Young Adult

#BookReview Betting on You by Lynn Painter @LAPainter @simonkids @SimonSchusterCA #BettingonYou #LynnPainter #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview Betting on You by Lynn Painter @LAPainter @simonkids @SimonSchusterCA #BettingonYou #LynnPainter #SimonSchusterCA Title: Betting on You

Author: Lynn Painter

Published by: Simon & Schuster BFYR on Nov. 28, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 432

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip.

Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong.

Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?


Review:

Sweet, tender, and light!

Betting On You is a humorous, quirky tale that takes you on a journey into the life of Bailey and Charlie, two teenagers who, after enduring a long flight from Alaska to Nebraska and an instant dislike, spend the next several years bumping into each other until they finally find themselves as coworkers and agreeing to a little fake dating that might prove once and for all enemies can be lovers and opposites do attract.

The writing is witty and smooth. The characters are hesitant, charming, and supportive. And the plot is a delightfully engaging mix of family, friendship, awkward situations, embarrassing moments, teenage angst, dreams, secrets, friendship, and love.

Overall, Betting On You is another cute, adorable, entertaining read by Painter that, as typical when I finish any of her books, has left me smitten, satisfied, and already longing for more.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband and pack of wild children. She’s a biweekly contributor to the Omaha World-Herald’s parenting section, even though she is the polar-opposite of a Pinterest mom. When she isn’t chasing kids, she can be found reading, writing, and shot-gunning Red Bulls.

Photo by Jackson Okun.

#BookReview The Way I Am Now by Amber Smith @ASmithAuthor @simonschuster #TheWayIAmNow #AmberSmith #SimonSchuster

#BookReview The Way I Am Now by Amber Smith @ASmithAuthor @simonschuster #TheWayIAmNow #AmberSmith #SimonSchuster Title: The Way I Am Now

Author: Amber Smith

Series: The Way I Used to Be #2

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Nov. 7, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 432

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster

Book Rating: 10/10

Eden and Josh decide to give their relationship another chance in this much anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Way I Used to Be that explores how to move forward after trauma—in life and in love.

Eden and Josh never had a fair shot at a healthy relationship. When they dated in high school, they each had their own problems getting in the way of the deep connection they felt toward one another. Unbeknownst to Josh, Eden was carrying the burden of a devastating sexual assault, while Josh was dealing with his own private struggle of having an alcoholic father.

Months after Eden and two other girls publicly accuse their rapist, Eden is starting college while her case goes to trial. Now when she and Josh reconnect, it seems like it might finally be in the right place at the right time for them to make it work. But is their love strong enough to withstand the challenges and chaos of college and the crushing realities of a trial that will determine whether Eden gets the justice she deserves?


Review:

Emotional, heart-tugging, and hopeful!

The Way I Am Now is the tender, heartfelt sequel to The Way I Used to Be that takes us back into the life of Eden, a young woman who, after publicly acknowledging being raped by her brother’s best friend, continues to struggle with moving on, the constant dread of a looming trial, strained familial relationships due to overwhelming feelings of anger and guilt, and a reconnection with the one boy she managed to love even when she couldn’t love herself who unfortunately also has baggage of his own.

The prose is raw and sensitive. The characters are vulnerable, scarred, and strong. And the plot is a moving tale of life, love, friendship, family, trust, shame, self-blame, loneliness, sexual assault, accepting love, and the intricacies of the legal system.

Overall, The Way I Am Now is a timely, affecting, optimistically heart-wrenching tale by Smith that packs a real emotional punch and ultimately does an exceptional job of highlighting the enduring psychological and emotional effects of rape and the cultural stigmatization that regrettably often still surrounds it.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amber Smith

Amber Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels The Way I Used to Be, The Last to Let Go, Something Like Gravity, and The Way I Am Now. An advocate for increased awareness of gendered violence, as well as LGBTQ equality, she writes in the hope that her books can help to foster change and spark dialogue surrounding these issues. She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her wife and their ever-growing family of rescued dogs and cats.

