The Window by Amelia Brunskill

The Window by Amelia Brunskill

Published: April 3rd 2018 by Delacorte Press

Anna is everything her identical twin is not. Outgoing and athletic, she is the opposite of quiet introvert Jess. The same on the outside, yet so completely different inside–it’s hard to believe the girls are sisters, let alone twins. But they are. And they tell each other everything.

Or so Jess thought.

After Anna falls to her death while sneaking out her bedroom window, Jess’s life begins to unravel. Everyone says it was an accident, but to Jess, that doesn’t add up. Where was Anna going? Who was she meeting? And how long had Anna been lying to her?

Jess is compelled to learn everything she can about the sister she thought she knew. At first it’s a way to stay busy and find closure . . . but Jess soon discovers that her twin kept a lot of secrets. And as she digs deeper, she learns that the answers she’s looking for may be truths that no one wants her to uncover.

Because Anna wasn’t the only one with secrets.

I am not going to lie, whilst I had this on my TBR, it wasn’t high on my radar. I haven’t really seen a lot of people talking about it – so I picked this up for my kindle on a bit of a whim because of the mood I was in. I am so glad I did because this book was just amazing in SO MANY different ways, and I feel that a lot more people should be reading it already!

I think my favourite aspect of this book was the way in which it was written. Interspersed between each of Jess’ chapters was a couple of lines from Anna, slowly telling the story. With the clues that Jess was trying to figure out, and the snippets of Anna’s story in between, the author managed to create a mystery that really had me guessing right up until the very end. I was constantly changing my theories and I love the way that this book twisted and turned and kept me on my toes. As soon as I had thought I had something figured out, something happened and everything was put back on its head. Fragments of what happened to Anna, and the clues that she left behind were constantly being questioned by Jess, and it left the reader wondering if Jess was reading too much into things, or if something really did happen to Anna… and it also put a lot of focus on the grieving process and what was happening to Jess throughout psychologically.

Grief plays a HUGE part in this book – especially the grieving process. I loved the way in which the author featured various different grieving processes and represented the idea that everyone grieves differently and that there is no wrong way to grieve. Whether it is trying to find closure, accepting what has happened and moving on or even trying to find a second chance amongst everything that happened, everyone in this book processed things differently and it added an extra element to the story itself.  Having said that, the author also managed to weave in the idea of whether grief can be taken too far and just how low we can sink when we are grieving.

I also liked the fact that the author didn’t just represent grief through the loss of a friend/daughter/sibling through death. The author used various plot points to highlight different forms of grief and loss – loss of innocence, self worth, love and relationships and childhood. Everyone was facing different issues and processing it in different ways and showing different forms of grief, even within their everyday lives.

The author also wove in different societal issues that we face today and showed how one can affect another and how that in turn can affect something else. It was written in such a way that focused on teens trying to find themselves and navigate the world around them and the way in which it can sometimes go completely wrong – Alcoholism, the date rape drug, death, corruption, pedophilia, blackmail, sexual assault. Brunskill tied everything together and this book contributed, I think, in a huge way to the discussion of various issues and I really think that, young people especially, should be reading this book.

I also loved the way that this book focused on good things in amongst the bad. The sibling bond that Jess and Anna had was beautiful. Being twins, they had a different kind of special bond, that often left people feeling a little left out, but it was a bond that stuck right up until the very end, and even after Anna’s death. They were loyal to each other, as many siblings are (myself and my brother included) and I loved the fact that it showed that, even though you might not always get along with your siblings or see eye to eye with them, they’ll always be there for you in the end.

The ending was extremely bittersweet. I don’t want to give too much away, but the development and the changes that Jess went through throughout the book, and the point that she had gotten to by the end was both heart warming and heart breaking. I was left ugly sobbing in the corner – that’s all I’m saying.

All in all, I loved this book. It was poignant and heart breaking, but also bittersweet right up until the end. It focused on so many different issues and wove them all together pretty seamlessly. I gave this book 5/5 stars

Goodreads Monday and Cover Reveal

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your links in the comments.

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend! I managed to finish a couple of books and start a couple more – which you would have seen if you follow me/are friends with me on goodreads!

Anyway, this weeks layout will be similar to last weeks because I come to you with yet another cover reveal! I am so excited for this book and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

Echoes by Alice Reeds

Expected Publication: August 7th 2018 by Entangled Teen

They wake on a deserted island. Fiona and Miles, high school enemies now stranded together. No memory of how they got there. No plan to follow, no hope to hold on to.

Each step forward reveals the mystery behind the forces that brought them here. And soon, the most startling discovery: something else is on the island with them.

Something that won’t let them leave alive.

Echoes is a thrilling adventure about confronting the impossible, discovering love in the most unexpected places, and, above all, finding hope in the face of the unknown.

