I was tricked. I have to admit that I picked up this book because I saw it on the new releases shelf at the library and its cover was beautiful. Unfortunately, the story was just annoying. Told from a then/now perspective of Heather, we get to see her as both an adult and a preteen. The ‘then’ passages were cringey and filled with teen angst and the ‘now’ passages were filled with paranoia. Heather was unlikable (not in a Gone Girl-esque way) and I only finished this book because I could not find spoilers online and it would’ve bugged me not knowing what happened at the end. Blah.

To preface this review, I read Bailey’s first book of this series last year and loved it. I knew what I was getting into (in regards to the raunchiness of the text) and enjoyed this one as well. However, the first 100 pages of this book are slow... I had to force myself to continue reading and I was not sure I would even make it to the end. Gradually, the book did get better and I found myself finally getting interesting in Dominic and Rosie’s love story. Overall, if you’re looking for something sexy and funny, this is the book for you. Personally, I enjoyed the first book better, but I didn’t dislike this one enough not to continue with the series. Rumor is the next title will be released this fall.

I loved this one!! As a thriller lover, I am picky when it comes to this genre. More often than not, similar settings, plot lines, and characters are used in these types of stories. However, this was not the case with this read. The Sun Down Motel is unlike any thriller fiction book I have ever encountered before. I was immediately drawn into the story and feel like whatever I write in this review will not do this novel justice. Just read it. Make this a priority on your bookshelf. You won’t regret it.

This story is totally unrealistic and if you are unable to get past that, this won’t be the book for you. However, I loved it! The protagonist, Sara, is a genius and her actions throughout the story left me in awe. She might be one of my favorite characters that I have had the pleasure of “getting to know” from reading literature. Also, the setting of this story is unlike any other thriller/suspense book I have ever read. These two aspects of the novel make up for the totally unrealistic story line (at least in my mind)!

This was my first read from the Forward collection. They are all short stories which fall under the science fiction genre of writing. Ark, written by Veronica Roth who is well known for the Divergent series, was attention grabbing. Set just weeks before Earth is supposed to be destroyed, Samantha, the protagonist, is working to catalogue plant specimen so that they can be transported to new Earth. There are themes of loss and rebirth weaved into the story through plant symbolism. I am excited to read the other volumes from this collection.

This was my second read from the Forward collection. They are all short stories which fall under the science fiction genre of writing. The Last Conversation, written by Paul Tremblay, was incredible. I am impressed by how much detail and plot line he was able to fit in such a short novella. Focused in a world where most of the population has died from a virus, Tremblay literally puts you as the protagonist. Instead of giving the character a name, he writes _____ so you can put your own name into the story. I thought this was a cool decision for Tremblay to make. I look forward to reading some of his longer pieces in the future!

This was my third read from the Forward collection. They are all short stories which fall under the science fiction genre of writing. Randomize is an extremely short novella surrounding a couple with a plan to hack the number generators at a casino to win money. There wasn’t much character development and I did not feel like it was worth the read. Compared to the first two books of this collection, this one fell flat.

This was my fourth read from the Forward collection. They are all short stories which fall under the science fiction genre of writing. You Have Arrived At Your Destination deals with the (probable) future of biomedical science. In this case, the focus is on a couple who is using a fertility clinic which claims they can pick the future child’s sex, physical appearance, and personality traits. However, later in the story the age old question of nature versus nurture is debated through the protagonist’s memories of his own upbringing. I enjoyed reading this one, but was not blown away by the writing or the topics it touches on.

This was my fifth read from the Forward collection. They are all short stories which fall under the science fiction genre of writing. Summer Frost examines just how humane Artificial Intelligence can become. Riley, a programmer, starts to form a relationship with Max, an AI product she helped create. However, as in many stories of AI, there are ethical questions asked about the ability AI should have and what happens when AI is able to escape its artificial confines. This was one of my favorite reads from the Forward collection and I am continued to be impressed with the work of Blake Crouch.

This was my final read from the Forward collection. They are all short stories which fall under the science fiction genre of writing. Emergency Skin was a thought provoking read about the way humans live. Returning to earth after serious threats of global warming forced his people to flee, our protagonist finds that humankind has survived. However, things are not the way they used to be. Now, there are no boarders, an equal wealth distribution, and a general sense of compassion for each and every inhabitant of earth. A moral dilemma is then presented to the protagonist about if the way his people live is correct or do the humans on earth have it right after all.