Elisa has just visited a beautiful and strange place called Duskland. She finds all its inhabitants interesting and falls in love with Leonhard after just a short time. She is pulled from Duskland to rejoin the living, but she is still not safe here. Her husband wants her dead and will do anything in his power to find her. With the help of new friends Elisa has the strength to fight back and in the end she must choose between living and the afterlife. The book started off slow but once it picked up it was really enjoyable. Duskland was unique and had that eerie/dreamlike quality to it. I loved the Victorian Gothic vibe throughout the whole story. The illustrations are gorgeous. The author has a great imagination!

Nora Hargrove works an entry-level job that she hates, lives in an apartment that is more like a cave, and she avoids all interpersonal relationships. Instead of spending time over the summer with the mother she hates, she stays in an overcrowded Dewey Beach rental. It's here that Nora becomes inspired to live her life instead of hiding and running from what she wants. I really liked the concept and all of the characters, but there was nothing particular that stood out to make this a great book for me.

Jonah Daniels is a seventeen-year-old who has a passion for cooking and is following in his father's footsteps. But with his father's sudden death six months ago, he has more on his plate than just black cherry cobbler. His mother has withdrawn from her family. She spends all her time in her bedroom while Jonah and his two older siblings look after their three younger siblings. Vivi Alexander and her mother are staying in Verona Cove for the summer. Vivi is a vivacious sixteen-year-old who loves art and fashion. And Jonah Daniels. But her world is not all twinkle lights and glitter. She's been keeping something from Jonah and it takes something extreme for him to find out what it is. The cover is lovely. The title is great. All the characters in this book were phenomenal, but I fell in love with Vivi. I loved her personality and her story. I don't have a word for the author's writing, it was soooo good! It was an honest and realistic portrayal of someone living with

This book is told from three different perspectives: Isabel's - a geneticist, Diego's - a software engineer, and Matt's - a physicist.  Isabel runs into Diego fifteen years after their relationship ended. Now she must travel back in time to make sure they stay together. It's the only way to save the world. After writing a review about only winning a part of the book in a giveaway instead of the whole book like I thought it would be, the author was kind enough to get in touch and send me all of book one, so a big thank you to her! I've never really read any time travel or dystopian books, but this one intrigued me. " Be prepared to encounter a finicky time machine, a mysterious seashell and a very clever dog.  The prologue drew me in. I liked Matt's perspective the most. I did like that Isabel made it to the other world. But when Isabel and Diego were together they annoyed me to no end. Despite that, though, I did enjoy the book and am curious as to what wil

Izzy Stone is seventeen. Her mother fatally shot her father while he slept ten years ago and she has refused to visit her in prison. She was living with her grandmother until she passed away and has been with several foster families. But her new foster parents seem great. They're curators at the local museum and have asked for Izzy's help cataloging the items found inside an old state asylum. The asylum makes her uncomfortable as it makes her think of her mother's "insanity." As she goes through one of the former patient's belongings she's taken to another time in search of answers. Clara Cartwright was eighteen years old in 1929 when she was sent away to a genteel home for nervous invalids; her overbearing father furious at her for rejecting an arranged marriage and falling in love with an Italian immigrant. But when he can no longer afford her care at the home after losing money in the stock market crash, Clara is committed to the asylum. This is a weird

Keeley Hewitt has lived in Aberdeen her whole life. She's looking forward to having a terrific summer with her best friend Morgan and being a senior in high school next year. But things are falling apart for the small town. Due to severe flooding everyone living there is ordered to pack up their belongings and relocate. A dam will be constructed and a reservoir will be created. Keeley is determined to make sure everyone has fun before the end of Aberdeen. But things don't turn out the way she thought they would. I love the concept of the book which is based on true events. The writing was great. I liked the different opinions and actions taken by the residents concerning the crisis. The characters were realistic and relatable. I really liked Keeley. 

Billy, Al and Mickey were part of the LA music scene in the 80's with their band Vertigo. But Al and Mickey were left behind when Billy became famous. Decades later Mickey drags Al on a trip in an effort to reunite with Billy where he'll be playing his next concert and make the last dream they had as a band come true - play at Madison Square Garden together. This was a solid novella. The author created real characters and a vivid world filled with violence, drugs, hopes and broken dreams.

Cecily was only 13-years-old in the summer of '39. She was desperate to grow up and be like her older sister Rose. But something happened that summer that tore the family apart and it seemed that everyone blamed Cecily, including herself. Now, 29 years later, she has returned to the deserted family farm. She goes through her memories of that summer and remembers the good times and the bad, her innocence - bits and pieces of conversations that she was too young to fully understand. Her memories combined with things she finds in the old house finally let Cecily make sense of the past. It started off confusing and that confusion was sprinkled throughout the book - it jumped ahead or went back 29 years with no warning. I had a love/hate relationship with the writing - at times it was beautiful and at times it was way too much, unnecessary, repetitious and also confusing. It dragged in parts. But I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened. And I loved the setting.

Young Pierrot has lost his parents, his best friend, and his dog. He must leave his life in Paris behind and start anew in Germany with his aunt Beatrix. Beatrix is the housekeeper in a wealthy household at the top of a mountain. It's not just any household, it belongs to Adolf Hitler. And the Second World War is about to break out. Over the years spent under Hitler's wing, Pieter (no longer Pierrot) is transformed from a naive little runt to a young man who worships Hitler and will do anything to please him.  This is a powerful, well-written story. Pierrot made me feel so many different emotions towards him - sympathy, disbelief, hope, disgust. He was at an impressionable age, had no other father figure, and was impressed by the uniforms then became so filled with hatred. Another great and memorable book from John Boyne.

Dorrie was in the car with Joe the night his car skidded off the icy road and hit a tree. She doesn't want anyone to know she was there, that she was having an affair with her boss. She wants to keep her job and her family intact. So she flees. Joe's wife, Karen, knew he was cheating but she didn't know who with. Now that she's on her own she can't shake the feeling that she's being watched. Maggie Devlin is the insurance investigator handling Joe's claim, but she's suspicious - a man dies shortly after buying a big life insurance policy. The former cop can't help but dig around to see if she can figure out what really happened the night of the accident. I was so looking forward to reading this. It was good, but it wasn't as gripping and fast-paced as I was hoping it would be. It was all kind of anticlimactic and when I thought back to the book the word that came to mind was "forgettable"