Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Places We’ve Never Been

Author: Kasie West

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Gay character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, road trip, summer, grumpy/sunshine

Publication Date: May 31, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 13+ (romance, underage alcohol consumption, child abuse, drugs, divorce, cancer, gore)

Explanation of Above: There is some romance in this book, though it takes a bit for it to take off. There are mentions of underage alcohol consumption and to a character being roofied. There is also vague context to child abuse in how a father character treats their child. I’m not sure if that was implied by the author or not but that’s how I saw it. There is also a brief mention of divorce and some mentions of cancer. There is also some very brief gore with blood.

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Norah hasn’t seen her childhood best friend, Skyler, in years. When he first moved away, they'd talk all the time, but lately their relationship has been reduced to liking each other’s Instagram posts. That’s why Norah can’t wait for the joint RV road trip their families have planned for the summer.

But when Skyler finally arrives, he seems...like he’d rather be anywhere else. Hurt and confused, Norah reacts in kind. Suddenly, her oldest friendship is on the rocks.

An unexpected summer spent driving across the country leads both Norah and Skyler down new roads and to new discoveries. Before long, they are, once again, seeing each other in a different light. Can their friendship-turned-rivalry turn into something more?

Review: Overall this was a good YA Contemporary Romance book. I loved the grumpy sunshine aspect of the romance and I loved that it was a road tripping romance as well. I also loved that the MC was a coder and an artist! The book did so well to develop all of the characters and the world building was also decent. I thought that the book was interesting and I read nearly all of it in one sitting.

However, I did think that the book had a lot of characters and it was confusing in how they were all introduced. It was a bit too quick for me. The book had a lot of flashbacks as well, but they weren’t sectioned off well in the arc I was given, which also led to some confusion. I also thought that the book was super slow and that it took a long time to get anywhere with the romance and overall story. The book also had a bit of a cliffhanger in how a certain character dealt with another character and it seemed like a big deal to me but wasn’t in the book, which I found very confusing.

Verdict: It was good!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A Little Bit Country

Author: Brian D. Kennedy

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: 2 Gay MCs, Mexican American character, Hispanic characters, character with Multiple Sclerosis, f/f romance mentioned, Lesbian character, m/m romance

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, LGBT, m/m romance, country music

Publication Date: June 7, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 15+ (sexism, sexual harassment, sexual content, romance, micro aggressions, language, homophobia, gore, underage alcohol consumption, religion)

Explanation of Above: There are some mentions and comments about sexism. There is one brief sexual harassment comment made by an obvious slimey character to a side character. There is some sexual content in the book in the form of jokes and mentions, and there is one fade to black scene. There are a few curse words throughout the book, but not a lot. There is some slight homophobia in the book and homophobic comments. There is one moment with gore, blood, where two characters are hurt. There is one small scene of underage alcohol consumption. There is a brief mention of religion.

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Pages: 351

Synopsis: Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar – a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Review: Overall I absolutely adored this read. It was a sweet romance between two gay characters and how country music/small town life affected that for both of them. The book is kind of a band book, but definitely a coming out journey and it’s perfect for fans of It This Gets Out or Kiss and Tell. Honestly, I don’t know what we did to deserve 3 gay boy band books this year but I’m loving it! There are a lot of pop culture references to country music in this, which is perfect for fans of the genre. The book is also Multi POV and the author did well to make sure that the characters had distinct voices, especially in how they talk (subtle northern/southern differences). The book is an insta-love romance with a happen chance meeting. The characters are well developed and the world building is good. I loved the writing and the book is definitely a page turner!

The only issue I had with the book is that it felt like some of the plot was a bit slow in the middle. I felt it dwindled down significantly and then really picked up about 15% left in the read. It really rushed the character development of a few people and I think some of that and a little of the plot was still left unresolved by the end. I think it would have been better a bit slower throughout or a bit faster throughout.

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Beauty and the Besharam

Author: Lillie Vale

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: While some of the characters have stated sexuality in the book, some of it is not mentioned. This is the rep that the author specifies is in the book: Bisexual Demiromantic Indian American character, Black Sanegalese lesbian character, Sapphic character, Indian American character, Mexican American trans gay character, Lebanese American character, Korean American character, Bisexual Indian American MC, Korean American anxiety disorder LI

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, retellings, Beauty and the Beast, LGBT

Publication Date: May 24, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 14+ (language, underage alcohol consumption, cheating, sexism, sexual content, panic attack, anxiety, romance, death, grief)

Explanation of Above: There is a couple of curse words sprinkled throughout the book, but nothing a child won’t hear at school. There is underage alcohol consumption mentioned as well as sexual content mentioned. Cheating is slightly shown, but it’s more of caught in the aftermath so it’s not explicative. There is one panic attack scene shown and anxiety is mentioned in the book. Death is also mentioned and there is grieving shown in the book. There is also a fair bit of kissing scenes, but nothing beyond intense kisses and hand holding.

