Top Ten Tuesday: Ten New-to-Me Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is...

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors!

I read books from many new authors this year. Some were authors I had been wanting to check out, others were accidental finds. Here are some of the new-to-me authors I loved, who were not debut authors or already listed on my Best Books of 2017 which contained almost all new-to-me authors. I also want to add, that these are authors I want to read more from, because I loved their books so much.

Katrina Leno
Book Read: Everything All at Once
Publisher: Harper Collins

I loved this book so much! From the lovely family focus to the story within the story, I adored it all. This one packed quite an emotional punch, and I have already bought both her backlist books, as I am determined to read all her work.

Review: A Taxonomy of Love - Rachael Allen

A Taxonomy of Love
Rachael Allen
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

The moment Spencer meets Hope the summer before seventh grade, it’s . . . something at first sight. He knows she’s special, possibly even magical. The pair become fast friends, climbing trees and planning world travels. After years of being outshone by his older brother and teased because of his Tourette syndrome, Spencer finally feels like he belongs. But as Hope and Spencer get older and life gets messier, the clear label of “friend” gets messier, too.

Through sibling feuds and family tragedies, new relationships and broken hearts, the two grow together and apart, and Spencer, an aspiring scientist, tries to map it all out using his trusty system of taxonomy. He wants to identify and classify their relationship, but in the end, he finds that life doesn’t always fit into easy-to-manage boxes, and it’s this messy complexity that makes life so rich and beautiful.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Curses - Laure Eve

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for The Curses by Laure Eve!

The Curses
Laure Eve

Series: The Graces, #2
Release Date: January 9, 2018

Publisher: Amulet Books

Waited on by: Sam and Kiersten

Goodreads

Picking up the pieces after the chilling events of the previous year isn’t easy, but the Graces are determined to do it. Wolf is back after a mysterious disappearance, and everyone’s eager to return to normal. Except for Summer, the youngest Grace. Summer has a knack for discovering the truth—and something is troubling her. After a trail of clues leads her to what could be the key to both her family’s mysterious past and the secret of Wolf, she’s determined to vanquish yet another curse. But exposing secrets is a dangerous game, and it’s not one Summer can win alone.

At Summer’s behest, the coven comes back together, reluctantly drawing their erstwhile friend River back into the fold. But Wolf’s behavior becomes unpredictable even as Fenrin’s strength fades, and Summer must ask herself whether the friend she so loves is also planning her family’s ultimate, cursed demise.

This riveting sequel to The Graces is saturated with magic, the destructive cost of power, the complications of family, and the nature of forgiveness.

In a Nutshell Reviews: All Hits, No Misses!

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want to know about a book in the fewest possible words. This volume appears to feature books that were close to perfection for me, as I seem to have rated all three of these 4.5 stars.

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo
F.C. Yee
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

She annihilates standardized tests and the bad guys.

Genie Lo is one among droves of Ivy-hopeful overachievers in her sleepy Bay Area suburb. You know, the type who wins. When she’s not crushing it at volleyball or hitting the books, Genie is typically working on how to crack the elusive Harvard entry code.

But when her hometown comes under siege from hellspawn straight out of Chinese folklore, her priorities are dramatically rearranged. Enter Quentin Sun, a mysterious new kid in class who becomes Genie’s self-appointed guide to battling demons. While Genie knows Quentin only as an attractive transfer student with an oddly formal command of the English language, in another reality he is Sun Wukong, the mythological Monkey King incarnate—right down to the furry tale and penchant for peaches.

Suddenly, acing the SATs is the least of Genie’s worries. The fates of her friends, family, and the entire Bay Area all depend on her summoning an inner power that Quentin assures her is strong enough to level the very gates of Heaven. But every second Genie spends tapping into the secret of her true nature is a second in which the lives of her loved ones hang in the balance.

• Pro: This book is hilarious. I laughed so much and so often. 
• Pro: Genie Lo is such a fierce heroine. She is smart and sassy and she can throw a punch. 
• Pro: The banter between Genie and Quinten is fantastic. I loved these two and couldn't get enough of them on page together. 
• Con: Really, I got nothing. 
• Pro: Yee did such an awesome job integrating Chinese folklore with humor and the stresses of high achieving teens. 
• Pro: I had to give Yee applause for that awesome twist. I didn't see it coming. 
• Pro: I loved the ending, mostly because it left it open for us to have more Genie and Quinten books. 

