ReviewsByHollis – Page 53 – A Take from Two Cities

A SCARCITY OF CONDORS by Suanne Laqueur – double review!

Juleón “Jude” Tholet has survival in his DNA. His father, Cleón, lived through imprisonment and torture during Pinochet’s military coup in Chile. His mother, Penny, risked everything to gain her husband’s freedom and flee the country with their newborn son. But as a closeted gay teenager growing up in Vancouver, Jude is targeted by a neighborhood bully called El Cóndor, culminating in a vicious hate crime that forces the Tholets to flee their country again.

Jude cautiously rebuilds his life in Seattle, becoming an accomplished pianist, but his his wings have been clipped and he cannot seem to soar in his relationships. Only family remains a constant source of strength and joy, until a DNA test reveals something that shocks all the Tholets: Jude is not their child.

Stunned by the test results, the Tholets must dig into their painful past, re-examine their lives in 1973 Santiago and the events surrounding Jude’s birth story. It’s a tale rooted in South America’s Operation Condor. It spreads through Pinochet’s terrifying regime of detention camps, torture, disappeared civilians and stolen children. The journey forces Penny Tholet to confront the gaps in her memory while Cleón must re-live an ordeal he’s long kept hidden away in a secret world. The tale ends with Jude digging through his genetic code in a quest to find his biological parents. Are they alive? Or are they among Los Desaparecidos—the Disappeared Ones?

Suanne Laqueur’s third book in the Venery series explores the desperate acts of love made in times of war, and the many ways family can be defined.

Title : A Scarcity of Condors
Author : Suanne Laqueur
Series : Venery (book three)
Format : eARC
Page Count :
Genre : contemporary fiction
Publisher :
Release Date : December 31, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis / Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ / ★ ★ ★

Hollis’ 3 star review

This rating might surprise people who know how much I love this author, and this series, but my problem with this story is that, for the most part, I didn’t really find myself connecting to these characters. For me, they would come alive in family or group setting moments, not always but often, or in the cheeky sizzle of chemistry-infused interactions leading upto the romance, but overall I didn’t fall in love with these people or places the way I have in other Laqueur — specifically, Venery — books.

“Rosie, I need a favour.”
“What, baby?“
“I’m attempting to seduce this gorgeous gentleman and he’s wisely being prudent about consorting with arrogant and audacious men he doesn’t know.”
“In other words, Tuesday.”

This particular installment feels like a big epilogue, and then some, to a story that started in AN EXALATION OF LARKS and, to a certain point, somewhat in the background, continued in A CHARM OF FINCHES. This is a conclusion that part of me thinks would’ve made a great novella or short story to wrap up certain questions from the first book. Because while some of this touched me, I mostly felt myself just going through the motions of the EMOtions without ever really being bowled over by them. Which makes for a lot of page time where I just wasn’t really immersed in it all.

Having said that, the events, the horrible situations, they were treated with the usual care of all the author’s other works. Without shying away from the stark harsh reality but equally without being gratuitous about it, either. Two very different scenes in particular come to mind where it’s a retelling of second-hand events, from the perspective of someone they knew, but without putting the elements and experiences on page in all their gory or brutal glory. Which, considering the telling, was a relief. But it wasn’t without impact. Which I think shows how masterful the author is. She knows when to push and when to pull back, all without losing the gravity of the moment.

“When I wasn’t hiding in the closet, I was hiding under the piano.“
“Well, there’s a Freudian analyst’s wet dream. The strong, solid barrier of wood and ivory hiding your genitals with definitive black-and-white distinctions of tone and.. sorry, I forgot where I was going with that.”

And that applies to so much of this story. The introspection, the therapy, even just random events. She broke them down, processed them, likened them to other feelings or images for the characters and the readers to meet halfway and experience. Some times it was so achingly beautiful. But in this particular story I did feel a lot of it was repetitive, redundant, or rehashed.. sometimes almost word for word. I could understand revisiting some things but I think I expected to learn or see a new perspective when it was brought up again. And rarely did we get that kind of pivot.

