lafayette to work the case, to save Chelsea, and to bring the killer to justice.

But the killer has a plan of his own. He wants Seneca and her friends in Lafayette, but he wants them to play by his rules. One wrong step could mean the end for Chelsea - or the Amateurs. 

Not quite as good as the Amateurs but just as exciting and deadly. The secrets keep piling in this book, and not even the Amateurs can predict the next move of the killer - someone they thought was their friend. I loved every element of this, from insights into Brett's twisted mind to all the clues and cleverness. There's just enough emotional bits to temper the mystery and crime solving too, which I loved. These characters are so interesting and varied, a really strong team. And that ending... I'm so excited for book three!

This series is awesome.

5 stars

Review: Heat

Read if you like: huge, sweeping fantasy stories with romance subplots, dragons, and wars between supernatural characters.

Heat | Donna Grant

Series: Dark Kings

Genre: Adult Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Released: January 30th 2018
Pages: 336
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Nikolai is a dragon shapeshifter who knows well the meaning of loss. Orphaned and raised to be a Dragon King, he never accepts defeat. Now, Nikolai prefers his solitude . . .until a beautiful, irresistible woman calls upon him for help—and Nikola’s whole word goes up in flames.

Ever since MI5 agent Esther woke to discover her mind taken over with magic, she feels like stranger to herself. She looks to a notorious dragon, one who has the power to help her find her memory. But as she and Nikolai come closer to discovering what really happened to her, a dangerous passion ignites between them. Can this lone Dragon King help the woman he’s grown to love to uncover the truth about her past—or will a deep and fiery danger tear them both apart?

I'm a bit miffed that the blurb on Netgalley didn't make it clear this isn't the first in series, or able to be read alone. This is the second time I've come across this problem in the romance genre. I should learn to check on Goodreads if they're like book one, not twelve.

This isn't bad but I'm not sure I'll remember it. I didn't mind the central romance, but all the other characters just overwhelmed me. I got there was a war going on but all I wanted to know about was Nikolai and Esther. One thing that did seriously impress me was the fact that Nikolai's voice had a Scottish dialect and I ACTUALLY QUITE LIKED IT? I've lost track of the number of books I've DNF'd because of the horrific word choice and voice that knocks me out of the story but this was written really well.

Maybe a better book for someone else, although there's plenty to like here if you're into huge, sweeping plots in your romance.

2 stars