*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Descendant of the Crane
Author: Joan He
Age Category/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Publisher: Albert Whitman Company

Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, dreaming of an unremarkable life. But when her beloved father is found dead, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of a surprisingly unstable kingdom. What’s more, Hesina believes that her father was murdered—and that the killer is someone close to her.

Hesina’s court is packed full of dissemblers and deceivers eager to use the king’s death for political gain, each as plausibly guilty as the next. Her advisers would like her to blame the neighboring kingdom of Kendi’a, whose ruler has been mustering for war. Determined to find her father’s actual killer, Hesina does something desperate: she enlists the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by
death, since magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of Yan at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high? 

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

4 “Politics & Courtroom in Fantasy” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Albert Whitman Company!!!

For avid YA Fantasy readers, it’s rare to come across a book that feels different from everything else out there. Publishers more often than not prefer to invest their money in formulas that have done well in the past—sometimes I hate it, sometimes I understand, because I’ve been guilty multiple times of searching for similar books after I’m done reading something that I liked a lot. Who hasn’t done that?

But isn’t it exciting when you also get to read something amazing that feels unique? Fresh? This is the feeling I got when I finished Descendant of the Crane.

If this intro isn’t enough to convince you to buy this book, then the cover should do it. Have you seen that beauty???

Though this book has a main character that is also a royal, she isn’t your average white princess who also happens to be a special snowflake. Sure there’s something unique about her, but it isn’t the focus of the story in any way or not even the driving force behind her actions. It’s something I’m betting will be explored more in the sequel (and no, this didn't exactly feel like a standalone to me) but it doesn’t make a huge difference in this debut. Hesina, the protagonist, doesn’t rely on magical solutions to fix the problems that arise, most of which she created herself. She makes tough calls—and sometimes doesn’t even make them, which yeah infuriated me a little, but made her more flawed and human.

Hesina isn’t perfect, and neither is the book, which is why I’m not rating it five stars, but watching Hesina (and the book) grow was a fulfilling experience. I’ll be honest here and say I almost stopped reading at some point in the middle, because one of the twists was pretty obvious to me and it irked me that Hesina couldn’t see it. Having said that, I’m extremely happy I kept going because while I was right about the twist, I was SO WRONG about the motivation. It feels like Joan He wrote that final chapter just to tell me: you thought you knew what was going on, huh? Well, I surprised you, didn’t I?

She sure did.

She also surprised me with a few other twists, with a protagonist that made me feel, with a story filled of intrigue and politics, and a debut that deserves a lot more buzz that it’s getting. The narrative is quite smart, the world is inspired by Chinese culture, the writing is good, most of the characters are twisted in a good way (though some of them could use a little more work), there’s a hint of romance and the love interest is someone who interested me from the very beginning. Yes, the pacing is a little slow, but the fact that there’s a murder mystery helps keep readers engage. By the way, I LOVED seeing courtroom scenes in a YA Fantasy. More, please.

Because of all the above, I’m rooting for Descendant of the Crane. I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves. I highly recommend it to YA Fantasy readers looking for a fresh read from a new and promising writer.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Release & Review - Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Hunting Annabelle
Author: Wendy Heard
Publication Date: December 25th, 2018

Publisher: MIRA Books
Category/Genre: Adult Mystery/Thriller

Sean Suh is done with killing. After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, he’s determined to stay away from temptation. But he can't resist Annabelle--beautiful, confident, incandescent Annabelle--who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. The man he's desperately trying to be.

Then Annabelle disappears.

Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—he witnessed her being taken first hand—but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the centre of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened than he’s able to remember?

Though haunted by the fear that it might be better for Annabelle if he never finds her, Sean can’t bring himself to let go of her without a fight. To save her, he’ll have to do more than confront his own demons… He'll have to let them loose.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

3.5 “Dexter in the 1980’s” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Harlequin – Mira

This book isn’t coming out until December, but it’s been on my “most anticipated reads for 2018” for a while. I was lucky enough to get to it now and I can tell you, if you’re a fan of Dexter, you’ll probably really enjoy this.

Told from the POV of a killer—no spoilers, since this info is on the blurb—Hunting Annabelle is a psychological thriller filled with twisted and interesting characters, tension and even some moments that made me laugh a little (even though I know I shouldn’t).

The first chapter is so freaking good. It had a lot of mystery involving Sean (what he was/what he had done) and the chemistry between Sean and Annabelle was undeniable. I was so ready to fall madly in love with them and ignore the fact that Sean was a freaking killer. I’d done that with Dexter, so why not again, right?