Overall: I loved this uproarious tale, that was packed with action, folklore, and fabulous characters.

A Semi-Definitve List of Worst Nightmares
Krystal Sutherland
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

From the author of Our Chemical Hearts comes the hilarious, reality-bending tale of two outsiders facing their greatest fears about life and love one debilitating phobia at a time.

Ever since Esther Solar's grandfather was cursed by Death, everyone in her family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime. Esther's father is agoraphobic and hasn't left the basement in six years, her twin brother can t be in the dark without a light on, and her mother is terrified of bad luck.

The Solars are consumed by their fears and, according to the legend of the curse, destined to die from them.

Esther doesn't know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to), a feat achieved by avoiding pretty much everything. Elevators, small spaces, and crowds are all off-limits. So are haircuts, spiders, dolls, mirrors and three dozen other phobias she keeps a record of in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.

Then Esther is pickpocketed by Jonah Smallwood, an old elementary school classmate. Along with her phone, money and a fruit roll-up she d been saving, Jonah also steals her list of fears. Despite the theft, Esther and Jonah become friends, and he sets a challenge for them: in an effort to break the curse that has crippled her family, they will meet every Sunday of senior year to work their way through the list, facing one terrifying fear at a time, including one that Esther hadn't counted on: love.

• Pro: So many awesome and quirky characters to love. Each character had a little quirk that defined them, and Sutherland used them well in the story. 
• Pro: I laughed so much while Esther and Jonah conquered the list. Jonah and Esther were fabulous enough together, with their chemistry, history, and banter, but the ways they came up with to slay Esther's fears were great. 
• Pro: I was laughing until I was crying. There are some very serious issues confronted in this book, most being of the mental health variety. I liked that Sutherland tempered the heavy with the light, because there are some really dark and serious moments that would have been overwhelming without that balance. 
• Con: So, I was a little unprepared for when stuff got real. The story was so light and fluffy, and then I was reduced to tears. This is small con, only because I am a sap and felt ill prepared for the sadness that ensued. 
• Pro: I was glad that Sutherland had these characters seek help for their illnesses. It's vital that mental illness not be associated with shame or something that you need to deal with in isolation. #ShatteringStigmas
• Con: I was scratching my head a little at the ending, and I still am not sure about Death (was he solely in Esther's imagination?), but on the whole, the ending was satisfying, because Sutherland left me with a lot of hope for these characters. 
• Pro: Esther and her brother shared a strong sibling bond. She ached for him and he ached for her. It was special to be a part of it. 
• Pro: There was tons of love in this book. Esther's family was damaged and dysfunctional, but we got glimpses of things, that showed how much they loved each other. They were slightly broken, but when push came to shove, they were there for one another. 

Overall: A captivating tale that combines some serious issues, humor, mystery, and a little bit of magic, which left me happy and hopeful.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

One Dark Throne
Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.

• Pro: Blake packed this one with lots of surprises that were real game changers. The physical and mental battles being waged are quite intense. 
• Pro: The queen I named as my favorite in order to get this ARC at BookCon is still my favorite after this book. In fact, I like her even more after this book. 
• Pro: I loved that Blake gave her supporting characters meaty storylines. They are fully realized and never feel like afterthoughts. 
• Con: I am still sort of on the outs with Joseph. Sorry. 
• Pro: This drama escalates quickly as the three queens must deal with the fallout from their last family get together, and we get a lot of clarification on what really happened at the end of the last book. 
• Con: The next book doesn't come out until May 2018, and I sort of need some answers right now!
• Pro: We get a little peek into the early years our queens shared together, and we actually see some sisterly bonding going on. This really made me like another queen more than I previously had. 
• Pro: Alliances are muddied and backroom deals are made, as the politics in this one gets turned up a notch. There are many "oh no she didn't" moments, which kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Overall: A fantastic sequel with lots of twists and turns, which left me with heartache and wanting more.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

Have you read any of these books?

Let us know in the comments!

