Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler was a quick and sweet YA romance. Adler explores Hollywood life and what really is “normal” as well as some deeper family issues. I really enjoyed this one and found myself unable to put it down until I found out how things ended.

Ally is a “normal” teen who just happens to have a best friend (Van) in the “business”. Van just got the lead role in the new teen drama Daylight Falls and despite the fact that she is becoming more popular, she continues to have a solid friendship with Ally. This was one of the pieces of the story that I really loved. It is clear these friends have very different upbringings and backgrounds but despite that, they are able to support and rely on each other.

As things are changing for Van, Ally is also facing some changes. Her family is facing some serious challenges and at the same time, Ally is trying to come up with a way to fulfill her dream of attending Columbia University. She has the grades but she now has to come up with a plan for tuition. As a result, Van proposes Ally become her assistant (paid) and continues to do whatever she can to help Ally get money. This includes offering her up as a French tutor to Liam…which Ally accepts.

Liam is definitely a swoony guy and he has had a very different life than Ally. Again, despite that, he and Ally start to become close and eventually end up dating. Sounds great right?? Well…at the same time, Van’s agent decides it would be great publicity if Van and Liam became a thing and because she thinks it is best for Van’s career, Ally agrees with the plan. Here is where things start to go downhill for these characters.

Obviously it is hard on Ally to never get to go out with her boyfriend. What she doesn’t realize (or see) is just how hard it is for Van and Liam as well. I get it though…she always felt like a bit of an outsider and she always felt insecure as to why Liam was with her. Add to this the fact that she starts to question Van’s motives and loyalty and I am sure you can see where this is headed. I will say, based on how close these friends were supposed to be, I found it odd that Ally wouldn’t have spoken to Van immediately to share her concerns.

As the story progresses, these characters hit some rough patches but there are also some good patches for them all. I can’t give everything away but I thought Liam was the perfect love interest and there is a good mix of angst, friendship, swoons, and funny stuff to keep me entertained. If you are looking for a quick and fun read, definitely check this one out.

Thank you to Edelweiss & Spencer Hill for the review copy.

Review to come.

Review to come! Loved this book...again!

Review to come.

2...2.5 for this I think. Review to come.

4.5 stars

Megan Miranda won me over as a reader with Fracture so when I saw Soulprint up on Netgalley I requested it before even reading the summary. I have to admit….it didn’t make a difference because when I read the summary, I just wanted to read it that much more. Miranda combines a great story with the idea that souls don’t die when someone passes on, they actually migrate to a new person...Interesting, right??

Alina has been held prisoner for 17 years on a remote island because the government has proven that her soul is that of a criminal named June Calahan. In order to “protect” Alina and the world from each other, it was decided to take her from her parents and keep her away from those that might want to access the information that June had…access to the soul database.

I liked Alina. She was smart and willing to do whatever it took to gain her freedom. She held to her beliefs and although she had to rely on others to get away and stay free, she was smart enough to figure out what she needed to do. I found it a bit odd that she would have been able to build the foundations of the friendships/relationships she built with both Cameron and Casey in such a short amount of time but other than that I thought her character was believable.

I enjoyed the other characters in this book too. Dominic is a bit of a mystery at first but as the pieces start to come together I found myself interested in his story. I can’t say too much without giving anything away but I thought he was a solid character and his motivations were interesting.

Cameron and Casey were solid too. Yes, Cameron is a lovely guy and I enjoyed his role in the story but he also has a critical part in the story as helps Alina in ways she never expected. There are a lot of secrets and things are revealed along the way. Cameron and Casey have a good story and while the reveal is a bit slow to come (which is why I can’t say anything) it is totally worth it. Once I found out what was going on with these two, it started to make more sense as to why they were in the mix with Alina.

I thought the idea that Miranda explored in this story is a unique approach. What if your soul is transitioned to someone else when you die – does that mean you have a predisposition to act the way that person acted or is there an option for that new person to become someone else entirely? This is the argument that Alina is trying to prove – she may have the soul of June, but she is Alina and she just wants to live her life and be her own person but some people won’t give her that chance.

If you like a good story with a bit of science, some mystery, and a bit of swoon you should definitely check this one out when you can. I flew through this one trying to figure it all out and also to see what would happen with these characters. Apologies on the somewhat vague review here but I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone. Just trust me when I say you should check this out when you can.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the review copy.

2.5 -- 3 stars

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton is one of those books that I think people will either really love or really not love. I myself am middle of the road on this book which is why I have it rated a 3 star.

I love the idea behind this book. The main character is a girl who has grown up wanting to become a Seeker and follow in the footsteps of her family. The challenge I had was that the Seeker legacy was never really explained. They “alter the world for the better” but there was never any real explanation around what that meant. Instead, we are dropped right into the story of these characters wanting something that we don’t really have a meaning around.

Quin as a main character was interesting. There were times I liked her and times that she drove me crazy. She did not have an easy life but it was one she chose –I don’t know that she truly understood the full story and had it been me, I would have been asking questions along the way instead of relying only on stories shared by my father and uncle. Also – around this….we are never really told what the heck happens that turns Quin and Shinobu from their fathers and the life of a Seeker…I needed this to better understand what really was going on. Instead I was made to guess and infer things based on the feelings they had about it.

I also wish she would have talked to John and pushed him to answer her questions about his background regardless of how he felt about it. She knew he was hiding something and it upset him but she let him push her back when she asked and in the end, it hurt them both.

The two boys were interesting. John and Shinobu are both very close to Quin and there is a bit of a love triangle here. In the beginning it doesn’t really play into the story but once things get moving, it definitely does.

John has a good story and the only thing I can say here without ruining the story for anyone is that he has reason to believe he has a right to the things he fights for. If he had been up front with Quin they probably would have avoided what ends up happening and things might have ended up differently for everyone.

Shinobu was curious. Yes, he has feelings for Quin but instead of acting on them, he decides that he is going to walk away…to a life of drugs and who knows what else. It is only by chance that he ends up back in Quin’s world but when he does, he jumps back in to help her out. As they become friends again, Quin realizes there is more to Shinobu than she originally thought and of course, this changes their relationship.

The creation of the worlds was something I found intriguing. During one section the characters are in Scotland and another section takes them to a futuristic Hong Kong. Somehow it all seemed to flow together but I do wish we had gotten more about how things fit together and some descriptions to link them.

I’m not really sure what else to write on this as I don’t want to give anything away but on top of that, I don’t know that I could truly provide a clear synopsis of what the book is truly about even though I have read it. I don’t mean this to be taken in a bad way…I just didn’t think that as a reader, I closed this book truly knowing what the life of a Seeker is and how Quin is different. The issues seemed to arise from her father more than the actual role of a Seeker but we didn’t get any background on how/where things turned and went wrong.

This one just didn’t grab me like I thought it would and it could just be a case of "it's not you, it's me" so please keep that in mind. I will most likely keep book two on my radar to see what happens next in this series…perhaps I will get some of the information there that I didn’t get in book one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the review copy!

The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons has been staring at me since we got it in the mail but I had to make myself wait to read it. Partly because of my list of books that had to get read but also partly because I know Simmons can write great swoony boys and strong females and I wanted to be able to sit and enjoy every little bit of it without interruption.

At its core, this is a story about survival but I thought there was so much more to it than that. Aya and Kiran have to learn to trust and no matter what, both are loyal to their friends and family and both really just want to do what they can to protect them. In addition to the actual story, Simmons has brought to life this world that I would definitely not want to live in but could imagine based on the descriptions she gave me.

So…the story. Aya has been living in the wild (outside the city walls) with her family and has basically been hiding because she lives in a world where females are captured and sold to the highest bidder and she knows she never wants to be in that position. Unfortunately something happens to change everything for Aya and when she is captured and taken inside the walls, she is taken to a facility where the girls are “prettied” up and put up for auction. I loved how Simmons brought me into these situations and I was able to view them from Aya’s point of view – they were horrifying but definitely brought the situation to life as a reader.

Every month Aya does what she can to avoid the auction block because her hope is that someday she will come up with a plan to get out and return to her family. When she ends up in solitary again, she sees a new driver over at the stables. One night he crosses the river and sits with her (Drivers are mute), Aya decides to name him Kiran. While Kiran doesn’t talk, he is smart. He knows what goes on around him and adapts. One night of sitting together turns into almost a month and they begin to form a friendship and although Aya does all the talking, they become close.

When Aya can’t get out of the auctions any longer, she is purchased and eventually sent away from the facility, Kiran, and her wolf. She also finds herself at the home of the mayor because his son thought she was funny so he wanted her. UGH…right? The only thing I will say about this part of the story is that Amir was creepy and all I could picture was this kid - I mean, I couldn’t live with him either!



So…there isn’t much more I can say about the rest of the story without giving anything away so I’m pretty much going to say….get the book!! This is a fantastic story that has action, swoony parts, creepy parts and lots of action. Also, the characters are well-developed and the world building was great! If you are in the mood for a dystopian, definitely check this one out.

Thank you to Tor Teen for the review copy!