Pre Order:

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Entangled Publishing

About the Author:

Alice Reeds was born in a small town in Germany but spent her first eight years in Florida, USA. Later on, she moved back to Europe, where her family moved around a lot. She was raised trilingual and has a basic understanding of Russian, read and spoken. After getting her International Baccalaureate Diploma, Alice is studying English Language and Literature at University. In her free time Alice mostly writes, reads, figure and/or roller skates, or watches countless let’s plays and figure skating videos.

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your links to the comments so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey guys! I hope you all had an awesome weekend! It snowed and then rained promptly afterward, so relatively wet over here!

Anyway, this weeks pick for me is a book that doesn’t come out until a little later on in the year BUT I received an ARC of it via Netgalley! I absolutely loved book 1 (Follow Me Back) and I cannot wait to see what this conclusion will bring!

Tell Me No Lies by A. V. Geiger

Expected Publication: June 5th 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire

Love. Obsession. Jealousy. Murder.

No one knows what happened to pop icon Eric Thorn. His Twitter account? Frozen. His cell phone? Cracked and bloody, buried in the snow.

Agoraphobic fangirl Tessa Hart knows the truth, but she’s finally left her #EricThornObsessed days behind. She has no intention of ever touching her Twitter app again. But Snapchat… That’s safer, right?

After months of living under the radar, Tessa emerges from hiding, forced to face the deadly consequences of her past. But in the interrogation room, answers only lead to more questions in the pulse-pounding conclusion to the Follow Me Back duology.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off. Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your link to the comments so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend 🙂 It snowed here again – I was hoping for warmer weather, but no. Hopefully it will warm up sometime this week.

Anyway, this weeks pick for me is an ARC copy of a book that I have that releases later this month! I am extremely excited to get to it (probably be my next read after I have finished up the book I am currently reading), and I am hoping it lives up to my expectations.

#Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid

Expected Publication: February 13th by Tor Teen

A CIA prodigy’s cover is blown when he accidentally becomes an internet sensation in #Prettyboy Must Die, inspired by the #Alexfromtarget story.

When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo–along with the caption, “See the Pretty Boy Run,”–Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.

Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he’s on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.

His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your links to the comments so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey everyone! I hope that 2018 is treating you good so far. I am having a terrible start to the year reading wise! I am in the biggest slump and I really don’t feel motivated to do anything bookish :-(. I do have a review I need to write and I have picked up a book in the hopes of reading my way through it, but we shall see how that goes!

Anyway, this weeks pick for me (for when I finally get out of this slump) is a book that I saw reviewed on Beth’s @ Reading Every Night blog. It definitely looks like something I will enjoy and I am really excited to get to it…

The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart

Published: January 11th 2018 by Penguin Random House

Sep, Arkle, Mack, Lamb and Hadley: five friends thrown together one hot, sultry summer. When they discover an ancient stone box hidden in the forest, they decide to each make a sacrifice: something special to them, committed to the box for ever. And they make a pact: they will never return to the box at night; they’ll never visit it alone; and they’ll never take back their offerings.

Four years later, the gang have drifted apart. Then a series of strange and terrifying events take place, and Sep and his friends understand that one of them has broken the pact.

As their sacrifices haunt them with increased violence and hunger, they realise that they are not the first children to have found the box in their town’s history. And ultimately, the box may want the greatest sacrifice of all: one of them.

Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy

Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy

Expected Publication: January 2nd 2018 by Entangled Teen

Beautiful. Perfect. Dead.

In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed.

The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she’s next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she’s never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her.

There’s something he isn’t telling her. But there’s something she’s not telling him, either.

Everyone has secrets, and theirs might get them killed.

Note: I received an ARC copy of this from Entangled Teen via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion. 

I had seen this book floating around a little on Goodreads before I found it on Netgalley, so when I saw it, I knew I wanted to read it. I loved the cover and the premise sounded extremely promising because Whodunnits are absolutely my kind of thing. Overall, this book was a quick and relatively enjoyable read, with a few minor issues along the way.

The plot of this book was definitely fast paced. We knew who was being targeted, but we didn’t know why and by who. My guess as to who was doing it changed multiple times throughout the book and not one of my guesses was right – so kudos to the author for keeping me blind for so long! Whilst I enjoyed the plot ad playing the guessing game, I felt like the reasoning behind the murders was a bit lacking? I don’t feel that it kept up with the rest of the book and it felt a little anticlimactic after everything that had happened!

I also have mixed feelings about the characters. Whilst I liked our MC, she was definitely a little snotty in places (mostly to the younger Larks). However, I feel like the author tried to make Penelope out to be someone that she wasn’t. Whilst she was sometimes snotty to the juniors, I could understand her reasoning at the time, but the author then tried to make her out to the the Queen B – but her actions throughout the story never really indicated that she was really in that position. There was definitely a bit of a personality crisis in the middle of the book where the MC is concerned and I feel that definitely distracted from the story a bit.