Book Blitz: The Epic Crush of Genie Lo - F.C. Yee

You may have heard how upset I was when my co-blogger absconded with THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO by F.C. Yee, because I was so excited to read it. Well, release day is finally here, and now we can all read it!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author F.C. Yee, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for 5 finished copies of the book and a bookmark courtesy of Pique and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The Book:

Title: THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO

Author: F.C. Yee
Pub. Date: August 8, 2017
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 336
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iBooks, TBD, Goodreads

The struggle to get into a top-tier college consumes sixteen-year-old Genie Lo's every waking thought. But when her sleepy Bay Area town comes under siege from hell-spawn straight out of Chinese folklore, her priorities are suddenly and forcefully rearranged.

Her only guide to the demonic chaos breaking out around her is Quentin Sun, a beguiling, maddening new transfer student from overseas. Quentin assures Genie she is strong enough to fight these monsters, for she unknowingly harbors an inner power that can level the very gates of Heaven.

Genie will have to dig deep within herself to summon the otherworldly strength that Quentin keeps talking about. But as she does, she finds the secret of her true nature is entwined with his, in a way she could never have imagined…

Excerpt:

“GREETINGS,” HE SAID, HIS ACCENT THICK BUT HIS VOICE LOUD and clear. “I have arrived.”

Now, I’d done my best to describe this guy to the police. They pressed me hard for details, as apparently this wasn’t the first group mugging in recent weeks.

But I’d let Officers Davis and Rodriguez down. Nice eyes and a winning smile weren’t much to go by. I was too frazzled to notice anything before, which meant this was my first decent look at the boy without the influence of adrenaline.

So a couple of things.

One: He was short. Like, really short for a guy. I felt bad that my brain went there first, but he wasn’t even as tall as Mrs. Nanda.

Two: He was totally okay, physically. I didn’t see how anyone could be up and about after that beating, but here he was, unbruised and unblemished. I felt relieved and disturbed at the same time to see there wasn’t a scratch on him.

And his mint condition just made Point Three even more obvious.

He was . . . yeesh.

Nothing good could come of our new classmate being that handsome. It was destructive. Twisted. Weaponized. He had the cheekbones and sharp jawline of a pop star, but his thick eyebrows and wild, unkempt hair lent him an air of natural ruggedness that some pampered singer could never achieve in a million years of makeup.

“Argh, my ovaries,” Yunie mumbled. She wasn’t alone, judging by the soft intakes of breath coming from around the room.

“Arrived from where?” said Mrs. Nanda.

Quentin looked at her in amusement. “China?”

“Yes, but where in, though?” said Mrs. Nanda, trying her best to convey that she was sensitive to the regional differences. Fujianese, Taishanese, Beijingren—she’d taught them all.

He just shrugged. “The stones,” he said.

“You mean the mountains, sweetie?” said Rachel Li, batting her eyelashes at him from the front row.

“No! I don’t misspeak.”

The class giggled at his English. But none of it was incorrect, technically speaking.

“Tell us a little about yourself,” Mrs. Nanda said.

Quentin puffed out his chest. The white button-down shirt and black pants of our school’s uniform for boys made most of them look like limo drivers. But on him, the cheap stitching just made it clearer that he was extremely well-muscled underneath.

“I am the greatest of my kind,” he said. “In this world I have no equal. I am known to thousands in faraway lands, and everyone I meet can’t help but declare me king!”

There was a moment of silence and sputtering before guffaws broke out.

“Well . . . um . . . we are all high achievers here at SF Prep,” said

Mrs. Nanda as politely as she could. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in?”

Quentin surveyed the cramped beige classroom with a cool squint. To him, the other twenty-two laughing students were merely peons on whom his important message had been lost.

“Enough wasting of time,” he snapped. “I came to these petty halls only to reclaim what is mine.”

Before anyone could stop him, he hopped onto Rachel’s desk and stepped over her to the next one, like she wasn’t even there.

“Hey! Quentin!” Mrs. Nanda said, frantically waving her hands. “Get down now!”

The new student ignored her, stalking down the column of desks. Toward mine.

Everyone in his way leaned to the side to avoid getting kicked. They were all too flabbergasted to do anything but serve as his counterweights.

He stopped on my desk and crouched down, looking me in the eye. His gaze pinned me to my seat.

I couldn’t turn away. He was so close our noses were almost touching. He smelled like wine and peaches.

“You!” he said.

“What?” I squeaked.

