After a magical kiss at Prom, best friends Tan Lee and Winter Woo agree to cool it off, a plan that goes awry when their parents jointly head off to Hawaii and leave Tan and Winter to babysit Tan’s sister Sana together. If that isn’t complicated enough, Tan’s ex-girlfriend from Shanghai arrives on his doorstep with money stolen from her billionaire father and thugs on her heels.
Tan soon finds himself on the run, trying to out-manuever international hackers and protect his friends, family and sister – and his own heart.
Okay, the premise sounded a little bit far-fetched to me, but this was a fun read. I liked Tan and Winter a lot, and Sana was such a handful! If you’re looking for a cute, fun read with a happy ending, this would be perfect. Fortunately, there wasn’t a lot of talk of code to eliminate the fun
Abigail Hing Wen is a bestselling author. Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Macmillan’s Children’s Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)
In the village of ice and darkness, Dira Cloon’s entire existence relies on her ability to pull the trigger. But when she faces a majestic white bear, her resolve falters. The bear’s presence stirs something deep within her – a force stronger than her love for her family, who believe that the only safe polar bear is a dead one.
It goes beyond the village legends of a lost world and a vanished civilization, the whispered tales of magic, and the ursine king’s enchantment. This force resonates with Dira’s heart, shattered and lonely. If she shoots the bear, her life will continue as it always has, with a piece of her soul and dreams forever lost. But if she lays down her weapon and follows the bear into the vast, frozen realm of snow, she may transform her people and their bloodlust.
This was an interesting dystopian/fantasy read. More than a bit depressing, frankly. I don’t like cold weather, so that was a me thing, but the society itself was pretty bleak—and I wasn’t a fan of the people. The author did a great job with the setting, though, and I enjoyed the story itself. What happened when Dira broke the curse wasn’t surprising at all, but I did enjoy this read.
Kyra Whitton is from Georgia. A Burden of Ice and Bone is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Sword and Silk Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Robbie and Trevor Cresmont have a body count—the killer kind. Handsome and privileged, the Crestmont brothers’ have enough wealth to ensure they’ll never be found guilty of any wrongdoing, even if all of Happy Valley believes they’re behind the deaths of their ex-girlfriends. First there was soccer star Victoria Moreno, Robbie’s ex, who mysteriously drowned at the family lake house. Then, a year later, Trevor’s girlfriend died of a suspicious overdose.
But the Crestmonts aren’t the only ones with secrets. Lauren O’Brian might be the new girl at school, but she’s never been a good girl. With a dark past of her own, she’s desperate for a fresh start. Except when she starts a no-strings-attached relationship with Robbie, her chance is put in jeopardy. During what’s meant to be their last weekend together, Lauren stumbles across shocking evidence that just might implicate Robbie.
With danger closing in, Lauren doesn’t know who to trust. And after a third death rocks the town, she must decide whether to end things with Robbie or risk becoming another cautionary tale.
I enjoyed this thriller! (It kept me entertained throughout a day of boring meetings.) The people of Happy Valley—especially the soccer girls—were pretty mean, and they were horrible to Lauren. I liked how the author interspersed chapters from Lauren’s past with the present-day storyline, without giving away what really happened. I thought the mystery was well-done, and I didn’t figure out who the killer was until just a little bit before Lauren found out.
Trish Lundy lives in California. The One that Got Away with Murder is her debut YA novel.
(Galley courtesy of Macmillan/Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for an honest review.)
She just hasn’t told her second-gen Korean American parents yet. They would never understand her unconventional dream to become a professional chef. Just ask her brother Justin, who hasn’t heard from them since he was sent to Rikers Island.
For now, when she isn’t avoiding studying for AP World History, Jackie is improving her French cooking techniques and working at her grandparents’ Midtown deli Melty’s.
Then the most unexpected thing: Jackie gets recruited for a casting audition for the teen edition of Burn Off!, her favorite competitive cooking show. Even more unexpected, Jackie becomes a contestant.
Jackie is thrown headfirst into the cutthroat competitive TV show world filled with psych outs, picky mom critiques, and dreaded microaggressions to lean into her heritage.
All Jackie wants to do is cook her way. But is her way to cook traditional French cuisine? Lean into her heritage? Or is it something more? To advance through the competition, Jackie must prove who she is on and off the plate.
Jackie Oh herself just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like her much at all. She had the whole I’m-a-special-snowflake mentality—but God forbid anyone treat her like a special snowflake—just let her do whatever she wants, already. It was perfectly fine for Jackie to judge everyone around her based strictly on appearances, but when someone dared judge her? Then they were narrow-minded, ignorant, and racist. While the things Jackie was so against are real issues, she was unlikable enough to make me skim over them.
The only reason I kept reading this was because of the food. Not all the food, but Jackie’s menus sounded fascinating and tasty, and I liked how she eventually got her act together and showcased the different cultures she was surrounded by. The ending was a total dud, as there was no resolution, merely a transcript of a social media posting. As a reader, I feel like the author broke my trust by leaving this story without a resolution.
Patricia Park is from Queens. What’s Eating Jackie Oh? is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review.)
18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.
But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.
Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .
I never quite figured out what was going on here! I suspected some things, but I was never sure. Kudos to the author for that! Bel’s prickly was actually quite appealing to me, although she went a little too far a few times—but at least she realized she’d gone too far, and backtracked. There are a lot of secrets in this novel, and some are very well-hidden. I enjoyed this thriller read and stayed up late to find out what was going on.
