Week 33 Reviews: This Winter, Solitaire

From Goodreads:

A short story, based on characters from Solitaire – praised as 'The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age' — The Times

I used to think that difficult was better than boring, but I know better now …

I'm not going to think about the past few months, about Charlie and me, and all of the sad. I'm going to block it all out. Just for today.

"Happy Christmas," I say.

The festive season isn't always happy for Tori and her brother Charlie. And this year's going to be harder than most.

From Goodreads:
In Solitaire, Alice Oseman has brought to life a vivid, clever, and heartfelt portrayal of what it's like to be a teenager today. This stunning debut novel—which the Times (London) called "The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age"—is perfect for fans of Melina Marchetta, Stephen Chbosky, and Rainbow Rowell.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year—before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of exams and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people—I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that's all over now.

Now there's Solitaire. And Michael Holden. I don't know what Solitaire is trying to do, and I don't care about Michael Holden. I really don't.

My Review:
I had a really great time reading these! I recently read Heartstopper, and I finally realized that I had Solitaire downloaded as an ARC from ages ago, I had to read it! And of course read This Winter, because it exists! 

Honestly This Winter was such a sad read. It's the Christmas right after Charlie got back from the mental hospital, and things are still tense in the family. I loved that we got all 3 Spring siblings' perspectives throughout the night! 

Tori was really easy character to relate to for me. The internet, the friend/people thing, yeah, that resonates with me. Reading her story was like seeing a different version of me, one that lived in England, and had 2 brothers, which was such a weird experience, but I loved it! 

The mystery of who was behind Solitaire was really interesting to read. I loved watching her and Michael look into it, as well as their interactions. This book had everything going for it, excellent writing, and with amazing characters to read about and follow their story, and I just loved reading it! 

These were such great reads, and I can't wait to read more by Alice Oseman! 

Author: Alice Oseman

Series: Solitaire #0.5, 1
Read: August 12th, 13th, 2023
Source: Ebook.bike, Edelweiss
Reason Why: It sounded really great, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Books, and Solitaire is a DAC Book! 
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books, Harper Teen
Published: November 5th 2015, March 31st 2015

This Winter:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Solitaire: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Review: The Honey-Don't List

From Goodreads:
From the New York Times bestselling author behind the "joyful, warm, touching" (Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author) The Unhoneymooners comes a delightfully charming love story about what happens when two assistants tasked with keeping a rocky relationship from explosion start to feel sparks of their own.

Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There's only one problem: America's favorite couple can't stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn't all he thought it'd be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.

Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses' secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…

From the "hilariously zany and heartfelt" (Booklist) Christina Lauren comes a romantic comedy that proves if it's broke, you might as well fix it.

My Review:
This book was just so hilarious and awesome! I loved the idea of two assistants to a husband and wife duo whose brand it is is that they're happily married-and they're not. It was such fun, and I really enjoyed spending time with Carey, James, and the Tripps!

We know right away that something went wrong. Given that it starts off with a police interview. But we get the story of how they got to that point, from the party that lead to Carey and James going on the tour, and all the shenanigans there. Such fun to read!

I felt bad for all of them. Carey who'd worked for the Tripps when they just had a store, before they were famous. Who's used the years when she was young and could've gone to school for this company, but is still just an assistant. James was hired to be an engineer, but is instead a assistant. Rusty, whose wife went a bit crazy with the fame, who isn't the women he married. Melissa, who had her husband cheat on her. Yeah. They all had their problems!

How it was all resolved, well, I would've liked a bit of a longer ending, with more shown then told, but yeah, it was such a great read, and such a quick, easy, and fun one! Really enjoyed that ending, where all these characters were!

This book was fantastic as always from Christina Lauren, and I can't wait for more from them!

Author: Christina Lauren
Read: December 27th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love their writing, and it's a SAC 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Gallery Books
Expected Publication: March 24th 2020

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Review: Snapshot

From Goodreads:
Snapshot is a Science Fiction detective story following Anthony Davis, a cop assigned to Snapshot Duty. In this vivid world that author Brandon Sanderson has built, society can create a snapshot of a specific day in time. The experiences people have, the paths they follow—all of them are real again for a one day in the snapshot. All for the purposes of investigation by the court.

