Other Breakable Things by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read Other Breakable Things by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood! The beginning dropped my heart into my stomach. Immediately after, the story goes back three years and shows a mother waking her son, Luc, because there’s a heart available for his needed transplant. Back to the present beginning with Chapter One and Evelyn’s point of view. Then the chapters alternate between Luc and Evelyn. Evelyn has returned to town with her mother and, once again, they live with Evelyn’s grandmother. Luc and Evelyn were friends three years ago and when she moved away they kept in touch fairly well, until the past four months when Luc hadn’t replied to any of Evelyn’s emails. Luc has been dealing with transplant recovery and therapy but he doesn’t want Evelyn to pity him, so he doesn’t explain this to her. He has kept his sickness from her and she has no idea why he doesn’t feel well and no idea that he has undergone transplant surgery. While reading, we learn about what Luc has been through and what Evelyn’s life has been like. They have both kept things from each other. Now they try to rekindle their friendship and both want to be more than just friends, but they are afraid of scaring the other one off if they share their secrets. Luc doesn’t feel that it’s fair to Evelyn to become involved when he’s not sure how long he will be around and Evelyn has always kept her problems to herself. Little by little, they overcome their obstacles and are able to spend time together on an adventurous road trip to Oregon. I grew to love Luc and Evelyn and cared for their future together. Other Breakable Things is a wonderful love story with a heartfelt touch and appreciation for how short life can be; 5 stars!

Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. 3.5 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the opportunity to read and review Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg. The prologue starts with past events that will be explained later by the narrator. The prologue also gives the reader a glimpse into the past, present and future lives of some of the characters. The story is told in parts – Part One “Green”(past), Part Two “Jess” (present), Part Three “Green” (past). Green and Jess are different names for the same person and she is the narrator of the story. The people that live at Foxlowe all have two names; their Outside name that they came to Foxlowe with and their new name that they were given when they arrived at Foxlowe. The people that reside at Foxlowe are a cult type of society with initiation that causes injury. This initiation is also used as enlightenment, which I see as punishment and it involves stabbing your skin with multiple nails until bleeding occurs. The controlling leaders are strange and have insecurity issues and possible psychological issues. The details of the story are vague at some points and, as a reader, I am not sure how the people came to Foxlowe and how they keep getting members, such as Blue (the infant that shows up in the story). The author’s prose is beautiful and descriptive with the characters’ attributes and the surroundings of Foxlowe, but the point of the lifestyle was never explained. The tone is dark and abusive and I am sure more evil occurred behind the scenes due to the way the leaders treated the children. The Epilogue was a nice conclusion showing the future of Green and how Foxlowe had become a tourist spot. Beautiful writing but a very odd story- 3.5 stars.

The Winter’s Spite by Rebekah L. Purdy

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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The Winter’s Spite by Rebekah L. Purdy continues the story of Salome. She’s living in the
Faerie realm and learns that her grandmother Doris isn’t well. Salome goes back to the human world to say goodbye to Doris and that’s when Salome learns about her true past and origin. The swearing is more prominent in this book than the rest of the Winter People series and it was a bit out of character for Salome, so it detracted from the story. I am glad the author finished the series with the twists, action and dynamic characters continuing throughout all three books. 4 stars for this fun and thrilling fantasy fiction!

Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) by F.J.R. Titchenell

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) by F.J.R. Titchenell! This is a humorous story about Cassie and her discovery of zombies and how she dealt with this not-so-great turn of events. While she travels across the country with friends, she spends the time pondering how the zombies came to be and observes how each person deals with the tragedy in their own way. Cassie’s personality makes the story funny and lightens the dystopian mood. 4 stars for this action packed fun zombie story!

