julia11's reviews
197 reviews

Travelers by Brett Riley

3.0

I did not realize this was the second installment of a series and I did not read the first book. With that being said though, I was able to catch up and get a feel for the characters. There was enough reference to what happened in the first book to make sense of it
I listened to the audio version of this book and I really enjoyed the narrator. The middle section of the book felt like it dragged a little bit but there was plenty of action at the end. It wasn't a book that, for me personally, I was carving time out of my day to get back to. I never felt fully invested and that could be because I didn't read the first book.
Overall, the writing was well done and the storyline was easy to follow. I think this is a good book for YA who are into fantasy for sure. Definitely look at reviews from others who read the first book as well though!

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

5.0

"It seemed once you submitted to walking through fraternity doors, all laws and regulations ceased. They were not asked to adhere to the same rules, yet there were countless guidelines women had to follow: cover your drink, stick close to others, don't wear short skirts. Their behavior was the constant, while we were the variable expected to change. When did it become our job to do all the preventing and managing?"

Chanel Miller is such a great writer. This book is so heavy and yet I could not put it down. Throughout the entire book I felt so connected to Chanel, and it could be because (unfortunately) all women can relate with this book. Even if they haven't been sexually assaulted themselves, there's a high chance they have a friend or family member that has, especially considering the statistics is 1 in 5 women.

I don't consider myself an emotional person, I rarely cry, but when I say I was sobbing multiple times in this book, I mean literally sobbing. This book is so important and I'm in complete AWE of Chanel and her strength to speak up and relive this over and over for the sake of victims everywhere. This was an easy 5 stars for me and I'm so glad I read it.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

4.0

On the eve of the year 2000, brutal murders take place at a block buster, leaving 1 survivor. 15 years later, a murder eerily similar takes place at an ice cream parlor in the same town. Now it's time to figure out if its a copy cat murder or if it's actually connected.

This book was such a fun read! It took me a bit to really get into it but once I was, I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the quick chapters and plenty of them had cliffhangers at the end of them which kept me reading too late into the night. I loved Sarah Keller as a character, she was definitely a total bad ass.

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! It was a book within a book which was fun. AND I loved the POV of the bad guy. It is never a 'who dun it' kind of situation because you know from the beginning but its so interesting to watch it unfold. Getting to see how the bad guys life has evolved, what drives him, and his mind set is really what pulled me in I think.
It's got a major creep factor! It made me happy to have 2 big loud dogs with me at night haha

Confessions by Kanae Minato

4.0

Revenge is the name of the game for this book. I liked the premise and writing style of this one. The story was told by so many different people within the book, and yet it didn't feel super repetitive. It was a really fast, easy read for me, I read almost all of it in 1 night. There wasn't a ton of character development, and that is because of the style it was written it. It would be hard to be truly connected to any of them but I think that might be what I liked most about it. You couldn't sustain a long storyline writing like that but it worked well here!!

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

4.0

Dark Roads takes place in British Columbia and it begins with a mystery surrounding a road called ‘Cold Creek Road’ where hundreds (thousands) of women, mostly indigenous women, have gone missing or found murdered. Unfortunately, this is based on a real road called Canada’s Highway of Tears. In this book, Hailey McBride has just lost her only remaining parents and now has to move in with her aunt and her dominating uncle, Vaughn. After she uncovers some horrifying evidence about Vaughn, Hailey decides she needs to get out of there and runs away. She has to leave behind her best friend, Johnny, and her budding romance with Amber.

One year later, Amber’s sister, Beth shows up to Cold Creek looking for answers. She ends up stirring up the town and puts a target on her back.

I've seen some mixed reviews on this, but I think I liked it. I was kind of able guess the ending but I didn’t have it totally right which was fun. There was a sense of unease throughout and even though there were parts that felt like it was dragging a bit, I was invested enough to want to keep going to see how it ended. I liked how well we got to know both Hailey and Beth but my favourite character was Wolf (of course).

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. I don't typically gravitate towards YA but I read this with the Killer Thriller Crew book club and I quite literally could not put it down. I read a couple reviews before I started reading, and I can see why some people think there was not enough character development and some missed opportunities with the setting being so creepy and isolated, but since I can tell I'll have this book on my mind for a long time, I can't give it less than 5 stars.
That being said, I really felt connected to the main character- She was young and definitely naïve at times, but it was believable. She fit perfectly into the 'coming of age' tale that this book was. I loved the symbolism of flowers used throughout the book as well. I'm not usually a fan of romance but I found myself totally invested in the romantic storylines.
I'd recommend this book again and again!

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

4.0

3.5 stars but I rounded up.
I can not believe how much I enjoyed this book. It is definitely out of my usual genre but I did read this book in about a day. I found myself laughing out loud at Georgie's humour and her interactions with Vektal. I mean, boning aliens isn't usually something I'd search out but it was a nice break from my usual.

Immoral Origins by Lee Matthew Goldberg

4.0

This is the first book of the series and it takes off running. Jake is the likeable bad boy doing petty crimes to make ends meet and to try to help his family with his brothers medical expenses- until he meets Marilyn Monroe. There are so many twists in this book that I didn't see coming. It found it has a gangster/mobster feel to it and I enjoyed it. I LOVED all the music references since it's set in 1978. I'm excited for the next books, I hope it gets into the background of more of the card members and how they ended up where they are. Plus the ending of this book has left me needing more!

Thank you to the author and publishing company for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

5.0

4.5 rounded up. I loved this book! As usual, I went in totally blind- and there were so many twists and unknowns throughout. It sucked me in and I could not put it down.

I was annoyed with Marin for the first half of the book. I kind of accidentally buddy read this with a friend (we just happened to pick it up at the same time) so I had someone to bounce my frustrations off of and get another perspective as I was reading. I was annoyed she was so mad at her mistress instead of her husband (who should have been getting the brunt of the anger), but after talking it out with my friend, it made some sense that she was carrying around so much guilt from losing her child that it was hard for her to take it out on her husband who she felt had every right to hate her for her mistake. It didn't make me totally happy.. I don't love the jealous girl-on-girl hate storylines.. but it was a bit easier to sympathize.

But overall.. there were so many other elements that I loved about this book. It was gripping and exciting and I won't forget it for quite sometime.