Review: A WINTER SEA by Susanna Kearsley

From Amazon: History has all but forgotten...In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

Audience: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Length: 544 pgs.

Rating: ***+ (Really liked it)

Review: First off, I've read some reviews who have trouble with the way this book alternates between the present and past in the POVs. I personally loved it. After only a few chapters, I got to where I could tell the author was about to shift again, making the transition really smooth. I loved the romance between Sophia and Moray, and though I doubted and thought I'd hate the ending, it turned into something that I really loved. **SPOILER** In the end, Sophia has to send her baby to trusted friends to keep her safe and pretend as though the baby isn't hers. I hated this, probably because my personal opinion is that if I wanted my kids safe, that safety would only be with me. Probably the biggest reason I rated it lower. **END SPOILER** I wanted to see more of the contemporary romance with Graham. All I really got was that Carrie was inexplicable drawn to him and that she was physically attracted to him, and then only small bits about why she fell in love with him. Sometimes the narrative falls into something akin to a history lesson, though it fits in. Hard to explain that. Since Carrie is the *author* and narrator, it really actually fits, and I, as a history geek myself, was really engrossed by these cool bits--but I could see where it would bog down other readers. It reads very slow. I kept having to put it down, read something quicker paced, then come back to it. However, once I passed about two-thirds through, I didn't put it down. All in all, I adored the interesting historical facts and the endnotes that the author included to show that so much of it was actually real. Wow. The Research. I'm absolutely boggled by all she would have had to do. It also had some truly, truly fantastically beautiful lines. Such as one from the countess on having her children apart from her, "My heart is so scattered round the country now, I marvel that is has the strength each day to keep me standing."

Content:

Sex 2/5 (Scenes are implied only)
Language 3/5 (Mostly for what word it used--Christ in vain--I think about seven times)
Violence 2/5 (A lot of war is talked about, Moray describes a graphic scene at the end, Sophia is assaulted by the gardener)
Overall rating - PG-16

Try this. Want more wonderful but heartbreaking historical fiction? Read LONGING FOR HOME by Sarah M. Eden.

Guest Review: KINDRED by Octavia E. Butler (Beacon, 2004)

Guest Review by Gina Denny. Read her Goodreads reviews here and follow her on twitter @ginad129

From Amazon: Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

Audience: Adult

Genre: Historical, Fantasy

Length: 288 pgs

Rating: *****

Review: I had a hard time deciding where to place this book on my shelves: I mean, obviously, there's a major historical element, as 90% of the book takes place in the antebellum South. But the main character is a modern black woman who travels back in time via a preternatual link she shares with a slave owner. Time travel would normally make a story science fiction automatically, right? But there's no feat of physics here, and the "science" mimics magic more than anything... and that's how I landed on "historical" and "fantasy" as the genre classification. 

This is the second speculative fiction novel I've read in a row in which the speculative elements were so subtle that they were almost unnoticeable. The story is character-driven, full of beautiful prose that isn't usually found in spec fic at all. I want to call it a literary novel with minor speculative elements - though it often gets sold as science-fiction. 

(Side note: black woman wrote and sold "science fiction" in the 1970s... why are we still dickering about with pen names and the whole "girls can't write sci-fi" nonsense at cons???)

Back to this book: It was beautiful. Poignant, powerful, and just gorgeously written. The protagonist, Dana, is strong with being a Strong Female Character. She just... is. She knows what is right and what she is entitled to, but she has limits and the story pushes her to those limits over and over again. 

I also love how... confused? Is that the right word? Maybe conflicted is better... I love how conflicted she was about her place and her position in the slave-holding South. She knew it was wrong, but she understood how easy it was to be manipulated, coerced, and forced to do things you knew were wrong. So powerfully presented. 

Don't get me wrong - this wasn't a "Gone with the Wind" sort of presentation of slavery. It was brutal, honest, and graphic. But it was also incredibly human. Lives were involved - not just statistics and faceless stories. I shed a lot of tears during this book. 

I'm definitely going to pull some more books by this author, I want to see what else she has to say.

Content: 

Violence 5/5: This was tough to rate. The violence isn't gory (like Goodkind or Martin), but it is horrific. Cold-blooded, vicious. Murder, suicide, hangings, whippings, beatings, casual violence. Multiple rapes happen off-screen. 

Sex 1/5: One really, really vague reference to the fact that a man and wife missed each other and didn't get to sleep until late one night. Allusions to the fact that they were "practically living together" before they were married. 

