[Review] The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Series: The Beautiful #1

Rating: 2.5 stars

Release Date: October 8th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis: 

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

"I am not so captivated by the beautiful, monsieur." Celine met his gaze without wavering. "For I know beauty is only a moment in time." p. 365

Buddy-read with Yiling and Vicki! 

The Beautiful takes place in New Orleans, 1872, following Celine Rousseau as she escapes from Europe to find new life in America (with a dark secret, of course). She initially seeks a life of anonymity with a convent of sisters, but becomes acquainted with the La Cour des Lions, a coterie of otherwise otherworldly beings. As Celine gets involved with this group, a murderer descends upon New Orleans, and Celine may be the next victim. 

[Review] The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: ARC

Published: August 13th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender.
While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light.

After being fired from her job as a hat milliner, Jo finds a position as a maid at the Payne household. Because of laws against Chinese (and other POC) being citizens, Jo and her adopted father Old Gin have to hide in the basement of Nathan Bell and his family, without them knowing. After years of being oppressed and being told she's too much of a 'saucepot', Jo starts moonlighting as the agony aunt for the Bell newspaper, The Constitution, going by the pseudonym Miss Sweetie. But when Miss Sweetie starts speaking about the racial and gender injustices that run throughout Atlanta, enemies start popping up.

[Review] Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Rating: 5 stars

Published: May 30th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.
In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.
Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.
But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

This book made me cry. That's a great way to start a review.

There's a stark contrast between the Eliza Mirk of the real world versus the Eliza Mirk of the online world. For starters, though she appears to be the awkward, shy, essentially friendless girl of her high school, is has gained fame online for her webcomic, Monsters of the Sea. There, on her forum and through the internet, she is praised, adored, and noticed, garnering fans from all corners of the world. She even has a few friends that she trusts with her real identity. However, this secret life Eliza leads may be compromised when a fan of the series moves to her school. Both simultaneously start emerging from their shells, and for once, Eliza begins to question if the real world might be even better than the virtual one.

[Review] The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray 

Series: The Diviners #1

Rating: 5 stars

Published: September 18th 2012

Goodreads Synopsis:

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.
Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.
As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

Roaring Twenties historical fiction (with magical realism and spooky Halloween vibes) at its finest! I'm going through a little bit of a phase where I finally decide to tackle YA that isn't 2019 releases or new debuts. It's refreshing, to say the least. I've encountered hits, and many misses, but I can say for one that The Diviners is a definite hit.

Evie O'Neill is sent to New York City to stay with her Uncle Will after causing some mischief with her 'parlor trick' - the ability to divine someone's past from a precious possession. But NYC has more hustle and bustle than what Evie is used to in her hometown, since a serial killer is on the loose, and Evie puts it upon herself to solve the case with her new set of friends.

[Review] A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

Rating: 4.5 stars

Published: October 17th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

This is the story of a bear-hearted girl . . .
Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide. Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding. 
Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard. 
And now there's a spirit inside her. 
The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father's rich and powerful ancestors. There is talk of civil war, and they need people like her to protect their dark and terrible family secret. 
But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death.

This book reminded me so much of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman with its spookiness and ghosts! Should have read it during Halloween season haha.

Makepeace has the power to absorb the spirits of the dead, communing with them and honing their abilities, making her a sought out person by the Fellmotte family, who has been utilizing this power for generations. She is essentially the 'spare' in case the 'heir' of the family is unable to properly absorb the spirits of his past ancestors. But Makepeace wants more to be tucked away for safekeeping in Grizehayes, the Fellmotte estate, and so must come to terms with the fact that in order to find freedom, she must commune with the dead inside her.

[Review] Sad Girls by Lang Leav

Sad Girls by Lang Leav

Rating: 1 star

Published: May 30th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to—it’s the first one who breaks it.
School is almost out for Audrey, but the panic attacks are just beginning. Because Audrey told a lie and now her classmate, Ana, is dead. Just as her world begins to spin out of control, Audrey meets the enigmatic Rad—the boy who could turn it all around. But will their ill-timed romance drive her closer to the edge?

TW: discussion of suicide, self-harm

Sad Girls, as the name suggests, is supposed to be about several sad girls. Boy was I wrong. I'm also extremely angry with this book, so I'm about to pull another one of my sassy reviews.