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Pages: 389

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old, high-achieving Kavya Joshi has always been told she's a little too ambitious, a little too mouthy, and overall just a little too much. In one word: besharam.

So, when her nemesis, Ian Jun, witnesses Kavya’s very public breakup with her loser boyfriend on the last day of junior year, she decides to lay low and spend the summer doing what she loves best–working part time playing princess roles for childrens’ birthday parties. But her plan is shot when she’s cast as Ariel instead of her beloved Belle, and learns that Ian will be her Prince Eric for the summer. [Cue the combative banter.]

Exhausted by Kavya and Ian’s years-long feud, their friends hatch a plan to end their rivalry by convincing them to participate in a series of challenges throughout the summer. Kavya is only too eager to finally be declared the winner. But as the competition heats up, so too does the romantic tension, until it escalates from a simmer to a full-on burn.

Review: I really liked this book overall! It’s a very loose Beauty and the Beast retelling, but with our MC being the “beastie” character. The book has some great pop culture moments, including their love for Sailor Moon and mentions of Percy Jackson. Props to the author for not mentioning books that shouldn’t be mentioned, especially in a book that’s very LGBT+ friendly with a trans character in it. The book has a grumpy (she)/sunshine (him) romance and I love all the little mentions about bookstagram and bookstagramming and ARCs. The book reads very much like your typical YA Contemporary Books, but I feel like the charm of this read is that the book is so much more than just a romance. The main point of the book is that the MC has a drive for competition, but being too competitive leads to a lot of her issues at home and with her friends. Seeing the character realize and rectify that was really well done. The character development was great. The world building was good. And I honestly read this in almost one sitting because it was just that captivating of a read.

The only issue I had with the book is that I think the sexualities of the characters could have been better stated. Some of it was great and well done, but others I only found out about from the author’s note on Goodreads. I would have liked to see that incorporated a bit more, but overall I thought it was an awesomely well done and inclusive book.

Verdict: I love it! Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Deep in Providence

Author: Riss M. Neilson

Book Series: Deep in Providence Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Filipino Bisexual MC, Black characters, Caribbean characters, Black MC, Puerto Rican Lesbian Character, Hispanic Anxiety Disorder MC, Domincian Queer character, various people of color

Recommended For...: young adult readers, paranormal, contemporary, LGBT, magical realism, fantasy

Publication Date: May 31, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Paranormal

Age Relevance: 16+ (parental death, death, grief, gore, language, neglect, abandonment, parentification, drugs, drug abuse, alcohol consumption, overdose, rehab, therapy, anxiety, religion, religious trauma, deportation, abortion, pregnancy, miscarriage, fatphobia, sexual content, sexual harassment, sexual assault)

Explanation of Above: The book revolves around a character’s impactful death and there is also mention of parental death and a lot of grief throughout the read. There is very mild cursing. There is a character who is neglected and abandoned, there is also parentification involved. Drugs, drug abuse, alcohol consumption, overdose, and rehab are all shown in the book. There are also some therapy scenes and some shows of anxiety disorder. Religion and religious trauma are frequently shown and mentioned in the book. Deportation is mentioned and its impact is shown. There are scenes of pregnancy, mentions and talks about abortion, and a miscarriage scene and mentions. There is some small fatphobia in the book with a character’s nickname in relation to how they look. There is sexual content in the book, one scene with sexual assault, and a small amount of some sexual harassment. There is also a very brief mention of rape but it is very vague.

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Pages: 456

Synopsis: For best friends Miliani, Inez, Natalie and Jasmine, Providence, Rhode Island has a magic of its own. From the bodegas and late-night food trucks on Broad Street to The Hill that watches over the city, every corner of Providence glows with memories of them practicing spells, mixing up potions and doing séances with the help of the magic Miliani’s Filipino grandfather taught her.

But when Jasmine is killed by a drunk driver, the world they have always known is left haunted by grief...and Jasmine's lingering spirit. Determined to bring her back, the surviving friends band together, testing the limits of their magic and everything they know about life, death, and each other.

And as their plan to resurrect Jasmine grows darker and more demanding than they imagined, their separate lives begin to splinter the bonds they depend on, revealing buried secrets that threaten the people they care about most. Miliani, Inez and Natalie will have to rely on more than just their mystical abilities to find the light.

