Book Review: The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube

Book Title & Author: The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire on August 7th, 2018
Genre: Horror, Paranormal
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Synopsis: Something is wrong with Marianne. 

It's not just that her parents have split up, or that life hasn't been the same since she quit dancing. Or even that her mother has checked herself into the hospital. 
She's losing time. Doing things she would never do. And objects around her seem to break whenever she comes close. 
Something is after her. But a first attempt at an exorcism calls down the full force of the thing's rage. It demands Marianne give back what she stole. And Marianne must uncover the truth that lies beneath it all before the nightmare can take what it think it's owed, leaving Marianne trapped in the darkness of the other side.

Review:
I had been looking for a really good horror book lately, so I was excited to pick this one up. It looked really good and I couldn't help but be excited just based off the cover alone. The cover pulls you right in and that's what first excited me about this book.

So I dove into the book with excitement and high expectations. Maybe I shouldn't have had such high expectations because while it was an okay book, it was nothing like I was hoping it would be. The writing was actually my favorite part because it was so atmospheric and creepy. It actually reminded me of Nova Ren Suma's writing. I don't think I've ever read another book where the writing was like Suma's.

I did like that Marianne had an aunt that was so present in her life. We don't get to see extended family much in YA, so I feel like whenever we do, I have to at least make a mention of it. Marianne's Aunt Jen was a good surprise and I actually liked how she interacted with Marianne and how she interacted with her troubled sister.

I couldn't stand Marianne's father. In fact, I felt like he was a selfish man who ran when things got hard. And by things, I mean his wife's mental health. He called his wife's "episodes" Hurricane Laura. I mean, how much more unsupportive could he be? When he called Marianne's mom "Hurricane Laura" I almost always wanted to slap him. I know it's not easy to live with someone who has mental health issues, but he married her for better or worse and when things got "worse" he ran like a bat out of hell. Ugh, I cannot STAND that.

My heart broke for Marianne's mother. I couldn't imagine being so afraid of hurting people I loved. I couldn't imagine what was going on in her head. I couldn't imagine hoe scared she must have been when certain things started happening and she thought she was the cause of them. And to have her husband just walk out on her like that. Just because she was struggling with her mental health.

What I wasn't expecting was Marianne's romance subplot, but oh my god, I think I loved it more than I expected to. It was grin-worthy. I don't think I've ever used that phrase before, certainly not in a review, but I loved this romance. It brought some peace to the insanity that was Marianne's life.

I ended up being really disappointed by the horror/paranormal aspects of this book. I cannot believe I have to say this, but I was expecting something much scarier as the book continued on, and in fact, it got less scary and more confusing as the book went on.

Final thoughts: This book disappointed me in the paranormal/horror aspects, but for people who scare easily, this is a decent book to dip your toe in if you want to try horror. 

Book Review: One Of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Book Title & Author: One Of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
Published by: Delecorte Press on May 30th, 2017
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 361
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Synopsis: The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, 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.

Review:
I desperately wanted to love this book and I was so excited to be approved for it so long ago. Yet, I didn't pick it up until it had already been out in the world for over a year. I still have no idea why it took me so long to pick it up. I love my character driven YA mysteries and I felt sure that this one was gonna fit that bill completely.

I found myself on a pacing roller coaster with this book. It was incredibly slow to start with, and I almost decided to DNF it. Right around 30% of the way through, it picked up, started gaining speed. I started to become more invested in the story, and in the characters. By 50% of the way through it, I was totally into it, coming up with my own crazy theories about what happened to Simon and what, if anything, the Bayview Four, had to do with it.

Sister stories are always a huge draw for me, and I think it's because I have several half sisters that I really don't know well. One Of Us is Lying had two sets of sisters: Ashton & Addy & Bronwyn & Maeve. Both Maeve & Ashton came through for their sisters in really big ways. Despite what was going on in each of their lives, they were able to be sisters to Bronwyn & Addy, both of whom really needed them.

Cooper had a fantastic grandma, Nonny, who was really there for him when shit started crashing down around him. Like the other 3 students involved in this thing, Cooper had his secrets. Secrets he tried so hard to keep for as long as he could. Cooper's dad was a grade A dick and I could not stand him at all. Not once did he seem to care about what Cooper wanted or how Cooper felt. It was all baseball all the time. Even through a murder investigation.

Nate was the outlier. Like it was said multiple times, if it came to it, he would be the scapegoat. He was the only one on probation, whose parents were not involved in his life and who had no money. The other three had crystal clear legal records, had involved parents and were fairly well off. So I wasn't hugely surprised that the police department seemed to zero in on him fairly quickly.

Usually in a book like this, any kind of romance tends to weaken the book for me, but with this book, the romance between Bronwyn & Nate totally improved the book. I actually really enjoyed their romance, and was really excited to watch it progress from burner phone conversations to kissing in the school cafeteria. 