Quentin gave me a grin that was utterly feral. He tilted his head as if to whisper, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You belong to me”

About F.C:


F. C. Yee grew up in New Jersey and went to school in New England, but has called the San Francisco Bay Area home ever since he beat a friend at a board game and shouted “That’s how we do it in NorCal, baby!” Outside of writing, he practices capoeira, a Brazilian form of martial arts, and has a day job mostly involving spreadsheets.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram





Giveaway Details:

5 winners will receive Genie Lo prize packs—complete with a finished copy of the book and a special Genie Lo horoscope (that doubles as a bookmark!), US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you or do you want to read Genie Lo?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: More of Me - Kathryn Evans

More of Me
Kathryn Evans
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, SciFi
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Teva goes to school, studies for her exams, and spends time with her friends. To the rest of the world, she’s a normal teenager. But when she goes home, she’s anything but normal. Due to a genetic abnormality, Teva unwillingly clones herself every year. And lately, home has become a battleground. When boys are at stake, friends are lost, and lives are snatched away, Teva has a fight on her hands—a fight with herself. As her birthday rolls around, Teva is all too aware that time is running out. She knows that the next clone will soon seize everything she holds dear. Desperate to hang on to her life, Teva decides to find out more about her past . . . and uncovers lies that could either destroy her or set her free.

Teva, version 16, is well aware of her fate. She knows she has one year to be the Teva who interacts with the outside world. She has one year to live her whole life before she is replaced by Teva version 17, and is then forced to spend her days locked away with her previous versions. But it appears the later version Tevas are not happy with this arrangement, and they are willing to fight for the right to live their lives, but will Teva survive long enough to accomplish this task?

When I first discovered this book, I thought the concept sounded really interesting. I love science, and genetics is an ever-evolving and growing field. I have to admit, when I started reading this book, it was a little weird, but then I remembers, SciFi books not set in space are a little weird, therefore, I kept reading. I am glad I gave this book a chance, because the story did hit its groove, and I grew to enjoy reading about all the Tevas.

Something I really liked, was trying to figure out if this was legit or if we were dealing with an unreliable narrator. Evans did a great job keeping me in that grey area. I was vacillating between the two scenarios, and found myself analyzing past passages to figure out if there were really clones or was it all in Teva's head. Well play, Ms. Evans.

I also thought Evans blended these out-of-the-ordinary parts very well with the ordinary parts of every day life. These Tevas never came across as science experiments or less than human. In fact, the two oldest versions, fifteen and Teva, were preoccupied with such average teen girl issues, that it read almost like a contemporary (my favorite genre). That SciFi twist added an extra layer to the story and brought up the intrigue factor.

The story was interesting, and there were some great characters supporting this story. Two of my favorite were Maddy, Teva's best friend, and Tom, Teva's classmate. Maddy was a fun and faithful friend, who challenged and supported Teva. Tom provided most of the comic relief, in my opinion. His character was quite amusing, but we did get to see that he had some depth later on, and I really loved where Evans went with him.

Now, I am going deep. When I was trying to decide if the multiple versions were real or not, I started thinking of them metaphorically. This idea, that each year you shed your younger self, thus emerging with some of your former thoughts and beliefs, but also open to forming new ones. I even saw some symbolism in the physical pains Teva experienced as her new, older self was battling to emerge. Growing up is hard and can be painful, and I thought this was illustrated in an interesting way throughout the book. OR that was totally not the author's intention, and I am reading into it too much. Either way, I love that it made me think so much.

Overall: An interesting portrait of growing up sprinkled with romance, mystery, drama, and humor.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. Quotes are from an ARC and may change upon publication.

In one of my favorite parts of this book, one of the characters talks about how they will get coffee, lots and lots of coffee. It was a very sweet declaration in its context, but it made me think, that would be wonderful, because I love coffee. 

Do you like coffee?

Let us know in the comments!

Review + Playlist: The Graces - Laure Eve

The Graces
Laure Eve
Series: The Graces, #1
Genre: Magical Realism, Paranormal, Young Adult
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Amulet Books for the eARC I received via Netgalley!

This post is long over due, and I am ashamed of myself for waiting so long to review this glorious book.

The Graces follows River as she snakes her way into the inner circle of the Grace family. The Graces are a super beautiful, super mysterious, and super beloved family in a small town. Being the gorgeous, mystery-shrouded beings that they are, everyone in the town kind of thinks they're witches, and they don't really do much to dissuade people from thinking that because they are too gorgeous and mysterious to appease such peasant rumors. Basically, think of the Grace family kind of like how the Cullen family is introduced in Twilight (I never read the books but I've seen the movies, and that's going to have to be close enough for this comparison).

