“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.

“The Night Before” by Wendy Walker

The Night Before is a keep-you-guessing mystery told in the always classic chronologically mixed format — alternating between “Present Day,” “Months Ago,” and of course, “The Night Before”.

Laura Heart has a shady past and a knack for overthinking her romantic relationships. When she goes through her most recent breakup with “Asshole,” she packs her bags and moves from NYC back to her childhood home to live with her sister, Rosie. Rosie, her husband Joe, and their neighbor Gabe, all are connected by proximity, but also by the fact that they were best friends growing up in that same neighborhood. They know each others’ childhood secrets, which for some, are more sinister than is typical.

To ease Laura’s heartache, Rosie helps Laura craft a dating profile and get a date with a respectable, mature, older man — one who would seemingly have a stable life to help Laura keep her head straight. When Laura doesn’t return from her date, her family fears the worst.

This book is a master class in the unreliable narrator, the alternating-time chapters, in leading you down the road only for you to find it wasn’t taking you where you thought.

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Pre-order the book here (releases May 14, 2019)

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.

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: “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.