What if you discovered a place that would change your life forever? A doorway that allows you access to multiple timelines and realities... that was known as the Down World. Marina is still reeling from the unexplained death of her brother. She has started a new school and has developed a crush on a guy who has helped her on her first day. One day she decides to essentially stalk him and finds out about the Down World. Now Brady (the guy) will lead Marina into this secret world and help her find out what really happened to her brother. But the journey is never simple and filled with many complications and surprises, Marina must now decide what she is willing to do to discover the truth and how that truth will ultimately impact both worlds. This book has a very Stranger Things-esque vibes to it and has a fun paranormal vibe to it. Theres a weird love triangle and the start is a bit slow but ultimately picks up in the second half. Sadly this book just did not work for me and I found it a bit choppy and jumpy at times. Maybe this will work out for you but sadly it just didn’t for me.

*I received an arc and this is my honest opinion*

One Girl. Her Ghost Investigator Dads. A town with missing kids.... and dark secrets. Logan Ortiz-Woodley is the daughter of TV show ParaSpectors ghost investigators. When her dads take her back with them to their hometown Snakebite... Logan soon finds herself stuck in a town with many missing kids who all hate her dads.. and that her dads have their own secrets and reasons for returning to Snakebite. Soon she meets Ashley Barton, the daughter of someone her dads’ knew and whose boyfriend recently went missing/presumed dead by the town. Ashley is determined to find Tristian and is convinced he is still out there. She begins seeing mysterious things and as more kids go missing Ashley and Logan decide to get down to what is really happening. But what awaits them is not what they had expected at all.... soon more family secrets are revealed, town animosity arises, and everyone’s life is on the life.

This was such a fun read! I loved the build up of the mystery and how the tension kept rising. I loved that you got to read from multiple points of views and get a little bit of background on everyone. The overall mysterying was a fun one and the atmosphere was spooky. The ending wraps everything up nicely and I really did enjoy getting to see Ashley and Logan building up their relationship. Definitely a good late night read!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Another gorgeous selection of poems from Amanda Lovelace. I really enjoyed reading these ones and the artwork included was beautiful. The poems were easy to read and the flow was great. The theme of the poems and book just really appealed to me. Definitely recommend for anyone who has read her work before and loved it!

*Thanks Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A quirky and relatable collection of comics from Sarah Andersen! I love reading her previous books and this definitely did not disappoint! This was such a funny and great read. It has everything from cats to dealing with procrastination and everything inbetween! It’s awkward and hilarious and definitely a fun read for everyone!

*Thanks Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

One massive inheritance, an estranged grandmother, and three cousins... and the summer that will reveal all their secrets. Years after being disinherited three cousins are offered a fancy summer job on the island their parents grew up in and the chance to get to know their grandmother... and maybe get the inheritance that their parents couldn’t. Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah all have their own motives for going but once they arrive things are not going as planned. Their grandmother is surprised they are even there...almost as if she didn’t invite them, and spends most of her time ignoring them. Then there is the big issue of the mysterious death of a girl that their parents use to know, and the infamy of the family and it’s secrets that the town can’t stop gossiping about. Now these three will have to root into family history and uncover what really happened years ago that made their grandmother sever her connection to her children, and what really happened all those years ago that shook their family. The story is told from each of the cousins’ perspective as well as Milly’s mother’s perspective from when she was 18. I found the story really compelling and I genuinely liked all three of the protagonists. Milly might come off as a bit harsh but she cares and she has a sharp mind, Jonah was a bit of a jerk at the beginning but the more you get to know him the more it makes sense and he grew on me, and as for Aubrey, sweet sweet Aubrey, she was just dealing with so much but was still positive and sweet. Overall the mystery was interesting and I had fun reading this book!

This is a short story, or rather a short little episode of a continuation of the author’s novel Strange Weather in Tokyo. This book looks at one day between the two main characters of the other book, the character’s being in a relationship: a woman in her late 30s and her former high school teacher, a man in his 70′s. They share a meal and she tells him a story. First, let me say I did not read the other book but did enjoy reading this little story. It just felt like a quick snippet of a day, it’ was an interesting story and I definitely will add the author’s other book onto my tbr. I like that this is a folktale, and it weaves in tengus, social culture, and the emotions and struggles we deal with as we grow and how we treat others.

Lila Reyes is having the worst time of her life, her beloved grandmother has just passed away, her boyfriend of three years has suddenly dumped her saying he needed space to find himself, and her best friend has left her to go on a program without ever telling her. Lila is a mess, and her whole family knows it... and their solution? To send her off to England to spend the summer with family friends for three months to relax and heal. To say Lila is upset is putting it lightly... but slowly Lila finds herself warming up to England’s charms, particularly a sweet boy named Orion who works at a Tea Shop and find herself healing in her baking. Filled with sweets, cuteness, and charm, this was an adorable read! I had fun seeing Lila heal through her baking and her opening up herself while grieving. She is going through an extremely difficult time in her life but is also finding herself again, with new friends, new foods, and new experiences in a whole new world. The relationship between Orion and Lila was adorable, we got to see them grow from friends to crushes to two people who just care for one another and feed each other, both through foods and healing. This was just a heartwarming and sweet story that I’d definitely recommend!

Two twins, one prophecy, and the adventure of a lifetime. Twin witches Dani and Dorian find themselves in one heck of a mess after missing a buss to magic school.... the kind of mess that gets them declared as traitors to all witches. Now they are being chased because powerful magic families think that one of them could be the king of Witches, throw in a runaway princess who latches onto them, a secret rebellion, and missing princes. Filled with danger, friendship, and growing up in a world where everyone is after you, these two siblings will have to stick together and strengthen their bonds with each other and their new friends if they want to make it out alive. This was a fun read, filled with cute hijinks as well as serious and dangerous situations for these characters. I had fun reading this and can’t wait to see where the rest of their story continues!

*Thanks Netgalley and Clarion Books (formerly HMH Children's Books), for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Review:
**Trigger Warning: self harm, sexual abuse, rape... like LOTS OF RAPE BEWARE.**

A new dark take on the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. Alice has been living in a hospital for years after a terrible incident and her encounter with the Rabbit. In this world the Rabbit, the Walrus, the Caterpillar, Mr. Carpenter, and Cheshire function as sort of crime lords each with different territories and in this world girls are sold, raped, enslaved, mutilated, and worse. Alice was raped by the Rabbit and after stabbing his eye and severely injuring him, she has been the only one to ever get away. She has been living in a hospital ever since the incident, and her only friend is Hatcher, a axe murderer. After a fire one night at the hospital, Alice and Hatcher both escape and now go on their journey of revenge and remembering of what has happened to both of them. Alice must face off against her old demons, while gathering the shattered pieces of her memories and of the horrific events that happened to her. This is the first book in the duology and wraps up Alice’s arc pretty well in the first book and the second book focuses on Hatcher’s journey.