River is by no means an easy character to like - homegirl has A LOT of internalized Issues. But as soon as I realized that we never actually get to know River's real name (River is a name she decides to call herself early on in the book), I was immediately intrigued by the mysterious and unreliable nature of our narrator. It becomes very clear through the book that River will do Anything to become part of the Graces' inner circle, and she does some pretty terrible things along the way. I've seen a lot of reviews saying that River is not likable, and while she is definitely not a great person (read: she's definitely chaotic evil, which can come across as being a bad person), I kind of liked her ruthless passion - how much she was willing to do for what she wanted, what she thought she deserved. I think she's a bit of an antihero, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her.

Then there's the Grace family. Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer are the siblings of the Grace family, the first two being twins and Summer being the younger sibling who is in River's grade. These characters had many layers to them - on the forefront, there was how much they loved being revered in their town, worshiped for being these awesome, supposedly-magical beings, but deeper, there was this yearning for connection that wasn't built from idolization. I thoroughly enjoyed as the layers were peeled back from these characters, showing a rawness in them that was so different from River.

Besides the magic of the characters themselves, there's such a magical feeling in the way the world is built in The Graces. The way that Laure Eve describes everything in the world was so enrapturing - I found myself feeling magnetized, drawn deeper and deeper into the world that she built, yearning for just a little bit more of that magic through every page. This book was chilling in a way that's similar to another book that I love: The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle.

Overall, The Graces is an absolutely captivating story of magic, mystery, and desire. There's friendship, family, romance, and so much more packed into this book, and I absolutely loved every second of it. I highly recommend this book to readers looking for something that feels eerily magical. I can't wait to see what Laure Eve has in store for The Curses!

Playlist Inspired by The Graces

I've always had a passion for making playlists (I personally think that I should have been a part of the mixtape generation because I absolutely love the idea of making mixtapes and giving them to people and yes I have definitely done that with mix CDs and playlists), but I've never made a book inspired playlist before. UNTIL NOW! While I was reading The Graces, I found that the tone of the book really inspired me and made me think of specific songs, so I decided to put together a full playlist and share it here! The playlist is as follows:

River - Bishop Briggs

Obsessions - Marina and the Diamonds

Worth The Fight - Broods

All I Need - Radiohead

Leave The Lights On - Meiko

Hear The Bells (Hear The Bells EP version) - Vanessa Carlton

Navigate - Band Of Skulls

Cold Cold Water - Mirah

Freak Of Nature - Broods ft. Tove Lo

I Could Be There For You - Eisley

Call It Off - Tegan and Sara

Hotblack - Oceanship

The Flowers - Regina Spektor

I Can't Take It - Tegan and Sara

Enemy Among Us - Paper Route

Plenty of Paper - Eisley

Nearly Witches [Ever Since We Met...] - Panic! At The Disco

And here's an embedded version of the playlist through Spotify if you want to give it a listen all together, or you can check it out on Spotify here!

What's your favorite type of paranormal character?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Noteworthy - Riley Redgate

Noteworthy 
Riley Redgate
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, GLBT
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Jordan was lucky enough to earn a scholarship to the prestigious Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. She has a love for musical theatre, but after two years, she has yet to be cast in a show due to her height and her voice being in the lower register. When the Sharpshooters post an audition call, Jordan sees an opportunity to show she belongs at Kesingington. The only problem is that the Sharpshooters are an all MALE a cappella group.

"since the Kensington a cappella scene was a shade or two less friendly than the mafia, and a shade or two more exclusive."

When I first started reading Noteworthy, I thought it was going to be a She's the Man type comedy. The beginning of the book was light and comical, but as the story progressed, it went a LOT deeper than I expected.

Jordan was struggling with feeling like she belonged. Her parents wanted that proof that she should stay at Kensington. Jordan wanted to prove that she belonged at Kensington, and she also wanted to feel like she belonged. Jordan spent the first two years in her "love bubble" with her boyfriend, who after moving on from Kensington, also moved on from her. There she was, junior year - no boyfriend, no friends, and no roles. The Sharpshooters filled a bigger hole than she anticipated. It wasn't just earning the spot in the group, she began to grow, struggle with her identity, and find herself.

