ARC Review: A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel

Book info:

Title:  A Danger to Herself and Others
Author:  Alyssa Sheinmel
Genre:  YA contemporary mystery, unreliable narrator
Release Date:  February 5th, 2019
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Source:  ARC received from publisher which did not affect my review in any way
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:
Only when she’s locked away does the truth begin to escape… 

Four walls. One window. No way to escape. Hannah knows there's been a mistake. She didn't need to be institutionalized. What happened to her roommate at her summer program was an accident. As soon as the doctors and judge figure out that she isn't a danger to herself or others, she can go home to start her senior year. In the meantime, she is going to use her persuasive skills to get the staff on her side.

Then Lucy arrives. Lucy has her own baggage. And she may be the only person who can get Hannah to confront the dangerous games and secrets that landed her in confinement in the first place.
 

My Review:
I know that the whole unreliable narrator thing is big right now. This book is a perfect example of that.  The author also does a great job with keeping you guessing on what happened for a long time.  But needing to know those details is part of what kept me going as I continued reading to find out why exactly Hannah had been put in this institution.  You know that there is something missing, I mean obviously, why else would she be put there.  It's hard to figure out at first, since she tells us about how she has always been a good student, and how mature her parents have always been so proud of her for being.  

There are characters that you soon wonder if they are real, or what is really happening with them.  In the end, I was saddened for how her parents were with her, and hoped that Hannah would be able to figure it all out, as you could see that things might not go on to be how she could deal with the world around her.  This was a good look at mental illness and definitely a good read.  

Book Blitz: Infallible by Bailey Quinn

 
Book info:

Title: Infallible 
Author: Bailey Quinn 
Genre: Detective/Mystery crime 
Release Date: June 24th, 2016 
Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing 
ISBN: 9780996974882

 From the moment Detective Scarlet Anne Martins steps into that prison, her heart begins to take over her head. Unable to deny her feelings for Alaric any longer, her desperation to save him will ultimately be what will kill them both. For a super cop, her judgement in men has truly failed her. And if matters of the heart weren’t distracting enough, she has to survive the next twenty-four hours without killing someone. Finding herself a fugitive in a foreign country, she has to rely on her charming personality, which she has long since learned to turn on when needed. But with her distinctive South African accent, and stunning good looks, she is at risk of being turned in to the authorities at any moment. With nowhere to run, she has no alternative but to face the peril head on, and ensnare the evil that is chasing her down. But with so few resources, the only way to do that is to give them exactly what they want – herself.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1116134545  

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/infallible-bailey-quinn/1123830605;jsessionid=42518E690AC5B0D3DD5098D28D908A09.prodny_store01-atgap08?ean=2940153169590

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FYCEMAC



About the Author:  

Bailey Quinn is a pen name Carlyle Labuschagne writes her crime fiction under, she is an South African award wining author, with a flair for mixing genres and adding loads of drama to every story she creates. For now she is happy to take over the world and convert non Sci-fi believers. Her goal as an author is to touch people’s lives, and help others love their differences and one another by delivering strong messages of faith, love and hope within each world she writes about. “I love to swim, fight for the trees, and am a food lover who is driven by my passion for life. I dream that one day my stories will change the lives of countless teenagers and have them obsess over the world literacy can offer them instead of worrying about fitting in. Never sacrifice who you are, its in the dark times that the light comes to life.” Carlyle used writing as a healing tool and that is why she started her very own writers support event – SAIR – “To be a helping hand for those who strive to become full times writers, editors, bloggers, readers and cover artists – its a crazy world out there you don't have to go it alone!”    
Author Links:
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15158904.Bailey_Quinn
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BaileyQuinnBooks

Excerpt: 

First Chapter.

Friday Night—New York City  

WHENEVER DETECTIVE MARTINS ENTERED an interrogation room, the suspect’s reactions were always the same. First, the look of utter confusion clouded their condescending expressions, brows furrowed so tight it cast dark, ugly shadows across their faces. But when the detective took a seat, her slim legs crossing neatly over each other, and the name above her shiny, golden badge finally readable, their looks fleetingly morphed from shock to relief, finally settling into something resembling smugness. Female cops, she reckoned, were treated with the same disrespect in any country.

     Laying her South African accent on real thick, she talked painfully slow in case they couldn’t understand her. “So, let’s get this over with right now.” Detective Scarlet Anne Martins, better known to her loved ones as Sam—derived from her initials—smiled slightly while she spoke. Her hands calmly opened out over the worn-out case file. Looking up, her big green eyes met the suspect’s only briefly. “Yes, I am a woman and yes, I am extremely good looking, but don’t for one second think that your ‘bad boy’”—her fingers mockingly made quotation marks in the air—“behavior is in any way attractive.”

     Scarlet flashed him a brilliant red, glossy, sarcastic smile with the cocky tilt of her head. “I am here to put you behind bars, so don’t let the package throw you. The fact that I even found you after your case had been labelled ‘cold’, should be an indication as to how tenacious I truly am at nailing scum like you.”

