Young Adult

Lying In The Deep // Book Review

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About The Book
A juicy mystery of jealousy, love, and betrayal set on a Semester at Sea-inspired cruise ship, with a diverse cast of delightfully suspicious characters who’ll leave you guessing with every jaw-dropping twist. [In this new murder mystery by Diana Urban find out what happens when a semester at sea turns deadly.] Perfect for readers of Natasha Preston, E. Lockhart, and Karen McManus!
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3QLiVQb

My Rating

This book frustrated me to no end. I was hoping for a fun, fast-paced YA thriller book, but that isn’t what I got at all. In the book, we follow Jade as she is doing a semester on a cruise ship. And, if you were a teenager in the 2000s you’re probably having ‘The Suite Life on Deck’ flashbacks.

However, Jade’s semester abroad turns sour when she discovers her ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend, who are now a couple, are also aboard the cruise ship. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out if this was a petty high school breakup story or a thriller. For about, 60% of the book Jade is wining about her backstabbing best friend and pining for her ex. And every time she’d try and confront them, she’d wimp out and than start whining again.

I thought there would be more suspense and mystery, and less high school drama. Although, since they’re in high school, I should have figured they’d act like they’re in high school. Still, the writing just felt very immature and the characters were juvenile. But, being in my 30s, I can admit that I am not really the intended audience for the book.

“No better trash can for a murderer than the entire ocean.”

The book didn’t pick up until around the last 75% of the book, and that’s when I felt like the story was actually getting somewhere. But, everything started happening so quickly. It felt like nothing at all was happening, and then, suddenly, a bunch of shit goes down. What was even the point of the first half of the book?

However, once the plot picked up, it was really enjoyable. I didn’t see the twist coming, which I liked. But, the characters were really the downfall for me. I disliked pretty much all of them. Still, there was one character, Jade’s love interest, that I did like, and he called Jade out on her pettiness and whining, which was called for.

Overall, the writing and plot weren’t for me at all. Maybe, I’ve just grown out of young adult, but I think that the real issue is that I didn’t know that the book was a retelling of “Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie. Correction – I have heard people say that it’s a YA “Death on the Nile” retelling, but I don’t know if that’s true. Nevertheless, I’ve heard that “Death on the Nile” has similarly slow moving, nothing’s happening type of plot.

In the comments, let me know if this book is on your TBR. If it is, take it from me and skip it. Personally, I would have had a better time watching ‘The Suite Life on Deck’. However, if you did enjoy the book, leave a comment letting others know why. Don’t forget to follow the blog for more bookish posts.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Twilight | Book Review

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About The Book
Isabella Swan’s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3qdEr5r

My Rating

This book is for all the vampire and love triangle fans out there. In the book, we follow Bella as she moves to Forks to live with her dad. There she forms a small friend group, and meets Jacob Black, the son of her dad’s best friend. However, Bella feels connection growing between her and the mysterious Edward Cullen. The two keep seem to be drawn together, and everyone knows the Cullen family are very interesting.

If you want a slow paced vampire book with some slow-burn romance, then this is the book for you. It is the first book in the Twilight saga, and typically first book in series do need a lot of world building. However, I found this book to be way too long. I felt like there was so much that we could have cut out and the outcome would have been the same. Being 500 pages long was completely unnecessary.

As for the characters, we didn’t get to really know anyone but Bella. Yet, we did learn a little about Edward and his family. Although, I think as the books progress we will get more information on the other characters and learn more about them. As for Bella, she was a very bland character with not much personality. She was bit boring and just average, which I assume is why Edward was so drawn to her.

“Death is Peaceful, Life is Harder.”

The story, as a whole, was very engaging. I found myself drawn in, and wanting to pick it up. I’m always down for a good vampire story, and if you know anything about this saga, soon we will have werewolves introduced as well. The ending was really fasted paced, and picked up, even though I felt like Bella did make some pretty dumb choices.

Now let’s talk about the writing. This book gets a lot of hate for being write like a fan fiction, which I think is disrespectful to fanfics, since some of them are actually written very well. I didn’t find the writing to be horrible, but it didn’t grip me like I wanted it to. It was very mediocre writing. There wasn’t anything special about it that helped make the story come to life.