Photo by Deborah Triplett

#BookReview People to Follow by Olivia Worley @olivia_worley @WednesdayBooks @StMartinsPress #OliviaWorley #PeopletoFollow #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview People to Follow by Olivia Worley @olivia_worley @WednesdayBooks @StMartinsPress #OliviaWorley #PeopletoFollow #SMPInfluencers Title: People to Follow

Author: Olivia Worley

Published by: Wednesday Books on Oct. 31, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Young Adult

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Ten teen influencers come to a remote island to star in a reality show, but when one of them winds up dead, they realize that this time, the price of being “cancelled” could be their lives.

A reality show on a remote Caribbean island. Ten teen influencers. One dead body.

Welcome to “In Real Life,” the hot new reality show that forces social media’s reigning kings and queens to unplug for three weeks and “go live” without any filters. IRL is supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime, watched closely by legions of loyal followers. But for these rising stars–including Elody, an Instagram model with an impulsive streak; Kira, a child star turned fitness influencer; Logan, a disgraced TikTok celeb with a secret; and Max, a YouTuber famous for exposés on his fellow creators—it’s about to turn into a nightmare.

When the production crew fails to show up and one of their own meets a violent end, these nine little influencers find themselves stranded with a dead body and no way to reach the outside world. When they start receiving messages from a mysterious Sponsor threatening to expose their darkest secrets, they realize that they’ve been lured into a deadly game…and one of them might be pulling the strings.

With the body count rising and cameras tracking their every move, the creators must figure out who is trying to get them canceled—like, literally—before their #1 follower strikes again.


Review:

Intense, tight, and sinister!

People to Follow is a crafty, ominous tale that sweeps you away to a secluded island where ten teen influencers have gathered to film the latest reality TV show, “In Real Life”, but in a group like this, where tensions are high, fame is coveted, deception is rife, everyone has secrets, and someone has a hidden agenda, death is definitely not out of the question.

The writing is sharp and crisp. The characters are self-obsessed, ambitious, and secretive. And the plot is a suspenseful mix of twists, turns, secrets, deception, manipulation, obsession, greed, jealousy, malicious intentions, vengeance, and murder.

Overall, People to Follow is a cunning, edgy, promising debut by Worley that is an eerie reminder of just how corrosive social media can truly be and just how low some people are willing to go to achieve even just a little fame and fortune.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press – Wednesday Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Olivia Worley

Olivia Worley is an author and actor born and raised in New Orleans. A graduate of Northwestern University, she now lives in New York City, where she spends her time writing thrillers, overanalyzing episodes of The Bachelor, and hoping someone will romanticize her for reading on the subway. People to Follow is her debut novel.

#BookReview The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith @ASmithAuthor @simonschuster #TheWayIUsedToBe #AmberSmith #SimonSchuster

#BookReview The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith @ASmithAuthor @simonschuster #TheWayIUsedToBe #AmberSmith #SimonSchuster Title: The Way I Used to Be

Author: Amber Smith

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Mar. 7, 2017

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 376

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster

Book Rating: 9/10

All Eden wants is to rewind the clock. To live that day again. She would do everything differently. Not laugh at his jokes or ignore the way he was looking at her that night. And she would definitely lock her bedroom door.

But Eden can’t turn back time. So she buries the truth, along with the girl she used to be. She pretends she doesn’t need friends, doesn’t need love, doesn’t need justice. But as her world unravels, one thing becomes clear: the only person who can save Eden … is Eden.


Review:

Intense, moving, and impactful!

The Way I Used to Be is a raw, heart-wrenching tale that takes us into the life of Eden, a teenage girl who, after being sexually assaulted in her own bed by her brother’s best friend, spends the next four years of high school, even with the caring affections of a senior, struggling to come to grips with the violation and the constant impulsive need to participate in promiscuous and reckless behaviour in order to feel.

The prose is smooth and tight. The characters are complex, tormented, and angry. And the plot is a compelling tale of rape, isolation, friendship, trust, love, sexual dynamics, fractured relationships, self-destruction, promiscuity, power, shame, violence, denial, pain, and mental health.

Overall, The Way I Used to Be is a tender, gripping, sensitive tale by Smith that packs a real emotional punch and does an exceptional job of highlighting the psychological and emotional devastation caused by rape and the resulting long, complex journey to start healing one’s self.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amber Smith

Amber Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels The Way I Used to Be, The Last to Let Go, Something Like Gravity, and The Way I Am Now. An advocate for increased awareness of gendered violence, as well as LGBTQ equality, she writes in the hope that her books can help to foster change and spark dialogue surrounding these issues. She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her wife and their ever-growing family of rescued dogs and cats.

