“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.

“Slayer” by Kiersten White

It’s no secret to many who know me — I absolutely *adore* Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve watched it several times (PSA: It’s on Hulu!) and it never ceases to make me laugh, cry, laugh again, and cry some more. (I’m looking at you, “The Body”.)

So when I heard there was a Slayer book coming out, I knew there was no options. I was going to buy it, and I was going to buy it immediately. The stakes were high (pun intended) — would it hold up? Would it make me furious, another adaptation of my faves gone wrong?

Turns out, I LOVED IT.

Slayer starts out after the last season of the show ends, where Buffy rids the world of magic. Or something. But here’s where it’s different from the show, and a wholly awesome new perspective into the Slayer world. The story is told from the

 perspective of Nina, a teen girl who has grown up in the Watcher’s Academy and has spent her life learning how to become a healer. Her twin sister, Artemis, is also there, and she is more of the violent Watcher “type”, always feeling Nina like she is a bit of an outsider.

But then everything changes. Because (and the synopsis says it better than I can) “Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.”

Talk about pressure.

So you’ve got a Slayer, Watchers, teens and adults, demons, romantic interests, the works! And most importantly, the “who is the bad guy” trope. Is it him? Is it her? It’s her! No wait, is it him? I love this type of storyline so much — it keeps you guessing from beginning to end.

Anyway — If you loved Buffy Summers, you’ll love Nina and Artemis and all of their friends (and foes). There is supposedly more of this story to come, and I can’t wait for them to SLAY me like this one did. 😉

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Buy your copy here!

[Bonus: I listened to the audiobook of this book, and it’s killer!]

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

Audiobooks I Love

I read tons of audiobooks every year. They are always playing in the background: when I’m driving, sometimes when working, when cleaning the house, and combining other favorite hobbies like doing puzzles.

I get asked for recommendations all the time, so I thought I’d put together a post with some of my all-time favorites; the audiobooks I push on all of my bookish friends and never stop talking about. I’ll link to my review, if I have one for that particular title.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin – Amazon

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Amazon

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Amazon

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Amazon

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – Amazon

The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling – Amazon

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir – Amazon

The Martian by Andy Weir – Amazon

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston – Amazon

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han – Amazon

Sideways by Rex Pickett – Amazon

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – Amazon

 

There’s a whole secondary section of audiobooks I love: memoirs. I love celebrity memoirs, memoirs of people who had extraordinary adventures, memoirs of just interesting or funny people.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain – Amazon

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham – Amazon

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer – Amazon

The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives by Theresa Brown – Amazon

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed – Amazon

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman – Amazon

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson – Amazon

 

So there you go! Enjoy some new recommendations for audiobook bliss. Let me know in the comments if you have listened to any of these or are looking forward to trying them out!

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

Blog Tour: “In Another Life” by CC Hunter

I’m pleased to be a part of the blog tour for In Another Life by CC Hunter, releasing today!

Check out the book’s description:

What would you do if your whole life was a lie and learning the truth could cost you your life?

From New York Times bestselling author of the Shadow Falls series comes C. C. Hunter’s new YA thriller about a girl who learns that she may have been kidnapped as a child, and must race to uncover the truth about her past before she winds up a victim.

Chloe was three years old when she became Chloe Holden, but her adoption didn’t scar her, and she’s had a great life. Now, fourteen years later, her loving parents’ marriage has fallen apart and her mom has moved them to Joyful, Texas. Starting twelfth grade as the new kid at school, everything Chloe loved about her life is gone. And feelings of déjà vu from her early childhood start haunting her.

When Chloe meets Cash Colton she feels drawn to him, as though they’re kindred spirits. Until Cash tells her the real reason he sought her out: Chloe looks exactly like the daughter his foster parents lost years ago, and he’s determined to figure out the truth.

As Chloe and Cash delve deeper into her adoption, the more things don’t add up, and the more strange things start happening. Why is Chloe’s adoption a secret that people would kill for?

How awesome does that sound?! Questions and intrigue everywhere! You can buy your copy here.

[A Personal Note From Ellie: With the recent flooding in my home state (NE) and helping my family clean up their water-damaged basement, I was unable to finish the entire book by today, but what I read so far was definitely intriguing! This post is a spotlight on the book to recommend it to my readers, but I won’t be including a rating as I normally do until I finish reading completely.]

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

Blog Tour: “White Stag” by Kara Barbieri

New release Tuesday!

I’m so excited to ring in the new year by participating in the blog tour for White Stag!

Janneke has spent 100 years as a thrall (basically a human slave) to the young goblin lord Soren. Previously, she “belonged” to Lydian, Soren’s cruel and sadistic uncle, and before that, lived in her family’s village before Lydian burned it down. When the goblin king dies, the hunt begins to have a new power on the throne, and Janneke is determined not to let Lydian become the new Erlking. The first to find the mystical white stag and kill it to claim the throne wins.

White Stag is a YA fantasy that takes a new spin on Goblins and changelings and adds a quest or hunt-like feel similar to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and also feels like a better-written cousin of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas — a young human woman coming into her own and discovering that she is just as powerful as the magical beings around her.

(Also, I do want to note a few quick content warnings: Physical and emotional abuse, several graphic rape scenes/memory sequences, gore, mutilation. This list is not comprehensive and I urge caution if this content may negatively affect your well-being.)

Purchase the book here.

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

Blog Tour: “What They Don’t Know” by Nicole Maggi + Giveaway!

I’m excited to be a part of the ~*Official Blog Tour*~ for What They Don’t Know by Nicole Maggi, out today!

When their high school teacher assigns journal entries as homework, Mellie and Lise find they have plenty to offload into their diaries.