Everything Laqueur did in this story had echoes of her other works in the sense that you know you’re in the same world, with characters that connect in some ways, even only in the periphery, so things feel similar — and I mean that in a positive way. Each story handles something important, critical, pivotal, necessary. Often hard, but without flinching. Often beautiful, but also heartbreaking. This one still did all those things. Just not with the same impact on me as a reader. This had all the things I loved from other Venery books. But just didn’t hit the same way.

[it] was untrue and unfair. Irrational. But sometimes you felt what you felt and nothing could assuage it.

Ultimately, I think my enjoyment of this story was less about the big picture, big connections, and more about the little ones. Quiet moments, devastating moments, which caught me in my feels, whereas the big tie-ins and some of the backstory just didn’t do as much. But I suspect, and expect (and know) many people, fans or newbies alike, will love this. I will forever, and always, recommend the Venery series and my feelings on this book hasn’t changed that one bit.

As per usual, I read this with my Laqueur buddy (and blog buddy!) Micky and we had a great time reading, discussing, speculating, breaking things down over the course of our Condor-ified weekend.

Micky’s 3 star review

This book had atmosphere, emotion and a family saga to end all sagas. A SCARCITY OF CONDORS was a complex read but then I expect complexity from Suanne Laqueur. If you are fan of the Venery series, you will feel the intertwining of these books, but in particular, there was a strong connection to book one, AN EXALTATION OF LARKS.

The third book returned fans to Chile, Pinochet’s heinous regime but it also opened that Pandora’s box wider and invited the reader to witness some of the atrocities. I say go with trepidation and that there may be themes that are difficult for some.

The book had a slow start for me, taking some time to get into the context and characters. Things I enjoyed included Penny, she was the shining light for me, easy to get to know, easy to empathsise with and admire. What was unusual for me was that I didn’t really connect fully with some of the other characters.

Jude was a character I liked but didn’t love. His repetitive reliving of past events with his psychotherapist was a bit overkill for me. I was ready for him to set down events of the past. So, imagine my delight, truly, when we got to the meet, greet and connection between Jude and Tej. These two connected at a time I just needed some levity in the heavy within these pages. All that said about this relationship, when it came to toils and troubles, there hadn’t been enough narrative for me to feel what they were feeling and so instead I felt like an outsider looking in. I loved these two the most in their early days when they were all playful banter.

The card has some digits on it. If you punch them into your phone, magic things will happen.

The themes of being disappeared, lost babies, torture and reconnecting with unknown loved ones carried gravity of emotion. There was so much going on, almost all of it was incredibly serious as you would imagine and I felt the weight of that. However, there were only a few moments of real emotional connection with the story for me and I am sad about that. Without wanting the spoil, I loved the reappearance of the character who I knew would reappear because of the context and from 70% to the end was a more avid reading experience. I struggled with Cleon’s short chapters throughout. Hollis and I buddy read this and we agreed that in some ways, parts of this book would have made a great novella to book one.

If you know me, you know that I recommend the Venery series to many and all, that hasn’t changed. This hasn’t been my favourite read but it does add to the overall narrative of these characters and context. I don’t know why some elements missed the mark for me but they did and I can’t change that. I have learnt historical detail from this book and what has been translated through human stories in this world. I am the richer for that.

** We received an ARC from the author (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

BLOOD HEIR by Amelié Wen Zhao

This hot debut is the first book in an epic new series about a princess hiding a dark secret and the con man she must trust to clear her name for her father’s murder.

In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are unnatural—dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, has a terrifying secret. Her deadly Affinity to blood is her curse and the reason she has lived her life hidden behind palace walls.

