Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Review: The Marvelous by Claire Kann

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The Marvelous by Claire Kann

The Marvelous
Claire Kann
Swoon Reads
Published June 8, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Marvelous

Everyone thinks they know Jewel Van Hanen. Heiress turned actress turned social media darling who created the massively popular video-sharing app, Golden Rule.

After mysteriously disappearing for a year, Jewel makes her dramatic return with an announcement: she has chosen a few lucky Golden Rule users to spend an unforgettable weekend at her private estate. But once they arrive, Jewel ingeniously flips the script: the guests are now players in an elaborate estate-wide game. And she’s tailored every challenge and obstacle to test whether they have what it takes to win–at any cost.

Told from the perspective of three dazzling players–Nicole: the new queen of Golden Rule; Luna: Jewel’s biggest fan; and Stella: a brilliant outsider–this novel will charm its way into your heart and keep you guessing how it all ends because money isn’t the only thing at stake.

My Review

The concept of this book had pretty much already hooked me before I ever opened the first page. And then, the writing hit me. Wowza. I am a huge fan of Kann’s style in this book. It’s smart, a little bit sharp, and just never stops delivering great moments.

I’ve read some solve-the-riddle type stories before that, when I got to the finish of the riddle, left me feeling like, wait that was it? THE MARVELOUS absolutely delivered on an ending as fabulous as its setup.

So that’s the plot in all it’s amazing, twisty, high-stakes glory. I need to talk about the characters. At first I think I had a tendency to mix up Luna and Nicole. Maybe because of the similarity in them both not living with parents? I’m not sure. Once I was a few chapters in and knew them both better, I was mystified at myself for ever having confused them.

I loved Luna’s exuberance and her easy friendship with Alex. Nicole’s more self-contained nature and her compassion totally won me over. And then there’s Stella At All Times. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of her. Once she found her feet in the game and once I felt like I really got into her head, I couldn’t wait for the chapters from her point-of-view.

THE MARVELOUS is one of those books that I thought I’d enjoy but not rave about, and I was so wrong. There’s SO MUCH about this book that I loved. If you like twisty, mystery-slash-riddle stories with strong characters, you have to check this one out. I think fans of ONE OF US IS LYING will love THE MARVELOUS.

Check Out Twinkl’s 2021 TBR List

My review of THE MARVELOUS is featured on a book resource site called Twinkl in their 2021 TBR List! You can see it and a whole bunch of other great reading recommendations in that list. It’s totally worth checking out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Black. A couple characters are LGBT+

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to attraction, some hand holding. A girl falls asleep with a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some dangerous situations. No blood and gore.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of The Marvelous in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Lies My Memory Told Me
Sacha Wunsch
Inkyard Press
Published October 19, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Lies My Memory Told Me

Enhanced Memory changed everything. By sharing someone else’s memory, you can experience anything and everything with no risk at all: learn any skill instantly, travel the world from home, and safeguard all your most treasured secrets forever. Nova’s parents invented this technology, and it’s slowly taking over their lives. Nova doesn’t mind—mostly. She knows Enhanced Memory is a gift.

But Kade says Nova doesn’t know the costs of this technology that’s taken the world by storm. Kade runs a secret vlog cataloging real experiences, is always on the move, and is strangely afraid of Nova—even though she feels more comfortable with him than she ever has with anyone. Suddenly there are things Nova can’t stop noticing: the way her parents don’t meet her eyes anymore, the questions no one wants her to ask, and the relentless feeling that there’s something she’s forgotten…

My Review

This book was a tough one for me. I like the concept a lot. I think I was expecting vibes a little more like The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? My favorite thing about that movie is the way they took the concept and examined it from many different angles. I feel like LIES MY MEMORY TOLD ME has a little bit of that in that it touches on several different ways Enhanced Memory technology could be corrupted or used to cause harm.

I had a hard time getting into the pacing, though. It felt like some elements to the story emerged really late– like the idea that there might be more to Nova’s history than she remembers. I think I wanted her to collect information and form a plan of attack a lot sooner than she did, and even when she did, her plan felt like, “I guess I’ll just go down this weird hallway and say I’m lost!” While I think that fit her quirky, compulsive character, I felt like it sapped some of the tension for me.

For most of the story, I felt like Nova’s emotional landscape stayed mostly in the sad/angry spectrum. I loved the relationship between her and Kade– and loved the way Kade brought her out of her grim feelings.

On the whole, I still think the concept of LIES MY MEMORY TOLD ME is really cool. I wish that I’d had deeper connection with the characters and the pacing of the story. I think readers who enjoyed THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee might enjoy this one for its sci-fi thriller vibes.

