Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

#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 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 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 Gone Dark by Amanda Panitch @AmandaPanitch @simonteen #GoneDark #AmandaPanitch #SimonTeen

#BookReview Gone Dark by Amanda Panitch @AmandaPanitch @simonteen #GoneDark #AmandaPanitch #SimonTeen Title: Gone Dark

Author: Amanda Panitch

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Apr. 12, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Young Adult

Pages: 448

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Dry meets Hatchet in this thrilling tale of survival following a teen girl who must lead her friends across country to the safety of her estranged father’s survivalist compound after a mass power failure leaves the country in chaos.

When seventeen-year-old Zara escaped her father’s backwoods survivalist compound five years ago, she traded crossbows and skinning hides for electricity and video games…and tried to forget the tragedy that drove her away.

Until a malware attack on the United States electrical grids cuts off the entire country’s power.

In the wake of the disaster and the chaos that ensues, Zara is forced to call upon skills she thought she’d never use again—and her best bet to survive is to go back to the home she left behind. Drawing upon a resilience she didn’t know she had, Zara leads a growing group of friends on an epic journey across a crumbling country back to her father’s compound, where their only hope for salvation lies.

But with every step she takes, Zara wonders if she truly has what it takes to face her father and the secrets of her past, or if she’d be better off hiding in the dark.


Review:

Dark, eerie and compelling!

Gone Dark is a unique, intriguing tale that sweeps you away to California and into the life of Zara Ross, a teenage girl who, after being raised by her father to shoot, hunt, and survive any disaster, heads across the country encountering obstacles, danger, injuries, and limited resources in the hope of seeking refuge on her father’s wooded compound, for herself and a small group of friends, when a malware attack on some of the largest power grids leaves the country reeling and in complete and utter chaos.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are complex, tormented, and resourceful. And the plot is a riveting tale full of suspicious personalities, unreliable characters, unexpected twists, nefarious motivations, terrorism, upheaval, angst, survival, violence, and murder.

Overall, Gone Dark is a gritty, engrossing, creative novel by Panitch that is entertaining, a wee bit disturbing, and the perfect choice for anyone who enjoys a good YA survivalist tale.

 

This book is available now.

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

              

 

 

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

 

About Amanda Panitch

Amanda Panitch spent most of her childhood telling stories to her four younger siblings, trying both to make them laugh and scare them too much to sleep. Now she lives in New York City, where she writes dark, funny stories for teens, kids, and the pigeons that nest on her apartment balcony.

Photo by Cassie Gonzales.