family

When the World Tips Over

By Jandy Nelson

Coming September 24, 2024

(4 / 5)

Dizzy, Miles, and Wynton are siblings whose father disappeared 12 years ago, and each are facing their own challenges. Then a mysterious rainbow-haired girl appears, affecting each of the siblings in their own ways.

When the World Tips Over is a book that dives deep into the dynamics of family, following a story that spans generations. Through the book, we follow the perspectives of 4 different characters along with notes from some other characters, plus the story of a family’s ancestors. It’s a lot to keep track of, but all of these pieces are interweaved in a way that slowly reveals a bigger picture while holding a feeling of mystery and destiny. There’s a sense of magical realism throughout, which gives the characters and story an almost fairy tale type feel. The book is quite long, and at times I felt like it was moving much slower than I prefer with not a lot of action… but I think that it’s just the type of book this is: very introspective and focused more on the characters than the plot. It was sometimes a bit depressing, yet thought-provoking enough to keep me wanting to read more, even when I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going. There are certainly some interesting surprises along the way that I didn’t see coming!

Thank you to Penguin Teen, Dial Books, and BookishFirst for the free review copy of When the World Tips Over! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

The Blood Traitor

The Prison Healer #3

By Lynette Noni

(4.5 / 5)

The Blood Traitor is the third book of the trilogy, The Prison Healer, and it didn’t disappoint. I really liked the sense of adventure this book had, exploring so much more of this fictional world than we did in the previous books. The different kinds of relationships that developed between characters were interesting and sometimes surprising. There was a good amount of action and drama, keeping me engaged and wanting to read to the end. After the previous books, I’d come to expect some interesting twists along the way, so there were some things I suspected before they were actually revealed, but I still managed to get surprised too. This was a worthy ending to a series that I really enjoyed reading and hope to read again in the future.

June 26, 2024 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Hardcover Young Adult 0

The Gilded Cage

The Prison Healer #2

By Lynette Noni

(4 / 5)

After how The Prison Healer ended, I went into the 2nd book of the series with the thought “I have a feeling this won’t end well.” Once again, we are following Kiva, joined by some familiar characters from the last book and some new ones as well. I definitely had some strong feelings and intuitions about some of the characters that turned out to be validated along the way. Kiva faces some tough decisions in this book, and honestly, I sometimes was cringing at her choices, even though it’s also what I was expecting. Over the course of the book, I made a lot of theories about reveals that might happen later in the story – some of those turned out to be right, some not quite, and a couple complete surprises along the way. The Gilded Cage was a book that thoroughly kept my interest, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next in the 3rd book!

June 23, 2024 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Hardcover Young Adult 0

Attached at the Hip

By Christine Riccio

(4 / 5)

I thought this book was a fun read. As a Survivor fan, I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the fictional spin-off show, Attached at the Hip, that is the base of the story. It really did have that Survivor feel to it, with the unique twist of being tethered to another player. In the beginning, I found the main character, Orie, to feel very immature, but that also allowed for a lot of character growth along the way. I really enjoyed the relationship building between Orie and other contestants from the show, and how complicated it became when they had to routinely vote someone out. The book kept me engaged, and it was hard to put down… I was always excited to see what would happen next.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of Attached at the Hip! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

April 26, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

A Wedding in the Sun

By Leonie Mack

Coming May 17, 2024

(4.5 / 5)

Jo and Adrián are on a flight to Spain to attend the wedding of their ex-spouses, not something either of them is looking forward to. When the plane has to make an emergency landing in France due to bad weather, the two “exes” end up traveling together, trying to get to their destination despite everything going wrong along the way.

A Wedding in the Sun was a quick and enjoyable read. I really liked both of the main characters, who felt so imperfectly human. While they are going through some incredibly difficult situations and are understandably stressed, over time they are both able to admit to their flaws and accept each other as they are. Both characters go through a lot of growth as they process the grief from their previous marriages ending. Despite so many things going wrong on their journey, there’s also a sense of optimism about the positive experiences they wouldn’t have had otherwise. I loved the adventure of the road trip, from the Pyrenees mountains to the beaches of Spain.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of A Wedding in the Sun! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

April 23, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Falling for Fury

By Brittany Rianne

Released today!

(4 / 5)

Addison: 25-year-old law student who struggles with mental health and the expectations set by her dad. Noah: 29-year-old businessman who is determined to succeed to support his family but has sworn off love after the grief of losing his father. The two meet by chance and sparks fly, but is a relationship possible?

This book begins with a trigger warning, which I appreciated since I have had my own struggles with mental health. I’ll admit, in the beginning I had a hard time completely understanding the two main characters, but as I got to know them better, they both grew on me. On the surface, this is a romance story with good amount of spice, but it digs so much deeper with topics about mental health, family issues and personal growth. I liked the relationship between Addison and Noah, especially with how Noah embraced Addison as she was, instead of walking on eggshells like everyone else around her. I thought the book playlist (a song for each chapter) was a nice touch, even if I didn’t always listen to it while reading the book. This book is impressive for a self-published debut author – I would have never suspected this just from reading the book.

Thank you to Brittany Rianne for the free review copy of Falling for Fury! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

March 10, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Lunar New Year Love Story

By Gene Luen Yang & LeUyen Pham

Coming soon on January 9, 2024!

