[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.