Overall, it has the basics of a great story, and I’m excited to see where the next book goes. Still, I can understand why people say that this book has a stalker love trope kind of vibe. A few years back, that used to be a big no-no, but now in the age of dark romance and bully romance I can bet that some people are into the stalker trope.

In the comments, let me know when you first read the Twilight books. Don’t forget to hit the follow button, so that you get notified whenever there’s a new post like this one.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Friday Reads #18

- Bunny 1 Comment

Hi Friends,
This is the last weekend in July. I have been reading like crazy, and now I am kind of in a reading slump. However, I hope that these books will pull me out of my reading slump.

The Legacies by Jessica Goodman
I am 30% into this YA thriller book and hope to be done with it soon. Right now, I am not loving it, but I am hoping that it will start to pick up.

When In Rome by Sarah Adams
I have been in the mood for a cute rom-com style adult romance. This book has been on my radar for a while and I own it, which is awesome since I am trying to read more books off my physical TBR. Hopefully, I will get to it by the end of the month.

Furyborn by Claire Legrand
This book has been on many Friday reads and TBRs. I just need to finish it! Since I am becoming more of a fantasy girlie, I think that I might finally be able to binge read the last 50% of this book.

In the comments, let me know what you are currently reading. Do not forget to like this post and follow this blog before you go.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

July 2023 // Book Haul

- Bunny 3 Comments

Hi Friends,
July is coming to an end, so it’s time to share the books that I bought this month. I do have some super exciting pre-orders that haven’t come in yet, but these are the majority of the books that I purchased in July.

The Seven Year Slip: https://amzn.to/3QcTs1C
In The Weeds: https://amzn.to/43JEmEf
The Cheat Sheet: https://amzn.to/44ENv1T
Icebreakers: https://amzn.to/3O7LBjh
The Deal: https://amzn.to/3DtkxGf
The Fine Print: https://amzn.to/478cFaM
Violet Made Of Thorns: https://amzn.to/3q6BDXA
The Prince And The Apocalypse: https://amzn.to/3DwkFoM
Hollow Fires: https://amzn.to/3KgVgDc
The Naturals: https://amzn.to/3Q9IVV9

So, now I have even more books on my physical TBR, but who’s counting, right? Honestly, book buying is just as much as a hobby as reading is for a bookworm. In the comments, let me know which of these books I should make a priority. Don’t forget to follow the blog to get notified about all future posts.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Finding Her Edge // Book Review

- Bunny 1 Comment

About The Book
Adriana Russo is figure skating royalty. With gold-medalist parents, and her older sister headed to the Olympics, all she wants is to live up to the family name and stand atop the ice dance podium at the Junior World Championships. That means training on the same ice as her first crush, Freddie, the partner she left when her growth spurt outpaced his. For the past two years, he’s barely acknowledged her existence, and she can’t even blame him for it.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3K7mYCc

My Rating

Here’s a little fun fact about me: I love ice skating! That’s right, when I was a kid (and teenager) I thought figure skating was the coolest sport. I even took an ice skating lessons for a year. And, to this day, Ice Princess is probably still my most watched movie. So, when I heard about this YA contemporary following a figure skater, I couldn’t have been more excited for it!

Unfortunately, this book was a total letdown. Now that’s not to say I didn’t like to story, because I found the plot to be really good. And, the book is very fast paced. Honestly, it gave me those Ice Princess vibes that I was hoping for.

However, the major plot of this book was this second chance romance love triangle aspect. I was not a fan of that at all. I typically don’t like second chance romances, so it’s not a big surprise when they fall short for me. In this book, we get four tropes in one. Second chance romance, fake dating, love triangle and unrequited love. And let’s just say I didn’t like the outcome.

As for the characters, I found most of them to be immature and annoying. Although, the side characters were great. and I wish that we had gotten to know them better. I was way more interested in them then the main character, Adriana.

“There are no guarantees in figure skating.”

The book does give a good look into the intense world that is professional figure skating. It made me want to watch a whole series following figure skaters, because it’s a lot of pressure. When you’re part of a duo, you really have to trust your partner. And, I think the author did a good job relaying how competitive it is. Also, partner romances can make things messy.

