The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1) by Michelle Hodkin

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1) 

by Michelle Hodkin   

Source: eARC provided for review, thank you!

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.
And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.They’re right.

****

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write a full, long review of this book because it’d be full of spoilers. So, just let me tell you this: The Becoming of Noah Shaw will NOT disappoint you.

If you enjoyed the Mara Dyer trilogy, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one, too. It has all the things that made The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer unforgettable: nerdy conversations, gore, mystery, darkness and that passionate and all consuming love between Mara and Noah.

Please be aware, the first thing I noticed when I started reading it were the trigger warnings. I don’t even remember all of them, but if the first page (on my kindle) was full of trigger warnings, then you know this is going to be fucked up. 

The plot was just as intriguing and puzzling as the previous trilogy, and even though there are answers to questions from Mara’s books, the mystery never ends.

Michelle Hodkin brings back her old characters and puts them in way more complicated situations, testing them, and testing us. 

While there isn’t a love triangle at sight (thank you!) the ending is still heartbreaking and full of angst. I am actually dying to read the next book, but I wasn’t expecting less. 

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The Adjustment (The Program #3) by Suzanne Young

The Adjustment (The Program #3)

by Suzanne Young

Source: eARC provided for review.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

Tatum Masterson never went through The Program. She never had her memory stripped, never had to fight to remain herself. But when Weston, her longtime boyfriend and love of her life, was taken by handlers, she hoped he’d remember her somehow—that their love would be strong enough.

It wasn’t.

Like all returners, Weston came back a blank canvas. The years he and Tatum spent together were forgotten, as well as the week when he mysteriously disappeared before The Program came for him.

Regardless of his memory loss, Tatum fights to get Weston to remember her. And just as they start to build a new love, they hear about the Adjustment—a new therapy that implants memories from a donor. Despite the risks, Tatum and Weston agree to go through the process. Tatum donates her memories from their time together.

But the problem with memories is that they are all a matter of perspective. So although Weston can now remember dating Tatum, his emotions don’t match the experiences. And this discrepancy is slowly starting to unravel him, worse than anything The Program could have done.

And as the truth of their life together becomes clear, Tatum will have to decide if she loves Weston enough to let him go, or to continue to live the lie they’d build together.

Prepare for your Adjustment.

 

 

*****

 

****TW: This book is about suicide. If you have any triggers or don’t like to read about suicide. Do NOT read this book.

I don’t have words to describe how much I love this series. Suzanne Young is a genius and while each set of duologues are from different characters’ perspectives, the plots are so intractably connected that it will leave you wanting to read every one of these books. The Adjustment is The Program #3, it takes places in the world after The Treatment, but it was released after the prequel (The Epidemic). It seems a little confusing sometimes, but in The Adjustment we have cameos or mentions of the characters presented in the others books and Tate’s story is linked to them in a very interesting way. Before I keep going I think it’s best to list the exact reading order: Duology 1.The ProgramThe Treatment
Duology 2. The RemedyThe Epidemic
Duology 3The AdjustmentThe Complication (2018)You can read the first and the second duology separated, but I don’t think you can read The Adjustment if you haven’t read The Program and The Treatment.
That being said, The Adjustment is a deeply moving book about lost and trust. Tate never went to the program, but she was left behind to suffer the loss of her boyfriend (who was taken to the program) and lived in constant fear of being taken. When Wes, Tate’s boyfriend comes back, he doesn’t remember her. He might not be the same Wes she fell in love with, but she’ll do anything to get him back.This was actually a very complicated storyline because Tate, deep in grief doesn’t seem to notice how much she’s hurting herself and Wes trying to get back to a relationship that doesn’t exist anymore. This was a troubling relationship, they keep hurting each other, and they keep fighting for his memories and their love story. All while around them the world is falling apart; returners (people who went to the program) are still dying and the consequences of the program are destroying lives. This was an emotionally draining read.
Suzanne Young’s writing is amazing and fast paced. The characters are well created and it’s impossible not to connect with them. This book had some amazing twists and turns I wasn’t expecting and while the epilogue was a little confusing for me, it left me dying to read the final installment of this awesome series.
So, if you like intricate storylines, dark and heartbreaking plots and amazing characters, then you’re going to love this series! 

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As I Descended by Robin Talley *Blog Tour and Review*

Hello everyone! Today's my stop in the UK Blog Tour for As I Descended by Robin Talley. I loved this book, so make sure to read my 4.5 stars review bellow. And if you haven't added it to your TBR, make sure to do it soon!

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Synopsis.

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

From acclaimed author Robin Talley comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair.

MY REVIEW

 eARC provided for review. Thank you!

****

I am in awe. I was not expecting to like this book so much. As I Descended has been called a “lesbian Macbeth retelling” Of course I read Macbeth, but I don’t remember much about it, so it was really amazing to dive into this book without a clue about what would happen. 