Content Notes for Lies My Memory Told Me

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Nova’s best friend Andie is transgender.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl. At one point Nova sees a holographic movie preview to a pornographic memory.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of LIES MY MEMOERY TOLD ME in exchange for my honest review.

Review: How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

How We Fall Apart
Katie Zhao
Bloomsbury
Published August 3, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How We Fall Apart

Students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead.

Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top ranked junior at Sinclair Prep, goes missing, and then is found dead. Nancy is even more shocked when word starts to spread that she and her friends–Krystal, Akil, and Alexander–are the prime suspects, thanks to “The Proctor,” someone anonymously incriminating them via the school’s social media app.

They all used to be Jamie’s closest friends, and she knew each of their deepest, darkest secrets. Now, somehow The Proctor knows them, too. The four must uncover the true killer before The Proctor exposes more than they can bear and costs them more than they can afford, like Nancy’s full scholarship. Soon, Nancy suspects that her friends may be keeping secrets from her, too.

My Review

One of the things I feel like this book captured really well or conveyed really well is the high-pressure experience of being a student at an elite school. Nancy not only feels the pressure of her school program and being a scholarship student surrounded by rich kids from privileged families, but also feels intense pressure from her parents to do well and make all their sacrifices worth it.

At first I found it difficult to connect with Nancy because she’s bitter and aloof. As I started to see more and more of her life, I felt like it made a lot of sense that she acted the way she did. Her relationship with Jamie was complicated and pretty toxic, but it made sense that they stayed kind of bound up in each other. So that was another thing that I ultimately felt was strong about the story.

Some of the scene changes felt abrupt to me. It sometimes felt like the writing was a little rushed, so I read the beginnings of scenes sometimes more than once trying to figure out if I’d missed something. Or maybe there was a flashback or timeline change that happened quickly. Sometimes I struggled to follow those, but maybe that was just me.

I think all in all there are some really strong things about the story– and I really enjoyed the experience of reading a suspense story with an Asian cast. Hopefully HOW WE FALL APART does really well and paves the way for other books like this!

I think readers who enjoy suspense stories will like this one, especially early high school readers, like freshman and sophomores.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Asian. Two female characters are in a romantic relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of bullying. References to a girl found murdered. Description of a confrontation that leads to a head injury. A fire causes injuries.

Drug Content
A girl offers her friends a drink of juice and puts vodka in it without telling them. They realize what she’s done and drink the juice anyway.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of HOW WE FALL APART in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

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Girl on a Wire (Cirque American #1)
Gwenda Bond
Skyscape
Published October 1, 2014


Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Girl on a Wire

Sixteen-year-old Jules Maroni’s dream is to follow in her father’s footsteps as a high-wire walker. When her family is offered a prestigious role in the new Cirque American, it seems that Jules and the Amazing Maronis will finally get the spotlight they deserve. But the presence of the Flying Garcias may derail her plans. For decades, the two rival families have avoided each other as sworn enemies.

Jules ignores the drama and focuses on the wire, skyrocketing to fame as the girl in a red tutu who dances across the wire at death-defying heights. But when she discovers a peacock feather—an infamous object of bad luck—planted on her costume, Jules nearly loses her footing. She has no choice but to seek help from the unlikeliest of people: Remy Garcia, son of the Garcia clan matriarch and the best trapeze artist in the Cirque.

As more mysterious talismans believed to possess unlucky magic appear, Jules and Remy unite to find the culprit. And if they don’t figure out what’s going on soon, Jules may be the first Maroni to do the unthinkable: fall.

My Review

So I guess it’s been more than four years since I read the companion novel to this one, and when I reread my review, I said it would be smarter to read this one first so you didn’t get any spoilers. Fortunately for me, my reading brain is so porous that I have zero memory of anything that I read in GIRL IN THE SHADOWS that might have spoiled GIRL ON A WIRE for me. (In fact, I kind of want to go back and reread it to see what happens to Jules and Remy after this story ends.)

First of all, I loved the circus setting. It felt live and exciting and full of adrenaline and I had no trouble picturing the scenes or imagining the smells and sounds of the circus performances.

I thought the nod to the story of Romeo and Juliet was fun and sweet– Remy’s full name is apparently Romeo and Jules’s is Julieta, and they’re from families with a long history of rivalry and distrust. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense as they learned how to trust each other and work together to figure out who was trying to sabotage Jules and her family.

I thought the story was a really fun adventure to read and a nice escape from reality. I’m only sorry it took me so long to read it!

