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Thursday 28 June 2018

Bookish Bingo Updates - final call

Sequel - Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber

Blue Cover - The Dazzling Heights (The Thousandth Floor #2) by Katherine McGee

Pirates - The Unbinding Of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

Religion - The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oaks

 

I'm changing my pick for Metallic letting because my Uk paperback of Children of Blood and Bone only has shiny silver lettering down the side not on the front. I'll use Children of Blood and Bone for the freebie square and the UK paperback of Renegades by Marissa Meyer for Metallic letting, (the uk paperback is covered in shiny metallic blue writing and decoration)

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1769980/bookish-bingo-updates-final-call

Saturday 23 June 2018

Continued Summer Bingo updates

A book you've been putting off: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

LGTBIA+: Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst

2018 Debut: The Window by Amelia Brunskill

Red Cover: The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen

Scifi: Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1768336/continued-summer-bingo-updates

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Review: Look for Me

Review:

Look for Me (D. D. Warren) - Lisa Gardner

Review - Look For Me

 

I received a copy from Netgalley 

 

This was something I received from one of those read it now for the first 100 members or so. Is usually like murder mysteries and police procedurals so this one caught my eye and I was lucky and quick enough to get in on the read it now. 

 

However, I didn't realise at the time it was book 9 in an on going detective series. I did flit through some of the mixed reviews on Goodreads and it looks like each book can be read as a stand alone, but of course, coming in on book 9 there's background history to the characters and things about on going relationships you're just not going to know. 

 

And frankly, the whole thing was kind of bland. The mystery itself was intriguing enough, a family is found murdered, working mom and her boyfriend, and two young children, the teenage daughter and the family dogs are missing. Is the daughter a victim for is she the suspect? And as the investigation continues the narrative is twisted so it could be either one. 

 

It's a tough case, and the family and the teen girl in question were the only characters I really felt anything for. The mom was a recovering alcoholic who lost her children and worked really hard to get them back. The oldest daughter was the one who took care of the family until CPS got involved and the kids were forced into care. The two sisters stayed together but they were separated from the youngest child, a new kind of hell to deal with. The girls went through a nightmare in the foster care group home they were assigned to. The mom pulled herself together met the legal requirements for having her kids returned to her. Life wasn't easy but it was getting better. They moved and started fresh. 

 

Then mom met a new boyfriend. A decent guy, but he lived in the area where the nightmare group home was. 

 

And now there is a tragedy. The two detectives have to piece together what happened to the family. I didn't get much feeling for either of the two detectives, everything felt - at least to me -  two dimensional, boring and wooden. The emotion came from the family drama, and some of the history of what happened to them learned through a series of essays written by the missing teenager about what family means to her. 

 

There's a second non-official investigator on the case, a woman called Flora, who seems to be some sort of victims' advocate. She survived a horrible tragedy herself (the plot of a previous book in the series) linking her with the detectives. She's struggling to cope but getting on with her life by running a support group for other victims. She was an interesting character, I am actually kind of interested in knowing more about Flora. She became a key part in solving the mystery and helping unravel the case.

 

The end was a bit eye rolling and over dramatic for my tastes . I'm not interested in going out and get all the other books in this series. I may try this author again in a different series. While the characters were a little dull, there was enough intrigue in the case itself to keep reading to know what happened. And I didn't actually guess what happened.

 

Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to view the title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1767434/review-look-for-me

Saturday 16 June 2018

Even more summer bingo updates

Someone Else's Pick for you - Time Shifters Episode one of the Chronicles of the Harekaiin (recommended by Lora's Rants and Reviews)

Adventure - Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Set During Wartime - Reign the Earth by A.C.Guaghen

Travel - Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier

Metallic Lettering - Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 

 

So that leaves

LGBT+ (I have so many books for this square I just need to pick one)

Red Cover

Blue Cover - possible pick The Dazzling Heighs by Katherine MgGee (second book in the Thousandth Floor trilogy, UK paperback has a lovely shiny blue cover)

Sequel

2018 Debut

Religion

Scifi

Pirates

A Book You've Been Putting Off - possible pick - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (I've had this as soon as it came out but I've been putting it off forever worried I'll be the black sheep - it's a very important book, what if I don't like it? Or Illuminae - I have this entire trilogy but never got round to reading it. Illuinae would work for sci-fi too. Always and Forever Lara Jean - I love this series to pieces but if I read the last book the series will be over. 

Freebie

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1766210/even-more-summer-bingo-updates

Thursday 14 June 2018

Review: Undead Girl Gang

Review:

Undead Girl Gang - Lily Anderson

Review: Undead Girl Gang

 

I received a copy from Penguin's First To Read.