Well, I did like Sean a lot, but there was a few things that kept this book from reaching first-couple-of-seasons-Dexter level of perfection to me.

First, I went into this under the impression that Sean and Annabelle were a thing. Don’t know why. I just read the blurb that way. So I expected a relationship (old or newish, but still something solid). Problem is, Sean and Annabelle spend so little time together before she’s kidnapped that it was really hard for me to connect with them and Sean’s love for her. Insta-love rarely works for me, and despite the awesome chemistry in the first chapter, this one didn’t. And because I couldn’t connect with “their love”, I ended up questioning a lot of Sean’s later thoughts and actions.

Second thing that didn’t work for me was the big twist. Not that there was anything wrong with the twist per se. It was a good one if you didn’t see it coming. Unfortunately for me, I guessed it on Chapter 4. I can even tell you the exact paragraph that made it all clear for me, because I highlighted it on my Kindle and added a note. Because of that, when the twist was revealed, it ended up having little impact on me.

BUT, big BUT here, the story was still intriguing, so I kept reading. I think what made this book the most interesting was the choice of POV. Being inside Sean’s head was at times confusing (in a good way), entertaining and disturbing. He was going through so much and trying so hard to keep it together, I couldn’t help but root for him. And the times he let go and embraced the darkest parts of him made for some shocking and entertaining scenes. Those were probably the moments I got Dexter-feels the most.

 I love Dexter-feels.

I can’t get into details about the last part of the book (after the reveal) and the ending because of spoilers, but let’s just say those of you who didn’t guess the twist and enjoy messed up characters doing messed up things will enjoy the heck out of some scenes.

Overall, Hunting Annabelle was an interesting read from a debut author that shows promise. The fact that it, at times, reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows only made it better.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Review - Sadie by Courtney Summers

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Sadie
Author: Courtney Summers

Age Category/Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Publication Date: September 4th, 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
 

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 provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. 

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4 “Raw + Stellar Audiobook ” Stars

First of all, this audiobook is stellar. I wasn't a big fan of audiobooks, but this one definitely changed my mind and made me eager to listen to more. Here's hoping my next one is just as good.

Second, am I the only one who feels like this is neither YA nor mystery as it's being marketed?

Whatever it is or isn't, this book was still pretty great. Raw, like pretty much everything Courtney Summers writes, it was a story that wasn't the easiest to listen to because of how painful Sadie's entire life had been. For someone so young, she'd gone through so much already, and I couldn't help but feel for her, want to protect her and take her far away from that cruel world. Poor Sadie deserved so much better than what life had given her (and much better than that ending, if I'm being honest).

Dude, that ending...

Aside from the ending, that was a lot to like about the book. The characters weren't as black and white as one might expect with a book with such a serious and troubling theme; Sadie's POV had just the right amount of sarcasm to make her voice stand out; and even though there was little mystery involving the murder and the murderer, Sadie's fate and her path to revenge kept me interested from start to finish.

And I really, really loved how Sadie was portrayed: as someone who was trying SO hard to be strong and dangerous when you could so clearly see how broken she was. I don't love that she was broken, but I loved the contrast and how it made her narrative more powerful.

I initially also liked the podcast chapters, but they lost some of their purpose toward the end. Things got a little repetitive and I couldn't see the point of reliving everything we'd already seen in Sadie's POV.

Overall, though, this is another win when it comes to Courtney Summers' ability to write dark themes, raw feelings and engaging protagonists.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Warcross (Warcross #1) by Marie Lu

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Warcross
(Warcross #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Category/Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

4 “Holy World Building Super Powers” Stars

Of course I’ve heard of Marie Lu before, but this was actually the first book by this author I’ve read, and yeah, I totally get the hype. This author can write! And the world she created? Wow!

I’m in love with the world Marie Lu created for Warcross. It’s kind of my dream world, in fact. I’m not a huge fan of video games, but it totally gave me a The Sims vibe, and who isn’t obsessed with The Sims?

Anyway, Warcross has the kind of world that draws you write in and makes you want to live inside the book’s pages, and in this case, inside the game (Marie Lue and) Hideo Tanaka created. The thought of putting on a glass and then going into a game like that leaves me salivating. The whole concept is new, fresh and unique!!

You know what else I loved? The diversity portrayed in this book with characters from all over the world and non-white main characters, plus the outside-the-USA setting.

