The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

*Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicides and methods*

It's spooky month so that means Amber read a shit ton of horror novels back in July an scheduled them for this month because: #spooky. Honestly, I thought Undead Girl Gang was a contemporary novel with no supernatural elements to it at all. Well, I was pretty damn excited to see that there are zombies and witches and all sorts of super natural things that makes my heart sing to the ghosts that haunt my house. (No seriously, my house is haunted. But that isn't my point.)

Teenage Wiccan Mila just lost her best friend. Where everyone is ruling out Riley's untimely death as a suicide, Mila knows that that can't be true. Only a few days earlier where two other girls in her class found dead and ruled as suicide as well. Only, Mila is the only one that thinks something more is at play here. Desperate for answers Mila casts a spell that brings Riley back from the dead, but only for a week. But it isn't just Riley that emerged from her grave. When June and Dayton also rise from their graves Mila knows she is about to be in a world of trouble. But were these girl's deaths actually murders? If they were, then who was the murderer?

Undead Girl Gang was the funniest and most fun I've had with a zombie book in a long time! It's fast paced, amazingly written with characters that extremely relatable. Undead Girl Gang is told from Mila's point of view. She is a hard core, kick ass, "don't mess with me," fat girl who is determined to find answers. (She hates being called "plus sized" or "curvy" on a continuous basis she refers to herself as fat.) Mila's snarky, quick witted and just an average sixteen year old girl (Well as average as she can be for raising the dead.)

I loved almost everything about this book except the fact that I found the ending kind of predictable. I called it from the very beginning and I was hoping I was wrong but, *shrugs.* Though I found it predictable, there was not signs through out the book that even suggested this character. I found it predictable on one tiny detail that was mentioned at the very beginning of the book.

Overall I really enjoyed Undead Girl Gang and I think it is perfect for those looking for a quick, funny, stand alone fantasy. If you haven't checked it out yet I recommend that you do!

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

THAT ENDING. WHAT. HOW. JAY HOW CAN YOU!? *SOBS*

I thought my heart was finally going to start mending after the events of Nevernight, but hell that didn't happen. If anything I probably spent a decent chunk of this book crying, angry or angry crying because WHY? If you read my review for Nevernight (check it out here!) you know that I originally DNFed the first book four times but finally pushed through and now I am obsessed with Mia Corvere. So here I am, messing up my sleep schedule because I stayed up until 4a.m. to finish this book and now I will be a sobbing mess until Darkdawn is here

Mia Corvere is a bad ass and that is all there is too it. This girl, who is 16 years old (Possibly 17 now.) has put herself through hell after hell to avenge her family and loved ones. If we want to discuss an epic heroine? Mia Corvere. Yes, she is 16 and no, this isn't a YA novel so I am not grouping her in with YA characters. Mia stands on her own two feet in her own category. If you thought there was a lot of blood, gore, stabbing and profanity in Nevernight? Just wait until you open Godsgrave, there is so much more and I've grown to love it. We continue to watch Mia make hard decision after harder decision in this installment of the series. In the first few chapters I wasn't all too sure what was happening, but after a few chapters everything falls into place and it is told in a similar style that Nevernight was.

Mia has one of my favorite character arcs that I have ever read. Seeing where she has come from page one in the first book of the series, to where she is now at the end of book two. It's mind blowing. I don't want to give too much away because there is so much that is going to happen, but I left Nevernight with a general understanding of everything that was going on to be told in Godsgrave "hahaha sike."

Again, this is an adult novel and there are graphic sex scenes and quite vulgar language. I been trying to put this part of my review into words for a while (I been writing this review for about an hour now

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

*Trigger Warning: depictions of dating abuse, bulimia, self harm & drug use*

It has been a few days since I have read What Kind of Girl and I am still speechless. What ever I write here will not do this book one ounce of the justice and praise it deserves in the slightest. I loved this book with all my heart, I loved the subjects is brought up, the way the author addressed them and the message that there is light at the end of the tunnel. What Kind of Girl is one of those books that impacts you and leaves you thinking about this issue and these characters even after you read the last page.

The book is told in two POVs. Mia whose boyfriend has been abusing her for months and suffers from bulimia and June, Mia's best friend, who suffers from severe anxiety and self harms. Both girls stories are complex and heart wrenching. Having gone through some of these issues myself, it was easy to relate to both of these girls. To feel there anger, pain, the hopelessness in the situations they are in.

Mia with a bruise on her face, walks into her principals office and accuses her boyfriend, Mike Parker of hitting her. But Mike is the most popular guy in school and him and Mia are the "it" couple. Sides are taken and not everyone believes Mia. Throughout the novel we watch Mia struggle with the acceptance of Mike's actions, whether she still loves him or not and was it her actions that caused Mike's actions. Since dating Mike, Mia has become extremely unhappy with her body and began to force herself to throw up and skip meals. It isn't until later on in the novel does she acknowledge it as as an eating disorder.

