Review: Mayhem by Estelle Laure – A Gorgeous Chaotic Mess

Title: Mayhem Author: Estelle Laure Publisher: Wednesday Books Genre(s): YA Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Magical Realism Subject(s): Multigenerational, Abuse Release Date: July 14th, 2020 Page Count: 304 (hardback) Rating: 4.0/10 It's 1987 and unfortunately it's not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, …

Review: Dealing in Dreams – Starts Off High, Crashes To Blandness

Title: Dealing in Dreams Author: Lilliam Rivera Publisher: Simon & Schuster Release Date: March 5th, 2019 Genre(s): YA Dystopia Subjects and Themes: Feminism Page Count: 336 (hardback) Rating: 6.0/10   Sixteen-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throwdowns and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but …

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: The Fever King – Baby, You Burn My Brain Up Like a Fever

Title: The Fever King (Feverwake, #1) Author: Victoria Lee Publisher Skyscape Release Date: March 1, 2019 Genre(s): YA Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopian Subjects and Themes: LGBTQIAP+, Politics, Abuse Page Count: 384 Rating: 6.5/10   In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that …

Top 5 Wednesday – Books at the Top of My TBR

“Top 5 Wednesday” is a weekly meme currently hosted on Goodreads by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes in which you list your top 5 for the week’s chosen topic. This week's topic is: Top of Your TBR. And...that's it. No fancy rewording for this one; it's what it says on the tin. (Though I did limit …

Review: The Cruel Prince – Bad Fae Boys Don’t Do Romance (Or Much of Anything)

Title: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air 1) Author: Holly Black Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Release Date: January 2nd, 2018 Genre(s): YA Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Fae Page Count: 384 Rating: 6.0/10     Me: I should just write a mini review. Writing a detailed review for this is probably …

Mini Review: Sadie (Audiobook) – Invisible Girls, Gone Girls, Dead Girls

Title: Sadie Author: Courtney Summers Publisher: St. Martin's Press Release Date: September 4th, 2018 Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller Subjects and Themes: Abuse Page Count: 320 (hardback) Rating: 7/10     Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to …

Review: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge – Chock Full of Wit, Intelligence, and Hilarity

Title: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge Author: M.T. Anderson; Eugene Yelchin (Illustrator) Publisher: Candlewick Release Date: September 25th, 2018 Genre(s): YA Fantasy Subjects and Themes: History Page Count: 544 (hardback) Rating: 8.5/10     This is the first M.T Anderson book I've read since his Octavian Nothing series (must-read books) and it's great to see …

2-For-1 YA: The Deepest Roots & When Elephants Fly – Short Reviews Are My Bane

Confession: I have a problem with writing reviews that are less than 300 words, especially when it comes to ARCs. I feel like I'm not doing the story justice and I get anxious and guilty--the whole package--which is a little ridiculous because I like reading other people's less-than-300-word reviews. But sometimes there are only so …

September 2018 “TBR” – Procrastination, Witches, and Hard Choices

"Kathy." "Mm?" "We're pretty much in the middle of September right now." "Yep, I can see that. I have a tear-away calendar thingy on my desk." "Well, one generally writes a TBR post at the beginning of the month." "Eh, that's debatable. There's no Blog Police skulking around checking for these things, ready to clap …

Review: Summer Bird Blue – Of Grief, Music, and Sisterhood

Title: Summer Bird Blue Author: Akemi Dawn Bowman Publisher: Simon Pulse Release Date: September 11th, 2018 Genre(s) and Subject(s): YA Contemporary, Death/Grief, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 384 (paperback) Goodreads Rating: 8.0/10         Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, …