When Ana’s father, the emperor, is murdered, her world is shattered. Framed as his killer, Ana must flee the palace to save her life. And to clear her name, she must find her father’s murderer on her own. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is far different from the one she thought she knew. Corruption rules the land, and a greater conspiracy is at work—one that threatens the very balance of her world. And there is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to its core: Ramson Quicktongue.

A cunning crime lord of the Cyrilian underworld, Ramson has sinister plans—though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all.

Title : Blood Heir
Author : Amelié Wen Zhao
Series : Blood Heir (book one)
Format : eARC
Page Count : 459
Genre : YA fantasy
Publisher : Delacorte Press
Release Date : November 19, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★

Hollis’ 2 star review

While this story opened up with a banger of a first chapter, unfortunately I think it was a concept that worked better as a pitch.

This fantasy feels fairly familiar to other revenge plot stories but with a twist : the heroine, the princess, the fugitive, is a monster. Or, rather, has a monstrous power. And the hero, well. He’s a conman with a seedy past. With a Russian-esque feel to the worldbuilding, think Grishaverse but not as direct a copy as another recent release, and interesting character archetypes, I really thought this would be a winner.

But sadly I was feeling some concerns around the 20% mark and it didn’t really get better. Sometimes it got worse.

There were a lot of familiar tropes and situations, the dialogue would occasionally fall into awkward cliche, and everything good and interesting just felt overshadowed by the rest. Also, I found myself rather confused by some of the timeline and events that lead up to where everything opened up. Maybe it was just me, maybe I missed it, but that confusion certainly didn’t help. There was definitely potential, and again in theory this should’ve been great, I just don’t think the writing did it any favours. Nor did a few repeats (and more repeats) of certain things I won’t spoil.

Considering all the controversy around this one, I’m extra sad I didn’t love this. I don’t know what changes, if any, were made, but as of the reading of this edition, I don’t believe any of the complaints were warranted. Topics of exploitation and the violation of human rights, it’s all worthy dialogue. Set against a fantasy backdrop makes the reality less devastating to experience but this was a main plot point and definitely key for our lead character and what drives her. She’s trying to do good, fix her world, and we need more of that in our world. The outcry just seems ridiculous and also so very shortsighted. But I digress.

I’m not sure if I’ll read on in this series. But who am I kidding; I probably will.

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

NEVER TELL by Lisa Gardner

A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. But his computer has been shot twelve times, and when the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun.

D.D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman–Evie Carter–from a case many years back. Evie’s father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many.

Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim–a hostage–and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad’s murder.

But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?

Title : Never Tell
Author : Lisa Gardner
Series : Detective D.D. Warren (book ten)
Format : eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 414
Genre : mystery/thriller
Publisher : Dutton
Release Date : February 19, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Hollis’ 4 star review

I’ll be the first to admit that while it was Gardner, and her three cross-over series, that kicked off my renewed fascination with the thriller/mystery/detective genre back in 2016, the last few installments of this main series (correction, sorry, it’s been one book and one novella) just haven’t wowed me. For various reasons. But NEVER TELL? Hi hello, we’re back again.

This story slots in under the main Detective D.D. Warren series but, like most of Gardner’s books, there’s crossover. Recently, since book eight, the survivor of that story has become a supporting character as she transitioned into a vigilante slash confidential informant, aka CI, for DD. And she’s not the only familiar face.

I really couldn’t recommend this book to people who hadn’t read at least the last three, starting from FIND HER, but honestly this whole series is worth investing in. Are they all great? No. But there’s been such an evolution, including the books in the companion/spin-offs, and those are even relevant for a certain guest-star in this book, both in character and how some of the stories weave together, that even the stories that don’t rate as high still feel worth the effort (also, for some perspective, I’ve only rated one book below three stars and while that was the first book.. let’s just say the opening books were a different vibe). Basically what I’m saying is block out some reading time over the holidays, put the whole backlist on hold at your local library, and get ready to rock and roll. And by rock and roll I mean experience some dark twisty additive af procedurals.

