Honestly, I didn't think I was gonna finish these series because they're so cringey and I really considered quitting it so many times because omg, theHonestly, I didn't think I was gonna finish these series because they're so cringey and I really considered quitting it so many times because omg, these characters were insufferable as hell. But, for some reason, I found myself reading page after page and chapter after chapter until I reached the end of the book.
15 year-old me would've absolutely loved these books back in the day. Now I don't love them, but I don't hate them either. They were pretty decent, cringey yeah, and funny.
The cliffhanger of this book left me craving more and more. Yeah, it's corny, cheesy and cringey, but it's fast paced and entertaining. I wanted to puThe cliffhanger of this book left me craving more and more. Yeah, it's corny, cheesy and cringey, but it's fast paced and entertaining. I wanted to punch Lucas in the face soooooooo bad, like, wake up man. I kind of predicted some things and I was happy when they happened, lol.
What the hell was that cliffhanger???? Like omg ??
Despite of what I said on my blog review, the more I think of this book, the more 3.5 stars.
Read my review
My review might contain some spoilers.
Despite of what I said on my blog review, the more I think of this book, the more I find plotholes and the characters annoying.
I picked up the pace of this book perhaps 10 chapters in. I did notice that the writing got repetitive, dull and boring at some point. And something that left me with a big ass ? on my face was the fact that we have a massive spoiler on the blurb, but what pissed me off the most was that said spoiler happened around 80% of the book, like.... the fuck??
Niall was fucking unbearable. 80% of his personality was "Beth, my job is important, could you please let me alone while I reply some e-mails during oUR VACATION TRIP?" and the last 20% was "oh my god, Beth, you're seeing thing where they're not. also, why'd you invite a total stranger to our swap house, I'll go out, bye". Fucking asshole.
He gaslighted her tHE ENTIRE PART OF THE TRIP AND THEN HE WAS BEGGING FOR HER FORGIVENESS, LMAO. FUCKING HYPOCRIT.
Oh, y'all can't say how mad I was with Niall for being an asshole. I was screaming at my phone everytime he appeared, which was constantly because Beth mentions him every single fucking timE. It's exhausting.
Beth had no personality. At all. She was so bland and so annoying as well. She can't fucking stand for herself. She's like "I wanna argue, but I don't wanna fight with my husband because I love him" or "I quit my dreams, but my husband is happy"
oH MY GOD, JUST GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK.
Also, the cover doesn't match the content of the book. There's just one little girl, but she's never near to the sea and there's no perfect murder. Why, you ask? Because it didn't make sense at all. Where the hell Luca came from? It was totally out of the blue because the only we have about him was a cat, and even that was mistaken.
Amber is a psycho. Holy shit. I can't stand her. She lies a lot and expect that her husband, Renzo, forgives her like she's innocent. Sis, you cheated to your husband, lmao, what were you expecting? That the sweet Renzo would forgive you and tell you everything was gonna be okay? Nope. Also, letting a "random" family get to your house with a dude that's obsessed with you (Amber) and kills one of them?
Idk about y'all, but this is so fucked up and has no sense at all.
Anyhow, I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either, so, yikes.
Gaslighter by The Chicks was made for Niall....more
"The only boundary between desire and obsession is time: if you crave someone long enough, it becomes a need. It becomes your ever-wakin
4.75 stars.
"The only boundary between desire and obsession is time: if you crave someone long enough, it becomes a need. It becomes your ever-waking thought. The only thing you live for."
This was a hell of a ride. Holy fuck. I found a new comfort book and a new favorite.
The Lighthouse Witches tells the story of Liv and her daughters. How they move to a lonely Scottish island, a remote place, because she receives the offer of a job to paint a mural inside of a lighthouse, The Longing. Liv says yes, she needs a new star, from zero. We learn about her life, her struggles raising 3 kids on her own —one of them a rebel teenager� and with life in general.
Liv doesn't believe in fairy tales, but when two of her daughters disappear, she begins to question if the stories that her friend, Isla, told her might be true.
