Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Format I Read: Kindle
Pages: 296
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Stars: 4
Goodreads Link

For those of you who enjoy mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie, but like a little taste of YA, Ten is definitely a book you need to pick up. McNeil eloquently and expertly wove a tale that adapted And Then There Were None in our day and age, with a cast of teenagers who are somehow all connected.

I’m not one to normally read the mystery and thriller genre. My genre is typically romance with a side of paranormal, mystery, thriller, etc. However, above all, Ten was a mystery novel. It had a side of romance, but the main focus was the murder and the suspense. This was a really refreshing change of pace for me! I really adored this novel and couldn’t put it down.

In case you haven’t heard of Ten:

SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

McNeil created a fantastic puzzle that kept the reader guessing. I spent the whole novel trying to figure out who the murderer was; I even fell for McNeil’s trap and guessed the wrong person, just like some of the other characters. In the end, I wasn’t disappointed. The murderer had such an intricate plan and the puzzle fit together perfectly. Everyone’s role made sense and it all just worked.

I also really loved the homage to And Then There Were None. It was cool how McNeil even included a dead fakeout, like Christie does in the novel. In Christie’s mystery, the deaths follow a nursery rhyme about ten little Indians. In McNeil’s story, the deaths follow a different pattern, though every single murder has a meaning. I thought that was a really cool addition to the puzzle! And, of course, the base of the story was the same. A mysteriously absent host invites the characters to a party on an abandoned island with no exit routes.

McNeil also added some cool aspects to make the story realistic. The characters were invited through Facebook. The storm prevented them from getting off the island. It definitely felt more believable. It’s easy to say, “There’s no way they’d be stuck on an island in the 21st century. They have so much technology!” However, McNeil makes sure to cover all of her bases and make it completely plausible that the characters are stranded.

I also really enjoyed the characters. McNeil adds a fantastic layer of casual diversity. There’s a girl with anxiety and other disorders who needs to take medication. There’s a black football star. There’s an Asian singer. It was really refreshing to see such a diverse cast of characters! I also loved all of their backstories, especially the friendship between Meg and Minnie. They had a really complex and interesting history.

Overall, I’d probably give Ten 4.5 stars. It was an interesting, pull-me-in, edge-of-your-seat novel that I ate right up. I’m going to round down to 4 stars, just because it wasn’t a wow book. However, I had no complaints. I’d definitely recommend to anyone looking for a taste of suspense in their TBR!

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

Title: Vengeance Road
Author: Erin Bowman
Format I Read: ARC
Pages: 336
Genres: Historical Fiction, Action
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Stars: 4
Goodreads Link

You see, I’m not usually a one-genre kind of girl. I read just about anything and everything, as long as it’s YA and has at least a trace of romance. I read fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, whatever. But there’s one genre that’s typically no-go territory for me: historical fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read and enjoyed a handful of historical fiction. But it’s not a genre that often graces my TBR. I’ve just never been a girl who likes historical fiction. Until now.

I absolutely loved Vengeance Road: the characters, the voice, the intrigue, the adventure, the action. Bowman created a story that kept me on my toes. My eyes scoured the pages and my fingers were furiously flipping through the book. I found myself completely entranced.

For those who haven’t heard of Vengeance Road:

When Kate Thompson’s father is killed by the notorious Rose Riders for a mysterious journal that reveals the secret location of a gold mine, the eighteen-year-old disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers and justice. What she finds are devious strangers, dust storms, and a pair of brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, she gets closer to the truth about herself and must decide if there's room for love in a heart so full of hate.

Kate was such a fantastic protagonist. From the first page, you’re rooting for her. She’s strong and independent, a true fighter, but she’s also just an eighteen-year-old girl. Yes, she’s her own hero, but she’s simultaneously an orphan whose father was brutally murdered and a teen who doesn’t know what to do with her growing attachment to a certain boy. It was so fantastic to see just how complex Kate was. All of her reactions and actions were justified and realistic; there was no point in the book where I got mad at her for being an idiot (which happens in a lot of books, to be completely honest). I also loved seeing how confused she was about her feelings for Jesse—it was so endearing. Bowman included the perfect sprinkle of romance. Enough to keep me interested, but not enough to overshadow Kate’s own story.

The other characters were just as great as Kate. From Will to Jesse, Pa to Abe, Rose to Lil, each person added so much to the book. I loved the Colton brothers. They balanced each other out so perfectly and were so real. I honestly felt like they could be real people. They didn’t seem like far-off, distant pictures of cowboys at all. They were real people. I really enjoyed Pa, though he’s already dead by the opening scene. It was so great to see Kate’s reactions as she discovers more about her father. He was one of my favorite characters, which is saying a lot, considering he’s dead the entire book! Lil was such a great addition, though she doesn’t enter the story until later. She’s an Apache who acts as Kate and the boys’ scout for part of their trek. I loved the historical insight into the Native Americans. It was so intriguing and interesting! Waylan Rose, the man who Kate is chasing throughout the book, was a great villain. I won’t say more about him, to avoid spoilers, but he was awesome. He was the epitome of the Wild West.