This review has become less about the book and more about the series as a whole but honestly there’s not much you can put in a review for a thriller that the summary doesn’t already.. summarize. There are twists, death, and surprises. Rinse and repeat. This mystery definitely had a tighter pacing than the last, unfurled in a great way, and also had me tearing up. So I guess we can throw ’emotions’ into that list, too.

I can’t wait for the next one.

THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone – double review!

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.

And thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more.

Except discovery of their bond would be death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That’s how war works. Right?

Title : This Is How You Lose The Time War
Author : Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Format : eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 209
Genre : sci-fi
Publisher : Gallery / Saga Press
Release Date : July 19, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis / Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★ / ★

Hollis’ 4 star review

This is a book that was recommended to me by every friend who read it. The hype was real, the library wait was long, and the book itself was short. My feelings, however, are hard to pin down.

Like Chamber’s TO BE TAUGHT, IF FORTUNATE this is a short sci-fi novella, that I would describe as a thought provoking slowburn. This one is far more romantic than the aforementioned story, but the telling of it feels similar, even if the subject differs hugely.

This was at turns way over my head complex, hauntingly heartbreaking, and clever af. This a love story between time travelers who work for competing purposes, who flit in and out of points in the universe, in history and the future, and who communicate first through taunts and later through understanding, connection, desire.

I’ll admit I did see a few things coming, which felt like a feat considering how dumb this made me feel sometimes. But overall it was a fascinating and thrilling and strange and sweet experience. I just don’t know how one rates something like this. A four? Let’s say it’s a four. I think if you stripped away some of the strange, hard to imagine, unbelievably complicated elements, held up the bare bones of a story that is still strange and complicated, but without the white noise that may have distracted you.. yeah. This feels right. But the story itself needs those elements, it does; though I can see others, maybe, not liking it because of them. Which might be where I got stuck, too.

If you like sci-fi, if you don’t mind when a plot leans heavy on a romantic connection, I would recommend.

Micky’s 1 star review

This was metaphor hell. A love story (eventually) between robot-horse-wolf-seeds in shades of red and blue through letters. It is about time travel, a vaguely recognisable earth and espionage with lots of killing.

I hated it.

I imagine you reaching over my shoulder to correct my hand on a victim’s throat. Nice.

The world falls into place like rain. Blue licks her bloodied snout, her paws, her gouged shoulder.Not sure what creature Blue was at this point.

You ask if we eat.
It’s a hard question to answer. There is no mono-we; there are many usses. The usses change and interleave. Welcome to my perpetual confusion.

Towards the end we got some comprehensible connection and sense of love but I was too far gone down the wtf road.

I’m not dissing anyone else’s experience, I have a bunch of friends who loved it but my PhD didn’t help me through the confusion of this one.

MICHIGAN VS THE BOYS by Carrie S Allen

When a determined girl is confronted with the culture of toxic masculinity, it’s time to even the score.

Michigan Manning lives for hockey, and this is her year to shine. That is, until she gets some crushing news: budget cuts will keep the girls’ hockey team off the ice this year.

If she wants colleges to notice her, Michigan has to find a way to play. Luckily, there’s still one team left in town …

The boys’ team isn’t exactly welcoming, but Michigan’s prepared to prove herself. She plays some of the best hockey of her life, in fact, all while putting up with changing in the broom closet, constant trash talk and “harmless” pranks that always seem to target her.

But once hazing crosses the line into assault, Michigan must weigh the consequences of speaking up – even if it means putting her future on the line.

Title : Michigan vs The Boys
Author : Carrie S Allen
Format : eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 308
Genre : YA contemporary
Publisher : KCP Loft
Release Date : October 1, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★

Hollis’ 4 star review

I would like it noted for the record that this is my do-over review after accidentally losing the first (much superior) draft. I am sad. But here we go; take two.

Wow, so. I knew going into this read that it would deal with some tough situations concerning bullying and hazing, but still. This was hard.

