[Review] The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

Series: The Merciful Crow #1

Rating: 3 stars

July 30th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

A future chieftain.
Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.
A fugitive prince.
When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.
A too-cunning bodyguard.
Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?

This book was so hyped up on my TL, but then it ended up being rather disappointing.

Fie is part of the Crow caste, which has the ability to steal magic from other castes. It's the teeth of the dead that allow them to use such magic. The Crows are sent to collect the bodies of Crown Prince Jasimir and his bodyguard Tavin, but they may have gotten more than what they bargained for...

[Review] All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Rating: 5 stars

Published: January 6th 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

TW: Suicide, self-harm, abuse

I read this after Foolish Hearts - contemporaries really are out to get me.

Theodore Finch is thinks of endless ways to die. Violet Markay thinks of getting out of Indiana, leaving behind her grief following her sister's death. When the two become partners for a US geography project, they help each other heal and cope with their shared trauma.

[Review] Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Series: The Shadow Game #1

Rating: 3.5 stars

Published: April 10th 2018

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow.
Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and alone, Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.
Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…
And she’ll need to play.

Enne visits New Reynes with one purpose - to find her missing adoptive mother. She enlists the help of Levi, street lord of the Scarhands. Levi is also using Enne for his own purposes - to complete a master con before time is up in ten days.

Just like with Daughter of the Burning City, I was bombarded with a wave of information and it took me some time to process it. But unlike Foody's first book, I was able to piece together the information and understand the world much better in Ace of Shades. It was still a bit confusing, though.

[Review] Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Rating: 5 stars

Published: May 14th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?
When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?
Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic.

I've been recommending everyone this book for the past month. It's so good.

Also, it's set in an alternate timeline where we had competent world leaders! I wish we had that timeline.

Anyhow - After a faux du pas at a royal wedding, Alex, the President's son, and British Prince Henry must forge an unlikely friendship to show the tabloids/media that the US and UK are still allies. But this friendship slowly develops into something more, and so, Alex and Henry hide their blossoming romance from the press, as it could potential derail Alex's mother's reelection campaign.

[Review] The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) by Helen Hoang

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Series: The Kiss Quotient #2

Rating: 4 stars

Published: May 7th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.
With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

Another enjoyable romance by Helen Hoang!

This time, we're with Michael's cousin Khai, who has recently lost his best friend Andy. Khai is autistic, sensitive to touch, and believes that he is immune to love. His mother wants to change that, and goes off to Vietnam to find him a bride. She meets Esme, a housekeeper with drive, and so, chooses her to come to America on visa. If she can convince Khai to fall in love with her over the summer, she can stay.

[Review] Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

Rating: 3.5 stars

Published: June 11th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

At the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant.
The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around--she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.

Natalie returns home, following the death of her mother, and in her memory, works to revitalize her corner of San Francisco's Chinatown, by reopening her grandmother's restaurant. Natalie has had an estranged relationship with her mother, who suffered from agoraphobia. With the help of old neighbors and friends, Natalie hopes to rekindle her passion for cooking and return to her roots.

[Review] Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

Rating: 5 stars

Published: December 5th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis: 

When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, the it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year.
When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, the it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year.

Smart, funny, and thoroughly, wonderfully flawed, Claudia navigates a world of intense friendships and tentative romance in Foolish Hearts, a YA novel about expanding your horizons, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and accepting--and loving--people for who they really are.

This book was perfection and everything I love in contemporary - normally a genre I don't even read, too! I've always been a bit iffy with books set in HS because of the age gap between reader and characters - I haven't been able to relate to one until Foolish Hearts.

For the last four years, Claudia has been mostly a wallflower at her all girls preparatory school. That is, until she overhears the breakup of the most popular couple in school - Iris and Paige. Suddenly, she's thrusted into the spotlight as she is forced to work together with mean girl Iris and popular guy Gideon in the school performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. She's used to spending her time with her only friend Zoe, and her siblings, Alex and Julia. Now Claudia has to navigate the ups and downs of friendships and romance in her final year of high school.

[Review] The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Rating: 2 stars

Published: June 11th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

Sigh. 

This book made me tired. Here's why.

On a superficial level, The Friend Zone is about Kristen Peterson, who must fight off a growing attraction to Josh Copeland, who will be the best man at her best friend's wedding. She's in a long-distance relationship with Tyler, who works in the military overseas and who will be coming home soon. Kristen also believes that she and Josh would never work out, because, in the long-run, Josh wants a large family, and Kristen cannot do that, with her big secret: after years of painful, almost life-threatening periods, she's about to have a procedure that will prevent her from having children.

[Review] Slay by Brittney Morris

Slay by Brittney Morris

Rating: 3.5 stars

Published: September 24th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the "downfall of the Black man."
But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for "anti-white discrimination."
Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

Kiera Johnson leads a double life. By day she's an honors student at her school and one of the only black students at Jefferson Academy. By night she's the creator of SLAY, an mmorpg card-game. She's careful to keep the two lives apart, until one day, someone is killed over the game, causing a public outrage that might just reveal her secret.

[Review] When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis

When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: ARC

Release Date: November 12th 2019 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Devon longs for two things.

The stars.

And the boy she fell in love with last summer.
When Ashton breaks Devon’s heart at the end of the most romantic and magical summer ever, she thinks her heart will never heal again. But over the course of the following year, Devon finds herself slowly putting the broken pieces back together.
Now it’s senior year, and she’s determined to enjoy every moment of it as she prepares for a future studying the galaxies. That is, until Ashton shows up on the first day of school. Can she forgive him and open her heart again? Or are they doomed to repeat history?

TW: suicidal ideation, depression, abuse

I mentioned this before on Twitter but I just am really enjoying contemporaries lately and they're normally not my cup of tea. But they've been tackling a bunch of serious issues and have really well-developed characters.

My latest contemp is When the Stars Lead to You, and it follows Devon, aspiring astrophysicist, who dreams of having the best summer ever. She meets Ashton, and the two have a perfect summer romance, until he disappears from her life without as much as a goodbye. Though Devon is devastated, she picks up the pieces of her heart and mostly moves on, and wishes, a year later, to have a perfect senior year. But when Ashton comes back into her life, as a fellow student of Preston Academy, that might be an obstacle in her perfect year.

[Review] The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Series: Montague Siblings #1

Rating: 5 stars

Published: June 27th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Because three months later, I still continue to love Good Omens, if you loved the show/book/radio broadcast as much as I did, you're going to love Gentleman's Guide.

Henry 'Monty' Montague, his best friend/long time crush Percy, and his younger sister Felicity, embark on a grand Tour of Europe. Monty initially thinks this would be the perfect time to spend with Percy before he goes off on law school, and to spend the year doing any sort of sordid debauchery. But he is wrong - his father wants him to use the time to mature into a proper lord. However, plans change when Monty steals a small box from the Duke of Bourbon. Now on the run from hired men seeking the box, Monty and his friends have a different kind of tour, one full of pirates, alchemy, and dead people.