I just loved how accurately the book seemed to capture the setting. From the saloons to the standoffs and poker games, from the fantastic descriptions of the Arizona landscape to the crazy dust storms, I felt like I was really there. I could picture everything. Bowman perfectly captured the setting!

The voice was so well-done. Though the Western dialect is disorienting at first, it helps you enter the world—both place and time—of the novel. It really helped set the tone and made the story that much more realistic. So many props to Ms. Bowman for staying true to the dialect!

Honestly, I could go on about this book for hours. It was truly fantastic. It made my breath catch in my throat, my legs quiver with nervous energy, and my fingers itch to get to the next page. It opened my eyes to the magic of historical fiction. I couldn’t put it down. Even if you don’t like history or Westerns, it’s worth a read!

4.5 stars from me: definitely worthy of a pre-order!

Stacking the Shelves #5

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! It is hosted every week (typically on Saturday) by Tynga's Reviews.

I'm doing a bit of a twist on this and talking about some books that I have added to my shelves in the past. I'm tentatively calling it "Signed Book" Saturday, because I'm going to focus on my collections of signed books!

Today's author that I'm featuring is Katie McGarry!

I've met Katie at two different events: Apollycon 2015 and BEA 2015. I'm in love with her books and I've reviewed both Take Me On and Nowhere But Here on the blog! She writes fantastic characters with complex relationships. I never want to put her books down!

I think my favorite would definitely have to be either Crash Into You or Nowhere But Here. It's a close tie, but I love me some Isaiah and Rachel...

Without further ado:

From Apollycon 2015

From Apollycon 2015

From Apollycon 2015

From Apollycon 2015

From BEA 2015

Have you read any of Katie McGarry's books? Which is your favorite?

Dream Things True by Marie Marquardt

Title: Dream Things True
Author: Marie Marquardt
Format I Read: ARC
Pages: 352
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Stars: 4
Goodreads Link

I can honestly say that, after reading Dream Things True, I will never be the same. The way I look at the world has been completely altered. Marquardt expertly captures the struggle of undocumented immigrants in a way that tugs at your heartstrings until they snap.

For those who aren't familiar with Dream Things True:

A modern-day Romeo and Juliet story in which a wealthy Southern boy falls in love with an undocumented Mexican girl and together they face perils in their hostile Georgia town.

Evan, a soccer star and the nephew of a conservative Southern Senator, has never wanted for much -- except a functional family. Alma has lived in Georgia since she was two-years-old, excels in school, and has a large, warm Mexican family. Never mind their differences, the two fall in love, and they fall hard. But when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) begins raids on their town, Alma knows that she needs to tell Evan her secret. There's too much at stake. But how to tell her country-club boyfriend that she’s an undocumented immigrant? That her whole family and most of her friends live in the country without permission. What follows is a beautiful, nuanced, well-paced exploration of the complications of immigration, young love, defying one’s family, and facing a tangled bureaucracy that threatens to completely upend two young lives.

A quick note before I get more into the review: telling Evan the truth was never really the problem, though the synopsis makes it sound like as much. Alma told Evan about her legal status within the first fourth of the book. The book was about so much more than just a girl hiding the truth from a boy she has a crush on. It was about the way that she opened Evan's mind to the truth and fought the unfair hand that she was given. This book was truly on another level.

Dream Things True struck really close to home for me. The town I live in is eerily similar to Gilberton. Where Gilberton is known for its chicken industry, my town is known for mushroom farming. More than a third of our school district is Hispanic. Immigrants flock to our town for the business they can find in the mushroom houses. Reading about Gilberton felt like I was reading about the town I call home. And that was a bitter reality check for me.

With this book, Marquardt manages to clog your throat, twist your insides, and wet your eyes with the cold, hard truth of our country. Like Evan, I felt like my eyes were opened by Alma and the difficulties she had to face. Evan represented probably 90% of the American population, people living in their own little bubble, completely unaware of the struggles of those around them. Ignorance is bliss, huh?

The story that Marquardt wove struck me in so many ways. She intricately creates a tale of first love, a heart-pounding romance in which Alma finally learns the meaning of swooning. She exposes the reader to the countless obstacles that undocumented immigrants have to overcome: to become more than a teenage pregnancy statistic, to get a scholarship to college, to get a license. All without a Social Security number. To most of us, a Social Security number is nothing more than a number. It's an expectation, not a privilege. We don't see it for the value it holds. For undocumented immigrants, a Social Security number is a dream, a necessity, a blessing. Those digits mean a difference between a job in America and a windswept town in Mexico. I ached for the characters in this book who fought tooth and nail to keep their family together, just because of a silly string of numbers.

