“Girl, Serpent, Thorn” by Melissa Bashardoust

Coming this Tuesday, July 7th!

Melissa Bashardoust wrote one of my favorite books of 2017, Girls Made of Snow and Glass (an awesome Snow White retelling), so when I saw Girl, Serpent, Thorn, I knew I had to pick it up. Plus I mean — LOOK AT THAT COVER.

Soraya has been cursed since she was a baby. Any living creature she touches dies almost instantly. Because of this, she has remained essentially a prisoner of her family’s palace, never interacting with people, only tending to her garden and reading to pass the time.

But when her family comes to stay for the season, they have brought along a demon they captured on their journey — and it happens to be the same kind of demon that could offer answers to Soraya about her curse — and if it’s possible to break free of it.

With the help of a new friend, Soraya has much to learn about who is telling the truth in her life, but more importantly, about what power she holds within herself. There’s so much to this story that I can’t even get into without spoiling it for you, so you’ll just have to read and see for yourself!

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a super fun fantasy with twists and turns, secrets to unfold, and a love that Soraya thought she’d never have the chance to find. A deliciously poisonous read, you won’t be able to put it down without finding out what happens next!

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Purchase the book here!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“Beach Read” by Emily Henry

I’m going to put this really simply and bluntly: it’s been a rough couple of months for all of us. If you need an escape and an injection of happiness and witty banter, you need to read Beach Read.

When bestselling author January goes through a breakup and her father unexpectedly passes away, she must take on the daunting task of cleaning out and selling his cabin in Michigan (the one he shared with his mistress). She’s the queen of the happy ending in her books, but now she’s not sure that those are even real. Which makes her other summer task difficult: writing her next novel before her publisher drops her.

But little does January know, she’s moved in next door to none other than her college rival, Augustus (Gus), who is also a bestselling author, but of the literary, almost snobbish type. Both January and Gus think the other’s genre is hacky and easy to write, so they make a bet. They’ll write their next books as the other’s preferred genre, and the one that sells better wins. Part of this deal is research “dates” — January takes Gus to the carnival rolling through town, and Gus takes January on an interview with a former cult member.

But despite some darker tidbits and themes, this book is really fun. The two clearly like each other, but are trying to play hard to get. The book is full of fun banter that made me laugh, and awesome imagery in one of my favorite places, northern Michigan. Ultimately, it’s a fun read that can take you away to an easier time for a while. And we all kind of need that right now.

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Purchase your copy here (Amazon). Or join Book of the Month Club (where I got my copy of Beach Read) here and get your first book for $5.

Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“You Are Not Alone” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

New this week!

Folks, Hendricks and Pekkanen have done it again. I loved The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl, so I knew You Are Not Alone would be a hit.

Hendricks and Pekkanen have a knack for writing compelling thrillers that aren’t boring in the build-up. (That’s one of my recent beefs with thrillers. I get sick of reading 80% of the book confused, then finding out all the answers at the very end.) With these authors, they give you the whodunit thriller that you want, but throw in interesting pieces to keep you guessing and not completely in the dark. I will read anything these two put out without hesitation.

You Are Not Alone bounces between several characters’ points of view. Shay Miller is a young woman living in New York, just stumbling through life, trying to figure out where she belongs. On the way to an interview one day, she witnesses the suicide of another young woman on the subway platform. From that day forward, Shay’s life will never be the same.

Cassandra and Jane Moore are two sisters that get what they want in life. They have a tight-knit group of friends that are like family to them, and they’ll protect each other no matter the cost. So when a mysterious girl (Shay) shows up at their friend Amanda’s memorial service after her suicide, they aren’t sure what her motives are. Did Amanda tell Shay something about the group’s secret? Does she know too much?

The sisters take Shay under their protective wing to find out more — they need to see if Shay should be taken care of (in a good way or a bad way). But no one is who they seem in this book, so you’ll keep guessing until the very end.

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Buy the book here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“The Book of Essie” by Meghan Maclean Weir

Told in three perspectives, The Book of Essie is the story of what happens when a Christian reality TV family finds out one of the daughters is pregnant. They will go to any length to protect their reputation, celebrity, show, and ultimately — power and wealth.

Essie, 17, is pregnant. Her parents have decided that the best way to deal with the situation is to marry her off quickly and pretend the baby belongs to the husband. Essie doesn’t like her life in the spotlight and disagrees with what her parents are doing. She knows how fake everyone is in her world and is generally disillusioned with the world, ready to escape her small town.

Rourke, a year older at Essie’s high school, is “chosen” to be Essie’s husband. He is appalled at what his parents are willing to do to save their business and be set for life. But at the same time…he really wants to go to Columbia. And he wants his parents to be financially stable. But he really also doesn’t want to be a celebrity, and he really doesn’t want to marry Essie and be a part of the strict, religious family he’s grown up watching on television and in real life.

Liberty Bell, now a journalist, earned her spotlight for being an escaped member of a cult. The cult leader is not only in jail now, and has Liberty’s mom petitioning for his release, but Liberty hates him with everything she is because he is responsible for her sister’s death so many years ago. Essie knows about Liberty’s story, and she asks to be put through interviews on Liberty’s show to give an “inside look” to the viewers before her whirlwind marriage.

Full of twists, shocking moments, and horrifying revelations, The Book of Essie is one of the most bingeable books I’ve picked up this year. I initially got it as my June Book of the Month, but ended up listening to the audiobook. The audiobook has amazing narrators and I could not turn it off!

If you like celebrity drama, teenage angst mixed with real problems, journalistic investigations, and a real, down-to-earth American story, this one is for you.

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Buy the book here.

Sign up for Book of the Month here. I love it so much!

[It should also be mentioned that there are a few content warnings: rape, homophobia, murder, general bad treatment of children. However, these things are not condoned in the book.]

Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.