Overall, I wished that I had liked it more. It wasn’t necessarily a bad book, just not one that I would necessarily recommend or think of in the future. Honestly, I was not a fan of how the love triangle ended. Let’s just say I would have preferred the author to go the unexpected route.

In the comments, tell me what sport of hobby did you find fascinating as a teenager. Don’t forget to share this post with others. And, feel free to follow my blog before you go.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Barbie Girl // Book Recommendations For Barbie

- Bunny 1 Comment

Hi Friends,
The Barbies movie is out! So, I thought it would be fun to give everyone’s favorite doll some book recommendations. These are books that I think Barbie would thoroughly enjoy.


Something From Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill
This is a holiday read that Barbie would find to be a great holiday romance. I mean, jewelry is a big part of the story, and being that Barbie is a major fashionista, I think that she’d be a Tiffany’s lover.
Related Post: Something From Tiffany’s // Book Review


The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
First off, the cover of this book is pink, and we all know that Barbie is a pink lover. Secondly, Barbie would love this fun, lighthearted young adult romance. The main character is usually so put together, just like Barbie, so I think she’d like seeing someone with a similar personality playing the rebel, for once.
Related Post: The Do-Over // Book Review


So This Is Love by Elizabeth Lim
Barbie has got to be a fan of Disney Princesses, right? Out of all the Twisted Tales books I’ve read, I think that the one featuring Cinderella would interest Barbie the most, since like Barbie she is hard working and kind.
Related Post: So This Is Love // Book Review


12 to 22: POV You Wake Up in the Future! by Jen Calonita
Not even going to lie – this book screams Barbie. It has tons of pop culture references, and is a modern day remake of a beloved teen film. Something tells me that Barbie would enjoy reading a new version of ‘13 Going On 30’. Even though the book might cater to a younger audience, it would be a book she’d read in one sitting.
Related Post: 12 to 22 // Book Review


The Prince and Pauper by Mark Twain
I had to recommended this book, if only for the fact that I was obsessed with Barbie’s ‘Princess and The Pauper’ movie. However, I do think Barbie would enjoy this classic story of two look-alikes swapping places. She’d might even wonder if she has a double out there somewhere.

In the comments, let me know if you’re excited for the live-action Barbie movie! Personally, I think it’s going to be pretty cheesy and cringey, but a good time. Don’t forget to share this post with other book lovers.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Reading Wrap-Up // Summerween 2023

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Hi Friends,
The Summerween readathon is over, and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you should go read my Sunmerween TBR post. But, for the week of Summerween, I ended up reading 3 books, and completing all the prompts.

‘Lying in the Deep’ by Diana Urban
I was originally going to read ‘Every Last Fear’ by Alex Finlay for the ‘Read a Thriller’ prompt, but I had this audiobook on my Libby, so I decided to pick this one up. It’s a YA thriller/mystery, more mystery than thriller, but it is categorized as a thriller, so it counts. I did end up finishing this book, but it wasn’t my favorite read.

‘Fence’ Vol. 2 by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad
I have become a big fan of this graphic novel series, so for the ‘Read a Graphic Novel, Manga, or Novella’ prompt I knew that I had to read volume 2. I finished this quickly, and enjoyed it.

‘The Haunting of Aveline Jones’ by Phil Hickes
This book filled two prompts: ‘Read a Book That Takes Place in the Fall’ and ‘Read a Book With Black and/or Orange on the Cover’. I really like this spooky middle-grade, and I can’t wait to read the other books in this series.

On the last day of the readathon, I ended up starting ‘Every Last Fear’. I only got about 20% into the audiobook, but so far it has me intrigued.

Let me know in the comments, if you participated in Summerween. Also, I vlogged each day of the readathon over on my TikTok account (@BooksWithBunny). Before you go hit the follow button, so that you never miss a post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue // Book Review

- Bunny Leave a comment

About The Book
 A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3OdHNP2

My Rating

I had heard that this book was beautifully written with an addictive plot. Well, I do agree that that the writing was fantastic. V.E. Schwab is a wonderful author, but since I’ve read her Cassidy Blake trilogy, written as Victoria Schwab, I already knew that I loved her writing style. The writing might be one of the best things about this book.