Marquardt built a world where every day can mean a loved one is carted away to a jobless town in Mexico. Every day can mean a child's parent is deported. Every day can mean a person is forced into another country, a place that the government says is their home, but that their heart says is a dead end. Except this world is reality for so many people. Dream Things True was more than just a novel--it was an education. It was an eye-opening experience that revealed the truth of the land we call home.

This novel was a perfect balance between bitter and sweet. The romance was heart-wrenching with the purity and passion of first love.  Yet the forces pulling them apart physically pained me: the dreams of a teenage couple tested by the harsh reality of the world. In addition to the romantic chemistry, the familial chemistry was absolutely moving. The large cast of Garcias had such a strong love for each other that I could feel it in my bones. Every character had depth. I particularly loved Evan's cousin (the son of a Senator), Whit. They were more than characters. They were someone that I could pass by on the street. They were real.

Honestly, I couldn't put this book down. I found myself spaztically sharing everything about it with my brothers. I told them about how I couldn't understand the Spanish used in the book, but there were enough context clues that I understood what was meant, making it a kind of adventure to read the Garcia family exchanges. I explained how astounded I was at the truths I was learning. I told them how it was all I could think about yesterday when I went out to lunch. I couldn't stop talking about this damn book. It was stuck in my head, my heart, and my body. And I'm not sure that it'll ever really leave me.

The story itself, the way it all fell together, the way the characters interacted, the way the society betrayed its people, absolutely entranced me. This book was filled with ups and downs, a roller coaster ride of emotions. The last few chapters, especially, were a total whammy. I can't wait to read more books by Marie Marquardt (and read more about immigration legislation, to be honest) because I've been thoroughly hooked.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It was eye-opening and educational, while still being entertaining and captivating. This story of Evan, Alma, and their struggle will stick with me for years to come. Definitely preorder this book--you won't regret it.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Format I Read: ARC
Pages: 320
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Stars: 4
Goodreads Link

Honestly, I'm super conflicted about this book. I really don't know how I feel. My gut instinct says that I'm not quite fulfilled, but my brain tells me that this book was satisfying enough.

I'm caught between 3 and 4 stars--I'm giving it 3.5 with a roundup to 4. It was a fresh, interesting read that kept me entertained enough to read it all in one sitting.

For those who haven't heard of Everything, Everything:

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

The writing was lovely. I really enjoyed the way Yoon tackled the story, including IMs, diagrams, charts, mock book reviews, etc. It made the story easy to get into and easy to read. It also made it fly by! I was sucked in from the beginning. There wasn't a single moment where I got bored or tired of the writing. Yoon really has a knack for words.

Normally, I don't include quotes in my reviews, but there were a few that really stood out to me in Everything, Everything. See the following magical lines:

"I was happy before I met him. But I'm alive now, and those are not the same thing." (ARC 181)

"promise: The lie you want to keep" (ARC 194)--written as a definition in the ARC, reformatted for this review

A lot of Yoon's writing really struck close to home. She has an amazing talent! She gets 5 stars for her writing, for sure.

Unfortunately, the characters and their choices fell a little flat for me. Though I was empathetic with Madeline's feelings, I disagreed with most of her actions. I felt that she was selfish, immature, and unnecessarily cruel at times. She acted more like a pouty fourteen-year-old than an eighteen-year-old adult. Her childishness was mildly understandable, as she's lived the last eighteen years secluded from the world. However, I don't think that's a really valid excuse for what she did. I just couldn't seem to connect with her like I wanted to. Something held me back.

The love story didn't quite resonate with me either. It seemed a little too much like insta-love. I didn't fully see the development there. I loved Olly, and the two were adorable together. I just didn't connect like I wished I had.

I also don't think I liked the ending (no spoilers, I promise). I don't think that it was true to the book. I felt like Yoon took the "easy way out" and found a loophole. It didn't feel genuine, which was very disappointing in a book that was otherwise very promising.

Like I said: lots of conflicting feelings about this book. I liked some things, didn't like other things. Overall, I've decided that it was fairly satisfying. I got through it quickly. It was engaging and interesting. There was a splendid level of diversity that was very refreshing. It was a fresh take on an uncommon topic. I enjoyed, just didn't quite love it!

I'd definitely recommend Everything, Everything as a quick, fresh, different read that will make you think! Also, you can bask in the beautiful words that Nicola Yoon weaves together.

