Me on The Case for Jamie

Title: The Case for Jamie
Author: Brittany Cavallaro
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books (HarperCollins imprint)

It's been a year since the shocking death of August Moriarty, and Jamie and Charlotte haven't spoken. Jamie is going through the motions at Sherringford, trying to finish his senior year without incident, with a nice girlfriend he can't seem to fall for. Charlotte is on the run, from Lucien Moriarty and from her own mistakes. No one has seen her since that fateful night on the lawn in Sussex—and Charlotte wants it that way. She knows she isn't safe to be around. She knows her Watson can't forgive her. Holmes and Watson may not be looking to reconcile, but when strange things start happening, it's clear that someone wants the team back together. Someone who has been quietly observing them both. Making plans. Biding their time. Someone who wants to see one of them suffer and the other one dead.

The Case for Jamie is a layered mystery, much like the previous books, led by a wonderfully intelligent and deeply flawed young woman and a young man looking towards a future without her, no matter how much he misses her.

Jamie, on the surface, is doing well. At school, in his social life. He has a girlfriend who likes him, who wants to be with him. He has friends he spends time with. But he can't shake what happened a year ago. He can't forget, seeing August Moriarty shot dead in front him, and some other things, even though he wants to so desperately. Charlotte is on the hunt for Lucien Moriarty. The crimes he's committed, the actions and plots and plans he's taken against her. She's ready to make him pay, ready to do what it takes to find him. Until her investigating takes her back to someone she isn't sure she should be around. Someone she'd rather be apart from in order to keep them safe from her. But when there's a mystery afoot, it can't be Holmes without Watson.

Both are stripped bare in this book, this time when they haven't seen each other in a year. Jamie's struggling to appear normal on the surface, he's used this last year to try and forget what happened to him and he can't. Charlotte's spent the year with herself, following and hunting. Thinking in the quiet. Remembering moments in her past, the moments that taught her about the world and about herself, about her parents and her brother. How her family would never be what she wanted. How she's still broken in a number of ways and how she copes around it. They're not always the best when they're together but they're miserable when they're apart, and it'll never be over when it's Holmes and Watson, not really. There's always something else out there, plotting against them, which is why I was rather delighted to discover that there'll be a fourth book in the series.

(I downloaded an e-book of this title from the library.)

Me on The Wicked Deep

Title: The Wicked Deep
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow... where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under. Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters' return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into. Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters. But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

The Wicked Deep is haunting, a story of sorrow and revenge, of secrets and sisters and deadly summers. Of local legends and lonely girls and soft hearts.

Penny isn't so sure where she fits in in the small town of Sparrow. She's there, living just off the coast on a little island with her mother, but she's not sure about her future. Will she leave when high school's over? Will she stay, alone, like her mother? Now that summer's come, Penny thinks about other things. Like the return of the Swan sisters, young women long ago accused of witchcraft and left to die in the harbour waters by the town that feared them. Each summer they return as ghosts, luring young men to their deaths. This summer seems to be no different. Until someone new comes to town, looking to stay, unaware of what's about to come out of the water.

This was rather interesting. A gentle but spooky small town mystery involving a local girl and a new-to-town boy with secrets of his own. I was intrigued to see where it would go, if I was able to spot any twists before everything was revealed, and I liked the little flashbacks to the days of the Swan sisters in Sparrow. They provided context and layers to the sisters and their unfortunate fate. I would recommend this if you like ghostly small town mysteries, a little like Sea Change but with more death and vengeful ghosts.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada through NetGalley.)

Blog Tour: Renegades

Hi there! Welcome to one of today's stops on the blog tour for Marissa Meyer's newest book, Renegades!

It's all about superheroes, about good and evil and the spaces in between. About what pushes us to help or to hinder. About what makes a hero, what makes a villain. To celebrate Renegades, enjoy this post that has both my review and a question answered by the wonderful Marissa Meyer herself. :)

Me on Now I Rise

Title: Now I Rise
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House imprint)

Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she's always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn't getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There's no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her. What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu's subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it's no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister's fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him? As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won... and souls will be lost.

Now I Rise is the continuation of an epic tale of power and family, of faith, of sacrifice and determination.

Lada is continuing forward with her mission. her dream. It's time to take back Wallachia, to become its prince. But it's not that simple. She needs men, more than those currently loyal to her. And she needs the nobles of Wallachia and Hungary to stop seeing her as a useless girl with only one purpose. Determined, stubborn, ruthless, bloodthirsty, Lada will stop at nothing. But when battle turns to negotiations, Lada is as subtle as a punch to the nose. What she needs is Radu's way with words. But she can't have him. Radu is too busy hiding. Hiding in his marriage, hiding his feelings for Mehmed, hiding the conflict in his heart. The regret he feels for not following Lada. But he can't escape Mehmed, can't escape what he feels for him. And when Mehmed asks for his help? Radu is willing to do anything. But pose as a spy? Leave him for Constantinople? He's not sure if he can do this, not sure if his heart can be pulled in so many directions. Not sure if he's willing to make the sacrifices it could take.