Davis's job as a cop on Snapshot Duty is straight forward. Sometimes he is tasked with finding where a criminal dumped a weapon. Sometimes he is tasked with documenting domestic disputes. Simple. Mundane. One day, in between two snapshot assignments, Davis decides to investigate the memory of a call that was mysteriously never logged at the precinct, and he makes a horrifying discovery.

As in all many stories, Snapshot follows a wonderfully flawed character as he attempts to solve a horrific crime. Sanderson proves that no matter the genre, he is one of the most skilled storytellers in the business.

My Review:
This story was so fantastic! I loved the world with the snapshots, it was so interesting to read! And that it's used as an investigative tool, that was pretty awesome, because we had this incredible world, but we also had cops trying to solve mysteries. So great!

Davis was an interesting character, he was focused on this one time that was going to happen, and we didn't know what was going to happen there. But then he starts investigating, and while it's only over the course of a day, well, a lot happens!

There were so many little elements to this book! The different mysteries, the world that was built, how a snapshot worked, Davis' interactions with his partner. The weird lady who gave him her number. It was all so delicately woven and so fantastic to read!

I didn't catch the clues, because apparently, we were supposed to wonder about this snapshot that they were in. I didn't get that, so that part, well, all the parts, of the ending caught me off guard. But it was really fantastic to read!

Loved this story, and I would love to spend more time in this world!

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Read: December 22nd, 2019
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Sounded really great and I enjoy his writing, and it's a SAC 2019 Book!
Publisher: Dragonsteel Entertainment
Published: February 17th 2017

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 51 Review: Two Can Keep a Secret

From Goodreads:
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

My Review:
I really enjoyed reading this book! I really enjoyed her first one, and I couldn't wait to read this mystery as well! Getting to know these characters-Ellery and Malcolm, in the opposite sides of the coin in this situation-one with a missing family member, possibly a victim, the other with a family member suspected to be the villain. It was fantastic!

The town of Echo Ridge has seen some tragedy regarding its young ladies. I was a little unclear about the timing and events surrounding Ellery's aunt's disappearance, but she hasn't been seen since. And then there was a murder. And then another disappearance in the here and now! It was fantastic to read!

It's a pretty fantastic mystery, the bad guy came pretty much out of left field. There were hints to part of the solution, but they well written and deflected attention going in that direction. I initially thought that it was a negative, but writing this review, decided it was a positive!

That ending, oh! The was the big reveal-and then there was the secret. And that's something that if I've read, it doesn't happen often, and it's not something that we'll revisit in the future, what we got is probably all we're going to get. So that reveal ending, and doing nothing about it, oh, did that play with my emotions!

Yeah, I loved reading this book, it was really fantastic, I can't wait to read more by Karen M. McManus!

Author: Karen M. McManus
Read: December 15th, 2019
Source: Bought
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2019 Book and Sophomore Challenge Book!
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: January 8th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 49 Review: Sick Kids in Love

From Goodreads:
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's easier—
It's safer—
It's better—
—for the other person.
She's got issues. She's got secrets. She's got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He's got a chronic illness Isabel's never heard of, something she can't even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who's a doctor.
He's gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's complicated—
It's dangerous—
It's never felt better—
—to consider breaking that rule for him.

My Review:
This book was pretty awesome to read! It's pretty short though a bit slow paced, and between chapters were snippets of her column, of her asking different questions to different people, and it was interesting to see their views! And her romance, yeah, it's different, Sasha is adorable, and Isabel isn't always as likable as he is, which isn't something that I've read a lot of!

This book was a really fantastic look at what it's like, living with being sick with something that probably won't kill you, but makes your quality of life not so good. I really enjoyed who Isabel was, quirks from a broken home and from various issues through her life.

There was this one thing with her imaginary friend that died at the same age that Isabel currently was, so who has died each year, basically, as Isabel grew up. She was mentioned, but it felt a little cut off, like I felt there should've been a transition that happened in the end, and there's stuff about her changing, but nothing quite on her imaginary friend.