Stacking the Shelves #4

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! It is hosted every week (typically on Saturday) by Tynga's Reviews.

I'm doing a bit of a twist on this and talking about some books that I have added to my shelves in the past. I'm tentatively calling it "Signed Book" Saturday, because I'm going to focus on my collections of signed books!

Today's author that I'm featuring is Jennifer Armentrout!

I've met Jennifer at many events (including Bookcon 2014, Apollycon, and BEA 2015), so I have a fairly big collection of her signed books.

She's super fun, super sweet, and super genuine. She's honestly a book machine, and I admire her so much! She's probably one of the authors that I have the most books from. I have 12 of her books and love her style, humor, and characters.

I've reviewed Fall With Me and Scorched on the blog. But my favorite would have to be Obsidian--I love me some Katy and Daemon with sexual tension!

So without further ado:

From Bookcon 2014

From BEA 2015

From Apollycon 2015

From BEA 2015

From Bookcon 2014

From BEA 2015

From Apollycon 2015

From BEA 2015

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

Title: A Million Miles Away
Author: Lara Avery
Format I Read: ARC
Pages: 320
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Stars: 4
Goodreads Link

I have to admit, I was not planning on liking this book. Honestly, I was dreading reading it. It just didn't sound like a book that I would enjoy. I hate lying and cheating and people's self-brought misery. But A Million Miles Away really surprised me. I actually really liked it! I empathized with the characters way more than I thought I would.

For those who haven't heard of A Million Miles Away:

When high school senior Kelsey's identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her other half. The only person who doesn't know about the tragedy is Michelle's boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can't bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.

As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can't deny that she's falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn't want.

The blurb doesn't do the book justice at all. Based on the synopsis, I found the book completely unbelievable. I didn't understand how someone could do something so cruel and dumb. I hated Kelsey on principle. But once I started reading, I found that I understood and related to the character's decisions. The rabbit hole that they fall down is actually charmingly realistic.

I know that some people were very skeptical about how Peter could've believed that Kelsie was Michelle. But let's look at the facts. Michelle and Peter spent most of their relationship apart, developing their feelings over email and phone calls. This explained why it was so easy for Peter to mistake Kelsey for Michelle, with brief video calls through poor internet connection. Additionally, Peter was grasping at straws. I don't think he ever really needed Michelle to survive his time in Afghanistan. He just needed someone--someone to make him laugh, someone to hold onto. So he didn't care if Michelle wasn't acting like herself, as long as she was a face and a person for him to think and dream about.

And, yes, Michelle and Kelsey are supposed to be as different as night and day. So how on earth could Kelsey pretend to be Michelle? But that's the whole point of the novel. Michelle's death sets Kelsey on the path toward self discovery. She begins realizing that Kelsey, the person who she's been her whole life, was never really Kelsey; she was just the opposite of Michelle, by default. If Michelle liked art, Kelsey hated art. If Michelle liked hot chocolate, Kelsey liked coffee. Kelsey never really found herself before Michelle's death. She was always just the anti-Michelle. So the novel becomes more of Kelsey's exploration of herself, as she tries to find out who exactly she is now that she's not trying to just be "not Michelle."

I really enjoyed the journey that the story forced Kelsey to take. One of the notes I made at the beginning was, "I wish Avery had developed Kelsey and Michelle's relationship more at the beginning so that I could sympathize more." But the lack of foundation turned out to be crucial. Yes, I didn't know about Kelsey and Michelle's relationship. But it turns out that Kelsey didn't know about Kelsey and Michelle's relationship either! The two twins were living in their own little bubble, so determined to stand out and be their own person that they missed out on something huge--each other. Kelsey realizes that she really didn't know Michelle as well as she thought, which is why we never got to know Michelle either. Because Kelsey didn't know her. I felt like that was really key to Kelsey's development.

One thing I didn't like was Kelsey's all-encompassing relationship with Peter. First of all, she has a boyfriend. I hated that she was fostering these feelings for Peter while she was still dating Davis. That really grated on me. Second of all, she completely abandoned her friends for Peter--who was overseas! I hated how she shut out everyone except for this boy. However, when I contemplated it more, I understood that it was all part of Kelsey's grieving process. Going to school and hanging out with her friends reminded her that Michelle wasn't there. But allowing herself to remain in the little Peter bubble that she created let her stay in a world where she didn't have to let go of Michelle.

Overall, I thought that the redeeming quality wasn't the romance, but rather Kelsey's character development and self-exploration. A Million Miles Away completely caught me off-guard; I was shocked to find that I was completely invested and engaged in this novel! I would give it 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 (since it exceeded my admittedly low expectations). I'd definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to read about self-discovery with a little heart-string-tugging on the side.