The Perfectly Imperfect Match by Kendra C. Highley

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review The Perfectly Imperfect Match by Kendra C. Highley! Dylan focuses on his baseball future only and Lucy is focusing on her future sewing business. While Dylan feels like he has to have his life extremely controlled, Lucy is flighty. An awkward moment pushes them to notice each other. Dylan is also the baseball little league coach for Lucy’s brother, Otis. This is hopeful and unhelpful at the same time. The two of them are attracted to each other, but seem bound to grate on each other’s nerves. Both teens are busy with their own lives, families and relationships and they can’t decide if they should try a relationship together or not and they are both wishy-washy to each other, which gives mixed signals. Fun and frustrating describes their relationship and they have to decide what is most important in their lives. 4 stars for quirky characters and a book full of interesting supporting personalities and side stories!

Pixelated by L.S. Murphy

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read and review Pixelated by L.S. Murphy! Piper lives in Clarkton, Iowa and she just moved in with her mother and stepfather while her father takes a new job in Kansas. Piper had to leave all she’s familiar with and start her senior year of high school as the new kid in this very small town. Her mother works for the local paper, Clarkton Gazette, and has Piper help as a photographer, since that is her talent and career choice. Piper becomes part of the yearbook staff, thanks to the teacher and despite the yearbook editor, Morgan, who is immediately threatened by Piper. Small town gossip and assumptions make her life miserable. Piper feels as though everyone close to her has been lying to her and she’s devastated when she walks straight into her father’s lie. Her life is spiraling downward and she feels like she has absolutely no control over anything. A realistic fiction story with all the relationship struggles of real life. 5 stars for this intense book full of angst and clever characters!

Enigma by Tonya Kuper

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Enigma by Tonya Kuper! Reid and Josie are undercover because they are being hunted by the Oculi headquarters. They want to reach the Hub, the Resistance, and find out who the mole is. They make it to the Hub and don’t know who they can trust, as they keep working on Josie’s training. The mystery of the mole is solved and the entire Hub is compromised. The mystery and suspense kept me riveted and Josie’s anxiety was definitely warranted. The author discusses anxiety after the story ends and gives hotline information for readers who deal with their own anxiety or know someone who does. 5 stars for this fantastic sci-fi story with realistic, lovable characters and unique abilities!

Anomaly by Tonya Kuper

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Anomaly by Tonya Kuper. The story opens with Josie and her dysfunctional family and alternates between Josie and Reid. It also begins on Josie’s seventeenth birthday. Josie’s birthday hasn’t been a happy one. She lost an internship she was counting on, she’s been dealing with a weird headache and her boyfriend, Tate, broke up with her. She lost a brother a few years ago and her Dad works away from home, so her mother is basically a single parent raising Josie and her younger brother Eli. Josie’s world is turned upside down when she’s shown that she has powers and is part of the Oculi. Everything she believes about her life has to be reevaluated and it all falls into place- the moving, the solitude and the home schooling. It made me ecstatic and warmed my heart when Reid tells Josie who he really is. I fell in love with Reid and Josie and became anxious when the suspense and danger grew. The story flows well and the action and world building combined with the complex characters, make a science fiction book worthy of 5 stars!

Mine by A.N. Senerella

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I read Mine by A.N. Seneralla due to a publisher (Inkitt) request. Anika does not like being social at all and will do about anything to avoid any contact or conversation with others. Foster just moved into town from Alaska and is now the new kid at school. Anika describes Foster as giant, at least a foot taller than any other guy at school. For some reason, Foster is possessive and overly protective of Anika and it’s freaking everyone out because he threatens and beats guys up if he thinks they are causing any harm to her. Foster also keeps making comments about knowing Anika for a while, longer than his short time as the new kid at school. The story unfolds and the characters and their backgrounds are explained in more detail. It’s a bit choppy and jumps around but the suspense and uncertainty make the story interesting and worthy of 4 stars. I voluntarily read and reviewed an arc of this book.