The vibes. The fucking vibes of this book made me fall in love with it very quick. The atmosphere was dark, eery and gloomy. Hell, I don't even know how to describe it. The vibes and atmosphere were the reason this book was fast paced to me.
I've always been interested on witches, especially on the "trials" held against thousands of women in Europe, acussing them of practicing witchcraft, torturing them and killing them in awful ways.
This book has many layers and it becomes interesting as you're getting through. I must admit that I had a hard time at the beginning trying to differentiate the mcs perspectives, because sometimes they were mixed. Gladly, I made my way through it.
It was like the tv show, Dark featuring witches and eery vibes. We learn how a rational and logic-minded person can lost their shit when weird or emotional things happen, how that thin line between reality and tales can be crossed in one single step.
I liked Liv and her daughters' story. It was an emotional journey and I shed some tears towards the end of the book —on the last 3 chapters. You can feel her struggles with her illness, raising 3 kids on her own —one of them being a rebel teenager� and trying to protect her family. I liked Saffy, Luna and Clover as well. I felt bad for Saffy after Brodie played with her. Luna grow up as a broken kid, haunted by the ghost of her past and what happened with her mother and sisters and how she tried so bad to get her family again. I wanted to protect Clover at all cost.
In overall, this book was fast paced, had really good eery/paranormal/terror elements that transported me to Lon Haven with Liv and her daughters, and with Patrick and Amy, and made me feel very very very sorry for all those women who were hunted and killed for being "witches". It's a story about family, love and folklore and myth that is very well written.
previous review: okay, this was even better than i expected!
thanks for the arc to netgalley and crooked lane books in exchange for an honest review.
This is a free-spoiler review.
First of all, let me cl1.5 stars
thanks for the arc to netgalley and crooked lane books in exchange for an honest review.
This is a free-spoiler review.
First of all, let me clear something.
America is NOT just the United States. It's a fucking continent that includes 35 countries, including my country, yes. But I'm not gonna name all of the 35 countries (North America, Central America, South America and the Carribean). It's a big issue whenever I hear/read "America" just making reference to the US. No, people. Let's not minimize or ignore the other countries.
In Spanish, we don't call it "americans". We call it "estadounidenses" and that's exactly how I'm gonna refer to them, or US to the country. Not America.
I'm terribly disappointed. I honestly thought that this book was gonna be filled with mystery/thriller, but I found myself getting bored and predicting many "plot twists" of this book.
"Nothing ever happens in a sleepy town like Middlebrook. Until the residents are shaken to their core, when one hot Saturday afternoon, at a back-to-school party, nine children sneak into a barn...and only eight come out unharmed.
The press immediately starts asking questions. What type of parents let their children play unsupervised in a house with guns? What kind of child pulls the trigger on their friend? And most importantly: of the nine children who were present in that barn, which one actually pulled the trigger, and why are the others staying silent?"
That's the synopsis of this book. So, I told myself "this gonna be amazING", and guess who's not amazed anymore with this? Yup, me.
Let's start with the characters.
We have six families involved in this problem. It's supossed that we have different characters and personalities, but they all felt the same: empty and flat. All the characters lacked of personality and I got to think that all of them were the same.
The adults think and speak like children. And the children think and speak like adults. Oh my Gods. This was confusing and amusing at the same time. The adults seemed more like children and viceversa. And it wasn't a funny thing trying to figure it out if the one who was talking was a child or an adult.
The writing wasn't something that I liked. Also, many of the dialogues weren't logical at all.
There was this character, Priscilla, who kept repeating people's words, but in questions.
Here, let me show you.
"No, but I'm saying there have been suggestions that she's unpopular." "Unpopular?"
And so it goes.
Now, the "plot."
I didn't find one. And I ketp guessing several "plot twists".
Also, I dont' quite know if this was about the kids's secret, the guns or what.
First, I don't know how's the thing of firearms on the US, how los estadounidenses deal with it, but I guess there are laws that say that you need some permissions to have a gun legally. Well, unfortunately, here the thing is different.
