This Is Not the End
Written by: Chandler Baker
Released on: 8/8/17
Genre: YA Contemporary Sci-Fi
Reviewed by: Angela*
Rating: 4 BFFs
Recommended for: Anyone who likes only a little science in their SciFi.
In a world where people can bring one person back to life on their 18th birthday, Lake has promised her choice to her bitterly quadriplegic older brother. But, life and books never work out that cleanly. Weeks before she is to assist her brother commit suicide so that she can bring him back completely healed (super illegal, BTW), Lake is in the car with her best friend and her boyfriend when they hit another car head on. Only Lake survives. Lake must decide who to bring back: her boyfriend or her best friend. Her brother is no longer an option to her. She reunites with an old friend in the waiting room of her therapist’s office and begins her journey of not only discovering herself but also who the people she was closest to really were. While I really liked the book overall, the ending was a little abrupt for me and I hate spending hours of my life only to feel like the ending was rushed. But, it was still worth the journey and gives you a lot to think about. Buy it!
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
My Fair Lover
Written by: Nicole Jordans
Released on: 8/27/17
Genre: Historical Romance
Reviewed by: Heidi*
Rating: 4 Half-Naked Barons
Recommended for: Everyone who needs just needs to read a book with a good a happily ever after ending
There’s enough tragedy and drama in real life right now, that I’m having a hard time reading about it in my spare time. I know I’m not the only one who could use a good historical romance that will make me fall a little bit in love with a fictional Baron/ship captain. My Fair Lover is the perfect fix. Buy it!
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
The City of Brass
Written by: S.A. Chakraborty
Released on: 11/14/17
Genre: YA Fantasy
Reviewed by: Emily L*
Rating: 4 Genies in 1 bottle 😉
Recommended for: Anyone looking for a new take on a magic carpet ride
In a sea of YA fantasy books, The City of Brass is a true original. And it needs more attention. It’s such an engaging story with characters who have so much depth, in a world that’s unlike any other. If you want a break from faeries, princes, and your typical fantasy cast of characters, turn to The City of Brass. The nuances of the djinn world are a little confusing at first (a daeva is a djinn but not all djinn are daeva…and a Nahid is a daeva…and so is an Afshin?? It’s a lot) but once you get lost in the story the details work themselves out. AND IT’S SO WORTH IT! It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Nahri, Ali, and Dara are truly special characters and I can’t wait to read more. Buy it!
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
The Wedding Date
Written by: Jasmine Guillory
Released on: 1/30/18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Bea*
Rating: 3 wheels of Brie to eat in a broken elevator
Recommended for: Sick days, beach reading and weeks with one too many presidential tweets.
Friends, this is a standard romance with a very cute meet-cute, absurd self-inflicted obstacles, and more plot than character development. It’s not just the pretty cover or the (literal) cheese involved in the meet-cute that gets it the thumbs up from me, though; it’s not even that I got the ARC just in time for a day I spent sick in bed. The story features an interracial couple and doesn’t ignore or fetishize the issue. It’s well enough handled to get Roxane Gay’s endorsement. It was refreshing to have our hero introduced straightforwardly as “a white guy” instead of that simply being assumed; it was also nice that nobody’s skin color was ever described in terms of food. (Sigh. Why would an author tell me someone’s the color of a cappuccino when they could say she has skin like Beyoncé?) Not that this book is short on food; if the characters spend a weekend together you will hear the menu for all six meals they ate and how much they wanted to have sex one last time will be emphasized by the fact that they skip that last meal. I’d guess it would make you hungry if you’re reading without the flu. Guillory also does a great job of remembering that consent is sexy and making sure the couple have other friends. Buy it!
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
There you have it! Real quick reviews for books we loved … real quick because we lazy. Hope you find something new to read. But in the meantime, tell us what you are reading in the comments or on twitter using #TNReads.