Photo by Deborah Triplett

#BookReview The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly @jconnollybooks @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #JohnConnolly #TheLandofLostThings #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly @jconnollybooks @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #JohnConnolly #TheLandofLostThings #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Land of Lost Things

Author: John Connolly

Series: The Book of Lost Things #2

Published by: Atria Books on Sep. 19, 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

The redemptive power of stories and family is revealed in New York Times bestselling author John Connolly’s atmospheric tale set in the same magical universe as The Book of Lost Things.

“Twice upon a time—for that is how some stories should continue…”

Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident—a body without a spirit. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud the fairy stories Phoebe loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world.

But an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres. Something wants her to enter, to journey to a land colored by the memories of childhood, and the folklore beloved of her father—a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; a land where old enemies are watching and waiting…

The Land of Lost Things.


Review:

Magical, memorable, and fresh!

The Land of Lost Things is a creative, moving, adventurous novel that takes you into the life of Ceres, a young mother who, after her daughter is involved in a tragic accident that leaves her in a coma and struggling for life, finds herself spending her days reading out loud the fairy tales her daughter once loved until a visit to an old property on the grounds sends her to another world, Elsewhere, where the crooked man once reigned, the fae hide patiently in wait, the dwarfs diligently work, the giants are friends to some and foe to others, and where Ceres will have to fight all kinds of wickedness to find her way back to the light and her ever-sleeping daughter.

The writing is eloquent and expressive. The characters are resourceful, dependable, and fearless. And the plot, using stories within a story, sweeps you away into an engaging, action-packed, heartfelt tale about life, loss, friendship, family, power, heartbreak, parenthood, tragedy, action, loneliness, danger, the magic of books, and love.

Overall, The Land of Lost Things is a unique, immersive, fantastical tale by Connolly that is a beautiful reminder that life is a story, and whether it’s short, long, light, dark, filled with joy or filled with pain, it always has spirit and hope.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About John Connolly

John Connolly is the author of the #1 internationally bestselling Charlie Parker thrillers series, the supernatural collection Nocturnes, the Samuel Johnson Trilogy for younger readers, and (with Jennifer Ridyard) the Chronicles of the Invaders series. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

#BookReview All That We Never Were by Alice Kellen @AliceKellen_ @SourcebooksCasa #AliceKellen #AllThatWeNeverWere #LetItBe #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview All That We Never Were by Alice Kellen @AliceKellen_ @SourcebooksCasa #AliceKellen #AllThatWeNeverWere #LetItBe #SourcebooksCasa Title: All That We Never Were

Author: Alice Kellen

Series: Let It Be #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Aug. 29, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8/10

International bestselling author Alice Kellen will flood you in emotion, following two star-crossed lovers whose destiny is inexorably intertwined.

He’ll do anything to bring the light back into her eyes.

19-year-old Leah Jones used to love her life. Now, she can barely get out of bed in the morning. Still shaken by the sudden loss of her parents, her 29-year-old older brother is the only person she has left to keep her from falling into an emotional abyss. But as he prepares to move across the country for work, soon he’ll be gone too, and Leah will have no one. 

Axel Nguyen is her brother’s best friend, and the natural person to turn to. Seeing Leah so despondent is a punch to Axel’s gut. At her brother’s request, Axel drops everything to move Leah in with him, to meet her every need. He’s determined to push her to her limits, to break down the walls she’s built to protect her fragile heart. Little does he know, she has loved him forever, and now his love for her expands to so much more. As Leah and Axel’s undeniable bond grows stronger, Axel must break Leah’s heart in order to guarantee her the life he knows she deserves…

Fans of Colleen Hoover, Anna Todd, and B. Celeste will immerse in this thrill of a heartbreaking emotional rollercoaster.


Review:

Absorbing, romantic, and emotional!

All That We Never Were is an intimate, moving tale that sweeps you away to small-town Australia and into the life of Leah Jones, a nineteen-year-old girl who, after suddenly losing her parents in a tragic car accident, struggles to find any light in her life until her brother heads out of town to work and she is placed under the care of the one man who she’s always had a crush on, her brother’s best friend Axel, who may develop more than platonic feelings of his own while he shares a roof and does whatever he can to bring passion and colour back to her world.