MICHIGAN VS THE BOYS feels like the second cousin to BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman. Like that other story, this one also focuses on the mob mentality so often found in men, particularly in competitive sports. But that’s mostly where the similarities end.

Michigan loves hockey. So when her girls’ team is disbanded due to budget cuts, she makes the bold choice to try out for the boys’ team. Except no one wants her there. Not her coach and certainly not her teammates. But she wants to play, she is talented, and so she makes the cut.

Reading what the boys put her through, how she is ignored by the staff, and only trotted out when she out-plays, and out-scores, the boys, is so hard. Watching every hard-earned win, every success, be immediately torn down by those who are supposed to lift her up, cheer her on? Brutal. But watching her continue to push herself, to continue to succeed despite so much adversity, is remarkable. Though, ultimately, tragic because it’s so unnecessary and awful.

But for all that awful, there’s a balance of greatness, too. It’s also a story about friendship, first love, loyalty, and family. And, in some ways, so much of this is necessary. Because, as one character says, about a certain situation, which I will paraphrase, this story, the telling of it, is so important. For the girls who will see themselves in these moments; if not now, maybe in the future. For the boys who might realize that what they witness being done to others, what they don’t stop even if they don’t participate in, is wrong.

If you love hockey, if you love stories with great friendships or sibling relationships, hell, if you loved (or hated!) BEARTOWN, I would definitely recommend.

CRIER’S WAR by Nina Varela

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

Title : Crier’s War
Author : Nina Varela
Series : Crier’s War (book one)
Format : ARC
Page Count : 434
Genre : YA fantasy, LGBTQIA+
Publisher : HarperTeen
Release Date : October 1, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ .5

Hollis’ 3.5 star review

I think this is one of those books that can go either way for some readers. But, for me, I’m caught right in the middle.

First, let me say : if you considered picking this book up because you heard it was a hate to love, or enemies to lovers, or opposites attract, romance? I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. This, unlike another fantasy series featuring an f/f pairing, was done so so well. I believed in the evolution of this.. not relationship but this connection. It totally won me over and oh man I want more. The dynamic between them.. (chefs kiss).

As for the dynamic of the story itself? Well, I was definitely under the impression this story was actually the opposite of what it has (haha #TeamNoBlurbs). Instead of the Made-character being the outlier, this is a society where Made-beings, the Automae, are actually in charge. They are the winners of a war where they have subjugated humans. Mostly. There are some who don’t despise humans, who want to live with them equally, but overall this is not the norm. And, to be honest, I think that element made this story even better for me than had it been the other way around, or the way I expected.

However. I’ll admit that sometimes I did feel a little confused by the actions of some of these Automae and how human they did seem, sometimes. And yet others, not at all. Maybe that was done on purpose? Maybe there is supposed to be that fluctuating line to make us see how close but not at all like humans they are? I’m uncertain. Certain actions, particularly that of the villain and his manipulations, just make it to to seem.. well, convenient, that some act more human than others. I don’t know. I’m not explaining this right but I think that’s mostly because, again, confused.

The world is very interesting, though, and how certain things came about in the end..? Yeah, wow, I am reading on for sure. But that said, I’m glad that we had two strong leads to carry this story during those moments where I was just not in it, because those moments did happen. And I’m glad for these leads because I was forever sad I didn’t love the aforementioned other series because diversity and f/f and all that good stuff. But this one? This one does it. I’m here for it.

So, yes, not a super high rating, but I absolutely think book two will knock it out of the park. And I can’t wait.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

THE HAZEL WOOD by Melissa Albert

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

Title : The Hazel Wood
Author : Melissa Albert
Series : The Hazel Wood (book one)
Format : ARC
Page Count : 365
Genre : YA fantasy
Publisher : Flatiron Books
Release Date : January 30, 2018

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ .5

Hollis’ 3.5 star review

I knew so little about what THE HAZEL WOOD was about when I started it.. and as a result I don’t want to give it a review that could risk spoiling it for anyone else.

