Words in Deep Blue (Review)

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Format: ARC (received from Penguin/First in Line)
Page Length: 273 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 6, 2017

About Words in Deep Blue (via Goodreads):

Love lives between the lines.

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.

Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.

Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.

As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.

Words cannot describe my love for Words in Deep Blue. While the synopsis did express that there was tragedy in Rachel's life, I had not anticipated how much this book would DESTROY me. There was definitely an adorable romance in there that I loved, but I was also a sobbing mess for most of the book as well.

The way the story blended those two aspects was unlike anything I've read before. Typically in books, I've seen a sort of savior narrative where the love interest comes in and rescues the other from all the problems or thinks they could have been the one to save them, but this story wasn't like that all. In fact, I got to see that there were moments of vulnerability in all the characters (not just Rachel and Henry), and while they each supported each other, they weren't simply able to wash all the pain and hardships away.

While I've probably said this a million times before in the past, I love character-driven stories. This was one of them, and the author went above and beyond my expectations. Crowley put so much detail into building each and every character, major and minor, weaving their narratives together and creating believable and lovable people who each had their own developments and problems to overcome.

I don't want to go too much into the plot or romance for fear of spoiling (and if I'm being honest, I'm also writing this review several weeks after finishing so some of the details are a bit blurry), but I absolutely loved all aspects of this book. It's way too hard for me to articulate how wonderful this book was, and this review definitely does not give it justice, but please give it a try because it definitely surprised me in the best of ways and it's a new favorite of mine.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (91)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 6, 2018

About Children of Blood and Bone (via Goodreads):

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

Waiting on Wednesday (90)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: February 20, 2018

About Pitch Dark (via Amazon):

From Courtney Alameda, the author of Shutter, this thrilling, sci-fi horror and space adventure will be sure to stay with readers long after the last pages. Lost to time, Tuck Morgan and his crew have slept in stasis aboard the USS John Muir for centuries. Their ship harbors a chunk of Earth, which unbeknownst to them, is the last hope for the failing human race. Laura Cruz is a shipraider searching the galaxy for the history that was scattered to the stars. Once her family locates the John Muir and its precious cargo, they are certain human civilization is saved. When Tuck's and Laura’s worlds collide―literally―the two teens must outwit their enemies, evade brutal monsters that kill with sound, and work together to save the John Muir . . . and the whole human race.

Wow my emo soul LOVES this cover.

Also, Amazon lists this as a space opera!?  Sign me up

Bonfire (ARC Review)

Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Page Length: 276 pages

Format: ARC (received at BookCon)

Publisher: Crown Archetype

Publication Date: November 7, 2017

About Bonfire (via Goodreads):

Should you ever go back?

It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.

But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town's most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as Abby tries to find out what really happened to Kaycee, she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” which will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of the question: can you ever outrun your past?

My only feelings going into this book were EXCITEMENT.  I absolutely adore Krysten Ritter, and judging by my wardrobe and varying options of Jessica Jones cosplay outfits I was slowly becoming more like the Defender she plays on Netflix every day.  While most celebrity books can be a hit or miss, I also knew that this pure, precious cinnamon roll was also incredibly talented.  Her Bookcon panel gave a lot of interesting insight into her career and writing process (She sought out help from Lauren Oliver to get into the publishing business, she wanted to originally write a YA novel, TV is a very slow business), shutting out any worry and pessimism I possibly had going into the novel.

Bonfire is not only a great novel, but a true showing of Krysten Ritter’s talents.  Her novel is atmospheric, fast-paced, and takes no time at all to start planting seeds and clues of a mystery that yearns to be solved.  Every detail of the novel lingered in my mind long after I put the book down, and I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again and step into a dark and exciting world, mystery, and mind of a heroine that I had grown to love.

I was really surprised by how much Bonfire hit some of my personal nerves.  While Bonfire mostly raises questions about environmental care, its tagline - and much of Abby’s personal journey dares to question, “Can you ever outrun your past?”  While I got along with people in my hometown and had many close friends, I didn’t fit in and I was longing for a fresh start.  The person I became in college is a lot different from the person I was in high school, and I had wanted nothing more than to put my past behind me.  Abby’s exploration of her old ties within Barrens, Indiana not only helps to answer that question but also seeks to promote a kind of acceptance through its dark narrative that I had finally realized with open arms.  Abby’s emotional arc felt incredibly raw and realistic, complete with a legal drama as the perfect haunting backdrop to her emotional journey.

Abby felt all too familiar while establishing herself as a new heroine at the same time.  Her personality had a lot of interesting layers of emotion and intense hesitation towards her old hometown, nearly verging on paranoia.  Her thoughts felt unfiltered and organic and her interactions with her small amount of friends felt honest and meaningful because of her personality.  The other characters of Barrens, Indiana were equally well-constructed, from her ghost of a father, who nearly stole every scene he had with her because of his wacky, deteriorating personality to her former bully Misha Dale, who gives us our first look of Barrens and acts as a little bit of a foil to Abby’s character.

