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nextonmytbr's Reviews (220)
Okay! This sequel was good, okay!? It has all the fun things from book 1 that we loved! But my four star rating is due to how weird the plot got. I couldn’t even follow it sometimes haha this whole business with the cloud creature and her mom?? I don’t really know what happened there. But loved the villain of course, loved the banter, the tension, the outlandish things that happen so I’ll be reading book three whenever it comes out
The blurb for this ya psychological suspense novel basically tells you nothing about this story but it won a Goodreads Choice Award in 2014 so I was very interested! So this story is narrated in first person by Cadence Sinclair and she recounts the summers her very wealthy family spent on a private island off of Massachusetts. The mystery begins right away because Cadence suffers from migraines and partial amnesia from an accident one summer but we the reader are trying to figure out along with her what happened that summer and why her family is lying to her. This was such a good read with a captivating writing style, commentary on privilege, scenes of young love, a propelling mystery, and a shocking ending!
P.S. I also had the audio for this one and confirm it’s a perfect narration!
P.S. I also had the audio for this one and confirm it’s a perfect narration!
"Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary."
This is story is a classic "clearly you two belong together but it's right person wrong time" and man oh man. Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school. They have the kind of rare unconditional love and connection that even they don't know what to do with. But life happens, and Cary leaves for the Navy and Shiloh leaves for college. Now years later as adults they connect again in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. (Second change romance anyone!!??)
The story does jump around a lot with the timeline. We flashback to their time in high school in the 90s and then as adults in early 2000s which can be confusing sometimes. But even with that I felt that this was a perfect story! Even now I'm still riding the high of how much I loved this. Rainbow Rowell has this powerful way of conveying such deep emotions with very few words. There were whole pages of straight dialogue sometimes without descriptions and yet you could feel the weight of the conversation. Shiloh and Cary are imperfect but real characters. And it is so clear that they speak each other's language. I loved the different perspectives we get on motherhood and on what it means to be a single mother. We get the sweetest moments when Cary starts emailing (so 2000s) Shiloh while he is on deployment, and a particular moment at the 70% mark that had me jumping up and down!! (won't spoil it for you!). If you want an endearingly nostalgic contemporary romance with imperfect characters as the focal point (no plot, just vibes) then this is the story for you!
This is story is a classic "clearly you two belong together but it's right person wrong time" and man oh man. Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school. They have the kind of rare unconditional love and connection that even they don't know what to do with. But life happens, and Cary leaves for the Navy and Shiloh leaves for college. Now years later as adults they connect again in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. (Second change romance anyone!!??)
The story does jump around a lot with the timeline. We flashback to their time in high school in the 90s and then as adults in early 2000s which can be confusing sometimes. But even with that I felt that this was a perfect story! Even now I'm still riding the high of how much I loved this. Rainbow Rowell has this powerful way of conveying such deep emotions with very few words. There were whole pages of straight dialogue sometimes without descriptions and yet you could feel the weight of the conversation. Shiloh and Cary are imperfect but real characters. And it is so clear that they speak each other's language. I loved the different perspectives we get on motherhood and on what it means to be a single mother. We get the sweetest moments when Cary starts emailing (so 2000s) Shiloh while he is on deployment, and a particular moment at the 70% mark that had me jumping up and down!! (won't spoil it for you!). If you want an endearingly nostalgic contemporary romance with imperfect characters as the focal point (no plot, just vibes) then this is the story for you!
What a fun mystery this was! I think this is my first YA mystery thriller and so I went in a little apprehensive. In fact, I even told myself there was no way I'd continue to the series but by the end my mind was totally changed We follow Pip as she works on uncovering who murdered Andie Bell (local high school student). The local town and police believe Sal Singh (Andie's bf) committed the murder but now five years later as Pip starts digging up secrets it seems like this case isn't a closed as everyone thinks.
I started this on audio and then switched to the physical one I realized how many cool pieces of evidence were in the book! You get notes from Pip, recordings, maps, and other clues into the case as graphics in the book. That was definitely fun! And then not only that but the case itself was such an intricate puzzle. I really didn't see the end coming at all. And it got dark there at the end!
Now it is YA so sometimes the dialogue was a little cheesy and you really have to suspend belief. I mean she is 17 and solving a murder case. The tiny little bit of subplot of romance can barely be called a subplot IMO so don't go into this for that thread alone. If you want a fast-paced, intriguing YA mystery where the pages practically turn themselves. Then pick this up!