Roar by Cora Carmack

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Roar by Cora Carmack! Aurora (Rora) is a princess among Stormlings, but she doesn’t have powers as she should. She’s been raised to believe that people that have powers are either royalty or were born with powers. She’s betrothed to Cassius Locke and they seem to be a good match because they are equally strong in character, then Rora overhears Cassius telling his family that things are working out just as planned and Rora feels as though she’s been deceived. She sneaks out of the palace to follow Cassius and ends up meeting people with storm magic that aren’t royalty and weren’t born with the magic. Her life completely turns around after that because she’s given hope for the first time in her life. There’s also a dark presence in the background, the Stormlord who wreaks havoc and causes devastation as he pleases. This complex story involves many sides and characters with agendas and back stories of their own. Dynamic, deep personalities bring intrigue, interest and suspense to the book. I enjoy Rora and Locke and their tumultuous relationship and the growth they share in becoming more aware of each other and how much they help each other. 5 stars for this nicely written fantasy adventure!
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson. The sinister prologue spooked me and made me curious at the same time. Perrie is an only child living with her single father, since her mother left years ago. Her best friends are her next door neighbor and cousin, Maisie, and August, the teenage boy she has more than just friend feelings for. There’s an odd mystery about the breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Neven. One day, on their way home from school, Perrie, Maisie and August see a large building that they’ve never seen before, Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault. A sign stating there are job openings is hanging on the door. Curiously, Maisie has a job there by the next day. The characters are charming and the humor is refreshing, while something creepy lurks in the background. People are disappearing from their community and August and Perrie enter the Glass Vault when Maisie can’t be found. I don’t want to give anything away, but the twists floored me! A wonderful supernatural horror story full of fairy tale and historical retellings, worthy of 5 stars! Look closely at the cover for hints of retellings in this story!

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. This story is about a dysfunctional flaky mother and her teenage daughter, Gracie, who is tired of how her mother acts. Her mother can’t settle down in one place for long AND she’s never in a relationship for long either AND she never takes the blame for her actions. This is all driving Gracie crazy because all Gracie wants is peace, happiness and contentment and to be able to focus on her goals. Gracie is a pianist and she wants to attend college in New York. She finally finds happiness with her friends, who are more of a family to her than her mother ever has been. Young adult content and LGBT diversity broaden the story to make an interesting realistic fiction read, 4 stars.

Say No to the Bro by Kat Helgeson

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review Say No to the Bro by Kat Helgeson. The story is told through the alternating points of view of Ava and Mark. Ava is the daughter of the new high school football team coach and Mark is the quarterback. The school holds a Prom Bowl fundraiser each year to raise money for Prom. Girls are chosen to be bid on and Ava is on the list as the wild card. She doesn’t want any part of the Prom Bowl, but her dad wants her to be supportive of their school. The Prom Bowl is a school supported activity, but when crazy parties are thrown under the Prom Bowl name, things get out of hand and come crashing down. Strong characters and tightly woven plot make the book interesting and hard to put down. I read it straight through. 5 stars for a story with food for thought and realistic fiction that shows hypocrisy and integrity.

Shearwater by Derek Murphy

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I thoroughly enjoyed Shearwater by Derek Murphy. The book opens with an intense prologue of a woman being stabbed by a man and then she grabs the knife and stabs him. Then they both plunge off the cliff and into the water. The first chapter jumps to thirty two years later and the main character, Clara Clark, is waiting for her parents to show up and watch her perform at her high school. While she’s singing, police show up to tell her that her parents perished in a car accident. Her mother’s will states that if something happens to her parents, guardianship goes to her grandfather in Ireland, her mother’s father. The problem is, she didn’t even know he existed. The longer she’s in Ireland, the more mysterious and strange her surroundings become and she begins to learn piece by piece why her mother left Ireland behind all those years ago. On her sixteenth birthday, her looks become more defined, sleek and beautiful and now she truly resembles her mother. Her heritage is slowly revealed and the mystery around the killings grows deeper. The creative story and plot make this a very interesting read and complex characters, mythology and historical legends of mermaids, Atlantis and humans weave together for a fun fantasy read; 5 stars!