One thing Redgate explored from multiple sides was sexual orientation. She had gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters, who were in varying stages of figuring it out or coming out. Some were fully out, some were in relationships but in the closet, while others were at the early stages of understanding their own sexuality.

"even just pretending to be a guy was changing me. It was letting me access parts of me I'd pushed back, and parts I didn't know I'd had, and I wanted that version of me. I liked her better. She was new, she was interesting, she felt in charge."

There was some interesting commentary of being female versus male in our society. I was really struck by how Jordan felt she had to suppress parts of herself, as she was able to tap into these hidden parts while masquerading as a male.

"A hint of confusion awoke. What did it say that I'd gotten so addicted to my male disguise? If girlhood felt frustrating, and boyhood felt freeing, did that say more about girlhood, boyhood, or me?"

Redgate assemble a very diverse cast of characters, and I hope everyone can see themselves somewhere in this book. In addition to many being under the GLBT umbrella, there are characters of color, plus sized characters, and socioeconomically disadvantaged characters. Jordan's socioeconomic status plays an important role in the story, and her lifestyle is quite a contrast to those of her Kensington peers.

I don't want to mislead you, there are a lot of lighter moments in this book too. Many of the scenes with the Sharpshooters are full of humor and great banter. There are many, many bromantic moments, and I loved getting to know all the guys in these moments.

I only ever sang in the church and school choir, but I do love a cappella. The passages describing the musical interludes were so vivid and rich. I also loved all the musical references. I really enjoyed peeking behind the curtain to see how hard these kids work.

"What the hell was a 'deceptive cadence'? An obscure supervillian?"

And YES! There is a romance. I cannot lie. I saw this ship coming in, and was totally onboard. I loved the way it played out, and wanted more of it.

"The boy in front of me was a past and a present and a future."

Overall: A fun look at the world of a cappella filled with fun and friendship while exploring identity issues.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

Do you like a cappella?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: The Last Thing You Said - Sara Biren

The Last Thing You Said 
Sara Biren
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Reading Challenges: #ContRom2017, #NGEW2017, #DebutAuthorChallenge

The last thing she said --

It's a good day to have a good day." She leans in close to me and whispers, "BRB, Lucy. Promise me."

I knew this books would elicit tears, when a few escaped as I read the author's introductory note.



This is a sad story of what happens when a life is cut short. It's about those who are left behind, and how they are supposed to survive without that person. I lost several friends too soon, and therefore was able to relate to this story. Biren deftly portrayed people in the throes of grief. The primary focus of the story was Ben and Lucy, but she also included Trixie's parents and other family members. I appreciated that Biren did this, because she showed that grief, and how one deals with this grief, is not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Her life was short, but she did - she lived it.

This story really hit home for me on so many levels, as I lost several friends way too soon. It made me reflect on how I dealt with those losses. The coincidence that I finished reading this story on THIS day, which is always a little sad for me as I remember my good friend who I lost in a plane crash, was uncanny. It was many years ago, but I still hold a little piece of him in my heart and a little bit of the pain is still there too. So, yeah, I could relate to this story, and found that the pain and ache permeated this story was so real.

"Tell me a Trixie." I smile. This has become one of our favorite activities, a way I can keep Trixie alive.

The parts where memories of Trixie were shared were among my favorite parts of this book. I swear! Every one of them brought a smile to my face, and made my eyes shiny. These vignettes were so beautifully crafted, and radiated with love for their cherished friend and sister. They were just perfect. The picture of Trixie painted for us, was one of a girl who loved recklessly and lived her life out loud. She brought joy to those who she loved and who loved her back, but she had flaws, and I liked that Biren included those too.

Be really brave. BRB - our code.

The broken relationship between Ben and Lucy was so painful! There were times when I thought my heart just could not take any more. These two were so deep in their hole of anguish, that they were missing out on their best means for survival. It is here that I will thank Biren for giving both Ben and Lucy such wonderful support systems in the form of Guthrie and Hannah. Guthrie was this fabulous strong but silent type, who has this zen-mystical quality. And Hannah! Hannah was loud and showy and sometimes crass, but she was thoughtful, understanding, persistent when necessary, and perceptive. She knew exactly what Lucy needed and when. It was really touching the way she shared in Lucy's pain and wanted to help her remember Trixie, even though she never met her. #FriendshipGoals.