 

This. Book. Was. Awesome. 

 

I absolutely loved it, from start to finish. I loved it so much I bought a finished hard back. There are some books you know from the tone of the first page if you're going to love them and the main character, and for me, this was one of those books. 

 

I felt a connection with Milla right away. I loved her don't give a fuck snarky tone. She's clearly grieving, the book opens with her best friend Riley's funeral. She has quite an interesting perspective on the funeral itself, a bunch of people from their school wailing and crying who would never have given Riley the time of day. Riley died in mysterious circumstances. The third death to happen to students from their class recently. Two of the schools most popular mean girls June and Dayton were also found deceased recently in what looked like a suicide pact. 

 

Neither Riley nor Milla fit in with the other students, they were heavily into Wicca, spending all their time at the local new-age magic shop or an abandoned house they found where they practice their spells and hang out. Riley's family own the local funeral home and Riley found herself a outcast, she and Milla connected and became best friends and have been for years. Though she'll never admit it Milla has an epic crush on Riley's hot, popular older brother Xander.

 

He's actually talking to her after the funeral. Milla is struggling with school, mandated meetings with the school shrink, and certain people (namely her chem lab partner) being a dick about her weight. She has two annoying younger sisters who don't seem to get 'personal space' and is generally miserable.

 

It's well written and believable without being over the top with the goth Wicca scene. The characters are well fleshed out as well. Milla's voice, despite her attitude problems, is easy to connect with. Her family drama, her school problems, it's not surprising she's not coping as well as she's saying she is. It's a sort of read between the lines thing. 

 

So she decides she's going to perform a spell to bring Riley back from the dead, find out what happened so she can bring the person who killed Riley to justice. It's not a simple basic spell, there are things she needs to get, certain times it can be performed. Kinda complicated. The method she received the volume of spells in which the actual spell to cast came to her is a little spooky. 

 

And of course when she heads to the magic shop with the  book, the lady who runs the shop tells her its a very old book and a dangerous one. Naturally of course, she doesn't listen to a word of warning. Hardly surprising then, when the spell works it not only brings back Riley, but June and Dayton too.

 

No one knows how it happened and it's not so much fun anymore with the two mean girls back again. They're all still dead, and discover some less than pleasant things about being a sort of zombie as they go along. No one remembers what happened before they died. The book from then on focuses on figuring out what happened to June, Dayton and Riley.

 

Some secrets come out as the novel progresses. And it has moments where it's very entertaining and quite funny as well. Though it has it's fair share of deep emotions and a few surprising twists to boost. Hints at something that could finally start to progress between Milla and Xander when they start developing a friendship of their own. 

 

One thing I did like was there wasn't really much romance involved. Hints and teasers, but it was more about the friendship with Milla and Riley and dealing with June and Dayton than about hooking up with the hot boy. 

 

A few more twists by the end when things start going wrong. Though when the truth is finally revealed, it's one of those why didn't I see this coming thing? It was quite clever. A tad over dramatic, maybe. Also, a standalone. Everything wrapped up decently and there wasn't any well what happened about so and so and no unanswered questions. 

 

I loved this book through and through and would definitely read it over and over.

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1765931/review-undead-girl-gang

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Review: More Than We Can Tell

Review:

More Than We Can Tell - Brigid Kemmerer

Review: More Than We Can Tell

 

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

I loved the predecessor for this book Letters to the Lost, which introduced one of the main characters in this one. There was clearly so much more to Rev than was explored in Letters to the Lost so I'm so pleased he got his own book.

 

Major trigger warnings for abuse - mental and physical. 

 

This book was a tough and very emotional read. I could only cope with about 100 pages at a time. (Same way I had to read the first one) On the one hand we have Rev, an apparent tough guy who keeps to himself. He lives with his foster mother and father (who are some of the best YA parents ever).

 

 

[spoiler]

The novel starts with Rev getting an unexpected letter from his biological father, a bible thumping preacher  who was put in jail for some serious abuse of his own son. He used region as a weapon both to psychologically manipulate and terrorise Rev as he grew up as well as an excuse for physical punishment. 

 

Rev hasn't spoken to him in years and lost all contact. Despite his tough guy exterior Rev is battling some very complex and conflicting emotions. Regardless of the suffering his father put him through something about his words in the letter still resonate. It's heart breaking to read about as Rev struggles with his feelings and what to do. While he's not telling his parents anything, he does have the support of best friend Declan who's there regardless of the time of day or night. 