     But the suspect still looked at her from behind a patronizing gaze. She thought back to what the captain had said to the chief of police on her first day at NYPD: “Women can act tough, but they break easily.”

     Detective Martins stared past the unsuspecting man into the mirror, lifting her chin, a daring smile creeping across her gorgeous face. “Seven days.” She held her fingers up, placing a bet to her squad members watching from behind the glass wall.

     “For what?” The suspect laced his nervous fingers together on the table before him.

     “Until I put you out of your misery.” Her penetrating gaze meeting his full-on, a promise she intended to deliver on.

      “Is that a threat, Detective Martins?” The perp’s lawyer pushed the tape recorder an inch closer in her direction, eager to catch her on some technicality that might set his client free.

     In his eyes, she could see every thought that crossed his mind. She knew that he knew she either had or was on the brink of having something concrete on his client.

     The lawyer scrutinized the detective, fully aware of her reputation to close cases such as the one he sat with now. Her devilish stunning looks part of what made her infallible, paired with her take-no-prisoners attitude, it could knock any man off course, even the best of criminal minds.

     “No, Mr. Workman,” Scarlet smiled politely at the lawyer, “it is simply a warning to Mr. Rogers here to get his family affairs in order before I throw him behind bars for good. If he has any respect for himself and that of his loved ones, he will go gracefully. Or, I will take down each and every one who stands in my way, including his wives and children for having concealed him for so long.”

     Mario Rogers shifted uncomfortably in his seat. How could she possibly know about his other families? He struggled to keep his composure, forcing spite into his words, as well as keeping cool and controlled. “They never got me the first time around, sweetheart, what makes you think there is anything you can pin on me after so many years?” he snickered.

      “There is simply not enough evidence against my client, detective,” his lawyer interjected.

     Scarlet could tell he was pulling out anything at this point to throw her off her game, hoping he could rile her up, thereby making her lose focus. He wanted her to slip up, save him losing face in front of such a high profile client as the ‘retired’ organized crime boss.

     Calmly, Detective Martins stood and took a step back from the metal table, folding the excessive paper file between her crossed-over arms. “That’s what they all say.” Smirking, heels clicking and hips swinging with sexy conviction, she exited the interrogation room.

Review: Need by Joelle Charbonneau

First, thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this.  I got to this a little bit after it was published, as you know I've been behind on my e-galleys, although I'm hoping to get back ahead this month. I enjoyed this author's Testing trilogy, well the first two books, I haven't read the third yet.  But I felt that was a very similar story to The Hunger Games.  This story, Need, is a contemporary story that stands out all on its own.  I really enjoyed it, it was another book that just recently I've had trouble putting down because I needed to know what happened next.  It is also a staff rec for me at the bookstore where I work part time.

The story is told through several different viewpoints, all students at a high school in Wisconsin.  There is a website that has popped up, called NEED.  It is offering students an opportunity to ask for what they need if they do something that the website asks them to do.  Now I love the first thing that shows up on the website:

WANT:  A DESIRE TO POSSESS OR DO SOMETHING. A WISH.
NEED:  SOMETHING REQUIRED BECAUSE IT IS ESSENTIAL.  SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT THAT  YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?

To me that totally set up the story.  The first people who get in on the website only have to invite a certain number of friends to join in order to get their "need" granted.  The first requests are things like iphones, money, tickets to concerts, etc.  But one of the main characters, Kaylee, what she asks for is really a need.  Her younger brother needs a kidney or he might die.  But so far she's found no one who is a match for him.  Their father left when he got sick, and so she doesn't know if he will be a match.  She does what she is required, invites other people to join.  Soon, once everyone at the high school has been invited, the requests from the website become different.  They don't seem like anything big.  Leaving a note at someone's house. Delivering a box of cookies to someone's house and just leaving them on the porch.  Digging a hole in someone's yard and putting a doll in it like a grave.  But soon these little errands don't seem so innocent.  The girl who gets the cookies is allergic to peanuts, and there are peanuts in the cookies.  The grave dug is in Kaylee's yard, and she knows it refers to her brother.  Someone's dogs are killed. Fires are set.  Pills are exchanged that cause someone to not get the medicine they need.  People are kidnapped.  When Kaylee figures out that the website is what caused the hole to be dug in her yard, she tries to alert the police to the website. But it goes down and they can't see what has happened. 

After Kaylee begins to look bad, it comes back up, with a promise of her need not being granted if she does something like that again. See one thing I forgot to tell you, it's kinda like fight club, one of the rules is you don't talk about it.  When someone that Kaylee cares about is kidnapped, she starts to worry about figuring out who is really running this site, and getting all the craziness stopped.  Other kids on the site will play a part too.  One of them is enjoying the things he is being asked to do because he enjoys hurting people.  One enjoys it because he knows that is something he wants to do some day, and is smart enough to try to figure out exactly what is going on and work the system to his benefit.  In the end Kaylee will not only be faced with potential death, but find things out about her family and best friend that will devastate her, even while they do  explain a lot of what has happened.