In my country, you still need to have permit to carry a gun, to keep it on your house, etc. But the detail is this: people has guns ilegally, gangs sell them and all that bullshit, so you can get one really easily. I'm not normalizing this. No. But we're so used to read in the newspaper about some shooting, or to see in the news that some gang killed someone.
Dealing with guns is serious, people. I'm still trying to understand how people can feel safe knowing that are firearms on their houses. I'd be scared as hell. Yes, it's some people work to carry guns, but teaching to your own kids (mostly, minors) to shoot? That's so twisted. I don't know how the US works with this, but it's fucked up.
This book touches that topic: guns. Priscilla tries to make people realize that it's not right to have firearms on people's houses and I honestly agree. I mean, her daughter was hurted and almost dies because someone shooted at her. tHEY'RE ALL KIDS OF ELEVEN AND THIRTEEN YEARS OLD. OH MY FUCKING GODS. How or why the fuck do y'all normalize have guns on their houses? Nu-uh, this is a big no from me.
This is a big deal, honestly. And at the end, all it's forgiven because... They were children. I mean, I don't blame or excuse that, but I do blame the fact that parents normalize that shit and feel like it's their duty to have them.
I felt this book very white. And the only poc was like "yeah, I wanna be AmErIcAn".
I guess this book would've been good if there were real and actual mystery and thriller on it. Not just a bunch of kids and adults (you don't know who is who anymore) keeping secrets and repeatint each others' final words.
“Pip wished she was strong enough, but she’d learned that she wasn’t invincible; she too could break.�
time to reread, maybe? we'll see.
4.75 stars.
“Pip wished she was strong enough, but she’d learned that she wasn’t invincible; she too could break.�
tw:mention of rape, death of an animal, kidnapping, death, drugs.
Notes. 1. If you haven't read the book and don't want to spoil yourself, I recommend that you don't read any further. 2. The spoilers section, and possible random spoilers, will be signposted to avoid any misunderstandings.
I must admit that this is my first thriller book, so I'm not very familiar with the genre, and now I want to read more. And it's also one of the first I've read entirely in English, and as you know that Spanish is my native language, I assume you'll know that it was a bit complex. Although, I'm adapting a bit more to reading in English. Wish me luck, folks.
In A Good Girl's Guide to Murder we follow Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a 17-year-old student whose final year project is the case of Andie Bell, who was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh and taken for granted by the police. But Pippa knows Sal is innocent, so she decides to find out what happened five years ago and who really killed Andie Bell.
Pippa discovers that Andie had many secrets, that she was not the beautiful and tragic victim that the people of Little Kilton martyred and idolised, branding Sal Singh a murderer and a monster, treating his family very badly for it. In addition, Little Kilton holds even more secrets that intrigue Pip and make her want to keep digging to solve the mystery.
Writing. I don't think I remember reading a book like this, with diary-like entries speaking in first person and then in third person. It was a bit strange, if I'm honest, and it took me a bit longer to adjust. However, it was an easy read in some respects. And, I don't know if it's because of the difference between British and American English, but there were phrases that I had to look up because I didn't understand them, lmao.
Plot. The plot kept me glued in my seat, not wanting to put my phone down, wanting to know what would happen next. I mention that I was late with this book because college is eating me alive, though I made time to keep reading because I was consumed with thoughts of not knowing what would happen, who the killer would be and if Pip was going to find out. There are a lot of plot twists that I wasn't expecting and a lot of things that made my brain almost melt from thinking about it so much.
Pacing. It was a quick and light read, and I take back that I was late because of college: I would have finished it sooner if it weren't for homework. It's not that complicated to understand and the pages turn very quickly.
Characters. Pip is a good girl, addicted to homework and determined to solve the Andie Bell case and prove that Sal Singh is innocent at all costs. So eager is she to find out what really happened, that she finds herself lying to others so that they won't worry about her and try to stop her from abandoning her project.
Ravi is the younger brother of Sal Singh. He has been the target of criticism, and is known as the brother of Andie Bell's killer. Ravi knows his brother is innocent, and when Pip shows up at his door asking him a few questions, he thinks it's a joke. And soon, Ravi becomes Pip's partner in crime, both looking for answers about his brother's sudden death and his innocence in the case. Ravi is a beautiful little baby, don't touch him I want to take care of him.