Holly Jackson is a bestselling author. The Reappearance of Rachel Price is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Random House/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)
Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in Clearwater Ridge, with lazy days sunning at the waterfalls and nights partying at the sprawling houses of the rich families who vacation there. The Covingtons are one of these families, and beautiful, brilliant Audrey Covington is Paige’s best friend. And last year, when Audrey’s crush-worthy brother Dylan finally started noticing Paige, she was sure it would be the best summer ever.
Except Audrey didn’t seem quite like herself. Then one night, she didn’t come home. Though Audrey wasn’t the first girl to disappear in Clearwater Ridge, she left behind more lies than clues. Now, one summer later, her case has gone cold, and nobody, least of all Paige, can make sense of what happened.
When Paige stumbles across a secret hidden in Audrey’s room, however, it changes everything she thought she knew about last summer. She and Dylan set out on their own investigation, discovering things even the police don’t know about the people of Clearwater Ridge. But tracking down missing girls—girls who might be beyond saving by now—means entering a world far darker than Paige has ever imagined. And if she isn’t careful, she’ll become the next girl to vanish.
I was drawn into this story from the very beginning! I do love YA novels, so there’s that, and the whole crush-on-her-best-friend’s-brother trope is usually a good one, so I was there for it. I actually enjoyed how the rich/not-rich dichotomy played out—and how not all the rich kids were jerks. The mystery was well done, and I did not figure out what was really going on until the reveal, so extra points for that.
Chelsea Ichaso lives in California. The Summer She Went Missing is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.)
Remy Kobata has always wished she was destined to be with her best friend, Cam Yasuda. All the way from being neighbors from birth to mixing up magical prank potions together to their “just friends” homecoming date during their senior year in high school, nothing’s a secret between Remy and Cam―except for how much she is in love with him.
Remy is trying to work up the courage to confess her feelings during their winter break trip to Japan, when she gets selected for a mystical tea leaves reading and it reveals that they’re not meant to be together. After they stumble upon a secret magical apothecary in the back alleys of Tokyo, Remy and Cam are offered an ancient soulmate elixir, created before all love potions were banned by the magical government. They each have their reasons for wanting to take it, but what could go wrong with finding your soulmate a little earlier?
Except, after they drink up, their senior year trip flips into the worst vacation: Cam has forgotten who Remy is. If she can’t help Cam remember her by midnight New Year’s Eve, they’ll both be cursed to forget each other. To unravel their past and rewrite the future, Remy and Cam must travel through Tokyo to rediscover Cam’s memories and make new ones―and maybe even fall in love all over again.
I enjoyed this setting a lot! This Tokyo with a hint of magic was fascinating and believable, and I wanted to hop on a plane! I really enjoyed Cam and Remy’s friendship—in both realities—and loved all their memories of past experiences together. Even the secondary characters were a lot of fun, making this a sweet, engrossing read.
Julie Abe lives in Southern California. Our Cursed Love is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
In August, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 135 books read. Of those books, a few were standouts.
The River Runs South, by Audrey Ingram. This was an excellent Southern fiction read, and a debut novel from this author. I wasn’t too sure if I liked the main character at first, even though she was going through a very tough time, but I ended up loving her—and her adorable daughter. I also loved the setting so much and thought it was portrayed so well.
Touch of Power, by Maria V. Snyder. I’m a big fan of this author and I’d read this before, but I remembered almost none of it. I enjoyed the characters so much! They were so memorable and believable and made the rest of the story truly magical.
The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I’ve enjoyed this series so much, and I read this entire novel in one session, on release day. It did not disappoint. The Hawthorne brothers and their antics are thoroughly entertaining, and I love the relationship between the three brothers.
Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.
Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.
I enjoyed this like I’ve enjoyed Elizabeth Lim’s other novels. The rich cultures and diverse settings fascinate me, and she’s skilled at depicting intricate relationships of all sorts. I love Channi and Vanna’s relationship with all its history and complexity. I was engrossed in watching the sisters come into their own and become who they were meant to be.
Elizabeth Lim is a bestselling author. Her Radiant Curse is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)
Hattie Tilney isn’t a believer. Yes, she’s a senior at America’s most (allegedly) haunted high school, Northanger Abbey. But ever since her paranormal-loving dad passed away, she’s hung up her Ghostbusters suit, put away the EMF detectors and thermal cameras, and moved on. She has enough to worry about in the land of the living–like taking care of her younger brother, Liam, while their older sister spirals out and their mother, Northanger’s formidable headmistress, buries herself in her work. If Hattie just works hard enough and keeps that overachiever mask on tight through graduation, maybe her mom will finally notice her.
But the mask starts slipping when Hattie’s assigned to be an ambassador to Kit Morland, a golden retriever of a boy who’s transferred to Northanger on—what else—a ghost-hunting scholarship. The two are partnered up for an investigative project on the school’s paranormal activity, and Hattie quickly strikes a deal: Kit will present whatever ghostly evidence he can find to prove that campus is haunted, and Hattie will prove that it’s not. But as they explore the abandoned tunnels and foggy graveyards of Northanger, Hattie starts to realize that Kit might be the kind of person that makes her want to believe in something—and someone—for the first time.
This was a fun read, but some of the characters felt a little flimsy to me. Like Hattie’s two best friends and her sister. The way Hattie changed instantly when she met Kit didn’t feel quite believable, either, although this is a YA read, so I can overlook that. I thought the ghost-hunting stuff was fun and the ghost-centric school was a unique angle, and I’d definitely read more with these characters, I just thought it needed a bit of fine-tuning on the details. Props for the title, though. That was a nice touch.
Amanda Quain lives in Pennsylvania. Ghosted is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 