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874 reviews by:
ambeesbookishpages
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
*Thank you so much Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review THE GLARE*
Content Warnings: Suicidal thoughts, self harm, suicide, death, underage drinking, drugs, psychological torment, murder.
Dark Web. Psychological Thriller. Horror. Alright, I was sold immediately. I am really glad I gave this book a shot, I enjoyed it so much more then I thought I would. I stayed up until 4 a.m. to finish because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
For the past 10 years of her life, Hedda has lived on a ranch isolated from society and technology by her mother who is protecting her from "the glare" which is any from of technology with a screen, mainly cell phones. Now 16 years old, Hedda is going back to California to live with her dad, step mom and step brother in a world full of technology that she has no idea about. Shortly after arriving and being reintroduced to technology Hedda begins to have flash backs from her childhood and that dark things that happened because of technology and the final straw that led her mom to whisk her away to their isolated ranch. Exploring her belongings from childhood Hedda comes across a link to a game from the dark web and begins to play. But urban legend says if you die 13 times on level 13, you will die in real life too and Hedda just died for the 13th time.
I think The Glare brings up a good discussion on technology in this day and age. There is no set time frame of this book so I am going to assume present day (2018/2019) which would make 10 years ago 2008/9. Tablets were only released in the last decade for Android ('08) and Apple ('10), which would mean that when Hedda was 6 years old this technology was still fairly new. It also talks about a social media that is used and most of the characters have used as children. But we live in a day and age now that this isn't unheard of, children using Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and having cell phones. The internet can be a dangerous place and I think The Glare does a good job in showing that, even if 99.9% of children don't have access to darkweb games.
The Glare actually refers to the game that circles on the Dark Web that played a huge part of Hedda's childhood. When Hedda is introduced to the game and then introduces it to her friends is when the story begins to get interesting. The horror and creepiness of this story really does creep up on you, at first I was like "this isn't that scary" and then suddenly my dog was making noise outside my room and I was paranoid that one of the creatures from The Glare was behind my door. The later half of The Glare is unpredictable and the action keeps happening and as more of the secrets behind The Glare are released the more I needed to know.
Overall I really enjoyed The Glare and I am really content with how the story ended. Margot did a great job in keeping her readers invested in the story as well as addressing the issues in current day society about technology. If you love sci-fi, horror and thrillers you should check out this book!
*Thank you so much Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review THE GLARE*
Content Warnings: Suicidal thoughts, self harm, suicide, death, underage drinking, drugs, psychological torment, murder.
Dark Web. Psychological Thriller. Horror. Alright, I was sold immediately. I am really glad I gave this book a shot, I enjoyed it so much more then I thought I would. I stayed up until 4 a.m. to finish because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
For the past 10 years of her life, Hedda has lived on a ranch isolated from society and technology by her mother who is protecting her from "the glare" which is any from of technology with a screen, mainly cell phones. Now 16 years old, Hedda is going back to California to live with her dad, step mom and step brother in a world full of technology that she has no idea about. Shortly after arriving and being reintroduced to technology Hedda begins to have flash backs from her childhood and that dark things that happened because of technology and the final straw that led her mom to whisk her away to their isolated ranch. Exploring her belongings from childhood Hedda comes across a link to a game from the dark web and begins to play. But urban legend says if you die 13 times on level 13, you will die in real life too and Hedda just died for the 13th time.
I think The Glare brings up a good discussion on technology in this day and age. There is no set time frame of this book so I am going to assume present day (2018/2019) which would make 10 years ago 2008/9. Tablets were only released in the last decade for Android ('08) and Apple ('10), which would mean that when Hedda was 6 years old this technology was still fairly new. It also talks about a social media that is used and most of the characters have used as children. But we live in a day and age now that this isn't unheard of, children using Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and having cell phones. The internet can be a dangerous place and I think The Glare does a good job in showing that, even if 99.9% of children don't have access to darkweb games.
The Glare actually refers to the game that circles on the Dark Web that played a huge part of Hedda's childhood. When Hedda is introduced to the game and then introduces it to her friends is when the story begins to get interesting. The horror and creepiness of this story really does creep up on you, at first I was like "this isn't that scary" and then suddenly my dog was making noise outside my room and I was paranoid that one of the creatures from The Glare was behind my door. The later half of The Glare is unpredictable and the action keeps happening and as more of the secrets behind The Glare are released the more I needed to know.
Overall I really enjoyed The Glare and I am really content with how the story ended. Margot did a great job in keeping her readers invested in the story as well as addressing the issues in current day society about technology. If you love sci-fi, horror and thrillers you should check out this book!