Also I had a really hard time not imagining Abby as similar to Krysten Ritter in my mind when I was reading this novel.

Ritter weaves in elements of mystery and suspense that are reminiscent of a classic detective story through constructing the nearly deserted town of Barrens, Indiana and its cast of characters.  In addition, I couldn’t help but see some noir vibes similar to those in Jessica Jones, through its guarded yet empathetic narrator to its layers and layers of thrills and intrigue, making it especially perfect for Krysten Ritter fans.  Her writing style is graceful and beautiful, and at times it felt like she was narrating a voiceover while I read the novel and setting up a perfect Jessica-like environment.

My biggest complaint revolves around the legal and government jargon that sometimes is dropped in the book without further elaboration, such as the handful of department abbreviations that drop around while Abby works with her law team.  I wasn’t sure if I had missed something from before or if I had just completely forgotten about it.  Additionally, while some of the chapters seem oddly placed, their appearance in the story helps to create the disruptive environment that Abby has dragged herself back into, adding to the thrill and stakes of the conflict.

I’m thrilled to say that Bonfire completely exceeded my expectations, and Krysten Ritter has created a classic, thrilling mystery with a surprisingly hefty emotional punch that further showcases her wide arrange of talents.

MY RATING: 4.5 STARS

Waiting on Wednesday (89)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Page Street
Publication Date: January 9, 2018

About Beneath the Haunting Sea (via Goodreads):

This stunning and sweeping YA fantasy debut, weaving together royal intrigue, high-stakes adventure and a dangerous mythological world, will entrance fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo.

Sixteen-year-old Talia was born to a life of certainty and luxury, destined to become Empress of half the world. But when an ambitious rival seizes power, she and her mother are banished to a nowhere province on the far edge of the Northern Sea.

On their terrifying journey, the sea seems to call to Talia in strange ways, and her mother—spiraling into madness—becomes obsessed with ancient myths that talk of the sea-goddess Rahn who rules the watery Hall of the Dead.

Joanna Meyer is a wonderful new voice in the YA fantasy genre. Her original, fresh story handles popular fantasy themes in surprising ways. Her lush, atmospheric prose masterfully brings to life her unique mythology and vividly imagined, culturally diverse world.

Beneath the Haunting Sea will appeal to fans of bestselling series such as Throne of Glass, The Remnant Chronicles, The Winner's Trilogy, and The Grisha Trilogy, as well as recent debuts such as The Reader, The Star-Touched Queen, Sword and Verse, Fear the Drowning Deep, and Given to the Sea. It will also attract readers of adult fantasy, who enjoy Earthsea, The Silmarillion, and Game of Thrones. Its slow-burn romance and gothic setting, inspired by Sense and Sensibility and Jane Eyre, will appeal to a wider audience. Joanna describes Talia’s love interest as Willoughby-esque and Beneath the Haunting Sea as The Silmarillion meets Jane Eyre, with kissing.

Waiting on Wednesday (88)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Follow Me by Sara Shepard
Series: The Amateurs #2
Genre: Young Adult/Mystery
Page Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Freeform
Publication Date: November 7, 2017

About Follow Me (via Goodreads):

It was the perfect night for a party. That is, until twenty-one-year-old Chelsea Dawson disappeared. The social media star was last seen enjoying a beautiful summer night at the Jersey Shore with her friends. But after an explosive fight with her ex-boyfriend, she vanished without a trace. When Seneca, Maddox, Aerin, and Madison hear about the suspected kidnapping, they notice a jarring detail about the victim: she looks exactly like Aerin’s sister, Helena, who was killed five years earlier. Seneca is convinced she knows who killed Helena, and she can’t shake the feeling that the same person has taken Chelsea. Desperate for answers about the two girls, and the truth behind her mother’s murder, Seneca will stop at nothing to find out if the cases are linked. So when Maddox receives an invitation to the Shore from none other than their primary suspect, the Amateurs begin an intense new investigation. Full of disturbing secrets, startling twists, and horrifying revelations, the second book in #1 New York Times best-selling author Sara Shepard’s The Amateurs series follows the team down a twisted path—one crafted by a brilliant killer.

Waiting on Wednesday (87)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Chainbreaker by Tara Sim
Genre: Young Adult/Steampunk/LGBTQIA+
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publication Date: November 7, 2017

About Chainbreaker (via Goodreads):

Clock mechanic Danny Hart knows he's being watched. But by whom, or what, remains a mystery. To make matters worse, clock towers have begun falling in India, though time hasn't Stopped yet. He'd hoped after reuniting with his father and exploring his relationship with Colton, he'd have some to settle into his new life. Instead, he's asked to investigate the attacks.

After inspecting some of the fallen Indian towers, he realizes the British occupation may be sparking more than just attacks. And as Danny and Colton unravel more secrets about their past, they find themselves on a dark and dangerous path--one from which they may never return.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL OF TIMEKEEPER. IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES OF LAST YEAR AND I AM SURE I AM GOING TO ADORE CHAINBREAKER EVEN MORE.