I also felt that the interactions between the characters wasn’t always befitting that their relationship was supposed to be. We’re constantly reminded that Dani and Penelope are best friends, but its not really shown in a huge way that they are best friends throughout the book – more like reminded. They never really acted like best friends toward each other, more like casual friends. We are also told that, whilst they have their issues, Penelope was friends with Gretchen and Courtney, but their interactions also claim the opposite. They are pretty bitchy toward each other throughout the book, and this isn’t really resolved at the end even after the things that Penelope did for Courtney.

I did enjoy the slow build relationship between Penelope and Cass. They didn’t really liked or trust each other at the beginning and I loved the way that their relationship developed throughout the book. It wasn’t and insta love, or really a huge slow burn, but something more in the middle that is befitting of teenagers in high school. I enjoyed watching the relationship and how they overcame the issue of trust and struggling to really believe that the other isn’t the killer.

Having said that, I don’t feel that the secrets that Cass revealed throughout the book were all that shocking. I was expecting something huge and it just wasn’t? The secrets actually never really had a huge impact on the plot line itself because of who it turns out to be, so I feel these were added for a shock factor, which didn’t really deliver.

I did enjoy the )extremely) short chapters in between which were written from the killers perspective. They were written in such a way so that the identity was never revealed, which kept me guessing right up until the end. I enjoyed getting that little snippet throughout the book because it was refreshing reminder of the fact that the killer is there and watching.

I do, however, believe that the identity of the killer was a bit anticlimactic. We didn’t really get to see all that much of them throughout the book, so it was a bit of a ‘really?’ moment when they were revealed. It didn’t seem very realistic and we only got a very short explanation of why they were doing what they were doing. I would have much preferred It to have been someone we had been reading about from beginning to end, someone that I would have related to as a reader before finding out that they betrayed the characters and my trust. I feel that other characters would have been a more appropriate fit (just not the person that they suspected it to be) and would have ultimately led to a better ending if it had been someone different.

All in all, I have very mixed reviews about this book. Whilst it was mostly enjoyable, I had some issues with the characters and the overall ending of who did it and why. It is a quick and easy read, and I read this in one sitting! I gave this book 3/5 stars

Find me here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads/Litsy @ Laurens Page Turners

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirrowy

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirrowy

Published: July 25th 2017 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Amazon: First We Were IV

It started for pranks, fun, and forever memories.
A secret society – for the four of us.
The rules: Never lie. Never tell. Love each other.
We made the pledge and danced under the blood moon on the meteorite in the orchard. In the spot we found the dead girl five years earlier. And discovered the ancient drawings way before that.
Nothing could break the four of us apart – I thought.
But then, others wanted in. Our seaside town had secrets. History.
We wanted revenge.
We broke the rules. We lied. We told. We loved each other too much, not enough, and in ways we weren’t supposed to.
Our invention ratcheted out of control.
What started as a secret society, ended as justice. Revenge. Death. Rebellion.

I added this book to my TBR a while back, before its release, because it looked like something that would be right up my alley. I loved the premise and this was a highly anticipated read for me. Unfortunately, this book fell flat in a lot of ways for me and I ended up DNfing.

I loved the beginning of this book! It started out at the end, with one of them dead – we don’t know which one and we don’t know why or how it happened, just that it did. This immediately created an air of mystery and I just wanted to know what happened and how they got to that point. We find out about the dead girl not long after that and it added even more mystery because we never find out what happened to her at the time of her death. I was looking forward to seeing what had happened to the girl and why she ended up where she did.

However, this book fell off into a tangent it didn’t need to go in. It felt extremely long winded after that and it didn’t focus on the main points of the story – namely the murder. The creating of the secret society and what they were there to do etc. took too long and it felt like not even the characters really knew what direction they wanted to take with it.

I feel that, because the plot itself went off on a bit of a tangent, I struggled to pick this book up and really get into it. I often found myself putting it back down and doing other things because I didn’t feel like the book was going anywhere all that fast. The pacing of the book itself needed to be speeded up a little and something interesting needed to happen plot wise for me, as a reader, to remain invested in the story.

I also didn’t feel a connection to or between the characters. Whilst they were supposed to be best friends (and outsiders), I didn’t get the feeling that they were as close as they thought they were and the friendship between them often felt forced rather than natural. I personally didn’t feel a connection the characters, either, so it didn’t really bother me when things happened to them. I wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters themselves and, at the point of DNF, I didn’t really care which one of them died.