Language 4/5: Lots of uses of the N-word. All in a historical context, and the modern character discusses her displeasure of it repeatedly, but still. It's a lot. A handful of lesser words, and the B-word is tossed about several times too. 

Substance Abuses 1/5: A character gets drunk once. Whiskey is passed around at a party.

Overall Rating: PG-16* 

* * *

Gina Denny is a fantasy & sci-fi writer. Flipping fairy tales upside down, reimagining classics, and obsessing over something new every week. Ravenclaw. Mormon. Homeschooler.

*I gave the rating based on Gina's description of content

Review: BOY SWAP by Kristina Springer (November 2013)

From Amazon: Boy Swap: The secret to sisterly love and scholarly bliss. 

Research shows that seven out of ten girl fights are over a guy. The Boy Swap Club fixes all that. In an effort to spread around male cuteness and minimize fights and backstabbing, they just share boyfriends. And Brooke Thomas, consummate band member, has been asked to join the super secret club because the president of the club has the hots for her guy. 

Brooke doesn't want to share her boyfriend. I mean, who does? But how can she say no? She, a second chair flutist in the school band, finds herself sitting between the Varsity Cheerleader Captain and the Homecoming Queen at the first meeting. Her friends will never believe this in a million years. Too bad she can’t tell them. But she knows. This one event can change her entire life. What if she becomes actual friends with one of these girls? It might be worth sharing her boyfriend. 

Besides, he'll always love her best, right? 

Audience: YA

Genre: Contemporary YA, Romance

Length: 119 pgs

Rating:  *** (I like it)

Review: So, this is a personal thing, but I actually rated this one down because of the language in it. That's totally me and my opinion, obviously. This book was well written and pretty cute. It was a quick read, only took me about two days, and a hilarious look at boyfriends and high school. The voice is fun and I liked the friendships and relationships. Just a couple of what I've been calling "twitches" lately. There are some things that are not so believable. The teens in the book use email and IM a lot, which struck me as odd. Most of the teenagers I know (little sister and cousins) almost exclusively use text and Facebook. (And Instagram as I've been told is the "in" thing right now...) Also, in the end it seemed like everything got tied up too nicely and Brooke doesn't get any blowback for any of her poor choices through the book, although I still dig the way it ended. I needed a resolution between the two boys in the book, especially with the boy she ends up with instead of just the magically happily ever after of them ending up together. Still, fun and worth it.

Content:

Sex - 3/5 (While there are no sex scenes, things get steamy between Brooke and her boyfriend, and there is a lot of talk about sex and boobs and bodies.)

Violence - 0/5

Language - 4/5 (Not because of pervasiveness, but because of the language used. God is used in vain repeatedly, which just bugs me a lot personally. Jesus is also used in vain twice. Several uses of H and a 1(?) use of A)

Overall Rating - PG16

Source: Bought via Amazon for Kindle.

Try this. Like fun, contemporary romances? Read MY RIDICULOUS ROMANTIC OBSESSIONS by Becca Wilhite.

Guest Review: THE WRONG WOMAN by Kimberly Truesdale (Toast and Tea Publications, 2013)

Guest Review from Robyn Savage. Follow Robyn on Twitter @birdmom8

From Amazon: Ten years ago, wealthy and handsome Miles Shepherd, Baron of Revere laughed clumsy and plump Isobel Masters out of any marriage prospects. Now, at the age of 29, Isobel is launching her beautiful younger sister, Cat, into society, and Miles is the first in line to court her.

Though Isobel tries to protest against the man who has caused her so much pain, she knows his fortune and rank will make a good match for her sister. So she resigns herself unhappily to her duties as chaperone. As they spend time together, though, both Isobel and Miles are drawn to each other in a way neither anticipates.

Only hours after Miles finally realizes he's courting the wrong woman, Isobel is kidnapped. Battling his guilt and memories of his own devastating past, Miles must pray that Isobel will survive so he can tell her that he loves her and that sometimes the woman who seems to be all wrong turns out to be just right.

Audience: Adult

Genre: Regency Romance, Historical

Length: 166 pgs

Rating: **** (Love it)

Review: This book started out typically, and I thought I had it figured out in the first chapter. I was also a little bit skeptical of the story line, with the heroine being considered "chubby" . As it turned out, the author did a good job of not making her appearance the whole story. Miles made a good transformation from self-centered to finding out that the outward appearance is not as important as the kind of person we are inside.

I was drawn to Isabel because I think every woman has insecurities about ourselves. The author did a great job of delving into the minds and hearts of the characters. I wasn't disappointed and the characters were real. You will laugh and enjoy the growth of the characters. I especially liked the realness of Miles, his weaknesses as well as his strengths.

There was some mild sensuality, where Miles voices his thoughts about Isabel and the one passionate kiss. Some violence during the kidnapping and a man is killed. Overall, a good afternoon read.

Content:

Sex - 1/5

Language - 1/5

Violence - 2/5

Overall Rating - PG

Blog Tour Revew: RIGHTING A WRONG by Rachael Anderson (Ripple Effect, Book 3)

Tour Schedule

Righting a Wrong by Rachael Anderson Seven years ago, Cambri Blaine fled her small hometown of Bridger, Colorado after her senior year ended in a fiasco. Only Jace Sutton knew the real reason why—that she was a spineless coward. Now, seven years later, her father's been in an accident and needs help, and Cambr has no choice but to return home. So with trepidation, she takes a leave of absence from the landscape architecture firm where she works and boards a plane, hoping against hope that Jace is no longer around and that the past can stay where it belongs—in the past. If only life worked that way. Jace never expected to see Cambri again. After she’d led him on, bruised his heart, and left town without a backward glance, he was forced to pick up the pieces and try not to hate her for it. Eventually, he put it behind him and moved on, creating a life for himself in his beloved hometown. But now that Cambri is back and looking more beautiful and sophisticated than ever, some of those old feelings resurface, and Jake instinctively knows, for the sake of his heart, that he needs to avoid her at all costs. If only it were that easy.

Amazon * Kobo * Barnes & Noble

MY REVIEW

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Romance
Length: 145 pgs

Rating: ****

Review: I am with the other reviewers that I was very excited to get to read Jace's story. I think one of my first comments to Kaylee after reading SILVER LININGS was that I couldn't wait to find out who he was in love with that kept him from committing to Eden! I loved how true to his character both authors were; such a feat! He was definitely the same person. I loved to see how the brooding guy that we were introduced to in SILVER LININGS kind of melted away into this wonderful guy. Cambri sometimes came off as a little selfish, but I liked seeing her change and grow through the story. Her dad . . . great character. I'm in love with little towns and loved this one too.

* * * *

Author Rachael Anderson A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors. "Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love." Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/28/14 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: DEATH BY THE BOOK by Julianna Deering (Bethany House, 2014)

From Bethany House: WHEN THE VILLAGE OF FARTHERING ST. JOHN IS Stunned BY A SERIES OF MURDERS, DREW FARTHERING IS DRAWN again INTO THE SLEUTHING GAME.
Drew Farthering wanted nothing more than to end the summer of 1932 with the announcement of his engagement. Instead, he finds himself caught up in another mysterious case when the family solicitor is found murdered, an antique hatpin with a cryptic message, Advice to Jack, piercing his chest.
Evidence of secret meetings and a young girl's tearful confession point to the victim's double life, but what does the solicitor's murder have to do with the murder of a physician on the local golf course? Nothing, it would seem--except for another puzzling note, affixed with a similar-looking bloodied hatpin.
Soon the police make an arrest in connection with the murders, but Drew isn't at all certain they have the right suspect in custody. And why does his investigation seem to be drawing him closer and closer to home?

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Historical, Inspirational
Length: 320 pgs

Rating: *****+ (A FANTASTIC book I loved and would recommend!)

Review: Back when I reviewed RULES OF MURDER, the first Drew Farthering mystery, I could not wait for DEATH BY THE BOOK to come out. I wasn't disappointed. It was the same fun characters with some awesome new additions. A surprise at the end! (Surprisingly not predicable in the mystery!) I think that Ms. Deering is really a master at this mystery thing, and I just plain adore the fun romp that we always get to go on as we read. The dialogue is snappy, witty, and charming. The pacing is wonderful. My only, itty-bitty complaint is that I started to get frustrated with Madeline in holding off Drew. It feels almost cruel and that she's leading him on, although the author tries to explain that it's just indecision.

Source: I was given a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Content: Rate 1-5; 1 being minor instances, 5 being saturated.

Sex - 1 (Drew and Maddie discuss how easily it is to go further, but it's absolutely respectful)

Violence - 2 (It is a murder mystery...Nothing graphic.)

Language - 0

Preaching - 1 (But it's so seamless that it works very well with the plot.)

Overall rating - G

Try this. Like witty novels with a bit of a thrill? Try FRIENDS & FOES by Sarah M. Eden.

Blog Tour Review: THE FORTUNE CAFE (Mirror Press, 2014)

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 The Fortune Café

a novel in three parts

MIS-FORTUNE: Emma, a waitress at The Fortune Café will do anything to avoid opening a fortune cookie. Each fortune is rumored to somehow magically come true. Being a girl grounded in reality, she doesn’t have time for that kind of nonsense. But when trying to prevent a food fight at the café, Emma accidently cracks open a fortune cookie: “Look around, love is trying to catch you.” If there is one thing that Harrison, her former best friend in high school is good at, it’s catching her unaware.   LOVE, NOT LUCK: Lucy has always been lucky . . . until her parents meet her fiancé’s parents at a disastrous lunch at The Fortune Café, and she breaks her lucky jade necklace. Even worse, her fortune cookie reveals that “True love is for the brave, not the lucky.” How is she supposed to read that? She’s always considered it lucky how she met her fiancé. But after breaking her necklace, Lucy’s luck takes a dive. And when her fiancé dumps her, the only person she can turn to is Carter, the unluckiest guy she knows.   TAKEOUT: Stella is content in her new life of taking over her mom’s jewelry shop. No more boyfriend to worry about, and as long as she stays busy, she doesn’t have to dwell on her non-existent love life. When Evan comes into the shop with his young daughter, Stella is charmed. But she is reluctant to complicate her straightforward life, so when she reads her fortune after ordering takeout from The Fortune Café, she completely ignores it. After all, how can a fortune as vague as “Do the thing you fear and love is certain,” apply to her?

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

My Review

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Romance, Novella Collection
Length: 249 pgs.

Rating: ***** (Loved it!)

Review: Mis-Fortune, the first part of the novel, caught me right away. I love the way that Emma and Harrison fall toward each other. I like how, despite her well-founded personal reservations, Emma can't resist him and so she doesn't. I love the good-guy in Harrison. There were characters I really wanted to punch in the face, but I was involved in a really good way. The second part, Love, Not Luck is just as great. I love the friendship between Lucy and Carter and how it builds so perfectly. I LOVE Lucy's mom. It's SO awesome to see a good, loving, supportive mom (like my mom...she's so super). I love how these two characters fit SO well together. And it's all topped off by the third part, Takeout. This one was all about an amazing first date, and I love that. I love that I got to see how everything led up to this, and then the fall-out of that great date. I wished there'd been time to explore Stella's mom more, because she seemed to amazing and sweet too. I loved watching for the ways these novellas would intersect with each other and finding the small treats of each one left behind in the others. Wonderful.

Content:
Sex - 1/5 (Passionate kissing)
Language - 1/5 (I think there was one swear word...)
Violence - 0/5
Overall rating - PG

Try this. If you like interacting novellas, check out the Ripple Effect Romance series, beginning with HOME MATTERS by Julie N. Ford.

About the Authors Julie Wright started her first book when she was fifteen. She’s written over a dozen books since then, is a Whitney Award winner, and feels she’s finally getting the hang of this writing gig. She enjoys speaking to writing groups, youth groups, and schools. She loves reading, eating writing, hiking, playing on the beach with her kids, and snuggling with her husband to watch movies. Julie’s favorite thing to do is watch her husband make dinner. She hates mayonnaise, but has a healthy respect for ice cream.

Blog * Twitter * Amazon

 

Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She consumes astonishing amounts of chocolate, chick flicks, and romance novels. After meeting her husband online, she is now living happily married in Southern California with her growing family and a series of doomed houseplants. Melanie is a former English teacher and a sometime blogger who loves to laugh and make others laugh. In her down time (ha!), she writes romantic comedies and pines after beautiful shoes.

Website * Amazon * Twitter

 

 

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author. She writes historical thrillers under the pen name H.B. Moore, her latest is Finding Sheba. Under Heather B. Moore she writes romance and women’s fiction. She’s the co-author of The Newport Ladies Book Club series. Other women’s novels include Heart of the Ocean, The Fortune Café, the Aliso Creek Series, and the Amazon bestselling Timeless Romance Anthology Series.

Blog * Amazon * Twitter

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/30/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: POISON ME by Cami Checketts (Birch River Books, 2013)

From camichecketts.com: Jake Merrill was raised by his grandmother, Ruby, and her hilarious friends. After a suspicious death at the retirement home where Ruby lives, she enlists Jake and Chanel, the beautiful activities director, to help her find the killer.

But secrets Ruby has kept for decades threaten her family and the man she’s always loved but could never have. Chanel’s unstable ex-boyfriend, a presumably dead relative, and vicious criminals add to the confusion. Time is running out as Jake, Chanel, and Ruby desperately search for clues to solve the murders and fight to save those they love.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Length: 268 pgs

Rating: *** (I liked it)

Review: There were two fun romances in this, which really filled out the story. It was good to watch Ruby and Michael's past romance unfold bit by bit and lead to something new and better for them. It had a cast of lovable characters that are fun to get into and a lot of humor. There were some things that I couldn't quite believe, such as a policeman being very callous when a friend of Ruby's had died. The end wrapped up a little too neatly, but it didn't take too much away from the story.

Source: Bought via Amazon during a promotion

Content: Rated 1-5; 1 being minor instances, 5 being saturated

Sex - 1 (Kissing)

Violence - 1 (Multiple deaths and fall out from that, but nothing graphic)

Language - 0

Overall rating - PG

Try This. Like romantic thrillers? Read THE GUY NEXT DOOR by Kate Palmer.

Blog Tour Review: SILVER LININGS by Kaylee Baldwin

Tour Schedule

Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin Drew Westfall wants nothing more than to forget what he had to do in the name of "smart" business. Cutting off all ties with his parents—including handing over the entire contents of his trust fund to a charity—he takes off for Bridger, Colorado where his best friend has an extra room for him. It doesn't take long for him to realize that his business degree won’t do him much good in a town as small as Bridger, but he's broke and has nowhere else to go. Eden Torresi has every reason to wallow. Not only did she have to sell her house to pay for her mother’s medical expenses, but she also had to drop out of school and is in a relationship with a guy unwilling to commit. But Eden isn't the wallowing type. Instead, she chooses to spend most of her time taking care of the seniors at Silver Linings Assisted Living. When she learns that her boyfriend's new roommate is down on his luck, her caring nature makes her want to reach out to him and offer what help she can. But the more time they spend together, the more complicated things get, especially when the seniors of Silver Linings decide to play matchmaker.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

My Review

Audience: Adult

Genre: Romance, Novella

Length: 170 pgs

Rating: ***** (LOVED it)

Review: I feel like I get to cheat whenever Kaylee sends me something to read for her. I heart being her critique partner, and not just because she's an amazing critiquer herself, but because she's also an awesome writer. I loved the sparks between Drew and Eden. I ADORED the matchmaking seniors and their hilarious antics. Eden was so sweet, but not too much so. It made her a great character. Drew could be so cotton-headed . . . yep, I said that, but his feelings for Eden were so wonderful and, sigh. :) As with HOME MATTERS, I'm excited about each book and how it connects with the others.

Content:

Sex 0/5 - Kissing

Language 0/5

Violence 0/5

Overall rating - G

Author Kaylee Baldwin When Kaylee Baldwin isn’t writing, she’s usually chasing after her four children, checking her email, trying to get motivated to train for that race she shouldn’t have signed up for, hanging out with her pretty awesome husband, and reading whatever good book she can find. She graduated from Arizona State with degree in English Lit. Her published books are Meg’s Melody, Six Days of Christmas (part of the All I Want collection) and Silver Linings.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors. "Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love." Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/14/14 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: DEAD GIRLS DON'T LIE by Jennifer Shaw Wolf (Walker Books {Bloomsbury}, September 2013)

From JenniferShawWolf.com: 
Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text. 

Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clue—starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth. 

Audience: YA

Genre: YA, Mystery
Length: 353 pgs

Rating: **** (Really liked it)

Review: Remember how I didn't quite know what to do about Jennifer Shaw Wolf's other book, BREAKING BEAUTIFUL. How it was fantastic and it drew me in, but I just don't do issue books? I knew this one wouldn't be like that. Again, it drew me in in the first few pages and I didn't want to put it down. I think the clues to what was going on were set at the perfect pace and mostly I discovered right along with Jaycee. Even the stuff I figured out, it was still absolutely believable that a person in that situation wouldn't see what we see as readers. Even though I sort of saw where it was going at about mid-way through, it was still a great twist to the story.

Content:

Sex 2/5 - Kissing between Jaycee and Skylar gets heated at moments, but never beyond that.

Language 1/5 - There's a few instances.

Violence 3/5 - It IS a mystery and it involves gang violence. It talks about blood, fights, stabbings, and shootings.

Substance abuse - Underage drinking at parties, but Jaycee doesn't participate.

Overall rating - PG-16 

Source: Bought Kindle copy via Amazon

Try this. Like dark YA...er, as dark as I get anyway! ;) Check out MIND GAMES by Kiersten White.