Thrilling and absorbing, Deep in Providence is a story of profound yearning, and what happens when three teen girls are finally given the power to go after what they want.

Review: I really liked this book! It was completely not what I expected but it was so beautifully well written and so amazing. I loved the use of the multi-POV and I loved how it was fantasy like but not overtly fantasy. The book examined the aftermath of a death, but also examined karma in what happened to the characters after they started casting more and more powerful spells. The book had well done writing, great character development, and amazing world building. I can’t wait for book 2!

The only issues I had with the book is that it was a bit slower paced than I normally like book, but the writing more than made up for that. The book also had a moment where a character is in a clinic and they’re talking about the 6-week embryo’s “heartbeat”. There isn’t a heartbeat at that stage; it’s more like the electrical components of what will be a heart. The heart is far from fully formed at this stage and this does not translate to the viability of a heart. While the heart does start to form at this stage and it’s one of the first organs to develop and four clearly defined chambers, the heart does not have fully formed muscle tissue until the 20th week as stated by medicinenet website. While the book is very much not telling people to not get an abortion (it very much did the opposite), I just wish that this was better stated by the ultrasound technician just due to today’s day and age.

Verdict: It’s a great read! Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Hollow Fires

Author: Samira Ahmed

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Iraqi American Muslim character, Desi American Muslim MC, Muslim characters, Queer characters, Jewish character, Pakistani Muslim character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, mystery, contemporary, thriller, race, white supremacy

Publication Date: May 10, 2022

Genre: YA Thriller Mystery

Age Relevance: 14+ (death, kidnapping, murder, violence, gore, rape, terrorism, racism, bullying, micro aggressions, white supremacy, police brutality, antisemitism, sexism, islamaphobia, religion, language, climate change)

Explanation of Above: The book involves death and a murder of an Iraqi American child. Kidnapping is mentioned, violence is shown with fights and mentioned in various ways, and gore is briefly shown and mentioned in the form of vomit and blood. The word rape is used in the book, but nothing like that happens. It’s just a thought of what might have happened. There are a lot of tough subjects that are covered in the book, including a lot of racism and micro aggressions, extreme islamaphobia, terrorism and hate crimes committed by white people, and white supremacy shown and dog whistles mentioned. There are also instances of Donald Trump being quoted in the text. There is some showing of police brutality against Muslim characters and there are mentions of antisemitism and sexism. The Islamic religion is shown in this book and the book beautifully describes some of the practices and customs of the religion. There is minimal cursing in the read. There is one mention of climate change.

Publisher: Little, Brown

Pages: 416

Synopsis: A powerful, gripping YA novel about the insidious nature of racism, the terrible costs of unearthing hidden truths, and the undeniable power of hope, by New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed. Perfect for fans of Sadie and Dear Martin.

Safiya Mirza dreams of becoming a journalist. And one thing she’s learned as editor of her school newspaper is that a journalist’s job is to find the facts and not let personal biases affect the story. But all that changes the day she finds the body of a murdered boy.

Jawad Ali was fourteen years old when he built a cosplay jetpack that a teacher mistook for a bomb. A jetpack that got him arrested, labeled a terrorist—and eventually killed. But he’s more than a dead body, and more than “Bomb Boy.” He was a person with a life worth remembering.

Driven by Jawad’s haunting voice guiding her throughout her investigation, Safiya seeks to tell the whole truth about the murdered boy and those who killed him because of their hate-based beliefs.

This gripping and powerful book uses an innovative format and lyrical prose to expose the evil that exists in front of us, and the silent complicity of the privileged who create alternative facts to bend the truth to their liking.

Review: I absolutely loved this work. It made me both sad and angry, but gave me strength to fight for a better tomorrow for my BIPOC friends. The book discusses injustice in the legal system and corruption/injustice in the education system at length. The more and more the book went on, the more my heart broke. I wanted to punch so many people in this book because of the hurt they inflicted on so many children due to the adults racist agendas. The book is very raw and it demands that you listen and it does so good to show how white supremacists and lazy attitudes toward racist behavior have led to a huge issue in society today, especially in America. The book also did good to juxtapose famous quotes that alt-right politicians and others, one specifically being Donald Trump, have said to what the truth actually is. The character development was well done, the world building was superb, and I could just go on and on and on about every aspect of this book and how we should be dissecting it for study on how well it describes the increasing attitudes of today’s world. This book should definitely be taught in Literature or Social Studies classes.