[/spoiler]

 

On the other hand, we have Emma, a girl in Rev's class. Up until now they've never had reason to cross paths. Emma is a gamer who loves to code, she stays up late into the night gaming. She even created and launched a game of her own, which seems to have a lot of players. It's a secret she keeps from her parents, particularly her mom who doesn't seem to approve of her habit of locking herself in her room and spending all hours on her computer. Mom is an overworked doctor and kind of a bitch. Emma's father is a computer programmer for a big computer game company. Yet Emma seems almost embarrassed to tell him about her own coding skills. 

 

[spoiler]

She's dealing with some serious harassment problems from one of the players in her game, a player who calls themselves 'Nightmare' and seems to hate the fact that she's a girl and she's the moderator and one in charge. The threats and messages are getting nastier and nastier. She can't seem to tell anyone other than her best friend Claire, and Ethan, another player she has a friendship and a strong connection with. 

[/spoiler]

 

There's tension between Emma's parents and it's really uncomfortable, so it's not surprising at all that Emma's on edge, especially with her own drama going on. She runs into Rev one night whilst walking her beloved dog, Texas (Texy). They have a brief conversation but there are clear sparks (even though neither realise it until much much later) they've started a dialogue. 

 

[spoiler]Things are getting more and more tense in both their home situations. Emma's parents are fighting more and more, the harassment from Nightmare is getting worse. No matter how much she bans him, he pops up again and again and is sending violent images through emails as well as nasty messages. Rev has a new foster kid living with his family, a young teenage boy named Matthew, who's moody and uncommunicative. He's getting more messages from his horrible biological father, mainly revolving around bible quotes that actually have Rev reflecting on his own behaviour and not in a good way. He's trying to be understand of Matthew's difficult circumstances but it's difficult and with other things going on...there's only so much anyone can take before snapping.[/spoiler]

 

Both he and Emma continue to meet and talk, both in person and via texting and email. They have developed a friendship in which they can talk to each other about personal stuff and things they have difficulty talking about to other people. And of course the friendship turns into something deeper and more romantic. It's a slow burn romance and it's wonderful. They're both so considerate of each other. 

 

Things are going wrong and darker in both their lives, eventually the other's families learn of the friendship. Emma's so frazzled with her family troubles and online harassment she's taking it out on her best friend, who doesn't know what's going on. Her relationship with her parents hits rock bottom. She picks fights over stupid things with people who haven't really done anything wrong. 

 

And when something really bad happens to Emma towards the end of the novel, it's those people who figure it out and turn up and save her. While the danger Emma finds herself in is quite frightening, its a little predictable as to how it's going to turn out.

 

That being said, it's a really good read. It's a tough one that deals with some hard subjects yet manages to be uplifting in its own way. Brilliantly developed characters. This is the second book I've loved by this author which puts her on my auto-buy list. 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for approving my request to view the title.

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1765421/review-more-than-we-can-tell

Saturday 9 June 2018

More updates for Summer Bingo

A Reaper At The Gates, Sabaa Tahir for June July Aug release

A List of Cages, Robin Roe for realistic fiction

The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton for reread

The Thousandth Floor, Katherine MgGee (UK paperback) for yellow cover

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1764699/more-updates-for-summer-bingo

Friday 8 June 2018

DNF: These Violent Delights

Review:

These Violent Delights - Victoria Namkung

Another one for the DNF pile.

 

Just not interested in finishing this novel. It's certainly a very relevant novel, it's about a graduate from a very exclusive private girls school who starts a job with a local newspaper and decides to write an expose on a teacher she had a fling with. The teacher seduced her, made her feel special and then dropped her when she started realising what a mistake she'd made. Something she had been shamed into keeping silent for years. And once the bomb drops...she's not the only victim. Other students from past and present start coming forward and it looks like there's a giant cover up by the school.

 

Problem is while it's got the markings of an interesting plot, the characters are so flat and uninteresting. There's very little emotion involved, or at least for my tastes, for such a deep subject. I'm finding myself not wanting to pick it up and not really caring about how it ends anymore. 

 

So another one for the DNF pile it is. 

 

Thank you  Griffith Moon Publishing for approving my request to view the title. 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1764553/dnf-these-violent-delights

Sunday 3 June 2018

Bookish Bingo Summer reading list

so far I've got

 

Lies They Tell Us Gillian French for Summer Thriller

Memories Wake Omnibus Selina Fenech for Illustrations

Cruel Summer by James Dawson for Water on Cover

Siren's Call by Devyn Quinn for Over 5 years Old

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1763354/bookish-bingo-summer-reading-list

Spring 2018 Bookish Bingo

 

 

I decided his morning to out my currently reading list on hold to participate in Pretty Deadly Reviews Spring Bookish Bingo Card. I haven't done one of these in ages and usually really enjoy them. So let's see how it goes.

 

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1763352/spring-2018-bookish-bingo