Whilst this book had a promising beginning, it definitely went off on a tangent and lost its way a bit – which is a shame because this was a highly anticipated read of mine! I gave this book 1.5/5 stars.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads/Litsy @ Laurens Page Turners

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your links to the comments so that others can see what you picked!

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend! It’s been cold and wet here, but it was my Father in laws birthday on Sunday, so we celebrated that 🙂 Anyway, this weeks pick for me is a book that I have had on my TBR for a good long while now; but I recently picked up a copy, so hopefully I will get to it soon!

Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre

Published: August 5th 2014 by Feiwel and Friends

Amazon: Mortal Danger (The Immortal Game)

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn’t imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She’s not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he’s impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes, and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly… bad things are happening. It’s a heady rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil’s bargains, she isn’t sure who—or what–she can trust. Not even her own mind…

Find Me Here: 

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads/Litsy @ Lauren’s Page Turners

You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston

You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston

Expected Publication: February 1st 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire

Amazon: You Will Be Mine

Book Depository

A YA thriller about a group of friends that starts receiving notes from a secret admirer whose words of adoration quickly become deadly.

Note: I Received an ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion

For me, Natasha Preston became an author to look out for after reading The Cabin. It had me hooked from beginning to end and the ending was absolutely shocking. So when Sourcebooks uploaded this to Netgalley, I just had to read it! This book had me guessing throughout, but there were some things that I feel were a little unbelievable, considering the situation.

This book follows a group of six housemates at university as they begin to get notes and they start getting murdered. The police are trying to catch the culprit, but they don’t seem to be getting anywhere. I felt like this book was obvious in the sense of who it wasn’t. The characters had an idea of who they thought was the perpetrator from the very beginning and they often blamed this character for the events throughout the book – so obviously it wasn’t the character that they thought it was. I think I’ve been reading too many murder mysteries… I know the tricks of the trade… or the books.

Whilst I knew who it wasn’t, I had other suspects throughout the book. Both guesses turned out to be wrong and I only started getting an inkling of who it was going to be toward the end. The book left me guessing and I loved the way that the events were described and the ultimate ending and explanation that was given. I felt like the explanation was well thought out, but I would have liked to maybe have seen more of the relationship dynamic between the characters (I don’t want to spoil it) to really give weight behind the actions themselves.

I did feel like a lot of the actions of the characters were a bit unbelievable considering the circumstances. There was a lot going on with the murders etc. but the characters often acted pretty stupid and ultimately did things that were getting them hurt/murdered. Even after the first couple of times, they carried on acting stupid and it grated on my nerves.

I would have also liked to have seen more of the relationship dynamic between the character they believed were committing the murders and the rest of the housemates. I feel like flashbacks would have been a great tool to add to the book to help give it that extra bit of depth with the characters themselves and the readers.

Can we also just talk about that ending. I should have really guessed that an ending that shocking would have come from this author after reading The Cabin, but I forgot and it sprung on me. It has definitely left the future open for the characters and for the reader’s imagination to run wild on what could happen next. It was a great way to leave it as either a standalone or even as something the author could come back and visit in the future with a follow up book.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and the plot itself. I felt the murders were well planned out and the explanation was definitely fitting to the book itself. I absolutely loved the ending and would not be opposed to a second book! I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads/Litsy – @ Lauren’s Page Turners

 

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your link to the comments so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! My son is finally getting over the fever he’s had since Tuesday – which meant that I was in the house for most of the weekend! I managed to get a book finished and start a new one… but more on that at a later date 😉

This weeks pick for me is a book that I recently discovered and one that was also recently released. The subject matter is something I find morbidly fascinating – especially when it based on a true story, like this book is!

No Saints in Kansas by Amy Brashear

Published: November 14th 2017 by Soho Teen

Amazon: No Saints in Kansas

A gripping reimagining of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and the brutal murders that inspired it

November is usually quiet in Holcomb, Kansas, but in 1959, the town is shattered by the quadruple murder of the Clutter family. Suspicion falls on Nancy Clutter’s boyfriend, Bobby Rupp, the last one to see them alive.

New Yorker Carly Fleming, new to the small Midwestern town, is an outsider. She tutored Nancy, and (in private, at least) they were close. Carly and Bobby were the only ones who saw that Nancy was always performing, and that she was cracking under the pressure of being Holcomb’s golden girl. The secret connected Carly and Bobby. Now that Bobby is an outsider, too, they’re bound closer than ever.

Determined to clear Bobby’s name, Carly dives into the murder investigation and ends up in trouble with the local authorities. But that’s nothing compared to the wrath she faces from Holcomb once the real perpetrators are caught. When her father is appointed to defend the killers of the Clutter family, the entire town labels the Flemings as traitors. Now Carly must fight for what she knows is right.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/twitter/Goodreads/Litsy – @Lauren’s Page Turners