There was a lot, a lot right with this book.

Emika was such a strong character. She was so relatable and likable and badass. I loved how smart she was, and how she didn’t back down from a challenge. Go, Emika!

Hideo was also my kind of love interest—mysterious, keeping a secret, hot and damaged. I wish I’d gotten to know him a little better, but I’m guessing that’ll happen in book 2.

The romance was cute. I expected more from it, but I wasn’t necessarily disappointed in what I got. Emika and Hideo made a good couple and they shared some great scenes. Was it just me or the fact that the characters were upper YA suggested the romance would have a little more heat? *shrugs* It was probably just me.

The only thing I didn’t exactly love about this book was the mystery around the villain and the people helping him. It was pretty obvious to me who was involved right from the beginning and I also guessed the identity of the villain when he was first mentioned in the story. I’m also guessing I know the motive behind the villain’s action already.

Having said that, the plot twist involving Hideo and Emika caught me by surprise, so yay for that!

Overall, this was an excellent first experience with this author. I know a lot of people love her books, and after reading Warcross, I’m more inclined to try her previous titles.

 

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Review - One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: One of Us is Lying
Author: Karen M. McManus
Category/Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller

Publication Date: May 30th, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press

One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

4 “Diverse Pretty Little Liars” Stars

If you go into One of Us is Lying expecting a Gillian Flynn-worthy mystery, you’ll be disappointed. But if you adjust your expectations and think of it as a better written Pretty Little Liars with a bunch of likable, relatable characters, then you’ll probably enjoy it a lot.

I didn’t initially get into it with the right mentally, but after a few pages I already knew where the mystery was going—it was pretty obvious—and I got the PLL vibe, so I changed my perspective. That was crucial, and I ended up liking this book.

One of Us is Lying is the story of 4 high school kids who find themselves involved in a murder investigation after one of their classmates is poisoned and dies in front of them.

We have Bronwyn (the super smart daughter of an immigrant), Addy (the beautiful girl whose life goal is to marry her high school sweetheart), Cooper (the baseball star) and Nate (the drug dealer). You might grimace at the stereotypes, but that’s what makes this story interesting. Not exactly that, but how this author manages to take these characters from the tiny boxes they’ve been put into and make them something more. Give them flaws and personality traits and a future.

For me, One of Us is Lying was about these four kids and what they made me feel. And they did make me feel a whole lot.

I blame the four POVs for how the mystery part of the book fell apart. Being inside the head of these four main characters didn’t allow for much suspense, which hurt the mystery element. In all honesty, the title and the way the book was market gave the vibe this was going to be a mystery/thriller, but this book is, in its core, a contemporary.

But the four POVs worked for me because they allowed me to get to know and connect with these characters. Sure the POVs sounded pretty much the same—the voices weren’t distinctive at all, but I still didn’t mind them because I like (and sometimes LOVED) the story being told.

I fell in love with all four characters, and I rooted for them. Bronwyn was probably the first one I connected with. She was smart and had enough pressure on her with all that had happened with her sister and her parents, and she sounded genuine enough to pull me in instantly. No surprise I also fell for Nate instantly. This is the third book I read this year with a drug dealer as a main character, and I always end up rooting for them. Don’t know what that says about me.

And obviously, I jumped on board as soon as that became a ship. Or even before that.

Now, Cooper and Addy took a little warming up to. The first because he wasn’t giving me much, and because I pretty much knew what the big secret he was keeping was (again, the mystery didn’t work for me). The second, because I spent half the time wanting to slap some sense into Addy at first. But I have to say that Addy won me over in a way that she ended up being my favorite character in this story. Her arc was the strongest one, in my opinion, and she turned into such a beautiful character in the end that I wanted to hug her.

I loved, loved how these people went from virtual strangers to close friends. That was probably my favorite part of the book. Something Addy said resonated with me a lot: you find out who your true friends are when things get tough, and I thought that was what happened here.

Something else I adored was the romance. It wasn’t a huge part of the plot, but it was big enough to be important, and it was well-developed. I shipped all the couples (especially Bronwyn and Nate) and loved the direction things went toward the end for all the couples featured in the story.

So, while the mystery and everything involving Simon didn’t impress me, the bond Cooper, Addy, Bronwyn and Nate formed did. So did their individual stories. My PLL feelings were alive, and I was happy for it.