June, is Mia's best friend. After everything with Mia and Mike she decides to stage a protest for Mike's expulsion, since it seems he is only going to get away with this with a slap on the wrists. June's character is the one I related to the most. She suffers from bad anxiety and self harm tendencies. The way Sheinmel explains and treads with the discussion of June's anxiety, how she feels, the physical symptoms, the mental, the obsessive thoughts, the intrusive thoughts. I've never seen anxiety represented almost exactly as I have experienced before. (I've never understood when readers explain how they feel seen within a novel, but with What Kind of Girl I feel seen and heard and that I am not a lone.)

What Kind of Girl brings up important discussions that are needed to be have in the world of young adult novels. People often relate domestic abuse to older people. But what about younger people? It isn't just visible bruises and injuries. It's the little things as well. We see how Mike pinches Mia, grabs her a little to tight, how he is manipulative. For me, I feel like this book is going to be an eye opener for many readers.

Overall I really enjoyed What Kind of Girl and I hope others who read it do as well. Sheinmel's writing style and language is both beautiful and stunning and is going to leave her readers wanting more. The ending was left a little open ended, but I didn't mind it as much. The self acceptance and the recovery that both girls are working towards was enough for me.

What Kind of Girl is not to be missed in 2020 and I hope everyone takes away the message that Sheinmel's giving her readers.

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

**Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review THE GRACE YEAR!**

I am a huge fan of The Handmaid's Tale from when I had to read it for me English Lit class in college. I am a huge fan of dystopian novels and The Handmaid's Tales was right up my alley. The moment I learned about The Grace Year and that it was pitched for fans of The Handmaid's Tale, I knew it was going to be a must read for me. I've read Kim's previous novels and loved them so I knew this one was going to be for me. I want to say that loved The Grace Year, but I sadly didn't. The Grace Year wasn't a horrible book, it has The Handmaid Tales vibes and a strong feminist message that I did enjoy, but other then that there really wasn't much more that I loved.

My English professor once said that if a novel doesn't make you angry for the injustices it serves, then it didn't accomplish what it was written to do. The Grace Year made me angry for the injustices that woman face. Not even just in this novel but in real life. Tierney's story is of a girl who dreams of a better life where society isn't the way it is. That woman have their freedom and they aren't just used to produce children and serve their husbands. She dreams of a world where woman aren't stripped of their rights and aren't pitted against each other in the wilderness for a year when they turn 16.

I did enjoy the mystery surrounding The Grace Year until the girls go on their Grace Year. I wasn't sure what to expect because the biggest rule in The Grace Year is that, no one can talk about it. So, Tierney isn't sure what to expect. The girls chosen to be married and sent on their Grace Year are sent away to loose their "magic" and powers that are used to seduce men and cloud their judgment.

The ending of The Grace Year left the book a little open ended in my opinion. I came to two different interpretations for how The Grace Year ended. I'm curious to see how other reads are going to take to the ending the and twists that happen in that last half of the novel. Overall, there were bits of The Grace Year that enjoyed and others that I didn't. I think this book wasn't my cup of tea because I as expecting something different. But I can see the appeal and how other readers are going to love this one.

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

I still don't have enough words to do this book justice. Wow. Just wow. I love post apocalyptic books and books where society is trying to get back on it's feet after something horrible happens. A Beginning of the End is something fresh in the post-apocalyptic genre. Society is rebuilding from a flu epidemic that killed 5 billion people and left the living traumatized. It's about finding a family when there is no hope and even the darkest moments could have beautiful outcomes.

The story is told in four distinctive point of views: Moira, Krista, Rob and his daughter Sunny. Each voice is unique and you didn't need to be told what character you were reading from, you just knew. Each character was flawed and imperfect and trying to find their way in a world that was coming back together while it was still falling apart. Each character has their own secrets and regrets that have gotten them to where they are now and that have shaped them into the character they are upon the end of the novel. I do wish however that we did get more chapters from Sunny's POV, granted she is seven but I really enjoyed being in her head. Her reasoning skills, the way she perceived the scraps of what is left of society.

There is so much I wish to discuss but I am going to leave for the reader to find out. I found it fascinating the society Chen created in the aftermath of this epidemic. The structure of society, safety protocols, quarantines and government programs created to make sure society gets back on its feet and stays there. It's fascinating because this book is 100% plausible and not just a wild work of someone's imagination. (As I read this I thought about the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the many what ifs that could have been if it hadn't been contained.)

I jump at post-apocalyptic books and though I expected this book to be different (more about the virus, ect.) I am glad that I read the book I did. Chen wrote a beautiful story about people coming together and that family isn't always blood. Society will never be perfect, even when it gets to rebuild itself. But also, that there is always something else out there waiting, another epidemic waiting to come to light. A Beginning at the End will be a book that I will be recommending for a long time to come. If you are looking for a breath of fresh air, this is the book for you.