I kinda wonder if there's a bit of a metaphor in fulfillment-how she knows there's something wrong but the doctors can't find anything so shrug it off, and we don't find out what it was, the thing with her imaginary friend-and being a representation about how life is like with a chronic illness. I have no idea, I'm not a high literature understanding kinda of girl.

Really enjoyed reading this book, it was a really fantastic read!

Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Read: December 5th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2019 Book!
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Published: November 5th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 48 Review: A Treason of Thorns

From Goodreads:
Violet Sterling has spent the last seven years in exile, longing to return to Burleigh House. One of the six great houses of England, Burleigh's magic always kept the countryside well. And as a child, this magic kept Violet happy, draping her in flowers while she slept, fashioning secret hiding places for her, and lighting fires on the coldest nights to keep her warm.

Everything shattered, though, when her father committed high treason trying to free Burleigh from the king's oppressive control. He was killed, and Vi was forced into hiding.

When she's given a chance to go back, she discovers Burleigh has run wild with grief. Vines and briars are crumbling the walls. Magic that once enriched the surrounding countryside has turned dark and deadly, twisting lush blooms into thorns, poisoning livestock and destroying crops. Burleigh's very soul is crying out in pain.

Vi would do anything to help, and soon she finds herself walking the same deadly path as her father all those years before. Vi must decide how far she's willing to go to save her house—before her house destroys everything she's ever known.

My Review:
Oh, man, this was a really wonderful book! I absolutely loved the world, with these Houses and their magic! Such an incredible story, so lush and beautiful and dangerous. Not that it means to be, but this is an incredible complex and dire situation! 

The fact that this is a magic slanted version of history, it's set in England around the 1800's, so I'm not quite sure if the king in this book is the same as in our history books or not, or if his circumstances changed, because while I'm not familiar with that time period, I don't believe that this king and his exact family was in real life. I could be wrong. But it also could be that it's a magical world so things were changed a bit!

I felt really badly for Vi, Wyn, and Burleigh House. It's not their fault they're in this situation, it's because Burleigh was bound all those years ago, and we're just learning why that was a bad idea. And Vi is torn between her childhood best friend and her present maybe something more, and her childhood home, her family's legacy. It's really tough on them all!

Sometimes I raged at the unfairness that the king would just let things get worse and worse, and then, do something so bad just to keep his power. If he'd done the right thing, then maybe all these bad events wouldn't have happened. But his daughter did mention that once people had power, they didn't tend to let it go. But yeah, because of him, it meant that there was that pretty intense ending, which was so wonderful to read, but it still could've turned out so much worse, and that would've been because he wanted to keep his power. Bah.

Loved reading this book, it was a wonderful read, and I can't wait to read more by Laura E. Weymouth!

Author: Laura E. Weymouth
Read: November 28th, 2019
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2019 Book and a Sophomore Challenge Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: September 10th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 48 Review: Eight Will Fall

From Goodreads:
Lovers of dark, high-octane adventure will be enthralled by Sarah Harian's Eight Will Fall, a genre-bending YA fantasy standalone, perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Leigh Bardugo.

In a world where magic is illegal, eight criminals led by rebellious Larkin are sent on a mission to rid their realm of an ancient evil lurking beneath the surface. Descending into a world full of unspeakable horrors, Larkin and her crew must use their forbidden magic to survive.

As they fight in the shadows, Larkin finds a light in Amias, a fellow outlaw with a notorious past. Soon, Larkin and Amias realize that their destinies are intertwined. The eight of them were chosen for a reason.

But as the beasts grow in number and her band is picked off one by one, Larkin is forced to confront a terrible truth: They were never meant to return.

My Review:
Oh, wow, this book was utterly fantastic, and totally not what I was expecting! I was really eager to read this book, and just devoured it, it was so freaking amazing! I loved the history and learning more about it, as well as the magic, since the two were pretty intertwined!