This is a story ripe with the darker side of fairytales, the ones with no happy endings, no lessons, just.. stories. Magic. But it’s also set in our world, or a contemporary one, and.. well. To be honest that’s all I want to say. That’s all I will say.

I’ll admit I didn’t quite love the characters at first (and, to be honest, I don’t think we’re supposed to, but I know that doesn’t make unlikeable characters easier to tolerate), and had no idea where the plot was going, but oh man, by the end? Actually, maybe.. halfway? I was completely enamoured. I got it. I understood the why and the how and, well, everything just clicked for me. That isn’t to say you won’t like the first half, but it definitely isn’t what you might be expecting, and takes a while to set things up, but things do shift into.. well, maybe what you’re expecting? But also probably not. But in a better way.

My understanding is that Albert’s second book, THE NIGHT COUNTRY, is either a companion or a sequel, but definitely set in the same world/universe, and I’m so so happy I have an ARC. I want to dive in right now. Instead I shall flex some of my willpower and resist — but that doesn’t negate my excitement.

** I received this ARC via trade (thanks Flavia!) and was under no obligation for a review. **

PERMANENT RECORD by Mary H. K. Choi

Mary HK Choi new book cover reveal Credit: ohgigue

After a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is.

Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer; Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart; Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single; and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street.

When Leanna and Pab randomly meet at 4:00 a.m. in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn, they both know they can’t be together forever. So, they keep things on the down-low and off Instagram for as long as they can. But it takes about three seconds before the world finds out…

Title : Permanent Record
Author : Mary H. K. Choi
Format : ARC
Page Count : 432
Genre : YA contemporary
Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date : September 3, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★

Hollis’ 2 star review

I read EMERGENCY CONTACT, Mary H. K. Choi’s debut novel, before the era of the blog so believe me when I say I liked elements of it but didn’t love it. I found the story to be a little dull, though the characters were occasionally vibrant even if I didn’t like them, with plenty of Real Issues(tm) to tackle, but overall the story felt a little.. sad. A lot sad. Nonetheless I wanted to give her follow up novel a chance because I wondered if there might be more of things I liked to balance out what I didn’t.

And, sad to say, the answer is a nope.

I definitely appreciate this take on the ‘normie-meets-a-celebrity’ trope, but. So much but. Again, this comes from not quite liking the characters even if sometimes they did dazzle a bit. Adding to this weird sense of dismay was a really rough read, with more Real Issues(tm), sprinkled (heavily. maybe doused) ontop of the whole experience. The greatness factor was having a young person deal with the horrifying and very real danger of credit cards, debt, and the uncertainty of post-graduate school. But w o w was it, like, a serious downer. Sure, we end on a high (medium) note, not resolved with everything tied up in a neat bow, but leaning into the reality, instead of avoiding it, but wow.

The book is hella diverse and occasionally did make me laugh out loud (twice? maybe three times) but honestly I’m just really sad because I know this isn’t the author for me. I can appreciate the work she’s doing, what she’s putting out there, and the people who will relate or learn from it. But I won’t do this to myself again and she deserves better than my low reviews when I now know, with certainty, we just aren’t meant to be.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

NOW ENTERING ADDAMSVILLE by Francesca Zappia

Zora Novak has been framed.

When someone burns down the home of the school janitor and he dies in the blaze, everyone in Addamsville, Indiana, points a finger at Zora. Never mind that Zora has been on the straight and narrow since her father was thrown in jail. With everyone looking for evidence against her, her only choice is to uncover the identity of the real killer. There’s one big problem—Zora has no leads. No one does. Addamsville has a history of tragedy, and thirty years ago a similar string of fires left several townspeople dead. The arsonist was never caught.

Now, Zora must team up with her cousin Artemis—an annoying self-proclaimed Addamsville historian—to clear her name. But with a popular ghost-hunting television show riling up the townspeople, almost no support from her family and friends, and rumors spinning out of control, things aren’t looking good. Zora will have to read between the lines of Addamsville’s ghost stories before she becomes one herself.

Title : Now Entering Addamsville
Author : Francesca Zappia
Format : ARC
Page Count: 364
Genre: YA paranormal
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: October 1, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ .5

Hollis’ 1.5 star review

Is there anything worse than reading a new book by an author who wrote one of your favourite books.. and not liking it? Worse, wanting to DNF it after like twenty pages?

Okay, there are many many worse things, but roll with it.

NOW ENTERING ADDAMSVILLE was such a dissa-aca-pointment (one day I’ll stop referencing these movies but today is not that day #pitchperfect4lyfe). It’s not that I had major hopes for this story in general, I just expected to love whatever this author came out with, expected to feel something (a lot of somethings, if her last book was any indication) and that didn’t happen.

This is the author’s first paranormal fiction and.. like.. it didn’t work? Or at least not for me? The worldbuilding was kind of all over the place, the mundane setting played such a huge part and yet I’m baffled as to what that was all about, and the characters? I liked maybe.. one. Maybe half of one. And this had a significant cast, there were a lot to choose from, many on offer to the reader, and nope. I’m just all around confused by how we went from ELIZA AND HER MONSTERS to this.

I know this is coming off harsh and as a result I’m going to quit this review now before it goes any further but honestly? I just have the sads.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY by Andie J Christopher

How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days gets a millennial makeover in this romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Andie J. Christopher.

Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he’s not sure he wants her to dump him.

Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who’s focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she’s determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He’s the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she’s not scared of feelings.

Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.

Title : Not The Girl You Marry
Author : Andie J Christopher
Format : eARC
Page Count : 336
Genre : contemporary romance
Publisher : Berkley
Release Date : November 12, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ .5

Hollis’ 3.5 star review

Before starting this book, I did the thing you should never do : I looked at the GR rating. Which, as of writing this review, is sitting at 3.60. Which sounds bad but we need to remember this is out of five. It’s not terrible. But it was surprising considering, at the time, this was still a month out from publication.

And so I dove in, waiting, wondering, for it to go sideways. And yet it never really did?

Despite seeing the rating, I forgot to revisit the blurb (#TeamNoBlurbs) and was delighted at the How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days spin on a contemporary romance. It’s really not that far off from the film except the roles are reversed and the story is made more diverse. I thought the narrative around Hannah’s anti-dating baggage being tied up in her identity to be a really smart move. Forever questioning where she stands in a world that wants her to lean into her whiteness or shun it (she’s biracial with a white mother and black father) and the past relationship that didn’t think she was appropriate either way, coining the “not the girl you marry” phrase she then associated with herself.

On the other end of the equation, Jack is perfect. The perfect guy, the perfect boyfriend, so perfect he scared all his previous girlfriends away. He has to try hard to scare off Hannah, to go against what he wants and knows is right; and it doesn’t always work out. I thought his backstory was actually pretty perfectly balanced because it felt real, and a bit heartbreaking, but it didn’t overshadow Hannah’s.

I was really enjoying the story, the romance, the hijinks, though I’ll admit some bits felt a little dragged out — this two week period felt endless? — and I wanted less moral outrage on Hannah’s side and a little more on Jack’s. It did feel a little unbalanced though I agree the circumstances, the ramifications, from the lies would’ve been bigger had Jack seen things through. So.. I don’t know.

What did take some of the love out of this for me, too, was just how close it felt to the movie. Again, updated to include apps, diversified, backstory for the characters, so it isn’t cookie-cutter. But it’s close enough.

But I did have a good time. This was lighthearted but grounded enough to not cross into fluff territory (forever adding a disclaimer that I don’t use this word negatively) and honestly I just had a good time reading it.

** I received an ARC from Edelweiss and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **