Lies like poison

 Lies like poison

By: Chelsea Pitcher

*****

On sale November 10th 2020.

Raven lost his mother to a violent crime and the person responsible was never caught. His grieving father has remarried and now Ravens step mom and Lilly live in their estate. 

Belladonna and Raven seem like the perfect couple with Bella always looking out for and taking care of him. Bella and Poppy try going to the police for the abuse Ravens step mom is doing to him but there is not proof so they assume the girls are lying. Raven is being sent away and Bella has come up with a plan to murder his step mom. They will put flower petals in her tea. Belladonna, Poppy and Lilly. That way the murder can not be traced back to them. One of them chickens out and the whole plan falls apart. Raven gets sent away and 3 years later the step mom is actually murdered with the recipe for murder that Bella wrote all those years ago. 

Now Jack (formally Poppy) is trying to figure out who the real killer is and they dont have a lot of time. So many buried secrets are brought to life and the struggles of the friendships will keep you on your toes. I really enjoyed this book...

*Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster children's publishing for the advanced e-copy for my honest review*

Scritch Scratch

 Scritch Scratch

By: Linday Currie

*****

On sale September 1st 2020

Children, middle grade, paranormal

This was an interesting read. I believe that 5th grade and up would be interested. It has a bit of haunting in it if they are ok with that. Or, an adult that wants a quick light read. 

Claire is a scientist. She doesn’t believe in things she can’t explain but she is still afraid of them. When she goes on one of her dads “ghost tours” she brings back more than she bargained for. She brought back a ghost. This ghost is now haunting her and wants her attention.  She needs to figure out what it wants before she can get rid of it. While trying to save a friendship, not go crazy and not tell her dad about it because he will use it in his bus tour.  There is actual Chicago history in this book which makes it even better. I had no idea those events even happened and I am glad I am now able to actually look into them. *Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks kids for the advanced e-copy to review for my honest opinion.*

The lost wonderland diaries

The lost Wonderland diaries

By: J. Scott Savage

****

On sale September 8th 20202

Children, YA, adventure

This is a spin off basically of the Alice books. I think if a child has a high enough reading interest and enjoys adventure they would like this book. I would say 5th grade and up would be suitable but you know your children better than I do ;)

We follow Celia and Tyrus. Celia is dyslexic and really struggles with reading which is the worst because her mom is a librarian. Tyrus is a book nerd which in my opinion is great. The meet at the library and soon discover a missing diary of Lewis Carroll AKA Charles Dodgeson. Celia is also a great descendent of Charles and Tyrus just thinks that's the greatest thing ever. Celia doesn't believe that its great however.

They stubble into Wonderland and need to figure out how to fix what is wrong. The queen doesn't seem as bad in person as she does in the Alice books and Tyrus is not willing to trust so easily. 

Will they fix what is wrong and restore Wonderland to all its glory or will the trust the wrong person and be stuck there forever. Join these two on the epic adventure. 

*I received this advanced e-copy for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing*

More than maybe

More than maybe

By: Erin Hahn 

****

Fiction

YA

For anyone who had a clue about music and anyone who loves a good romance. I mean it wasn't anything gushy but it was a cute 18 year old crush type.

Luke and Vada are musically inclined and secretly pining for each other. Neither one will admit to the other how they feel. We switch back and forth from POV from Vada to Luke, I normally do not like this type of writing but it works here as they are usually with each other when they are switching.

Luke comes from a family of musicians and his father wants him to also be in the music industry. Luke doesn't want anything to do with it and his twin brother has no music skills to speak of. His fathers legacy falls right on Lukes shoulders.

Vada is a blogger. She blogs about bands and it pretty good at it. She has a high reader following and really wants out of Michigan away from her "father". So she is working at a club in downtown Ann Arbor to save up for college in California. 

We watch Vada and Luke fall for each other and it is great. There is even mention of Hahns previous book characters in here from "You'd be mine". (Also a great book you should check out).

I received my advanced copy from netgalley for my honest review of it when I was finished. It took me a very long time to read as the beginning is a bit slow for me and I was just trudging along wishing for it to pick up and it did. 

Sleeping Giants

Sleeping Giants

(Themis files #1)

By: Sylvain Neuvel

*****

Sci-fi

I would recommend this to anyone who likes the idea of other beings out there, and robots.

This is also an interview type of book and was new to me. I didn't mind it, others have stated they really do not care for them.

Rose falls into a giant hole the size of her house as a little girl and knocks herself unconscious. When she wakes, she realizes she is in a giant metal hand. Years later she is called back to actually start working on the hand. The want to find all the robot parts to see what it does and if it will be beneficial to mankind. 

The interviewer is a guy who knows everything about everyone. He wont say his name but his knowledge and his pull suggest he is super high up in the chain of command for an organization you and I will never hear about. 

Once all the pieces are together mankind will have to decide if they are going to use this for good or evil. I hope book 2 is just as exciting!! 

I bought my copy off of thrift books for $3.99 and received an ARC by chance! 

By using my code below you will receive 15% off your total purchase after you create an account.  

https://www.thriftbooks.com/share/?code=9tAKZkMOLfD3qiJyVkQ%252b4w%253d%253d

Elysium Girls

Elysium Girls

By: Kate Pentecost 

****

Ya

Fiction

Sal is an orphan in a town called Elysium. The town was created by life and death to play a game that would last 10 years. At the end of ten years a winner would be chosen based on how the town did on their offering and how they maintained civilization. If death wins the town is destroyed, if life wins everything goes back to the way it was. Each side has a wildcard and can use it at anytime. 

Sal is chosen to be the successor to the leader mother Monerva because she has witch powers. Something goes terribly wrong for Sal and she has weeks left of the game to fix it.

Amazon purchase for $14.99

The bone houses

The bone houses

By: Emily Lloyd-Jones

***.5

Ya/Fiction

Zombie fans maybe? I’m not sure who to recommend this to honestly.

Let’s start by saying this book took over a month to read. I have been known to read 2-3 books in one day so that in itself says something. Around page 250 I started to enjoy the book and then it ended just as quickly.

Ren lives with her brother and sister. She is a grave digger which is a bummer since the dead won’t stay dead. A map maker from the capital comes to town to draw a better map and ends up going on a quest with Ren. She wants to find her father and destroy the magic that allows the dead to walk freely. 

I purchased my copy from Owlcrate.