The only tiny issue I had with the book is that because it’s in mixed media format and told in a flashback manner sometimes that it’s sometimes hard to remember which is the past and which is the present due to both of those times only being a year apart.

Verdict: I highly recommend you read this book so we can learn what behaviors we need to look for to protect children from the dangers of white supremacy and the alt-right.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Twelfth

Author: Janet Key

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Non-binary character, Wheelchair user character, Trans character, Gay character, Queer characters

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, mystery, LGBT, thriller, theater, summer camp

Publication Date: May 17, 2022

Genre: MG Mystery

Age Relevance: 12+ (homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, religion, religious trauma, depression, parental death, kidnapping, war, gore, violence, domestic abuse, romance)

Explanation of Above: There are some homophobia, transphobia, and antisemetic comments made to characters in the book. There is mentions of religion and religious trauma. Depression and parental death is mentioned briefly. There is a couple of kidnapping scenes, along with mentions of war and scenes of gore (vomit and some slight blood) and violence (assault on minors). Domestic abuse is alluded to in the book and there are a couple of brief scenes of romance.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 368

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn’t for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley—the last person Maren wants to think about—and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren gets drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp’s namesake, Charlotte “Charlie” Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood.

When Maren connects the clues to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, she and her new friends are off searching through lighting booths, orchestra pits and costume storages, discovering the trail and dodging camp counselors. But they’re not the only ones searching for the ring, and with the growing threat of camp closing forever, they're almost out of time.

Review: I enjoyed this summer camp read! I loved that it was a theater camp and that the mystery was Shakespeare themed. The book had pretty decent character development and world building. The story was interesting and it kept me reading until the very end to figure out the whodunit. I also enjoyed the riddles even though I didn’t understand them. I also appreciate all of the useful material at the end of the book!

However, I knew it wasn’t going to be so good for me when the book started off with 2 full pages of characters. I did have trouble remembering all of the characters, there were a lot, and reading an ebook made it hard to flip to the front of the book to check who was who. I thought that the book was a little on the boring side in the beginning until about halfway through the book and that there was just so much slow pacing throughout the read.

Verdict: I liked it!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Duet

Author: Elise Broach

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, contemporary, music, biography-like

Publication Date: May 10, 2022

Genre: MG Contemporary

Age Relevance: 8+ (death, animal violence, sickness)

Explanation of Above: There is death mentioned very briefly and sometimes vaguely in this book. There is some animal violence displayed in a little bit of a cartoonish manner in the book. Sickness is also mentioned briefly.

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books

Pages: 304

Synopsis: A musically gifted bird, a piano-playing boy, and a real-life mystery involving three artistic geniuses

Welcome to the world of Mirabelle, a young goldfinch who loves to sing and dreams of becoming a musical star. She lives with her family in the backyard of a piano teacher, and she is quickly intrigued by Mr. Starek's newest pupil. Michael Jin is an eleven-year-old keyboard sensation, but lesson after lesson, he refuses to play. With the prestigious Chopin Festival looming at summer’s end, how will he be ready in time? Mirabelle is responsible for Michael’s breakthrough—to her own astonishment, she sings the Chopin piece he is beginning to play at the piano. It is their first duet.

Thus begins a secret adventure that will take Mirabelle and Michael further than they ever imagined—in music, in friendship, and in solving the mystery of a lost piano that could be worth millions. A house full of treasures holds the clues. There, Mirabelle, Michael, and their friend Emily will make an important discovery that links the great composer Frederic Chopin, the trailblazing author George Sand, and the French Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix.

A fast-paced, history-rich mystery will have young readers hooked as they root for boy and bird in this beautifully told novel, full of emotion and suspense.

Review: I liked this book alright. The book contains a bird MC, which is probably the first of that I’ve read in a bit. The book does well to show the healing power of music and it’s a good little biography-like book on Chopin, a famous pianist, Sand, an author, and Delacroix, a painter. The book is fun and has good character development. The story is simple and sweet and would make a fun bedtime story to read to little ones or a good beginner book for younger middle grade readers.

However, I did think the book was a bit too slow for me personally and it was weirdly formatted. The book is like part biography, with a lot of info dumps about Chopin, Sand, and Delacroix, and part story about this bird and her love of music, but also a side story plot with the humans and their own issues. The stories didn’t really mesh well together in my opinion and there was just a lot going on. The plot is also really loose because of this.

Verdict: It was good.

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Mapmakers and the Lost Magic

Author: Cameron Chittock, Amanda Castillo (Illustrator)

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, graphic novel, fantasy, environmentalism

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Genre: MG Graphic Novel Fantasy

Age Relevance: 9+ (totalitarian government, environmentalism, parental death, grief, hurt animal)

Explanation of Above: The book features an army that has taken over a town and is inflicting a totalitarian ran government on the native people. There is environmentalism shown and explained, as well as humans place in the ecosystem. There are mentions of parental death and grief, and there is are animals (a crane and some worms) hurt in the book.

Publisher: Random House Graphic

Pages: 256

Synopsis: For centuries, the Mapmakers kept peace in the Valley, but they've long since disappeared. Now the Night Coats hold power with an iron grip--there are only rules, punishments, and consequences. Until one night, on the run from the Night Coats (again), after breaking another rule (again), Alidade stumbles upon a secret door leading to a magical hideaway that belongs to the Mapmakers. There, she finds a map of her home and accidentally brings to life Blue, a magical creature called a memri who is meant to protect the Valley. Blue needs Alidade's help to find the Mapmakers and save the Valley from the Night Coats!

But the Mapmakers are long gone.

Alidade has a choice: leave the Valley like she's always wanted...or become a Mapmaker and save the only home she's ever known.

This is the first book in a thrilling series of adventures where Alidade discovers the world around her as she goes on a fantastical journey.

Review: The book is a new favorite of mine! I loved the story and how environmentalism was tied into the story, as well as how simple it was explained so children reading the book could understand it. The book also went into oppressive government control and how that can impact native inhabitants of an area. The book has amazing character development and the world building was amazing. The illustrations were well done and I loved it so much. I am hoping for a sequel so I can help save more Memris!

The only issue I had with the book is that I thought some of the scenes were a bit quicker paced than others, but I think this would be perfect for a younger middle grade reader, especially one that is interested in the environment or natural science.

Verdict: I absolutely loved this book! Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Primal Animals

Author: Julia Lynn Rubin

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: Queen characters, Trans character, Bisexual MC, Adopted character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, thriller, mystery, LGBT, horror, summer camp

Publication Date: May 24, 2022

Genre: YA Thriller Mystery

Age Relevance: 17+ (religion, religious trauma, sexual harassment, sexual assault, medical gaslighting, anxiety, parental death, child abuse, kidnapping, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, underage alcohol consumption, drug use, language, gore, violence, death, murder, romance, animal death, animal gore)

Explanation of Above: Religion and religious trauma are mentioned briefly in this book. There are mentions of sexual harassment and one mention of a sexual assault. The book shows some medical gaslighting, anxiety, and mentions parental death. There are also some scenes of child abuse via emotional abuse and one slight mention and scene of physical abuse. Kidnapping is shown once in the book. There are mentions of transphobia and homophobia in passing of what’s going on in Texas. There is also sexism shown in the book, as well as a LOT of underage alcohol consumption and some drug use mentioned. There is some cursing in this book, as well as vomit and blood gore and a lot of violence shown and mentioned. There is death and murder in this book. There is some very slight romance in this book. There is also a lot of animal death and gore in the book, occurring to moths, foals, deer, cockroaches, and flies. The animal gore in this book is extreme and I highly advise those sensitive to it do not read this book or go into it warned.

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 304

Synopsis: Protect the girls

Arlee Gold is anxious about spending the summer at the college prep Camp Rockaway—the same camp her mother attended years ago, which her mother insists will help give Arlee a “fresh start” and will “change her life.” Little does Arlee know that, once she steps foot on the manicured grounds, this will prove to be true in horrifying ways.

Even though the girls in her cabin are awesome—and she’s developing a major crush on the girl who sleeps in the bunk above her—the other campers seem to be wary of Arlee, unwilling to talk to her or be near her, which only ramps up her paranoia. When she’s tapped to join a strange secret society, Arlee thinks this will be her shot at fitting in...until her new "sisters" ask her to do the unthinkable, putting her life, and the life of her new crush, in perilous danger.

Review: I felt like this was a good book. I immediately connected with the main character because of our shared fear of bugs and I liked the idea of the secret society. I thought the book did good in the world building and I liked the premise of it. I also liked the overall feel of the book. It did well to be a thriller and keep a mystery atmosphere rather than a horror one that sometimes thriller books fall into.

However, I didn’t like the book that well. I thought the book had a lot of characters at the beginning and that made it really hard to keep everyone sorted out. The book had a lot of twists and turns and a lot of them weren’t well plotted out. The character development wasn’t there and I just felt like the book could have been better if more expanded and more explained. It just felt like everything was way too rushed.

Verdict: It was ok, just not for me.