I started this on audio and then switched to the physical one I realized how many cool pieces of evidence were in the book! You get notes from Pip, recordings, maps, and other clues into the case as graphics in the book. That was definitely fun! And then not only that but the case itself was such an intricate puzzle. I really didn't see the end coming at all. And it got dark there at the end!
Now it is YA so sometimes the dialogue was a little cheesy and you really have to suspend belief. I mean she is 17 and solving a murder case. The tiny little bit of subplot of romance can barely be called a subplot IMO so don't go into this for that thread alone. If you want a fast-paced, intriguing YA mystery where the pages practically turn themselves. Then pick this up!
It has been too long since I read this. Well has it really no... haha it has been a month. But I am the worst at remembering plots! All I know is that I loved it! I remember feelings not plots okay?
Let's see, Lana and Seth dated in HS and broke up. Flash forward many years and now they are both journalists, I think. And they are somehow pitted to against each other at their workplace fighting over the same promotion! Ohhh which is so fun already but then the unexpected thing about this romcom is the issues tackled by the author. I loved the real conversations they had about what do you do when it seems life is truly taking you in a different direction than your significant other. And do you change your plans or stop your dreams to stay with your significant other. And the insecurity you feel when maybe you are from different economic backgrounds, or just are not given the same opportunities in life. This had all the cheesy, classic rom-com things I loved, plus the two main characters have really lovely and deep conversations about what when wrong for them the first time and how they are learning from their past mistakes. Just loved it! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
Let's see, Lana and Seth dated in HS and broke up. Flash forward many years and now they are both journalists, I think. And they are somehow pitted to against each other at their workplace fighting over the same promotion! Ohhh which is so fun already but then the unexpected thing about this romcom is the issues tackled by the author. I loved the real conversations they had about what do you do when it seems life is truly taking you in a different direction than your significant other. And do you change your plans or stop your dreams to stay with your significant other. And the insecurity you feel when maybe you are from different economic backgrounds, or just are not given the same opportunities in life. This had all the cheesy, classic rom-com things I loved, plus the two main characters have really lovely and deep conversations about what when wrong for them the first time and how they are learning from their past mistakes. Just loved it! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
I knew This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan was going to be great but I did not expect to get teary-eyed in only just the prologue! This is book 2 in the Skyland series, and we follow Soledad and Judah. While this is definitely a contemporary romance what makes this story stand out from others is Soledad’s journey of rediscovery. We spend most of the book watching her learn to love herself and breakaway from the tiny boxes her previous toxic relationship put here in. With the help of her sisters and her best friends she reclaims her narrative and does the absolute impossible – as a women it was inspiring to see! The other wonderful aspect of this story is the autism representation. As the sister of an adult with disabilities I found I could relate to a lot of things and my little heart fell in love with the characters. Definitely give this series a try if you haven’t already! The final book, book 3, comes out next year!
p.s. part of the story takes place in Atlanta in the fall! Is that not serendipitous?
p.s. part of the story takes place in Atlanta in the fall! Is that not serendipitous?
I wanted to like this - because the premise of this story was so magical. I know people say that they don't like instant love, but I think it is pretty magical. This one is hard to enjoy though because these two main characters feel instant love and then our MMC ends up dating her best friend! Yikes! And the whole time they are pining for one another. So, it's like forbidden love right, which I can get behind. But because they are trying not to cross that line they stay as friends for the majority of the book. And the author tries to establish this long connection and history of friendship with all the time jumps. I think it spans like a decade or something. But we actually get very few scenes of their friendship or connection! So, by the time we get to the big scene in end I'm like wait how are you still in love when you barely interacted in this book?? I don't know I actually enjoyed the writing, but I needed more from these two as to why they are meant to be.
I’ve been sitting with my thoughts on this one for a while. I think I’ve landed on a three star review from me. Now 3 stars is still a book I recommend! I could see a lot of people enjoying this. I think my experience reading it is best summarized by my general confusion reading this book. I was confused about the point of the story, about the character’s rash decisions, the different houses and magic system, I was even confused with the setting… sometimes I wouldn’t even realize we somehow were in a new setting during a scene. I don’t know if others feel this way but so many other things were great about this! The premise, the vampire descriptions, the found family aspect. So, I don’t know, maybe pick this up if you are looking for a fresh take on a vampire story! This is a trilogy though and at the moment I’m not sure that I’d continue it.