And while I started suspecting who we find out is orchestrating it all at one point, the reason they are doing it is a good twist, one I didn't guess.  I really liked this book a lot better than I liked the Testing trilogy.  It is was so unique and really a great story.  I definitely recommend it!

A to Z April: K Reviews - The Kachina Doll Mystery by Carolyn Keene/Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson

To start off this week I've got a couple books to share that are part of a series. Neither of my choices are the first in that series. But one is one of my favorites from the series, and the other is my way from the few K books I've read to fit this series in during the month.

First is The Kachina Doll Myster (Nancy Drew #62) by Carolyn Keene.  I always credit the Nancy Drew series for being a part of my love of reading.  I remember exactly the time when my family was shopping at the local Sears Outlet store, and they had a bunch of the Nancy Drew books there to buy for very reasonable prices.  My mom let me pick up several, and from the minute I started reading them, I was hooked.  I know we had several trips to the bookstores throughout the next few years as I had to buy more and more.  This one was always one of my favorite ones, I think I read it many, many times.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
When Nancy arrives at the McGuire's fitness ranch in Arizona, she discovers that the future of the ranch is being threatened by unexplained accidents. Teaming up with a ghost, Nancy begins her search for a precious collection of ancient Kachina dolls and hunts for her elusive adversary, who is determined to prevent the ranch from operating.

Second is Killer Pancake (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #5) by Diane Mott Davidson.  I first discovered this series when I started working at the B. Dalton bookstore at our local shopping mall.  I have never been a big mystery reader, not like these anyway. But as I paged through one and saw the yummy looking recipes, I decided to take one when it was a stripped book and I could try it for free. From that point on I had to buy them.  I'm ashamed to admit that I was lucky enough to get an ARC of the latest book this past year, and then I never got around to reading it.  My reading of adult books sadly gets pushed to the side for all the awesome YA books there are these days.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads for this title:
When Goldy, owner of Goldilocks' Catering, faces the challenge of whipping up a sumptuous lowfat feast for the Mignon Cosmetics' company banquet, she rises to the occasion brilliantly...only to discover just how ugly the beauty biz can be!

On the day of the banquet Goldy finds herself confronting an angry mob of demonstrators--"Spare the Hares"--who object to Mignon Cosmetics' animal-testing policies. As she struggles to carry forty pounds of lowfat fare from her van to the mall where the banquet is being held, she hears an ominous
squeal of tires and a horrifying thump. Seconds later, a Mignon employee lies dead on the pavement. And soon the police discover that this hit-and-run was no
accident.

Now Goldy is enmeshed up to her saute pans in a homicide investigation.  Could the murder have had something to do with Spare the Hares--or with the exotic flower found near the dead body? Though busy serving up Hoisin Turkey and Grand Marnier Cranberry Muffins, Goldy decides to start digging at Mignon's
million-dollar cosmetics counter. But when another murder takes place and Goldy herself is attacked, the caterer turned sleuth knows she must step up her
search for a gruesome killer. For this time was only a warning. Next time she'll be dead--and it won't be pretty.

Those are my two reviews for today.  Have you read either of these series?  Are you a mystery fan?  I guess without realizing it I featured two mystery series today.

And while you're here, enter my giveaway below!

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Book Blast and Review: The Third Twin by CJ Omololu ($50 Amazon or Paypal Giveaway) COYER Challenge #11

The Third Twin by C.J. Omololu When they were little, Lexi and her identical twin, Ava, made up a third sister, Alicia. If something broke? Alicia did it. Cookies got eaten? Alicia’s guilty. Alicia was always to blame for everything. The game is all grown up now that the girls are seniors. They use Alicia as their cover to go out with boys who are hot but not exactly dating material. Boys they’d never, ever be with in real life. Now one of the guys Alicia went out with has turned up dead, and Lexi wants to stop the game for good. As coincidences start piling up, Ava insists that if they follow the rules for being Alicia, everything will be fine. But when another boy is killed, the DNA evidence and surveillance photos point to only one suspect—Alicia. The girl who doesn’t exist. As she runs from the cops, Lexi has to find the truth before another boy is murdered. Because either Ava is a killer . . . or Alicia is real.

Amazon * Barnes and Noble

Praise:

•  "[An] original, riveting thriller." -- Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Made for You.

•  "Delicious and deceptive, The Third Twin is a twisty-turny thrill ride! I couldn't flip the pages fast enough!" --Kimberly Derting, author of the Body Finder series and The Taking.

•   "A classic whodunit."--Kirkus Reviews

Author:
 CJ OMOLOLU is the author of the ALA-YALSA Quick Pick Dirty Little Secrets and several other YA novels. She loved to read but never thought to write until she discovered that the voices in her head often have interesting things to say. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two sons.

Website * Twitter

My Review:

First I'd like to thank Delacorte Press and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  I have been a huge fan of this author since I read an e-galley of her book Transcendence  back in May of 2012.  It was one of the first e-galleys I think I ever got. But I just loved the book.   Ever since then I've been a huge fan and supporter of her and her books.  I have to definitely say that I have yet to be disappointed, and this book definitely kept up my support!

I won't give a summary this time, since I've got the official one above.  But a few details not given are that Lexi is more of the nerdy sister.  Once in awhile she enjoys being Alicia, and acting totally the opposite of how she normally is.  Her sister Ava is more like Alicia, in that she is all about the boys and dressing to impress.  Lexi's goal has always been to get into Stanford like their adopted father.  Now, they have always lived with their adoptive father, in fact they have no idea who their real parents are.  They were just left on his doorstep.  But now there is someone out there pretending to be their imaginary sister.  And she looks very similar to them, at least from the photos that have shown up at the different sites of the murders.  Lexi wonders if it is her sister Ava and she is just not telling her.  We get the story from Lexi's viewpoint.  Lexi often ends up being Alicia to go out with guys that Ava is done with.  Now both of them have promised they are going to stop. But it seems to keep going one more time, and one more time.  Lexi meets a cute boy in a band that Ava had gone out with, and she finds even as Alicia, she likes him, But how will she ever tell him the truth?

The story was very suspenseful.  While there were lots of clues that kind of gave me either glimpses into what was really happening, or else the little misleading things to keep me guessing, I kind of had an idea what was going on from one of them that happened early on.  That's not a bad thing!  I just want to say that it turned out even though I'd kind of guessed part of the mystery, even that took a twist I in no way saw coming to solve it!  My only complaint, and this is one I have with a LOT of mystery books, tv shows, and movies, is the not telling people things.  Like she doesn't want to tell the guy in the band about the danger to him in front of any witnesses.  If it was me?  I'd be all about making sure everyone knew what was going on so that they would be more aware of what is going on and would notice that when something happened I wasn't there or whatever.  But that's me.  I guess it makes for more suspense in the stories.  

It's nice to have a standalone story as well.  Definitely a great mystery, and one that I'll be purchasing for the high school library I work in, and promoting at the bookstore where I work part time.

  $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 3/19/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

This is one book that I was lucky enough to get an ARC of at BEA this past summer.  And just like 2 years ago, the author had attractive guys walking around where she was signing, although unlike the angels from the Hush Hush series that were walking around with no shirts, these guys were fully dressed, so no pictures.  Another cool thing is that 2 years ago I got a t-shirt, this year she gave away a thermos bottle.  It was also while I was waiting in the line that I ran into author Michelle Madow, who I'd been really hoping to see.  But anyway, let's get on with my review, because I LOVED this book! 

To tell the truth, at first I wasn't sure I was going to like this one. I mean I loved the other series, and I figured part of that was because of the angels, the paranormal aspect.  And this is pretty much a contemporary setting, but a suspenseful mystery type.  And I now know that it must be the author's writing that I love, because once again I was grabbed and could barely put the book down to work or sleep.  Never mind eating, because I can read while I eat.  As I read this, I kept forming in my mind who these "bad guys" really were.  How did they link up to the little short bit at the beginning about one of the girls who was murdered.  How did they fit into the story with the other murdered girls.  And as we learned about the main characters, that even added in more possibilities of who everyone was and how they were related.  Okay, here's a quick summary of the story.

The main character is Britt.  She broke up with her boyfriend, her best friend's older brother Calvin, earlier in the school year.  So for her school break she has decided that she wants to backpack the Teton Range.  She's trained herself beforehand.  She's taking her best friend Korbie and they're staying at Korbie's family cabin.  Now Britt kind of has hope in the back of her mind that maybe Calvin will show up and want to go along.  And then she can show off to him how good she is now that she's trained and maybe he'll want to get back with  her.  When she runs into Calvin before she gets to pick Korbie up, she tries to make him jealous by pretending she has a boyfriend, and wouldn't you know it, a really cute guy walks into the gas station at that exact moment.  And he is nice enough to very smoothly play along.  So when Britt and Korbie get on their way, an unexpected blizzard starts, and they get a little lost on the road to the cabin.  Then they get a little bit stuck and decide they need to go find shelter.  They see a cabin nearby in their hiking, and go and knock on the door.  Surprisingly it is the boy from the gas station, Mason and another guy, Shaun.  Korbie sets her sight on Shaun, even though she really has a boyfriend.  But now Mason isn't as friendly and accommodating.  It's like he wants them to leave.  The two guys are acting pretty suspicious.  Especially when after they say that they'd planned to stay in the cabin for a few days to go skiing, Britt finds there isn't really any food there.  Soon Shaun and Mason show a scary side, by pulling out a gun and separating the girls.  They need Britt's help to get off the mountain.  She is able to convince Mason, who while not as friendly as before, still seems less crazy than Shaun, to leave Korbie behind in the cabin.  She figures that will at least give Korbie a chance to not die out in the freezing weather, as she knows her friend is not anywhere near as prepared as she thinks she is.  Along the way she tries to use  many lies and fake outs to save herself and get away.  Leading the boys to a ranger cabin, which unfortunately is not being used at the moment. But they're able to stay and eat some food.  It is here that things really start to go bad.  I won't list all that happens, just know that Britt begins to think that she wants Calvin back, will forgive him for anything to just have him come back and take care of her. 

This was just such a good story.  I seriously was left guessing who the real killer was until close to the end.  Oh, I had my theories, which turned out to be partially correct.  But the solution was really great, and I think it all tied up in a nice bow.  However, as much as I liked the real ending of the story, in a way I think it was a bit unrealistic.  How would people involved in the whole situation closely not know just who Mason was if they saw him, especially if they saw him around Britt.  But I like how it did go, and would hope it could really be that way.  This is a great standalone story, no trilogy here, no cliffhanger ending.  Just a perfect YA mystery story.  I don't think I got a picture with the author at BEA this year unfortunately. 

Review: Get Even by Gretchen McNeil

First I must say thank you to Harper Collins and Balzer and Bray for allowing me to read an e-galley of this from Edelweiss.  Gretchen McNeil is an author that I heard lots of buzz about with her book Ten, before I even read any of her books.  So far 3:59 is my favorite of her books, but Get Even is a close 2nd!  At first as I was reading I though, oh, it's going to be a contemporary romance type of book.  But of course, it was more, and boy did it even get to be more than I'd expected. 

There are four main characters:  Kitty, Olivia, Bree, and Margot.  They aren't friends in "real" life, no one has ever really seen them together.  But ever since a project their 9th grade year, they decided to form a group called DGM for short, or Don't Get Mad.  All of them have dealt with bullying in some way in their past.  Margot used to be overweight, and was bullied, so badly that she tried to kill herself.  Kitty knew about it from a friend who got kicked off their volleyball team.  Olivia is one of the popular girls, and so is around friends who do it all the time.  And Bree's best friend is a boy named John, who gets teased a lot, because his last name could rhyme with a bad term for gay people.  They all go to a Catholic school where the bullying seems to be rampant, to the point that the adults often ignore name calling and even somewhat support the bullies at times.  DGM has a goal to stop the bullying.  They don't make stuff up, they only take what is already out there about these bullies and make it clear to everyone else.  The other students for the most part are fans of the DGM.   But not the administrator, Father Uberti, or F.U. as the girls call him snidely.  And also not one of the teachers, Coach Creed, who is really a big bully himself.

Something has changed now, someone is sending the four girls manila envelopes with pictures and other clues in them.  They are being led to a military school where the Coach used to be. And then one of their new students, a douche-bag type of guy named Ronny dies.  Right after DGM gets things to try to humiliate him for what he's done.  Some of the clues paint their fellow DGM members in a suspicious light, taking away what trust they have for each other.  Secrets start being kept from each other, while other secrets from the past start to get revealed.  The girls of DGM must decide if they can still trust each other to do what is right, the mission of DGM, or if the person behind all the secretive notes is one of them. 

Let me just say this ended on such a HUGE cliffhanger!  I had to go to the author's Facebook page and tell her that there was no way I'd be able to wait a whole year to know what happens next.  She said next summer is when the next book comes out, and that ARCs could be out as soon as December.  Believe you me, I'll be keeping my eyes wide open for it on both Netgalley and Edelweiss, as well as possibly researching to see who the publicity person is that I might be able to talk to so that I can make sure to get this read as soon as possible.  What a great mystery that totally kept me guessing, and with that ending, left me guessing still!

Review: Vivian Divine is Dead by Lauren Sabel

As usual I must first thank Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen books for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title. This was a quick read, a good little mystery.

The main character is of course Vivian Divine. She is a teen movie star.  Not too long ago her mother was killed after being threatened.  After that, her father tried to commit suicide.  And she was just embarrassed by her boyfriend kissing her best friend being caught by the reporters.  Now, Vivian has received the same type of note as her mother, her death has been predicted, and there is even a photo shot of her as if it has already taken place.  Her personal assistant suggests that she go incognito down to Mexico where she has relatives who can help keep Vivian safe until they can figure out what to do to save her.  Of course they have to change her appearance, and then she is on a bus to Mexico.  Partway through the bus ride, Vivian notices her bag is missing.  A boy named Nick is who she first accuses, but he promises her it wasn't him, and even tries to help her.  Well sort of, he thinks she is pretty snotty, and so does it in a backhanded way.  But when the bus gets broken down before they reach Vivian's destination, she now must rely on Nick to take her to the town where she is supposed to meet the guy who is supposed to help her out.  Soon, she and Nick become pretty good friends.  But partly because the next ride they get only lasts for so long.  When they stop at a church to sleep for the night, a man with a gun comes in, and it is obvious he is looking for Vivian.  Now, Vivian hasn't told Nick her name, wanting to stay anonymous.  She is able to hide, but in the morning, the priest and the others staying in the church chase her out.  Nick goes with her. But soon the man catches up again.  And they are separated.  Now Vivian is on her own.  She even sees on the news that supposedly she has been found dead.

The story has all kinds of twists and turns.  The guy at the church isn't the only guy trying to get her, and she does catch back up to Nick when she finally gets to the town.  She comes across a woman who helps her, and this woman even has some connections that Vivian thinks may help her to actually find out why her mother was murdered.  But finding this out may put Vivian in even more danger. How much can she trust any of her new friends?  Including the cute boy Nick?

Really a pretty good story.  A fun read, I kind of had an inkling about a certain person who ended up involved in the whole plot to kill Vivian, although it may not be a first guess.  All the characters end up tied together in a pretty unique way I'd say.  But probably really believable for a small town in Mexico run by a drug lord.

Review: Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Thanks to the Disney Summer of Chills for sending me an ARC of this title.  I can say for sure that Disney's books they're promoting with this are so far all winners from what I've read, and I actually haven't even read the one I was most excited about!

I believe this is the author's first book, and wow, what a great book!  Once again I'm learning that I really can enjoy a mystery.  This book kept me guessing all along on who it might be.  But never really gave false clues, and I only knew what the main character knew.  I think the relationship in the book was one I somewhat guessed at by little things, and was pleased when it turned out to be the way I thought it was.

The main character is Sophie Winters.  Her life has been hard.  When she was fourteen, she was in a car with her best friend Mina, being driven by Mina's brother Trev.  Unfortunately there is a car accident, and while Trev and Mina make it out with just a few scratches, Mina, who did not have her seat belt on wasn't so lucky.  Her leg was messed up very badly, and she had scars all over her body.  Thanks to the wreck she had to have years of physical therapy, and of course there were pain pills involved, leading Sophie to an Oxy addiction.  Mina and Sophie are so close, and Mina is very worried and notices how much Sophie is really using the drugs.  When her parents find out, they send Sophie to stay with her Aunt Macy to get clean.  She comes back after about 6 months, clean, and ready to stay clean.  But then, she and Mina stop in the woods because Mina wants to get some information about a case she is investigating, and they are attacked by a masked man.  This time Sophie is the lucky one, in that she is just knocked on the head, while Mina is shot and killed.  When Sophie is finally found by a girl who lives somewhat nearby, the police find drugs in her jacket, and so it is assumed that it was a drug deal gone bad, even though Sophie swears that she is still clean.  She begs and pleads to be believed, but her parents don't.  So she is shipped off to rehab.  When she gets out of rehab, she comes back, and the one thing she plans to do is find out who killed Mina.  It is a rough road ahead of Sophie, as she has many enemies now, people who believe the drug story, and blame her for Mina's death.

Such a great story, loved it.  The characters were all really well written, and had a lot of depth.  You felt for them, and some you hated.  But it was in a way that just made the story even better.  I hope you get a chance to read this, as I'll be definitely promoting it, and probably buying it for my high school library where I work.

A to Z April - M: Mysteries

Today I'm going to talk about another genre of books, mysteries.  They are not my top type of books, but I do enjoy a good one.  I'm finding more YA ones that I'm even starting to become more interested in mysteries.  I'll share my top 5 mystery books/series below.


1. 

This is probably my favorite series, although the latest one is still sitting on my TBR shelf.  Must get to that!  The main character Goldy Bear is a caterer, and of course seems to come across murders all the time by accident.  I just love the characters, they're pretty funny/realistic seeming to me.  What is really neat is all the recipes that are shared, and though they sound delicious, I'm too lazy to possibly ever make them. But if you're a chef, and you like mysteries, you should definitely give these books a try.

2. 

  

Now this is a brand new, hot off the presses title.  It actually comes out today!  It is my first book by this author, and I was extremely impressed with it.  It is a YA mystery title, but a great one!

3.  

  

This is another YA mystery that is newer.  It is what I'd call a medical mystery.  I really enjoyed it.  I know that the author writes adult medical mystery/thrillers as well.

4.  

 

 

Another author that does great YA mystery.  This one is supposed to be based on the classic story Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie.

5. 

 

Now this is one that could be considered maybe more of a romance, but it has a bit of a mystery to it so I'm going to list it.  While it is an older book, not YA really, it is one that is a favorite of mine.  As I said before, I'm not really a mystery fan, so I had a little trouble coming up with 5 top books for sure, and I didn't want to go through my whole list of all I've read on Goodreads, so I decided to list this last.

So, are you a big mystery fan?  And if you have time, I'd love for you to go back to my J post and help me think of some questions to ask some authors I'll be meeting next month.

Review: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

First, thanks to Disney Hyperion Teens for allowing me to read an ARC of this title.  This was my first book by this author that I see everyone else seems to love.  And let me say, I can finally say I see what all the fuss is about.  I LOVED this book!  And I am not normally the biggest mystery or contemporary fan.  But the suspense in this book kept me hating every minute that I had to put the book down in order to do things like go to work, sleep, even sitting at the awesome Captain America 2 movie last night, I kind of wanted to be able to finish my book.

The main character is Samantha.  She wakes up at the beginning, not remembering who she is, or what has happened to her.  She and her friend Cassie disappeared.  Cassie has yet to turn up, and Sam can't remember anything from that night.  But as far as everyone knows, Sam was the last to see Cassie alive.  Cassie comes back to a life that she doesn't know how she ever was a part of it.  You see, Sam, and her best friend Cassie, were the mean girls.  Samantha's family was rich, and while Cassie was not, she was pretty like Sam, and they just seemed to be a perfect pair. This "new" Sam hates how she treated people, and soon isn't sure if she wants to keep her old friends.  Her boyfriend Del, who she can't remember, doesn't really seem to be the kind of guy she now can see herself with.  But Carson, the gardener's son, is extremely attractive to her, like there is a connection between them.  While Sam has amnesia, she occasionally will have a vision, or hallucination that seem to be flashbacks either to that last night with Cassie, or else things from her past that help her to slowly put the pieces together.

Then, Cassie turns up dead, and with no memories, she is of course the most likely suspect to the police, and maybe the kids at her school.  And, Sam keeps getting these notes warning her that she doesn't want to remember, not to let "him" know what she remembers.  And soon Sam is trying to figure out if there was someone else there that night.  She seems to see someone in these hallucinations, but there are even things pointing to maybe Sam could actually be the killer.

This story had me guessing at who really killed Cassie, or was it an accident.  While I did have hints at who it turned out to be, I must say I can't believe I didn't figure out the little twist, or reason why it was that person.  But it all wrapped up so well.  So many people that I suspected as I read, but then doubts, so, so good!!  Let's just say Jennifer L. Armentrout will now be moving to the top of my TBR list, and I can't wait to meet her at BEA this summer!

Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed

This is an ARC I got back when I attended BEA in 2012.  It had been just sitting on my TBR pile until I saw that there was a sequel available on Netgalley.  Then I decided I'd better go ahead and read it so that I could request the sequel.  I got this ARC by requesting it at a booth because it sounded good.  I'm not quite as bold as a lot of other people were at BEA.  I didn't just go up and grab things.  I always felt like I needed to make sure it was okay. Especially after one booth I went to and started to take something, only to be informed the stuff in that booth was only for display.  As many awesome authors that I got to meet, and cool books that I got, I did have a few negative experiences at BEA like that.  So I was kind of a bit timid about just taking things like lots of other people did.  This coming summer I'll be more prepared, and hopefully know better what to do.
Anyway, this was a ghost story, and it was definitely a very interesting one.  In a way it wasn't necessarily ghosts, but almost time travel.  The main character was Sarah Parsons.  She has come to Amber House because her grandmother has passed away, and so there is the funeral, and then getting the house ready to be sold.  Only this is a special house.  It has been in the family for years, and it has quite the history.  A history that Sarah seems to be seeing whenever she touches certain objects within the home.  Turns out that her ability may be something that has been shared with others in her family line.  And often the "ghosts" she sees are even seeing her.  She meets a boy named Jackson, whose grandmother had taken care of her grandmother and the house for a long time.  Sarah's relationship with her mother is kind of strained, not to mention the relationship between her mother and father.  This is made even more clear when an old "friend" of her mother's, a Senator, seems to be even more friendly.  The Senator has a son Sarah's age named Richard.  And her mother is encouraging a flirtation between them, even putting them in situations that Sarah feels really awkward in, until it seems maybe Richard is really interested.  But there is something about Jackson as well, they do have a distant relative in common, and maybe more as the book goes on.  Sarah's younger brother Sammy is autistic, but Sarah doesn't mind.  She is very happy to take care of him and be the sister he needs.
There is a mystery around the house, is it haunted?  Or as Jackson tells Sarah, is there a treasure there from a past inhabitant?  And all of this leads up to a big birthday party for Sarah, that her mother decides to throw in order to kind of show off the house and attract buyers.  But the longer they are there, the more connection Sarah feels to the house and her ancestors.  And so it gets harder and harder to think about losing the house.  Something happens at the end, I won't say what, but it is a bit confusing, and I'm not quite sure if it is what I think happened.  So now I'm glad for the sequel, to see what really happened, and what will happen next.
I have to say this was a very original story, to me anyway.  A very detailed ghost story, with a background that leads up to, and only enriches the whole plot.  I definitely recommend this for an interesting read if you like ghost stories with a bit of a mystery aspect to them.

Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I ended up waiting longer than normal to read this next book in one of my favorite series, and really the only mystery series that I read. Normally I would check it out when it first came out, but I was so busy reading other things, that I ended up waiting till it was in paperback and then buying it. And even then, I didn't have the money when it first came out, so it was a month or two after it was released in paperback before I got to read it. And it was kind of nice to get back into this world that the author has created. I like Goldy Bear and her family. I love the relationship she has with her husband Tom who works for the Sheriff's department. They're so cute! I want a husband who will love me just like he loves her the way she is.
As usual though, there has been a murder of someone that Goldy knows, and she has a friend in trouble that she needs to help, but also doesn't know if this person could have anything to do with what is going on. In fact, this is a really complicated mystery, as I might have guessed by the length of the book. Lots of stuff going on. As I saw another reviewer, this was a bit convoluted, but that's okay. I kind of liked how it all tied together at the end. I didn't really guess at first, which you can't, you don't actually know who one of the suspects is until towards the end, and even then, he is just a connection to the main murderer, or not even murderer, but mastermind behind a lot of what was happening. We don't get a lot of time with Arch in this book, he seems to be away at friends a lot. But that has happened more in each passing book.  The recipes, as always, sound wonderful, but also much more difficult than anything I would ever attempt to cook.  I don't mind cooking, but only pretty simple recipes.
Now, here's what shocked me. Goldy says she's 37 in this book. I am wondering, how old was she when the series started back in 1990? Because I remember her being older than me I thought, and now I'm 2, almost 3 years older than her! Makes me feel really old! The ending leaves off that Goldy and Tom of course solve the mystery, after Goldy once again puts herself in danger trying to do it all on her own, and now Tom is thinking he'd like them to have a baby. So, that should be a big part of the next book. Which I hope there is one, although maybe a bit shorter and less convoluted with the mystery next time. All in all, a good read, and a nice visit back in Aspen Meadow with Goldy and her friends and family.

View all my reviews

Waiting on Wednesday: Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I haven't done this in a while, for two reasons. One, I've been pretty busy with the new online class I'm teaching. And two, I haven't been quite sure what books I'm waiting on. But I decided to see when the next book by Diane Mott Davidson was going to be out. I'm not a huge mystery genre fan. But for some reason I just love these books. I do love reading the recipes, and I think occasionally of trying to make them. But seeing as how our main character, Goldie, is a caterer, these are really complicated recipes. One day, though, I will try them.

Right now I can't find a synopsis on the book, so I'll give you a little more background on the series. Goldie is our heroine, when we first meet her, she has divorced her abusive husband and is trying to raise her son Archie on her own with her catering career. She calls her ex-husband "The Jerk" along with another of his ex-wives, Marla, her best friend. It never fails, Goldie tends to find dead bodies wherever she goes to cater. She then wants to solve the mysteries herself, and she does this despite the wishes of detective Tom Schultz. Later in the books Goldie and Tom get married, and of course her sleuthing continues. One other main character is Julian, a young man she mentors in cooking, and he is also a genius in cooking.

I don't know why, but I just love these books, and cannot wait for the next to come out. While I'm glad she takes the time to make each one really good, sometimes I wish she was one of those authors who puts out a book every year so I wouldn't have to wait for my mystery fix. Unfortunately I'll be waiting until April 2011 for this release.

Gateway 15: Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

I'm beginning to feel like most of the Gateway nominees have male protagonists. Not sure, I'm going to look through them again to make sure, but right now I feel like all my stories I'm reading are about boys. I've got 10 more to get read this month, so I guess I'd better get going!!

Anyway, I've seen books by this author at my bookstore, but never read any. This one was okay. The main character is a high school junior, boy, who is a football player. His girlfriend is from a wealthy family. And at the end of sophomore year, her father finds her and Cody together, and then when he sees Clea's grade card, with a low grade for her, a B, he decides to send her away to boarding school. Cody decides to break up with Clea instead of trying to have a long distance relationship.

Well, early into the football season, Cody, who has already had scouts talk to him about college, gets an injury that puts him out for the rest of the school year football season. Soon Cody decides to quit school. About the time he makes this decision, there is a news story that Clea has gone missing. Cody goes to the town of her new boarding school to try to help in the search.

Of course once he gets there, at first he doesn't want to tell anyone who he is. He had received a letter from Clea right before he left, and it mentions that she doesn't know who to trust. So Cody is unsure who he should trust. He meets her classmates, including her new boyfriend, as well as teachers and the people who work at the stable where she keeps her horse. He also meets two different cops, and doesn't know which one is giving him the real truth. Cody gets really close to the answer, and then of course, gets himself in trouble as well.

A good mystery, not sure it is award winning material though.

Gateway 11: The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford

This book was okay. The story was somewhat interesting. Obviously anyone who is interested in mysteries and detective stories will enjoy it. And I wanted to really like it for that reason alone. But all in all, it was kind of eh. I rated it lower because I didn't feel it was probably going to have that interesting of a story line for teenagers. I also don't like that the main characters, just graduated from high school, are drinking beer and going to a bar. Yeah, I know it's naive of me to think that teens don't drink. But I don't feel the blase way it was put out in this book is the best. So, it will be so far, the lowest of all the books I've rated for the Gateway possible nominees.