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Book Review: With You All the Way by Cynthia Hand
Book Review: The Appeal by Janice Hallett
Book Review: The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan

The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan
Release Date: 28th December 2021
Genre: Thriller
Target Audience: Adult
Lucas Vega is obsessed with the death of Candace Swain, who left a sorority party one night and never came back. Her body was found after two weeks, but the case has grown cold. Three years later while interning at the medical examiner’s, Lucas discovers new information, but the police are not interested. Lucas knows he has several credible pieces of the puzzle. He just isn’t sure how they fit together. So he creates a podcast to revisit Candace’s last hours. Then he encourages listeners to crowdsource what they remember and invites guest lecturer Regan Merritt, a former US marshal, to come on and share her expertise. New tips come in that convince Lucas and Regan they are onto something. Then shockingly one of the podcast callers turns up dead. Another hints at Candace’s secret life, a much darker picture than Lucas imagined–and one that implicates other sorority sisters. Regan uses her own resources to bolster their theory and learns that Lucas is hiding his own secret. The pressure is on to solve the murder, but first Lucas must come clean about his real motives in pursuing this podcast–before the killer silences him forever.
I think a lot of readers will have some issues with The Sorority Murder, particularly with the large amount of dialogue, but I actually very much enjoyed it. In terms of the plot, it was certainly intriguing. I love any story to do with podcasts or streaming, and this aspect always adds another element to a thriller plot.
I think the writing style was the biggest let down of the book, in that it was dialogue heavy. Everything was discussed between characters and there was little room for description or much prose at all. I didn’t actually mind this, as I found it worked well with the podcast element, but I know that some readers will be put off. I don’t particularly like my thriller books to include too much description anyway, although admittedly a little more wouldn’t have hurt.
I really enjoyed following the mystery along with the characters and trying to figure out what had gone on at this university. It was a lot of fun, and by the end the reveals felt very satisfying.
Book Review: One True Loves by Elise Bryant

One True Loves by Elise Bryant
Release Date: 4th January 2022
Genre: Contemporary
Target Audience: YA
Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she’s a master in the subtle art of not giving a . . . well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she’s a little less sure. She’s heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for “undeclared”) written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of figuring it out as they go—they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it’s a lot of pressure to be her ancestors’ wildest dreams when Lenore’s not even sure what her dreams are yet. When her family embarks on a post-graduation Mediterranean cruise, her friend Tessa is sure Lenore’s in for a whirlwind romance. But Lenore knows that doesn’t happen in real life. At least not to girls like her. Then she meets Alex Lee. After their parents bond over the Cupid Shuffle, she ends up stuck with him for the remainder of the cruise. He’s a hopeless romantic and a golden boy with a ten-year plan. In short, he’s irritating as hell. But as they get to know each other during the picturesque stops across Europe, he may be able to help her find something else she’s been looking for, even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself: love.
I’m more than a little disappointed by One True Loves. I loved Happily Ever Afters (it was one of my favourite debuts of 2021) so I was keen to get my hands on this one as soon as it popped up on Edelweiss. Thanks to the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this one!
That said, I didn’t like One True Loves. I was expecting a super cute romance with some European travel – it’s set on a cruise ship, for crying out loud! – but instead I got a mediocre and fairly boring story without seeing any European sights. I’m a sucker for travel and adventuring in my books, but this book had none. I also didn’t love the romance. While it was cute, it didn’t stand out to me at all, and it felt like this book was rushed through publication before the author had a chance to really figure out what she was going to do with it.
One True Loves isn’t enough to entirely put me off reading this author because I know she is capable of great things, but I’m sad that this one turned out to be a dud.
Book Review: Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sara Dass
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I enjoyed this book so freaking much! From the characters to the relationships to the setting, Dass delivered a great contemporary debut that had a lot of elements that I loved. She even included some things that I don’t normally enjoy (I tend to not like reading books about musicians, sorry!) but everything worked really well in this book.
I loved reading about the Tobago setting. It’s not a country that I’ve read about before, and after reading this book I’ve been reading up on its history and current state. It’s all very intriguing!
I loved Reyna and her friendship/relationship with Aiden. It was so much fun to read about the two of them breaking apart and then coming back together.
Honestly, I have no complaints about this book and I’m looking forward to seeing what Sarah Dass comes out with next.

Book Review: Game Changer by Neal Shusterman
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Game Changer isn’t my favourite Neal Shusterman book but I still enjoyed it. I love all things about parallel universe or multiverse stories, so of course when I found out one of my favourite authors was writing a book about that I was thrilled.
The book follows a very privileged teenage boy who gets hit in the head and thrown into various different dimensions. I thought it was a very clever (but not very subtle) way of showing privilege to teenagers who may not have come across the term or subject before. Who are privileged teens most likely to relate to if they haven’t been exposed to this kind of thing before, after all?
Like I said, this isn’t my favourite book of Shusterman’s. I don’t think it offered anything new, and other authors have certainly approached the topic better, but I enjoyed the parallel universe stuff enough to give this a good rating.