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
*Thank you so much HMH and Netgalley for letting me read and review GREYTHORNE*
It has been a few days since I've finished Greythrone and I am still in complete and utter shock with everything that happened in this novel. Bloodleaf was my favorite novel of 2019 so it was no surprise that I was going to love Greythorne, but honestly I am obsessed and I need to know what is going to happen next. Crystal is a masterful story teller who uses fast moving plots and beautiful imagery to keep her readings craving more. Plus, THAT ENDING.
At the end of Bloodleaf Aurelia has witness the fall of Achlev and pulled Zan back from the reaches of death. Just when we thought that their story could get a happily ever after, Dominic Castillion has just enrolled his plans to take over what is left of the fallen kingdom of Achlev and Renalt. Greythorne picks up a few months after the end of Bloodleaf. Due to Aurelia's mother dying as part of the blood cloth magic that saves Aurelia from death, it leaves her young brother Conrad as the heir to the throne. But all isn't as it seems as Aurelia returns to Greythrone manor for Conrad's coronation. The tribunal is back and they are set on taking the Renalt kingdom for themselves. With Kellan, Onal and a some new characters Aurelia sets off on a journey into the Ebonwilde to end this all once and for all.
The revelations in the first couple of chapters had me gasping and flipping through the pages of this book as fast as I could. Smith managed to further the plot with events that happened after Bloodleaf ends and before Greythorne start, but seamlessly weaves them in. I did not predict half of the revelations of the things that were going to happen. One revelation in particular had me crying at 2a.m. because just how can this be happening!?
I loved that we got to see Aurelia begin to explore her magic and its boundaries more in Greythorne. Though magic is frowned up, many know that Aurelia is a "witch" so she doesn't have to hide it as she once did. In Bloodleaf, if you were suspected of being a witch then the Tribunal would have you hung. I think it was interesting too to see Aurelia struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is, but knowing that in certain situations she can't use her magic in the ideal way.
Onal has always been one of my favorite characters. Shes blunt, cranky and straight up doesn't put up with anyone's bullshit. In Greythorne we learn a lot more about Onal, her beginnings and her purpose in the castle. I'd loved seeing that bond that Onal and Aurelia continued to build in this novel.
THAT ENDING. WHAT. The ending of Greythorne is the biggest cliffhanger that I have read in a long long long time. I'm itching to get Ebonwilde into my hands to know what is going to happen to these characters next. BUT THE PAIN. Overall I loved Greythorne as much as I loved Bloodleaf, possibly even more and I can't wait to see what heartbreak Smith has in store for us next.
*Thank you so much HMH and Netgalley for letting me read and review GREYTHORNE*
It has been a few days since I've finished Greythrone and I am still in complete and utter shock with everything that happened in this novel. Bloodleaf was my favorite novel of 2019 so it was no surprise that I was going to love Greythorne, but honestly I am obsessed and I need to know what is going to happen next. Crystal is a masterful story teller who uses fast moving plots and beautiful imagery to keep her readings craving more. Plus, THAT ENDING.
At the end of Bloodleaf Aurelia has witness the fall of Achlev and pulled Zan back from the reaches of death. Just when we thought that their story could get a happily ever after, Dominic Castillion has just enrolled his plans to take over what is left of the fallen kingdom of Achlev and Renalt. Greythorne picks up a few months after the end of Bloodleaf. Due to Aurelia's mother dying as part of the blood cloth magic that saves Aurelia from death, it leaves her young brother Conrad as the heir to the throne. But all isn't as it seems as Aurelia returns to Greythrone manor for Conrad's coronation. The tribunal is back and they are set on taking the Renalt kingdom for themselves. With Kellan, Onal and a some new characters Aurelia sets off on a journey into the Ebonwilde to end this all once and for all.
The revelations in the first couple of chapters had me gasping and flipping through the pages of this book as fast as I could. Smith managed to further the plot with events that happened after Bloodleaf ends and before Greythorne start, but seamlessly weaves them in. I did not predict half of the revelations of the things that were going to happen. One revelation in particular had me crying at 2a.m. because just how can this be happening!?
I loved that we got to see Aurelia begin to explore her magic and its boundaries more in Greythorne. Though magic is frowned up, many know that Aurelia is a "witch" so she doesn't have to hide it as she once did. In Bloodleaf, if you were suspected of being a witch then the Tribunal would have you hung. I think it was interesting too to see Aurelia struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is, but knowing that in certain situations she can't use her magic in the ideal way.
Onal has always been one of my favorite characters. Shes blunt, cranky and straight up doesn't put up with anyone's bullshit. In Greythorne we learn a lot more about Onal, her beginnings and her purpose in the castle. I'd loved seeing that bond that Onal and Aurelia continued to build in this novel.
THAT ENDING. WHAT. The ending of Greythorne is the biggest cliffhanger that I have read in a long long long time. I'm itching to get Ebonwilde into my hands to know what is going to happen to these characters next. BUT THE PAIN. Overall I loved Greythorne as much as I loved Bloodleaf, possibly even more and I can't wait to see what heartbreak Smith has in store for us next.
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
*Thank you so much Kids Can Press and Netgalley for letting me read and review THROWAWAY GIRLS*
*Content Warnings: Talk of suicide, conversion camps, disappearance of a loved one, implied sexual assault, anxiety attacks*
It's been a few days since I've finished Throwaway Girls and I still can't form a coherent sentence on much I loved this book and its characters. I read 75% of this book in one sitting because I just had to know: What happened to Madison? It takes a lot for a book to hit me on a personal level and Throwaway Girls did just that.
Caroline is so close to freedom that she can taste it. She can't wait to get away from her parents who can't accept who she is, the fancy prep school that is smothering her and trying to forget the girl who ran off to California and broke her heart. Everything changes when Caroline's best friend Madison goes missing. Not trusting the police herself Caroline takes matters into her own hands and learns that she didn't know as much about Madison as she thought she did. In her search, Caroline comes across multiple missing girls who aren't from good parts of town and are assumed to be "runaways." But Caroline learns pretty quickly that there is a common denominator between all these missing girls: herself.
I think my favorite aspect of this book is that we get occasional POV chapters from an unknown character who isn't revealed until the end, when all the huge secrets are beginning to unfold. I spent most of the book thinking that this POV was one character, when it really wasn't a character I was expecting at all. I think in Cantos doing this is added a lot more depth to this character that we might not have gotten to see otherwise.
There is so much to talk about but so many ways this book can be spoiled at the same time. But I will give it this: It makes you think. It makes you think about all the missing girls you see in the news and how they are assumed to be runaways because they aren't from the ideal situations. The stigma that is surrounding girls who don't come from middle class or upper class families and them gaining justice.
Cantos debut novel is a strong one and I am excited to see what she is going to have in store for her readers next. Throwaway Girls left me on the edge of my seat for the whole story, desperate to know how it was going to end. Throwaway Girls is perfect for fans of Sadie and other books that fall under that genre.
*Thank you so much Kids Can Press and Netgalley for letting me read and review THROWAWAY GIRLS*
*Content Warnings: Talk of suicide, conversion camps, disappearance of a loved one, implied sexual assault, anxiety attacks*
It's been a few days since I've finished Throwaway Girls and I still can't form a coherent sentence on much I loved this book and its characters. I read 75% of this book in one sitting because I just had to know: What happened to Madison? It takes a lot for a book to hit me on a personal level and Throwaway Girls did just that.
Caroline is so close to freedom that she can taste it. She can't wait to get away from her parents who can't accept who she is, the fancy prep school that is smothering her and trying to forget the girl who ran off to California and broke her heart. Everything changes when Caroline's best friend Madison goes missing. Not trusting the police herself Caroline takes matters into her own hands and learns that she didn't know as much about Madison as she thought she did. In her search, Caroline comes across multiple missing girls who aren't from good parts of town and are assumed to be "runaways." But Caroline learns pretty quickly that there is a common denominator between all these missing girls: herself.
I think my favorite aspect of this book is that we get occasional POV chapters from an unknown character who isn't revealed until the end, when all the huge secrets are beginning to unfold. I spent most of the book thinking that this POV was one character, when it really wasn't a character I was expecting at all. I think in Cantos doing this is added a lot more depth to this character that we might not have gotten to see otherwise.
There is so much to talk about but so many ways this book can be spoiled at the same time. But I will give it this: It makes you think. It makes you think about all the missing girls you see in the news and how they are assumed to be runaways because they aren't from the ideal situations. The stigma that is surrounding girls who don't come from middle class or upper class families and them gaining justice.
Cantos debut novel is a strong one and I am excited to see what she is going to have in store for her readers next. Throwaway Girls left me on the edge of my seat for the whole story, desperate to know how it was going to end. Throwaway Girls is perfect for fans of Sadie and other books that fall under that genre.
I'm actually really disappointed in Diabolical to be honest. The idea behind it was so interesting but I couldn't get past the world building, to me it made very little sense. I'm bummed since I was highly anticipating this book.
I NEED THIS BOOK NOW! Murderous clowns? Corn fields? Sign me up!!!!!