You can check out my review of the companion novel, GIRL IN THE SHADOWS here.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Jules and her family are Italian Americans. Remy and his family are Latinx Americans.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used once.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Jules wonders about sex and how to know when she’s ready for that kind of intimacy in a relationship.

Spiritual Content
Jules’s grandmother reads Tarot cards and believes she can perform magic. She also believes that certain artifacts contain a kind of bad luck curse that will hurt anyone connected with them. One item contains good luck for whoever possesses it.

Violent Content
Two boys square off to fight. A performer is killed in an accident during a performance.

Drug Content
Jules (and other performers) drinks champagne to celebrate her success.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.

Review: A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

A Question of Holmes (Charlotte Holmes #4)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
Published March 5, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Question of Holmes

Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson think they’re finally in the clear. They’ve left Sherringford School—and the Moriartys—behind for a pre-college summer program at Oxford University. A chance to start from scratch and explore dating for the first time, while exploring a new city with all the freedom their program provides.

But when they arrive, Charlotte is immediately drawn into a new case: a series of accidents have been befalling the members of the community theater troupe in Oxford, and now, on the eve of their production of Hamlet, they’re starting all over again. What once seemed like a comedy of errors is now a race to prevent the next tragedy—before Charlotte or Jamie is the next victim.

My Review

First, I want to say this: I’m not very good at sticking to a series, much less a series with more than three books (gasp!), but I listened to most of the books in the Charlotte Holmes series this year during the pandemic, and having something energetic and fun to look forward to at the end of the day really helped me get through some stressful and difficult days. I love this series for that, and I am really glad I listened to all four books.

That said, A QUESTION OF HOLMES wasn’t my favorite book in the series. I liked the idea, and the mystery itself– the theater group, the disastrous events, the fact that Jamie and Charlotte had to figure out how to work a case when their reputations were already known to the people involved.

I think I just wanted the story to tie together some of the big rivalries and larger elements from the earlier books, and there’s a hint of that, but it didn’t feel like enough to me, if that makes sense. I wanted more of that, and instead the book kind of reads like a standalone mystery featuring some familiar characters.

Despite all that, I love that the story continues in the epilogue and we get a glimpse of Charlotte and Jamie and who they might be going forward into adult life. I thought that was a really cool way to end the series, kind of a final gift to readers.

I’m still really glad I read this one and have no regrets about spending my one monthly audible credit on A QUESTION OF HOLMES. It was a lot of fun, and I think anyone looking for a good escape read should check out the series.

Here are my reviews of earlier books in the Charlotte Holmes Series:

#1 A Study in Charlotte

#2 The Last of August

#3 A Case for Jamie

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlotte is from London. Jamie is white American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. They sleep in the same bed.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A girl is missing, possibly murdered. A woman dies in a suspicious manner.

Drug Content
Charlotte and Jamie drink or pretend to drink alcohol with a group of teens who get very drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.

Review: The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro

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The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes #3)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
March 6, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Case for Jamie

The hotly anticipated and explosive third book in the New York Times bestselling Charlotte Holmes series.

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.

My Review

I feel like suddenly this year I’ve become such a series reader! THE CASE FOR JAMIE is another book I listened to through my insomnia (during election week), and it was such a great book to distract me from the things that were on my mind.

I liked that in this one, the chapters alternate between Charlotte and Jamie’s perspectives, where in the past the story has been mostly Jamie’s point-of-view. For much of the story the two are separated, so that also brought something different to this one, because instead of Jamie reporting on and analyzing and pining after Charlotte, he kind of works on his own stuff a bit. I was into it.

Another thing that I enjoyed was again getting to see the relationship between Jamie’s dad and Charlotte’s uncle, so a previous generation of Holmes and Watson besties. That was interesting and fun, too.

If you’re unfamiliar with the series, I definitely recommend that you start with book one, A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE, because the stories do continue and build on one another. This one especially has lots of threads in it that relate to things that happened in the first two books.

I think fans of mysteries and star-crossed-ish romances will love the fast-paced adventure of this series and the complex relationship between Charlotte and Jamie.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlotte is from London. Jamie is white American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to a conversation between boy and girl about whether they should have sex. One scene hints that two characters are about to have sex and then cuts to pick up afterward with no details about the exchange.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. In one scene, a man beats a boy. A boy beats a man. Several times guns are pointed at people. A couple times people are shot.

Drug Content
Charlotte is an opiate addict. She carries two pills with her and takes a picture of them each day to send to a contact for accountability. Jamie and his friends attend a party where teens are drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.