Their romance was a sharp contrast to the controlling one Addy had with Cooper's best friend, Jake. Jake was a total controlling asshole who I had no patience with. Neither did Addy's sister, Ashton. Jake was always telling Addy how to wear her hair, how to dress, where they were going etc. Addy never spoke up for herself. Out of all of the Bayview Four, Addy's character development was the best and I really enjoyed watching it.

There is a subplot where a character is outed, but I didn't see it as a twist. The way the character was outed was horrible and it caused a knot in my stomach and an urge to hug the character, but I didn't see it as a plot twist.

I was so massively disappointed by the ending and how everything was revealed. I could not have been more disappointed if I tried. It felt like the author took the easy way out with the murder reveal. Easily one of the most disappointing endings of the year, if not the most disappointing. I wanted so much more from the murder reveal and I didn't get it.

Final thoughts: Aside from the uneven pace & the massively disappointing ending, I did enjoy the book. I really liked the characters and the particular mode of death was interesting. 

Book Review: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Book Title & Author: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
Published by: St. Martin's Press on July 17th, 2018
Genre: Horror
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Synopsis:Sweetness can be deceptive. 

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

Review:
Okay, first thing you should know is that this is an Adult title. I would definitely, DEFINITELY not classify it as YA. I don't generally read a lot of adult titles, so this was a change in direction for me. Doesn't hurt that my mom read it right before me and LOVED it. My mom & I have similar tastes in books, so I was fully prepared to love it just like she did.

I didn't love it. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

There were some startling similarities with my own life, which really threw me for a loop. Suzette's health problem was Crohn's Disease and my teen brother was just diagnosed with that in April 2017. So whenever she talked about her health, I was able to follow it and it wasn't like she was speaking a foreign language or anything. Also, the book takes place in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Squirrel Hill. My grandmother grew up near there and my great aunt still lives near there. I haven't been there since I was little, but I was still startled by that.

Alex was the weakest link in this whole book. I kept calling him a wuss because he was just blinded by how perfectly Hanna acted in front of him and he couldn't imagine her behaving the way Suzette said she was behaving. I desperately wanted him to stand up for Suzette and stop letting Hanna manipulate the situation. It just drove me bananas. It was infuriating how he couldn't see Hanna's behavior and the only reason he couldn't see it was that he was always working. I so badly wanted Suzette to tell him she was going on a trip and that he had to stay home with Hanna. But then I would realize that Hanna would never show Alex her dark side. Because she loved her Daddy and Mommy was a Bad Mommy.

Mommy was a Bad Mommy because she wouldn't go away and leave Hanna alone with her Daddy. That was what Hanna wanted most of all. For her Mommy to go away and for it to be just Hanna & Daddy together. I started to wonder if there was something sexual going on between Hanna & Alex and the only reason I wondered that was because of a particularly graphic scene that involved Hanna in a sexual scenario. I would love to say more about that scene, but it kinda gives stuff away, so I won't say anything more. 

Hanna is mute except for when she informs Suzette that she's not Hanna. She's Marie-Anne Doufosset. At this point, I start to wonder if something else entirely is going on. As the book continues, we learn more about Marie-Anne and who she is and why Hanna is so fixated on her.

"Nobody approved of the ways she had fun."

 Hanna's schemes go from relatively harmless to downright dangerous and I start to actually worry that she might actually do what she set out to do-kill her own mother. The ways Hanna has fun would make any normal child or adult absolutely horrified. There's a lot in this book that creeps me out, but there's one particular thing she does near the end of the book that made me cringe and made me feel exactly what Suzette was going through.

The ending was hugely anti-climatic and it really brought the book down for me, rating wise. I wanted more from the ending. It did leave it open for a sequel though, so we'll have to see if that happens.

Final thoughts: Overall, this book was good. Hanna was written super well and I actually felt like she was the most developed character. There were some slow parts & the fact that I don't think Suzette nor Alex were as well developed as they could have been. Plus, the ending was disappointing.

Book Review: Four-Letter Word by Christa Desir

Book Title & Author: Four-Letter Word by Christa Desir
Published by: Simon Pulse on May 15th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
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Synopsis: 
Eight friends. One game. A dozen regrets. And a night that will ruin them all, in this high stakes gripping story of manipulation and innocence lost, from the author of Bleed Like Me.

Chloe Sanders has wasted the better part of her junior year watching her best friend Eve turn away from her for the more interesting and popular Holly Reed. Living with her grandparents because her parents are currently serving as overseas volunteers, Chloe spends her days crushing on a dark-haired guy named Mateo, being mostly ignored by Eve and Holly, and wishing the cornfields of Iowa didn’t feel so incredibly lonely.

But shortly after spring break, a new girl transfers to her high school—Chloe Donnelly. This Chloe is bold and arty and instantly placed on a pedestal by Eve and Holly. Now suddenly everyone is referring to Chloe Sanders as “Other Chloe” and her social status plummets even more.

Until Chloe Donnelly introduces all her friends to a dangerous game: a girls vs. guys challenge that only has one rule—obtain information by any means necessary. All the warning bells are going off in Other Chloe’s head about the game, but she’s not about to commit social suicide by saying no to playing.

Turns out the game is more complicated than Other Chloe thinks. Chloe Donnelly hates to lose. She's got power over everyone—secrets she’s exploiting—and she likes to yank their strings. Only soft-spoken Mateo is sick of it, and when the game turns nasty, he chooses Other Chloe to help him expose everything Chloe Donnelly has done. But neither realize just how much the truth could cost them in the end.

Review: 
I will read anything Christa writes. She is one of my auto-read/auto-buy authors and she has been ever since I read Fault Line several years ago. I was super excited to get my hands on this book. It looked dark, compelling and very character driven, which are all things that I enjoy in books and awhile I did enjoy parts of it, it wasn't as good as her previous books were.

The two biggest issues I had were: character development and pacing. There was character development, particularly for Chloe S., or "other Chloe" as she was nicknamed as well as character development for Mateo & Chloe Donnelly, but the other five players in this game called Gestapo? Yeah, not nearly enough character development. We learn their secrets because Chloe Donnelly learns their secrets, but I wanted so much more in the way of character development. Especially for Other Chloe's closest friends, Holly & Eve. 

In a book like this one, character development for all the main players has to be the most import thing, but to have decent character development for only 3 out of the 8 players in this game was very disappointing to me. I felt like even Other Chloe's parents and grandparents were better fleshed out than Cam, Aiden, Holly, Eve & Josh were. I definitely didn't expect that and like I said, I desperately wanted more.

The pacing also really bothered me and to be honest, I felt like there was quite a bit that could have been removed from the book. Certain things that slowed the book down. In a book like this, I was expecting a fast paced book with not a lot of "filler" and that wasn't what I got with this book. Surprisingly, I don't feel like Other Chloe's romance with Mateo was filler. I freaking LOVED them together and the way the book ended, just tore up my insides.

Final thoughts: If there was a bit more character development and smoother pacing, I think I would have loved this book. I will still continue to read Christa Desir's books, but this one was not my favorite.

Book Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
Published on July 3rd, 2018 by HarperTeen
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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A surprising and gripping sci-fi thriller with a killer twist

The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on the Infinity, a spaceship speeding away from Earth.

Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, the Eternity, will be joining the Infinity.

Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the captain of the Eternity, and their friendship breathes new life into her world. But as the Eternity gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone….

So when I first finished Loneliest Girl I rated it a 4-stars. But now after being away from it for a week, I've found my feelings have changed enough to knock it down to a 3. There was a lot I liked about it, especially the first three quarters. But the ending was messy and muddied and just didn't work well for me.

My friends can tell you I was OBSESSED when I first started reading. I loved the snappy voice and the relatability of a heroine who had been living her entire life on a space ship. Her life was so weird and alien to me but at the heart of everything, she was a typical teenager. She was obsessed with her favorite television show, she wrote fanfic, she had a therapist, she did her homework--she didn't do her homework. I really, really enjoyed Romy. She's the kind of character that shows the true resilience and perseverance of humanity. She's the only passenger on a ship headed to another planet; her parents died when she was young and now the mission rests on her shoulders. She was amazing and strong and brilliant without losing her sense of teenage-ness, her anxiety, and the other things that made me relate to her so well.

The first big chunk of this book reads as a contemporary that just happens to be set in space. Romy deals with her daily life of maintaining the ship, correspondence with Earth, homework, writing her fic. And then it all changes when she learns there's another vessel headed her way to accompany her on the last leg of her journey to Earth-2. She and the captan of that ship start an email-based friendship. This is where the "lonely" part plays a bigger role. Romy is all alone in the galaxy and of course latches onto the nearest human being she can find. I think some people may complain about how swiftly she became attached, but again, imagine being 100% alone for like 5 years. Alone, in space! I thought her quick attachment made perfect sense.

Per the blurb, there's a pretty big twist that hits at the last quarter or so of the book.  I actually thought the build  up and reveal of this twist was so cleverly brilliant, and I flipped back to a handful of chapters where the author placed the first clues. It was impressive! However, once the action started ramping up and we got to the motive and truth of everything, it began to sort of crumble. I didn't find the motive particularly compelling or real enough. If this had been a story set on Earth, it would be more believable. However, these are GREAT lengths to go to for this sort of thing (sorry to be vague ha) and it didn't ring true.

Also, this may seem petty, but I was disappointed there was no epilogue. I don't think every story needs one, but this story absolutely could have benefitted from one last chapter or snapshot of the future.

So I would definitely still recommend this for those who are just dipping their toes into science-fiction and for people like a mystery/thriller type of story. I loved the main character and appreciated the way the author wrote in Romy's anxieties. But I found the ending unsatisfying in a handful of ways.