Also, Ravi: marry me.
Andie was a bitch and it doesn't surprise me much that bad things happened to her. Everyone held her in such high regard, believing she was a good girl whose boyfriend murdered her. Andie ruined several people's lives, and although I thought I would feel bad that she had died, I didn't really. When you find out the truth about Andie Bell, what she did and didn't do, you don't feel any empathy for her.
Cara is Pip's best friend, her older sister is Naomi, who was in turn Sal's best friend and who also keeps a big secret that makes Pip dig very closely into her and her life, including her family. (Bonus and unnecessary fact: Cara translates from Spanish to English as: 'face' and 'expensive'. Unnecessary examples: Su cara es hermosa= her face is beautiful. La camisa es cara= the shirt is expensive.) Follow me for more unnecessary Spanish classes, they are free of charge.
Pip's family is ok. They're the typical caring and normal family. Tho I loved Vic's jokes, jsjsjs he laughing at his own jokes (just as Ravi) is totally me.
Max Hastings can die and I wouldn't care for him. He deserves the shit going on in his life. He's a dick and you can easily see it. Please, go fuck yourself, you fucking bastard. ...more
“Sometimes things that appear very different on the surface are actually exactly the same at their core.�
2.5 stars.
“Sometimes things that appear very different on the surface are actually exactly the same at their core.�
Disclaimers: 1. If you haven't read the book and want to, but don't want any spoilers, please don't read any further. It seems like I can't restrain myself when it comes to write a review without any single spoiler. I'm sorry, I didn't ask for this, lmao.
2. I'm sorry in advance because I tend to deviate from the main topic, like a lot. A lot.
While I was taking a shower and cutting my hair (this is what happens when you leave me alone for like 10 minutes with my own thoughts and with scissors very close), I had the time of writing my review in my mind because I'm the kind of person who has to do like 2 or 3 things at the same time or I get desperate. Multitasking? Perhaps. Let's call it like that.
So, let's begin because there's a lot to unpack.
I read a couple of reviews without spoilers saying that this book was like Knives Out and I really love Knives Out, so I picked it up and hoped for the best... Well, well, well, look how it turned out.
Avery Grambs is a common girl with a common YA life: absent parents, average girl with average appearance, a really smart student. So, everything's fine here. Until one day, she's summoned to Hawthorne House because it turns out that Avery inherits all the money that Tobias Hawthorne has in his will. A random girl with no connection or memories of Tobias Hawthorne is inheriting his entire fortune, like 100B dollar. (Holy shit, the amount of books that I'd buy with that money!)
But the thing is that everyone is asking who the hell is Avery Grambs, where did she come from? Why is Tobias Hawthorne picking her to inherit all of his money? Is there something special with this girl?
The plot: I can't complain a lot. To be a mystery book, it was fine. Just fine. There wasn't anything special or that blew my mind and that you found me saying "holy shit, I didn't see that coming", because I honestly could guess many things, lmao. It was fast paced, which was cool. The beginning tho wasn't so gripping and interesting as I thought: it was rather boring and I really thought of dnf at chapter 13 or so, lmao.
However, there were many things that felt off for me. Like for example, how some chapters jumped to another things/situations totally different from the last chapter. Like we didn't have a proper closure or knew how things ended up. I don't know if I'm explaining myself because it seems like I suck at explaining, yikes.
The end of the book left me "???" because I had right one of my theories: Toby is alive. But, Toby being Harry was something that came out of the blue, why? Oh, because we didn't have any clue about it! I can't think of any clue that links Harry with being Toby, at all. My two theories for this (in the second book) is that he escaped to that fire to become a "regular" guy, or that he had a plan with his father, Tobias, I don't know to this point. This was really messy.