The writing style is heartfelt and smooth. The characters are tormented, fragile, and endearing. And the plot is a rollercoaster ride of life, love, loss, grief, tension, PTSD, comfort, support, family, friendship, and undeniable attraction. 

Overall, All That We Never Were is a touching, immersive, tender start to the Let It Be duology by Kellen that had just the right amount of intensity, angst, romance, and passion to keep me invested from start to finish and a cliffhanger ending that left me more than a little eager to see how this story could possibly end.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Alice Kellen

Alice Kellen is an international bestselling author of romantic fiction. She writes stories with universal, crossover themes such as love, friendship, insecurities, losses and longing for a brighter future, connecting with younger and older readers alike. She lives in Valencia, Spain with her family.

#BookReview Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong @TundraBooks @PenguinRandomCA #SomeoneIsAlwaysWatching #KelleyArmstrong #PenguinRandomCA

#BookReview Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong @TundraBooks @PenguinRandomCA #SomeoneIsAlwaysWatching #KelleyArmstrong #PenguinRandomCA Title: Someone Is Always Watching

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Published by: Tundra Books on Apr. 11, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Young Adult

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

Blythe and her friends—Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya—have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.

The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.

Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?


Review:

Intense, intricate, and twisty!

Someone Is Always Watching is a complex, psychological thriller that takes you into the life of a close-knit group of teens, all students at a private, prestigious STEM academy who, after one of their friends begins to exhibit unusual behaviours, becomes obsessed with the idea that the security cameras are always watching, and is found covered in blood at the scene of the Vice Principal’s death, begin to try and unravel what actually happened and what their ever-increasing nightmares and troubling, fragmented memories really mean.

The writing style is tight and sinister. The characters are vulnerable, determined, and resourceful. And the plot is an action-packed, ominous tale full of secrets, deception, tragedy, friendship, childhood trauma, red herrings, self-identification, experimentation, and shocking revelations.

Overall, Someone Is Always Watching is a menacing, mystifying, sinuous tale that is the first YA novel I’ve had the chance to read by Armstrong, but with its abundance of intrigue, action, deduction, and adventure surely won’t be my last.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Photograph by Kathryn Hollinrake.

#BookReview Rogue by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #RogueBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Rogue by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #RogueBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa Title: Rogue

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series: Prep #2

Published by: Bloom Books on Mar. 7, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 430

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

From New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy comes the return to Sandover Prep, where secrets lurk in the dark and no one is safe when they come into the light.

It’s been a long time since Casey Tresscott has felt like her life was her own. After the car accident that nearly cost her everything, she’s used to her family’s coddling and the relentless whispers at school, no matter how much they sting. After all, she’s found a safe harbor in her budding relationship with Sandover’s golden boy, Fenn Bishop…or so she thinks.

Beneath Fenn’s pretty, party-boy surface is a dangerous truth about the night Casey almost died. He thought lying to her was the right thing to do, but when the secret shakes loose, he just might lose her for good.

Because Casey is done being taken advantage of.

Grasping for the control she’s been missing, Casey finally snaps―telling off her bullies, gallivanting with rebels and playboys, and shirking her headmaster father’s strict curfews, despite the consequences. A desperate Fenn must ally with his stepbrother RJ and the other Sandover delinquents to uncover the full story of Casey’s accident and the ones responsible if he hopes to win her back.

But what happens if Casey is no longer the same girl he first fell for? Is there any hope for their future if she’s gone rogue for good?


Review:

Mysterious, scandalous, and spicy

Rogue is an addictive, alluring tale that transports you back to Sandover Prep right where Misfit leftover and into the life of Headmaster Tresscott’s youngest daughter Casey as she struggles to discover what really happened the night she almost died, finally confronts the bullies who taunt her day in and day out, and must decide if the boy of her dreams is worth giving a second chance.

The writing is intriguing and smooth. The characters are tormented, hedonistic, and impulsive. And the plot is a clever, captivating mix of mayhem, mischief, friendship, family, heartbreak, desire, teenage drama, first loves, and introspection.