I really loved the way Biren worked the inuksuit into the story. The whole purpose of the inuksuit as a form of communication to say you were here or to tell someone they are on the right path. Ben used these structures as a way to find his way back: back to Lucy and back to himself. It was very poetic and beautiful.

I stack the rocks and they fall and I stack them again until I find balance.

Ben was so careful and methodical about it, so intent on achieving balance where there should be none.

And the ending image featuring the inuksuit just made my heart leap with joy.

Overall: A lovely and poignant story of love and loss which hit me right in the feels, and is leaving me wanting more from Sara Biren.

**I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book

Do you enjoy lake sports?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Hidden Gem Books I've Read in the Past Year Or So

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Here at We Live and Breathe Books, two of us choose five books each week. This weeks topic is...

Hidden gem books I've read in the past year or so!

Kiersten's Picks

Whatever.
S.J. Goslee
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Goodreads

Whatever. is a really fun coming of age story about a boy who realizes he is gay (or bisexual, I'm not entirely sure what he lands upon in the end). The story is filled with humor and the awkwardness of being a high school student, and just feels really honest - I felt like I could have known these characters in high school. For more thoughts, check out my review here!

Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies
Laura Stampler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Goodreads 

This book had a really similar vibe to Jane by Design, True Jackson VP, and The Carrie Diaries - all television shows that I really loved. The concept of this book was super cute, the cast of characters had such a wide variety of personality, and the book was generally non-stop fun. Check out my full review here!

The Museum of Heartbreak
Meg Leder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Goodreads

The Museum of Heartbreak was such a sweet and heartfelt book. I really liked the main character and how much she grew throughout the book - she starts out so naive and has to struggle through her coming-of-age story. I loved how this book touched on several different kinds of heartbreak rather than just a romantic one. For more thoughts, check out my review here!

Scythe
Neal Shusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Goodreads

Scythe was absolutely phenomenal. While the concept of reapers isn't an original one, the way Shusterman took the reaper concept and combined it with the idea of immortality was absolutely brilliant. This book was a wild ride, but it also made me really think about life and what is important. Review to come soon!

The Graces

Laura Eve
Series: The Graces, #1
Publisher: Amulet Books
Goodreads

I talk about this book and witch books A Lot but only because I think they're really great ok let me live. This book had a really mystical vibe that I can't really explain - it kind of made me feel like I was in the song Nearly Witches by Panic! at the Disco (which is on the playlist I made inspired by the book). Full review and playlist to be posted soon!

Sam's Picks

Hidden gems is an idiom which means something which is extremely outstanding and not many people may know about

Using the definition above, I went through my read shelf trying to identify those books that I considered gems. This was a really difficult list to compile. There were so many books I read last year, which I think deserve more love. I eventually settled on the five below. These were five star reads for me, and all were 2016 releases except Dahlia Moss, which was a 2015 release, but is being released in paperback format next month.

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss
Max Wirestone
Publisher: Redhook
Goodreads

This book was so much fun. I laughed so hard and so often, my face hurt. Dahlia Moss is a geeky Veronica Mars, who is hired to find a stolen spear. It’s not a real spear though. It’s a spear that was stolen within an online game. However, the crimes from inside the game soon spill from the virtual world to the real world. This was a hilarious trip through geek culture, and I loved every minute of it. (review)

Don't Get Caught
Kurt Dinan
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Goodreads

I have seen several hybrids thrown around to describe this book - Breakfast Club meets Goonies and Breakfast Club meets Ocean’s Eleven probably come closest to the feel of this book. In this story, five people from different social cliques come together for revenge. There are mysteries, pranks and lots of hijinks. I apparently have all the love for amusing books, because this one that was really fun too, and to quote my own review: “You will cheer when the Five succeed, and feel a little bummed when they fail, but man, you will laugh, smile, and fist pump many times along the way.” (review)

Phantom Limbs
Paula Garner
Publisher: Candlewick
Goodreads

All I can say is - Otis. Otis. Otis. Otis. I loved this kid. He was really very special, and I want everyone to read this book and meet Otis. Besides him, there are many other things to love about this book. There is the return of Otis’ first love, who had abruptly excised him from her life, and there’s Darla the promising olympian, who’s career was cut short when she lost her arm. There are the multiple meanings of the term Phantom Limb, which I gleaned from this story and left such a huge impression on me. I have nothing but love for this book. (review)