Audrey loses a classmate, Ana, to suicide, because of a secret Audrey spread. Honestly, you'd think that the majority of the book would be spent with Audrey coping with her guilt for this secret, but nope it was her spending time pining after Rad, Ana's boyfriend, and causing drama and havoc along the way.

[Review] Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Rating: 3.5 stars

Published: April 4th 2018

Goodreads Synopsis:

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.
Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.
She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.
Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart.

Eeyln is part of the Aska clan, and has been taught since birth to hate the Riki clan, especially since she's lost her brother in a fight with them all those years ago. However, she ends up a captive of the rival tribe, and discovers the truth behind her brother's supposed death. But when a enemy much bigger than the Riki comes to destroy everything precious to Eelyn, she bands together with the Riki, with growing feelings for her brother's friend, Fiske.

[Review] Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway

Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway

Series: Glass Alliance #1

Rating: 3 stars

Published: February 5th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania—Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children.
Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it—a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role. As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe.

Dark of the West is a fantastical romance of epic proportions. It alternates between the POV of Aurelia, Princess of Etania, and Athan, son of the General of Savient. Etania and Savient are two Northern countries meant to be allied together in their fight against the South. However, that changes when Athan's mother is assassinated and his father, the General, blames Aurelia's mother, the Queen of Etania. Now Athan is tasked with spying for his father and for his country, but that becomes difficult when he falls for the enemy.

[Review] Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

Rating: 4 stars

Published: October 3rd 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love grows such strange things.
For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.
The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

I always enjoyed the magical realism that McLemore brings to her books.

The Nomeolvides women have been cursed to remain on the land of La Pradera and tend to it, for generations upon generations. There have always been five women per generation, with powers to spawn flowers and other fauna at will. This changes when their powers unearth a boy from beneath the ground, a boy who doesn't remember his own name. This leads the Nomeolvides women to uncover the secrets of La Pradera.

[Review] The Beckoning Shadow by Katharyn Blair

The Beckoning Shadow by Katharyn Blair

Series: The Beckoning Shadow #1

Rating: 4 stars

Published: July 2nd 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Vesper Montgomery can summon your worst fear and turn it into a reality—but she’s learned the hard way that it’s an addicting and dangerous power. One wrong move and you could hurt someone you love.
But when she earns a spot in the Tournament of the Unraveling, where competitors battle it out for a chance to rewrite the past, Vesper finally has a shot to reverse the mistakes that have changed her forever. She turns to Sam Hardy, a former MMA fighter who’s also carrying a tragedy he desperately wants to undo. However, helping heal Sam’s heart will mean breaking her own, and the competition forces her to master her powers—powers she has been terrified of since they destroyed her life.

This was the book of the month for Shelflovecrate's July Box.

Vesper's been on the run from her family, from the law, from society, ever since she realized the full extent her ability - to use people's fears against them. But there's the Tournament of the Unraveling, a competition against other people like her, with powers, and its prize - any part of the winner's past can be rewritten. Vesper's going to need all she can to win against people with supernatural abilities - including the innate strength that lies inside her. She recruits the help of Sam, a former MMA fighter, and the rest of his gym, to harness that strength. But Sam's got other reasons for wanting to sponsor her.

[Review] Maybe This Time by Kasie West

Maybe This Time by Kasie West 

Rating: 3 stars

Format: ARC

Published:July 9th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?
Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year's Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.
Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn't so bad after all . . .
Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.

Sophie works at the local florist, when she'd rather be designing clothes, preparing for her dream to one day come true - to go to fashion design school in NYC. She meets Andrew Hart, whose father is a famous chef with a soured career. He now has a business that helps out up-and-coming new talent, such as Micah's dad, a caterer. Andrew Hart is his son, and has to follow his dad around for the whole year, meaning Sophie will be seeing a lot more of him at future events.

This story is told through the events in which Sophie and Andrew have to meet and work together. Sophie initially despises Andrew, and the feeling is seemingly mutual. Because the sections are set up in the form of months (as there's one event a month), the pacing of this story is rather fast-paced. There's a lot off-screen stuff that happens in between-these months, and occasionally, the characters have to fill in the gaps.