(5 / 5)

Lunar New Year Love Story is a graphic novel that follows a Vietnamese-American teen, Valentina, over the course of a year. According to her grandmother, her family has always been unlucky with love, and Valentina fears that she’s destined to the same fate.

I don’t usually read graphic novels, but this one caught my interest when I was able to get a sneak peek of the beginning. I’m really glad I gave it a chance, because I loved the story. The illustrations are great, conveying the emotions and personalities beautifully. While on the surface this book seems to be about Valentina trying to see if she is doomed to never find true love, there is so much more to it. It explores family relationships, friendship, grief, and finding forgiveness for past mistakes. Another central theme of the book is lion dancing, which is a hobby that Valentina starts and really enjoys. I enjoyed learning a bit about Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean cultures. I was really impressed everything about this book!

Thank you to MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group and BookishFirst for the free advance copy of Lunar New Year Love Story! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

December 29, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Paperback Young Adult 0

Clover Hendry’s Day Off

By Beth Morrey

Coming soon on January 30, 2024

(4 / 5)

Clover Hendry’s Day Off was something a little different from other books I’ve read, but also something I could really relate to. The book follows Clover Hendry for one day that is anything but ordinary for her. Usually, Clover is the type of person that doesn’t speak up, who always says “yes” even when she’d rather say “no”. But she’s also overwhelmed and burnt out in her roles as wife, mother of twin teens, and producer of TV shows. So, for one day, Clover has decided she’s had enough, and she’s going to put herself first. Of course, this leads to quite a chaotic day of crazy antics. I don’t necessarily approve of everything she does over the course of the day, but there were definitely some laugh out loud moments along the way.

As we follow Clover through her day, there are also introspective moments as she recalls events in her life that she feels have shaped who she is today. Some of these memories are happy, like recalling the day she met her husband, but others are not so happy, like her wedding being a disaster. I think those moments where she really took a close look at herself, realizing how she has always put everyone before herself, how anxious she is, how she lacks a sense of self-confidence, how exhausting being a mother is… that was the true meaning behind the story that led to immense character growth. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted so many passages in a book as I did in this one, but there were so many times I felt as if this book was providing me advice for my own life.

There were some times that I had trouble following Clover’s train of thought in her cluttered mind, but overall the writing was good, and I seemed to be able to follow better as the book went on. Being American, I was a bit tripped up by the British dialect at times too, but could still understand the context.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the free advanced copy of Clover Hendry’s Day Off. The opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

November 4, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Literary Fiction Women's Fiction 0

A Pretty Implausible Premise

By Karen Rivers

(4 / 5)

On the surface this looks like just a YA romance, but it really takes an emotional journey through guilt, loss, and forgiveness. Both of the main characters are going through their own versions of this. Hattie’s mom left when she was just a child, and now she has given up on competitive swimming after a little boy drowned during her lifeguard watch. Presley’s twin brother was killed in a car accident that left him with injuries that ended his figure skating career and put their father in prison. There’s also parallels between Hattie and Presley’s stories and a book that Hattie is obsessed with, which we are able to read excerpts of throughout the book – a story within the story. I really liked both of the main characters. I think they felt realistic and relatable.

The book did feel a bit slow, especially at the beginning. About the first 3rd of the book is just the first day of school, and while it was setting up the backstories and framework, I could see some readers losing interest in this part. The ending of the book is much faster paced. For me personally, the book kept my attention, and I was able to read almost the entire book in a day. The romance wasn’t quite as “insta-love” as the description made it sound, which I was actually glad about.

I received a free copy of A Pretty Implausible Premise through the Amazon Vine program, but all opinions in my review are uninfluenced and my own.

October 10, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Hardcover Romance Young Adult 0

The Space Between Here & Now

By Sarah Suk

Coming soon on October 31, 2023

(4.5 / 5)

The Space Between Here & Now was unique because the main character, Aimee, has a fictional condition called Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, which causes her to physically disappear and relive memories. Unlike most time travel stories, she is not able to change anything, she’s just an invisible observer. While not common, the condition is known by the general public, but not understood very well.

We meet Aimee as a 17-year-old high school senior in Canada. Her mom disappeared when she was just 6, and her relationship with her father is strained. Recently her disappearances have become more frequent, making her afraid to really live her life because she doesn’t know when it might happen again. Plus, her memories are revealing information about her mother that she didn’t realize before. In order to learn more about her mother, she travels to Korea during Spring Break to see what she can find out.

While STWS is fictional, the stigma and feelings associated with it could be applied to many conditions in our real world. I think it’s a good lesson for all of us to have empathy for others who are different from us instead of dismissing them as weird or giving them unwanted attention.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked Aimee, and it was interesting to experience her rare condition through her eyes. There’s a lot of looking at family relationships and how they change over time. There’s a sense of mystery as Aimee tries to figure out what happened to her mother. A little bit of romance mixed in. And the setting in Korea was interesting, beautiful, and gave insight into Korean culture. I enjoyed watching Aimee grow over the course of the story, and I liked that things didn’t always turn out quite how I was expecting.

Thank you to HarperCollins Childrens Books, Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Space Between Here & Now. All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

October 7, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0