Overall, Rogue is a highly entertaining, delectable treat that is another fantastic addition to what is ultimately turning out to be an absolutely binge-worthy, scandalous Prep series by Kennedy.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

#BookReview Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare @cassieclare @SimonSchusterCA #ChainofThorns #TheLastHoursTrilogy #CassandraClare #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare @cassieclare @SimonSchusterCA #ChainofThorns #TheLastHoursTrilogy #CassandraClare #SimonSchusterCA Title: Chain of Thorns

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Last Hours #3

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Jan. 31, 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 800

Format: Hardcover

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

James and Cordelia must save London—and their marriage—in this conclusion to the Last Hours series from author Cassandra Clare.
Chain of Thorns is a Shadowhunters novel.

Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.

After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.

Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.

For time is short, and Belial’s plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.


Review:

Intense, action-packed, and thrilling!

Chain of Thorns is a suspenseful, gripping tale that takes us back to Edwardian London and into the lives of the most powerful Shadowhunter families in existence as they join forces to use their knowledge, weapons, and special talents to once and for all conquer demonic magic and vanquish Belial, the Prince of Hell, for good.

The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, dependable, and fearless. And the plot is a riveting tale full of twists, turns, angst, loyalty, duty, heartbreak, danger, family, friendship, love, sizzling tension, tormented pasts, and supernatural abilities.

Overall, Chain of Thorns is an imaginative, passionate, epic, fantastical novel by Clare that is bursting with soul-searching dilemmas, sizzling romance, dangerous quests, and complex, intriguing characters. And while it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing cast of characters I’ve come to be invested in over these last three novels, it is nevertheless a superb ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles. She is also the coauthor of the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Her books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats.

Photo by Kelly Campbell.

#BookReview Misfit by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #MisfitBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Misfit by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #MisfitBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa Title: Misfit

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series: Prep #1

Published by: Bloom Books on Nov. 29, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 10/10

Finding out your mom is marrying some rich dude you’ve never met is enough to make any eighteen-year-old guy’s head spin. But for RJ SHAW, it only gets worse: he’s being sent to Sandover Prep for senior year. If there’s one place a misfit hacker like RJ doesn’t belong, it’s an ivy-covered all-boys boarding school for rich delinquents.

RJ knows his stay at Sandover will be temporary. Which means there’s no point making friends or trying to fit in. But the plan to remain antisocial goes awry when he meets a gorgeous girl in the woods on campus. SLOANE TRESSCOTT is pure temptation, with a sharp tongue and an ice princess attitude RJ’s determined to crack. Except there’s a catch. Sloane is the one girl he is forbidden from touching.

The headmaster’s daughter.

Good thing RJ doesn’t believe in rules. Sure, Sloane insists she’s swearing off guys this year, but their connection is impossible to deny. He wants her bad, and he’s going to win her over if it kills him.

Unless her ex-boyfriend kills him first.

DUKE, the ruling king of Sandover, will stop at nothing to get rid of his competition. Luckily, RJ’s unwittingly made some friends—his new stepbrother FENN, a pretty boy with a self-destructive streak; LAWSON, self-proclaimed agent of chaos; and SILAS, the All-American Good Guy who can’t actually be as nice as he seems.

If RJ wants to survive prep school and win Sloane’s heart, he’ll need to adapt—and fast.


Review:

Captivating, sexy, and outrageously entertaining!

Misfit is a seductive, engaging tale that transports you to Sandover Prep, an elite all-boys school for rich delinquent teens that has all the usual fare, entitled students, unrelenting bullies, sexual promiscuity, forbidden romance, naughty behaviour, and innumerably delicious scandals.

The writing is steamy and fun. The characters are rebellious, self-indulgent, and secretive. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, is a passionate, promiscuous, coming-of-age tale full of familial troubles, teenage angst, palpable attraction, witty banter, excessive indulgence, romance, friendship, and love.

Overall, Misfit is a wildly addictive, sinfully salacious, exceptionally absorbing novel by Kennedy that immersed me so thoroughly in the decadence, lifestyle, drama, luxuries, and scandalous behaviour of the characters I never wanted to put it down. It’s truly a guilty pleasure that undoubtedly not only left me craving for more but already counting down the days until I can get my hands on the second book in the series Rogue, publishing on March 7, 2023.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

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