Contemporary

August Wrap Up

| piperreads

Wow, I can’t believe August is over! This has been a very good reading month as I had a lot more time than I anticipated and enjoyed it. I’m excited to share with you the books that I read for the month! So let’s get started.

A Court of Honey & Ash by Shannon Mayer & Kelly St. Clare
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher
Genre: Fiction, Romance, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Catch and Cradle by Katia Rose
Genre: LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Darling by K. Ancrum
Genre: Fiction, LGBT, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
Review: Here

Rating; 3.5/5

Forget This Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Genre: Young Adult, LGBT, Sci-Fi
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Into The Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Lyrics and Curses by Candace Robinson
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Outrun The Wind by Elizabeth Tammi
Genre: LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 3.5/5

Some Girls Do By Jennifer Dugan
Genre: LGBT, Romance, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

The Girl The Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young
Genre: Fantasy, Historical-Fiction, Young Adult
Review: Here


Rating: 3/5

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Genre: Mystery, YA, Contemporary
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Vanishing Star by Maureen Johnson
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

We Regret To Inform You by Ariel Kaplan
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Mystery
Review: Here

Rating: 2.5/5

What I Carry by Jennifer Longo
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Book Of The Week: Lyrics and Curses

| piperreads

Curses and Lyrics follows two young people, Lark and Auden who are both coming to terms with their painful pasts. Lark lives with her trendy, party-loving, twin sister and her mother come lately, Beth who has sworn off men and thrown herself into homemaking who don’t understand her love of cassette tapes, distaste of the pop scene, or her standoffish personality. For Lark, she feels like she has no place of belonging except one place, Bubbles Odities, where she finds herself a kindred spirit in Auden Ellis. But, Auden keeps her at arms length because of his fear of exposing her to dangers that lurk in the shadows. But, when two strangers come to town, carrying a dark and mysterious object and errie flute music, the two find that their painful pasts are more in sync than they believe. Now the two have to come to terms with their budding attraction while also keeping their loved ones safe with the dangers that are about to be exposed.

The two main characters are what stood out to me. They were very real, fleshed out, and easy to relate to and have empathy for the with their struggles. Lark has two sisters and a mother doesn’t give Lark what she really needs which makes it easy to connect with her. Auden lost both of his parents and has a loving-psuedo parent and two younger brothers so it’s very easy to feel for them and want them to find the happiness that they need. I was impressed with how well Robinson writes the typical teenager, in some books it can be very cheesy and overdone but in this book, it was very real so that helped. You really do find yourself rooting for Lark and Auden as they’ve gone through so much and do have a bright future ahead of them.

What an absolute delight this book! I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed every second of it and can’t wait to read book two for my september tbr. I had heard a lot of hype for this book and it certainly lived up to it as I loved everything about especially that it was in the mid 80’s. I was born in 1986 so this was so much fun to read about as I’m a huge 80’s buff and felt the setting was perfect. The writing was so captivating and had me turning the page in anticipation of what would happen next. Of course this book would end in a cliffhanging but it was still super fun!

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson

| piperreads

I’m a SURVIVOR. I’m the leftover. The lucky one. The only one in that room who lived.

The Lucky Ones is a gut wrenching and heartwarming story about coming to terms with grief, pain, and love relating to trauma. It follows May and Zach, who have both gone through so much and trying to work their trauma in their own way. A tragic school shooting changed their lives in ways no one could even expect as May lost her twin brother that day, and Zach’s life flipped upside down when his mother came to the shooter’s defense which made him lose all his friends, girlfriend, and ripped his family apart. But fateful night, the two cross paths and realize just so similar they are and maybe they both need one another to help come to terms with that tragic event.

It took me awhile to get through this book because of the material was very heavy as expected with topics like school shootings, violence, and how to process traumatic events. But, as difficult as it was, I felt the way it was written and how it was expressed was very well done. It was impossible not to feel for May, Zach, and everyone involved. This book felt very real and that was also why it was hard to get through but even with that said, I enjoyed this book and think others will enjoy it just as much. It is very important to cover topics like these and when it’s done well, I think people can gain a better understanding, compassion, and empathy for those who are impacted by the distressing events.

Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5


I’ve been trying to get into romance more as I have been feeling bored with my other reads. I’ve found some romance that are hits and misses and this one was definetly a hit. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it even though I felt like it was short but I loved everything about it especially the characters. It was a rom-com about a rom-com and it was very well done as it follows a young woman, Liz who finds out that her crush, Michael has been hanging around with her best friend, Wes. What originally started as a plan to get her with Michael turns out to be something diffently entirely as she starts to realize that Michael isn’t the boy she thought he was which causes her rethink her plan of being with Michael.

Honestly, the characters and dynamics between them is what made this novel so enjoyable. They were fun, unique, interesting, and well developed. The dyanmics between Michael and Liz felt very real and I really enjoyed seeing how the relationship progressed throughout the book. Painter does a really good at showing their relationship from the time they were kids to being adults and how they had changed during that time. The romance was really light-hearted and funny so I defintely recommend this book!

Book Of The Week: Catch and Cradle

| piperreads

Hello everyone! I’m back with the Book of The Week and I’m delighted to share this book with you as I enjoyed it very much. I did have a hard time trying to narrow it down as there were other books that I read this past week. But, I finally did so let’s get started.

The Plot:

Becca swore she woudln’t fall for another teammate after the experience she had on her UNS Lacrosse Team in her first year but she can’t get one of them out of her head and it’s driving her nuts. Her teammate and girl she’s crushing on Hope is dealing with the aftermath of a terrible breakup three months prior by her boyfriend in a very public way. Trying to get over the heartbreak, she is grappling with her crush on Becca, the team captain of the UNS Lacross Team. What happens next is going to take Becca and Hope on a journey of self-discovery, hope, belonging, and healing from a broken heart.

The Characters:

They were all so wonderful especially Becca, I felt a connection to her with reading hte POV’s throughout the book. I love Hope but Becca’s chapters were filled with so much yearning, heartache, and belonging that I just wanted her to be happy and figure out who she is and fully accept that. I loved how the POV’s alternated between the characters as it really helped not only build up their characters but set up for the eventually romance, it felt very real and raw. I felt the chemistry between Hope and Becca and it didn’t feel forced and I was rooting for them from the beginning. I felt that all the characters even the side characters were interesting, unique, well developed, and had their own parts to play.

Overall:

This was a super enjoyable book and the writing was a big plus, it helped bring the reader in and feel a part of the atmosphere. I feel a connection to the story and characters. I normally read longer books so I did wish it was a little longer but that will be something other readers like and that’s fine. But, highly recommend this book as it was a super enjoyable love story with complex characters.

Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“I like to imagine my used books as little soldiers that have gone off to serve their duty elsewhere before coming into my hands. Books are something to be stepped inside of, to be occupied and lived in.”

The Plot:

Amelia Griffin is obssessed with the famed series, Orman Chronicles by reclusive and young prodigy N.E. Endsley as not only does she enjoy them but they’re the books that brought her together with her best friend after her father left and her family imploded. When Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to meet the famed author, they both can’t wait but things don’t go as planned as Jenna gets the opporutnity to meet the author but not Amelia. It leads to a big blow out between the girls and before they can mend things, Jenna dies in a tragic accident leaving Amelia, grief-stricken and lost. Now Amelia must find her way through it and be able to carry on Jenna’s memory and come to terms with events that happened in the past.

The Characters:

All the characters were really great especially Amelia, I thought she was a very relatable main character and I did like the dynamics between Amelia and her best friend, Jenna. They both had their own struggles and I felt for Amelia when Jenna tragically died and Amelia had to work her way out of the guilt she felt about the fight leading up to the accident. Schumacher does a really nice job of portraying how grief impacts people and that it’s different from person to person because I think this is very important to understand as people are raised in environments where grief is displayed different. Just beacuse someone is outwardly expressing their grief doesn’t mean they’re not grieving and how it was displayed in the book is very real.

The Writing:

This is my first introduction to Schumacher and I enjoyed her writing. She really knows how to display grief in a way that the reader understands and how grief can be healed. The writing was well paced and thigns weren’t as predictable as they can be in YA novels which can often push readers away especially readers like me. I felt like eveyrthing flowed very nicely from beginning to end and this a very heartwamring read about grief, finding yourself, and being open to new experiences in life. So check it out if you want!

What I Carry by Jennifer Longo

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“Don’t ever not get angry. You’ve got every right. No reason to hold on to it forever of course, just always give anger it’s due. Let it show sometimes. Respect it.”

The Plot:

Wow, this book was exceptionally good. It was such a heartwarming and wonderful tale about a young girl who is about to be released from the foster care system. Muir, the main character is ready to age out, start college, and start a life that she wants for herself. What she doesn’t know is that her last year in the foster care system is going to change everything and send on a journey that she never saw coming.

I loved the plot, I thought it was a very powerful yet simple with a profound message of belonging, acceptance, and feeling comfortable in their won skin after years of being shuffled around from home to home never getting close to people of past experiences. I feel like this is something many people can relate to especially those who grew up in abusive/neglectful or even chaotic environments where there was lots of dysfunction.