Schwab has a way of pulling you into the story write from the first chapter. The book started off wonderful, and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. In the book, we follow a young girl named Addie LaRue, who in 1714 makes a deal with a demon. One that has lasting consequences. She shall live forever, but never be remembered by anyone.

Now tell me that plot doesn’t sound intriguing? Of course, Addie does end up meeting a boy who, by some miracle. remembers her. And, thus a romance develops. I didn’t mind the romance, but I’m not actually sure if I liked Addie or her love interest, Henry. However, I enjoyed watching the fall in love and understand each. One of my all time favorite quotes is “The greatest feeling in this world is knowing you actually mean something to someone.” And, I think that describes their relationship.

On the other hand, we have Luc who is the demon that made the deal with Addie. The book shows that they share somewhat of a bond, but their relationship is more of want vs need. Although, I will say I have a thing for a dark, mysterious bad boy so I was team Luc. And, I have no shame in saying that.

“If no one heard it, did it happen?
If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?”

The plot was actually pretty heartbreaking, yet I didn’t find myself crying. A big message with in the story is that sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Every choice has consequences and your life might be worse for it. That being said, love played a big part in the story mainly what you’d do for true love.

There was some LGBT representation in the book, but I would say mental health was very prevalent in the plot. Interestingly enough the mental health aspect worked well in this primarily magic realism story. Also, Addie had to do some questionable things throughout her life. Some of those things could be triggering to be. As I always say, please do your research, and look up trigger warnings before reading the book.

I think my major problems with this book, and the reason I didn’t rate it super high, is the pacing. The chapters were so long and the book it self felt very slow. As a reader, I am all about fast paced books especially when it comes to fantasies. And, this one just took me way too long to finish. Also, I’m normally fine with dual timelines but I found myself getting a bit confused with all the jumping around through time with in the story.

Overall, the book is a solid story, that I didn’t hate whatsoever. The plot was very interesting, and the writing was top notch. Not sure how I feel about the end, but I enjoyed my reading experience nonetheless. And, I will most certainly be reading more from this author.

In the comments, let me know if you think this book deserves all the hype behind it. Don’t forget to give this post a like, and share it with other book lovers. Support my little book blog by giving it a follow.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Queen Of The Tiles | Book Review

- Bunny 1 Comment

About The Book
 They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in this thriller set in the world of competitive Scrabble, where a teen girl, Najwa, is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend, Trina, when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages. As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3JPKLGS

My Rating

I hadn’t heard anything about this book before going into it. Also, I don’t really know anything about Scrabble, except that I would probably lose in a Scrabble competition. In the book we follow, Najwa who is competing in her first Scrabble tournament since her best friend’s death. Her best friend, Trina, was known around the teen Scrabble circuit as the Queen of the Tiles.

As you can probably guess, with this being a mystery thriller and all, that Najwa starts to wonder if her best friend was murdered for her ‘Scrabble crown’. Like in any sport, people will do anything to be number one. Najwa was an okay character, yet a little on the naive side, for my liking. But, we got to know a lot about her and her best friends relationship.

Let’s just say that in their friendship Najwa wasn’t the main character. However, Najwa didn’t really seem bitter about being the supporting character, but should could understand the desire to dethrone the scrabble queen. But, you could tell that she was still grieving the loss of her friend, and winning the scrabble competition, in honor of her BFF was her way of coping.

The mystery was interesting, and I didn’t want to put the book down. However, the plot in general was slow moving, and nothing really gripped me. Although, I did like learning more about Scrabble. It’s a pretty competitive and strategic game. One I’ve actually never played.

“And the idea that Scrabble is still there for me, grounding me through everything that’s going on, is comforting.”

Grief is a being topic in the book, which is a little strange for a murder mystery. And, I think the fact that it was such a huge plot point in the book could be why it felt so slow. More on the side of a contemporary vs a mystery. But, I will say that at its root it is a solid mystery thriller.

It’s hard to say if I liked the ending or not. Because, I’m someways it was completely expected and easy to see coming. On the other hand, it was a little shocking, especially since there were times when we were giving the element of an unreliable narrator. So I’m torn.

Overall, I found the book to be a pretty good read. The writing was nice and the plot was very well done. Although, I’m not sure if I liked the writing style enough to read more from this author. But, if you are newer to the YA mystery genre, I’d recommend this book.