It's hard to describe this book. The story is continuing from where the first book left off. Lada is still hungry, hungry for power and respect. Hungry for the throne. And Radu is still conflicted, not sure where to turn when caught up in Mehmed, Lada, his feelings, his faith, and the battle he sees coming. If you enjoyed the epic journeys and the conflicted, battered hearts of the first, you will relish this second book while cursing the wait for the third.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Random House through NetGalley.)

Me on Avenged

Title: Avenged
Author: Amy Tintera
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Emelina Flores has come home to Ruina. After rescuing her sister Olivia from imprisonment in rival kingdom Lera, Em and Olivia together vow to rebuild Ruina to its former glory. But their fight has only begun. Olivia is determined to destroy everyone who acts against Ruina, but Em isn't as sure. Ever since Em posed as Prince Casimir's betrothed in Lera, she's started to see another side to this war. And now that Cas has taken the throne, Em believes a truce is within reach. But Olivia suspects that Em's romantic feelings for Cas are just coloring her judgement. Em is determined to bring peace to her home. But when winning the war could mean betraying her family, Em faces an impossible choice between loyalty and love. Em must stay one step ahead of her enemies—and her blood—before she's the next victim in this battle for sovereignty.

Avenged is dangerous and complicated, the next step in saving the Ruined, in rebuilding their home. But other kingdoms have other plans, and Em still has to deal with a rather furious sister hellbent on claiming her revenge.

Em is sure that, with Olivia rescued, they'll be able to return to Ruina. That the Ruined will finally have a home again, that they won't be hunted across the land and driven away by those that fear their abilities. But Em is also sure that Olivia is furious and bloodthirsty, full of rage from her being imprisoned for the past year, that she won't rest until every human who stands against her is dead. Until every royal in Lera is dead. And that includes Cas. On the other side, Cas is busy worrying about what to do next now that he's been named king. Now that his cousin is pressing him to declare war on the Ruined. Now that his advisers are losing faith in him. Now that he's not sure if he even wants to be king when all he really wants is to be back with Em.

There's a lot that happens in this book, much more than I was expecting. Revenge and death, plots and plans and subterfuge, political deals and calls to war. Em worrying about how far Olivia will go in her quest for vengeance, in her desire make Lera pay for what they did to her. At the rate events are unfolding, at how many people are dying around them, I imagine the third book will be the final explosion where every party will come together. And who's to say who will still be alive at the end?

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Strange the Dreamer

Title: Strange the Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around— and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Strange the Dreamer is haunting, lingering. Lyrical and impossible. The journey of a lifetime for a dreamer such as Lazlo Strange, one he yearned for but never thought it would come true. Until it did.

Lazlo is lost and alone. Abandoned as an infant, raised in an abbey and a library, all he ever had was what he could dream. Something more than his life as an orphan. Something like his true name. But no one was there to tell it to him. And so he dreamed and he wondered, he wrote book after book of possibilities after reading book after book on the lost city called Weep. He knew something was there, something that stirred him up inside. but how would he ever find the chance to leave the library and find out the truth? He's curious and passionate, questioning, a definite romantic, but it leaves him blind. Who is Lazlo Strange?

The city called Weep is a curious place. Covered in shadow and secret, in theft, in missing memories and haunted dreams. What is the truth behind what happened two hundred years ago when the city went quiet? Or what happened fifteen years ago when a name was ripped from everyone's minds? This is a city of ghosts, ghosts of loved ones and ghosts of love. Of gods, their desires, and what grows from them.

Reading this was like watching someone put a puzzle together. Seeing the pieces laid out, separate and unconnected. Lazlo, Thyon Nero, the Godslayer. The city called Weep. The blue-skinned goddess. Seeing the pieces come together, reveal the secrets and the truths lost and forgotten. While reading this I couldn't shake these overwhelming feelings. Sorrow and despair. Fear. A deep-seated craving for the truth, for a place to be. At the beginning I didn't know what would happen, and now at the end I can't wait to wonder what will happen next. I'm certain that fans of Laini Taylor's previous books will devour this.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Me on Vengeance Road

Title: Vengeance Road
Author: Erin Bowman
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt imprint)

When Kate Thompson's father is killed by the notorious Rose Riders for a mysterious journal that reveals the secret location of a gold mine, the eighteen-year-old disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers and justice. What she finds are devious strangers, dust storms, and a pair of brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, she gets closer to the truth about herself and must decide if there's room for love in a heart so full of hate.

Vengeance Road is a dangerous journey, a story of revenge and justice, of secrets and painful truths. A story about what drives us to take revenge and who we become along the way.

Kate is hard and tough, crafted from years on a homestead with her father. She's rough around the edges, practical, and passionate. After the grisly death of her father, she vows to kill the men who killed him. Revenge pushes her across Arizona, it fuels her. But is it all she is? Is she nothing but a hunter of cowardly men and justice? No. Kate wants her revenge, but there's more to her than that. There's a lonely girl under that Stetson, a girl who suddenly lost her father and is looking for closure, for answers. And she does get them, in the end. They just might not be the ones she was hoping for.

This takes place in a rather bleak and desolate setting. It's a hard journey for Kate and the Colton brothers, the trek across Arizona towards the Superstition Mountains. The dust and the rocks and the grime. The relentless summer heat. The lack of protection beyond some pistols and a rifle. The canteen that seem to feel lighter and lighter as they go on. The bullets that come at them seemingly from nowhere. It's a dangerous place, the Wild West, a setting not often seen in YA.

I found this to be an intriguing story led by a head-strong and stubborn heroine. This is a story about revenge, about doing whatever it takes and travelling as far away from home as it takes, but it's also about more than that. Kate has to learn to trust people, to let people in. Which isn't easy, considering how the story starts. I would recommend this to those desperate for a western YA and those looking for a strong, determined heroine.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through NetGalley.)

Me on Daughter of Deep Silence

Title: Daughter of Deep Silence
Author: Carrie Ryan
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

In the wake of the devastating destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, just three souls remain to tell its story—and two of them are lying. Only Frances Mace, rescued from the ocean after torturous days adrift with her dying friend Libby, knows that the Persephone wasn't sunk by a rogue wave as survivors Senator Wells and his son, Grey, are claiming-it was attacked. To ensure her safety from the obviously dangerous and very powerful Wells family, Libby's father helps newly orphaned Frances assume Libby's identity. After years of careful plotting, she's ready to expose the truth and set her revenge plans into motion-even if it means taking down the boy she'd once been in love with: Grey Wells himself.

Daughter of Deep Silence is full of intrigue, suspicion, and hidden truths. Frances is ready now, ready to get her revenge on those who hurt her, who ruined her life, but she has to realize that, even with years of planning, nothing about this will be easy.

Frances is calculating, determined, methodical. She's plotted and planned and now the time has come. Now to put on the act, put on the costume, and bring to light the truth of what happened that night on the Persephone. The past four years have blurred her identity. Who is she now? Has she become Libby? Or does Frances still remain, angry, desperate to strike? She's a mixture of the two, the girl she's worked to be and the girl she is deep down inside, the girl who's sticking to her plan while letting emotion take control when it comes to Grey. Because, like she couldn't forget what happened on the ship, she couldn't forget Grey.

The opening pages are rather visceral, rather visual. The smell of the sea air, the despair racing through Frances, the overwhelming taste of salt that makes her sick, the pain of the sores and the sunburn on her skin. The overwhelming memories of the murder of her parents, of Libby's death. The smell of blood. The sound of gunshots.

Packed with truth and lies, secrets, and deception, this book is both chilling and thrilling. How far some go for revenge, how far some go to cover their crimes. How much we never forget no matter how hard we try or how much time has passed. Those looking for thrilling, tense mysteries with a flawed but still fighting heroine should check this book out.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Canada.)

Me on Get Even

Title: Get Even
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that's what they'd like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They're all members of Don't Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school's bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers. When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked "DGM" card in his hands, the girls realize that they're not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in, and everyone has something to lose.

Get Even is a classic revenge story with dangerous twists and turns. The level of tension is high, the level of drama is high, and the stakes are the highest they could be. Secrets surround the school like locusts, leaving barely any room for the truth to escape.

While they have the same over-arching goal, all 4 girls are very different. Bree, Olivia, Kitty, Margot. They have different personalities, different friends, different painful back stories. Different motives, different opinions. What I liked about their interactions and banter, the times when they were together, was that they never felt like friends. Instead, they felt like acquaintances, like co-workers. They're not friends, they couldn't be. Or else the entire school would know the truth behind DGM.

This book is all about revenge and consequences, both for the girls and those they target. The girls aren't immune to revenge. Everyone has secrets they wish were better hidden. Everyone has made mistakes. Everyone has lied and cheated. In the end, it's all about how far someone will go for payback, how much harm is caused, and how much is revealed.

Books like this, with revenge plots, certainly raise a number of questions when it comes to morals and condoning this kind of behaviour. In a way I'm torn on whether or not I believe that DGM is a good thing. Yes, I do believe that people should be punished if they do something wrong. Cheat, steal, assault, rape, murder. But do I believe that, if nothing is or can be done by police, revenge is the answer? When people we care about are hurt, in pain, or ruined, we would do anything to right those wrongs. But where do we draw the line between justice and vigilante? Is it all just black and white, or are there too many shades of grey for us to tell?

When the end came around, I had no idea who was going after the girls. There are possibilities, there can't not be possibilities, but there are so many and you only see so much of the story, only what the girls see. And even then, some are still keeping secrets. And what about the possibility that it's not one person, that some of the messages are from different people wanting their revenge on each of the girls? I won't deny the similarities to Burn for Burn, but I enjoyed this more. It was all about the girls and the mystery, about their secrets catching up on them and causing friction and distrust. I can't wait for the next book, for even more hints and clues.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from HarperCollins Canada.)