The way that this magic worked, with able to use other people's emotions as fuel, basically, and all the different things that they could do, it was so interesting! I really enjoyed learning more about all of that, and how it connected to why these 8 people were specifically chosen...

Between all the creepiness with the various dead and dying bodies, there was plenty of atmosphere. And then there were the reveals. Wow, were there so many reveals! Since basically they knew nothing, they had a lot to learn! And there were some really epic twists!

Honestly, after reading this book, I wouldn't mind if we got a companion book, because I would love to spend more time in this universe. There was mention of a mainland, and it'd be interesting to visit and explore! I just want more!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Sarah Harian!

Author: Sarah Harian
Read: November 27h, 2019
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Published: November 26th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 47 Review: The Scorpio Races

From Goodreads:
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

My first review of The Scorpio Races
My Review:
I really enjoyed reading this book again! I had to read it again, it's been years since I first read it, and a book tuber read it and loved it, and that sparked interest in me reading it again! It's just such a fantastic read!

This world with the capaill uisce, it's in our world, but slightly altered. My one thing, is what time period does it take place? Sure, there's cars, and maybe the reason why a horse could race against a car is because of the winding roads, but it felt like it set a few decades back, you know? Or that because of the differences between our worlds, their technology is a bit behind ours. Plus there's a bit of a timeless feel, you know?

I totally forgot how it all ended. There's this tension, because they both have high stakes to winning, but only one of them can win. And there's so much build up to it, and then there some romantic tension in there too, complicated matters! So freaking awesome to read!

I am wondering about something or two. One, is the horse that Sean's dad was riding on the race that he died, is that Corr? Because otherwise, how did Sean catch Corr, but that Malvern owned him, but that Corr went back to the sea after that race, and was caught by someone else. That's the only thing I can think of, and I have no idea if it's right or not! Oh, and I still don't know why it's called Scorpio Races! I know Scorpio doesn't automatically mean scorpions, but how it get there with magic water horses?

Loved reading this book again, it's such a fantastic read!

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
First Read: December 7th, 2011
Read: November 17th, 2019
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And it's a SAC 2019 Book!
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: October 11th 2011

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 46 Review: Winterwood

From Goodreads:
From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic, where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.

Be careful of the dark, dark wood…

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it's this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he'd been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver's presence. And it's not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn't know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he'll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn't the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.

My Review:
This book was so fantastic! It's so atmospheric, and incredible to read! I enjoyed learning about the Walker family (we got excerpts from their family book, of the various Walker women, their ability and a spell to be able to do what they did, or a recipe of food that they liked. I enjoyed it so much!

This world of humans and magic and of the Wicker Woods, it's just so interesting. It makes the women of the Walker family outcasts, and it puts Nora into some pretty tough situations. The fact that the forest is awake except when there's a full moon, these were bits that I enjoyed reading and learning about so much!

This story is just so cleverly written! There's the mystery of what happened the night the storm came in, that's now trapped them on the mountain for 2 weeks. Finding Oliver in a deeper part of the forest then she'd gone before, yeah, I couldn't stop reading!

There's the tension between the two of them, both romantically, and tense because there's a boy who died the same time that Oliver went missing. And that Oliver doesn't have memories of what happened, well, I just wanted to know!

This book was fantastic, and I can't wait to read more by Shea Ernshaw!

Author: Shea Ernshaw
Read: November 14th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Loved the first book, and it's a SAC 2019 Book, Sophomore Challenge Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: November 5th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 44 Review: I Am Still Alive

From Goodreads:
After
Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn't act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive—for now.

Before
Jess hadn't seen her survivalist, off-the-grid dad in over a decade. But after a car crash killed her mother and left her injured, she was forced to move to his cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness. Just as Jess was beginning to get to know him, a secret from his past paid them a visit, leaving her father dead and Jess stranded.

After
With only her father's dog for company, Jess must forage and hunt for food, build shelter, and keep herself warm. Some days it feels like the wild is out to destroy her, but she's stronger than she ever imagined.

Jess will survive. She has to. She knows who killed her father… and she wants revenge. 