 

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Blog Tour & Review - The Wrong Kind of Compatible by Kadie Scott

Title: The Wrong Kind of Compatible
Author: Kadie Scott
Publication Date: June 12th, 2017

Age Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled (Lovestruck)

Data analyst Cassie Howard may be brilliant (and, okay, a little awkward), but she’s worked hard to get where she is. She definitely doesn’t need some sexy new analyst coming in and taking credit for her work. Or the inappropriate thoughts that keep popping out of her mouth she’d rather he not hear.

For undercover FBI agent Drew Kerrigan, computers have always made more sense than people, but he’d better develop some slick social skills in a hurry if he’s going to win over the too-tantalizing-for-his-sanity Cassie. Hacking their systems was easy. Now he’s just got to hack the one person in the company most likely to see through his ruse…

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

It took Cassie all of five steps away from him for Drew to move.

He was crossing a dangerous line, or on a slippery slope, or whatever other cliché you wanted to throw at the situation. He could’ve held on. After a week of ignoring every instinct he had that screamed at him to spend time with Cassie, get to know her better, and—hell, yes—kiss her a lot more, he’d thought he could make it through the investigation. After everything was over, then he could approach her.

But no way could he watch her walk away after every spark of hope in her stunning eyes had died. Stealing candy from a baby while kicking puppies and burning a hole in the ozone layer couldn’t even feel this horrible.

“Cassie.” Her name tumbled off his lips even before he’d made a final decision, or maybe his heart made it for him. No brain required.

She glanced over her shoulder, her hand on the doorknob, and raised her eyebrows.

Words failed sometimes.

Instead, Drew stalked across the room, enjoying how her eyes widened with every purposeful step he took. She turned to face him fully just as he invaded her space. Drew stepped close enough to feel her heat, relishing the faint gasp that parted her lips. He leaned into her, hand on the door behind her to ensure it stayed closed.

He gazed down into bright blue-green eyes, where a wary spark of hope had ignited, and scoured his brain for a smooth, suck-the-breath-out-of-her-lungs, thing to say. Inspiration struck and he smiled even as he spoke the words. “I’d like to unzip your files.”

She froze and blinked up at him so long Drew started to worry she didn’t get it. They hadn’t had any word play all week. Well, she’d tried, and he’d ignored. But this one was out of context, right out of the blue. Maybe…

Cassie burst out laughing, deep belly laughs that he couldn’t resist chuckling along with, even though he wasn’t quite sure yet if she was laughing at him or with him.

“That has to be the nerdiest pickup line in history.”

Drew grinned back like a moron, and relief whooshed through him as two things became evident. First, she got it. Second, she seemed receptive given the big smile and sparkly eyes, along with the fact that she wasn’t running away screaming.

“Did it work?”

3.5 “FBI & Sexy Nerds” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Entangled (Lovestruck)!

A cute nerd MC, a cute nerd LI, people talking about hacking and a FBI undercover mission make this book a funny, intriguing and unique read.

In The Wrong Kind Of Compatible we have two characters who are pretty much perfect for each other falling in love. Cassie and Drew are both crazy about computers and datas and complicated computer language I can't honestly follow. While Cassie works for growing company as their data analist, Drew is a computer specialist and FBI agent working a undercover mission that can lead to Cassie going to prison. Drew and his team know something's up with Cassie's company, and all evidence points to Cassie being guilty of corporate espionage. That means Drew has to infiltrate the company and try to get close to Cassie to unconver the truth. 

Well, when the FBI said close, they didn't mean that close, but the attraction between Drew and Cassie is undeniable. So, on one hand, we have Cassie and her new hot coworker who's driving her crazy because she doesn't want to give in to her attraction just to find out he's there to take her job. Being a badass computer genius woman should be enough to garantee she'll keep her job, but we all know how hard the corporate world is on woman. On the other hand, we have Drew and his hot suspect who might be guilty of a federal crime or might screw up his first undercover assignment. They both have reasons to fight their attracting to each other, but the more time they spend together the harder it becomes.

The thing I liked the most about The Wrong Kind of Compatible was how funny it got, especially when reding Cassie's POV. Cassie had an unique personality--she seemed to be missing a filter, since pretty much everything she thought she ended up saying out loud. That made for some really fun interactions.

The chemistry between Cassie and Drew was another positive. They were good together and they shared some nice, hot moments. They both had things to lose, but ended up falling in love and ultimately fighting for that love.

Award-winning contemporary romance author, Kadie Scott, grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it. No matter the genre, she loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.

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