sarahsbookstack's Reviews (2.55k)

Super cute book of second chances and growth and talking about grief and what hometown means.

I really love these two characters, Max and Marin. What starts off rocky as Marin comes home for the first time in years to try and secure a host job at Good Morning Denver, You never expected to run into her ex Max who really broke her heart. But the camera loves these two so he gets to come along on the journey. I love the growth of these two. They broke up from a very tough situation and while the way Max did it probably wasn't the best, I felt bad for him.

I laughed, I got mad and sad and the ending made me cry (but in a good way). 

Even though this book is pretty chunky, it didn't read like it! I read through it really fast. Part of the reason is the way Bianca just writes her  characters so well. Second is the story...the murder of a popular teenage girl that eventually has ties to another murder that occurred years before in a different place.

I loved all the POVs. I loved getting to see into the minds of everyone involved. I felt for all the teenagers... The meanness and jealousy of some pointed at others. Social media can be such a cruel hunting ground for teens.

At one point where I had figured the murderer out, I was still really drawn to this person and why. When all the things started snapping into place, wow. It was just so thrilling and the ending was unreal!

I really liked this sweet novella as a companion to Where The Last Rose Blooms.

We get to go back with Alice and Sullivan. In this story, Alice finds a music box that has a song she recognizes as one her mother sang to her. Inside she finds a secret that will have her searching for what will bring a great gift in her life.

I like the found family that Alice finds which is the other story of James and Kit in WW2.

I really like the way that Alice and Sullivan support each other in their dreams and in their realities. Because they are the same but sometimes different.

The book ends in a very sweet way too.

I'm such a fan of Julie Klassen's work and this was no exception! 

At the heart of this novel are themes of sisterhood, helping your fellow neighbors, and prejudices against how someone might look. One of the sisters in this, Viola, has a cleft lip repair. It's sad to hear the superstition surrounding cleft lips back then. But I am so happy that the major was able to help Viola appreciate the fact that she is worthy of love despite the scar she carries.

I enjoyed a lot of the side characters that they brought. One in particular and his parrot! I really loved the nod to Jane Austen's Emma that the author talks about in the back of the book with two characters from that book in this. I can't wait to continue with this sister storyline and hopefully a romance in the next one that I really hoped for in this.

I  loved this heartwarming novella that brings us back to Sheet Cake, TX (and beloved Tank and Big Mo) through new characters Jilly and Case.

A road trip with two "enemies" and more than meets the eye. Tropes and funny situations abound. Jolly and Case are such great people on their own but together are so much more! I really love the small bit of relationship we got to see between Case and his sisters also.

Well I am not a big fan of bloody type horror but this book had me on the edge of my seat! Take normal anxiety levels and wrench it up by 1000% and that's where I was! 

I am always fascinated with cults and what makes them what they are and what they believe. The things these kids went through I found myself saying "okay I would be down for the count there.. nope! yep that would keep me down.... Okay I just couldn't go on after that" But I guess your body just has a way of pushing survival adrenaline when you need it to stay alive.

It's a tough read and I got to a certain point where I was like "okay this has to be what's going to happen" and it just totally twisted into an ending I did not see coming! To be honest I'm a little upset by the end but at the same time it brought backy anxiety level up to that 1000%

This book was so super fun! Or now only had my favorite trope, fake dating, but had a sometimes funny and sometimes slightly awkward sometimes"love trapezoid" as one of the MCs described it.

Ellie fell in love with Jack one Christmas. Next Christmas, Ellie agrees to fake date/be engaged/marry Andrew so he can claim an inheritance and give Ellie some of it as she's financially struggling. They go to his family's cabin for Christmas and SURPRISE Jack is Andrew's sister!

I loved the mental health talk. I loved the different reps on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. I loved that fear was talked about. I LOVED Andrew/Jack's family (not the dad..jerk) especially his Grandma's. I just loved everything about this spectacular wintery read!

This book was creepy in the right way and had a whole cast of characters that I did NOT trust!

Two young, new parents (Tallulah and Zach) go missing one weekend and Tallulah's mom Kim suspects foul play while Zach's mom seems to think they just ran away. I really did not like Zach's mom.... How could she be so blasé about it? 

I liked the alternating timelines. We get to see glimpses of Tallulah and Zach's life before they go missing and a year later when Tallulah's mom is still wondering what happened when a new head of school and his girlfriend a mystery novelist bring back the past and get the police looking into it, harder, again.

Even though I figured out part of what happened they were still some surprises. It was a very intense ending but I really enjoyed their ride

I had some fun with this magical realism book centered around a blog (also named the title of the book) about reclusive Myra's "not a dollhouse" mansion and a full sized version where Alex lives.

The mystery was something that I solved way before it was revealed which delighted me, but still kept me reading to see it be fulfilled. Myra had such a special voice and it really came through in her blog posts. 

This is a look into Jim Crow South and threats from the KKK. 

Maddie is an herbalist who heals the town of their ails. Hannah is her granddaughter who Maggie wants to pass down her knowledge to. Ren is a colored woman and is being taught by Maddie though their friendship is outlawed. 
Carl is a con man that comes into town as a preacher. He threatens from the pulpit the segregation of white and colored.

I was absolutely stunned by how stubborn (in a good way) Maddie was! She is tenacious and doesn't ever back down. When Carl and the KKK threaten her and her family, she puts on an act that is amazing to see as it plays out.