Characters:
Avery: I don't hate her, tbh, but I'm not a big fan of bland girls. I found out that my girl over here and I share MBTI: we are INTJ. I'm not saying that I could have solved those puzzles really quick like she did, but, it doesn't seem a little bit... easy? I felt it that way, tho. (For being INTJ myself, I'm not like a smart person when it comes to numbers, that's why I picked up literature as my career, lol, but I love solving some problems) I don't know how to explain this, but I felt like everything was so easy for Avery and the Hawthorne brothers. I also want to know more of Avery, that she stands up for herself and stop being so bland. Honey, you're better than this, I know that.
Jameson: I kind of liked him... Until I didn't. I came to totally dislike him. One moment he was okay for me and then he was being a total jerk. He was boring as hell. The only line where I agreed with thim was with this:
"Where are you going?" "Hell, eventually".
Otherwise, I was rolling my eyes everytime he appeared. The kiss scene was really weird and awkward to me. Also, very disappointing. Jameson wasn't really thinking in Avery when he kissed her AFTER ALMOST BEING SHOT (I say almost because the Drake missed it and hit the tree). No, my dude over here was thinking about the mystery and possibly on Emily. He became grumpy towards the end just to give Grayson the space and chance to make his move with Avery.
Grayson: I was hesitant with him being a total asshole. But I get it: he wanted to protect his family. I wanted to beat the shit out of him on the first chapters... And then, I was like "he's hot" and started to questioning myself about this fact. However, he, as his brothers and Avery, felt bland. Like, c'mon, dude, have a little more of personality. His lasts scenes with Avery, the romantic ones, were so random for me. One moment he was saying "stay away from my family" and the next one he was saying "I'm going to protect you". LIKE WHAT, HOW??
Xander; Nash: They were actually my favorite characters, lmao. Xander is my favorite favorite (yes, x2), he's such a cutie and I kind of saw coming that he knew his grandpa's plan/game to keep them together. For me, it was very obvious since the moment that Xander said that he saw his brothers fight for win while he was close to his grandpa and ate with him. Xander is funny and charming. Nash also was okay, with his cowboy boots and his lazy smile. I can't complain of him, tho I wished he would've had some more of participation. I need more of these two boys, ok? ok.
Libby; Max: Libby just was there. If she has a bigger purpose, then I want to know it. Just don't make her invisible or make her appear in key moments and then forget about her... Like the author did. (That's how I felt it). I want to know more of my goth girl. Max was okay, and she was totally right when she told Avery that she never asked her how she, Max, was feeling, if she was okay, etc. But that was it. We didn't see or knew anything else from Max anymore. Like, she gave her speech and then left the chat for good. The false swearing was getting into my nerves, please.
I for sure hated (in its entirety) the fact that 60% of the book was "Emily was like this...", "Emily would have done that...". Emily, Emily, Emily, and she's dead. I was getting exasperated. Is everything spinging around her?
I would have also liked to see more of the Hawthorne family, their struggles or things like that, their reasons to do what they do. Like the foundation that Zara was helping was only mentioned and explored ONCE and then, nothing. Nada. The school was not explored very well, or the kind of treats that Avery could have received there.
The romance/love triangle: I'm not a big fan of love triangles... I'm not a fan of that trope. Period. Even more when they're not well developed and it's clear as day with whom the mc will end up with. It seemed like Jameson was pushing himself away from Avery just to give Grayson some space to make his "move", which was ridiculous and illogical. Avery was just a pawn.
I didn't feel any connection between Avery and Jameson, nor Avery and Grayson. I don't ship them because I don't think that they have chemistry or a spark. One moment, he's threatening Avery and the next one he's pinning for her. How did this happen? I was so confused by this. And I still am. The same guys who were "in love" with Emily are falling for Avery... Seriously?
Hype: I understand part of the hype for this book, I really do. But it wasn't for me. I don't know if I am the problem or what, but I found some characters annoying and bland, or some things unbelievable. Overall was okay, nothing new, nothing that blew my mind or left me shocked, just okay.
Am I going to pick up the second book to see how things go? Perhaps, If I'm on the mood, lmao.
With that money, you can pay me therapy, because after this book, I really need it.
previous review:
i'm gonna give you a chance. let's see if the hype is worth it, lmao...more
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