Losing Kyler by Siobhan Davis

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Losing Kyler by Siobhan Davis, is the second book of The Kennedy Boys series and broken hearts are as prominent as the dysfunction in this family. More secrets come out into the open and cause more family distress, along with one of Kyler’s brothers being accused of rape. Faye shows extreme maturity and true empathy for the situation that her mother and her new guardian James found themselves in many years ago. I appreciate how open minded she tries to be and this shows that she is wise for her age. Her wisdom helps everyone else deal with their struggles. This second book has so much going on that it is intense reading! Siobhan Davis pulls it all together so well and in such a smooth way that makes the suspense build and when the ending hit, I just wanted to read the next book in the series immediately! I am in awe of Siobhan’s writing and I love her style. She has taken a good story and made it great and brings the characters to life realistically. I am looking forward to reading more about the Kennedy boys! 5 stars for this engrossing romantic story!

Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and First Second Books for the opportunity to read and review Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld. Spill Zone is fan art geared toward young adults. The art feels frantic and rushed and the drab colors help portray the devastation that an environmental accident caused. The story is interesting, but dreary and a bit creepy. There is some swearing to show the amount of worry and danger of the story. I can see readers of graphic novels and dystopian stories enjoying this book- 3.5 stars.

The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter by J.S. Drangsholt

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a free ebook as a Goodreads giveaway.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter by J.S. Drangsholt is about a mother, wife and a college employee struggling to find happiness and contentment. Ingrid lives with her three children in a small house with her husband. She seems to be having difficulty with all aspects of her home and work life. Problems and misfortunes pile up and she feels overwhelmed. She mistakenly offers too much money for a house bid, things get crazier at work and little mistakes compound into bigger problems. A story that we can all relate to because sometimes life feels like it’s getting out of hand. 4 stars for this realistic fiction aimed toward an adult audience.

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for the opportunity to read and review The Education of Margot Sanchez. Right off the bat, Margot Sanchez seems and acts like a spoiled brat who is lost and trying to find herself, but so self absorbed that she can’t see that she’s not the only person on earth that matters. She’s being punished for stealing while she was away at an expensive school and, now that’s she’s home for the summer, she has to work at her family’s supermarket to earn the money for what she stole plus enough money to pay for her tuition to attend the same school again in the fall. She feels as though she’s above working there and is embarrassed by her upbringing. During the summer, Margot’s eyes are opened slowly to some things, such as how she treats others, and opened quickly to how dysfunctional her family truly is. Margot matures and learns to value friendship and she begins to find herself and her place in the world. 4 stars for this believable realistic fiction story.

The Boyfriend Whisperer by Linda Budzinski

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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The Boyfriend Whisperer by Linda Budzinski is a fun, young adult clean read! Lexi has made a small business of helping young women gain the attention of guys they are interested in. She calls herself The Boyfriend Whisperer and no one knows it’s Lexi, except her assistant Abi. All seems fine until Lindsay hires the boyfriend whisperer to help her get Chris, Lexi’s best friend and long time crush. Lexi questions her matchmaking business, her friendships, her future as a basketball player and even her relationship with Chris. It becomes a roller coaster ride of teen angst and young love. This realistic fiction and romance story is cute and charming with a wide range of characters that keep Lexi on her toes; 5 stars for this enjoyable read!

Dragonwatch by Brandon Mull

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Dragonwatch by Brandon Mull! I absolutely love the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull and Dragonwatch is a continuation of that series, so I was excited to dive right in and devour the book! The prologue is told in the grandfather’s point of view. The story is told in alternating points of view with each chapter, taking turns between Kendra and Seth, the grandkids. Seth is a shadow charmer. Kendra is fairykind. The two siblings can charm dragons as long as they are together. Because of this, they have been asked to be caretakers of a dragon sanctuary, Wyrmroost. They are charged with finding a scepter that will help keep the sanctuary safe and, on their ques,t they run into many interesting creatures: dire bears, a troll and a very old dragon whose help they need. They work together well and it seems that Seth has become a bit wiser. It sure is nice to be back in the world of Fablehaven. 5 stars for this book that brings readers back to the adventurous Fablehaven life and I am looking forward to more books in this series!