It's Not Me, It's You
Stephanie Kate Strohm
Publisher: Point
Goodreads

Another book that left me in stitches. Avery is charged with collecting an oral history for her final project, and decides to do one based on her disastrous love life. The oral history format allowed for so many POVs without being overwhelming, and the editor's notes always left me laughing. There were many times I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. But this book was more than funny, it was charming and sweet and I just cannot say enough about it. (review)

We Are Still Tornadoes
Michael Kun and Susan Mullen
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Goodreads

Talk about #FriendshipGoals. This is an epistolary novel chronicling Cath and Scott’s first year out of high school. Cath went away to college, while Scott joined his father in the family business. As they keep in touch via these letters, their friendship grows and changes. I just had so many feels! Cute, charming, heartwarming, swoony — there are not enough adjectives available to me. (review)

What are some hidden gems you read last year?

Let us know in the comments!

SaveSave

Review: Seven Ways We Lie - Riley Redgate

Seven Ways We Lie
Riley Redgate
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

For the longest time I couldn't figure out how I felt about this. I thought the concept sounded so cool so I actually bought it from Barnes & Noble instead of just sitting in the store and reading it in a few hours sitting and putting it back on the shelf.

So this book has 7 main characters/7 PoVs as you might be able to guess from the title. These characters are: Olivia, Kat, Matt, Juniper, Valentine, and Claire. They all have the stereotypes that follow them, whether it be the slut or the perfect one or the weird one. It all ended up feeling very classic high school. This is the blurb:

Seven students. Seven (deadly) sins. One secret.

Paloma High School is ordinary by anyone’s standards. It’s got the same cliques, the same prejudices, the same suspect cafeteria food. And like every high school, every student has something to hide—from Kat, the thespian who conceals her trust issues onstage, to Valentine, the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal.

When that scandal bubbles over, and rumors of a teacher-student affair surface, everyone starts hunting for someone to blame. For the seven unlikely allies at the heart of it all, the collision of their seven ordinary-seeming lives results in extraordinary change.

Doesn't this sound like the wildest ride???? It's so ambiguous and appealing that even when I was 3/4 of the way through the book I thought something crazy would happen. But it played out like basically the same way that all books about high school do. 

The /main/ plot of the teacher-student affair really drives the story -- there's a little romance and family struggles and stuff on the side, but mostly it's about this. You can probably guess from the first few chapters who was involved. But the affair was probably the worst written part of the novel.  It felt really reminiscent (I hate to make this reference) of Aria & Ezra from PLL, meaning, it felt so much like a trope. However, it's a trope that I like to see hashed out and I think this book did a good job of that.

I did enjoy some of the subplots -- Olivia & Kat's family issues and Lucas' identity crisis were at the top of that list. I really did enjoy the way Claire's character was played out -- she's an unlikeable character who's mostly just used to move the plot along by constantly comparing herself to others, but she was good in a way that I think really showed jealousy. I think envy is something that is usually not vocalized but Claire was written in a way that showed how ugly envy can really be. A lot of the reviews I read said Claire was one of the worst characters but I don't know, I liked having an unsympathetic character. 

This book has a good deal of ~sensitive topics~ discussed -- I'm really hyped that sexuality is discussed candidly (cough cough they actually talk about pansexuality which never happens) (sidenote I noticed this when reading the book but I wouldn't have put it in the review if I hadn't seen another person mention it while scrolling through goodreads so credits to that person). The issues between Kat and Olivia, the issues of slut shaming and drugs and being the outsider and sleeping with the teacher -- I liked that all of these things came up and none were ignored or kind of shoved to the side as not that destructive. 

All in all I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book -- I want so much to say I really enjoyed it because the topics discussed were interesting and each character definitely had a unique voice, but I think the nature of most of plot points to be kind of unoriginal was a turn off for me. I also think that 7 PoVs were kind of choppy for this kind of story. SIGH I don't know I've changed the number of stars this book gets like at least three times throughout the story. Read it yourselves and let me know how you feel!

- Amrutha

What books with a lot of PoVs do you like?

Let us know in the comments!