Starlet's End: A Young Adult Mystery (The Starlet, #4) by Carla J Hanna

Not rated.

I won this book as part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

After Hollywood celebrity actress Liana Marie Michael secretly marries Manny, his sister Janet performs on stage against her parents' wishes before running away. Moments before their honeymoon, the newlyweds find Janet while learning two things: not only is Liana's career over due to her scar, but the doctor responsible for the anti-aging drugs is on the move with funding from Liana's lawyer. With the help of sexy ex-boyfriend Pierre and people from Liana's past, can they find the doctor so Liana can control her future? Will it be in time to save her dying mother?

A couple of things about this book:

One, it cannot be read as a stand-alone. I can’t stress that enough. It was stated that you could, but that is not accurate as there is virtually no backstory.

Two, the reason for it not being rated is because I have added this book to my abandoned pile and although I have in the past rated books that I haven’t finished, I don’t think that’s actually fair.

I will not be going back and reading the first three as I honestly didn’t care for the writing style or any of the characters, especially the main one. Obviously this just isn’t my type of book.

Total pages: 176, paperback

Available on Amazon at the link below:

Starlet's End

Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1) by Addison Moore

3 out of 5 stars

Skyla Messenger has a special gift. She is able to read people's minds when she touches them.

When her mother remarries after the death of her father, the family moves to Paragon Island into a house that is rumored to be haunted. That's when Skyla meets Logan Oliver, the best looking boy she has ever seen. The best part is he likes her too and he has the same gift she does. Not understanding what this gift means, Logan holds the answers to her questions, but he is reluctant to share them, leaving her to believe that maybe he has a few secrets he is unwilling to share. Secrets he doesn't want Skyla to know. Logan is afraid that the more she knows, the more danger she will be in as a legion of earthbound angels will want her dead once they discover her true bloodline. Will Logan be able to save her? And will Skyla be able to keep Logan?

I had this book sitting in my Kindle for a couple years. I couldn't remember why I got it since it's not typically the type of book I read (I've read a few YA paranormal romance, but not many) and after reading some reviews, I was a little apprehensive in starting it. I'm glad I decided to because it wasn't nearly as bad as some made it out to be. Was this a great book? No. Was it a bad book? No. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Some of the things that people complained about made me wonder if we were reading the same story. As an example, I saw one review where the person complained that Skyla kept mentioning she was a virgin, yet I only saw this stated twice. I do agree with some though that there wasn't much relationship development when it came to Skyla and her new friends, and the romance between her and Logan did come on very strong, very fast, but it's pretty much your typical YA paranormal romance so that didn't really surprise me. I would have liked it if the author would have focused a bit more on explaining her father's death and also why Skyla had such a strong dislike for her step-father, but aside from that, it was a fun, quick read and I was able to finish it in one sitting. If you like Twilight or books that are similar, then you will most likely enjoy Ethereal.

Total pages: 225, Kindle edition

Available on Amazon at the link below:

Ethereal

The Curse of the Bruel Coven (The Bruel Witch Series Book 1) by Sabrina Ramoth

3 out of 5 stars

I received this book free from NetGalley.

This was a very fast paced book. Almost a little too fast for my tastes. The main character, Vivienne, finds out she's adopted, locates her birth mother, discovers she's a witch, meets the rest of her family, learns to control her powers, and agrees to help fight against a curse that's been put on them....all within about a 24 hour period. Because of the quickness of it all, there wasn't much in the line of character development. You didn't really get to know them very well. Also there was a serious lack of emotion throughout the story. Especially when it came to Vivienne finding out the woman who raised her wasn't her biological mother. The person who she had always known as her mother passed away from cancer and never told her the truth. Most people would go through a series of emotions and struggle with this newfound knowledge, but she just went from discovering it to the next day going to locate her birth mom. You didn't get any feelings from her and her character just seemed to go through the motions without any passion. The whole book was pretty much this way. Once she meets her family for the first time, she instantly becomes a part of them without question. She believes everything they tell her about witches, vampires, curses, all of it. That seemed a little weird to me. It's almost as if the author came up with a really good story with lots of twists and turns, but didn't know how to fit it all in so she just drew a timeline and put in all in order without much thought to how the characters should react.

Now, with that said, I'm not saying it's a bad book. Quite the contrary. Oh, there were definitely parts that seemed silly because of how quickly it all came to be, but the story was actually pretty good. I liked to concept and once I got passed how rushed it was and starting looking at it more like a short story, which it kind of is considering the page length, I really enjoyed it. Vivienne was likable as was the rest of the characters and the backstory regarding the curse was interesting. Since the setting is New Orleans, it did add some spice to it and definitely made you want to hop on the next plane to visit. I always enjoy a good witchy story and although this one will have events speeding past you fast enough to make your head spin, it's still one I would recommend. It's fast, fun, and interesting. Hopefully, in future books, we will get a little more insight into all the characters so we can get to know them better. I look forward to it.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The Curse of the Bruel Coven

The Story Traveler by Max Candee

 

3 out of 5 stars

I received this book free from NetGalley.

Haley Spade is a 15 year old who, after her parents die and her grandparents take her in, is shipped off to an exclusive boarding school in Connecticut. Several students believe that the angry ghosts of six students who committed suicide decades ago still haunt its halls. Haley doesn’t believe in ghosts, so on a dare, she spends the night wandering through the “haunted” building to prove they don’t exist. What she doesn’t realize is that someone has convinced Oliver, a fellow classmate, to sneak into the building as well to scare her. She figures it out pretty quickly and she and Oliver decide to investigate together. Unfortunately they end up taking a wrong turn and next thing you know they are on an adventure where secret doors take you into stories within stories and worlds within worlds. They encounter magical creatures like the King of the Cats, a shapeshifting crow, elves—and a menace far more terrifying than any ghost.

A young adult fantasy novel, this book started off really well and sucked me right in. It continued to hold my interest until the last half of the book. Although I still enjoyed it, the second part wasn’t as thrilling as the first part and I felt myself not quite as captured by it as before. There was quite a bit of action and enough magical creatures to satisfy one’s fantasy thirst however. There were moments though when I would have to go back and re-read paragraphs just because there are so many twists and turns that at times I would become a little confused on how it all tied into one another, but the story was an enjoyable one and I would definitely recommend it.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The Story Traveler

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

 

5 out of 5 stars

A coming of age story, Charlie is a freshman who is shy and intelligent beyond his years but also socially awkward. He’s a bit weird and tends to cry a lot, but is also very deep and introspective. Unfortunately he has spent most of his time sticking to the sidelines in life. He is told he needs to “participate” and ends up meeting and becoming friends with 2 seniors, a sister and brother by the names of Sam and Patrick. Through their friendship, Charlie enters the world of first dates, family drama, sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Oh, and feeling infinite. These are his letters to whomever is reading the book telling you of his journey.

What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said by so many others? I loved it. I can’t begin to describe how much I loved it. I’ve read so many books that I liked, but never has one stuck with me so strongly. I absolutely adored the main character, Charlie. He was likeable from the first sentence and I liked him more and more as I continued to read his letters. Wise and yet so innocent at the same time, some of the things he said just made you pause and think. His initial struggle to participate in life and understand people around him really resonated with me. I guess I can relate to him on some level because I was a wallflower. Not quite like Charlie of course, and it’s been many, many years since I was in high school, but I definitely saw myself in him quite a few times throughout his letters. I understood him. I really can’t describe it. All I can say is this is most definitely now my favorite book and one of the best I have ever read. I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone who has ever felt like a wallflower….or anyone who hasn’t.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

4 out of 5 stars.

Tessa and Callie never talk about what they saw one summer night back when they were childhood friends. Tessa moved away when she was nine, Callie still lives there. Callie tries to make the ghosts of that evening disappear by partying hard. Tessa can't stop thinking about it because things never quite added up. It haunts her. Now she's going back and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to the killer. This time she won't be able to run away.

I received this book as part of a First Reads Goodreads giveaway.

The Darkest Corner is a young adult psychological thriller. An intense and well written book, it is what you would call a slow read. Even with that said, the story really grabs you right from the beginning. The characters were so realistic and relatable that you found yourself falling into the story. You could feel their emotions through the pages. As the story progressed and moved towards the ending, family secrets started making themselves known. The more that came out, the more intriguing the story became. I really had a hard time putting this one down. I definitely would seek out more books by this author.

Available on Amazon at the link below:
The Darkest Corners