Mellie is the daughter of the mayor, who makes it well-known that he is super conservative — plus, now he’s running for senate. Mellie’s family is in the spotlight all the time, and it becomes increasingly more urgent that she deal with her secret. She was raped. And now she’s pregnant.

Lise has always felt that she was intuitive to people’s feelings. When her grade-school friend, Mellie, starts behaving differently, Lise is the only one who notices. She’s the only one that reaches out. And to Mellie’s luck, Lise is just the friend that she needs during this difficult time in her life.

What They Don’t Know takes a good, hard look at what it is like for someone to go through the tough decision to have an abortion as an unwed teen in a conservative world. Plus, Mellie has the added trauma of her pregnancy being a result of a rape. Stories come out daily of these abuses against women (and others, too), so it’s a poignant topic.

In these political climes, with laws restricting the bodily rights of cis female, non-binary, and trans individuals, books like this will become increasingly important. Abortion is a difficult life choice to make, and Nicole Maggi explores the feelings Mellie has — the knowledge she obtains, that no one can know how this situation feels until they find themselves in it. The decision to control one’s own body, to be free to make their own choice.

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Buy the book here.

You can also click here to enter to win a copy in this giveaway sponsored by Sourcebooks Fire!

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.

“Sadie” by Courtney Summers

It’s no secret to those who know me — I love a good mystery. I enjoy true crime books, shows, and podcasts (My Favorite Murder 😍), not to mention mystery books and detective stories, be they true or fiction.

So at BookExpo in May, when I heard about a YA mystery called Sadie, I was all in.

The story follows two threads:

The first thread is Sadie’s story, in which she vows to avenge her younger sister Mattie’s unsolved murder. Growing up in a trailer park with an addict mother, Sadie was neglected early in life. When Mattie was born, Sadie took over the role of mother, promising herself that Mattie would have a loving childhood to look back on.

The second thread follows a podcast called The Girls that reminded me of Serial and Up and Vanished. The host, West McCray, does his best to track down Sadie, doing research and interviewing those who knew her before, as well as those who meet Sadie on her quest for justice. Another cool thing to note: the podcast is actually real — it’s called The Girls: Find Sadie (find it anywhere you listen to podcasts). It follows the first several “podcast chapters” in Sadie, and man, is it chilling and well-done.

Sadie is equal parts thrilling, tragic, fascinating, and horrifying. There’s a murder, all kinds of abuse, road trips, new friends, new enemies, and ultimately, a mystery that you won’t be able to put down.

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Buy the book here.
Listen to the podcast on Apple 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.

“Not Her Daughter” by Rea Frey

New release Tuesday!

Not Her Daughter is an interesting mystery/thriller that explores the interesting moral question of When is kidnapping okay? Is it okay if the daughter doesn’t get enough fun and mental stimulation? Is it okay if the younger brother gets more love and attention? Is it okay if the mother is abusive?

Sarah is the CEO of a new educational tool called TACK, and spends much of her time in schools, presenting the product and researching new innovations. When a massive coincidence puts Sarah near little Emma twice, both times when she seems to have a horrible family, she decides she must take action. She must take Emma away from her sad, painful life, and give her a happy, fulfilled, and fun life.

Amy, Emma’s mother, is just so tired. Tired of the fights, of her lack of self-confidence, of her lack of caring anymore. One evening, Emma just won’t listen. She just wants Emma to behave and not make messes or do anything to disturb the family. When Amy snaps and slaps Emma’s face, Emma runs into the woods in the backyard that she frequents as a hiding spot. Mentally exhausted and angry, Amy locks the back door to punish Emma, then accidentally falls asleep in the bedroom from pure tiredness.

Sarah, who was in the woods during Amy and Emma’s fight, decides that her chance is now or never. She takes Emma, gets her new clothes and toys, and begins the most dangerous adventure of her life: Keeping Emma safe, and keeping herself out of jail when the family finally realizes their daughter is missing.

Told from the Amy and Sarah’s perspectives, plus mixed between “Before,” “Now,” and “After,” this book has many threads and twists that will keep you glued to the page. It’ll have you asking the same questions Sarah has — When is kidnapping okay? Would I do the same thing in her situation? Would I turn her in? — and you’ll keep wondering long after turning the last page.

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Order Not Her Daughter 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.

“From Twinkle with Love” by Sandhya Menon

New release Tuesday!

Twinkle Mehra has big plans for her life. She’s going to get popular, get her best friend back, and fall madly in love with the mega-popular Neil Roy, and then she’s going to get into the film school of her dreams and become a famous filmmaker.

But lofty plans rarely are accomplished the way we want.

When Sahil Roy, Neil’s twin, approaches Twinkle with the idea for a gender-swapped Dracula film for an upcoming film festival, she is excited. She gets to make a film, and Sahil can probably get her close to her crush, Neil!

Twinkle is a Desi character, so reading this book, much like in When Dimple Met Rishi by Menon, I was excited to see a diverse family and to learn more about their culture. For instance, when Sahil comes to Twinkle’s house, instead of where I might call my friend’s parent “Mr. Jones” or by their first name, in this culture they call them “Uncle or Aunt (first name).”

(And yes, I know these diverse titles by WOC are not meant to educate white people, but instead so that all people can find themselves represented in books. However, I do take the opportunity to learn about different cultures and diverse reads like Twinkle help me educate myself.)

Beyond the awesome diversity in this book, the story is just adorable and squee-worthy. It’s a young adult contemporary, so you know it has a happy ending.

I liked From Twinkle with Love significantly more than When Dimple Met Rishi (which I did quite enjoy), so if you liked Dimple, you’ll like Twinkle! I can’t wait for the next installment, When Ashish Met Sweetie due out in 2019.

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Buy From Twinkle with Love here.
Buy When Dimple Met Rishi 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.