My Review:
Oh, man, I enjoyed this book so much! It's a different story than her 2nd book, which I read first, but there are some similar elements, there's survival, and strong female leads. But this is a contemporary, and a different kind of survival!

I really enjoyed how this story was told between Before and After, until we catch up to where she is now, and the story goes on. Of how she made her way to her dad, and getting to know him before their time got cut short and he was murdered and she was left all alone in the wilderness. Well, she had Bo the dog.

Smart, not strong, That was something that Jess had to repeat, because she had a bad leg from the car accident that killed her mom. Sometimes she made mistakes, like with the canoe in the beginning, but she survived.

That ending, wow, I couldn't put this book down! It was intense, and just kept going! And then there was the light at the end of the tunnel, and there was that horrible moment. I teared up then. Yeah, it was a really fantastic, emotional, amazing ending!

This book was a fantastic read and I enjoyed it so, so much, and I can't wait to read more by Kate Alice Marshall!

Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Read: October 31st, 2019
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and I enjoyed her other book! And it's a DAC Book and a SAC 2019 Book!
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Published: July 24th 2018

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 44 Review: Dangerous Alliance

From Goodreads:
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Jane Austen in this witty, winking historical romance with a dash of mystery!

Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home.

But now Vicky must marry—or find herself and her family destitute. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved novels by Jane Austen, she enters society's treacherous season.

Sadly, Miss Austen has little to say about Vicky's exact circumstances: whether the roguish Mr. Carmichael is indeed a scoundrel, if her former best friend, Tom Sherborne, is out for her dowry or for her heart, or even how to fend off the attentions of the foppish Mr. Silby, he of the unfortunate fashion sensibility.

Most unfortunately of all, Vicky's books are silent on the topic of the mysterious accidents cropping up around her…ones that could prevent her from surviving until her wedding day.

My Review:
Oh, this book was really cute and fun to read! I loved that Vicky was a fan of Jane Austen's books, that they're coming out and she's reading them, that would have been a pretty great time to be a book reader, to have Jane Austen's books coming out!

Vicky is kinda obsessed with Jane Austen's books. She models her own behaviour after some of the characters, and judges and compares people by other character's. She's a bit naive, that the world will have a happy ending, but she's earnest and comes from a good place!

I enjoyed reading about her season, all the guys that she goes on outings with, to test the waters for suitability in marriage. The situation her sister's in, yeah, it's a really unfortunate one, and that puts the pressure on Vicky.

We went back and forth mainly between Vicky and Tom's perspectives, though there was one of two side scenes narrators. I really enjoyed their relationship, they were best friends until he cut her out of his life. So it's conflicting to have him back, and I loved reading it!

This book was really fun to read, and I enjoyed it so much!

Author: Jennieke Cohen
Read: October 30th, 2019
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book, Historical Fiction Book, SAC 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Expected Publication: December 3rd 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 42 Review: The Bone Houses

From Goodreads:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Sky in the Deep in this bewitching, historical horror novel, perfect for fans of Holly Black and V.E. Schwab.

Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?

Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the deeply-buried truths about themselves.

My Review:
This book was so fantastic to read! I mean, it's about bone houses, basically zombies, and the situations that Ryn and Ellis get into are pretty hilarious. Like, the family goat! Can't say enough good things about that goat!

I fairly boiled at the unfairness of it all, that this rich guy wants to kick them out because their uncle owes him. They're not yet adults, so they're stuck in a bad place. Bah, it just made me so frustrated, that they were put in that situation!

There's a bit of a mystery to Ellis, he was found wondering the woods alone as a child. And now he's going looking for his family, combined with the quest to deal with the bone houses. A good use of resources! I really enjoyed them going on this journey!

Wow, did I enjoy everything coming together! It was bittersweet, but so lovely to read! It's funny, just how much chaos just one artifact left behind made. It kinda makes me wonder what it'd be like if the fae came back. But wow, just an incredible ending!

Loved this book, it was a really fantastic read, and I really enjoyed it!

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
Read: October 15th, 2019
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2019 Book!
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: September 24th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars