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Find Her by Lisa Gardner (Review #148)

“Flora Dane is a victim. Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure. Flora Dane is a survivor. Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has spent the past five years reacquainting herself with the rhythms of normal life, working with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes. She has a mother who’s never stopped loving her, a brother who is scared of the person she’s become, and a bedroom wall covered with photos of other girls who’ve never made it home. Flora Dane is reckless. ... or is she? When Boston detective D. D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime - a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him - she learns that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society. Is Flora a victim or a vigilante? And with her firsthand knowledge of criminal behavior, could she hold the key to rescuing a missing college student whose abduct...

The Dark Between by Sonia Gensler (Review #147)

“At the turn of the twentieth century, Spiritualism and séances are all the rage—even in the scholarly town of Cambridge, England. While mediums dupe the grief-stricken, a group of local fringe scientists seeks to bridge the gap to the spirit world by investigating the dark corners of the human mind. Each running from a shadowed past, Kate, Asher, and Elsie take refuge within the walls of Summerfield College. But their peace is soon shattered by the discovery of a dead body nearby. Is this the work of a flesh-and-blood villain, or is something otherworldly at play? This unlikely trio must illuminate what the scientists have not, and open a window to secrets taken to the grave—or risk joining the spirit world themselves.” Review: This was a sweet one. Similar to the Diviners by Libba Bray , we have 3 teens coming together to solve a murder most foul. Kate, a girl whose been on the streets swindling to feed herself until her circumstances bring her into the care of a professor. She ...

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante (Review #146)

" Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol's mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber's, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as "an illegal", but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi's, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn't be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn't have been caught crossing the border. But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options rema...

How to Disappear by Ann Redisch Stampler (Review #145)

"Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she’s pretty sure she can get away with anything...until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette’s house. Which is why she has to disappear. Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A’s and athletic trophies can’t make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price. As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices, this tightly plotted mystery and tense love story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, guilt and innocence, truth an...

Anomaly by Krista McGee (Review #144)

"Decades before Thalli's birth, the world was decimated by a nuclear war. But life continued deep underground, thanks to a handful of scientists known as the Ten. There they created genetically engineered human beings who are free of emotions in the hope that war won't threaten the world again. Thalli is an anomaly, born with the ability to feel emotions and a sense of curiosity she can barely contain. She has survived so far by hiding her differences. But then her secret is discovered when she is overwhelmed by the emotion of an ancient piece of music. The Ten quickly schedule her annihilation, but her childhood friend, Berk - a scientist being groomed by the Ten - convinces them to postpone her death to study her instead. While in the Scientist's Pod, Thalli and Berk form a dangerous alliance, one strictly forbidden by the constant surveillance. As her life ticks away, she hears rumors of someone called the Designer - someone even more powerful than the ...

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (Review #143)

"A girl named Nadya, who hears the whispers of the gods inside her head. A prince surrounded by desperate suitors and deadly assassins. A monster hidden behind pale, tortured eyes - and a smile that cuts like a knife. The paths of these characters becomes entwined during a centuries-long war filled with sinners and saints, magic and mystery, and a star-crossed romance that threatens to tip the scales between dark and light forever." Review: This was one of the best reads I’ve had in a long while. It DEVASTATED ME. BUT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE. Nadya and Serefin were both complicated, messy, yet divine characters. Neither were in the right or wrong but both knew the endgame. I loved every second of it. These characters never did what was expected of them and I loved there growth from beginning to end. And MALACHIASZ?????? I shipped it so hard. Every twist and turn had me hoping he and Nadya would set sail. Their dynamic was so intriguing to me. They were enemies of a hig...

The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin (Review #142)

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE MARY DYER TRILOGY, STOP NOW. DO NOT READ. THIS IS THE COMPANION TRILOGY AND TAKES PLACE AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE PREVIOUS TRILOGY. FOR THE REVIEW ON MARA DYER'S BOOK 1, CHECK OUT THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER . FOR BOOK 2, CHECK OUT THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER . FOR THE FINAL BOOK 3, CHECK OUT THE RETRIBUTION OF MARA DYER . "Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string. They’re wrong. Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future. He shouldn’t. And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart. They’re right." Review: Wow oh WOW. I forgot how next-level the world of Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw is. I truly adore the Mara Dyer trilogy so I was so excited to see the story continue only in the eyes of Noah. In this book, Noah and Jamie talk about “types”, with Noah being chaotic good and Mara being chaotic neutral. As a narrator, I enjoy...