The Characters:

Muri, Sean and Kira were wonderful characters who had their own struggles while finding common ground with one another. I love the bond that they share throughout the book. I felt for Muir throughout the book as she struggles with her own insecruties and actually making bonds with her foster mom, Francine and struggling to feel okay with things going well for her. She’s lived her entire life moving from home to home in foster care and I felt bad for her because it was obvious she wanted friends, family, and a sense of belonging but because how she was shuffled around in foster care, she had a hard time accepting good things that came her way. Everyone needs friends, family, and feeling like belong and are accepted and having to go through the foster system or dealing with abuse/neglect can make that really difficult. I felt for all of them and I just wanted Muir to be happy.

The Writing:

This was my introduction to Jennifer Longo”s writing and I am defintely going to be checking out more stuff by her as I felt drawn into the world that she created. The way she described things, her characters, the plot, and the atmosphere really helped intertwine everything to make easy to follow. I thought that the pacing was done just right and I didn’t feel like there was anything that she could improve on. It was a really well done book on a very serious and important matter.

Book of The Week: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Series

| piperreads

Book: A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series by Holly Jackson

Rating: 4/5

Before I get into talking about the series, I just wanted to preface this and say I finished these books quicker than I expected. This series is fantastic. From the plot, characters, writing, dynamics between the characters, pacing, and atmosphere, it was done really well. I had heard from a few people that the series was fun, easy to read, entertaining, and a true mystery but I didn’t expect it to be so good.

The series main protaganist, Pippa Fitz a high school student who isn’t so sure that Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Sighn even though everyone says he did it. Pippa is determined to solve the case herself and use it as a class project for her senior year but the more she tries to uncover, the more danger waits in the darkness. Pippa begins to find that there are more questions than answers and someone is desperate to keep those secrets kept hidden. The more Pippa digs, the more dangerous it becomes and those close to Pippa are worried that she could be next.

The first book did a great job at setting things up for the next two books but the way the pacing was done really helped. It was right in the middle, not too slow and not too fast. The second and third book were just as good as the first one and I’m sad that it’s over but I couldn’t put the books down. It was a such a nail biter to the end as I felt like the twists, jumps, and turns were done so well that you didn’t even seen them coming. I loved Pippa as I found her a very fleshed out well written character who had a good head on her shoulders and wanted to make those around feel safe. She can be a bit brash and acts before she thinks but throughout the series, there is growth to her character that I found believable. I found her interactions with other characters well done and the dynamics were great. The other characters were great, they were all unique and had their own struggles and conflicts especially with Pippa.

The second and third book were filled with just as much excitement, terror, suspense, action, heart-warming moments as the first book which made me happy. As sad as I am that the series is over, I wouldn’t want a fourth book as everything is tied up nicely in the third book and I feel doing a fourth book would slightly ruin the series. It’s good to know when to stop and not drag things out and annoying readers in the process as that can happen. A truly great mystery/thriller series that will keep you wanting more so check it out!!

Favorite Quotes:

“The people you love weren’t algebra: to be calculated, subtracted, or held at arm’s length across a decimal point.”

“But sometimes remembering isn’t for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile. Those lies were allowed.”

“I think we all get to decide what good and bad and right and wrong mean to us, not what we’re told to accept.”

“A quietness settled over the room, a quietness that wasn’t the absence of sound, it was its own living thing, stifling in the spaces between them.”

“But sometimes remembering isn’t for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile. Those lies were allowed.” 

The Hand On The Wall by Maureen Johnson

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“Anxiety does not ask your permission. Anxiety does not come when expected. It’s very rude. It barges in at the strangest moments, stopping all activity, focusing everything on itself It sucks the air our of your lungs and scrambles the world.” 

The Plot:

I feel like this book wasn’t very necessary as it couldn’t have been included in the 2nd book, it just felt dragged out and the more scenes that had David, the more I wanted to punch him. I disliked him in the previous books. Stevie Bell now believes Ellington Academy is cursed as three peple are now dead. All three happened at the wrong place at the wrong time. All which happened at the moment of Stevie’s greatest triumph as she has now solved who truly devious is. or that’s what she thought but now she’s not so sure as with the recent events have made it difficult for her to focus on anything. 

The Characters/Writing:

Compiling this is one because I had issues with the characters and the writing in this book. I didn’t like David before but he is utterly unlikeable in this book. There were so many times I wanted to smack him the back of the head especially with how he treated Stevie. With the writing, I felt like some of it was rushed and while the pacing was good, I felt like something was missing. I was a little bummed about not liking this as much.