For starters, the synopsis of this book makes it sound like it’s a “mean girls” kind of story, but it’s more than that. As I Descended is creepy and dark, it’s such a fast paced read!

It has a great cast of diverse characters and some Hispanic legends I was not expecting. It's not very often that I find Hispanic beliefs so well portrayed and that makes me happy. Seriously, I understand the fear of some characters because it’s something I’ve felt. The author did a great job creating realistic characters in a world of madness.

The plot is twisted and full of twists and turns. There were so many things I didn’t see coming. It had me on the edge of my seat every time I read. Whoa! I’m not sure how much of Macbeth it has, but this book was addictive. Even though there’s not much romance, As I Descended has some great couples I loved, and some I didn’t trust since the beginning.

As I Descended by Robin Talley is an emotional roller coaster. It has multiples POVs, which make the reader understand a little more about each character and that makes you come to your own predictions. It has some great betrayals, pain and many scary scenes. As I Descended is a must read!

PS: The only reason I don't give this book 5 stars is because even though Maria, the main character is hispanic, she never looked proud of it or even said something good about her blood. She's an anti heroe, so I understand this, but still...

               

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robin Talley grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, writing terrible teen poetry and riding a desegregation bus to the school across town. Robin lives in Washington, D.C., with her fiancée, plus an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. When Robin’s not writing, she’s often planning communication strategies at organizations fighting for equal rights and social justice. You can find her on the web at www.robintalley.com or on Twitter at @robin_talley

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This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This Is Where It Ends

by Marieke Nijkamp

Source: bought

My rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity High School finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve. 

10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class. 

10:03 a.m. The auditorium doors won't open. 

10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.

Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

****

I would love to say that this book is beautiful. But it wasn’t. It was beautifully written, but the plot is terrific, is traumatic. It’s so painful and real.

And it was completely different from everything I read before.

This It Where It Ends is about a shooting, about the shooter and about the victims.

When I started reading this book I didn’t know what to expect because it had many POVs, and it made me a little confused. It was a shock when, after a few chapters, I found myself in the middle of the madness. 

This is Where it Ends was so full of action once the shooting started, and even though it was heartbreaking and scary, it also was fast paced and intriguing.

I don’t know what to say about this book because this is such a hard topic, but everything inside this book was so well done that I kinda felt all the feelings: Sadness, terror, anger, fear, love. I even felt pity for Tyler, the shooter, when in real life I’ve never felt such a thing for these kinds of people.

The plot was really well done, but there wasn’t a big character development because almost the whole book takes place in the auditorium of the school. So, I understand and I still like them.

The only thing I didn’t like is that I was really confused with the time ALL THE TIME. Like, I kept wondering “how many minutes passed?” and I kept wondering “WHERE THE HELL IS THE POLICE!?”

I don’t know much about shootings, but I don’t think the police would wait so long.

Anyway, This is Where it Ends is a great, deep story. It’s a wonderful read. I can’t say anymore about it, but I’m sure that if you give it a chance, you will love it!

 

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The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart

by Jenn Bennett

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Source: bought.

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive, and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in her family’s closet tear them apart?

****

This was such a refreshing read!

I wanted to read this book since I read the summary and realize this was a story about two artists: one that draws cadavers and the other that paints beautiful graffitis.  

I love books about artist so much! I just couldn’t miss this one! 

I think there’s something you should know about this book: it was a Romance, as in, the plot moves more than anything around the relationship between Bex and Jack. I had bad luck with “romance only” plots in the past, so I was a little scared when I started to see that Bex and Jack were together in almost all of the chapters of this book.

This, however, wasn’t a problem because Bex and Jack are simply fantastic!

Bex is a strong and tough character! She’s feminine, funny and smart.

Jack, on the other hand, is charismatic and witty. They were perfect for each other, so I didn’t mind that this book felt like a “crush at first sight”.

Even though I felt that this book was too focused in the romance, there were some amazing family dynamics and opportunities for the characters to grow up. There were incredible secondary characters, too. Some that I adored, some I hated a little.

Now, the thing I found more refreshing about The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is how open was the author about sex topics. You see, Bex is not your typical shy girl, I adored that the author made her sexy and open minded. And Jack, the Buddhist, wanted to make sure you realize he’s not a monk.

“So, you’re telling me these are leftover garbage condoms?”

“They haven’t been used, Bex. You know I hate waste.”

“Maybe you should hand them out on Halloween instead of candy.”

The only reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars is because there was a moment, a single moment, when the thing I hate the most about romances became true: they are separate for a reason and the world crumbles and the color dies and the stars fall from the sky.

Thankfully the author ended this soon, and I was happy with them again.

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is a fun and fresh read for fans of diverse books and swoon-worthy romances. 

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