In the comments, let me know if you enjoy a good game of Scrabble. Don’t forget to follow the blog to get notified whenever there’s a new post!

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Anticipated Releases // Summer 2023

- Bunny 3 Comments

Hi Friends,
Today, I’m going to be talking about my summer anticipated book releases! This years has been full of amazing book releases. I cannot wait to read all of these books! I’m hopeful that I will get to at least some of these new releases this summer, because they all sound so good. But, I do want to preface that I only have limited knowledge of what each of these books are about. What can I say, I like to go into books a little blind.


Summer Rental by Rektok Ross (June 13th): This book is tag-lined as Mean Girls meets Scream, which is all I need to know. I believe that it’s a YA thriller about a group of friends trapped on an island with a serial killer. I’m thinking it’s going to be more of a campy thriller, which I can get behind.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager (June 20th): I’ve been wanting to get into Riley Sager books for a while now, and this one sounds amazing. The book takes place in the 80’s, where we’re following Kit. She is a home health aid for Lenora, an old woman that is unable to speak or move anything but her left hand, due to polio. Here’s the kicker, as a teenager Lenora was accused of killing her parents and sister, yet she was never charged with their murders. Soon Kit starts to suspect that Lenora might be more dangerous than she thinks. My interest is piqued!

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (June 27th): I’m not sure how I feel about this book, because it’s giving off serious ‘The Lake House’ vibes. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, ‘The Lake House’ is a movie starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, in which they both live in the same house, but in different timelines, and somehow they end up communicating with one another. This book follows what seems to be a similar plot. Although, I didn’t love the movie, I know that Poston’s adult romance ‘The Dead Romantics’ was a big hit last year, so I want to give this book a chance.

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (July 4th): I’m actually very excited for this book, because the premise sounds really funny. This is an adult romance following a ghost writer and a C-list actor, who have a less-than-satisfactory one-night stand. Cue some “lessons in satisfaction” and it sounds like a winning plotline to me. I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’ve heard some good things about her books. Also, who doesn’t like mixing a little pleasure with business every now and again.

Ghosted: A Northanger Abbey by Amanda Quain (July 25th): As you can tell from the title, this is a Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin retelling. It is a young adult story about a high school senior, and there’s a ghost hunting element. That’s pretty much all I know about this book, which, according to GoodReads, has X-Files vibes to it.

One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus (July 25th): Why do I feel like I’ve talked about this book a lot? Probably, because it’s one of my most anticipated releases of the entire year. If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, then you know that Karen M. McManus is on of my favorite authors! She writes some of the best (at least, in my opinion) young adult mystery thrillers. This is the next, and possibly last, installment book is part of her ‘One of Us is Lying” series, and I could not be any more ready for it.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard (August 1st): This is a psychological thriller set in Ireland. It follows Lucy, who is trying to uncover what happened to her sister Nicki that disappeared a year ago. The book is inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances that took places in the 90’s. The fact that there’s a real world element to these books makes the plot even more exciting.

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine (August 1st): I was stoked to find out that Danielle Valentine was coming out with another horror novel. Last year, I read her book ‘How To Survive Your Murder’ in about a day. It was such a fun, campy, slasher horror book. However, this book is an adult thriller, which I’m typically more of a fan of. I also heard that it is the basis for the next season of American Horror Story. And, as a reader, I have to read the book before watching the show. It’s practically a law.

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney (August 3rd): I’ve only read ‘Rock Paper Scissors’, which I did really like. But, she is known as the queen of plot twists, so I’m looking forward to picking this book up. The book follows two crimes which, despite happening twenty years apart, are somehow linked. This book is said to have a lot of twists, and let’s face it, the twists are what make a good thriller.

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace (August 22nd): This is the sequel to ‘Belladonna’, which was a fantastic YA fantasy. The first book ended on a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. Honestly, ‘Belladonna’ shocked me with how good it was, so I’m hoping that the next installment doesn’t let me down. Other than the fact that it’s a sequel, I actually don’t know much about the plot, but I’m okay with that.

There you have my summer 2023 most anticipated book releases. of course there are a ton more releases I want to get to, but these are the ones at the top of my list. In the comments, share your most anticipated book release with me. Don’t forget to hit the follow button before you leave.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny